It isn’t really surprising these days when you are sprung with surprises from Indie bands after having spent yourself scouring for good albums amongst mainstream labels. This Canadian duo bearing a massive Far East influence in their moniker, Japandroids do just this. Their debut album “Post Nothing”, a pun on the autopsies conducted to classify musical ‘genres’, hits you right on the spots where you need them, and when you need them. The sound isn’t exactly fresh, but the duo of Brian King and David Prowse don’t make any contrary claims either. With the fuzzy guitar tones of King and the electric drumming of Prowse, they do bring back the times when everything used to get drowned in a sea of sound. But you wouldn’t really want to listen to this album for its lyrical quality. Especially when songs contain lyrics unimaginatively centered on French kissing French girls! That doesn’t mean “Wet Hair” is unappealing – in fact, it’s one of most of the catchy tune in the entire album. “Young Hearts Spark Fire” gives close competition with the wholesomeness of the riffs, while “Heart Sweats” bases itself on the lead section being taken by pounding drums. The opener “The Boys are Leaving Town” makes a sly reference to Thin Lizzy maybe, but is way out of its league. What completes the album is the power ballad quality of “Sovereignty”, though you can’t really make out why a bunch of teens would call a song “I Quite Girls”.
One of the biggest forces of pulverization to have emerged on the India metal scene in recent years is the creatively named Mumbai bunch called Bhayanak Maut. As with their name, they have been wreaking havoc wherever they have been with sonic whiplashes. The intensity is such that you would either be converted to a follower, or simply perish. Known for their live acts, they had given fans a flavor of their recorded sound on the acerbic EP, “Malignant” which was quite popular among metalheads a couple of years back. Out with their new self titled album, this time around it seems more like a promise that they won’t stop at anything short of bringing in Armageddon. The moment “Habemus Papam” blasts into your eardrums, you know you are in for a reckless overdrive of adrenaline leaps. The sentiment doesn’t leave any space for rest, and the momentum is carried well through on “The Becoming”, “Tit For Twat”, “Blasted Beyond Belief” and “Violate”. There is a minor reprieve on “Light Lotus Lilly” only to be jolted out by the following “You’re Perfect, Now Change”. Don’t forget to check the artwork out – undoubtedly one of the best to be seen on recent releases.
Kolkata has always been known as the thinking man’s capital in India. Things slightly left of the center (no pun intended) have always had a tendency to emerge from its heartland. So it is no surprise that the freshest batch of sound coming out this year has crystallized in the form of “Maby Baking” by Kolkata based The Supersonics. Combining tight production values and eclectic songwriting has made sure that “Maby Baking” would be remembered as one of the best albums coming out this year. The metronomic progression of the opening track “170” set against a taut bassline and baritone vocals captivates you immediately. Not to say the rest of the album doesn’t. With guitar tones as crunchy, nobody can deny them the credit of echoing through their heads long after the first listen. “Far From the Human Race” has a rousing chorus and a real hook of a guitar section, while “They Lie” gives the thumbs down to detractors. And if you feel the need for some anthemic quality, wait till you hear “Yeah Whatever”. A coming of age feeling accompanies this album, most definitely.
Whitney Houston couldn’t have thought of a better name for her latest album. After all, weathering all those years of domestic abuse and drug usage, and coming out of it all clean would have required some figure to provide that sense of determination. “I Look To You” can be termed as Whitney’s comeback in ways more than one. Not only does she have her past tucked neatly behind her now, she has also grown beyond the musical styles of the 80s and 90s to fit into the contemporary styles of today. Alicia Keys pens the opener “Million Dollar Bill”, a track with the resounding freshness of coming back to life. Producers like Akon, with whom she collaborates on “Like I Never Left” and “I Got You” get her crooning to the accompaniment of popular club beats on the lines of today. In a similar way, we find her grooving on the Danja produced “For the Lovers” with its thick dance floor beats, a marked departure from her earlier infusion of funk and R&B. What does sound a bit different is her voice. Which is natural considering the ravages of time her vocal chords would have been subject to; however, if you view this in a better light, her voice has actually grown huskier and mature. So while she may not register those high notes she was known for, she still does belt out those notes which hit out at the lows she faced in life.
