Might as well

[Space-Dementia]

May 18, 2018
Slaughterhouse by Ty Segall Band
Death - 4/5
I Bought My Eyes - 4/5
Slaughterhouse - 3/5
The Tongue - 3/5
Tell Me What's Inside Your Heart - 4/5
Save Goodbye - 5/5
Muscle Man - 4/5
That's the Bag I'm In - 4/5
Diddy Wah Diddy - 4/5
Oh Mary - 4/5
Fuzz War - N/A
I first listened to Ty's solo album Twins a couple years back, and, while I liked it, I never gave it a second thought. But a few weeks ago I really wanted to listen to "Thank God For Sinners" all of a sudden, and for the next several days I listened to that album pretty much on repeat. So I decided to listen to some of his other stuff, because apparently that wasn't even the best album that he put out that year. Although I can't agree that Slaughterhouse is better than Twins, this is definitely a terrific album, with the same youthful energy that he had in Twins. I'm sure there's not much diversity in all his music, so Twins might be the only one I really fall in love with, but I definitely need to check out the rest of his stuff, because I have high expectations.

[Space-Dementia]

May 20, 2018
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys
Star Treatment - 4/5
One Point Perspective - 3/5
American Sports - 4/5
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino - 4/5
Golden Trunks - 3/5
Four Out of Five - 4/5
The World's First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip - 3/5
Science Fiction - 4/5
She Looks Like Fun - 3/5
Batphone - 3/5
The Ultracheese - 4/5
The first listen was tough. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting... "lounge pop" according to Wikipedia? I was bored. It's like Alex Turner sat down at a piano and played some jazzy chords in a random order and decided to make it a song, and did that ten more times. But then I listened again, and I was already singing along to "Mark speaking, please tell me how can I direct your call", "four stars out of fiiiiive", "what do you mean you haven't seen Blade Runner?", etc. But I still wasn't convinced. I think this is an album that really needs repeated listens for it to sink in, but I also think that half of this album is no good. Sometimes the weird spacey chord progressions work, but other times they're just confusing. And sometimes the slow tempo makes for a nice romantic atmosphere, but other times it puts me to sleep. I think this would have worked really well as an EP, but that's no fun, is it? The Arctic Monkeys, and especially Alex Turner, are in a place right now where they can do whatever the fuck they want because a) they will always have enough teenage girls to buy their albums at record-breaking levels and b) Turner's constant changes in personality every few years are enough to keep the tabloids interested. At this point the Arctic Monkeys are more than a band, and they're capitalizing on that. At least the record's not utter shit.

[Space-Dementia]

May 22, 2018
Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts
Total Football - 5/5
Violence - 4/5
Before the Water Gets Too High - 3/5
Mardi Gras Beads - 4/5
Almost Had to Start a Fight / In and Out of Patience - 5/5
Freebird II - 3/5
Normalization - 3/5
Back to Earth - 3/5
Wide Awake - 4/5
NYC Observation - 3/5
Extinction - 3/5
Death Will Bring Change - 3/5
Tenderness - 3/5
Their last record, Human Performance, found them moving away from their garage rock / jam band / noise rock roots towards a more artsy sound, but they didn't lose the energy of their first few albums, and it actually ended up being one of their more interesting albums. However, they seem to have lost some of their energy on this one. Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastic songs on here, but there's so much filler, especially during the second half, that it just becomes a drag to listen to. Yeah, there's some cool chord progressions and interesting choices in instrumentation, but at the end of the day I'm listening to Parquet Courts to make my ears bleed and my neck feel sore, and this album just doesn't do that for me enough. It's okay for them to progress their sound, but if this is the direction they're moving in, the future doesn't look too bright for Parquet Courts.

[Space-Dementia]

May 23, 2018
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Courtney Barnett
Hopefulessness - 5/5
City Looks Pretty - 5/5
Charity - 4/5
Need a Little Time - 4/5
Nameless, Faceless - 4/5
I'm Not Your Mother, I'm Not Your Bitch - 3/5
Crippling Self Doubt, and a General Lack of Self Confidence - 3/5
Help Yourself - 3/5
Walkin' on Eggshells - 4/5
Sunday Roast - 3/5
On her debut Courtney was telling interesting stories and describing everyday things with witty one-liner punchlines, and it really worked. The music was interesting but repetitive, and once I started to get bored with it I'd start to listen to the lyrics and actually laugh out loud at some of the stuff she was saying, and I'd fall in love with the songs all over again. Here, though, it seems like Courtney's kind of annoyed. She's annoyed with the world, and she's annoyed with herself, and, although there are still some great lines on her latest album ("Friends treat you like a stranger and strangers treat you like their best friend, oh well" is my favorite), it just seems to be lacking in character. Courtney says "you" a lot on this album, but sometimes it seems like she's just talking to herself ("You know it's okay to have a bad day", "You don't have to pretend you're not scared, everyone else is just as terrified as you", "You're in tune with who surrounds you"). I think she was in a good place emotionally when she was writing her first EPs and album, and now she's kind of undergoing the downward spiral. It's not like she's losing her mind or anything, I'm just not sure that she's happy. And that definitely takes a toll on her songwriting. While I definitely really enjoy some moments on this album, it's just not at the same level as Sometimes I Sit, and I hope she has it in her to get through whatever she's going through and get back to making kickass, intelligent garage rock.

