Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound - When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009)

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound
When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009)
Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound exude a certain air in their music that I can only describe, perhaps badly, as a "California cool". Fitting, I suppose, being they're from San Francisco and all, but still not descriptive enough to properly get across their hazy, lethargic space rock sound. I suppose I mean that their sound brings to mind vivid images of sunsets, beaches, relaxation, and maybe even recreational drug use. They're good at creating ambiance, as if their music opens a door to a room and welcomes you into it's warmth. Some would say Assemble Head are a poor man's Comets On Fire. More accurately, I'd argue that they're like Comets On Fire's shy little brother: not as in your face, comfortable living in the shadow, and all the while displaying plenty of their own unique qualities if you actually take the time to get to know them.

Ekranoplan, their 2007 sophomore effort, was the kind of album you didn't realize was awesome until you found yourself wanting to listen to it again. With When Sweet Sleep Returned, they go for the same effect, but with a few immediately noticeable changes. The addition of two new members (Anderson Lanbridge on synth and theramin; multi-instrumentalist Camilla Saufley) helps expand their sound a bit. The use of violin, for instance, adds a nice compliment to songs like "By the Rippling Green". They've even developed somewhat of an alt-country twang to their sound, as is the case with "Two Birds". "Drunken Leaves", with it's distorted guitars and surf rock-style rhythm, is the sole hard-rock track in the same vein as Ekranoplan. The rest is just as laid-back as they've ever been.

While When Sweet Sleep Returned is in many ways similar to Ekranoplan, it's not quite as good. Assemble Head have not gotten worse, nor do they display any particular growing pains. In fact, they incorporate the new elements to their sound fairly well. But at the end of the day, the songs aren't quite as inspired and memorable. Still an overall solid listen, but more than anything it makes me want to dust off Ekranoplan again for a few spins. I think I'll do that, actually.


Score: 7/10


"Drunken Leaves"


"By The Rippling Green"

1-On-1's & Heartbreaks

Breakdancing has been a long time pipe dream of mine. It's such a creative and expressive art form, born from children living in poverty in New York just playing around in their free time, and eventually evolving into this worldwide phenomenon that has withstood the test of time (even surviving a fad period in the 1980's). It's amazing when you really think about it. Anyone who has known me in the past five or so years has probably been subjected to my b-boy fantasies at least to some extent. I'd always had plans to actually pursue it, and I still do, even though at 25-years old, my window of opportunity is dwindling. Until then, however, I'll continue living vicariously through the skilled b-boys and b-girls out there in the Phoenix area.

A number of them put those skills on display this weekend at a local event in downtown Phoenix called 1-on-1's and Heartbreaks, where 19 competitors from around the American Southwest (and Tokyo!) battled in a tournament-style dance off for a top prize of $100. Chump change, really, but the event wasn't all that huge and seemed to be more of a warm-up to most of the participants, who are no doubt getting in shape for big money events in Las Vegas and other cities. Still, excellent dancing all-around. A few young kids even competed for the first time and did really well. Damn whippersnappers; barely one-third my age and they can still teach me a thing or two in the cipher. Here are some pictures:

(Can't be good for the kid's skull development)

I used the event as an opportunity use my wife and I's brand new Canon Vixia HV30 video camera, which shoots really nice looking stuff. I've always had this idea in mind to put a video project together with breakdancing footage and compositing a bunch of 3D effects and graphics on top of it that moves with the motions of the dancers, so this gave me the opportunity to finally build some stock footage. It'll be my first motion graphics project in ages, but I plan to document my progress here on this blog. I'll also post non-effects laden footage of the dance-off. Stay tuned for that in the near.

Doom - Born Like This (2009)

Doom
Born Like This (2009)
I was pretty sure Born Like This was going to be the next Chinese Democracy; the Hip-Hop Chinese Democracy, I should say. After so many unfounded release dates went by and MF Doom's impostor antics sullied his legacy a little, I was skeptical that the promised March 24th 2009 release date was actually real. But then three things happened: 1) Chinese Democracy was actually released, 2) official artwork and an official track list for Born Like This surfaced, and 3) I remembered that Dr. Dre's Detox already holds the title of Hip-Hop's Chinese Democracy, making Born Like This more like hip hop's...I dunno, new Jeff Mangum album or something.

