For last month’s “What I’m Hearing,” click here.
The June iPod update around here has 97 tracks, not including the IndieFeed Hip-Hop tracks, and there is some most excellent music on it. I continued to collect some Indie and Alt-Rock sounds, while also traveling overseas to get some new pixie pop. Let’s see what we’ve got in the June iPod update.
Young Knives, Superabundance: This is a younger band out of Britain that has been releasing music since 2005, but have only recently begun to garner the type of attention and press that would keep their feet dry in a hop across the pond. This album is only their second full length and brings to the table the geek style sound of Say Hi To Your Mom while infusing it with the energy of The Fashion or Tokyo Police Club. Their choruses are catchy without being disgustingly unforgettable. Solid bass work over rollicking drums tie together the British accent on the vocals and the melody guitar parts sometimes accented by string work. This group continues the wave of impressive Brit Rock Pop/Alternative music that has been landing on our shores recently. Don’t Sleep On: “Up All Night,” “Turn Tail,” “Swimming with the Fishes.”
Lykke Li, Little Bit – EP: When I read that this was just a small release, backed by the production assistance of Bjorn Yettling of Peter Bjorn and John, I got pretty excited. The basement pop, lo-fi sounds brought out on Writer’s Block left me wanting more, and they showed excellent judgment and intelligence in crafting a pop-sensible album without turning the hooks into radio refrains that would lead someone to suicide when they couldn’t forget them in morning traffic. Swedish singer Lykke Li has a gentle and soft style, reminiscent recently of pop darlings Feist and Sia. The pixie voice, simple backings and airy production produce four excellent tracks here. The full album came out last month stateside…now I can only hope that they release it on iTunes soon. Don’t Sleep On: The entire EP…it’s only 4 tracks, and they’re all beautiful.
Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes: The self-titled debut from this Seattle based band brings together a number of sounds that fit perfectly in landscape. At various times Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Beach Boys and chamber music, Fleet Foxes bring together a disparate grouping of sounds that they weave together to create an almost pop-folk album that sounds at various times like classical baroque, and at others like the pastoral longings of 60s singer/songwriters. The acoustic guitars and mellow, drifting vocals call to mind a deserted summer road or quiet walk through a forest. Finely crafted with an extreme attention to detail, I can’t foresee this being the last we hear of the Foxes. Don’t Sleep On: “Blue Ridge Mountains,” “Quiet Houses,” and “White Winter Hymnal.”
Tilly and the Wall, 0: This is the third album released by this 5-piece, Omaha, Nebraska based band. The raw energy and simple production on this album separate it from the legions of power punk pop and other radio driven rock sounds currently. Their distinct Indie Pop sound comes from raw instruments accentuated by a drummer that plays through tap dance. Interesting, exciting and eclectic. Don’t Sleep On: “Pot Kettle Black,” “Poor Man’s Ice Cream,” and “Falling Without Knowing.”
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III: Not usually a fan of Hip-Pop, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this album. After hearing “Lollipop” on repeat in an Iowa club, I’ve been interested to see how Lil Wayne would come out on this album, and amazingly, he incorporates a wide variety of styles, both musically and lyrically. True, the music, in production value, can’t touch Sabzi’s beats from Blue Scholars, and lyrically, Wayne is no Immortal Technique, but the album is a fun study in Summer music that brings in rock sounds at time, and goes from a more soulful R&B take on rap to the radio ready “Got Money” with ubiquitous pop chart mainstay T-Pain. While not incredibly amazing, this album is quite a bit of fun, especially when Wayne works in humorous quotes that wouldn’t work for any other rapper in the game like, “I’m not kinda hot/I’m sauna/I sweat money and the bank is my shower.” Don’t Sleep On: “Mr. Carter,” “Shoot Me Down,” and “Let the Beat Build.”
RZA as Bobby Digital, Digi Snacks: RZA has had a tough go of it lately, and it’s not all that surprising. Given fame from his work with the Wu-Tang Clan, yet experimental enough to do some out there cuts for the Kill Bill soundtrack, RZA caught a ton of flak from other members of the Wu over what they considered a musical hijacking on their latest release, 8 Diagrams. Some reviews found RZA’s production on the album to be a great step forward, and one that actually salvaged the CD that was devoid of excellent lyrical material. Others, however, and most notably Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, slammed the production for being soft, hippy and a bastardization of the Wu-Tang sound. Those debates, however, aren’t the topic here, as Digi Snacks finds RZA courting outside help in pursuit of an album that’s perhaps a bit more fun and lighthearted than the Wu material allows for. Slower songs, as well as upbeat and peppy ones pepper a number of tracks that fall somewhere in between on the Wu spectrum. What I enjoy about the album is that RZA’s willingness to take unconventional risks, while they sometimes don’t always pan out, give more of an impression of true artistic exploration than most artists will permit themselves on an album these days. Some work on songs that have a signature sound, release those, and explore between albums. Here, for better or worse, RZA is willing to let it all hang out as Bobby Digital to sometimes poor, and sometimes very great effect. Don’t Sleep On: “Booby Trap,” “Creep,” and “You Can’t Stop Me Now.”
Immortal Technique, The 3rd World: Considering that around 4,000 people have come to Evolving Music to read about the release and review of this album, it’d be a bit repetitive to put anything here. That being said, here is the link to the full album review, and a link to my exclusive interview with Immortal Technique.
