Ice Cube "Man Down" (2024)

 

Some critics remark on aging rappers losing vitality and relevancy. I'm more open minded. With age comes maturity and the opportunity to grow. With many 90s icons now entering their fifties, Ice Cube, one of the most important and influential to do it, enters the club. His last outing, Everythang's Corrupt, had bite, a political venom and fiery anger that held well. I still venture back to a handful of those tracks alongside Cube's best songs. That moment has passed, his motivations to return seem routine.

 Despite bringing a studded cast of his 90s contemporaries, Man Down is a stinker. Beats sound tight yet frequently spin short loops that end up droning on. Upfront, Cube raps with his firm flow, fine tuned aggression and smooth, easy to follow, cadence. Its his lyrical content that falters, dropping auto pilot verses lacking creativity to impact. So many lines drop with predictable rhymes, lingering on them for four or more sentences. Many lines seem to fill space just to serve the rhyme. With next to no stories told, this approach is quite disappointing in the shadow of his greatness.

 Early on the moods emulate his classic Today Was A Good Day laid back G Funk vibes. Its a smooth and breezy ride, easy listening. Heading into the midsection, things pivot with 5150. The mood sours with its misogynist leaning rhymes. Then beats go harder, darker but miss the mark. After a few cuts, the variety flows, jumping between sounds emulating his styles but mostly suffer the fate of droning on.

Especially You perks the ears, an Electro-Funk throwback to early 80s Hip Hop. Cube goes for a flow fit of the era but the rhymes are just hollow. Later comes Scary Movie, trying to house a bunch of references to his cinematic career. It houses some of the worst lyrical flops. The album ends on a better note with the reasonable Ego Maniacs but cant save the project. Sadly, this record just lacked purpose.

Rating: 2/10

Cordae "The Crossroads" (2024)

  

Round three, Cordae returns with another fresh bout of life's stories, past and present. The title alone conjure thoughts of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's classic, which the intro tastefully interpolates. Cycling between Trap percussive pallets and nuanced drums grooves, instrumentals play soulful and moody, drifting into R&B territory as guest singers illuminate a handful of tracks with Gospel singing. Samples focus on texture and tone over melody, casting an introspective atmosphere not far from melancholic.

Without a peak or valley, The Crossroads runs through the motions, offering a couple darker bangers early on, then leaning hard into its soulful inflections as the record matures. With Cordae's sturdy cadence holding true, he articulates personal tales, keeping one in the firm grasp of his effortless rhymes. Themes recycle, struggles of balancing success and family shift to the later, as he speaks on becoming a father.

His tales echo familiar feelings of the last two outings, leaving me with little fresh to say. Its instrumental shift to nostalgic soulful samples and plenty of human voices plays good company but lacking melodies and hooks, its staying power has been absent. The Crossroads is a mild, easy going record, doing little wrong yet failing to land a striking blow to grab your attention. Disappointing but only from high standards.

Rating: 5/10

Novelists "Okapi" (2024)

 

Spotify is doing a mighty fine job figuring me out with its algorithms. Lurching in the shadows of Deftones, Lacuna Coil, with flashes of Prog guitar reminiscent of Plini, French outfit Novelists bring the stunning voice of Camille Contreras to this current Pop Metal trend. Contrasting heavy Djent tones with shimmering melodies, their songs sway from soft and serine to punchy and powerful with great conviction.

Contreras is the main charm, her compassionate lyrics and dynamic voice guides the instrumental gracefully. Bellow her, a similar yet toned down creativity akin to yesterdays Chaosbay. Part of the "Progressive Metalcore" crowd, its a seamless fit, leaning more on the traditional guitar virtuoso side. Prisoner's a keen example pivoting from a typical aggressive Metalcore track with a wild burst of dance-floor rhythm.

It ends up exploring an expressive, flamboyant side, with lavish fretwork - something each of these four tracks finds its way to. They are all individual, creative tracks, moving from typical constructs to vibrant compositions with an effortless ease. Not as fiery as others in the scene do it, however its better suits Contreras' temperament.

