Backxwash "God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It" (2020)

I have an absolute adoration for Hip Hop music, however diversity is something lacking in its first decades. The 90s, for example, many would consider the pinnacle of both artistic creativity and success. But in comparison to the world of Metal and its stylistic divergences, its obvious the genre is narrower and closely knit. When records like this come along its a firm sign of progression, barriers collapsing and diversity in this age of musical cross pollination Internet culture.

God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It is a short concise plunge into the uneasy. A cathartic release of repented energy. A self administered therapy with an undercurrent of religiosity feeding into its themes of sin, abuse and guilt. Kicking off a sample of Ozzy Osbourne crying for help with an air of despair to his voice, a tone is set for the slow drums to drill in the dark subjects this album will tackle. The transition into Black Sabbath's Self Titled track a nice touch to see it off.

The instrumentals set out a harrowing tone of internal struggles and paranoia. The sampling and beat arrangements are dark, gloomy and ghostly with enough groove in their to keep it from feeling burdensome on the listener. Reading over the lyrics, a lot of pain and personal anguish is exorcised across these tight and direct verses. With a motioned rhythm in flow and Canadian cadence flavoring annunciation, backxwash has a firm command over the narrative where the two elements come together.

The vocabulary and linking of rhymes is frequent and often entrancing. The hooks and between parts embellishes each tracks depth. As the album plays on, its somewhat ambiguous tie to religion grows, suggesting an arc as the finial songs shift in tone. Redemption lifts the mood but its wording shows a person doing right by them self in the face of intolerance. The final vocal sample from some form of spiritual speech indicates forgiveness for all those who do you wrong. A solid conclusion.

Everything about this record speaks to vision and execution. Every line and wording feeling relevant, a grouping of short tracks offering no fluff. Interlude tracks flesh out the musical theme and its dark atmosphere carries between each track wonderfully, letting the album play like one big track in the bigger track. Its not taken many listens to appreciate its greatness. I've got a feeling this one to frequent back to in the future of the never ending musical journey!

Favorite Tracks:

Rating: 8/10

Meshugah "I" (2004)

Part of the excitement leading to Catch Thirtythree was the build up in the Nuclear Blast magazine, the Swedish bands lable. Before its arrival the band would release another one song project, an EP with a lone twenty one minute song known as I. Rougher around the edges and with its drum machine identifications showing, I serves as the bridge between sounds. This was the Nothing and Chaosphere era of the band manifesting into a meaty riff fest of pummeling brutality with shades of the masterclass to come, however this was an exercise in sheer intensity.

Giving it a listen again for some time I find myself enamored by its coarse abrasion and flabbergasted as to how my memory of its genius faded. Perhaps that grinding intro of Bleed like guitar chugging meant I'd skip it over? How could I forget such magic? As the song grows it flexes some alien melodic guitar lines in the background, swelling groove and aggression in a hateful pot. Then comes the real axe grind, meaty poly chugs allure us into an absolute maelstrom of deafening blast beat madness... and then that solo! My word is it a blisteringly fast, finger bleeding assault on the strings baron of any melodic sense, it just starts, full on, then ends... I love it!

The song falls into a lull of discordant acoustics and then its returning riffs echo much of a Meshuggah in years to come with riffs conceptually liking to its predecessor. Pummeling its way on with simplistic grooves and far simpler slabs of head banging groove, a stretched elasticity starts to build suspension, unleashing more measures of hypnotic swaying. Those Catch Thirtythree shimmering tremolo guitars make an arrival in the background and I'm fondly loving the journey through this old treasure.

Listening again, one can really hear the transition play out as a progressive journey through the song. More elements of whats to come persuade the song as its birth through incessant brutality gives way to an arsenal of carefully crafted riffs that are just simply a delight to endure. Turning this song on to churn out some thoughts I am stunned again as to how much brilliance this band posses in their conceptual approach to ideas. These "one song" concepts steered the band from structural norms and in it the freedom to move births so many fantastical ideas. Its a real treat!

Rating: 8/10

Meshuggah "Catch Thirtythree" (2005)

Ah Meshuggah... one of a rare few bands that pull me in like a magnet. Its been around eighteen years since I discovered the Swedish magicians, pioneers of Djent and masters of primordial rhythmic elasticity. Too this day a track popping up on shuffle will have me relenting into a binge, after another one today I felt very inspired to talk of their best work. Its release was in the prime of my musical infatuation, festivals and gigs galore with friends, it felt monumental, a new form to worship.

