“A collection of profound and epic album reviews and musical articles by former astronaut and brain surgeon, Alasdair Kennedy. Reaching levels of poetry that rival Keats and Blake, the following reviews affirm Alasdair to be a prodigy, a genius and a god whose opinion is always objectively right. He is also without a doubt the most modest man in the universe.” - Alasdair Kennedy
When you’ve listened to as much soul and funk as I have you
begin to get desensitised to the slinky chords and groovy basslines. Everyone
becomes another wannabe-Stevie-Wonder, another wannabe-Steely-Dan. It takes an
artist like LA producer, singer and bassist Thundercat to prove that funk and
soul still has room to evolve.
It's weekly roundup time. This week Pharrell gets political, Toro y Moi gets creepy and Puff Daddy attempts a comeback.
THE BEST:
'100' – The Game ft.
Drake
Whilst The Game still strikes me as a pretty generic rapper,
there’s no denying how cool Drake’s passive aggressive sighed guest verse is: ‘I would have all your fans if I didn’t go
pop and I stayed on some conscious shit’. The beat is also bloody gorgeous.
'That Instead of This' – Toro y Moi
Continuing to dabble in new genres, singer and producer Chaz
Bundick AKA Toro y Moi goes down a brooding electronic route with this new
instrumental made up of sinister bass and screeching synths. I wasn’t all too
keen on the musician’s recent indie funk endeavours, but perhaps there’s hope
with this new darker sonic direction.
'When I Was Your Age' –
Mammoth Penguins
Being a twenty-something millennial I’m constantly aware of how
little I’ve achieved at my age compared to what my parents did. I don’t have my
own house. I don’t have my own car. I’M NOT EVEN POTTY TRAINED (just kidding - or am I?).
‘When I Was Your Age’ is a song that any twenty-something feeling
unaccomplished can relate to. Here’s hoping this Cambridge alt rock band
continues to put out songs of this calibre.
'Freedom' – Pharrell
Pharrell Williams has dropped his surname and started getting political. 'Freedom' is a far cry from the cheerful sound of 'Happy' (Pharrell even sounds a bit angry as he's screeching the hook) and whilst it isn't quite as catchy as previous releases, it's interesting to hear the singer pushing his lyricmanship.
THE WORST:
'Finna Get Loose' –
Puff Daddy ft. Pharrell Williams
I was constantly waiting for Puff Daddy to stop rambling over the beat and start
rapping. Pharrell's constant yelping in the background is also prety damn annoying.
Excuse the lack of distorted guitars. I've been in a summery, poppy mood this week. Here are my favourites and not-so-favourites from the last seven days.
THE BEST:
'Them
Changes' - Thundercat ft. Flying Lotus & Kamasi Washington
I expected some slinky jazz funk given the production credits,
but nothing could have prepared me for the groovy mother of all basslines
sported in this track. As usual, Thundercat injects the lyrics with his own
warped sense of humour. The song turns out to be about losing one’s heart,
literally: ‘Nobody move. There’s blood on
the floor/ And I can’t feel my heart’.
'Pressure Off' - Duran Duran ft. Janelle Monae & Nile Rodgers
Rustle yourself up some cocktails and get the barbecue smoking. This new pop anthem from new wave legends Duran Duran has got me right in the summer mood. Funk guitar idol Nile Rodgers and neo-soul queen Janelle Monae add to the feelgood factor.
'Gold' - Kiiara
The chopped up vocals that kick this song off will either strike you as annoying or creative. Personally it’s this Illinois singer’s sweet vocal tone that’s drawing me in, the inflection reminding me a lot of Danish pop singer MØ. It perfectly suits the smooth but icy beat (I love that canyon-reverb click noise!)
'Everybody Knows' - Injury Reserve
Injury Reserve claim to be the ‘only good rap act in Arizona’, which is a bold statement to make, but I’ll roll with it seeing as I can’t think of any other Arizona hip hop artists off the top of my head. ‘Everybody Knows’ is their latest track and comes with an eccentric attitude and left-field instrumental.
'Down
For This' - Vanessa Elisha
Australian r&b singer Vanessa Elisha delivers this spacey
slowjam with a glitzy hook and lots of 808s. I wasn't too sure about it at first but then the chorus hit and floored me.
THE WORST:
'No Sleeep' - Janet Jackson
No sleep? Give this song a whirl and you’ll soon be out for
the count. A lot of people (mostly hardcore Jackson fans I feel) have been hyping this track up, but it just strikes me as dull 80s lounge-revivalism
without any kind of catchiness or flair.
The hip hop community are going to start getting serious
bedsores if they continue to sleep on this Floridian rapper any longer. Sporting
some of the tightest flows and creative beats in the game, this dude is a clear
mile ahead of every other trap rapper in the game.
Muse have never been masters at subtlety. Their combination of
classical-inspired rock and Matt Bellamy’s operatic warbling at times couldn’t
be more melodramatic if it tried. When singing about black holes and alien invasions a lot
of this melodrama came across as charming. Like an explosion-packed action
flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Muses theatrical sound
represented nothing but indulgent fun. But then Muse started taking themselves seriously,
discovering politics...
Ed Sheeran goes gangsta, Maroon 5 go club-friendly and Travis Scott goes proggy. What a musical mess this week has been! Fortunately, there have been some diamonds in the rough.
THE BEST:
'Lorry
Park' - LA Priest
Quirky digital loops and bright synth vocals come together
on this avant-garde electronic instrumental. It sounds like something that was
concocted with a lab coat on. To be quite honest, I’m not even sure if LA
Priest is human. I tried visiting his official website and ended up in this confusing alien cyberworld.
'Lake
Como' - Puro Instinct
California dream-pop sister duo, Puro Instinct, combine
their hypnotic vocals with detuned ambient synths to give the impression of
time slowing down – or at least that’s how I perceived it. I’m reminded of that
slo-mo drug from the recent Judge Dredd movie. Oh, how I wish that drug
existed!
'Lay
Back' - Hodgy Beats
Odd Future have apparently broken up, but let’s face it –
the solo projects have always been far more interesting than anything Odd
Future have tried as a collective. Already this year we’ve had an album from
Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator. Hodgy Beats may be the next ex-member
to drop a project. This aptly-named laid-back new single certainly has me intrigued.
THE WORST:
'Trap
Queen' - Ed Sheeran
This isn’t an official single per se (thank god), but I’m
putting it here anyway. Why do the whitest artists insist on covering the
blackest songs? It just comes across as awkward. Admittedly, there are worse cases.
'This
Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Motherfucker' - Maroon 5
It’s about time a male ass got some attention in the music
industry. Maroon 5’s latest music video sees Adam Levine baring his buttocks to
the world. SEXY STUFF. As for the actual song, well, it’s proof Maroon 5 have
become a full-blown pop band. The groovy instrumental isn't bad, but lyrically it's about as generic as summer anthems get.
'3500' - Travis Scott ft. Future and 2 Chainz
No trap anthem deserves to be eight minutes long, especially
when it contains three of the most generic rap lyricists alive.
