album review: 'fetty wap' by fetty wap

I've stated a number of times this year that 2015 has been great for hip-hop. From the revival of more conscious hip-hop to the explosion of potency in the underground to genre-bending experiments to old veterans returning with what's always worked, it's a good time to be in the rap game right now.

And yet if you look at the mainstream charts, there's one name that stands out like a sore thumb, an artist who seemingly appeared out of nowhere and yet won over a crossover audience with hit after hit. And his name was Fetty Wap, the 'wap' getting added later as a tribute to his favourite rapper Gucci Mane. Okay, already we're not off to a great start - and dig into Fetty Wap's story and it doesn't seem to ring as all that different to many rappers in that lane. He grew up in the projects in New Jersey, started working on his rap career, and decided to throw more singing into his delivery because he wanted to do something a little 'different'. Of course, he's not alone in rappers who add sung vocals to their bars, but there were very few who could match his warbling, part-Haitian, part-Biz Markie voice. From there, he released a song called 'Trap Queen' in early 2014 - and a year later, it started climbing the charts. The incredibly delayed reaction can probably be attributed to shifts in the mainstream taste - Young Thug's half-sung, half-rapped style hadn't yet broke through with 'Lifestyle', and Future spent most of that year wallowing in depressed, angry mediocrity.

But Fetty Wap was different. He had energy and personality, a knack for impressively sticky hooks and decent enough writing for pop radio, and his synth-heavy beats were breezy and bright enough to draw a lot of attention. And the amusing thing is that it doesn't seem like Fetty Wap's team expected this much success to come this quickly, as he snagged a spot on the XXL Freshman list for 2015 and people started clamouring for that debut album. And I'll admit I was interested: sure, Fetty Wap could hold down singles, but a full album is a much bigger proposition, especially when said album is seventeen songs and runs over an hour. Not what I'd advise for a starting rapper riding a wave of hype, but if they're looking to strike while the iron's hot, this would be the way to do it. So what do we get from Fetty Wap?

video review: 'sun coming down' by ought

Believe it or not, this one took a lot longer than you'd think. Really a tough one to dissect, especially when you can't find all the lyrics.

Right, so next... honestly, no clue. Could be Fetty Wap, could be Destroyer, we'll see! Stay tuned!

album review: 'sun coming down' by ought

So close to this time last year, give or take a month or two, I finally decided to cover the debut of the Canadian indie rock group Ought, More Than Any Other Day. Based out of Montreal, cracking with the hyper-literate jittery energy you'd expect from university students recording while the student population was protesting, it won a lot of critical acclaim from critics for the obvious parallels to Talking Heads or maybe even Vampire Weekend. I was a bit more ambivalent on the group, mostly because no matter how much I liked the smart lyricism and the interweaving chaotic sound of the record, it definitely overstayed its welcome, occasionally wasn't as nuanced as it tried to be, and ultimately left me with a distinctive feeling of anticlimax at the end.

Since then, Ought has been touring extensively, patching a new album together between shows and reportedly doubling down on their influences from Sonic Youth or maybe even The Fall, cranking up the energy and groove. On the one hand, I didn't have any problems with this - Ought never seemed like a band lacking in nervous energy, but I've been looking for some more aggressive indie rock as of late and this could probably satisfy. On the other hand, it didn't look like the band's issues with succinctness had gone away - only eight songs, yet your average song length is about five minutes, with the longest at nearly eight. But hey, if the music doesn't drag, I'm not going to complain, so what does Ought deliver with Sun Coming Down?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - october 3, 2015 (VIDEO)

And this week happened. Whew, it took way too long to get this out, and considering how insane my schedule is this week, I'm lucky I got this out at all.

Next up... I really want to cover that Ought record, but waiting in the wings we've got Fetty Wap, Silversun Pickups, Kurt Vile, CHRVCHES, Julia Holter, The Underachievers, and that's not even counting Destroyer and Scarface (the former of whom I'm ready to cover and the latter I'm way behind in my backlog listen-through)... hold on tight, folks, this might be getting crazy.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - october 3, 2015

I can predict a lot of people will be celebrating parts of this week's Hot 100. Not all of it, obviously - there's too much Rae Sremmurd to really get away with anything jubilant - but I can see a lot of people seeing the new #1 and a few of the new arrivals and getting excited. And that only further defines the difference between music nerds who follow the charts and the mainstream population, because I look at this week and I can only wish I'm as excited as everyone else.

video review: 'illinois' by brett eldredge

Yeah, I wish I could have gotten out more albums today too, but I'm exhausted right now, that Ought review is on its way.