Rating: 4/10

Chaosbay "Are You Afraid?" (2024)

  

On a somewhat predictable trajectory, yet no less exciting, Are You Afraid lands high octane metallic exuberance. Bolstered by punchy production, Chaosbay fuse catchy pop sensibilities with the edge of Djent guitar brutality. Encapsulated by subtle enriching synths and infrequent glitchy antics, this arsenal of short to-the-point three minute bangers blazes through their very best creative efforts.

These eleven cuts routinely erupt into grabbing "break downs", slamming serious momentum. Far from original yet executed with class, the double down on Eye For An Eye plays a keen favorite. Between these roars of anger, the soaring clean vocals of Jan Listing continuously ropes one into its lyrics themes through infectious cadence.

Taking on different temperaments and tempos defines each song from one another with true personality. Frequently dabbling in curious arrangements - cinematic synths, Trap adjacent percussion and dystopian electronics - simple song structures find space to experiment, elevating past the main theme. Its kept the listening experience fresh, exciting and on "the edge of your seat" so to speak.

 Without a weak point these thirty eight minutes play fun, animated, energetic. Anthems to fist pump, head bang and sing along too. Its been everything I hoped for. Having been teased by The Way To Hell, I'm happy the whole record reached that level of excellence. To my ears, these guys are among a rare few to get me excited about Metal these days.

Rating: 9/10

Fief "VI" (2024)

 

I've raved about prior installation's of Fief's exquisite Medieval Fantasy compositions. Often a niche relegated to background music in RPG games, this artist elevates the sound of antiquated royalty with class. Armed with Lutes, Harps, Bells, Strings and Woodwind instruments, a whirl of jovial melodies rapture the halls and courtyards of monastic reign. Earlier chapters ventured towards natures charm, with softer tones cultivating meditative atmosphere. Over time, a sovereign personality has emerged.

VI arrives unchanged, locked in by dancing merry melodies and an eloquence befitting these nostalgic times' royal grandeur. Sadly, it leaves me with little more to remark on, a fine set of eight arrangements conjuring a soothing mood of simplistic pleasures, dance, chatter, fruits and wines in the presence of kings. With little new to offer, it swiftly becomes a familiar shade of music operating in the backdrop.

Rating: 5/10

Boston Manor "Sundiver" (2024)

  

Exploring the many charms of 90s Alternative Metal, Boston Manor returned armed with exquisite execution over originality. Sundiver is a captivating record led by front-man Henry Cox who's empowered voice swoons in the emotional current. Pivoting from soft streams of emotive vulnerability to roars of clean confidence, he sings unabashed by the overt stylistic imitations of Chino Moreno. So to do his band mates revel in musical arrangements, groovy riffs and aesthetics pioneered by the Deftones. His other flattery emerges in catchy, tuneful deliveries like Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon would do, these two personalities define much of his vocal presence.

 Its all taken in wondrous stride, every track tightly wound, a perfect fit of elements. Broken up by interludes exploring dreamy acoustics, Ethereal Drum n Bass loops and perusing baselines, its main songs are given space to breath in these intriguing lulls. Venturing into Shoegazing guitar aesthetics and mammoth Nu Metal adjacent grooves, Boston Manor navigate their inspirations with class, birthing fiery songs with inviting passion and emotional resonance to engulf. The whole affair is breezy, warm and uplifting as swells of aggression are vented with positivity. Its definitely a contender for best Metal album of the year! I've struggled to put this one down.

Rating: 8/10

Cane Hill "A Piece Of Me I Never Let You Find" (2024)

 

Leaning into their aggressive side, Cane Hill return with a refined amalgamation of the Nu Metal revival, drifting towards the extremes of Hardcore Djent akin to Thrown. Doused in an aesthetic exhilaration similar to an emerging Argent Metal, the band struggle in harmonizing their loud quiet dynamics. A slew of bombastic, even barbaric, syncopated rhythmic riffs stand in contrast to the melodic charms of Elijah Witt. His presence heals the record, offering gleams of uplift in intensity lulls, as infectious crooning hooks bring an emotive memorability to its incessant "over the top" hostility.

The enthusiastic bounce and groove of Nu Metal's influence feels absent as low end guitars churn out harsh brutalities. Routinely focusing on meaty slabs of slamming Djent tone, they lack any character to shape up a songs heavier aspects. As a result, we embark on a cycling slog through empty onslaughts of crunching guitar noise. Spliced with sporadic fret sounds, layered with subtle dystopian synths, the most expressive moments arrive in the big chords left to ring out under clean vocal breaks.