As an album it succeeds in executing a vision as a whole. Conceptually its one unrelenting forty seven minute song with a few sections of respite. Even its clunky track splitting can't separate a prevalent wholeness as the lengthy In Death Is Death feels like it could equally be split into ten shorter tracks. Catch Thirtythree is a continually unraveling of the bands finest hypnotic riff work to date.

Leaving the constraints of structured song writing behind, the band find a slender liquidity that strikes at the core of their rhythmic magic. An unending unraveling of elastic groove, swaying with bounce, twisting with cryptic intervals, the dancing never ends it seems. A key feature is the inclusion of tremolo picking guitars creating this layer of modal ambience that holds the dizzying jolts of mechanical fret board dexterity to a grounded anchor. Its a missing link barely if at all utilized again since this one.

Mind's Mirror marks a memorable moment as Jens's monochromatic bleak howls get flipped sideways. His spoken words morphed through melodic waves over the top of sparse collapsing guitar noise creates a beautiful and totally unexpected moment to builds up suspense for an entourage of the bands bounciest riffs. The pair of Death songs delve deep into the arsenal of progressive riffs, toying with all sorts of ploymeter arrangement and counter intuitive notation. Its nothing but pure gold.

The record's production is stellar. Crisp, bright and beaming with tone its a sound ingrained in my mind for all the binges I've taken on it. Fifteen years later it still lights a fire in my mind, persuading me fully to its tribal polyrhythmic dance. With so many great moments its hard to pick any favorites. Perhaps that empithizes why the album experience prevails this time around. Its best enjoyed whole and if you make it to Sum, then unleashed are beautiful sways of melody to peak the bands primal brilliance.

Rating: 10/10

Grimes "Geidi Primes" (2010)

Time alone justifies these ten years of evolution leading to Miss Anthropocene. Its practically unrecognizable in this infantile form, even the gap between Geidi Primes and Halfaxa is remarkable with just nine months between them. A DIY enthusiast and bedroom producer arrives at a raw inception with some peculiar parallels with whats to come. As a first impression, I may not have perused this discovery further but luck luckily reputation and repetitious listens yields a strange charm emanating from this low fidelity affair of narrow dingy production and Etheral voices. Despite being a little stark in comparison to its follow up, I like Geidi Primes for its simplicity more so.

Every track deploys a thin, distant and monotone percussive beat on a short loop. It holds tempo, contributing to the aparent starkness of style. Other dingy, muddy instruments chime in with a lack of clarity. The lack of punch or reach for fidelity gives it all strange shyness. A fondness is birthed by Grimes's voice who starts of with basic echos on her voice, then progresses along with the record, layering up, becoming central to the music. Avi is a good track where she surpasses the production, her singing becomes a wash of dreamy, ghostly wonder over sheltered instrumentals.

A track like Gambang with its choked up acoustic guitar sample gives a sense of intention to the low fidelity aspect, yet on the other hand it seems almost amateurish, wandering in through lack of knowing any better. Its eleven tracks bumble through this strange dimension with their short repetitions droning into obscurity. Innocent, dreamy and flirting with a lonely darkness, strange just doesn't seem to justify the actualization. Is it accidental brilliance or focused vision? Either way I feel this record, despite seeming simple, has depth and with each session I enjoy it more so.

Favorite Tracks: Rosa, Avi, Venus In Fleurs

Rating: 7/10

Sarah Longfield "Dusk" (2020)

With its moments of subtle disorientation and off kilt percussive transitioning, Dusk was initially hard to love at first. The pitched down, lightly synthesized vocal styling too played as a distraction from the beautifully calming fragrance of colors drifting by as electronic and guitar instruments dance in this blissful limbo. Its five songs make a brief experience but a cohesive one with vision and inspiration melding into warm, melty fifteen minutes of lightly ambiguous but loftily interwoven music.

Sarah uses her voice with refreshing creativity, it dawns on me now how reminiscent of Grimes this may be. Utilizing reverberations, delays and echos, she sounds caught between dimensions, the words often blurring out of focus as glitches and reverbs take over. Some airy background synths catch you off guard when realizing they her chords at work. The range of temperaments has her dancing from back to foreground at times, its a treat and suits the melding of instruments woven between.

The percussion has a crucial roll, its spacious and subdued presence of fast attack claps snaps and snares play loosely defined rhythms that explore the gaps. It takes moments to lapse and sway but comes back around to its subtle glitched persona, imploring soft grooves in the process. The guitar work and electronic melodies play off this foundation with a similar elasticity, often wading in with bursts of beautiful color and tapestries of jilted, intricate melodies, oozing organically with oddities rolled in.

