Review of 'Universal Themes' by Sun Kil Moon

‘I’ll tell you another story here, because you know, well, what the fuck’

48-year-old, Ohio-born, War-On-Drugs-trolling singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek (AKA Sun Kil Moon) released one of the best albums of 2014, Benji. If you don’t agree you either haven’t listened to it yet, or you’re an idiot.

What was on the surface essentially middle-aged death-obsessed ramblings revealed itself to be a masterpiece in raw storytelling that melded heartfelt emotion, brutal honesty, vivid imagery and bone-dry black humour. It was an album that was as positive as it was depressing, seemingly celebrating life’s tragedies as character-defining moments that make us who we are.

Mark Kozelek looking bright and happy

Barely a year later, we now have the tough follow-up album, Universal Themes. As the first track swiftly reveals, this is not an album about dying relatives, but rather dying possums. The focus is no longer on the effect of major past life events. Instead, Mark chooses to sing about the day-to-day trivia of the present – the HBO series he’s been watching, the gigs he’s been attending and the plight of eating pasta pomodoro for the 38^th time in a month.

The tales are less dramatic. In fact, they’re quite mundane. However, this turns out to be part of Universal Themes’ charm.

Mark proves that the little things can have just as much of an impact on one’s life as major events. The dying possum becomes a metaphor for how Mark would like to live his life: ‘I want to grow old and walk the last walk, knowing that I too gave it everything I got’.

Of course not all of these day-to-details have a deeper meaning. Some are deliberately aimless, merely for comedic value – the brilliant title of the last track being an example of this: ‘This is my first day and I’m Indian and I work at a gas station’.

The motive seems to be to catch the rawness of real life – the fact that not every detail of life has to fit an overarching theme.

Another photograph of Mark Kozelek

Sonically, this rawness is also reflected. The music is arguably more detailed than on Benji (it’s not all acoustic guitars this time around and songs often have multiple progressions). However, there’s a feeling of fragility to it all. Sometimes it sounds like Mark didn’t even bother to tune the guitars up properly. Mark’s voice is also a lot more stripped back, often struggling to stay in key.

Sometimes this makes Universal Themes all the more earthy but there are moments where it doesn’t pay off. The song with ‘A Sort Of Grace I Walked To The Bathroom To Cry’ sounds like a bad garage rock song and Mark’s Barney-Gumble-yelling is simply painful to listen to. Similarly, the vocal tone on ‘Ali/Spinks 2’ feels just as awkward and ugly, taking away any beauty from the lyrics.

Overall, the best tracks are where Mark sticks to his standard vocal tone and keeps the guitars unplugged. ‘Birds of Flims’ and 'The Possum' stand out as my favourites. Here the shifting mood of the lyrics and the shifting mood of the instrumental really come together in a way I've never experienced before.

★★★★☆

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Review of 'Ratchet' by Shamir

Ratchet has some definite bops, even if the ballads let it down.

Review of 'Are You Satisfied?' by Slaves

‘You are not stuck in traffic! You are traffic! Move!’

Drummer and singer, Isaac Holman, and Hawiian-shirt-wearing guitarist and backing vocalist, Laurie Vincent, together make up the Tunbridge Wells punk duo that is Slaves.

Their sound and attitude is a throwback to classic punk before the Blink-182s of this world showed up and started writing soppy love songs about the girl next door. Slaves aren’t interested in the girl next door. They most probably think that the girl next door is a drone, a slave to society, ‘already dead’.

Slaves live

In an angry cockney inflection similar to Johnny Rotten, Slaves spend each song rallying their listeners to get up and rebel, even if it’s not clear what they want their listeners to rebel against. There’s some vague talk about global warming in the opening track ‘The Hunter’ but that’s about as explicit as the politics get. Never mind. The Sex Pistols didn’t exactly have a strong political manifesto either – they just wanted to shake things up, and that’s all I need in my punk. Messages can be preachy – it’s the attitude that makes for entertaining music.

What also makes music entertaining is a sense of rawness and a bit of musical talent – two things Slaves have that The Sex Pistols didn’t.

Refreshingly, these guys aren’t a manufactured band and they do know how to play their instruments. Their riffs are bluesy and rhythmically tight, the kind of riffs that make you want to start a bar fight or steal a car or ignore a ‘please don’t step on the grass’ sign. These riffs are also damn catchy as are the vocal hooks – a sign that this band has a clear ear for songwriting.

A sense of humour serves as the cherry on top. Most of this humour feels improvised, which makes it all the more earthy. Moments including marvelling the feedback of one song, and interrupting another to restart a verse. Then there are the random adlibs such as the ‘unicorns are real’ line shoehorned into ‘Despair and Traffic’. I’ve been waiting so long for a rock band like this. I am curious and excited to see how they’ll grow. 

★★★★★

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BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 03/06/2015: Mick Jenkins, Raleigh Ritchie, Eminem and more...

