Another day, another dime, another nickel's worth of albums on the MP3 player. And some weird ones at that. Here are some words about them, CLICK HERE for some songs from them.
1. Dessa - A Badly Broken Code (2010)
She said it best on her False Hopes EP: underrated writer, overrated rapper. Thing is, she's still a good rapper. And a great singer as well, as we find out on the LP. But it's the rhymes and the lines that'll keep me coming back; it's underrating her to say that anyone in rap writes better. "Snow falls fast and thin / angels ash Virginia slims." I mean, c'mon.
2. Glasvegas - Euphoric Heartbreak (2011)
So apparently they released a second album; no one told me. Not sure who they told, either, since I had to upload it to Grooveshark myself. Because you should hear it. Autotune, 80's keys, homosexuality, Scottish mothers: it all comes together on this disc. It's a bit of a slog, but so were the three years since the debut, and by their sophomore release they've gotten somewhere familiar, but new; still slogging, but not slumping.
3. Canibus - C of Tranquility (2010)
I didn't know anything about Canibus' rap career going into this album, but that didn't turn out to be a problem. I gotta say, for a man "looking forward to not looking back," he sure spends a lot of time looking back. The lyrics and production both remind me of Non Phixion's The Future Is Now. That is, they're so solid they have a certain timelessness. And Canibus has to speak about the future, because the past is haunting him and the present is ignoring him.
4. Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing (2011)
Their advantage is time, in case you were wondering. Because this is their second album, and it still drips with potential. It's pleasantly, inspiringly raw, and bookended by two truly arresting tracks. They have more energy than Said the Whale and better breakbeats than Broken Social Scene, and they're still just departing. When they come to a fork in the road, will they go left or right? Or will they have the good sense to take it, because it might be useful later?
5. Bear in Heaven - Red Bloom of the Boom (2007)
I felt out of my element on this one, but have a difficult time imagining who wouldn't. The first couple songs took me through Silversun Pickups, Menomena, and Phoenix before I gave up completely and just let it be. Because its lack of cohesion is what holds it together, or something. Actually, I don't know if anything holds it together. Maybe that's not the point. But what is the point? I've probably listened to it a dozen times but couldn't give you a single lyric. That it can make me think about it so hard anyway, maybe that's the point.
1. Dessa - A Badly Broken Code (2010)
She said it best on her False Hopes EP: underrated writer, overrated rapper. Thing is, she's still a good rapper. And a great singer as well, as we find out on the LP. But it's the rhymes and the lines that'll keep me coming back; it's underrating her to say that anyone in rap writes better. "Snow falls fast and thin / angels ash Virginia slims." I mean, c'mon.
2. Glasvegas - Euphoric Heartbreak (2011)
So apparently they released a second album; no one told me. Not sure who they told, either, since I had to upload it to Grooveshark myself. Because you should hear it. Autotune, 80's keys, homosexuality, Scottish mothers: it all comes together on this disc. It's a bit of a slog, but so were the three years since the debut, and by their sophomore release they've gotten somewhere familiar, but new; still slogging, but not slumping.
3. Canibus - C of Tranquility (2010)
I didn't know anything about Canibus' rap career going into this album, but that didn't turn out to be a problem. I gotta say, for a man "looking forward to not looking back," he sure spends a lot of time looking back. The lyrics and production both remind me of Non Phixion's The Future Is Now. That is, they're so solid they have a certain timelessness. And Canibus has to speak about the future, because the past is haunting him and the present is ignoring him.
4. Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing (2011)
Their advantage is time, in case you were wondering. Because this is their second album, and it still drips with potential. It's pleasantly, inspiringly raw, and bookended by two truly arresting tracks. They have more energy than Said the Whale and better breakbeats than Broken Social Scene, and they're still just departing. When they come to a fork in the road, will they go left or right? Or will they have the good sense to take it, because it might be useful later?
5. Bear in Heaven - Red Bloom of the Boom (2007)
I felt out of my element on this one, but have a difficult time imagining who wouldn't. The first couple songs took me through Silversun Pickups, Menomena, and Phoenix before I gave up completely and just let it be. Because its lack of cohesion is what holds it together, or something. Actually, I don't know if anything holds it together. Maybe that's not the point. But what is the point? I've probably listened to it a dozen times but couldn't give you a single lyric. That it can make me think about it so hard anyway, maybe that's the point.
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