So a fortunate day, March 24th turned out to be for me. Along with Mastodon's Crack the Skye, two of my favorite artists in their respective genre's would release new albums that day. It wasn't as fortunate a day for Born Like This. After leaving the record store with both albums in hand, Mastodon won a coin toss I used to determine which one I'd listen to first, and I never really looked back. Born Like This got a few spins here and there, but with nothing immediately striking about the album, I didn't feel the need to stick with it for extended periods. Frankly, the initial letdown proved the album to be the disappointment that I thought it would be but hoped it wouldn't be.

While I can't say that time was great to Born Like This, it did start to catch on a little after a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if I would call it a good album, but it is not as bad an album as I originally felt. Even after a several year hiatus, Doom's flow is still intact for the most part. While there's a noticeable lack of mind-blowing couplets that he'd previously been able to deliver habitually, he's still one of the most skilled rappers out there. He only falters noticeably on "Batty Boyz", if only because the homophobic undertone of the song is highly disappointing to me personally. If he wants to call other rappers' sexuality into question, that's nothing new, but he already did that on Mm..Food's "Beef Rap" ("Yuck, is they rhymers or strippin' males/Out of work jerks since they shut down Chippendales"), and he did it better, with more class, and in less words.

Even with that aside, Doom is missing something here, and it's not just the MF. There have been many a word written about the origin of the tracks on Born Like This and how some were cobbled together from previously released unofficial mixtapes or something of the sort or...I don't know. I can't say I've payed a lot of attention to any of that, but there is a bit of a disjointed feel to the album. The songs really do seem to have been collected from different recording sessions; there's even a couple of tracks that sound almost completely unmastered. Apparently there is a theme connecting the songs, but I've yet to place it. If there is one, I can't say I'm eager to figure it out. Mm..Food had an obvious theme, but it also had a number of good songs that made the listener care about the theme. Born Like This? Not so much. Unfortunately, the good here is outweighed by the average, which is ultimately what the album is.


Score: 5/10


"Absolutely"


"That's That"

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Rappers would make great small business owners, and perhaps even great corporate CEO's. Most people listen to a rap album and hear boasting and braggadocio; I hear branding. Take Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for instance. They use E. 1999 Eternal to continually state what they're about and establish their brand. If they came up with a mission statement, I imagine it would read something like the following:

With Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, we promise to celebrate marijuana culture and to pursue financial security through the distribution of cocaine and other related drugs and paraphernalia. We are intensely focused on increasing our revenue, and with a comically large arsenal of illegal weaponry, we will continually strive to provide more murder than any of our competitors.

The major themes and statements on this album are driven home with just enough repetition to commit to memory but without ever annoying the listener. After only one listen, you will have intimate knowledge of the band's smoking habits as well as be fully aware of their killer instinct. You will know exactly where the group is from; SCT will be a familiar acronym. Terms that may have been unfamiliar to you before, like "llello" (yay-oh) and "pap", will be made apart of your everyday lexicon. When your skeptical friends question whether "shots to the double glock" actually makes sense as a statement, you'll be able to argue against their suspicions in detail. Any company on earth would die for that kind of brand recognition and loyalty. Had Easy-E been alive when the group recorded the remix of "Crossroad" (which would've then nullified its re-recording altogether, but lets not start analyzing my rant too much), he probably would've scolded them in a morning meeting for failing to adhere to the groups' core principles regarding drug use and violent retaliation, and kept them after work until they could recite the mission statement verbatim. Tell me that's not the attitude of a successful businessman.

I used to listen to E. 1999 all of the time as a kid. You know how sometimes people will excitedly reminisce over their favorite childhood cartoons and Disney movies when they're around a group of peers; bringing back all of these fond memories and having them state regrettably how kids today are getting ripped off in comparison? That's how I am about this album. My wife raised an eyebrow at this. It's now probably on the list of things I've told her about my past that makes her marvel at the fact that I turned out to be such a normal and level-headed adult. I may be all about responsibility and budgeting these days, but in the summer of '95, at the tender age of eleven, I was all about "keepin' em on da run wid a me shotgun".

