billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - april 22, 2017

I'm honestly not sure where to even start with this week - mostly because it seems overshadowed by the biggest story here, being the huge top ten debut that seems like the first serious threat that our top spot has faced in some time. But there's other stories about this week that deserve some consideration, including major shakeups in country and other disruptive singles. Also, Kodak Black happened for some ungodly reason, but we'll get to that.

video review: 'pure comedy' by father john misty

So I was up and down on this record a lot through many a listen... and you know, overall I'm landing on great. Pretty sweet record, definitely glad to cover it.

Anyway, the next record will be FAR less good, so after Billboard BREAKDOWN... well, stay tuned!

album review: 'pure comedy' by father john misty

I think there were a lot of people surprised by I Love You, Honeybear.

Hell, I was surprised. I had liked Josh Tillman's debut Fear Fun under the Father John Misty moniker, but his 2015 followup was in a different ballpark of quality. Huge, lush production, a knack for incredibly sticky melodies, and a narrative throughline that was as witty and twisted as it was genuine and heartfelt. I'll wholeheartedly admit the record's warped yet self-aware framing did require a certain headspace to appreciate - especially considering the romantic relationship that was being explored in plenty of lurid detail - but it connected for me, and it was very nearly my favourite record of that year.

But then comes the bigger question: how the hell do you follow that? The grand romance of I Love You, Honeybear was so well-structured, a self-contained masterpiece... and while Father John Misty had flirted with social commentary on the record I was a little unsure how well it could connect on a whole album, which was what Pure Comedy reportedly had. Let's get real: even if Father John Misty's insight proved valid, I could see a lot of people dismissing it because of both the delivery and the messenger himself, especially if it threw in elements of self-aware satire. It's a fine line to trace, and while I was reasonably confident he could pull it off, I was tempering my expectations going into Pure Comedy - so did Josh Tillman pull it off?

video review: 'winter' by fen

So I'm actually stunned this went over as well as it did - and not just the review, I'm actually pretty damn proud of how the thumbnail turned out for my first real try at photoshop. 

But it won't be my last tonight, so stay tuned!

album review: 'winter' by fen

You know, at some point I'm going to just admit I'm not sure where to look when it comes to finding consistent black metal recommendations. I mean, I try to keep my ear to the ground, but for multiple years in a row now I feel like whenever I find a record that's more on the atmospheric side of the genre it's damn near a miracle, and thus wind up covering a lot less than I'd otherwise like. 

But in this case it looks like I'm not quite as behind as expected - and I was a little stunned how many Patreon votes this got once I added it - so let's talk about Fen. They're an English black metal act that started in the mid-2000s, straddling the line with progressive metal and post-rock and drawing more than a few comparisons to Wolves In The Throne Room and Agalloch. They play on the more nakedly melancholic side of the spectrum in comparison with the soaring power of acts like Saor or Panopticon, more moody and bleak, but there's different shades of that, some that get into thicker, muddier textures that seethe off of subtle rumblings of bass, while later cuts on records like Carrion Skies get a little more ethereal and spacious, looking to pull the listener deeper into the seething darkness. That's not saying they're all atmospherics - Fen is certainly capable of ramping up the riffs - but in revisiting their back catalog I did find myself wishing a little that they would crank up the texture or intensity a bit to match their frontman's distinctive howl, maybe push the dynamics a little harder. Still, that's nitpicking across four pretty distinct records, taking an established compositional structure and refining and expanding it with each release. And considering their production has only gotten sharper and I was in the mood for some black metal comfortable pushing into new territory, I decided to check out their newest record Winter - how is it?

video review: 'emperor of sand' by mastodon

So I have no idea how this is going to be received. Thus far, things seem to be good, but certain audiences can be fickle...

Anyway, I'm not done with metal, as we're finally heading back into black metal territory... stay tuned!

album review: 'emperor of sand' by mastodon

I wish I liked Mastodon a lot more than I do.

Now that's a loaded statement to open up a review of a record that's already sparked some controversy among critics, but it's necessary to provide some context here. Suffice to say I came to listen to a lot of Mastodon's material late, and furthermore I came from the more meticulous, prog side of metal, not as much sludge or the hard rock the band has increasingly embraced in order to pull in mainstream appeal. As such, when I revisited their discography again before this review, I came away convinced that I still do like and appreciate this band for their relentless shredding and oblique songwriting and knack for melodic song structures in the face of increasingly complex ideas, but I never found them as captivating as I wanted - a group I respect a lot more than I outright love.

And more than that, the complex, relentlessly visceral and bestial albums I did really like - Leviathan, Blood Mountain, especially Crack The Skye - seemed to be in the opposite direction of Mastodon's current progression. As such, while I was more forgiving of Once More 'Round The Sun than some critics for some stronger hooks and cohesive melodic experimentation, I was concerned that the group would eventually start to hit diminishing returns in simplifying their sound and approach for a mainstream rock audience, especially if the hooks didn't come together as strongly. But hey, it's still Mastodon, and they've won enough goodwill with me to dig in deep, especially if the writing and melodies cam through - did Emperor Of Sand pay off?

video review: 'zombies on broadway' by andrew mcmahon in the wilderness

Well, better late than never, I guess. Probably won't remember a damn thing from it either, but I guess that happens...

