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Immortal Technique – The 3rd World Review (full album)

published
on June 25, 2008
by
ACtual
in artist/album reviews, genres, and music
. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

We’ve previously reviewed the original press release cuts from this album. You can read the initial review here.

You can read Evolving Music’s exclusive interview with Immortal Technique here.

The hype and expectations surrounding the release of Immortal Technique’s new album have been extreme. Suffice it to say that upon the release of some of the demo tracks last month, that hype grew, and the feeling surrounding the album was that it was going to be an excellent addition to Tech’s discography, as well as provide an extreme jumping off point for underground hip-hop and global awareness. Upon listening to this album a few times all the way through, I can say that its strength and vision match the hype.

The album kicks off with the “Death March Intro,” a dark and forceful pounding beat backing a vicious 2 minute verse. Where other rappers are content to put a brief intro at the beginning of the album, a skit is standard, Immortal Technique hammers the first track to set the stage for what’s to come. The intro is followed up by “That’s What It Is” which utilizes explosion-like bass sounds in the background and scratching throughout. Tech on here spits about the current state of things within the hip-hop industry and world at large. He rips fake vegetarians and Aryans and talks about his growth as an artist both in content and sound. This moves into “Golpe de Estado,” a slow, trudging beat that utilizes the parade march song from Godfather II as Tech, Temperamento and Veneno lace the track with verses in Spanish. While I can’t understand much of what’s said in this song, the beat and the forcefulness of the lyrics make it enjoyable.

“Harlem Renaissance” showcases the initial strength mentioned in the original album review…Tech’s ability to stay on point and keep his flow tight over music that sounds unconventional on a Tech album. It also shows the type of boost in production evident throughout the album. The moving beat, hand claps and overlaid strings take a small bit of the bite out of Tech’s flow, and to good effect. The song’s backing is musically inspiring, and Tech over the top finds just the right balance between his more relaxed flow and the battle tenor he takes into other tracks.

This is followed by what I view as the weakest track on the album, “Lick Shots,” and amazingly, it’s not because it’s a bad track. The verses, with guest spots from Chino XL and Crooked.I are incredibly solid. The only problem with the track is the repetitive nature of the chorus and the fact that it sounds too fake for Tech. The chanting of “Lick Shots for the Revolution” is tiresome by the end of the track, but again, this weakness only further accentuates how strong the verses are. On other tracks it’s easy for Tech to overshadow his guest stars, but here their verses are just as strong and make for a track that’s great to listen to even if the chorus falls short.

The first beats of “The 3rd World,” while retaining the ragga-street melody style of tracks like “Peruvian Cocaine,” employs a thump and kick beat that’s harder and more fleshed out than Tech listeners are used to hearing. His mastery of lyrics, both in how he fuses lines and words together while never losing sight of his content, is again in full display here with lines like, “from where the bombs that they used to drop on Vietnam/Still has children born deformed 8 months before they’re born.”

This is followed by “Hollywood Drive By” which utilizes a much more mainstream musical backing to accentuate Tech’s flow about blowing up the traditional industry. This is a great example of the irony and intelligence Immortal Technique employs. It’d be easy to rap about taking over the industry and taking down the major labels in typical fashion, but by lacing the stronger than industry standard lyrics over a West Coast style backing that you’d find on the radio, Tech brings to your attention that it doesn’t matter how bouncy the beat is if you’re not rapping intelligently over it. On the advance tracks I was sent, one of them was a radio edit of a freestyle Tech had done a few years ago called “Watch Out.” Amazingly, even though it was an edited version, I absolutely loved the song. Here, “Watch Out” gets a revamped sound. Some of the lyrics have been tweaked, but more importantly, the flow has been re-recorded and sounds incredibly sharp over a beat that samples from the Apocalypse sounding symphony from the central battle scene in Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. The combination makes this track fire and perhaps my favorite on the disc.

