Weekly 3x3: 07-Jul-2013

I know, I know, I'm the worst at this. A day late again. Whatever.

Black Flag - Jealous Again EP: I'm only getting into Black Flag now (a sin, I know), and I'm digging everything from Nervous Breakdown to Damaged, but my favorite release so far has got to be Jealous Again. It's a solid mix of the punk aggression and not-Henry Rollins' voice that gets me riled up every time.

Rush - Clockwork Angels: I was jamming Rush's newest album in anticipation of seeing them this past Saturday. And while I loved this album, it was brought to even higher levels of awesome played live with a string sextet.

El-P & Killer Mike - Run the Jewels: This album is like the grindcore of hip-hop. Aggressive, loud, heavy, and before you know it, over. It only clocks in at half an hour, but both El and Mike rip out some freaking awesome lyrics over top of El's futuristic beats.

Magrudergrind - Magrudergrind: This album is what introduced me to this amazing grind/ powerviolence band. I don't jam it as often as I used to, but whenever I want to throw the fuck down, this is the first thing I go to.

Foals - Antidotes: This one is a surprise, even for me. I totally forget how it got onto my iPod, but I jammed it in the car one day, and shit, is it ever good. It's kind of a proggy, indie alt-rock sound, which I understand sounds pretentious as fuck, but I swear, it's actually pretty solid.

Big Chocolate - HiLion: Summer driving music. Especially the title track, my favorite Choco Grande song.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist: More summer driving music. Word.

Weekend Nachos - Worthless: What's a man without a circle pit every once in a while?

The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer: Mandatory (potential) AOTY jams.


That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Gupta's Top 10 Albums of 2013 (So Far)

Well, it's that time of year again. Well, not that time of year, but, y'know... that time of year. Not like that time of year, but like that...

It's halfway through the year, is what I'm saying. Christ, do I have to spoon-feed you everything?

#10: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

The french duo dropped an album this year that serves as both a doozy and a complete curveball to their listeners. Random Access Memories is less of a bumpin' and bangin' house record, and more of a 70s funk rock  danceapollooza. It's got booty-shaking grooves, arm swaying synth, and tons of hooks that just seep into your brain and don't leave until your body is involuntarily shutting down from dancing so much.

#9: Hatebreed - The Divinity of Purpose

Gang vocals. Caveman riffs. Jamey Jasta yelling so hard about believing in yourself that you can feel his wiggerish arm movements guiding your bench presses, curls, and power squats through your earbuds at the gym. In short, it's a Hatebreed record, and I love it.

#8: Yattai - Fast Music Means Love

This is the band that kicked off my connections in the French grind and hardcore scene. These dudes have hooked me up with tons of sick bands and some great opportunities for the blog. But this isn't LinkedIn. This is a music blog. Yattai grind hard, and grind fast. Hard as nails riffs, gut churning vocals, and blistering drums make these 16 tracks hit you like a fully loaded semi. A must listen for grindheads.

#7: Clutch - Earth Rocker

Y'all know how much I love Clutch. This band can make anyone shake their booty with their huge grooves and pounding rhythms. Earth Rocker continues Clutch's straightforward American blues rock approach, and is definitely one of the most energetic and fastest paced albums they've put out. It'll have you boogying and singing into the night.

#6: Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge - 12 Reasons to Die

Awwww, yisss. Ghostface is back. Pairing up with multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge, 12 Reasons to Die showcases an awesome supernatural mobster/ revenge story over top of some simplistic but effective production. Blending together some new and old styles of hip-hop make this album fresh to listen to over and over again.

#5: Rotten Sound - Species at War EP

Yeah, I know. It ain't a full length album. Whatever, call the police, I don't give a fuck. Species at War is the next logical step for Rotten Sound take after 2011's Cursed. What I mean by that is, they just re-released a shorted version of Cursed.

Oh, yeah. Also, it's about 10 times heavier. Aural decimation at it's finest.

