Musiquarium Music Reviews 2016

Table Of Contents:

Animal Collective – Painting With

Animal Collective make one of the most annoying albums of all time.

With the release of Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective was one of the biggest indie bands on the planet, due to a string of strong albums and rave reviews from publications, like Pitchfork. The follow-up, Centipede Hz. was decent enough, but a letdown, but the next album, Painting With, was a collective of animal shit.

Painting With is what Animal Collective must sound like to people who hate Animal Collective. The call and response vocals are torturous on the ears. Every song is filled with obnoxious effects and gone is the nuance and beauty of Sung Tongs and Feels, or the tasteful neo-psychedelic experimentalism of Strawberry Jam and MPP.

I would not be surprised if the CIA used this album to torture their prisoners; it would make for a more efficient method of interrogation than waterboarding.

One of the worst listening experiences I’ve ever had from a once great band.

★

Charli xcx – Vroom Vroom

Charli shifts into gear.

After crafting hit songs, like Boom Clap and Famous, Charli xcx was becoming a pop force to be reckoned with, but that wasn’t enough for her. On Vroom Vroom, Charli levels up her game and branches into more experimental pop territory, helping to pioneer hyperpop.

The title track is definitive Charli, and is as sexy and sleek as a Lamborghini, but with a hint of danger; like getting road head while driving 200km/h down the autobahn. Paradise evokes something out of Dance Dance Revolution. Trophy samples Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) from the Jack Rabbit Slim’s scene in the classic 1994 Academy Award winning Pulp Fiction (Charli’s debut, True Romance, is named after the Tarantino-written film of same name) and Secret (Shh) brings sultry thrills.

Though it’s only an EP, this is a significant release and the point where the Charli xcx story really starts to get interesting.

★★★★½

Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition

Danny Brown crafts a twisted, progressive rap masterpiece.

Taking its name from both a novel and a Joy Division song (a band that also influenced XXX), Atrocity Exhibition feels like a psychedelic funhouse, where Danny Brown takes you into the darkest recesses of his mind and addiction.

Downward Spiral feels like stumbling drunkenly down a neon-lit street, motor skills fading, as your vision starts to turn to black. The synths in Tell Me What I Don’t Know sound straight from a depressing 1970s sci fi flick. Rolling Stone swaggers by like a pimp in a new mink coat. Really Doe features Kendrick Lamar in one of three incredible features from him in 2016.

Lost feels like a Portishead level trip hop song. Ain’t It Funny sounds like getting spiked with acid at a circus (think of that one scene from Dumbo). Goldust is like a peyote trip in the desert. White Lines is about exactly what you think it is. Pneumonia is ominous and mysterious, but far more fun than the infection its named after.

Dance In The Water and its Indian chants sound like a party in a tipi. From The Ground provides a calm from the psychedelic storm. When It Rain evokes Aztec vibes. Today is an anthem for those who wish to live every day like it was their last. Get Hi is like taking that first hit from a bong after a long day. Hell For It closes off the album; the flame dies, but you’re still trapped in your mind.

This album is just covered head to toe in fantastic, exhilarating, diverse production and even if you can’t get past Danny Brown’s voice (an acquired taste), you should still check it out for the imaginative instrumentals.

Easily Danny Brown’s greatest achievement and a watershed moment in 2010s rap, with its psychedelic backdrops and inspired songwriting and production.

★★★★★

David Bowie – ★

David Bowie releases one last masterwork right before dying.

Released on his 69th birthday, two days before he died, ★ (pronounced Blackstar) was truly a parting gift to the music world. When The Next Day surprise-released in 2013, Bowie had sounded more energized than he had in 30 years. No one could have foreseen that he’d follow that album up with a masterpiece that completely dwarfed it.

Where that album seemed more indebted to the past (including the defacing of the “Heroes” cover), ★ is firmly rooted in the future, leaving his comfort zone one last time, whilst grappling with the approaching inevitability of death from the cancer that he had been secretly battling.