But first, Billboard BREAKDOWN! Stay tuned!

album review: 'illinois' by brett eldredge

So one of the trends I probably haven't given the same time of day to in mainstream country is the slow trickling in of more R&B influences. It's not all that surprising, given the huge growth of R&B on pop radio, and as soon as Jason Aldean's 'Burn It Down' was a huge hit, it didn't surprise me others would gun for a similar sound. 

And like with bro-country, I'm more conflicted than outright negative towards this slicker, more metropolitan brand of country music. On the one hand, the increased usage of drum machines tends to irk me because it can lead to choppy, groove-lacking records like Sam Hunt's Montevallo or Luke Bryan's Kill The Lights, and given the modern association with hip-hop I can see why country fans might recoil from R&B, but on the other hand if handled well that spacier sound can lead to solidly melodic, more groove-driven albums. I may not have loved Billy Currington's last album Summer Forever or Dustin Lynch's Where It's At, but aside from being one of the few people who remembered those records exist I also remember there being cuts I liked. Hell, even though the Zac Brown Band's Jekyll + Hyde was a genre-bending mess, there were experiments that worked off of that album. What I'm ultimately saying is that while I get the antipathy from country purists, especially with this material clogging up mainstream country radio riding the trends, this isn't that far removed conceptually from the vintage pop that Lindi Ortega or Whitney Rose pull from, nor the psychedelic rock for Sturgill Simpson or the more progressive rock tendencies for that last Jason Isbell record.

As such, I wasn't certain what to expect with the sophomore record from Brett Eldredge called Illinois. Early buzz was suggesting he was going more towards that 'metropolitan' sound, mostly thanks to the backing of producer Ross Copperman, who did a lot of excellent production work on Dierks Bentley's last album. And I'll say it, the presence of Thomas Rhett as a guest star, the poster child for calling his brand of vintage pop/R&B garbage 'country music' did not raise my spirits. But on the other hand, Brett Eldredge is a good songwriter with a distinctive voice, and I really did love the warped melodies against the acoustic grooves of 'Lose My Mind' and I hoped at least this could at least be salvaged. So what did we get?

video review: 'honeymoon' by lana del rey

Well, this is going over about as well as I expected. Think I'm going to stick with releases that spark less of a crazy reaction for the next few videos, I can only contain so many shitstorms at a time.

So next up, Brett Eldredge, stay tuned!

album review: 'honeymoon' by lana del rey

I bet there's a slew of you who are wondering why I'm bothering to do this review. I mean, it's not like I haven't made my opinion on this artist pretty damn clear by this point, so why on earth am I bothering to cover her?

Well, believe it or not, I actually do have a certain fascination with Lana Del Rey, at least in terms of her somehow still increasing popularity. I mean, I got it at first: 'Video Games' remains an excellent song, and I can even see it making sense into Born To Die - sure, the writing was melodramatic as hell and I didn't care much for Lana's delivery, but at least the production had a veneer of glamour and bombast that made songs like 'National Anthem' workable. But then Ultraviolence happened with Dan Auerbach behind the production boards and an attempt to emphasize more of a bluesy, reverb-swallowed sound, and the veneer was torn away. It didn't have the grandiose bombast to make compelling melodrama, and the writing rapidly became insufferable as Lana tried without fail to romanticize and glamorize her terrible behaviour, bad situations, and seeming inability to do anything to change them without an ounce of self-awareness. And sure, you can argue that's a character she's playing and that this is what Hollywood has 'made' her, but the writing and especially the framing doesn't really support that insight - and it's not as if it made the music any less tiresome and drab to add any subversive thrill to the regressive cliches and stereotypes. On top of that, she chose to abandon more her more soulful lower range for this high baby-voiced cooing slur that when it wasn't getting overwhelmed by the mix failed to raise any emotional response in me whatsoever. 

And you'd think that more people would have picked up on that, but it seemed like critics and audiences alike were enraptured by it and Lana Del Rey got bigger than ever, even finding her perfect male counterpart with The Weeknd and his shameless brand of hedonistic exploitation - but at least he knew enough to bring some visceral punch to his best melodramas. Whereas with Lana... well, maybe it's just everyone already knowing my preferences, but I've received a lot less requests for Honeymoon than I did for Ultraviolence, and I'll admit I was interested. Sure, singles like 'High By The Beach' annoyed the hell out of me, but I did notice that there were fewer producers than ever behind this album, with Lana handling even more of the production herself. So with more artistic control than ever before, what does Lana Del Rey deliver?

video review: 'pagans in vegas' by metric

Well, this was an interesting listen. Wish I liked it more, but eh, it happens.