#4: Nails - Abandon All Life

Nails' debut album, Unsilent Death. It was a quick, devastating blow to your ears of top-notch grind/ powerviolence/ hardcore. Abandon All Life shows Nails expanding on that sound with some longer, bonecrushing tracks alongside the usual blisteringly fast songs. Nails coupled up with Converge's Kurt Ballou, and holy shit, has Kurt turned this album into a fucking beast. Definitely one of the heaviest things I've heard in a long time.
I freakin' loved

#3: El-P & Killer Mike - Run the Jewels

Dang. Last year, both El-P and Killer Mike dropped freaking sweet albums, and while they've been working together for a while (El produced Mike's R.A.P. Music), it's been a while since they released an album together properly. Jewels showcases El's subwoofer-bumping beats and both dudes' impeccable flow and unfuckwithable lyricism, all wrapped up into one quick banger of an album.

#2: Corsair - Corsair

When I reviewed this album, I gave it a score of 5 out of 5. I said it was going to be album of the year. I was almost right. While Corsair is a freaking amazing slab of 70s-prog-meets-80s-NWoBHM, it did get out-shadowed. I'll talk about that in a second, though. To really understand how much I loved this album, I think you should just read my review. There isn't anything more to say than that, really.

#1: The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer

If this isn't your #1 album of 2013, I'm not sure if we can be friends anymore. One of Us is the Killer proves that Dillinger cannot make bad music. It's just not possible. Ben Weinman could have just whipped his dick out and slapped it against his guitar for 45 minutes while Greg Puciato rolled around on top of a bed of microphones, but it would still come out as some of the best music around. This album is completely mindblowing, and while the music and production are stellar as always, the thing I like more on Killer than any other Dillinger album is, is the pacing. Soft songs and melodic sections fly by and interrupt the usual cacophonous and face melting  Dillinger sound, making for a album that I could listen to front to back nonstop for days.

Looks like 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty awesome year! What are your favorite albums of the year so far? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook!

That's all for now, folks! Only 34 more days until I get to see Dillinger wreck shit live. Hnnnnnggggggghhh.

-DG

Album Review: Killer Mike - "R.A.P. Music"

If there are two types of rap I like, they’re:

1.  Funky, family friendly  80s style
2.  Hard-as nails South-Western style

Guess which category a man as subtly named as Killer Mike falls under.

Killer Mike is an Atlanta based rapper who has been releasing full length albums for almost 10 years, and has been featured in a gazillion songs from the likes of Immortal Technique, Sly & the Family Stone, and Lil’ Jon (really not as impressive as the other two). Killer Mike has worked also with El-P on numerous occasions, so it isn’t too surprising to hear that El-P produced R.A.P. Music.

This album has two main highlights for me and they’re the tone of Mike’s voice and the beats/ instrumentation.Killer Mike has this really commanding voice. I wouldn’t say it’s anything too special, but I think it’s pretty powerful. I always like the type of rappers who put enough force behind what they say that they slowly start sounding out of breath or strained. Weird? Maybe. Whatever. The production and instrumentation done by El-P is fan-fucking-tastic too. All the beats hit harder than adamantine boot heel, which is A-okay in my books.

Even though Killer Mike and El-P forge this seemingly gargantuan persona for R.A.P. Music, they can keep the songs varied enough that the album doesn’t seem to be a testosterone-fest. “Don’t Die” makes Mike sound almost scared and paranoid, while “Willie Burke Sherwood” still feels strong, but just listening/ reading the lyrics shows Mike’s more melancholic side. Lyrical content on this album varies from boasts, to conspiracy theories, to personal and family issues, to the power of music. All this variation keeps the album fresh and interesting, without ever fully diluting Killer Mike’s tough-as-fuck image.

Bomb-Ass Tracks:

Big Beast (ft. T.I., Trouble & Bun B): The intro track doesn’t waste time telling you not to mess with Killer Mike and co. Probably my favorite song on the album to blast while in the car with the windows down.

Don’t Die: While “Big Beast” might be my favorite to blast in the car, “Don’t Die” has to be my favorite on the album, period. The song goes from eerie and off kilter all the way until the fantastic audio sample in the middle of the song, then Mike seems to take control of the chaos and push out a powerful ending.

Willie Burke Sherwood: Just a great song to close your eyes and lose yourself to. Look up the lyrics. Just fantastic.

On a Playlist With: El-P, Childish Gambino, Ludacris

Overall Score

3.0

Killer Mike and El-P make a great rap album that pulls you in for the whole ride. Blast this when you want to pump yourself up, or just erase whatever’s on your mind. I’d recommend this even to people who aren’t huge fans of rap or hip-hop.