Blame my older siblings: they both bought the album the day it came out, assuring that I was never to be very far from it. You have to try and understand their excitement, though. After the Creepin' On Ah Come Up EP and the success of the single,"Thuggish Ruggish Bone", the anticipation for Bone's full-length was huge in Ohio. HUGE. Bone were the only worthwhile rap artists representing our home state in a time where the genre was dominated by the east and west coast, skipping the Midwest entirely. Yet here Bone were: the talk of the entire rap world, and certainly the talk of the entire region and state. I didn't grow up in Cleveland, but I imagine they were bursting with so much pride that mine was just a mild seeping of pride in comparison.

Listening to E. 1999 Eternal today, I'm delighted as to how well it has held up over the years. You know, despite all the talk of murder and whatnot, Bone have always seemed like a pretty likable group of guys. There's nary a discriminatory remark about women to be found on the whole album, which is notable for almost any era of rap music. Their rapid-fire rhymes mixed in with occasional harmonizing (they aren't called Thugs-N-Harmony for nothing) provide a style that totally sets them apart, and the verses are delivered with such sincerity that when Krayzie talks of a murder he's recently committed ("I didn't want to take his life, but the nigga tried to run and get away with me llello"), you believe him and sympathize with his difficult decision. I mean, the guy tried to take his drugs for Christs sake, he had no choice.

My only complaint with this album, besides some filler tracks here and there, is that the version I bought doesn't contain the original version of "Crossroad". True, the "Crossroad" remix was much better (Grammy nominated, even), but they didn't have to take the original off entirely; they could've made it a hidden bonus track at the end or something. I miss the original mainly because it was one of two tracks on the album to borrow a sample from the Sega Genesis fighting game, Eternal Champions ("Eternal", naturally, being the other). See, that's another reason why Bone seem like likable guys. Despite their tough exterior personality and rampant drug use, they were really just geeks who liked nothing more than to chill out and play video games, which made me feel a lot better about myself growing up.



"Eternal"

Live: Mastodon in Tempe, AZ - 4/16/2009

I'd heard rumors that Mastodon were going to play their latest album, Crack The Skye, in it's entirety during their current tour. Once the band took stage, the opening riff to "Oblivion" confirmed those suspicions. With a large screen sitting behind the elevated drum set of Brann Dailor, Mastodon dove head first into their soon-to-be classic new album. Of all the concerts I've ever attended, this is the first I've been to where a band has played through an entire album non-stop. What it lacked in surprise it made up for in atmosphere. Seeing that album played live is an even more intense experience than hearing a studio recording. Clearly, my Ford Escort factory speakers have been at a disadvantage here.


I had arrived at the venue about a half-hour before Mastodon's set. In my younger days, this would've been unacceptable: intentionally missing the opening bands and giving up precious time that I could've spent stubbornly staking out a spot at the rail directly in front of the stage, personal space and prevalent body odor be damned. But I'm older now, and my ears can no longer stand being parked in front of an amp for three hours, which is why I was delighted to walk into the venue, earplugs in place, to the final ten seconds of Kylesa's set. I couldn't have timed it much better.

Metal concerts have always been my favorites because the crowds there are decidedly nicer and more welcoming than other crowds at other concerts I've been to. This seems to surprise people sometimes, but it's a fact that I've been accustomed to for a long time. While I haven't necessarily made lifetime friends at metal concerts, I have encountered several people and been involved in many enthralling conversations about music with random strangers whose names I'd been destined to forget before the night was over, but that I'd greet with enthusiasm at the next show at which we'd run into each other ("Heeyyyyyy.........maaaaann").

Unfortunately, there wasn't any of that this time around. My late arrival time had a lot to do with that, but it might not have made much of a difference anyway since it was kind of a different crowd than usual. Of course you had your typical legion of black t-shirt wearing teens and early twenty-somethings, as well as a smattering of graying old-school metal fans (and everyone in-between), but they seemed to be more standoffish, not nearly as welcoming. Maybe they were thrown off by the embarrassing ratio of White Dudes With Dreadlocks there (WDWD's, or WD²), which was at least 1-in-10, but likely higher. I guess I don't blame them. It was kind of like the WD²'s were leftovers from a Matisyahu show who decided to stick around for a while before visiting the smoke shop down the road. I certainly noticed but I didn't mind. I've long stopped being surprised at the diversity of the crowd that Mastodon attracts.


