billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 23, 2018

So I'll be honest: if there's a week that feels like a bit of a breather for me, it's this one. Yes, we got an album bomb from Kanye and Kid Cudi, but thanks to it actually being pretty good and not having an avalanche of other new arrivals, this week actually feels a little more restrained for once, and before Scorpion crashes in a few weeks, I'll take what I can get.

video review: 'oil of every pearl's un-insides' by SOPHIE

Yeah, I kind of expected the backlash here... eh, it happens.

Next up, Billboard BREAKDOWN and then 5 Seconds Of Summer, so stay tuned!

album review: 'oil of every pearl's un-insides' by SOPHIE

So I tend to find it interesting what people's threshold for 'weird' is in electronica, mostly because I'm fairly certain mine is pretty skewed. Most of this I can attribute to when I started getting into electronic music in the first place a couple of years back, which found me delving into the critically acclaimed experimental electronic music that seriously challenged the art form rather than the foundational artists in house, techno, and other associated subgenres, most of which I found later. But what this means is that it set a strange baseline for what I would consider 'challenging' electronica, one that's probably not common with anybody else.

So for an easy example, let's talk about SOPHIE - known to work with Charli XCX and the PC Music group with chipper, burbling synths, lumpy, overblown and distorted progressions, and a sensibility somewhere between late 90s bubblegum pop and k-pop for synthesizing maddeningly catchy music, I had been aware of SOPHIE going back at least as far as her 2015 project Product, but I hadn't been thrown off-guard as so many were. Yeah, the mixes could feel slapdash and unbalanced, and the frequented pitched-up vocals could grate on my nerves, but beyond that... well, she at least had a pop sensibility in comparison to a producer like Arca, but that gave me the impression that this was considered so mindblowing and genre-pushing only with respect to modern electro-pop. And yeah, while it felt undercooked lyrically and I wasn't remotely convinced this was that experimental, I enjoyed it for what it was, and as such I wasn't nearly as surprised when she notched credits on Vince Staples' newest project, or that she'd have a larger release following up on the compilation Product waiting in the wings that's getting the bandwagon critical acclaim. So did SOPHIE manage to live up to all of those expectations with Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides?

video review: 'the mountain' by dierks bentley

Yes, I know this is late. Yes, I know I'm behind schedule again. I'm working through it, folks, just stay tuned!

album review: 'the mountain' by dierks bentley

So I'll admit it wasn't really my plan to review this. 

Well okay, that's not quite true, I was planning on adding this to my schedule naturally, but then nobody added the Kanye and Kid Cudi collaboration and given how quickly it attracted attention, I really had to stop everything and ensure it got attention. But even then, I still had other albums that would have come ahead of this... and yet the more listens I gave them, the less I had to say, with this becoming especially true for Lily Allen - where decent writing was squandered on utterly forgettable production - and Sugarland, which might have landed a few good hooks but was crippled by slapdash production, underweight writing, and the awful decision that they should try to rap.

And honestly, if I hadn't been aware that Dierks Bentley had intended The Mountain as a course correction, I would have been concerned similar tendencies could creep onto his work - it wasn't like he wasn't heading in that direction. He's always stayed a little adjacent to popular trends in the mainstream - which is one reason why he took off to make the bluegrass album Up The Ridge in 2010 - but several cuts on 2014's Riser took him perilously close to bro-country and Black was damn near a desaturated pop record, only saved by Bentley having better taste than many of his peers and deep cuts that tended to be of high quality - keep in mind that his song 'Here On Earth' made my top ten favourite songs of 2014 across all genres, he can be that good when he wants to be.

So yeah, I had high hopes with The Mountain - buzz was suggesting he was making a hard pivot towards heartland rock-tinged country and he was recruiting Brothers Osborne and Brandi Carlile to do so, and if there's a sound that could flatter Bentley's voice, it's that. I had every reason to believe this would be pretty damn solid at the very least - did he get there?

video review: 'so sad so sexy' by lykke li

Man alive, I wasn't planning on making this review... but overall, I wish this had been a lot better. 

Next up, Dierks Bentley (finally) - stay tuned!

album review: 'so sad so sexy' by lykke li

So a few weeks back when I reviewed the newest record from CHVRCHES I called out how the majority of the production issues of that project were endemic to producer Greg Kurstin, a talented producer that has an unfortunate habit of swallowing his mixes in reverb and emphasizing percussion over melodies. But I would be remiss to not call out the moments when his approach actually works, and there's one example I always return to: 2014's I Never Learn by Lykke Li, a bleakly emotive breakup album that somehow sustained real melodic hooks amidst the hollow darkness that may not have been the follow-up guaranteed to snag mainstream attention after 'I Follow Rivers' snagged attention in 2011, but that wasn't necessary. To this day I still consider I Never Learn as Lykke Li's most potent, cohesive, and emotionally gripping project to date, one record where Greg Kurstin's production seemed to really fit...