Left to spin in the background, this record simply drifts by. Its hooky breaks grabbing ones attention every time. On closer analysis, these tend to be the only moments that create memorability. Thus its best comes from the soft moody interludes and Witt's clean break outs. Permanence In Sleep and I Always Knew We Were Do have the best choruses, a delight when they arrive. A Piece Of Me I Never Let You Find crudely pushes senseless violence together with a charactered emotional magnetism, falling short on writing memorable songs in the process.

Rating: 6/10

Ihsahn "Ihsahn" (2024)

With the ominous lurch of self titled significance, esteemed musician Ihsahn, formerly of Emperor notoriety, returns on ambitious footing. Forging symphonies of Classical proportion, not just simple complimentary arrangements, we venture with restrained Extreme Metal aesthetics. Throaty screams and heavy percussion pave the way for swells of strings and orchestral instruments to land the powerful impact he would have once manifested through guitars on the likes of an Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk.

With colorful Jazzy inflections and Prog Rock inclinations, these dreary, sombre, atmospheric venture in a tangle between misty melancholic moods and multifaceted, mercurial melodies. Lead guitars often cut through this rich symphonic layer, playing a second expressive voice to the routine groans of Ihsahn's one dimensional cries.

The union of such musical depth and rhythmic force makes for consistent engagement as musical tugs between its two hearts dance a line that doesn't strike sublime balance, often leaning on Metal tropes. Anima Extraneae is a keen example of Classical influences painting scenic beauty without the cage of aggression. These moments are relegated to interludes, however that richness routinely emerges in breaks between the lonely, dark, brooding tangents Ihsahn frequently explores.

When breaking into a stride of glory, the uplift of his steely clean voice is a welcome delight. These pivots empower his symphonies with comforting gleams of colorful resonance, venturing close to something special but never quite fully committing. Despite hearing this inkling of greatness, Ihsahn is a powerful record, brilliantly composed and thoroughly engaging with its vision of dark and beautiful worlds.

Rating: 7/10

Behexen "Rituale Satanum" (2000)

Recently discovering Dimmu Bongir resurfaced a desire for more nefarious Black Metal. Spotify offered me up Finnish outfit Behexen, an act I'd not heard of before. Born in 94, they were clearly a product of cultural export from their Norwegian peers. This debut, Rituale Satanum, essentially encapsulates the next logical progression, taking fundamentals and dialing up the intensity. Its in their ridiculous, over the top vocals that Behexen find an edge, instilling terror though chord shredding screams and gravelly howls that can make your skin crawl. Paired with baritone deliveries of ritual chant, they invoke Satan with a seriousness I can only laugh off in bemusement.

The record is an unrelenting ride of hellish fright, pummeling rattling blast beats and shredding evil atonal power chord arrangements, this plays an atypical experience, delighting in a fiendish execution of wicked ideals. Shadowy melodies shrouded in intense aesthetics punctuate an ungodly mood. Manic bursts of frenzied paced led by ripping guitars liven up the closing tracks. Rare lulls between unending onslaught often come masked by esoteric vocal spectacles to illuminate a sinful atmosphere.

Without directly emulating its obvious inspirations, Behexen gracefully bestow their graven personality. Far from ground breaking but firmly their own beast, only Baphomet's Call plays out vibes reminiscent of the Black Metal pioneers, specifically early Immortal. Its mid-tempo busing is one of my favorite cuts across the record. The production is hard, often peaking with distortion guitars melding into a harsh fuzz. Somehow it works. A tad ridiculous with its thematic over the top embrace of satanism but then again isn't that the point? Worth a listen for fans of early Black Metal.

Rating: 6/10

The Madd Rapper "Tell Em Why You Madd" (1999)

First surfacing on Life After Death, Producer Deric Angelettie's agitated alter ego has appeared on a spread of Bad Boy records. The frustrated character, running his mouth, serves well to sprinkle comedy between the music. Having laid the groundwork for this debut, it could have been something special. Instead, skits and jokes land flat, unable to flesh out his personality to comedic effect. So to do the Madd Rappers' verses lack a spark to muster humor. Unless this persistently irked personality is your comedy gold, the joke will get beaten to death across its CD filling seventy minutes.