When “The Payback” comes on with a vintage hook that could have come out of a Kanye song and laid back horns, the initial auditory reaction is to think the lyrics are going to follow those pop sensible lines. But when Diabolic opens with, “I want to run for President and the focal point when I’m campaignin’/is to put FEMA to work on plantation at Camp David,” it becomes clear that nothing has changed but the background, and even that difference is then altered by Diabolic, Ras Kass and Tech’s forceful delivery and unmistakable style on the third verse. (*Editor’s Note:  Thank you to StreamofConsciousness for the correction on this portion of the review.  See Comments for the original text that has been corrected) By the end of the cut, as much as you could imagine hearing the beat on a radio station, Tech has made it completely his own, and you can’t imagine someone rapping about women, money or any of the other surface level topics popular in the genre today. The song is all the stronger for it.

But Tech is not one to allow listeners to fall into a false sense of expectation. Rather than follow “Reverse Pimpology” up with another listener-friendly and accessible song, Tech uses it as the set-up for his usual album spoken word track. On “Open Your Eyes”, he uses a dark, trudging beat, accentuated with the eerie refrain, “Open your eyes before you die” to speak over on issues concerning the 3rd World, privatization and the abuse of natural resources and indigenous peoples overseas. This dark track is again contrasted nicely by “Payback,” featuring Diabolic and Ras Kass, a song with a laid back beat accentuated with solid horns. Here, Tech definitely lets the beat influence his flow as he relaxes more into the track. The gruff sound of his voice remains, but the pacing is less frenetic and stands out well against the track.

“Stronghold Grip” sees Tech invite Poison Pen and Swave Sevah onto one of the grimiest tracks on the album. The undulating synth work, high pitched overlay and driving bass come together to provide the backing for these three to rip. What’s solid about this track is that unlike other guest spots on the album that feature one verse, these three go back and forth throughout the song, making it a much more collaborative effort than the other lyrics on the album. Tech then throws another curve ball by following up this heavy effort with the more light-hearted and comedic “Mistakes,” which incorporates stories from various points of view of mistakes…a cigarette smoker dying, a player that sees the high school girl he was careless with stripping in a club, a rapper looking back and lamenting signing the major label contract. The melody helps carry the track with Tech’s sense of humor, and his story telling of these mistakes stays true to subject matter.

DJ Green Lantern’s remix of “Parole” comes next. This track is solid. You can hear Tech’s rage over being incarcerated in his voice as Lantern’s marching bass line keeps the head nodding. While a number of the songs on this album are fantastic because of their contrast in terms of musical backing and Tech’s vocals, this track stands out because it sounds like the perfect stylistic harmony between the two, a true blend of their similarities. “Crimes of the Heart,” featuring Maya Azucena finds Immortal Technique rapping about instances of betrayals of the truth and the heart. From this track and lines throughout other cuts, it’s clear that Immortal Technique finds the idea of self-betrayal and dishonesty despicable. The guest here from Azucena provides a nice contrast to the other tracks by bringing in a female voice on the chorus. The background with spacey synth work serves to both ground Tech’s lyrics and set Azucena free to fly over them. The difference between the two makes this song stand out from previous Tech songs, keeping the beat ominous while providing uplifting moments in the form of Azucena.

The album closes with “Rebel Arms” including Da Circle and J. Arch. This track is a great bookend to the album, taking it back to the war-heavy march of the intro and allowing Immortal Technique to run wild with one of the more pointed cut downs of the music industry on the CD. The track gives the final parting shots to the industry, and closes it out on the themed ending. He opens with “The game is polluted with rappers that are really snitches/and most DJs are nothing but industry bitches.” As the track ramps up with added strings, Tech ups his rap and creates an epic sound. The only surprise here is that Immortal Technique doesn’t get the last verse on his own album, but when he’s already said so much, who needs it?

This album had a lot of expectations to live up to, both in my mind, and the mind of other fans following the hype and anticipation surrounding its release. These expectations were amplified when the first advance tracks came through, and I’m very glad to say that the album delivers on all levels. The lyrics continue to carry a consistent and strong message from Immortal Technique, while the production by DJ Green Lantern and several others including Southpaw, reaches a new level from Revolutionary Vol. 2. All told, The 3rd World is a fantastic stepping stone in Immortal Technique’s career, one that shows his diversity and ability to work with other artists while still forming an album that is both musically and philosophically his, without any sacrifice of ideals. It takes a lot to refrain from selling out to an industry and the prevailing bling culture surrounding rappers, but this album demonstrates that Immortal Technique does not face those issues, and only continues to grow in his artistic vision and political message.