The conclusion of "The Last Baron" and the bands' subsequent exit to backstage brought rousing applause from the crowd, and even those who were sure that Mastodon wouldn't end a concert after a mere 50-minute performance enthusiastically greeted the band when they came back out for an encore. I was among those expecting the band to return for more, but even I was surprised that they gave us 40-minutes more, with selected hits from their previous three albums. This is why Mastodon are my favorite band to see live: they're always energetic, obviously appreciative of their fanbase, and always start their shows on time, being respectful of the fact that many of their fans have work in the morning and would rather not stay out too late.

And before you ask: yes, l was in bed 30-minutes after the concert, resting up for the next work day.



Here's the setlist, as accurately as I remember it:

entire Crack the Skye album
("Oblivion", "Divinations", "Quintessence", "The Czar",
"Ghost of Karelia", "Crack the Skye", and "The Last Baron")
"Sleeping Giant"
"The Wolf Is Loose"
"Crystal Skull"
"Capillarian Crest"
"Megalodon"
"Iron Tusk"
"Seabeast"
"I Am Ahab"
"March of the Fire Ants"
"Hearts Alive"

Headphones and Asses

Feelin' a little lazy about writing a review today. My mind is sort of on a lot of things that I'll get to elaborating on at some point, but basically I'm preparing for a big move and it's requiring a lot of my time and energy. I'm still finding time to listen to music and I have plenty of albums to review, but my schedule has been making it difficult to find the motivation to put my feelings on those records in words. I've recently received some compliments on a couple of my reviews, though, which was really appreciated because I didn't feel like I was making progress as fast as I wanted, and it was nice to see that something I wrote had an somewhat of an impact on someone. So maybe that'll motivate me (or intimidate me, we'll see).

I also just picked up some new headphones, which was much needed. A lot of times I end up listening to music on my iPod at work, and have begrudgingly settled on using the standard earbuds because it's portable and easier to move around in, even though I hate them sound-wise. I'm not much of an audio snob, but I can spot a shitty pair of headphones/earbuds pretty easily; it just comes down to whether I care or not. But I figured if I'm going to be writing reviews on music, I owe it to myself to get the best experience possible. So I picked up the Panasonic RP-HTX7's because I've heard a lot of good things about them, especially considering what quality you get for the price. I'm sure true audio snobs will scoff at those as well, but for me, it's probably the best pair of headphones I've ever owned. I'm anxious to see what minor details I've been missing in the music I've been listening to lately.

Perhaps you've noticed the bombardment of Mastodon-related posts recently. Well, prepare for more. I went to a Mastodon concert last night and I'll have pics from them up on Monday [note: I'm writing this before the fact, so let's hope I'll actually have pictures]. I'm not trying to be redundant, but things have just happened to work out in a way that makes those posts relevant. Plus, the new album is fucking amazing. I can't remember the last time an album has warranted so many repeated listens from me, and I have a hard time not giving it a spin at least every few days or so. I spend a lot of time listening to music with the purpose of reviewing it -- thinking of how I'm going to put certain thoughts in words -- so I forgot how nice it was to just listen to the music I want to listen to without having a goal in mind; letting myself be absorbed in an album until it wears itself out. It's nice. Not that I don't enjoy writing or keeping this blog, but you know, it's good to have breaks here and there.

Speaking of listening to music for the purpose of reviewing, I humored myself by picking up Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III from the library a few weeks ago. I always figured I'd hate it, but when I saw it, I couldn't resist the temptation. Here it was: the best selling album of 2008. Winner of numerous awards and honored in countless Best of 2008 lists from major and indie publications alike. "Why not give it a shot?" I thought. I might even like it. Long story short: I hated it. I didn't even feel like putting forth the energy to properly review it (not like it really needs my opinion anyway). Lil Wayne was interesting back in his days as a teenage sensation for Cash Money, but that appeal seems to have evaporated. He strikes me as a performer who's really trying hard to be different and original rather than one that just is. He's a long way from Andre 3000, that's for sure.