[Space-Dementia]

May 27, 2018
Sousoume Tamachek by Mdou Moctar
Anar - 5/5
Sousoume Tamachek - 4/5
Tanzaka - 4/5
Illmouloud - 4/5
Allagh-N-Tarah - 4/5
Nikali Talit - 3/5
Amidini - 3/5
Amer Iyan - 3/5
I stumbled upon a short video on Instagram of this guy performing in Philly and the music sounded really interesting and different than what I'm used to, so I checked out his latest album, and damn this is good. Granted, I have absolutely no experience in African music, so I don't know how well this compares to other music of the same style, but this is a great introduction. It works as background music, but it can also take you into a completely other world if you give it your full attention. I also don't know what he's saying except when he switches to English for a few lines in "Anar", but that just makes it more mystical. I'm definitely gonna be checking out more music from Niger and other parts of Africa, because this really put me at peace. Also, side note, this thing sounds awesome if you listen while watching Planet Earth, especially the Deserts episode.

[Space-Dementia]

May 29, 2018
Daytona by Pusha T
If You Know You Know - 4/5
The Games We Play - 5/5
Hard Piano - 4/5
Come Back Baby - 4/5
Santeria - 4/5
What Would Meek Do? - 4/5
Infrared - 4/5
First off, I much prefer 21-minute albums to these hour-plus albums that are loaded with filler, so the shortness of this thing definitely isn’t an issue to me. That being said, this is an odd album. I don’t know how to describe it but it just seems to be on a different wavelength than a lot of other contemporary rap albums. Kanye does a great job on the beats, but the production feels kind of empty. I’m not saying I don’t like it, because the minimalistic approach is pretty different from what I’m used to hearing, but the album kind of reminds me of a dark room because of the production. Meanwhile, while I don’t pay too much attention to lyrics, Pusha’s voice is loud and center in the mix, and the lyrics I remember are pretty good. I’ve listened to this thing like three times already, but I’m gonna keep it on regular rotation for now, because this seems like an album that takes a while to really sink in. I like what I’m hearing though.

[Space-Dementia]

May 31, 2018
Songs of Praise by Shame
Dust on Trial - 5/5
Concrete - 4/5
One Rizla - 5/5
The Lick - 4/5
Tasteless - 3/5
Donk - 3/5
Gold Hole - 4/5
Friction - 4/5
Lampoon - 3/5
Angie - 4/5
I watched a video of these guys performing live at KEXP, and they had so much energy and such a raw, young sound that I just had to check out the album. And it definitely lived up to my expectations. It’s fun and badass, and it’s a throwback while also bringing something new to the table. While the lyrics can get cheesy at times, I feel like it’s forgivable because this is their introduction into the music world. For example the lyrics on “One Rizla” have been sung loads of times before in different words, but when you hear them say that it was the first song they wrote when they were 16 right before they play it live, it definitely shines a different light on it. It’s the kind of song that I would write if I were better at writing music. Also, they change up the pace and mood a lot on here. There’s darker songs and more cheerful songs, there’s fast songs and slower songs, there’s songs where he’s singing and songs where he’s shouting. Shame isn’t really trying to change the state of pop music or anything like that, but we could use more bands with this much energy and potential these days.

[Space-Dementia]