Musically inspired by experimental artists such as Death Grips, Kendrick Lamar and Boards Of Canada, Bowie seemed to really be challenging himself to become a trailblazer one final time, after decades of playing catch up. He does what any great artist does, and takes disparate influences and creates something fresh out of it.

Having flirted with jazz back in 2014 on Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime), and even further back in 2004 with the Reality closer, Bring Me The Disco King, Bowie finally dedicates an entire album to the style, but this jazz doesn’t sound like the jazz those tracks. Instead, this is more like jazz from the future; it’s forward-thinking and experimental. It’s also Bowie’s heaviest album, both musically and thematically.

The title track is one of Bowie’s longest, most grandiose songs, only beaten in length by 1976’s Station To Station. ‘Tis A Pity She’s A Whore and Sue (In A Season Of Crime) are remakes of songs from 2014, and are the definitive versions. Lazarus sees Bowie accepting the freeing embrace of death. Girl Loves Me features one of Bowie’s rare uses of the word “fuck”.

At the end of the album, Bowie says a heartfelt goodbye to his fans with the bittersweet I Can’t Give Everything Away, revisiting the harmonica sounds of A New Career In A New Town from 1977’s Low (perhaps his most important album).

★ has set the gold standard for final albums by an ageing artist. This record is as incredible as anything from his legendary run from 1970-1980; in fact, it’s a contender for his best work, which is truly astonishing, considering it had been released two days before he died.

Rest in piece, David Bowie; you were one in a billion.

Trivia: ★ won Best Alternative Music Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

★★★★★

Death Grips – Bottomless Pit

Death Grips make a hardcore industrial punk rap album.

Coming one year after Death Grips’ double album The Powers That B and continuing on with Jenny Death’s hardcore rap sound (courtesy of Nick Reinhart on the guitar), Bottomless Pit is a chaotic album that should appeal to fans of rap, industrial metal and hardcore punk.

If ADHD was a song, it might just be Giving Bad People Good Ideas; an opener that pummels you with rapid-fire machine gun drumming and features female vocals for the first time since Exmilitary (outside of Björk samples, that is). Conversely, Hot Head may be autism incarnate.

Spikes continues with the onslaught of organized chaos. Warping uses vinyl records as a metaphor. Eh sees the band chill down a bit from all the noise with a more synth-driven sound. Bubbles Buried In This Jungle is batshit crazy. BB Poison, Three Bedrooms In A Good Neighborhood and 80808 are all bangers, perfect for speeding to. The title track sounds straight out of Jenny Death, providing a wall of guitar distortion that fucks you in half.

The production here sounds like everything was cranked to 11. It feels like everything is just about to fall apart, but never quite manages to let itself collapse.

Another masterpiece from one of the most important groups of the 2010s.

★★★★★

Deftones – Gore

Deftones lightens up their sound.

With tensions arising between singer Chino Moreno and guitarist Stephen Carpenter on the direction of the music, Gore could have ended up a major disappointment. Rather, the album occupies a unique space within the band’s discography, for having a distinct production style and (relatively) lighter sound.

Prayers/Triangles is one of the band’s best pop moments, along with Hearts/Wires , which uses a similar quiet/loud dynamic and forward slashes. Phantom Bride features a guest appearance from Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell. Songs like Doomed User, Acid Hologram and Geometric Headdress all offer that classic Deftones heaviness.

Though it’s viewed as one of the weaker Deftones albums, Gore is still bloody good.

★★★★

Frank Ocean – Blonde

Frank Ocean makes some more smooth R&B.

Four years after his debut album channel ORANGE, Blonde is an album that revels in ambience and subtlety, resulting in a less immediate listening experience than his debut.

Nike is a soulful opener with some chipmunk vocals. Ivy is lovely with it’s chorus-soaked guitars. Pink + White is one of the sexiest pieces of modern R&B.

Sometimes the songs on Blonde seem a little too minimalistic, but I suppose that’s part of the album’s charm. Regardless, the production here is seraphic.