And thus I can't help but see a certain irony that four years later, just like Lily Allen did for her new album No Shame - a project destined for the Trailing Edge, stay tuned for it there - Lykke Li ditched Kurstin for her new album so sad so sexy for a much bigger team. And I'll admit I was a little concerned about this one: seemingly like the mainstream-adjacent follow-up seven years later incorporating elements of R&B and trap with rap guest features, this was about the furthest thing I was expecting from Lykke Li... but I won't deny I wasn't curious. So alright, what did we get with so sad so sexy?

video review: 'kids see ghosts' by kids see ghosts (kid cudi & kanye west)

Well, here we go. Enjoy the shitstorm, folks!

Next up... honestly, not sure yet, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 16, 2018 (VIDEO)

Okay, album bomb, but a solid week regardless...

Next up, more Kanye, but with bonus Kid Cudi...

album review: 'kids see ghosts' by kids see ghosts (kid cudi & kanye west)

I was going to skip this album altogether.

Seriously, I was - and I'm not saying that to shock you or be provocative, there's no shortage of records that I'm a lot more interested in covering than Kanye's tangled mess of underwhelming contradictions that'll be excused by diehard fans no matter what is said or done. And when you factor in Kid Cudi... well, I haven't actually ever reviewed a Kid Cudi record in full, but I have heard a fair chunk of his discography and my general impression is a wealth of genre-blending musical ideas and interesting language, but often falling way short in terms of execution, leading to records that can be really intriguing but also extremely frustrating. Ambitious for sure, but the gulf between his best work and his worst is vast, and while his well-publicized mental state might make said projects explainable, it doesn't really make them all that listenable.

That said, Kid Cudi and Kanye have managed to find wavelengths where their material has worked before, going back as far as 808s & Heartbreak, and the positive but varied critical reception to this project was intriguing, especially as critics have not held back when it has come to Kid Cudi in the past. And when you pair all of that with a certain overwhelmingly positive review that I don't think anyone saw coming... look, basically for the health of my general operation I had to cover this and put it on my schedule myself, so how is Kids See Ghosts?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 16, 2018

Kanye album bomb. Yeah, I know there are other things going on right now - a new #1, a sizable amount of activity further down the chart, but the big story is all of Kanye West's 'ye' crashing into the top 40, triggering a shockwave down the Hot 100 that'll likely be a mess to clean up next week... presuming of course Kids See Ghosts doesn't create its own impact!

video review: 'stranger fruit' by zeal & ardor

You know, I have absolutely no idea how controversial this review will wind up being... but if anything, I'm more disappointed that I didn't like it more.

Next up, Billboard BREAKDOWN, and then whatever my Patrons vote for - enjoy?

album review: 'stranger fruit' by zeal & ardor

So the honest truth about much of the criticism I create is that it's pretty agnostic when it comes to the intent of the authors... or at least I try to be. As much as I might take issues with the ideology at the core of some work, I try to give everything its fair shake in execution. And sure, while there is something to be said for liking art that affirms your worldview and disliking art that rejects it, that's more amplification rather than a deciding factor - after all, I've heard enough anarcho-punk that while I might like or admire the politics, presentation ultimately pushes me away. 

But all of this comes from the fundamental assumption that the intentions of the artist are sincere, and while you do get your fair share of satires and genre deconstructions, artists that are openly disingenuous in their artistic pursuits and don't really give a shit about the aesthetic or ideas they're promoting can exist as well in a weird space. Now there are not that many acts in this lane - authenticity is a prized commodity from country to metal to punk to hip-hop, and flaunting your disdain for that tends to get you shoved out of a lot of spaces - but when there's a lot of money to be found they tend to pop up. You could make the argument that Limp Bizkit or the very least Fred Durst fell in this space for a time in the late 90s, using nu-metal and rap rock as a openly nihilistic cash grab artistry be damned, but I put that more along the lines of studio creations and reality show artists, where the money is the primary motivation but art can happen along the way. Then you get acts like Lil Dicky, who entered hip-hop to get famous to go on and do other things and to make a point that he could, which is one reason why so much of his music is one-note, nakedly contemptuous of good taste and tends to suck.

And then there's Zeal & Ardor, an act that when I first heard about it I was genuinely excited - following the wake of Algiers to fuse traditionally black spirituals, soul, and blues with black metal, that sounded awesome and indeed my first few listens really sucked me in... until I started seeing interviews where the band's frontman Manuel Gagneux said the band primarily started as a joke and dare on 4chan. And that would be fine - execution can overrule original intent, and I've seen art made for worse reasons - but both black metal and spirituals are two genres and styles that prize authenticity, and co-opting the latter for a cheap Satanic inversion felt in poor taste, especially given the current state of affairs in the world. But then something strange happened: the first Zeal & Ardor record actually got critical traction, and suddenly Gagneux had to expand a concept that he had approached somewhat haphazardly on the debut for something with a little more meat, and I was curious how on earth he could follow it up, especially considering he named the record in a clear reference to the Billie Holiday song. Maybe he'd take on these topics with more gravity, so okay... what did we find on Stranger Fruit?

video review: 'hell-on' by neko case

Well, this took WAY too damn long to finish... but again, when you have a record with this much going on, you kind of have to dig in deep.