Next up... oh boy, might as well deal with this now. Lana Del Rey, folks - you can imagine what's coming.

album review: 'pagans in vegas' by metric

So here's something I bet the majority of you don't know. Back during the summer of 2012 when I was first getting a handle on making these reviews in written form on my blog, I reviewed Synthetica by Metric, a band that I've tended to like and admire but never quite love, the sort of over-ambitious indie rock act that liked to play with nifty big ideas and anthemic choruses that never quite managed to quite stick the landing, at least for me. Like most people, I started getting into them with the noisier, razor tight Fantasies, a record that anchored its groove in buzzy guitars and synthesizers, punchy drums, and the eerie multitracking of Emily Haines' vocals, and yet always fell a little short for me. Maybe it was the disparity between a great Metric track and a bland one was palpable, maybe it was Emily Haines' vocal timbre feeling perpetually disconnected, or maybe it was the lyrics that didn't hit home as often as they should, but Fantasies was about half of a great record.

And upon reflection, I'd probably make a similar observation about Synthetica, overall a more ambitious, cohesive, and engaging album, but never quite hitting the huge high points of Fantasies with songs like 'Gold Guns Girls' or 'Gimme Sympathy', and it seemed as through the rough edges and grooves were slowly being smoothed away in favour of more mechanical synthesizers. Of course, it fit the running motif of the record, distinguishing that difference between the human and artificial, but with rare exception it felt like only about half of the record really stuck with me. Although here I suspect I'm in the minority, as Metric seemed to only be getting bigger on Canadian alternative radio with an ever-increasing profile as an indie rock act with real crossover potential.

And yet in hindsight, Metric's steps towards new wave and synthpop almost seem prophetic, because over the past two years a considerable number of their peers have gone in the exact same direction. Which might now be the best thing for Metric, especially given they've got close competition from CHVRCHES, whose sophomore album is breathing down their neck right around the corner. And it was further concerning to hear to that this record was supposedly much more synth-driven, with Metric having an entire analog album waiting in the wings. So what did we get with Pagans in Vegas?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 26, 2015 (VIDEO)

So that came out faster than I expected. Didn't make the week any better, but eh, it happens.

Next up, either Lana Del Rey or Metric. Either way... whoo boy, it's going to be wild. Stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 26, 2015

So one of my general assumptions going into this week is that since we had so many new songs courtesy of The Weeknd's Beauty Behind The Madness, we'd have a comparable number of dropouts. It's a good rule of thumb, after all, as most album cuts don't tend to stick to the mainstream charts for long. And it's true that a few of them dropped out - but not nearly as many as I was predicting. In other words, we have a pretty lightweight week here - a fair amount of movement within the charts, but not nearly as many new arrivals as I was expecting.

video review: '90059' by jay rock

I'm curious to see the continued critical response to this album. Again, I expect it to be underrated, but what the hell do I know?

Next up... hmm, not quite sure yet. I kind of want to tackle some old business in a coming review, but that might have to wait until my schedule gets a little less nightmarish. In the mean time, Billboard BREAKDOWN, so stay tuned!

album review: '90059' by jay rock

I think I've talked before that a good rap posse often has people falling into specific roles, to add variety or cater to different audiences - and for Top Dawg Entertainment, filling out that roster is surprisingly easy. Kendrick Lamar is the leader, Schoolboy Q is the gangsta, Ab-Soul is the weird one, Isaiah Rashad is the more laid-back fun-loving one, and SZA is the girl/pseudo-spiritual one. 

And this leaves Jay Rock, the California MC I've always been inclined to brand as the bruiser, the former Blood gang member who will drop ruthlessly hard bars to cater to a tougher rap audience. You could argue that he shares the most in common with Schoolboy Q, but Jay Rock always struck me as harder. Combined with the gruff intensity of his delivery, it's no surprise that he managed to snag a major label deal with Warner Bros off of a slew of high-powered mixtapes - a deal that went precisely nowhere. He eventually wound up signing with Tech N9ne's imprint Strange Music to finally release his debut album Follow Me Home. And while the album was far from bad, it was the sort of record that showed the signs of many delays and revisions, especially in the disjointed midsection and the inclusion of the one 'hit' he had at the end of the album 'All My Life (In The Ghetto)' with Lil Wayne & will.i.am. Far from bad - with solid West Coast-flavoured production and Jay Rock's aggressively potent bars, it's still a good record - but it lacked the cohesion and power that would later characterize TDE's later releases throughout the next few years.