I prefer channel ORANGE, as it’s a more lively album, but Blonde still exudes plenty of beauty in its minimalism.

★★★★

Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression

Iggy Pop forms a band with members of Queens Of The Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys.

No one expected a whole lot from a 2010’s Iggy Pop project. The Stooge’s two revival albums weren’t particularly liked (especially The Weirdness) and Iggy Pop hasn’t been attached to a genuine classic since his pair of Bowie produced albums in 1977 (The Idiot and Lust For Life).

So, it was definitely a wise choice to hire a backing band full of some of the best modern rock musicians, which seemed to help to push Iggy Pop creatively.

Iggy Pop has always been overflowing with charisma and personality, but he seems to work best when he’s collaborating with other skilled musicians (David Bowie, James Williamson, the Asheton brothers).

Break Into Your Heart features that classic Josh Homme psychedelic guitar sound, and clues the listener in on how this is going to be a Josh Homme project just as much as an Iggy Pop one (despite it solely being listed as an Iggy album). Gardenia (not to be confused with the Kyuss song) makes use of a rotary sound. Vulture is an acoustic detour. German Days is likely a reference to Iggy Pop and David Bowie’s stay in Berlin in the late 70s, which resulted in some of the greatest music from both men. Paraguay starts off with a group vocal, and closes off the album.

Josh Homme injects his usual swagger and groove into the songs, and him and Iggy just emanate cool. Their voices coalesce well, with a nice contrast between Iggy’s aged, deepening vocals and Josh’s more youthful falsettos. Matt Helders drum work is tight as usual.

One of the best supergroups of all time (if you can call it that), and if not, then at least one of the best backing bands ever.

★★★★

Kanye West – The Life Of Pablo

Kanye West grapples with the dualities between religion and family, and sex and fame.

Where Yeezus was lean, with every piece of fat obsessively cut off like it was dysmorphic, resulting in a perfect album with nothing left to change, The Life Of Pablo embraces its imperfections, sketches and general unfinished nature, which only adds to the charm and feel of the album, distinguishing it from being a copy of its predecessor.

TLOP is a goldmine of incredible songs. Ultralight Beam is a gospel master work. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1 deals with love and lust, and has a uh, memorable line about bleached assholes and t-shirts. Famous, with it’s Bam Bam sample and Rihanna feature, proved to be quite controversial due to its references to Taylor Swift and its music video, featuring a bunch of wax-versions of celebrities in bed together, but beyond said controversy, it’s quite a lovely song.

Feedback revolves around an experimental sample that sounds like some sort of guitar or microphone feedback. Highlights is a perfect song for the gym. FML is an emotional gut-punch, with a superb hook from The Weeknd. Real Friends is similarly stirring, kicking you in the dick of the feels. Wolves follows these two tracks with some lovely wordless backing vocals and lyrics about the Virgin Mary.

30 Hours sees an appearance by André 3000 on backing vocals and ends with an experimental ad-lib. No More Parties In LA sees Kendrick Lamar appear in a killer guest verse and the incorporation of a sample from Kanye’s earlier GOOD Music collab track, New God Flow. Facts sees Kanye compare Nike’s treatment of its employees to slaves, and although it feels a bit like a Yeezy plug, the song itself is still a banger all the same. Fade is a perfect song for the clubs.

Kanye ends the album with Saint Pablo, an introspective work of art, which features some wonderful vocal work from Sampha and some of Kanye’s best bars (e.g.”I’m not out of control, I’m just not in their control”, “This generation’s closest thing to Einstein, so don’t worry about me, I’m fine”). Saint Pablo is perhaps the quintessential track from The Life Of Pablo, which is ironic, as it was a last minute, post-release addition.

Though some people saw this as the beginning of Kanye’s downfall, due to the fact that the album was released in a somewhat unfinished state, with him making changes to the album post-release, it really isn’t that much of a surprise, considering a second version of The College Dropout was released shortly after the original, back at the start of his solo career.

