album reviews
Reviews of albums old and new from iconic artists and up and coming musicians alike.
Kanye West 'Graduation' Review
Opening Opinion: 9.5 My hype for this album was very high. It’s kind of a hard feeling to describe. I had heard enough singles from the album to know that it was dope. However what wasn’t apparent to me is this going to be his best album, or not. Graduation certainly lives up to that hype….and it’s my favorite rap album ever.
Matthew SullivanPublished 7 years ago in BeatDry the River and Faith
Dry the River was a short lived band. I have yet to run into anyone who knows them, which is disappointing considering just how perfect their album "Shallow Bed" is. I discovered this album a few years ago, however, initially only ever listened to the acoustic version. Finally transitioned to the non-acoustic, and this album as a whole has changed my life.
Cherith BrookPublished 7 years ago in BeatKids and Young Adults of the 90s Are Seeing a Musical Rebirth
Those of us who lived our teenage years or young adult years in the 90s have been in a musical drought for quite some time. If your experience has been anything like my own, then in recent years you’ve often complained about the lack of “real music” on the radio these days. Many of us have gotten so tired of mumble rap and one hit R&B wonders, that we’ve retreated into our collective musical shells resorting to coveted playlists of the music we miss so much. What happened to the art of the slow jam, slow dancing in the basement of somebody’s house party under low light? Where did all of the music go that made you want to “Fight The Power” and take it to “the man,” or made it okay for men to tell women that “I’ll Always Love You” without it being called “simpin” or being “thirsty”? If you’re tired of all of the “b*tch,” “ho,” “thot,” and “trick” music, tired of the “popping bottles,” “counting money,” “driving a [insert ridiculously expensive car here]” type of music, then I have some absolutely great news for you. REAL MUSIC IS BACK BABY! If you didn’t already know, these artists have either dropped new music or have promised new music is on the way, YOU GONE LEARN TODAY!
Kya CooperPublished 7 years ago in BeatDocumentary 2 + 2.5 Review
The Documentary 2 Opening Opinion 9.9/10 The Documentary 2.5 Opening Opinion 10/10 Okay, so this is technically a double in depth review… but let me kill two birds with one stone. These albums really blew me away. In October of 2015, I knew The Game was dropping a sequel to his former best album, The Documentary. What I didn’t know, is that he was dropping another album right after that… like a week after that. First I’ll talk about 2, then 2.5.
Matthew SullivanPublished 7 years ago in BeatDrake Albums
8)What a Time to Be Alive (84) Drake’s collaboration with Future is his worst album and it's just a collection of songs that aren't really about much of nothing special. Still catchy tho. If you like Future you won’t mind these songs. Top Tracks: Jumpman, Big Rings, Digital Dash.
Matthew SullivanPublished 7 years ago in BeatDespise You/Coke Bust Split 7" Review
For those so far uninitiated, "powerviolence" is a hyper aggressive style of music taking its main cues from 80s hardcore punk, grindcore, and, oddly enough, certain styles of progressive rock. This means short songs at blinding speeds, blast beats, sludgy breakdowns and tempos that can shift on a dime. Half the fun of powerviolence, coming from an admitted superfan of the genre, is the twists and turns you get while listening to each 30 second burst of high-speed noise; you might think that you may be only getting two or three riffs per song with those kinds of lengths but in 30 seconds it's easy to get blindsided by a half a dozen different riffs that don't even share a similar tempo.
Charles SpitznerPublished 7 years ago in BeatCircle—Making Rounds Around The Square
Screaming is a national art in Finland. They even have a men's choir (30 members strong) that shouts everything from pop hits to national anthems. But then Finland is also the country with the strongest Tango musical line after Argentina. You also have everything in between. So it might be no wonder that the newest Circle album, Terminal (one of the 52 they made, although some accounts say it is over 60!) includes almost any modern rock style imaginable (screams included, of course). No tango though, a shame, I think they could have fitted it in!
Ljubinko ZivkovicPublished 7 years ago in BeatThe Carousels—The Boat To West Coast
Let’s start with a simple introduction this time around. The Carousels are a band from Scotland and Sail Me Home St. Clair is their second album. Looking at the album cover, you’d expect a ton of whiskey flowing around and a bunch of sea shanties. The whiskey might have been flowing around in jugs but sea shanties are nowhere to be found. You see, The Carousels sound like one of the better 70s style country rock bands from the West Coast with all these gentle strumming guitars, pedal steels, and ever-expanding harmonies. Scottish weather is not exactly known for too many sunny, balmy days but you wouldn’t guess it by listening to this album.
Ljubinko ZivkovicPublished 7 years ago in BeatInto the Slipstream: The Internet's Undiscovered Talent
With the popularity of platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud it's now literally easier than ever to throw your artistic talents out into the wolfish world of picky consumers and bask in the due adulation (or sulk in the corner if you suck or something and everybody calls you names). Combing through these sites opens up whole worlds of creativity previously inaccessible from your home a decade ago and, you know what, some of them definitely aren't getting the celebration that they deserve for putting themselves out there in the world. It's not easy wading through the creating process in the hopes of releasing something you can be truly proud of, but I bet a few worthy souls deserve more listens than they get.
Charles SpitznerPublished 7 years ago in BeatKanye West Discography Ranked
808s and Heartbreak - 80 This is the oddball in his discography. I always liked this album even if it took some getting used to. He abuses auto-tune here. I think it works, for the most part, like on songs like “Paranoid” and “Heartless.” Kanye sings a LOT on this album. The lyrics aren’t up to K’s standards (Old Kanye or New). The songs are pretty catchy, however. This album kind of changed the game so if it were which Kanye album was most important, this would be higher on the list. Top Tracks: "Heartless," "Love Lockdown," "Coldest Winter," "Amazing."
Matthew SullivanPublished 7 years ago in Beat'The College Dropout' Review
Before I was put on to this album by my friend Jay (Jimmy), R.I.P.; I had heard very little from Kanye (Like most everyone else at the time). After hearing the album for the first time I had concluded that Mr. West wasn’t just a good rapper and a great producer, but he was going to be in the game for a long time.
Matthew SullivanPublished 7 years ago in Beat#OverloadMondays: Kendrick Releases New Visual, Jay Z Drops 4:44, and More
Okay so here's what happened last week (6/26-7/2). I go back into the week before because there were some releases I missed that should be covered.
Sadé SanchezPublished 7 years ago in Beat