It is so many things, and together it has a breezy uplift that feels oddly ambiguous but that is what is so wonderful about her music. Its brimming with experimentation and creativity, the production really shows whats possible when utilizing the tools available. The opening song Cycles has a gorgeous lead guitar solo, would of been nice to hear more of that shred! Dusk is wonderful, Its just a shame the record is so short and brief, I would like to visit this odd and curious place for much longer.

Rating: 6/10

IGORRR "Spirituality And Distortion" (2020)

Its been a wild discovery that has teetered on the border of novelty at times. The cluster bomb of cultural, historic and extreme genres colliding in the melting pot that is IGORRR has put French musician Gautier Serre on the ones to watch list. A few years back I caught a live show on the Savage Sinusoid tour and their expansion into a live band showed a promise I believe has carried over onto this newest record.

Beautifully crisp and blisteringly punchy, the percussion holds like a precision drill pounding away with menace as rapid bursts of drums hold everything locked in place with a dynamic magnetism. Inching further away from the break beats and sampling of past, the tone and compositions have a far stronger framework for all the wacky, Baroque and Black Metal inspired musical madness that takes places within these choppy, dizzying assaults of rhythmic battering. Its not a constant haze however, the temperaments change and flow with the music with great understanding.

As a whole Spirituality And Distortion tones down the manic in favor of good song writing. Many of the structures and paths it wanders feel meaningful and satisfying. The balance of polar extremes have cohesion. With more purpose in mind, they work together to flow with the drastic shifts, from calm and serine to slabs of meaty crushing guitar and brutal break beats. It all has direction forging far more gratifying music.

In brief moments where its extremes are not obvious, one might mistake this for a more conventional Metal band. Its a good thing, this eclectic identity has found balance that prevails with authority. The recurring voices of Laurent and Laure let the screams and cultural singing take on an identity where once random sampling showed its stitched nature. Now things are far more inspired. Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse also lends his thunderous death growls on Parpaing for a pleasant tale of rot an ruin in the house of corpses. Its not a bad song but probably my least favorite as they try to hash together conventional Death Metal with this far more flavorful sound.

Favorite Tracks: Downgrade Desert, Very Noise, Hollow Tree, Lost In Introspection, Overweight Posey, Polyphonic Rust

Rating: 8/10

Grimes "Halfaxa" (2010)

Moving back another record from Visions we hear a distinctive shift in tone and composition that signifies the scaling evolution of Grimes as an artist. Halfaxa has the bedroom experimenter sound intact at an embryonic stage of development. The songs feel further from design, embedded as exercises, each track offering up various textural experiments between the dingy synths and her performative voice. At this stage she has her distinct charm but is yet to channel them into an impactful avenue.

For the most part it is her voice, dressed up in ambiguous reverb and echoes that dazzles. Constantly dancing in layers of arrangement around narrow, tempo keeping percussive drives, Grimes forges a constantly curious and peculiar environment. Its unsettled, yet lavish with an Ethereal quality. A couple moments of cohesion appear where more standard expectations of music create convention but on the whole its a wacky ride through quirky, advantageous experiments that land on something seemingly distant from other forms, approaching an illusive feeling of uniqueness.

Its fifteen songs at fifty two minutes tend to drone on, from one to the next without many peaks or valleys. Occasionally big slabs of keyboard synth tone drop in, creating a deja vu between other music I've heard them before. Its a fun listen but with most the songs just playing through a series of ideas with little direction, it pales in comparison of whats to come. Definitely worth but unable to shake the embryonic feeling.

Rating: 5/10

Grimes "Visions" (2016)

I've been fortunate, finding a pathway in that has worked. Art Angels was a sublime introduction to the imaginary world of Grimes. Understanding her playful voice, this record was immediately fun and spirited, however with that familiarity It may have not clicked so swiftly. With less of the structural evolution of her music to come, Visions plays more like a collection of musical experiments toying with aesthetics, both vocal and with an array of instruments. Its tone is typically dreamy, indulgent and the mood? Mildly ambiguous as its many shades occupy beautiful spaces open to the listeners interpretation. Its a joyous exercise in musical creativity crawling into many niches.

More commonly using her vocal chords as the atmospheric device, lavishing of excessive reverb and manipulations build the music up. Droning loops of electronic dance percussion hold up a tempo and framework for synths and melodies to chime in. The variety on display often ushers in this strange unease in disparity of tone between instruments. It really plays up an experimental vibe of a young musician toying with tones and embracing the chemistry that emerges. Oblivion is a keen example, its pianos, stabs and jolting, buzzing bass synth melody have a strange cohesion thats peaked by the arrival of bizarre synthetic choir voicing.