David Ford Interview

published
on June 10, 2008
by
Sandra
in artist/album reviews, culture, genres, interview, and music
. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

After mentioning David Ford in a previous post, the anti-record-label record label (or “new breed of artist development company”), Original Signal Recordings was kind enough to contact us and offer an interview with David.

What was supposed to be a 20 minute chat turned into an hour long discussion filled with witty observations about how fucked up the music business has become as well as insights into David’s determination to be a musician and not a product, to preserve the art in artistry, and the challenges he sees in the collaborative, remixing culture that is emerging in online music. Due to the lengthy nature of the interview (ask me how long it took to transcribe!), I’ve included just my favorite highlights in this post. For a full transcript of the interview, email me.

Sandra: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

David: I would go to great lengths not to describe it. One of the reasons that I make music is so that I don’t have to describe it. It is what it is. And I’m very happy for people to draw their own conclusions based on its strengths or weaknesses. Describing music is really difficult, especially for me because I’m bound to get it wrong. The things that I think are present in my music, what I think it sounds like, is probably entirely different to other people. I think that’s your job not my job to describe it!

S: Are there any genres or categories you prefer not to be associated with?

D: Um, ya pretty much all of them I think. Genres are kind of weird. For me, music is just… it is what it is. Anything that can be overly genre-specified is normally the kind of thing that I don’t like very much. When people say, you know, this is Nu Metal or something… If something sounds so perfectly narrowly pigeonholed into its category then that probably means its more of an attempt at a good marketing pitch than an attempt at a good piece of creative art. Music is something that exists for its own benefit and of its own beauty. If things have to be a member of a club to be acknowledged, then maybe the reasoning for their existence is a little off key.

That said, singer-songwriter is a phrase that I’m not crazy about… obviously I am a singer and a songwriter, but then so is Bono and so is Bon Jovi. It’s kind of assumed that if you’re a solo musician you are a singer-songwriter and then with that comes the assumption that you’re going to strum quietly on acoustic guitar and sing soft little songs about a girl that broke your heart… I turn up at shows at with a lot of gear and I want to make lots of noise and scream and shout and throw things and people, you know, people have got a stool there and one microphone and then just go “Oh, I thought you would just play the guitar and sing.’ That happens to me quite a lot. And all that comes from how solo artist means singer-songwriter, which means one acoustic guitar and one microphone and it means you’re going to be very sedate and not be up in people’s faces…

S: How do you view the traditional big label artist management we’ll-do-it-all-for-you path vs. the newer Do-It-Yourself, promote yourself on YouTube and Myspace, I-don’t-need-a-label approach that many independent artists are pursuing these days?

D: I think the new without-a-label approach has more come out of the fact that labels are doing a bad job. As I said previously, I think the idea has shifted away from labels thinking that they have any kind of creative job or even responsibility to bring great, amazing exciting music to the people. It certainly seems like in years gone by there was a lot more respect or emphasis placed on artists and artistry than there is now. It seems like an artist is a luxury that is too expensive to have these days because they’re unpredictable. If you allow an artist to make their own record, they might end up making a bad record that doesn’t sell and you’ve spent loads of money on something you’ll never see back again.

An example I always like to think of is the Bruce Springsteen model, whereby he makes two relatively commercially unsuccessful records, the likes of which (these days) would get him dropped like a stone after his first record, let alone his second. Instead he gets to make a third record and he makes Born to Run and it becomes enormous and now Bruce Springsteen is the boss and he’s internationally enormous and a fantastically hugely successful high-selling artist who’s made millions for his label!

But, of course, if he were to have the same deal happen these days he wouldn’t get to make a second album and he’d never have the body of work that he’s come up with because the music business is all about how they need everything instantly now and longevity is just too risky a business. They need to have sure fire guaranteed things that are gonna work now so therefore you need stuff that’s going to be on TV or stuff that already has some kind of celebrity attachment to it.

And so quality of music, or quality of artistry, is – although it’s unspoken – I think it’s considered unnecessary. For every person who turns out to be Springsteen, there will be someone else who turns out not to be. So you don’t take a chance on anyone, no matter how much you believe that they might come up with something amazing. Instead you’d rather get a team of tried and tested writers to write something for a faceless replaceable pop nobody who’ll do exactly what they’re told and can be dropped like a stone with very little hassle resulting from it.