June 3, 2018
ye by Kanye West
I Thought About Killing You - 3/5
Yikes - 3/5
All Mine - 3/5
Wouldn't Leave - 3/5
No Mistakes - 4/5
Ghost Town - 4/5
Violent Crimes - 4/5
I honestly don't know what to think about this. I can't really believe that Kanye West, who made so many brilliant albums over the past 14 years, thought the first four songs were good and complete. They have some interesting ideas, but they're not at all good songs. Let's start at the start of the album.
When I first listened to the first track, I thought he was overkilling it with the repetition of the title, but the more that I listened to it, I actually started to like the intro a lot. It's an interesting thought process he's having, and it especially hits when he says "Weigh all the options, nothing's off the table. Today I thought about killing you. Premeditated murder." The way he says it sounds so matter-of-fact, almost like he's becoming more and more comfortable with the phrase as the song continues. It's really cool. And once he starts rapping it actually sounds like the song is about to get really good, but then that second beat comes in and ruins it. It's just not a good beat, and his lyrics just aren't that interesting. On the next song, "Yikes", his flow on the hook sounds so much like his flow on "Wolves", and then the song after that just sounds like any typical rap song from the past like three years, which isn't awful but is just really disappointing coming from someone so talented. I'd be content if I never listened to the two tracks after that ever again. Again, they're not awful, but they either have small parts that I really don't like, or they're just boring. After the first four songs, though, the album starts to show signs of beauty. "No Mistakes" isn't that great of a song, but the hook is catchy as hell, and the song sounds like a pretty nice throwback to his first two albums. "Ghost Town", the song after that, reminds me a lot of "Runaway" of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The instrumental is really nice, and Kid Cudi's hook is really nice. This song makes me a lot more excited for their new collaboration album that's coming out next week, Kids See Ghost. And then after that, "Violent Crimes" is an interesting song where he talks about how he's started to respect women more now that he has a daughter. It's a little cheesy, but it's a good song. One thing that bothers me about this album, especially the last two songs is the production. The beats are really good, but you can hear the singers' voices peaking really clearly, and it honestly detracts from the listening experience, at least for me.
Overall, I'm not very happy with ye. It honestly might be his worst album, which is a shame because he did such a good job producing Pusha T's latest record. Also, while we're mentioning that album, I recently read that all the Kanye-produced albums that are gonna be released over the next couple of weeks are 7 songs, so it's interesting that he's making this trend of short albums a thing. I really can't stand when pop artists make hour-plus song albums that only have like five good songs, max. Even Kanye was guilty of that the last time around. I think he must have realized that, because this is a good response. The shorter the album, the higher the chance of most of it being good, and the more memorable it will probably be. I'm interested to see what the rest of these albums sound like, but this was definitely a disappointment.

[Space-Dementia]

Kids See Ghosts by Kids See Ghosts
Feel the Love - 3/5
Fire - 4/5
4th Dimension - 4/5
Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2) - 4/5
Reborn - 4/5
Kids See Ghosts - 4/5
Cudi Montage - 4/5
The lyrics on here aren't anything spectacular but I'm a fan of the instrumentals, and both of them sound great over them. They both sound like they're in their prime. The only Cudi song I know is Pursuit of Happiness, and "Reborn" sounds pretty similar to that song, but not in a way that it sounds unoriginal. And although he gets pretty repetitive, especially on "Reborn", his voice is pretty strong and he has some great hooks. Meanwhile, Kanye's loud voice sounds pretty abrasive on some of these more subdued tracks, like "Cudi Montage", but he definitely makes it work, if not through meaningful lyrics then through witty one liners ("Bought her alligator I ain't talkin Lacoste") and nice flow. And Kanye does a great job producing. He keeps all the beats interesting by changing them in some way throughout the songs. "Feel the Love" is probably he most obvious example of this, but Kanye's scat thing that he does over the instrumental before the beat drops is a little too weird for me to really enjoy. Overall, though, this is definitely better than ye and about on par with, if not better than, Daytona after only three or four listens. This will definitely end up somewhere on my year-end list, because as of right now I can't really see myself getting tired of this album, especially since it's only 23 minutes, and I'm loving it more after each listen. Kanye's really up to something this year. I really wish he released all the albums he's planning on releasing this year under one moniker, because I think people are gonna view it as all one project in s couple years time, and rightly so because I could definitely see this album being tied to ye[/], and probably even [i]Daytona, pretty strongly.

[Space-Dementia]

God’s Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
Hangout at the Gallows - 4/5
Mr. Tillman - 4/5
Just Dumb Enough to Try - 3/5
Date Night - 3/5
Please Don’t Die - 3/5
The Palace - 3/5
Disappointing Diamonds are the Rarest of them All - 5/5
God’s Favorite Customer - 4/5
The Songwriter - 3/5
We’re Only People (And There’s Not Much Anyone Can Do About That) - 4/5
I feel like I Love You, Honeybear dealt mostly with his romantic relationship(s), Pure Comedy was an exploration of the human race and its many issues, and now God’s Favorite Customer has a little bit of both of those but also spends more time covering his personal issues. As always, the lyrics are great, often pretty funny, and different. The production also plays a big role here. He uses the doubled Lennon-style vocals on more rock-style tracks, but on rawer songs, like “The Songwriter”, his voice sounds so clear and singular that it’s almost like he’s singing in the same room as you’re in, and on “”The Palace”, there’s somewhat of a lo-fi thing going on with his voice, and then when he sings “I’m in over my head” it’s the only time in any one of his songs that he’s really sounded fragile. He has such a strong voice that it catches me off guard, which is probably exactly what he wanted. Meanwhile, the music isn’t really something that I would choose to listen to when I’m bored for the most part, but it works really well as a full album, and I could absolutely see this album as something that I’ll grow to really love once I’m older. There’s a good mix of Beatles-style rockers and slower alt-country-type songs that just make me think of adulthood. It’s getting kind of hard to believe that Josh used to be in the Fleet Foxes, because their music seems really magical and fantastical to me, while Father John Misty is so much more real and personal. It’s an interesting contrast, and I’m glad it’s there, because otherwise I think he might have been overshadowed by his previous band. I’m weirdly proud of Josh and how well he’s doing as a solo artist. He’ll definitely be remembered for years to come.