So I hit a major hot streak of GREAT albums and I'm going to share them over the next few posts or so. I didn't post them immediately after listening because I was kinda busy, but I'll highlight some key albums in the hot streak. Check out my recent ratings if you're curious as to see the others. Unfortunately, the new Destroyer record ruined the streak, so you can start there and look back.
Let me start with the three albums that impressively made my chart after my first few listens. I was so blown away by these records. They made me so excited to replay them and search for more music. It's a feeling that I haven't felt in a while with albums upon first listen and I'm very happy to have had such a hot streak to where I can feel that optimistic again. They aren't, by any means, obscure records, but they aren't exactly Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon recognizable either.
This one is pretty iconic. I noticed the audio was finally on Spotify, so I decided to give it a try since I've seen this album cover plenty of times before. It's another sub 40 minute record of all killer, no filler. Caribbean psych folk with some gospel-esque lyrics. The lofi recording only adds to the charm and the radiating warmth of the record. The energy behind the vocals and the folky instrumentals is so addictive. It's no wonder this record is repeatedly on those "1001 ALBUMS YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU DIE" lists.
I'll admit, it was the album cover that enticed me, but at least the music was so good I could justify my love for this record. Smooth, but pretty Chicago soul music that simmers for most of its durations, but has incredible moments where the water is boiling over and you can't help but lay back, look up to the ceiling, and let your heart melt. The first track "Dancing Girl" should be one of those 90+/100 track rating standouts because it's a 9 minute cinematic masterpiece. Starts with a folky intro that kind of reminds me of Bryter Layter Nick Drake, but then transitions into real Chicago soul music, then stylistically ends how it started in a cyclic structure. And the album doesn't stop there. The other 6 tracks are all to die for. Fantastic stuff.
Last summer, I saw the news of the reissue of Africa Brasil by Jorge Ben, checked it out, LOVED it, and snagged myself a crisp copy. Saw this record while browsing the soul charts on RYM (listed under Samba-soul genre), so I figured I'd give it a shot since it was rated higher than the already highly rated Africa Brasil. This one was definitely better. It has typical 1970s analogue recording quality, yes, but my god the songs sound so crisp, vivid, and lively. And Jorge Ben's voice is fantastic. He is one hell of a singer. With this album being from Brazil, it's sung entirely in Portuguese, but the language barrier does not inhibit any enjoyment from this record. I'll have to read the translated lyrics another time. _________________ ...and for dessert!
Jimmy DreadOld skool like Happy ShopperModeratorProfile 555 Dub Street
You owe your ears a favour by listening to more Jorge Ben - his early-mid 70s run of LPs is right up there with Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Fela Kuti for sheer consistency. Definitely check out
A Tábua De Esmeralda next if you haven’t already done so.
You owe your ears a favour by listening to more Jorge Ben - his early-mid 70s run of LPs is right up there with Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Fela Kuti for sheer consistency. Definitely check out
A Tábua De Esmeralda next if you haven’t already done so.
Forca Bruta was one of the first LPs that really got me into MPB - so much amazing Brazilian music from that period to check out, and if you want to delve deeper I’d definitely recommend checking out this fine compilation Soul Jazz put out for more. Boa sorte!
Oh yes yes yes, I was recommended A Tabua De Esmeralda once gave Forca Bruta a high rating, that will definitely be getting a listen too. I'll definitely check out that compilation too. Many thanks!! _________________ ...and for dessert!
Over the past year I became a big fan of Last Podcast on the Left, which is an "edutainment" podcast series about the horrors of the world. It discusses everything from Satanism, cults, serial killers, famous murder trials (e.g. the Menendez brothers), aliens, the paranormal, etc. all under a dark comedy lens. One of the three hosts, Marcus, made another podcast called "No Dogs In Space" that's focused on music. Each season will discuss a different subgenre of rock where they start with a super iconic, influential, well known band that really took off the genre and then they dissect the obscure gems. It just started and the first season focuses on Marcus's favorite subgenre "punk music," starting with the Stooges.
During the early years of the Stooges, all the members would essentially take acid and have weird-ass music sessions that helped develop their initial sound. They also listened to a lot of Frank Zappa. Marcus went on to saying how much he tried to get into Zappa, specifically the album Freak Out! since that was a huge source of inspiration for the band, but he could never get into it. They played a sample on the podcast to explain how "weird" it is, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I think the first thing Marcus did wrong when listening to this album was he probably concentrated too much and took it too seriously. If these people wanted to make "weird" music, then I feel like too much concentration will only lead to disappointment. You have to let yourself enjoy the weird ride. At lest that's what I did. There are some very humorous, but also trippy moments on the record. And truthfully, there are some really excellent jams on here, especially the song "Trouble Every Day" that featured some unexpected social commentary on segregation (at least it was unexpected to me, given the very goofy tone of the album). I really enjoyed this record. It's meant to be fun and care-free, and if you really try to take it literally and seriously, then you're doing it wrong. _________________ ...and for dessert!
Some pretty meat and potatoes hard bop jazz, but it's all still very pleasant to the ear. Despite it being called "Tokyo Blues" I didn't notice any sounds that felt like they were heavily influenced by Japanese music, but then again it could be my inexperience with deeper jazz. There aren't many sharp horn moments that can sometimes bother my ears. The compositions are well written and do not overstay their welcome. The recording quality is excellent and the instrument playing is marvelous. Even while streaming, the clarity of the instruments is so clear, even down to the recoil of the drums after impact from the drum stick. "Cherry Blossom" is a very pleasant highlight for me, but everything else is just as good in quality. _________________ ...and for dessert!
