FKA twigs’s M3LL155X EP continues to reinforce her abstract approach to music. With a 16 minute visual component as a complement to the five track extended play, M3LL155X is another great demonstration of FKA twigs’s effort to push the boundaries of music and art while still maintaining an infectious yet free-form sound. While the music alone is evocative and strange, the music video complement truly puts these lyrics and soundscapes to life.
Dr. Dre’s final album may not live up to the immense hype that surrounded it. But this doesn’t take away from what is a meticulously crafted hip-hop album that shines in its production and guest features.
Vacation’s Non-Person is a garage-punk album styled on discovery and decay. Though relatively short in length, the album contains a wide range of experimental garage punk sounds, with each track feeling like a further continuation of ideas explored in the last. It’s always surprising when something as interesting as Non-Person joins the ranks of punk/garage rock albums, so this addition is a welcome one.
Mac Demarco returns with another album emblematic of the slacker rock genre that manages to impress despite its short runtime. Its simplicity and languid nature is a boon to the album, and is perfect for a alzy summer afternoon.
While Strange Wilds provides the trademark Northwestern hardcore/grunge sound, their latest effort with Subjective Concepts just simply shows a lack of inspiration within their own boundaries, ultimately feeling incomplete and even messy at times.
HEALTH goes for a poppier sound on their latest LP, ditching the sonic squall of their previous work. It’s a surprising album that has an excellent contrast of upbeat vocals and dark, industrial electronic beats.
Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile sweeps the dust off of his project Ducktails for his latest album, St. Catherine. Its general soundscape qualities are reminiscent of Real Estate, but the themes of religion and the maturation of Mondanile’s instrumental compositions turn a possibly run-of-the-mill indie pop album into a unique interpretation of hypnagogic pop.
Seven Davis Jr. puts out a notice on this record. He’s been in this game for far longer than most musicians and, after long periods of struggle, is finally rounding into form, releasing a record that manages to navigate a myriad of influence to make it a standout dance record on the year.
Albert Hammond Jr.’s Momentary Masters proves that he can reliably separate his solo work from the gravitational influence of The Strokes without making it too obvious what he wants to avoid. Hammond’s latest release gives us another album full of musically adept but lyrically lukewarm songwriting.
The Alchemist adds to his already-prolific portfolio with his newest beat tape. Despite it’s brevity, Retarded Alligator Beats manages to demonstrate The Alchemist’s array of styles. Yet there’s a feeling that the length of the beat tape holds back some of The Alchemist’s full potential.
Eminent Press 