Its clearly ambitious, bringing a massive array of guests beyond his record label peers. Featured routinely come armed with slick mafioso adjacent lyrics, painting flamboyant lifestyle pictures with their lyricism. It sands in stark contrast to the central theme. Eminem however, meets him at his level, the unhinged Slim Shady persona has the two aligning their lyrics on self destructive energy. Given the date, this flow is a gem for fans, hearing Eminem evolving into his classic Marshal Mathers flow.

Fun fact, a young Kanye West produced that track! Its a rare highlight among an endless string of average bears. Its other merit belongs with 50 Cent on the criminally unabashed How To Rob. Fifty name drops a lot of big names years before his breakout. Other than that, its sadly a missed opportunity to do something unique. Poor execution on a wonderful idea. It seems the last of The Madd Rappers steam was spent on the first Big Boy hits compilation, where his player hating energy musters amusement between the East Coast's record labels greatest songs.

Rating: 4/10

Lil Uzi Vert "Eternal Atake 2" (2024)

Curiosity and novelty handed successor Eternal Atake a generous helping of enjoyment that's dried up on its second outing. A fry cry from the spurious bursts of Metal on Pink Tape, Uzi returns to his bizarre spacey Trap sound, sprinting through routine instrumentals with little regard for songwriting, lyricism or concept.

Fully embracing the "vibeing" approach, songs roll by in a haze of disjointed ad-libs. Spinning short phrases, slang words and physical grunts, a dizzying barrage of often nonsensical aberrations melt away in the colorful melting of auto-tune. Coherence is generally lacking but on occasion a does sentiment makes its mark known.

With a lack of structure, arching theme or story to tell, the record falls short by some distance. Mostly feeling disposable, as if riffed on the spot, little sticks. Although trendy beats play competently, conjuring urban-esoteric moods, the lack of substance upfront sours the tone when Uzi lingers on god awful hooks like "She Stank".

Deep into the flow of dense bass and Trance synth instrumentals emerges Chill Bae, somewhat of a throw back to the Luv Is Rage aesthetic, soft airy synths and Uzi singing plays well as the album seems to pivot into a different beast, mellowing out for its closing tracks but at this point the record feels like a lost cause.

 

Rating: 3/10

Fred Again.. "Ten Days" (2024)

With humble heart and introspective tone, Fred Again.. centers his emotive themes around cherry picked intimate moments. Crafting hypnotic drones, warm and inducing, this Progressive House journey persuades one with its smooth ebb and flow, an organic sway of dreamy intensities. Routinely soothing its way through gentle lulls of calm, the returning blissful swells of energy play to much gratification. Grasping one with the power of rhythm and repetition, a therapeutic experience often emerges.

 

The instrumental architecture is impressive. Steadied by sturdy drum grooves, cliche House pianos and pounding baselines drive the music forward. Subtle, intricate sounds linger between gorgeous reverberations, Ethereal tones and ambiguous voices drift in from the musical backdrop, enriching those words expressed upfront, often lingering on a simple motif, exploring its depth through a songs dynamic arc.

The topicality feels personal, vulnerable, a humanist exploration. Geared around relationships and innate social experiences, a youthful vibrancy emerges from the moments of intimacy explored in its lyrics. Its mostly channeled through his many guests. They voicr nine of these ten songs, with Fred lending his own tender performance for the percussion-less melancholy of I Saw You. It gives each number a unique human aesthetic. Anderson .Paak being a surprise fit I would not of expected.

A variety of flavors and moods lay in wait. Ten Days never repeats itself, playing fresh and vibrant with every spin. The particulars of ones own mood will relate to its differing emotional avenues. For me, the joyous upbeat swells felt in Places To Be and Glow are firm favorites. Peace U Need plays a close contented, often persuading one to its charm with a spiritual union of classic House and Soul tinted by a touch of Gospel.

Despite this apparent excellence and heartfelt sincerity, Ten Days doesn't always engulf. Perhaps its susceptible nature requires room within for the emotions its exudes. Powerful but particular, its shortcoming lies in an ability to transform ones own energy to its frequency. On that ground, there were times I world spin the album and feel distant. On the right days, its beauty would flow effortlessly. This experience however, might simply be my own misgivings. A memorable record none the less.