I think that’s the reason people have gone down the independent road… not because they feel a spirit of independence but because that’s the only way they can survive because the music business is not interested in music.

S: So it seems to me like we’re being ushered into a whole new era of artist-fan interaction where artists can communicate directly with their fans and fans can influence their favorite artists and get involved in the music-making process. Do see this happening? How would you feel about fans remixing your music? What do you think about what Radiohead has been doing with their song Nude?

D: I wouldn’t object to doing it, but for me things like that would be a novelty. It would be like a marketing drive. It’s a cute little story. There is a chance you might end up with something interesting. But for me, the whole point of being a musician or trying to be an artist is you want to present things to people and saying “This is what I want you to hear”. Not like “Here’s a suggestion. You change it how you want to”.

That’s the point that it becomes a product. Because, with product, you want to give the consumer exactly what they want because The Consumer is King. Whereas, for me, when it comes to art the artist should be presenting their artistic vision. And that’s nonnegotiable. You know, you wouldn’t – and maybe I’m being a little too lofty here – but you wouldn’t say to Leonardo Da Vinci, “Can you put a bigger grin on the Mona Lisa cause she looks a bit grumpy?” You wouldn’t do that because that’s what it is – it’s a finished article.

And I know I’m being way too precious about this but I kind of think we’ve reached a stage where our artists, our great creative entities, are being devalued I think. Because they’re too accessible. We’re too close to them.

And as a result you end up with people who aren’t that good any more. Which is why people go crazy for the person who wins American Idol, when in actual fact, they’re just a regular probably uninteresting, not particularly creative gifted person who’s got a decent singing voice. And that’s all the well.

But, in the past you’d have particularly gifted singers like, I dunno, Whitney Houston or somebody, who would actually come through the proper channels and they would have a career based on their talent rather than the fact that they were famous already for being on a TV show. I think all people are getting from this modern accessibility and all that is that they’re being encouraged to see artists as no different from themselves. Which is fine when they are no different than themselves.

For me, Bob Dylan is some scary otherworldly alien. Some kind of genius… I don’t want to hang out with him! I don’t want to get to know him. I don’t want him to be some guy I can go and have a chat with after the show. I want him to play the show and I want to never see him because I want him to be untouchable and perfect. And I don’t want to remix his song and then send it to him digitally and then maybe have him tell me it’s great. I want to have him make his record the way that he thinks is perfect and then I want to listen to it and react to his work. Who the fuck am I to think I can take something that someone has done and make it better? It’s insulting to the artist and I think it’s very arrogant of the individual to assume that.

So, you know, I’m cool for the fan remix thing. But… it’s not part of the creative process. It’s part of a marketing process. And it might be fun. And it probably is fun. But I don’t think it’s anything to be taken seriously.


S: In a review of your gig at the Gateshead Sage last January on Record Overplayed, Dawn (the editor) writes that your songs “alternate between tear jerking piano poetry and impossibly infectious, impassioned rants.” What are your impassioned rants about? Where do you find the inspiration for your lyrics?

D: Maybe I’ve let off a couple of impassioned rants during this interview…

My rants are about things I feel strongly about. The way that things are headed in music… When it comes to music, the word “artist” now means just anyone who’s singing on a record as opposed to having any level of artistic creative involvement or input into the record. I think the record business is fucked beyond repair. Certainly in Britain it is. I think America has still got some hope. I think it still works in this country, so much better than it does back home.

Britain being such a small country, it’s been very easy to monopolize and so now there’s a stage in Britain where there are like 3 or 4 people who have to give you a green light and if they give you the green light, you’ve got a career and you can continue, and if you don’t get a green light that’s it and you will never ever make it. I think just generally, if you watch the news on TV and you hear some of the nonsense that people talk about. The people who run our country… I don’t believe for a second they have our best interests in mind.

It’s kind of easy to look at the state of things and just think maybe just maybe we are completely screwed! And the whole world’s gone mental. And I can’t see a way out of any of this because the people who drive us as a people and as a society have fundamentally put us on a collision course. So, for me, ranting is… almost like a letting off of steam. And I feel bad for not offering any kind of solution, because I don’t have one.