On a final note, I'm digging this picture I found of Joanna Newsom from a recent photoshoot/interview in Paper Magazine. It's nice. And she's got an ass. Who knew?

Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)

Mastodon
Crack the Skye (2009)
"Hipster metal". What an unfortunate tag to have placed on you. Having your efforts reduced to nothing but a ploy to attract adventurous Pitchfork readers; a mere curiosity that provides a playlist break between Feist and Panda Bear and seems to say "Hey! Look guys, I actually like some metal!" -- in the same way MF Doom proves indie kids' hip hop chops. Mastodon deserve more credit than that; more than the fickle appreciation of trend-whore hipsters and more than to be marginalized by metalheads claiming the band isn't even metal anymore and therefore hipsters should look elsewhere for their token metal band. It was with this in mind that made it hard for me not to smile at the copper-colored sticker on the front packaging of this album, which reads "Crack The Skye - The New Album From Globally Revered Hard-Rock Masters Mastodon" There, "hard-rock"; in one fell swoop proving the metalheads right and the hipsters wrong and moving the fuck on with it. Ending the pointless debate and challenging listeners to take their music for what it is and not what the listener thought it was or wants it to be or what is and isn't hip. Or, you know, something like that.

So anyway, Crack the Skye. Actually, first...well, I don't know about you, but I haven't gone back to Blood Mountain that often in the past two-and-a-half years. At first I saw it as a marked improvement for Mastodon: further embracing the prog-metal direction they took and absolutely nailed with Leviathan, and getting tighter and more technical as a band. As time went on, though, I began to question the use of the word "improvement". It was a progression alright, but it wasn't necessarily better than what they'd done previously, because other than a few spins of "The Wolf Is Loose" (great) and "Capillarian Crest" (awesome), I could probably do without hearing the album again in its entirety. It's a good enough listen in the moment, but the songs just don't stick. But Crack The Skye? Sheeeeiit. I doubt I'll be saying the same about Crack the Skye down the road.

They haven't gone back to the drawing board or made any dramatic changes, but they've kept moving in the same direction: more prog, more crazy (some might say "stupid") concepts, more guitar godliness, but now with more focus and 25% more epicness. At 50-minutes divided into seven tracks, they didn't do their label's PR team any favors. Actually, they gave them one proper single: "Divinations", which has the shortest length (three-and-a-half minutes), the largest hook, and arguably the most blistering guitar solo in an album filled with them. It's obviously there to keep the label heads' hair intact, yet it doesn't seem forcefully tacked-on even if it is the weakest track. The other tracks are given a bit more time to simmer and they make good use of it; shifting and changing riffs at will and bringing it back together by the time it's all over. Take "Oblivion", probably their first album opener that doesn't assault your speakers from the 0:00 second mark. Three different vocalists have their turns at the mic, the best of which comes from Brent Hinds, who seems to have been looking to the Motown catalog (between drunken encounters with other bands) because he really brings the soul to this track, as well as others. Fear not: it's actually an asset; not anywhere near as awful as I've described it.

I''m going to be abrupt here, because I could potentially go on for a lot longer counting the ways in which this album kicks ass, describing in detail my favorite moments and whatnot (top two: Scott Kelly's excellent contribution to the title track, and the earth-shattering, devil horns-inducing final minute of "Quintessence"), but it's just going to get redundant and I like to restrict my use of the word "awesome" to two or less times per review. So here's the album's only flaw: the central riff for "Ghost Of Karelia" is blatantly recycled from the Blood Mountain song "Sleeping Giant". There, that's about it.

Crack the Skye is an incredible album. It's Mastodon's most complete work yet and undoubtedly the greatest thing they've ever done and probably will do. Only four months into the year, hard-rock, hipster metal, or whatever you choose to call it, has it's best album of 2009. I can't really say it more clearly than that.


Score: 9.5/10


"Oblivion"


"Quintessence"