 

Rating: 7/10

Devin Townsend "PowerNerd" (2024)

 

 

With an extensive discography behind him, its hard for Devin to pull new punches but PowerNerd succeeds in delivering his unique expression after a lull. Its actually been five years since the all encompassing Empath. This latest venture is fun, upbeat and mildly comical yet always drifting to emotive swells crescendo by Devin's screams.

His distinct "wall of sound" production is refined as ever, somehow finding new ways to polish an already squeaky clean machine. Many of its main motifs drift by with subtle glistening synths twinkling in the background. It births a rich yet softened cloudy atmosphere, balancing the intense inclinations of Metal with a warm resonance.

Jainism is my favorite track, its metallic grooves push this mold to its edges, as do the swift pivots into dreamy drives. These magics are amplified by luscious pulsing synth melodies, subtle, yet sometimes its a small detail that can add so much. Many songs have mild synth tones and piano notes lingering in the quiet, sparking a wiff of charm.

The totality of PowerNerd is so befitting of Devin that all its themes, riffs and lyrics play with a touch of Deja-Vu. As such, it doesn't project its own identity but encompasses much of his prior works with the back end of the record venturing into his quirkier side. Entertaining, fulfilling and instantly relatable, its been a warm, welcome return.

 

Rating: 7/10

Cordae "From A Birds Eye View" (2022)

 

Avoiding the pitfalls of a sophomore decline, all to common in Hip Hop, Cordae returns armed with emotive beats and hardened attitude to deliver his message. After an endearing debut, our young rapper matures with a flash of braggadocio and seriousness as he sheds some youthful innocence previously heard. Renewed topicality lands closer to street violence and status affirming rhymes, taking aim at critics between stories and expressions that rock off moody instrumentals.

Excellent production by Kid Culture and collaborators bring soulful touches to easy tempos driven by subdued drum grooves. Driven by bold, powerful baselines, low key Jazz influences linger under its calm stature, carving a smooth atmosphere to enrich Cordae's rhymes. At intervals these instrumentals pivot to trendy Trap sounds, notably the popular tracks. They break a smooth flow of complimenting aesthetics.

Cordae teams up with Lil Wayne and Hit-Boy on a brilliant number where he affirms the heights of his successes and intentions to stick around for years to come. The chorus lands so well. Stevie Wonder also crops up among some other big names but It is mostly Cordae himself who continues to charm as a story teller, wrapping one in his narratives, holding a firm grip over this listener. A tricky task after decades of Rap.

Rating: 7/10

Tycho "Infinite Health" (2024)

  

This release marks a significant return to form. Recapturing the blissful breezy magic once felt on Dive, Californian producer Tycho seems to of found his unique summery vibes again. After a string of mediocre records, exploring unfruitful directions, we return to the soothing chilled out Downtempo charms of his landmark debut.

Indie guitar tone licks and colorful exotic saw synths entangle within a gorgeous production. Instruments come lavished in glossy reverberations, swelling with the musics momentum. Gradual builds of feel good energy pivot into salient melodies. Simple, easy and effective, often infusing brief repetitious grooves in their cadence.

 The percussion is class. A fraction Drumstep in tone with Downtempo intensity and plenty of variety in instrumental tones, Its unafraid of lulls and winding down. Its involvement is dynamic, ebbing and flowing with the overall vision, ready to step into the big clap kick grooves to emphasis a songs main stride and momentum.

Most of the potent melodic magic takes place within these firm rhythmic sways. Colored guitar licks have a habit of striking through the dense dreamy electronics like a human voice. Chanting simple mantras by jostling a handful of notes, its rarely a complex affair and its simplicity revels in the aesthetic chemistry. Its cloudy atmospheric layers border Ethereal at times, always nurturing breezy, clam energy.

Infinite Health brings out the best of Tycho again. Unfortunately, it falls short in consistency. Between well built songs drift in milder tracks exploring interluding temperaments. These toned down arrangements tended to dull the momentum, lacking percussive drive and a sense of destination. Its best songs are a delight, so not all is lost! There is plenty of feel good warmth to be enjoyed here.

Rating: 6/10