I think that this point in history is a very very strange time. Optimism seems to have kind of subsided into a kind of resignation that yes, this is all going to happen. And yes, the earth and the environment will be screwed over. Yes, we will get involved with wars for reasons that they won’t tell us about at the time. It seems that people are kind of accepting of all this… and that we’re just gonna watch watch the decline and see what happens. There’s a lot to rant about.

But at the same time, it’s a beautiful world, and it’s a wonderful life and there is so much to think is truly wonderful. But, you know, at the same time, the things that our societies and our structures and our governments are doing are not necessarily helping to increase the overall joy in the world. That feels like a shame because I can’t believe it would be that difficult for everyone to get along and for everything to be cool.

S: Our blog is called Evolving Music. When you hear that phrase, what does it mean to you?

D: Evolving Music… um, I’m not really sure. I think, obviously, the whole concept of evolution is about a constantly moving thing. My worry with evolution is the whole Darwinism thing. Darwin was a very clever man who… used to live in my hometown strangely enough.

But, the whole survival of the fittest thing, which Hitler among others drew upon, and which I think is absolutely fundamental to the very concept of capitalism… it kind of means survival of the fittest but it also means survival of anyone who’s willing to fuck over someone else for their own benefit.

Obviously music is not as cutthroat a business as that. But… I kind of worry, because music is supposed to be an art form. And an art form is often based upon things like vulnerability. Evolution exists partly to eradicate vulnerability and leave you with only the strong and the robust.

My fear when it comes to music and evolution is that what you end up with is survival of the fittest, and the fittest is that which is most likely to survive in a competitive marketplace. And that which is most likely to survive in a competitive marketplace is that which is inoffensive to the highest number of people. And that which is inoffensive to the highest number of people is that which says absolutely nothing.

So, I’m not down on the concept of evolving music. I think evolution is a good thing. But, I worry that the music business is all business and no music. Or that music is the last item that gets filled in.

I think it’s very important that we keep an eye on it and make sure that the weak are still helped and that it’s not just about survival of the strongest because the strongest are fine. It’s the vulnerable, soft, beautiful little things that need protecting. In the spirit of evolving music, we need to look after the pandas and the hummingbirds that can’t necessarily look after themselves.

S: MixMatchMusic and the readers of Evolving Music thank you for your time! Best of luck!

RIP Bo Diddley

published
on June 3, 2008
by
Sandra
in artist/album reviews, music, and video
. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

The legendary Bo Diddley died yesterday. He will be missed.

I was having a Bo Diddley YouTube marathon after hearing the sad news and stumbled across this next video. Couldn’t help but smile at the awesome retro cheesiness of this Hollywood a Go Go appearance. I especially love the goofy intro by Sam Riddle and the girls dancing in the background. So classic!

Anyhow, this man was truly a legend. He helped usher in the rock’n’roll era from its blues roots, pioneered new beats like “a shave and a haircut”, and was one of the first American artists to use female musicians in his band. Not to mention his crazy rectangle guitars.

After playing with him at the Fillmore in 1999, Tom Petty summed it up pretty well when he said “Elvis is King, but Diddley is Daddy”.

International Music Spotlight: Ugandan Hip Hop

published
on May 21, 2008
by
Sandra
in artist/album reviews, culture, genres, music, and video
. 12 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Those who know my musical taste know I’m a big fan of world music (Putamayo, anyone?) – both traditional cultural music as well as the more modern fusion of ethnic sounds with, say, an awesome dance beat. As such, I’ve decided to start an international music spotlight series with occasional posts highlighting specific genres from specific cultures each time. Off we go!

I’m no expert when it comes to hip hop, that’s for damn sure. But I do know when I hear something I like. And I like a lot of hip hop…and how revolutionary its artists can be. Some of them truly empower their followers with their impassioned lyrics. Some of them are heroes in their communities and fierce activists. Hip hop* is music with a purpose.

*Obviously, I’m referring to the underground (or at least less mainstream) artists whose works are centered around poignant topics like political corruption, poverty, war, HIV, social change etc…NOT mainstream “hip pop” stars who rap about meaningless crap (e.g. money, drugs, sex) but have catchy beats that propel their songs to success in the clubs and on the charts…though those artists certainly have a right to their place in the musical spectrum.