Its all lighthearted, a girl in her bedroom experimenting with sound and embracing the magic. What is most brilliant however, is her voice holding it all together like glue. She guides you to the genius with this embellished presence as it plays out. The most note able influence may be Synthpop and classic electro even reminiscent of Kraftwerk given the boldness of these synthesized melodies that are central throughout. Its been a pleasure that keeps giving. No particular highs or lows, it occupies the listening with a warmness devoid of flash or flair, a rather consistent and fun experience.

Favorite Tracks: Eight, Nightmusic

Rating: 8/10

Code Orange "Underneath" (2020)

Formally known as Code Orange Kids, the Pittsburgh outfit have gained notoriety with previous efforts I Am King and Forever. Their unique take on Hardcore and Metal fused with an apatite for disjointed infusions of noise elevates to a new plateau as classic and metallic Industrial inspirations integrate into the aesthetic pallet. Underneath is a typically Code Orange record with their approach to aggressive slams, beat downs and chugg riffs remaining firmly intact with that spice of jolted timing. It also embraces its new leaning fully with atmospheric songs that play into a grander sense theme that's dark and twisted.

Its two sides that play strongly of each other. The song writing feels matured as the "lighter" tracks carry melody and theme with weight to make ear worms and tunes you won't get out of your head in a hurry. The Easy Way is perhaps a shining example of this but its general temperament and definitely singing hail to 90s Nine Inch Nails. Between these thematic, less aggressive songs lay sonic assaults of stomping brutality dressed up in dystopian Industrial noise. Bleak synths, ambiguous voicings and slathers of mix manipulation rock the cradle as the common song structures and expectant riff formulas are toyed with to great effect!

At forty seven minutes, these fourteen tracks play well with a healthy variety and depth of approaches to the madness that will birth favorite moments for many a listener. For me its the manic outro of Last Ones Left, its palm mute slamming, slowly scathing into the putrid as the walls of sound collapse. Who I Am is another, an unsettled atmosphere is held together beautifully by Reba Meyers voice and the ghostly lead guitar lurking in the background. It too trades blows with the song deconstructing itself, with feisty production experiments in noise. The title track goes out on a bang, leaving much thirst for more. A total treat of a record, It still feels fresh and I expect it will grow on me with time.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Tracks : Who I Am, The Easy Way, Last Ones Left, A Sliver, Underneath

Childish Gambino "3.15.20" (2020)

Going for an ambiguous, minimal presentation of this latest collection of songs, the multi talented Danny Glover AKA Childish Gambino follows up Awaken, My Love with 3.15.10. Its title simply signifies its release date. The plain white album cover furthers the lack of definition, its songs labeled simply with numbers signifying their arrival time on the overall listen. Only two tracks receive a name, Algorythm and Time, the first signifying that Danny is in touch with the times and pondering the human changes of this technological, data driven world is currently finding its way through.

Continuing with his inspired revival of the 70s shades of R&B, Soul and Funk, this newest iteration looks for a little obnoxiousness in its compositions, a handful of opening tracks experimenting with bold, over pronounced instrumentation and sample manipulation that penetrate the musical forefront. Many of these songs leave little in subtlety, bringing bright viscous sounds forward with jolted percussive rhythms, sometimes hinging on a groove but often feeling a little of kilter and niche.

After a slow unrolling of lengthy tracks, 19.10 punches in with a snappy beat and retro synth baseline that feels a little too overstated and off key to croon. As its layers builds the chemistry feels crowded and its proceeding 32.22 perhaps highlights where the experimentation doesn't yield. Its desolate fusion of dirty base rumblings and auto tuned voices crescendo without charm as its purpose seems to converge on volume. Its a gaudy, novelty track thats quite frankly grinding as its discernible voicing relents.

A couple songs later and the closing phase of the record finds some cohesion, experimentation calms and the chemistry heard on his previous effect can be heard again. The singing especially hits a smooth note as Danny's voice is presented without these manipulations heard earlier. It saves the record somewhat but overall I get a sense that the avenues to be different in production and composition just don't come together. Parts of it are very forgettable but a few songs hold up well too.

Favorite Tracks: 42.26, 47.48

Rating: 5/10

Grimes "Miss Anthropocene" (2020)

With a substantial five year gap, Canadian singer & songwriter Grimes follows up her alarmingly bright and uplifting Art Angels with a project similar in tone yet gleamed by compositions that adventure deeper into darker imaginations. With many breaks for her defined artsy Pop pleasers, the gaps between delve into avant-garde themes with esoteric dexterity. They arrive with an enjoyable regularity. Last time around just a fraction of the music explored these stretches of creativity. With much of the songs residing comparatively in the sweet spot of appealing fuzzy feelings of goodness.