Kanye is confident and full of bravado, but is also a self-conscious perfectionist. Making real-time updates to an already released album was novel in 2016 and just another reason why Kanye is a pioneer in music.

Kanye’s last tour was in support of this album and was cut short due to his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which changed everything for Kanye going forward.

Trivia: this album has never had an official physical release on CD, vinyl or cassette.

★★★★★

Kendrick Lamar – untitled unmastered.

Kendrick Lamar releases a companion to To Pimp A Butterfly, that is more than just leftovers.

A collection of “demos” from the To Pimp A Butterfly sessions, which completely undersells just how incredible all of these songs are. untitled unmastered. sounds like it could be any other artist’s greatest achievement, but for Kendrick, these were just some leftovers to one of the greatest albums ever made.

Like it’s predecessor, it makes use of live musicians like Thundercat, and dives deep into the history of African American music, far beyond just rap. In fact, a lot of the songs on here sound more like genuine funk and jazz songs than hip-hop.

The album did boast one single, untitled 07 | 2014-2016 (also known as Levitate).

As essential and as important as Kendrick’s proper studio albums.

★★★★½

The Last Shadow Puppets – Everything You’ve Come To Expect

Alex Turner and Miles Kane reunite for the first TLSP album in 8 years.

The first Last Shadow Puppets album came out right after the first two Arctic Monkeys albums and was soon followed by Humbug, where everything changed. This makes The Age Of Understatement seem like the end of that era of Alex Turner’s songwriting. It was also the last album they had recorded in Europe.

So how do the boys sound 8 years later? This album doesn’t seem to wear the spaghetti western influence on its sleeve like its predecessor, but rather more of a 60s baroque pop sound. This is still very much The Last Shadow Puppets, but sees a slight evolution in their sound, despite the cheeky title.

Alex Turner had grown a lot as a songwriter between the two TLSP albums and this album showcases just how far he had come (and he was already exceptional in the mid 2000s).

A sophisticated, sexy, vintage-sounding album, that feels like standing in a late 60s conversation pit.

Trivia: The cover is a photograph of Tina Turner from 1969.

★★★★

Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker

Leonard Cohen releases one last masterpiece right before dying.

Similarly to David Bowie earlier in 2016, Leonard Cohen released his best album since glory days, shortly before dying. And just like that album, you can feel the life fading away as he commits his voice to tape, one final time.

It’s an understatement to say that Leonard Cohen’s voice is deep and raspy on this album. You can taste the smell of cigarettes when listening to him sing on this album. The mix of alcohol, nicotine and age has given him a voice that few singers could ever wish to imitate. Although his life was nearing an end, he still exerts passion into his lyricism here.

The title track is one of the greatest songs Cohen has ever written. It’s bassline guides the listener through the darkness, as the candle light is blown out. Travelling Light makes use of beautiful vocals from Athena Andreadis. Treaty sees Cohen take one more chance to yearn for a lost love.

The final album Leonard Cohen released in his lifetime and a masterpiece that’s just as spectacular as his early trifecta of albums between 1967-1971.

★★★★★

Metallica – Hardwired… To Self-Destruct

Metallica are back with another 78 minutes of thrash metal.

One of my biggest gripes with post Black Album Metallica, is that they don’t know how to edit down an album. Either that, or they just don’t want to. Every single album since Load has been ~76 minutes, which is far too long for most bands. This length worked with some projects (like the Lou Reed collaboration Lulu, which included the experimental 19 minute-long, Junior Dad), but the length of these albums is typically not justified by the quality of the songs contained within.

And that’s one of the criticisms holding Hardwired… To Self-Destruct back. This album is a few songs too long, though it does feature some of Metallica’s best tracks in years, like Moth To A Flame, Atlas Rise! and Spit Out The Bone. Hardwired also has improved production over the horribly produced Death Magnetic, making it far more palatable, though that album probably had better songs.