And yet across every guest appearance on those TDE records, Jay Rock was spitting his ass off, showing real lyrical improvement in terms of his bars and punchlines and the hype for his sophomore release was palpable... and yet it kept getting pushed back or delayed indefinitely. After an exit from Strange Music last year, singles finally began trickling out at the beginning of June and we all had reason to believe that Jay Rock was going to deliver, but I admit I was a bit skeptical, if only because the extended recording process and delays might have led to the same lack of cohesion. But now it's finally here: does 90059 deliver?

video review: 'untold stories' by elvya

Well, this was a hard one to review - not that it was difficult to like, but not an easy record to understand or come to a coherent opinion on, it was definitely on the weirder side.

Next up... whoo boy, busy week. Jay Rock, Brett Eldredge, Metric, and (of course) Lana Del Rey. Strap in, folks, it's going to get messy!

album review: 'untold stories' by elvya

So I occasionally get requests to review albums, but I also occasionally get bands or new acts that will outright send over their new records for me to cover. And for the most part, I try to get a chance to listen through all of it, but between my existing backlog and all the preparation I do for listening to more established artists, I just run out of time to cover everything, even if I like what I see. Plus, considering I do a lot of lyrical analysis, it can be a little infuriating when there's no lyric sheet or additional details provided beyond just the songs, especially if the mixing is poor and the lyrics are unclear.

So when I got the email about Elvya, I wasn't initially planning to do much until I caught some choice details. Full name Elvya Dulcimer, her music was reportedly more in the vein of Celtic folk that was on the cinematic side with this being her debut... with narration from Arjen Lucassen, the mastermind behind Ayreon. And if I know anything about Arjen, even though he didn't produce this and I didn't precisely love The Gentle Storm that he did with Anneke Van Giersbergen earlier this year, he's got an eye for quality. On top of that, former Within Temptation and current Kingfisher Sky member Ivar De Graaf was handling guitars and drums, so I have every reason to believe this could be something special. So I decided to check out her debut Untold Stories: how is it?

video review: 'the book of souls' by iron maiden

I'm currently manning the barricade against the onslaught of comments... but then again, I'm honestly not sure how this'll be received, most metal fans tend to be more reasonable these days.

Next up... well, that Jay Rock album looks tempting, but I might not have time to get to it until Saturday. We'll see, so stay tuned!

album review: 'the book of souls' by iron maiden

I've said before that it's hard to talk about legends. It's even harder to talk about acts that were responsible for pioneering sounds and styles within an entire genre of music. And when that band has over thirty storied years of history and discography to examine, it can be an exhausting task going through all of the albums just to get the appropriate context. 

And you all want to know something funny? I'm currently doing this with at least three other acts as we speak, and not all of them are metal. It's a monumental exercise, especially when you realize these acts have so much material, good and bad, that it can feel like you're retracing history to listen through record after record. It's daunting but rewarding, and nowhere has this reward been more pleasing and pronounced than going through Iron Maiden's discography. I don't even need to bother with introductions for this British heavy metal act, mostly because said introductions would be painfully inadequate. These guys were responsible for some seminal metal albums, with their 80s output widely considered their best - and for good reason, because I can count a good four of those records as excellent and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son as a downright classic.

And then the 90s happened. The 90s were not kind to Iron Maiden, as they went through turbulence, line-up changes and a succession of records that ranged from okay but boring to outright mediocre. It wouldn't be until the mid-2000s that Iron Maiden could pull together quality again, becoming a six-piece act and putting together respectable records like the unmastered, live-show inspired A Matter Of Life And Death or the pretty solid but questionably produced The Final Frontier. And it's been five years since a new Iron Maiden album and when the rave reviews starting pouring in, I was definitely interested, but a little skeptical, especially considering it was their first double album spanning over ninety minutes. But hey, this is Iron Maiden, they've blown my mind before - sixteen albums into their career, can they do it again?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 19, 2015 (VIDEO)

I'm fairly certain this might be the longest episode of Billboard BREAKDOWN to date, and that's saying something. Here's betting the next one will be big too as so many of those album tracks from Beauty Behind The Madness drop out.

Next up, let's go metal and talk Iron Maiden - stay tuned!