The slow and sleepy awakening of its opening track lingers in Ethereal shadows, setting a sombre tone for darkness to come. Darkseld slides into the dystopian as Grimes rapidly spurts her alien words over the droning thud of a descending and rigidly monotonous baseline. Its hypnotic, the chemistry is ripe. Violence lingers in an ambiguity between moods as its Downtempo drum groove marches the dreamy track onward. 4AM takes the biscuit as its unassuming intro of meandering high pitched singing paves a diversion for a party synth and Drumstep beat to propel the music to another planet. Brilliant! as is much of the layering vocals and reverb abuse to come.

The tracks around these significant moments don't come with as much flair and cavalier but have held up well over my many listens through this record. Its doesn't pack the same punch and might disappoint some but I thing the less obvious tracks have depth. Grime's lyrics and compositional experimenting stand strong and paint slow begrudging atmospheres with a lot of beauty emanating. The slower tempos tend not to grab attention in the same way, yet as an album of subtleties, its full of them. A really great record with plenty to come back too. Its got me looking forward to more!

Favorite Tracks: Darkseld, Violence, 4AM, My Name Is Dark

Rating: 8/10

Clipping "CLPPNG" (2014)

Now here is a remarkable group that may draw unfair comparisons to Death Grips. Also an Experimental, Industrial Hip Hop trio the link might seem strong at first glance but the reality is Clipping are a rather different beast. Breaking the music down to its two core components, a chemistry exists unlike anything Ive heard before but I can't say it does it for me around the clock. I can however appreciate the artistry and skill on display. The music however, tends to shy from cheap tricks, groove and flash but keeps itself closely guarded by an unforgiving, cold presence.

The instrumentals are something to be adjusted too. Often minimalist and sparse, its atmospheres are birthed through textural snippets and samples that stray away from melody and rhythm. Cold mechanical sounds, sirens, noise and distortion loosely cling percussion that is barely present. Many of the songs reside in a dystopian, life drained state, barely growing or evolving from its initial inception while Daveed Diggs wilds off on the microphone. Get Up is literally two minutes of rapping to alarm clock before anything musically happens. Its conceptual, clever and jarring. I can't help but feel the goal is to paint an un-glorified picture of the subject matter.

Diggs is a phenomenal talent. Precisely enunciated, daringly swift and churning out the words at a dizzying pace his crisp and clear voicing is entrancing. With a lenience towards rhyming, his cadence cruises over multiple bars before looping back round to a rhyme of groove in the delivery of his words. Quite often he musters a dizzying momentum, blasting through very competently articulated story telling. Following his words can be intense to keep up and immerse in the vivid nature of his words. It borders with something akin to spoken word at times but the pacing and glue to the instrumental is firmly Rap, along with the themes of course.

Together they form a bold statement. This album plays through its themes of street and club life with an unforgiving coldness brought to life through its instrumentals. Its remarkable but the lack of relief and fun makes it quite a heavy and burdensome listen. Its more of a remarkable spectacle than something to throw on and jive too. Its only on Body & Blood that a semblance of bounce and groove is exploited. Its also one of the darkest atmospheres the album offers. I've found it hard to enjoy this on an emotional level but I can't flaw its artistry, very unique and focused, especially the story raps!

Favorite Tracks: Body & Blood, Story 2

Rating: 5/10

Algiers "There Is No Year" (2020)

The southern American outfit Algiers have been on my radar since their remarkable The Underside Of Power. This retro intensive sound has the hauntings of Soul and Gospel playing out in a Post-Punk aesthetic that has been remarkable in the past. This third chapter is inherently bleak and downtrodden, a clear stylistic aim into an oppressive darkness. Its rather burdensome with little relief in its run time. Gloomy depressive atmospheres play out with a sense of unyielding dread looming.

In its intelligent self realization, this record fails to give a little leeway on groove and melody for any uplift or reprise in pursuit of its vision. Instead it plays like a grey rainy day without an end in sight. Its damp and miserable, the fog never clears and the injustice mounts. Its mechanical pattering percussion, atmospheric upheavals of guitar noise and the pained soulful singing of Franklin Fisher keep the harrowing mood sharply focused on its descent, the feeling they forge forever grieving.

The tracks roll out with various themes and temperaments. The degrees of desperation tweaked and any composition or aesthetic of interest feels chained too its sunken, defeated feeling. Its a beautiful vision into a shade of darkness but without that uplift my appreciation could only go so far. It took a while for me to make sense of my lack of enjoyment. A lot of the dark music I like channels these things with energy and a counteracting force but There Is No Year is too consistently bleak for me.

