Run The Jewels "RTJ4" (2020)

I've taken my time with this forth installment. Why? Run The Jewels records have a habit of aging well, something about EL-P's production takes a little time to become acquainted with. Its the unexpected nature of his production. Hinged on fairly unconventional sampling with a dystopian atmosphere, the charm and groove take a little while to unearth. After a ton of spins I find RTJ4 just keeps growing on me. For a duo that gets better on every album, this one could continue that trend... time will tell.

There is a heavily political theme at play, not something RTJ shy away from but with current events in the world, the album takes on the death of George Floyd and the BLM movement head on with some of its hardest hitting lyrics to date. "Look at all these slave masters posing on your dollars" a line from a hook that is embedded itself in the mind. It is mostly Killer Mike who unsurprisingly takes the lead with much of the political head way, driving home much food for thought while reflecting on his own position as a voice for change whilst weighing up his commitment to family life.

Its deep and dense, much like its beats which bring another arsenal of creative ideas to shape up a whole bunch of unique beats with a slightly disorienting flair. Layered and textural, EL-P crafts barrages of disarming sounds with studio manipulations to keep everything exciting and fresh. Its ironically the collaboration with the legendary DJ Shadow that yields a rare duller beat in the lineup, the hook too lacks oomph. Otherwise the music is all gold, with a string of better songs in its second half.

When Walking In The Snow kicks in, the album shifts into top gear, the lyrical intensity amps up. Mike gets a weight off his chest, speaking on the death of Floyd whispering "I can't breath" as the punch line in a powerful verse. It pivots into Ju$t further unearthing the historical tensions around slavery. Never Look Back gets a deep emotional reflection from the two and The Ground Below goes hard again on politic themes with one of the albums best beats. EL-P brings in a subtle yet concrete rock guitar riff to lay a foundation for a grooving bass kick clap groove to rock the boat.

Its a great and captivating stretch of songs. The album's end always felt disorienting to me. The music stops and some electronic synths lead in a narration referencing the first track Yankee And The Brave. The vibe feels just like a warmup yet its a brief one minute stint to see the record out. These are just some observations on a very enjoyable record that I'll continue to enjoy for years to come, just like the last! The duo's form is yet to waiver and their ability to be on the pulse of current topics only adds to the project. Can they keep it going? Id bet so!

Favorite Tracks: Goonies Vs Et, Walking In The Snow, Ju$t, Never Look Back, The Ground Below, A Few Words For The Firing Squad

Rating: 8/10

My Friday At All Points East Festival

 It was Scarlord and Run The Jewels that lured me to Victoria Park for another day at a London Festival. Little did I know what an amazing day of music was awaiting for me among a handful of bands, mostly from the UK, that Id barely heard of before! Good weather and decent festival food made for a good outing that will have me picking up more records than I can listen to as per usual!
 

Scarlxrd

Arriving a little late for the opening act the day kicked off with a booming performance. Scarlxrd and his DJ have a crazy amount of energy on stage. The two went bonkers on stage, exhausting every drop of their youthful energy with wild antics. The DJ makes no mask of the fact he is simply hitting the play button most the time, leaving the decks to rock out with comical expression and a self aware humor that was enduring. Scar's scream raps were electrifying and the whole show felt like a bomb had gone off! I knew it would be special and it was.

Employed To Serve
 Tight UK Hardcore with a hint of Deathcore in the mix. These guys turned up and rocked out hard counter grooves, throw downs and slams with a fair degree of individuality. Not something to sweep you off your feet but they certainly put together a great show and kept the music rolling strong. Their new song Force Fed was killer!

Alice Glass

 With a brief listen on Youtube I thought I wouln't enjoy this so much but something about live music makes it easier to digest. Alice had a timid and lonely presence on stage that made mountains of sense to the tone of Her esoteric and ethereal take on noise, glitch and electronica. It had an engrossing atmosphere held firmly together by the driving beats of the drummer. Great show.

Yonaka

My engagement was a little subdued by chowing down on some hot food but standing at a distance I could really appreciate her voice. What initially seemed like fluffy Pop Rock turned out to have some subtlety diverse influences and quality composition that made for very enjoyable and inviting music with her voice being the main pull.

IDLES

 Arriving a little late and looking for a spot in the shade to sit It didn't take long for IDLES to suck me in. Lead vocalist Joe Talbot grabs attention with his plain spoken style, deadpan sense of humor that sticks to his liberal political views that dominate crowd interaction between songs. As the songs delve into marching repetitions of percussion led Industrial Rock and Post-Punk grooves, he again brings forth thought and commentary that aligns with a somewhat frustrated overtone.