Mindblowing music videos, parrot-fronted metal bands and Games of Thrones characters over trap beats. This week has it all.

THE BEST:

'P’s and Q’s' - Mick Jenkins

Did you notice that almost all the words in this song begin with P or Q? Or were you as distracted as I first was by the mind-blowing slo-mo, one-take, shot-in-reverse music video? From the alliterative lyrics to the stunning visuals to the huge instrumental, almost every aspect of this Chicago rapper’s new single is a stroke of genius. I was so impressed on my first listen that I rose from my chair and gave a standing ovation.

'Take You For Dead' - Desta French

Desta French isn’t French. Rather confusingly, she’s half-Columbian, half-Italian and lives in London. ‘Take You For Dead’ is her latest single, a groovy eighties-inspired pop number with Chaka Khan undertones. The ending is all very epic. There’s even a guitar solo thrown into the mix for good measure.

'Never Say Die' - Raleigh Ritchie & Sounwave

As a fan of the violent pornography, Game of Thrones, I was intrigued by the news that castrated ex-slave warrior, Grey Worm, had a musical career on the side. ‘Never Say Die’ sees the actor showing his further talents for singing and rapping over a soaring trap-flavoured beat produced by Sounwave (the badass ‘fuck it, I never had a heart!’ line followed by walls of grimy sub-bass is definitely my favourite bit!)

'Left Behind' - Cln.

This Brisbane bedroom producer certainly lives up to his name. Despite this track’s multiple layers – the music box tinkles, the sawtooth synths, the 808 bass, the pitch-shifted vocals – ‘Left Behind’ feels impressively clean. I could see this electronic instrumental being picked up and used in a suave car ad.

'Seven Perches' - Hatebeak



What do all vocalists have in common? They're all human. Grindcore act, Hatebeak, have decided to think outside the box and employ a parrot on lead vocals - a Congo African 21-year-old parrot to be precise named Waldo. 'Seven Perches' is the latest single from the group's upcoming album 'Number of the Beak', featuring Pig Destroyer member Blake Harrison.

THE WORST:

'Phenomenal' - Eminem

This track is all a bit too overblown and messily-produced for my liking and the constant ‘phenomenaaaal!’ screeches during the hook are fairly irritating. I am liking Em’s angry delivery and choppy flows though. 

Review of 'AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP' by A$AP Rocky

New York emcee, A$AP Rocky, has become one of the more prominent names in the trap rap scene largely for his quirky metrosexual fashion sense (remember that time he once wore a skirt) and his banging selection of beats (the main appeal to me). When it comes to his actual rapping ability, there's not much to separate him from others in the game. His flow is adept and he’s a lot less annoying than some of his autotune-warbling contemporaries, but at the end of the day he’s just another dude spitting about money, drugs and bitches (which is fine if you’re not a lyric snob like me).

AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP sees Rocky taking influence from trip hop and ‘old 60s psychedelic shit’. At 18 tracks, it’s not the most concise album in the world, but it does manage to keep up the pace. Arguably, the best tracks are left until last. ‘Better Things’ might just be the prettiest here, swiftly followed by the hardest track ‘M’$’, that’ll make you want to fix your car with hydraulics.  ‘Everyday’ meanwhile features a killer boom-bap beat courtesy of Mark Ronson, plus vocal features from Miguel and – of all people – Rod Stewart (although I’m pretty sure it’s just a sample).

Me whilst listening to 'M'$'

Altogether, the album relies hard on guest performances. There are lots of names to gawp at. Many disappoint – I knew I’d find M.I.A. and Future’s verses annoying, but I expected more from Kanye who spends his bars rhyming the same word with the same word: ‘sometimes the best advice, is no advice, especially when it’s your advice’. Lil Wayne is the only surprise here, laying down a killer verse on ‘M’$’. Like his performance on the recent Tyler album, he proves he can actually ride a beat instead of delivering the slurry nonsense we’re all used to.

I’m yet to research into who exactly Joe Fox is, but he seems to contribute the most guest performances on this record, largely bringing the ‘old 60’s psychedelic shit’ influence. Four tracks feature folksy-sung hooks from him. They feel like something Eminem might do, except without the cheesiness that was all over The Marshall Mathers LP 2. In fact, Joe Fox’s recurring appearances seem to give the album the motif it needs, stopping it from becoming a jumbled mess and giving it all a sense of cohesion.

I Googled 'Joe Fox' and a picture of Tom Hanks came up. I am none the wiser.

The album ends with perhaps the most poignant of all the guests – a spoken section from Rocky’s recently-passed mentor, A$AP Yams. For me this is one of the best tracks here, not because of sentimental value, but because Rocky really seems to be rapping his ass off on it. It’s the only real song where Rocky sounds like he’s pushing his ability, and not simply cruising. Maybe we can expect more of this in the future. For now, the beats are still the clincher. 

★★★☆☆

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BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 27/05/2015: Disclosure, Drake, Chance the Rapper & the Social Experiment and more...