Rating: 5/10

Bring Me The Horizon "Music To Listen To…" (2019)

Having announced a planned departure from the album format, the Sheffield outfit Bring Me The Horizon swiftly follow up on Amo within the same calendar year. It is their first EP, a format which they've announced will be the new norm and surprisingly its the groups lengthiest release to date clocking in at seventy five minutes. Its no serious affair, the eight tracks stack up the run time with two ten minute songs and another at twenty four mostly consisting of a glitched vocal snippet on loop with some accompanying rambling dialog. Its an experimental piece, unstructured output paired with a ridiculously long record title. Its song names too tend to steer to the obscure.

What's obvious on first listen is the lack of format, a lifting of restraints. Music To Listen To... plays more like a collection of jams and experiments from the studio, perhaps a window into the process before the real writing takes place. Mostly devoid of its metallic component, the groups influences from Electronic music and Ambient play out in experimental fashion, showcasing the more eclectic taste as musicians. A Devastating Liberation is simply the backing track to Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down. How the two came together would be a fascinating learn. It holds up well as a dark, foreboding electronic, symphonic hybrid of monstrous magnitude.

The songs mainly showcase a variety of shades from the massive web of styles that is Electronic music. For the most part it plays well, in a laid back relaxed context. There is little in the way of direction that feels expressive or envisioned. It is mostly a mood, tone or temperament that is established and then droned out at length. Snippets, moments and textures shine like elements of the bands normal dense tone, however they are simply laid bare on their own. Its an interesting insight to the bands process and creativity but as a record it makes sense to not call this an album. I've mostly enjoyed each listen but with that lack of structure, much of the music just floats in the present, making little impact or birthing ear worms for the subconscious afterthought.

Favorite Track: A Devastating Liberation

Rating: 5/10

FKA Twiggs "Magdalene" (2019)

After a period of relative inactivity, FKA Twiggs returns with a monumental sophomore album. If I had more time with Magdalene, it could of well been my album of the year. Its a deep and dense record, the instrumentals revel in the Avant-Garde. Ambiguous synthetic noises and percussive abstractions forge beautiful songs through unconvention. Every spin yields magic yet each listen feels like I'm scratching at the surface. Some records are just like this, they let you know you'll be coming back for times to come and maybe one day all there secrets will be unearthed.

Of what I remember, Twiggs had a stunning voice and bags of talent but this time around her vocal articulation feels utterly exceptional. Commanding her chords like a truely classic singer, she is pitch perfect with this undeniable resonance of emotional meaning and outpour. Every note, word, inflection and gasping of her breath feels like an artistic vision manifested. The reverberations and sound design simply further expand her sweet but yet very vulnerable presence at the forefront.

That open wound is felt in her voice but more so in the words of this record which have a strong undercurrent of tragedy, heartbreak and loss bleeding into the moody, reflective atmospheres. The ranges she reaches with the emotive direction is sublime, particularly on the song Fallen Alien, the albums true crescendo. Across these nine songs, everything from these soaring peaks to breathy and ASMR alike voicings has Twiggs giving a remarkable performance that you wont be capable of forgetting.

The albums pacing and tempo is suspended in a limbo. Many of the songs feel like they are leading to something that never comes to fruition but that is simply its point. As a listener you are dangling in this ambiguous space, painted with an ambience that resists obvious melody. Even percussion is drawn to its minimal essential, dressed in echos and shadows. It does finds strides and musters growth on many occasions though, the pairing of Mary Magdalene and Fallen Alien is so satisfying as its brooding of one track bleeds into the next, erupting with claustrophobic climax.

The record does have a hitch with one track. Future turns up for a feature and his Mumble Rap autotune inflections and Trap beat dominates the vibe. It breaks up the flow and feels out of place. Other than that one hiccup, Magdalene feels like a complete experience, an artistic expression that's been meticulously orchestrated. Twiggs will mesmerize with her swaying voice and suck you in to this tender space that you can't look away from. I'm excited to know that this album is far from over, I feel like I'll still be discovering it again and again for years to come. Its magic!

Favorite Tracks: Home With You, Sad Day, Mary Magdalene, Fallen Alien, Daybed

Rating: 9/10

Queen "Flash Gordon" (1980)

Its been a while since I covered the last Queen record, reality is Id only given this a handful of spins. Its been rather unappealing. Of the rare occasions I have indulged, I would find myself bored by its shifts and sudden turns if it were not for the mere spectacle of a band pinned into a creative corner. I don't know much of the backstory here, or how the music relates to the movie itself. I'd prefer to keep that a mystery as it plays like a band attempting to be drastically different but constants leave them unable to flesh out experimental ideas and directions.