Nothing here is bad, but some songs indulge too much in the slow bluesy metal of the Load/Reload era. Had they cut out 4-5 songs and focused more on the remaining tracks, it could have been a much better album. Instead, it’s just an alright late career album from the metal legends, but nothing more.

★★★

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds release their most gentle, minimalistic and ambient album yet.

During the recording of Skeleton Tree, tragedy struck, as Nick Cave’s teenage son Arthur died, after a fall near a cliffside. Most of the album had already been written by then, but Cave had made certain amendments to the lyrics. Even if this album wasn’t written with that loss in mind, it still emanates grief and pain from every note, like the sorrow had travelled back in time to Cave during its sessions.

Carrying on from the new sound that the band began to explore on Push The Sky Away, Skeleton Tree has minimal drums and percussion, and very little guitar. Instead, there is greater focus on words, texture, ambience and mood.

Jesus Alone sets the stage for the album, with no percussion and just Nick Cave, some piano chords, backing vocals and synths, but is no less enthralling, despite it’s calmness and minimalism. Rings Of Saturn is bewitching and warm, feeling like a spirit has visited a loved one. I Need You feels like a plea for his lost child, reaching out for the hand of a ghost, but not being able to grasp it.

Skeleton Tree is not the easiest album to listen to, given it’s despairing sound, but it is absolutely breathtaking in its beauty and proof that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are ageing like wine, able to release one of the best albums of the decade 30+ years removed from their debut album.

★★★★★

Nine Inch Nails – Not The Actual Events

NIN makes a return to the EP format.

In 1992, Nine Inch Nails released the Broken EP, a project which saw a major evolution in the band’s sound, and one of the most influential EPs ever released. Not The Actual Events sees a return to this format, and is the first in a series of three proposed EPs.

Branches/Bones is the most invigorated Trent Reznor has sounded in sometime. Dear World, has spoken word vocals. She’s Gone Away is dark and lethargic. The Idea Of You gives some of those hardcore Broken vibes. Burning Bright (Field On Fire) is a distorted and atmospheric ending to the EP.

While it’s no Broken, Not The Actual Events is still a fantastic EP and return to a darker sound after the more accessible, Pretty Hate Machine throwback, Hesitation Marks.

★★★★

Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

Radiohead fuses together their best elements of the past twenty years into one of their most essential works.

2011’s The King Of Limbs had proven to be divisive, through it’s loops and glitchiness, and so fans were hoping for something closer to In Rainbows on the band’s next outing. Five years later, fans got what they wanted.

Thom Yorke had recently gone through a divorce and so, A Moon Shaped Pool is in many ways a divorce record, similar to say, Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks or Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear, though other lyrics deal with the usual Radioheadisms of the social-political variety. And this is only my theory, but the Stanley Donwood artwork on the cover looks like the silhouette of a woman’s face, like it’s fading away from memory.

Burn The Witch sees the long-waited release of a song that’s been played live as far back as the early 2000s and features a string section plucking their instruments with plectrums, giving the strings a distinct and percussive sound. Daydreaming may very well be the saddest song in the Radiohead canon (they have plenty of contenders for that title), and has an experimental outro.

Ful Stop slowly builds up, with its fade-in, before eventually bursting into a climactic end. Present Tense uses some gorgeous finger picking. Glass Eyes is a tranquil piano ballad, like TKOL‘s Codex. Identikit features a Jonny Greenwood guitar solo, that should bring a smile to the face of fans whose favourite RH albums are The Bends or OK Computer.

True Love Waits finally makes its studio debut, after floating around live since the late 90s. Until this, the closest we had to an official version was on I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings. This version is likely to bring listeners to their knees, and bring tears to their eyes.

Every song here is rich, vibrant, enchanting and intricate, and like most Radiohead projects, will require repeated listens to hear everything.

Though Radiohead may still have an album in them, A Moon Shaped Pool feels very much like a swan song; the final piece of the Radiohead puzzle, though I hope that I’m proven wrong.