Next up, though, we're going metal with Mastodon - stay tuned!

album review: 'zombies on broadway' by andrew mcmahon in the wilderness

I'm wasn't the music critic who coined the term 'silent majority' acts, but I'm not sure I could think of a more subtle and yet cutting descriptor for certain bands. You know the type - the groups that are just trendy enough to snag commercials and TV montage music, but never artistically challenging enough to actually be interesting or compelling for critics. And thus it should be absolutely no surprise that I find these groups painfully frustrating to review. It's not even that they make bad music so much as it's just bland as all hell to me, especially when they put on airs they don't deserve - something that the average music consumer doesn't understand and thus gets annoyed when I call it out.

And I don't think there was an act that jumped to the top of the silent majority act pantheon faster than Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. The titular guy hasn't always been in the wilderness, and has been around longer than many people know - he was part of the emo group Something Corporate around the turn of the millennium, later went solo with a bunch of session players under the moniker Jack's Mannequin - both acts which are apparently remembered fondly by people who heard them at the time - and then went towards a piano-driven indie pop direction under the new name Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. And look, I heard a little from him when 'Cecilia And The Satellite' crossed landed on the Hot 100, and for research I checked out his debut album... and that was enough to tell me I had no need to hear anything more from him; it's generally tepid piano-driven adult alternative that I already got plenty of growing up in the mid-2000s, and he's not doing anything that Daniel Powter, James Blunt, or Five For Fighting didn't do, just with a little more blocky percussion. But, thanks to folks on Patreon there was enough interest in me covering his sophomore album that it wound up at the top of my schedule nearly two months late. So, might as well get through this quick, what did I find in Zombies On Broadway?

video review: 'you only live 2wice' by freddie gibbs

So apparently people are pretty peeved I only found this decent instead of great. Eh, it happens - I know he's capable of far better, so we'll see what happens when that Madlib collab drops.

Anyway, next up is a review that probably should have dropped two months ago... but I have been dreading for some time. Stay tuned?

video review: 'spirit' by depeche mode

So apparently I forgot to post this a week or so back. Oops - here now, though, so enjoy!

album review: 'you only live 2wice' by freddie gibbs

If you think you had a bad year in 2016, I think Freddie Gibbs might have you beat. While on tour in France in early summer, he was arrested and later extradited to face sexual assault charges in Austria. And while I immediately got the sinking feeling I get whenever an artist I otherwise like is accused in cases like this, the more I dug into it the more pieces did not seem to come together. This was not a R.Kelly-esque case where evidence and testimony was willfully ignored, and the reason charges were thrown out in the end were because of a lack of evidence - charges, I should add, that were only pursued when the girl came forward eight months after the alleged crime and with no extradition sought from the United States. And considering Austria has an extradition treaty with the United States, it looked sketchy as hell that they had to nab him in France first.

But more than that, even though I don't claim to know Gibbs the allegations didn't make a lot of sense, even from the persona he put forward in his music. Yeah, he's a gangsta rapper, I don't doubt that drugs have been sold and guns have been fired, but especially if you go off of his last two records - and the fact that he was planning to settle down with his long-time girlfriend and infant son - Gibbs always seemed like he played by more of a hard code of honor and seemed to give women a fair amount of respect. Again, you really can't make judgments from music alone - it's not like anyone thought Chris Brown would hit Rihanna before 2009 - but the rapper who made songs like 'Deeper', 'Shame', and 'Insecurities' would engage in that sort of behavior.

So why even bring it up? Well, Gibbs was planning on making a point of addressing it directly on his newest project - which reminded me a lot of what Michael Gira did on that most recent Swans project when allegations were thrown at him - and from the sounds of it, he wasn't about to hold back on getting a second chance at freedom. Gibbs is the sort of guy who would fight tooth and nail to clear his name and set the record straight, and considering we're dealing with one of the most ruthlessly effective gangsta rappers in the industry, I was expecting this newest project - kept trim and focused at eight songs - to hit hard. So does Freddie Gibbs manage to clear his name with You Only Live 2wice?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - april 15, 2017 (VIDEO)

Yes, I know this is up early. That's because it's a short week and I wanted to get this done and crash early, I need my sleep.

Anyway, Freddie Gibbs and maybe (just maybe) someone else tomorrow too, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - april 15, 2017

So this is the sort of week on the charts that I like. Not just that it's a cooldown week and we got a pretty small list of new arrivals, but also because it's the sort of delayed reaction to a big smash that will often tell you a lot more about what songs actually have momentum. Plus, the majority of this week was watching Drake songs lose, and I can't say that's entirely a bad thing either!

video review: 'golden eagle' by holly macve

Man, I wish I liked this more. I mean, it's not bad and I think if I had a little more distance from some personal issues right now it might resonate more... shame that it doesn't. Eh, oh well.