The theme song for Flash is a classic, no doubt. Ive heard it many times but it makes a poor jump off point for the record as it never returns to that intensity and thematic richness until the very last songs. The biggest stirs of energy often spark from the themes erroneous rehashing back into future songs. Sporadic bursts of synthesizer zaps and symphonic upheavals reign out between lines of dialog that feel disconnected and bizarre in nature. Its hard to envision it being the direct soundtrack, more of a project trying to use the movie for an isolated soundtrack experience, either way its pretty disastrous.

So far I've been harsh and of the nice things I can say they are mostly little musical moments that occur on occasion yet do next to nothing in making the whole thing work. Brian May's metallic guitar stirs some rocking riotous energy on Football Fight, they command direction over the racing beat lined with gaudy synths. The audio samples in this case build up a tension but the song just dissipates without any conclusion and lapses back into a lull as seemingly unconnected spacey astral synths take over. It could of evolved into something but these songs lack progression.

The synths remind me of In The Space Capsule where the those nebulous synth tones provoke quite the mystique atmosphere. Once again though, its all to disconnected as the music meanders with sudden shfts. From here, many of its one to two minute compositions have interesting aesthetics and quirky sparks of chemistry but its all littered between sharp turns in tone and audio snippets that it becomes hard to follow along with. Battle Theme would be a great example of the band doing what they do best however the song is hampered by sticky laser zaps and ear grating synths that rub against the slick guitars.

It is perhaps possible to love this record for all its quirkiness, shifts in direction and musical experiments. For me I couldn't escape how its attempt to be some form of soundtrack was hindering the flow of ideas. Things were rarely fleshed out and when the music was calling out for some progressive story telling and journeying of the sounds, it felt forced and hurried along, as if sticking to a strict schedule. Poor record, It hasn't convinced me to see the movie although I am morbidly curious now as to how the two are related.

Favorite Tracks: Flash's Theme, Football Fight, The Hero

Rating: 3/10

Danny Brown "Uknowhatimsayin¿" (2019)

For his last major release Danny dazzled with a wild unhinged experimental Atrocity Exhibition. Its flamboyant nature and eccentric charm seems to have been turned on its head. This time Brown delivers a lean and fresh collection of songs that feel isolated from one another yet all land a strange dissonance. Selecting oddball instrumentals, his raw voice recording aesthetic adds this layer of separation between beat and rhyme that initially left me not knowing what to make of the project.

With plenty to say, the rhymes in the best moments are unbelievably sharp, witty and well articulated. Layered with elements of comedy, story telling, self deprecation and vulnerability he musters up some engaging flows that topically chop and turn at pace. Brown's cadence often feels a step off the beat, free and loose yet holding its own flow of continuous verbal packages to unwrap. It may also be the percussive grooves mustering this illusion as they are often untypical of a groove to rap along with.

The moods and temperaments of the samples and beats shift all over the place, never slipping into anything too banging or obvious, always focused on the power of subtler chemistry. Run The Jewels turn up to stamp their style on a JPEG beat and Q-Tip produces a couple of my favorite cuts that have the Jazz Hop lean. This wild variety in production aids producer White in delivering striking esoteric and Ethereal sounds that stood out among a lot of great instrumentals. With every listen this record reveals more, its got depth and substance rammed into its thirty three minutes.

Rating: 7/10

Favorite Tracks: Change Up, Belly Of The Beast, Best Life, Uknowhatimsayin¿, Combat

Ho99o9 "Cyber Warfare" (2019)

Less than a year on from one of last years favorites Cyber Cop, the vicious Punk Rock fusing and Hip Hop grooving duo Ho99o9 return with another vivid, conceptual EP that experiments with eerie cyber space hacker aesthetic. Opening up with Master Of Pain, gothic organs conjure an unsettling hallowed horror soundtrack atmosphere for slow tempo percussion to brood and then pivot into a riotous romp of synthetic guitar riffs fit for the pit. The back and forth is fantastic but this new gothic element sets a desire for more that is left alone on this one song. With Plexiglass a smothering, repetitive, obnoxious baseline fills the void akin to something you might hear on a TV commercial. A ridiculous mania of hurling frantic screams quickly stops this in its tracks as it turns up the intensity alongside scratchy discernible noise. At this point it may be hard to stomach for many a music listener.