Sleeping With Sirens

Not exactly my cup of tea but live most things sound decent and this Pop Rock group were alright. From a distance I watched as they burned through bright and glossy rock songs with a tinge of Metal attitude in places. Lots of pretty melodic overtones akin to Metalcore too, was a good listen.

Nothing By Thieves

Possibly the most impressive show from the bands I knew not of. Brooding music, building its momentum to climactic outbursts resonated through the incredible voice of Conor Mason. You could really see the feeling in his performance, strong and emotional Rock music with an experimental edge in their slightly disjointed rhythm guitars. Great set.

While She Sleeps

As the sun came out in full force I found myself hanging back in the shades. Reasonable timing since I knew what I was in for, a banging Hardcore, Metalcore, Deathcore hybrid with strong melodic overtones. I'd seen them before and I wasn't pulled in any closer despite them having some strong moments in the set, it didn't appeal to me all that much.

Run The Jewels

I had waited all day for Run The Jewels, this would of been the forth time seeing them. The sound was garbage right at the front so I dropped back and the Hip Hop duo were phenomenal once again. Their music translates wonderfully live. I love how the set transitions from hard bangers into the deeper, moving and meaningful songs. They put a message to their performance and it went by in a flash. Best of the day by far!

Architects

 Chowing down on some hot Paella De Veduras I lurked at the back and once again Architects blew me away with an amazing live show. I still don't know how I'm yet to pick up a record of theirs, Ive seen them many times now and its always a fantastic performance. Really solid, booming Metalcore with plenty of blow away riffs. They sounded sharp as ever and really put on a show.

Bring Me The Horizon

Its probably a matter of time before the once hated, dirty Deathcore goons Bring Me The Horizon will headline Download Festival. Promoting new record Amo in front of a smaller crowd they proved themselves good for a headline show with adequate set design and costumes to match. They perhaps took a bit to much time between songs and with intervals but the crowd enjoyed the interactions from front man Oli Sykes with his crazy colored eye lenses. He brought out Danni Filth in full makeup too for a brief appearance and it was great to see such a strong response for their old music as Pray For Plagues fired up mosh pits. The new music sounds great too and I was a bit gutted to leave early, walking hastily out as the music went on. Great show and I am amazed how I never realized what " Your full of sugar, honey, ice and tea" meant till its anagram was plastered on the big screen.

Run The Jewels "Run The Jewels 3" (2016)

The dynamic duo Killer Mike and El-P are back with their finest dose of RTJ yet! Clocking in at fifty two minutes its significantly longer than the previous two installments, both of which I enjoyed ever so much but as time goes the first "RTJ" has not yielded a lot of replay value for me. That being said I really appreciate what the two are doing together and I feel like this record finds a more appealing balance with its production style as Mike and El-P dropping the playful, fun, creative raps and hooks over carefully constructed beats.

Atmosphere and mood runs thick, a tone is set without obnoxious beats like the fantastic "Oh My" with its dirty rumbling baseline. RTJ3 actually uses a lot deep baselines too, best heard with a sub woofer but its an undercurrent for the wild layers of obscure sampling and odd sounds that reside on top. Dissonant sounds are rhythmically arranged between snippets of voices and the occasional "melody" or tune drops in between the layers which on mostly shuffle between a selection of tricks, making a less repetitive backdrop for the duo's rhymes. The drums are programmed spaciously, lots of fast shuffling hi hats are subtly mixed in with sharp snares punching through and base kicks that loose themselves in the base lines. Far from bombastic it keeps tempo, leaving most of the identity to the sampling, which has the measure to be exciting, interesting and unusual without blowing of hot steam or being "over the top".

Mike and El-P are very entertaining, many a laugh to be had "Doing push ups naked on a cliff" and plenty of jaw dropping flows like "Legend has it" when the bells drops in and Mike goes of on a murderous flow. The two have a witty sense for wordplay which keeps on going track to track with no weak links. Its mostly braggadocios and rhyme skill bravado but the two do it in such good taste. In the last tracks the mood shifts to more meaningful substance and "Thursday In The Danger Room" gets deep in the feels with El-P rapping out the hardship of watching a friend die slowly. Very coherent and moving, a great track that shows the duo can do much more than boast. RTJ3 is the record I wanted, the balance feels just right for my taste and doesn't yet feel like the apex of what the two could accomplish together.