Next up, we're going really underground, so stay tuned!

album review: 'hell-on' by neko case

I'm a little surprised in spite of myself that this is the first time I'm talking about a Neko Case solo record - I've talked about her with The New Pornographers and with case/lang/veirs, but Neko Case has had a distinctive and critically acclaimed presence outside of her other groups and side projects, and considering my fondness for sharp-as-hell songwriting married to vocals overflowing with charisma and production...

Well okay, this is where things get tricky, because when I took the time to revisit Neko Case's entire discography, I found myself naturally being drawn to the alternative country murder ballads that characterized her very early work like Blacklisted and Fox Confessor Brings The Flood - the jagged guitars working through interesting melodies with more ragged production, it just proved more distinctive and potent in comparison with her more refined and experimental but more mild work like her albums in 2009 and 2013. I'm not saying either record is bad - hell, you could make the argument that the writing and hooks were sharper than ever - but it couldn't help but feel like some of the greater edge had been tempered. What I was looking to hear was the return of some anger and firepower, or at the very least the production picking up some righteous fervor... and considering what I had heard surrounding Hell-On, we could be getting the best of both worlds, especially as she corralled a pretty impressive list of collaborators - spanning from perennial frustration of mine Mark Lanegan to her bandmates k.d. Lang and Laura Veirs, the latter who I covered on the Trailing Edge earlier this year. So hell yeah, I was looking forward to this kicking ass, especially with all the critical acclaim it's received, so how is Hell-On?

video review: 'butter' by karen jonas

Okay, this is pretty great - not quite as strong as her last two, but still really enjoyable, definitely take the time to check this out!

Next up... man, I could do with some Neko Case right about now, so enjoy!

album review: 'butter' by karen jonas

I'll freely admit I'm not surprised by Karen Jonas' artistic direction in indie country. That's not to disparage said direction - beginning in the hardbitten, world-weary acoustic grit of indie country to a more relaxed and lush Bakersfield sound, all coaxed through writing that's subtle enough to emphasize the details but conveyed with the intimacy and charisma to really suck the audience in, it's a natural progression as Jonas has built up steam among critics and fans alike. And it feels comfortable - I may have been won over initially by the edge, but Jonas has avoided histrionics and it makes her brand of burnished country feel impressively sensual and mature, she's got that pure magnetism.

And thus I wasn't really surprised she was picking up elements of jazz, blues, ragtime, and barroom soul for her newest project Butter, which she herself has described as her most broad to date... but I was a bit worried. Part of this is the fact that this cross-section of sounds in indie country has been pretty saturated in the 2010s, but also because Jonas is the sort of singer-songwriter who has been at her best leveraging subtlety, so I wasn't sure if going bigger and broader would pay off - and again, I'd have a wealth of comparison points in this style for when it's done right. But hey, what did we get from Butter?

video review: 'ye' by kanye west

Well, this is already contentious... seriously, some of you really need to get off of Kanye's dick, it's kind of embarrassing...

Anyway, probably Karen Jonas next... although that NateWantsToBattle record is tempting, so we'll see. Stay tuned!

album review: 'ye' by kanye west

I remember when it felt like a new Kanye West album was an event. I mean, hate him or love him and there's ample room for both sides of that conversation, he was a good enough producer at least to monopolize the conversation, and he took enough chances to at least generate some interesting music that felt fiercely relevant to the cultural conversation.

It doesn't feel like that with ye - and Kanye tried to make it feel like that, with the overloaded spectacle of piling up album releases one after the other with deadlines that seem impossible and production that can't help but feel incredibly rushed. And as much as I dig DAYTONA by Pusha-T, I knew that was a fluke, because Pusha-T is a great rapper who only really needed the fat trimmed away. With Kanye putting out a seven song record, the list of things that could go wrong seems to stretch on for miles - badly chosen features, incompetent rapping, sloppy vocal arrangements, inconsistent production, and that's before we get into some of the provocative commentary that have revealed a talented artist holds some painfully undercooked, ill-informed, or just flat out stupid opinions that too many people have validated for too long. It led to many people saying Kanye was cancelled, but I knew that was never going to last, so I just refused on principle to give his material more attention when I had more interesting projects up first on the docket. But this is what the people wanted, so what did we get out of ye?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 9, 2018 (VIDEO)

And now we have a busy but overall pretty damn good week, I'm generally pleased with this.

Next up... okay, fine, we'll deal with the elephant in the room, and I won't have a lot of mercy - stay tuned!