Shadowrun slams into the Punk energy with fast and energetic guitar riffs, burred screams and pummeling drums. Its ecstatic and highly intriguing as the distortion and production techniques mask much of the instruments in layers of unusual aesthetic. From their the good songwriting emerges as the song leads into a fantastic closing groove played twice over. The end of the song introduces a layer of technological theming as a pitch dropped voice talks of internet connections. There is a few other bits like this but they fail to be interesting in my opinion. The next few tracks brings out the mean and gritty raps, delving into gloomy, dangerous street vibes akin to similar songs heard on their Horrors Of 1999 sophomore EP.

F.O.G. wraps up the record with some serious metallic stomping and tight drum patterns not far from something heard on a Extreme Metal record with its tight double pedal working. The song gets progressively heavier and distorted synths lead up to a ridiculous climax that maybe falls a little short of its intention. Overall this record is another fantastic chapter in what I hope will produce more of this paranoid cyber theming. Its not reached quite the peaks of Cyber Cop but it has produced some remarkable songs once again. This band are very much in a stride and I find myself dead excited for whatever it is they will do next.

Rating: 7/10
Favorite Tracks: Master Of Pain, Plexiglass, Shadowrun

Billie Eilish "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" (2019)

Here's a fact that makes me feel drowsy, Billie was born after 9/11... Let that sink in, what a reminder of how time gets past you... Her name has circulated past me plenty of times and after hearing she broke records for youngest performing artist at various festivals I had to check this one out. When We Fall Asleep is her debut album and the Teenager's hype presents itself swiftly but lasts after many spins. With a charmingly soft and subdued voice, this fusion of Pop and Electronic music stands apart with an Avant-garde edge in vocal experimentation that toys with distortion and more.

The norms are present, typically sensible and poppy melodies linger throughout. Warm and easy pianos drop in chords to chime with airy synth tones in easily digestible arrangements. Softly strummed guitars and easy percussion make for light listening too, its all good stuff. Each song has its temperament and the charm emerges mostly from these snappy crunchy beats, that bite into stereo spectrum, crisp and brittle. With sharp attacks and swift decays they carry quite the subtle persuasion, infusing a keener edge that sticks into her mostly approachable music.

Across the songs her voice shows quite the dynamism, often breaking from the breathy and softly sung words that malign most the instrumentals. Heavenly choral harmonization and quirky pitch shifting, many of the songs have a twist that ends up being a focal point of delight. Playing with echos, reverbs, stuttering delays and distortion its clear that a lot of experimentation takes place in her process. Whats wonderful is how it lands on the target. Never does a vocal quirk feel forced, its all very inspirational and fluid, emotional and riveting in authenticity.

Her songs seem to be able to take these abstractions and flesh them out into living entities that feel and express. This even extends the spectacle of including samples from the Micheal Scarn episode of TV show The Office. On one hand it seems unrelated to the lyrics but somehow fits in. There isn't a moment of this record I don't love. Its well fleshed out with exciting musical experimentation that flourishes, swaying between emotive surges and bursts of percussive force. On a couple of tracks her vocal style almost borders ASMR, a slight irritation but a possible influence on a young artist who undoubtedly knows of the phenomena. This has been a fantastic record and I can't wait to hear what she will do next!

Favorite Tracks: You Should See Me In A Crowd, When The Partys Over, I Love You, Goodbye
Rating: 8/10

Earl Sweatshirt "Some Rap Songs" (2018)

I've avoided Mr. Sweatshirt in the past, his appearances in Odd Future and with Tyler The Creator turned me off from his style. Earl raps with a very spoken element, his slightly deep voice and walking pace on the mic sound so casual its like lyrical loitering. I'm not trying to hate, just expressing where I couldn't connect with what this guy is doing. However his newest release, Some Rap Songs, gained a lot of clout and made it to several tops lists of the year. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

This record can definitely be described as Avant-garde, or given merit for its experimentalism. Every track can be split into two elements that lay its concepts bare. On the lyrical front we have Earl sleepwalking his words through loose strings of free association and train of thought expressions that in brief moments muster visions, insights or food for thought. Mostly it comes off as lethargic and sleepy, his energy is mute, very civilian and little of his rhymes stir an emotional response. Each track just drones on by with the same tone. After a fair few spins even familiarity doesn't tip the scale for Earl as an MC, I fail to find what the appeal is in this approach.

The other half is the instrumentals that mostly revolve around oddly timed cuts, reversing loops, dropping the expectant complimentary drum beats and shifting the sample source into odd frequency ranges. Its the better half for sure, quite a few of the tracks have something to offer but what is on display is quickly saturated by a lack of depth as many of these sounds are looped to death with short snippets consisting of seconds repeated with little variation for the duration of the songs. Overall it is worth a spin for each of its unique sampling setups but beyond that... It just dulls.

Rating: 3/10