Favorite Tracks: Legends Has It, Panther Like A Panther, Thursday In The Danger Room, Kill Your Masters

Rating: 8/10

Run The Jewels "Meow The Jewels" (2015)

 Following up on two claimed and well received records in concurrent years, Hip Hop Duo "Run The Jewels" return in 2015 with a crowdfunded remix record themed around cats... and meow sounds. I was hoping for a record to hold me over until RTJ3 arrives in 2016 but have found myself sorely disappointed with a record that's novelty didn't phase me for even a moment. This will be the first time I write my thoughts after just one listen, but I quite honestly don't want to waste my time with this record again. To be fair its not awful, there's just nothing here that tickles my fancy.

The albums overall aesthetic is bizarre, spacey, zany and damn right quirky. Meow sounds litter all the songs as expected, but accompanying them is an array of weird bass noises and other sounds which attempt to emulate instrument sounds through manipulated cat samples. The problem is these heavily stretched and pitch shifted sounds don't amount to anything exciting or even that musical. They suck the life out of Killer Mike and EL-P's raps which is quite the achievement considering the level of lyrical quality on the originals these remixes butcher. Across the entire record not a single moment or beat stood out and I can appreciate the novelty but without anything of interest for me here this one will be shelved to gather dust.

Rating: 1/10

Run The Jewels "Run The Jewels" (2013)

Last year I wrote about "Run The Jewels 2", the second album of rap duo Killer Mike & E-LP. At the time I was both impressed and unsure about the record. There were lots of positives, but I found myself quickly tiring of the sound the two established. After the dust settled and time passed, these songs were surfacing in my mind, and my initial understanding of the project expanded as I picked up the record again. Writing about music has highlighted a dimension of music I often overlook, time. Time is change and as I change so does my enjoyment of the music. Often I want to write about "classic" records that in recent weeks I've realized have run their course for me, they have their place in time but whats relevant is what I'm enjoying at this moment, and Run The Jewels is definitely a pleasure right now, so much so I got hold of their first record released the year before.

I'm not sure what I was anticipating, but no surprise this record was more of the same. So much so it made me appreciate the unique style the two established with this project. This first chapter isn't quite as dark, ruthless and tongue in cheek as RTJ2, but doesn't need these things to show its strength. The instrumentals rock some strange approaches to beat creation, lots of abstract, aggressive electronic sounds and leads dance around each other with impacting force. The percussion has the Hip Hop groove, but comes through some detailed rhythms, lots of kicks, claps, snares and hitting sounds coming together in an aggressive nature, creating energetic beats with a depth of intricacy.

If it wasn't for Mike and E-LPs rapping this might not sound like a Hip Hop record, the electronic sounds and forceful rhythms sound like an abstract electronic genre at times. Its a positive that they forge such a unique sound. The twos lyrical content is on point, and on the track "Job Well Done" Mike drops a line that cracks me up "Its like Tyson in the 90s, if I'm loosing take a bite out". Theres not to much else I have to say, more of the same, its all good, 10 solid tracks that don't have an excessive run time. Looking forward to RTJ3.

Favorite Tracks: Ddfn, Job Well Done, No Come Down, Get It, A Christmas Fucking Miracle

Rating: 6/10

Run The Jewels "Run The Jewels 2" (2014)

Run The Jewls is a project consisting of Hip Hop rappers Killer Mike & EL-P. The two got together in 2013 and released the first self titled album. After a great reception the two have come back quickly this year with the second album which is also receiving a lot of praise. I picked this album up on the premise of some dark, violent and aggressive Hip Hop. It certainly delivered on this front.

Killer Mike & EL-P are unforgiving on this album, delivering an onslaught of offensive lyrics and violent imagery in a ruthless fashion. Theres little socially conscious or thought provocative content here. The two bang our insult after insult as these songs explore paranoid, misogynist and anti-authority themes. Both rapper's, who I am new too on this record, have fantastic flows. They are creative, engaging and clearly spoken, which is enjoyable but for me the lyrical content lacked a point at times, with much of the offensive material feeling unnecessary or without cause. Despite this the rhyming was creative and at times a little cheesy with lines like "I'm so high your a hobbit" or "You can walk backwards through a field of dicks", however its a humorous flavor cheese.

Instrumentally this album is sharp, production is on form, the beats are grooving and charactered by dark and gritty sampling which can be estranged in places, creating dark and paranoid vibes to accompany the violent overtone of this record. Theres a dynamic relationship between the kits and samples as sturdy, constructed beats give narrative and structure to unusual sounds. On the track "Close Your Eyes" a vocal sample is manipulated to forge a jiving and unusal beat, it also features Zach De La Roach of RATM who delivers an unremarkable verse. I enjoyed this record a lot, the beats were refreshing, however for me the lyrical substance falls short of making it special.

Favorite Tracks: Oh My, All My Life, All Due Respect, Angel Duster

Rating: 7/10