British alt rockers Manic Street Preachers have had their share of misfortune. Losing a band mate who simply refused to show up alive (or dead) isn’t something easy to handle. Since Richey Edwards was finally declared ‘presumably dead’, the remaining trio finally felt like getting the skeletons out of the closet to purge themselves. A couple of weeks before his disappearance, Edwards had handed a folder containing songs, lyrics and notes. It is this material which finds its way into the latest work of MSP. And considering Camus was one of Edwards’ favorite authors, “Journal for Plague Lovers” couldn’t have found a better name. This album is no “Holy Bible”, for they have left the artsy punk rock sensibilities far behind. Yet, the sound hits the hardest since the time of “Holy Bible”. “Marlon J.D.” packs a punch which sends you sprawling in multiple tangential directions all at once, while “Me and Stephen Hawking” talks love and getting physical. Speaking of getting physical, the biggest query posed is “Jackie Collins Existential Question Time” which asks about clandestine matters of flesh. But the catchiest tune is reserved for the title track with its hummable guitar tones and chorus. Other tracks with names as quirky as “She Bathed Herself in Bleach” and “Virginia State Epileptic Colony” probably contain tongue in cheek references to the correctional institutes Edwards spent time in, and are full of stories fuelled with vivid imagery. MSP can finally move on in peace now.
With the charm and adulation post grunge music once enjoyed being long over, it was but natural for a sub-section of bands to fall out of fashion. San Fran based rockers Third Eye Blind have been one such band; though recent efforts by them have been fairly successful at changing the band’s image as such, one such being their latest album “Ursa Major”. The sound is decidedly fresh sounding, though a bit too fresh, ending up to make it sound much like a college band out with their debut. This starts becoming evident as you move through the opening sections of “Can You Take Me” and “Don’t Believe a Word”, both of which act as somewhat uninspired efforts failing to stir up any emotion. The unforgivable bit though is when you hear lyrics like “A water massager is the purest love I’ve ever known”, on “Why Can’t You Be”, and you start wondering about the composition of the chemical concoctions which influenced such work. Nonetheless, all is not as bad. The hummable bits come about in the form of “One in Ten” (a love struck teen stuck in a class of probability), “Bonfire” (which begins with an opening much reminiscent of Sting) and “About to Break”. Not much promised on the whole, but certain parts in the album do remind you of what the band has been in the past.
There was a time when East coast hip hop wasn’t really getting anywhere compared to the sheer energy contained within the hustling nature of West coast gangsta rap. A bunch of rappers (nine to be precise) got together under the leadership of a producer going by the quirky sounding moniker RZA. What they had in common was a love for the streets, some bitch slapping humor, and martial arts movies. Martial arts! Yes, after all, what else could have been the reason for the name of their group being Wu-Tang Clan, and their debut album being called “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”. Billed as one of the most ground hitting hip hop records of all time, the street wise credibility contained within, along with the sheer lyrical quality and a tight chemistry ensure that this album won’t ever go out of taste. When released, many critics dismissed the album because of its decidedly tacky sounding production. Later, it was exactly the sparseness of this production which lent the record that ephemeral street quality, courtesy RZA. Utilizing samples from sources as diverse as soul music to martial art movies, RZA’s sound was complemented perfectly by the sing song rapping of ODB, Method Man’s rasp voice, Raekwon’s stutter and Ghostface Killah’s verbiage. The lyrics ascribe to a deeply dark nature, telling stories from the street. The single “Tearz” speaks of shotgun murder and HIV infection, while “C.R.E.A.M.” speaks of indigence and the urge to employ any means to earn money. “Method Man” with its catchy refrain built a steady reputation on the charts. ODB put in his worth as producer as well, with “Da Mystery of Chessboxin” and “Wu-Tang Clan ain’t Nuthing ta F’Wit”, both tracks exposing a grittier element. The immense success of this album ensured that individual members of the group managed to get themselves some successful solo record deals. Most of them even went on to chalk out booming solo careers (RZA, Method Man, GZA, Ghostface Killah), and keep enthralling audiences even today. None of which would have been possible had they not made the decision to come out with this album a decade and a half ago.
In the world of hip hop where you have every emcee dissing out the other with incisive precision, it seems but an incongruity when you are faced with the concept of hip hop groups. After all, a bunch of rappers, most of whom are known to possess bloated egos, coming together and working on a collective plan doesn’t sound like an easy thing. Surprisingly, as time has been witness, it has been groups like these which have come to the forefront when the question of injecting a fresh lease of life into hip hop has emerged. This is probably the reason how and why we still remember names like NWA, Wu Tang Clan and Run DMC.