A Moon Shaped Pool is just amazing as OK Computer, KID A and In Rainbows (which are often considered the best Radiohead albums).

★★★★★

Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 3

Lightning strikes thrice.

After two back to back albums that paved the way for the duo, RTJ could have had a victory lap, but instead Killer Mike and El-P continue to push forward creatively, with the latter’s production improving and expanding, and both members playing off each other just as well as groups like Beastie Boys had done before them.

Down feels a bit like an Imagine Dragons song if that band wasn’t complete and utter dogshit. Talk To Me and Legend Has It are self-referential bangers, with the beats to back the braggadocio. Call Ticketron is a whole lotta fun, and makes brilliant use of Lyn Collins’ often sampled, Think (About It). Detroit legend Danny Brown makes an appearance on Hey Kids (Bumaye). Zach De La Rocha returns on closer Kill Your Masters.

Another great album from one of the best duos in hip-hop history.

★★★★½

The Strokes – Future Present Past

The Strokes release an EP.

Three years after the lukewarm reception of Comeback Machine (a fairly underrated record), Future Present Past isn’t likely to win over the fans who want a return to a pre-Angles era Strokes, but it provides a few new Strokes tracks to add to the playlist.

Oblivius and Threat Of Joy are more-or-less just your standard 2010s Strokes tracks. Drag Queen has manipulated vocals from Julian Casablancas, making it slightly worse than the other two, but still a curious track. Then there is a superfluous Oblivius remix.

None of these songs are likely to make a dent in the Strokes back catalogue, but it’s something to tide you over until the next release.

★★★

A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service

A Tribe Called Quest return after 18 years for one final album.

Having disbanded at the end of the 1990s, nobody knew when, or if A Tribe Called Quest would ever get back together. 18 years after their last album (the underwhelming, The Love Movement), their next album finally saw the light of day.

Unfortunately, Phife Dawg died during the recording of the album, but not before getting to leave his mark on the project, even having named it.

We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is a modern updated take on the jazz rap sound that A Tribe Called Quest pioneered in the 90s and featuring an all star cast with the likes of Jack White, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Andre 3000.

The Space Program is a poignant opener; perhaps their best yet. We The People… samples Bill Ward’s drums from Black Sabbath’s Behind The Wall Of Sleep and is an anti-Trump Administration anthem. Solid Wall Of Sound interpolates a line from Elton John’s Benny And The Jets in a transformative fashion (similarly to Frank Ocean four years prior).

Dis Generation acknowledges the new generation of rappers that have sprung up since Tribe’s rule in the 90s. Enough!! is a sensual bedroom ballad. Kids… features André 3000 (making a second appearance in 2016, after being on Kanye West’s track, 30 Hours) and deals with the frustrations of adolescence. Kanye West sings the hook on The Killing Season, which deals with police brutality and mistreatment of veterans.

Black Spasmodic has a Rasta-ready beat. Lost Somebody is R&B that uses a sample of CAN’s 1971 track, Halleluhwah. Kendrick Lamar features on Conrad Tokyo. Jack White plays guitar on the final two tracks, Ego and The Donald.

Both one of the greatest comebacks and swan songs in music history, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is a triumphant tour-de-force.

★★★★★

Weezer – Weezer (White Album)

Weezer’s love letter to California.

After a minor comeback with Everything Will Be Alright In The End just two years prior, Weezer (White Album) finds Weezer continuing to gain momentum, with their most sincere and interesting album since Pinkerton.

California Kids sets the summery scene of the album, with a nostalgic love letter to the beloved state. Thank God For Girls is Rivers Cuomo’s ode to the fairer sex. Songs like Do You Wanna Get High? and Summer Elaine And Drunk Dori are perhaps the closest that Weezer has been to capturing the spirit and sound of their early work (and are 2/3 of the Cuomo-only compositions on this album).

A surprisingly great album from Weezer.

★★★★

FIN

Britain Chambers

The Musiquarium