Next up, a moving-on record: Freddie Gibbs! Stay tuned!

album review: 'golden eagle' by holly macve

So I've been told by a lot of my international audience that they tend to be a little perplexed at the larger amount of country I cover in comparison with other critics. And that is worth calling out, because almost by design country is a highly regional genre, born out of American traditions and archetypes that haven't really crossed over around the world in the same way. Sure, Canada has a country scene - and to some extent so does Australia, driven out of the rougher, wilder frontiers - but go to Europe? 

Well, country music does exist in pockets across the Atlantic, but remember what I said about how country music to this day has a terrible web presence problem? Unfortunately, this is still very true internationally as well, and thus without good grassroots promoting, it's hard to hear about acts coming up in the UK or the rest of Europe. And thus I'm pretty happy that my audience decided to recommend the debut album of Holly Macve. Born in Ireland and growing up in the UK, she came up in a musical family and seems to have gravitated towards the vintage-leaning, smoky flavors of country that's popular in the indie scene right now. Now I've covered a lot of variations of this style, from Angel Olsen to Lindi Ortega, from Cheryl Desere'e to Whitney Rose, and I was curious where Holly Macve's English influence would shift the music, perhaps inject a heavier folk touch or a slightly different instrumental palette. Either way, I was in uncharted territory when I picked up her debut album Golden Eagle - what did I find?

video review: 'HEAVY META' by ron gallo

This is an easy record to love. Smart, biting, ridiculously catchy... FUCK, had so much fun with it, really great album!

Anyway, next up... hmm, Holly Macve, this'll be interesting, to say the least. Stay tuned!

album review: 'HEAVY META' by ron gallo

I'm not sure where to start with this guy. Odds are unless you have dug very deep into Bandcamp you probably haven't heard of him - and yes, this is another act who wound up here thanks to Patreon. 

And yet I'm really happy I found Ron Gallo, because he represents a weird sort of intersection point in music that really is right up my alley. There's definitely an element of the 70s singer-songwriter style that I like, but thanks to recording his debut album RONNY in Nashville he also stepped towards country tones with pedal steel and more liquid guitar tones. And that's before you factor in Gallo as a singer: basically, imagine a cross between Josh Tillman and some of Ty Segall's more restrained cuts, with the same over-educated theatrical swagger balanced with an slightly offkilter air of sleazy weirdness that's almost more unspoken that it comes through the subtle but often really clever writing. And let's not mince words, RONNY is a great record in 2014, especially for a debut, and I see why the guy who recommended it also cited Kyle Craft... and while I can see the similarities, Craft was pulling from a much more ragged, outcast wheelhouse, whereas with the late 60s-early 70s country callbacks and obvious affection for Harry Nilsson, Gallo is balanced a little closer.

So yeah, I was excited to hear what his followup this year would lead to - he's a good songwriter, I like his voice, and his command of well-established melodic structures is solid, so how does HEAVY META turn out?

video review: 'eternity, in your arms' by creeper

So this was a fun review to put together. My voice is still a little fried from being sick, but overall, pretty pleased with how this turned out, great record.

Next up, another cut from deep within Bandcamp, so stay tuned!

album review: 'eternity, in your arms' by creeper

Before we begin, let's go back about a decade to the pop rock scene in 2006-07. These were the years of My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, and the peak of the mainstream emo boom that would turn about a third of teenagers scene that year. Now as I've said in the past, I wasn't really one of them - I was knee-deep in symphonic and power metal at the time, clearly I was embracing darker, heavier material - but that didn't mean I wasn't aware of or appreciate the music that was getting airplay. But it became a little hard that beyond the catchy, radio-friendly melodies, mainstream pop rock was embracing a certain image that was a little more baroque, for lack of better words, drawing on horror kitsch to craft a plainly theatrical image. 

And of course this was not new - the mainstream music scene has a habit of pulling on horror trends to construct weird or creepy instrumentals, often using the theatricality to blunt things from getting too weird - with the exception of the 90s alternative scene, of course, which frankly got away with a bewildering amount. But it tends to come in waves of popularity, often crashing hard at the point of overexposure, which last time in mainstream emo and pop rock around 2009. 

Fast-forward to now and the debut of an English horror punk band called Creeper, who had been building some buzz in their native country with a few EPs since their formation in 2014. Now I had heard good things going in - not just inspired by My Chemical Romance, but also calling back to glam rock, the Misfits and even Meat Loaf in their embrace of theatrical bombast. Now the last time I had heard someone adjacent to this vein cite some similar inspirations was Kyle Craft, and his debut album last year Dolls of Highland was a criminally underappreciated masterpiece, and thus I had a lot of curiosity going into this, especially as it's been getting frankly astounding amounts of critical acclaim. So with Eternity, In Your Arms, are we on the cusp of something big here?