Some of us might remember the time when a quaint group called HRSMN came about. Made up of some of the biggest names around at that time (Canibus, Ras Kass, Kurupt and Killah Priest), their sole purpose was to refresh the industry with their version of going back to the roots. What we see now, is something quite similar in terms of the making of a hip hop supergroup, if there was ever this term. Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Royce da 5’9” and Crooked I – each of them superbly talented emcees in their own right, joined forces around a year back to form a collective known as Slaughterhouse. The vitriolic passion they bought with their lyrics ensured they had smash sold out concerts over the short period of time right after their birth. An album was a natural followup. It seems though that they were putting in all energies into their lyrics, and couldn’t muster much in terms of conjuring up an album name, leaving it as simply “Slaughterhouse”.
“Slaughterhouse” isn’t your average hip hop record made of thumping bass and racing 808 beats. The samples which have been employed in making the record range from rock n roll infected guitars right up to blaring horn sections. What strikes you as the most potent force in the album is the sheer versatility of the lyrics. These guys talk, and they sure well know how to – which makes dissing so much more easy. Take “Microphone”, which talks about the ills which plague the industry today, and how there are so many rappers who shouldn’t even dare coming anywhere near a microphone. The lyrical finesse continues on the first half of the album as you coast along to the aptly titled “Lyrical Murderers” and “Slaughterhouse”. “Onslaught 2” hits you right on spot just when its needed the most in the middle of the album. Which happens almost right after you are exposed to the crazy production of DJ Khalil on “Cuckoo”. Marching ahead, what catches your attention is the bluesy guitar hook of “Salute Me”, which undoubtedly has one of the most heartwrenching samples to have been seen in recent times. The guitar sample just adds to the overall darkness, and gloom pervades through the track, while the rappers get into an vocal overdrive. Similar is the treatment given to “Pray”, a sort of an autobiographical outburst where each of the four come out with stories from their past, and how living in the hood was not so easy – but most importantly, they learnt to live life on the streets.
So if lyricism is what you are looking at, don’t think twice, but go ahead and check out these brothers. And just like they finish their album with “Killas”, which has a serial killer based theme, don’t be surprised when you see how many homies are caught in the crossfire of words spewed by the vocal barrage of Slaughterhouse, and serially slaughtered to be made a convert.
Most good stories require the perfect setting and location as well in order to make themselves into a bestseller. Now whether the rapper trio Tanya Morgan’s latest album makes itself into a best seller or not is something to be seen. What seems certain is that they have managed to concoct the perfect setting combining elements from their hometowns of Brooklyn and Cincinnati to make the fictitious city of “Brooklynati”. As it opens with “On Our Way”, the soul induced quality immediately strikes you that this isn’t another clone of the gangsta driven thug variety. Made up mostly of mid tempo beats, the album builds up an expectation and delivers upon it. “So Damn Down” coasts along smoothly with a jazzy variety of sampling that adds to the overall old school nature of the album. Yes, this album is as old school as it gets in today’s world – a direct pullout from where the brothas of the 90s left it. “Bang & Boogie” and “Hardcore Gentleman” take care of the usual booty chasing phenomenon which has to find mention somewhere at least. Only here, they do it much finesse, and not make it a crass misogyny. Carlitta Durand extends her vocal chords to make a fine statement on the funk laced melody of “Never Enough”. A hip hop record not be missed this season, this one should stand out till the end of the year.
Being one of the leading and in demand producers in hip hop, it wouldn’t have been easy for The Alchemist to come out with a solo album. And now that he did, it seems this is going to rival the rest of his work for a long time. His second album, “Chemical Warfare” is a rap record which carries loads of authentic street credibility. It seems he has a fair bit of an obsession with naming his albums after works of war considering his debut album, a scorcher which left skid marks in its row, was named “1st Infantry”. Teaming up with some of the poppiest names in the industry, Alchemist has ensured his partners on vocals are provided excellent company on some of the crispest instrumentation which produces an array of some real dark beats. Eminem lends his voice to the title track, which is full of nasty jabs in his usual style – in fact it is quite different from his current style, and harks you back to his earlier days. “That’ll Work” and “On Sight” work up some glib rap verses over smooth bass notes and a modern tempo. This keeps “Lose Your Life” in good stead – after all Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss and Pusha T come ahead in three part raps to the bone amidst tight delivery. Its because of these tracks that “Some Gangster Shit” and “Therapy” feel somewhat out of place, which elsewhere might have been considered good stuff to move your groove.
I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat - The Brighton Port Authority 
Wait for Me - Moby
Breakthrough - Colbie Caillat