Radio DJs have been beating baby rabbits to death with bicycle pumps. The UK got beaten by Australia in Eurovision. It’s been a cruel and confusing week, but no need to fear, I am here to bring hope and joy to the world in the form of music, words and pretty pictures.

THE BEST:

‘Holding On’  - Disclosure

After hearing the Lawrence brothers’ last single ‘Bang That’, I grew fearful that Disclosure were about to lose their charm and start writing twerk anthems. However, this latest single ‘Holding on’ has rekindled my faith in them, sporting the EDM duo’s signature sparkly synth swells and a killer guest vocal performance from jazz singer, Gregory Porter. Disclosure have announced this track as the first single from their upcoming album (which means ‘Bang That’ won’t make the cut – hell yeah!).

 ‘Cities of Gold’ – Lone

Made in 2004, this previously unreleased track from the Nottingham electronic producer has only just seen the light of day. It isn’t the nostalgic sugar rush we’ve come to expect from Lone. The opening hard and schizophrenic percussion is anything but sweet. However, the last half does show hints of what was to come, the industrial drumming gradually petering out into a passage of dreamy ambient synths.

Lone has recently been dropping a lot of previously unreleased old material, which fans can stream on his Soundcloud.

‘On a Wave’ – Drake ft. Tinashe

I’m sorry Drake and Tinashe. I know you didn’t want us to hear this track and that some gluttonous hacker decided to leak it prematurely on the internet. I could have chosen to not listen to it out of protest, but alas I have no willpower and I gave in (and now I’m streaming it on repeat). Unlike most leaks, this is actually a damn good track that I’m glad wasn’t shelved. The instrumental is atmospherically moody and the two artist’s breathy vocal performances complement it so well.  

‘Hiatus’ – Chance the Rapper & the Social Experiment

Will Chance ever release his new album? ‘Hiatus’ is the latest track to surface from the Chicago emcee and his backing band, set to appear on Surf. It’s a groovy little number with some great internal rhyming. I was just getting into it around the one minute mark – and then it abruptly ended without any warning whatsoever. I’m guessing there’ll be a full version on the album, but honestly, Chance, I know you’re just trying to tease us, BUT STOP FUCKING AROUND AND GIVE US YOUR ALBUM ALREADY!  

‘Jacaranda’ – Trails and Ways

I just can’t get enough of these Oakland indie rockers. Their music is just so feelgood and summery – particularly this brand new glittery track. It makes me want to run naked through fields of dandelions. I don’t care if I get done for indecent exposure. I don’t care if it doesn’t agree with my hayfever. I’m doing it and you can’t stop me.

THE WORST:

‘Mercy’ – Muse

‘Dead Inside’ and ‘Psycho’ seemed ambitious, even if they weren’t perfect. By comparison, ‘Mercy’ just feels like unaspiring radio rock. I’m hoping Drones doesn’t contain any more bores like this track

Review of 'Choose Your Weapon' by Hiatus Kaiyote

On the odd occasion when I’m feeling classy, I’ll kick back with some brie, crackers and red wine and listen to some soul music. Hiatus Kiayote are my latest and greatest find – a Melbourne neo-soul group with a frontwoman villainously named Nai Palm (pronounced ‘napalm’). From a glance you’d think they were some crazy white brutal hardcore band, but their sound couldn’t be more opposite.

I first stumbled upon them a couple weeks ago after hearing an old hit of theirs titled ‘Nakamarra’. The husky vocals and pillowy chord progressions transported me to a happy, summery place of peace and love and daisy chains.

I expected the same husky vocals and pillowy chord progressions from this album and without a shadow of a doubt I got this. Hiatus Kaiyote know all the sweet notes to hit to make you feel warm inside. However, it became immediately clear that the vibe wasn’t the same. The reason behind this became clear after repeat listens – Hiatus Kaiyote have lost their smoothness.

They’ve developed ants in their pants, losing their ability to sit still, crafting songs that refuse to settle into a groove. There are no straightforward, easy-flowing numbers like ‘Nakamarra’ on Choose Your Weapon. The record opens with ten minutes of jazzy noodling, disguised as three songs. After this, the music becomes a little more structured and digestable, but there’s still a lot of melodic fidgeting and no real hooks or solid riffs or rhythms to serve as a payoff.

Too much noodles

That said, buried beneath the progginess are some beautiful moments that are worthy of praise. ‘Swamp Thing’ has a muddy, driving bassline that aptly suits it’s title. ‘Prince Minikid’ has a dreamy instrumental that Flying Lotus would be jealous of. Then there’s my favourite track, ‘Atari’, one of the most energetic tracks here – sporting an upbeat chorus of sorts and some fun 8-bit synths.

All these moments feel like creative strokes of genius that could have paid off if Hiatus Kaiyote didn’t have such a short attention span. Meandering off every time a good idea pops up, the album feels like a constant tease. Those with more tolerance for a good noodle will enjoy it. 

★★★☆☆

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