I'm seeing Inter Arma and Deafheaven two months from now (Inter Arma is the opener), so I decided to give both of their discographies a listen. Revisiting some great albums, but Inter Arma's discography is mostly a first time listen since I've only listened to Sulfur English. I've heard Deafheaven's discography already, so they are mostly relistens. The only thing I have not heard by them is their 2010 demo, until now.
Even though I was listening to a 2012 remaster, it's actually incredible how early the band found their identity. It's a demo, so it's short, but it definitely is not messy. Its flaws do not involve the inexperience of the band. It's lofi, but it's clean. The songs are well written and fierce, but have that trademark beautiful edge that Deafheaven is known for. I especially love the final track "Exit Denied" because it absolutely foreshadows the bright future this band was going to have. If you've enjoyed a Deafheaven project in the past, this is definitely worth the listen. _________________ ...and for dessert!
This incredible modal, spiritual jazz albums features both Alice Coltrane on harp and Wayne Shorter on saxophone, so you know it's going to be a treat. Lush instrumentation and heavenly compositions make Extensions a gem in the Blue Note catalogue. _________________ ...and for dessert!
I just found out about Velocity : Design : Comfort getting a vinyl reissue and I'm excited beyond belief. I will revisit all three of Sweet Trip's studio albums at some point in the future (probably in the springtime since I think their music fits the vibrant feel of spring). I did, however, visit their Alura EP since I've never heard it before and it was a very good listen. Some IDM with a downtempo and Detroit techno feel to it. Pretty trippy but captivating too. I think it's pretty underrated. _________________ ...and for dessert!
Today is the 50th birthday of the heavy metal genre, marked by the release of this absolute game changer of an album. I've kept it an unspoken rule to talk about lesser known albums that I enjoy only on this thread, but this album is so pivotal that I must write about it.
I remember first seeing the album cover. It's that perfect mix of beautiful and creepy, yet it had me so curious. Yes, I've heard and listen to Black Sabbath before but only their most monstrous songs and passively knew their cultural impact. But I never gave them a real, in-depth listen. That cover was so enticing. I had to know what kind of music it held.
I was a high schooler at the time I first laid eyes on that cover. I had exposure to some extreme metal genres and enjoyed it, believe it or not. However, they were the really accessible extreme metal bands, like Metallica and Slayer, but I also dug Meshuggah, Gojira, and the metalcore and deathcore fad bands at the time like Bring Me the Horizon. 2013 was the earliest I can remember where I actively searched for new albums to listen to, not just ones from my favorite artists, but from all over. As a newbie would, I repeatedly looked at the Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list and other big-name publications with their G.O.A.T. lists. Eventually I found Black Sabbath's debut and decided it was worth a shot because it is considered the birth of heavy metal music.
And of course, like any inexperienced listener would with an album whose impact was decades before their time, I didn't like it. I heard the harmonica on the "The Wizard" and was like, "What the fuck? This isn't metal at all." I had no contextual understanding of anything at all. My listening skills only searched for superficial qualities on a record. I wanted something with a catchy hook or pummeling riff. While yes this album is certainly heavy, my impatient teenage self compared its heaviness to Metallica et. al., thinking that this was an inferior album and just outdated.
I stopped the album and didn't look back until a few years later. The second time I remember listening to this record, I was a sophomore in college. I finally hit a groove with metal music where I was starting to appreciate the less accessible. Sunbather and Dopethrone were amongst my favorite albums of all time, and I was blossoming in new music as I discovered other extreme metal essentials that music snobs like us adore so much. I think I remember seeing an anniversary tweet about their debut turning 45 years old, so I figured it was worth a revisit now that I had some experience and contextual history under my belt.
I still didn't like it, and for the same reasons more or less. And the cycled repeated again until my last semester in college. By that point, I was fully immersed in this music nerd hobby. I was way more comfortable with different genres and my patience grew for the quieter albums. I went on an early psych binge for a little bit as I found the late 60s - early 70s hippie culture so fascinating. The trippiness and rawness of the records were so appealing that I just kept digging. Eventually, I landed on a heavy psych list and saw multiple Sabbath records on it, including their debut. And so, I gave it another listen.
It finally clicked. That was the missing piece all along. Old psych rock, acid rock, blues rock, garage rock. That was the mix I needed to understand just how fucking game changing this debut album is. The heaviness, the trippiness, the ominous, it all made sense. And I'm not just appreciating this record for its evolution in music. It legitimately sounded AMAZING to my ears. It was chilling when it intended to be, but it was nonetheless thrilling from start to finish.
So yeah, it did take me a while to get into it. It's not even a "complex" or "deep" or "challenging" album. It is a difficult to get into some of these older records if you've already immersed yourself into the records that have been influenced by it. But I wanted to share that story to explain what this album means to me. It's like finally learning your family history. I wear its influences so much and it indirectly shaped my tastes the way they are today. Now that I know the proper context of the time it was released, this album must have been one giant mind-fuck to listeners. Nothing else dared to tread in its direction before its time. No other band had the balls to craft such evil and heavy sounding music or openly sing about Satan. It's all so fascinating and its impact is astounding. Just look where metal is now and how diverse it is. You have fast-paced genres like black metal or thrash metal, you have slow and heavy genres like doom metal or drone metal, you have absolutely batshit crazy and morbid genres like death metal and gore grind. None of those genres and the masterpieces they've spawned would exist without this album here. It's incredible, really.
If you didn't give this album a celebratory listen today, you're doing yourself and metal music as a whole a huge disservice. _________________ ...and for dessert!
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