The global hip hop scene could be conceived of as being still in its infancy – at least in terms of large scale awareness. Despite an increasing number of destinations like Flight 808, an international hip hop site/blog, and Nomadic Wax, a “record label, production company and events production company specializing in hip-hop and underground music from around the globe”, most international underground hip hop is, you know, still underground.

Today, I chose to spotlight Uganda, because my aunt has been working in Kampala for several years and it’s next on my wish list of places to travel to.

Ugandan Hip Hop (Lugaflow)

An excellent starting point is this documentary called Diamonds in the Rough:

O’Reilly Radar has a good description of the film, which follows Bataka Squad, a Ugandan hip hop group who raps in their native tongue, Luganda, and uses their art form to raise awareness of local issues, inspire youth and do all kinds of good. Click here for a brief history of the group.

Bataka Squad is a great example of a local group who refuses to sell out and play the kind of music that is popular in favor of staying true to their roots and disseminating their message. Thanks to their perseverance, they have not only garnered a local following among Ugandan youth but have caught the attention of a more international audience ranging from the first African hip hop summit in South Africa in 2005 to the Power to the Peaceful Festival in San Francisco in 2007. They even met Bill Clinton.

After the Artist Activism workshop that I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been thinking more and more about the inherent power of music and its ability to empower people, spread positive messages of hope and change [insert obvious Obama plug here], and educate the international community about local issues.

On that note…

What I'm Hearing, Vol. 2

published
on May 20, 2008
by
ACtual
in artist/album reviews, genres, and music
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Alright, it’s time for the May update and the second installment of What I’m Hearing. For those that missed last month, this will be a monthly post centered around the new music I’ve put on my iPod. The May update, for those interested in numbers and stats, contains 135 new songs, and they are excellent! Here’s what I’m hearing now…

Atmosphere, When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold: After two releases viewed largely as disappointing in musical content, Atmosphere has returned with an excellent set of hip-hop that finds the duo of Ant and Slug returning to the stylistic methods that created their success originally. The beats on this album are tight, with many melancholy tracks for Slug’s introspective and multi-tiered delivery to lilt over. Ant produces an album that ranges from sad slow hip-hop to upbeat party movers, with songs based in undulating bass rhythms as well as melodic piano rifts. Slug, rapping about various people’s personal perspective on life, finds new inspiration for his rhymes by rapping from both a first person and omniscient angle and creating rhymes that could be interpreted multiple ways. Don’t Sleep On: “Yesterday,” “Me,” and “Your Glass House.”

Blue Scholars, The Long March EP: While I have been talking consistently about their self-titled debut and sophomore release Bayani, I just discovered this EP full of previously unreleased tracks. They continue the smooth music and laid back lyricism of the two studio albums and deliver a number of excellent tracks. This may be an EP, but it listens like a full effort album. Don’t Sleep On: “Sagaba (Remix),” “La Botella,” and “27” (technically off the Butter and Gun$ release)

Chicha Libre, Sonido Amazonico: When you pick up this album for the first time, your initial thought is that you’re listening to some 70s music out of South America. The style hails from Peru and in its heyday was an amalgamation of pop, reggae and Latin music. Here, this North American band has picked up the style, dusted it off and infused it with a natural and unforced feeling that also includes some surf music vibes among others. The instrumentation is exquisite, with hand drums and an organ being used to great effect throughout the album. This music is perfect for summer weather and boat trips. Dig it. Don’t Sleep On: “La Cumbia del Zapatero,” “Sonido Amazonico,” and “Popcorn Andino.” Here’s a quote from the group’s website…”CHICHA is the name of a corn-based liquor favored by the Incas in pre-colombian days. Chicha is also the name of a South American music craze which started out in the late 70’s in the Peruvian Amazon. Cumbias amazonicas, as they were first called, were loosely inspired by Colombian accordion-driven cumbias but soon incorporated the distinctive sounds of Andean melodies, some Cuban son, and the psychedelic sounds of surf guitars, farfisa organs and moog synthesizers. The group draws its personnel from barbes regulars Bebe Eiffel, One Ring Zero and Las Rubias del norte.”

Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs: The indie scene has been good to Death Cab, and the release of their new album, written in California, exemplifies the standard sounds we’ve come to expect from the group while also integrating a few new ones. Light piano and guitar, easy melodies and Gibbard’s heartfelt and sometimes falsetto voice form the basis of the album, but the band branches out here with a few more intense segments, heavy drums and wall of sound concepts. Death Cab remains their strongest on the shorter melancholy songs and the ones where the music is just enough to keep Gibbard from sounding miserable, but their radio single of this one, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” is a bit self-indulgent in its 8 minute running time and the long intro seems to go almost nowhere for minutes. “Your New Twin Sized Bed” demonstrates the group’s ability to turn a very sad song into an enjoyable tune. All in all though, another solid installment from the group. Don’t Sleep On: “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” “Your New Twin Sized Bed,” and “Grapevine Fires.”

Immortal Technique, The 3rd World: I can’t say much more about the 3 full tracks and 4 clips I’ve heard in from this album other than what I said late last week in this post. What I will say is that these three tracks (“Reverse Pimpology,” “The 3rd World,” and “The Payback) are all stellar, showcasing familiar Tech topics over a very different set of beats that forces him to find diversity in his delivery. He succeeds and makes June 24th’s release date seem just too far off.

Nine Inch Nails, The Slip: Reznor’s come a long way since Pretty Hate Machine, and the journey has allowed us to watch an angst-ridden young artist develop a genre, spawn numerous imitators, become an incredible global success and then use that success to work independently against the record industry that gave him his start. While Reznor’s success has changed the way the music is approached and distributed, it hasn’t changed what is an obvious hunger within to continue to create. The Slip is the album follow up to the esoteric and instrumental Ghosts I-IV released a few weeks ago, and finds Reznor returning to songs with lyrics and savage musical intensity that were missing on the largely landscape tracks of Ghosts. While I personally feel that the honesty, intensity and pure force of will in albums like Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral will no longer be matched, Reznor doesn’t try to duplicate the formula or make apologies here. The songs are a logical progression of his growth as a musician, and still deliver some satisfying NIN. Distortion, a combination of live and machine drums and heavy guitar saturate this album. Don’t Sleep On: “Lights in the Sky,” “Echoplex,” and “Demon Seed”

Portishead, Third: Following over a decade without a new studio album, Portishead’s Third was widely anticipated, and it was largely feared that they may have remained in limbo for those 11 years, coming back with a 90’s-esque trip-hop sound that would be dated and sedated. So it came as a surprise when the new album came out and, while retaining the haunting vocals of Beth Gibbons, sounded almost nothing like its predecessors. And that’s a very good thing. Here, the trio explores new ground, venturing into the electronic and glitch landscapes that were just starting to exist at the beginning of their hibernation. Don’t Sleep On: “Silence,” “Machine Gun,” and “The Rip”

Seu Jorge, Carolina and The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions: Singer? Sure. Soundtrack writer? Absolutely. Movie star? You bet. Brazilian Seu Jorge does it all, and he does it with flair. You can’t get more MixMatch than that! He appeared as crew member Pelé in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, as well as playing Knockout Ned in the amazing slum epic City of God. Not only acting in Life Aquatic, Jorge also provided a bulk of the soundtrack when he tackled David Bowie covers in Portugese on his guitar. Here we have two very different albums from the man. The first is a rollicking expression of Brazilian samba pop music that occasionally infuses hints of reggae and soul, and the second is a studio version of songs that were originally packaged directly from the film (and most often in outdoor spaces). While the tracks from the movie are spectacular because they really make you feel like Jorge is on a boat next to you playing them, the sound quality could be better. Here, they get the full studio treatment and come out sounding polished. Jorge’s music is fun, light-hearted and extremely listenable. Don’t Sleep On: “Starman,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Hagua”

Various Singles: These songs didn’t get their full albums downloaded, but they’re sweet singles. Check out “Mathematics,” and “Letters From the Ambulance” by The Fashion, “In a Cave” and “Your English Is Good” by Tokyo Police Club, and the studio version of “Business Time” off of Flight of the Conchords‘ freshman release.