Mos Def ~ Black on Both Sides
Mos Def has two great records under his belt, the rest are for the most part, unfinished and largely disappointing efforts from a man who’s talent clearly exceeds the level of his own work on average. But I guess you could call Black on Both Sides a different beast. It’s the one time where Mos Def never did half-assed, every single song could be called a highlight, and each verse is on form. It’s been ten years since it’s release, but it remains his best work. Mos Def was focused in 1999, he had not yet expressed interest in acting and had a lot to prove as a solo artist. Sometimes pressure is a great motivator, Black on Both Sides is a testament to that.

The album is perfect in most senses of word. Mos is constantly on form as an MC, keeping a consistent level of intelligence throughout the entirety of the record, balancing the social and political aspects of his work (New World Water, Mathematics, Fear not of Men) with his concern with hip-hop and persona (Hip-hop, Know That). The beats punctuate what Mos is saying, and each deviation from formula works. The instrumental outro (May December) doesn’t take away from the flow of the album, instead doing what an outro should do, close the album. Black on Both Sides is proof of Mos Def’s talent, he hasn’t been as focused since and to this day, it is his masterpiece.

Mark McGuire ~ Open Chords
The merits of ambient music are hard to evaluate, sometimes, a record will take years to sit right with someone, other times, it clicks immediately. Open Chords, one of the many releases from the prolific Mark McGuire (No, not the baseball player) and it falls neatly into the latter category. Mark McGuire himself is a newcomer to music, and along with his band members in Emeralds, only now is he starting to receive critical attention, mostly for his work with Emeralds. It’s interesting, while a lot of musicians are already established by the time you catch wind of them, perhaps the most rewarding thing is watching the evolution of a musician as his or her career progresses. McGuire has proven himself to be one of the best ambient guitarists out there at the moment, and he keeps on moving forward, developing facets in his personal sound and incorporating it into his work with Emeralds.

Open Chords is a relatively short, two-track tape McGuire put out some time early in 2008. The tape represents some of Mcguire’s loveliest, most euphoric music to date. The music builds elegantly, layer by layer of acoustic guitar builds on each other, and each new layer is stunningly clear. The clarity of McGuire’s playing and ability to build rhythms and melodies are two of his strongest talents as an artist, and Open Chords is thus far, the best representation of those talents. Each song winds and twists along a road, and the ears follow, each detail ingrained upon the memory. To be hummed along with upon further listens.

Lightning Bolt ~ Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt’s career has never touched the mainstream, and I highly doubt they care. The band has always been firmly rooted in the underground, and they seem content to remain there. This suits me fine, because their brand of musical madness is such that if they ever do receive mainstream notice, I’ll look at humanity as a lot more open-minded than any jaded music lover has ever given them credit for. That aside, this is headache music of the highest order. Meant to be played at excessive volumes and flailed around to at your leisure.

Wonderful Rainbow is to this day, the most varied thing Lightning Bolt has ever done. Although they play the kind of music where the term ‘variety’ kind of loses it’s meaning, it’s sometimes nice to alternate between skull throbbingly aggressive at a fast tempo and skull throbbingly aggressive at a bit slower but still fast tempo. This is music driven by it’s forward momentum. Once things pick up, stopping is fatal to the ebb and flow of the song. Lightning Bolt knows this, and as the album progresses, things become more and more primal, and by the end of the record, it’s evolved into what can be best called ’symphonic white noise’, the massive, throbbing wall of sound constantly assaulting the listener. Lightning Bolt is not ’smart music’, nor have they ever expressed the desire to play anything with the notion of intelligence in the first place. What Lightning Bolt has strived and admirably achieved with some consistency Is to kick you in the skull as fast, hard and aggressively as possible with only drums and bass. God bless their souls.

Cortex ~ Troupeau Bleu
French music is an addiction to those who are familiar with it. The countless hours you can spend looking for it may be frustrating, although the reward is nearly always worth it. Although I can’t claim to have found Cortex on my own (Many thanks to Jedimoonshyne for introducing me), I can claim that searching for their records is indeed worth the effort it may take. I know very little of Cortex’s history, nor of who they were or where they come from. No information in regards to their work is on wikipedia, and very little is on Last.FM. Cortex do indeed fit the definition of ‘obscure’. Although should this deter you from looking from them? Are they eccentric? Avant-garde? No. Cortex is one of the most accessible bands I’ll likely mention on this list.

Troupeau Bleu boils down to sound for me, I won’t pretend to understand French, so I’m left with the music. What I am left with is a slice of smooth funk-pop that slows the mood down when it’s appropriate and keeps a fast, energetic mood when necessary. This is in truth, wonderful mood music. The lack of meaning, the audible crackles of vinyl.. all these things add a distinct character to the album. I don’t want to know what it means, I enjoy how it sounds. It’s compulsively listenable music at it’s finest.

Have you forgotten about this?

No, I haven’t. I’m pretty busy right now though, so I can’t update too often.

What are you doing?

Looking for jobs. Yourself?

Do you plan to write anything in the future?

I’m currently working on an unranked list of favorites, which I will relay as a celebration for a forum. I’ll post the entries here as well though.

Year-end list?

Yes, there will be one.

Out of [*****]

Che Grand – Everything Good’s Ugly (2009/hip-hop)

Defined by Che’s charismatic, wordy flow, this is a treat for anyone who loves their hip-hop heady and verbose. A rare treat.

[****1/2]

Toki Wright – A Different Mirror (Hip-Hop/2009)

Keeps it to the G-code, full of great verses. Toki’s mad and he spits with a passion that you can’t help but admire. A bit uneven.

[***1/2]

Lightning Bolt – Earthly Delights (RAWK!/2009)

Once again, Lightning Bolt delivers a squalling, feedback infused mammoth of a record, it doesn’t do anything new for Lightning Bolt’s formula.. but this is the kind of sound I never bore of.

[****1/2]

Federico Aubele – Amatoria (World/2009)

I’ve been loving recent latin releases as of late, and this is no different. Airy and dubby sound bliss.

[****]

14KT – Nowalataz (2009/Hip-Hop)

Glitchy, soulful instrumental from Detroit. Consistentally interesting and varied. A bit too glitchy in spots, but overall, it’s a treat for the ears.

[***1/2)

DJ Spinna - Sonic Smash (2009/Hip-Hop)

Has an infectious, raw energy about that's hard to deny. Rough, tough hip-hop that doesn't pussyfoot around.

[****]

Nino Rota – Music From the Movies of Federico Fellini (Score/Various dates)

Nino Rota’s music is every bit as magical and whimsical as the films his compositions accompany. Bliss.

[*****]

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All are rated out of 5, with halves.

The Day Laborers – The Learning Process (2009/Hip-hop)

Although lacking in quite a few areas, satisfyingly old school effort. Sometimes marred by poor introductory verses but held up by strong momentum thereafter. Worthwhile

[**1/2 out of *****]

City Center – Self Titled  (2009/Ambient Pop)

Murky textures make it hard to grasp but many repeated listens have warmed me up to it’s charms. Drags in a few places. The songs sometimes run a bit too long but at it’s best, it’s warm, textured music.

[*** out of *****]

The Strange Boys – And Girls Club (2009/Experimental Garage Country rock?)

Hard to classify, even harder to get used to. The lead vocalist sounds like an 11 year old boy trying to miss notes, the instruments are demented honky-tonk.. but it has charm. It’s got it’s head so far up it’s ass it’s kind of admirable. They clearly don’t give a shit about how it sounds. Reminds me of The Shaggs.

[** out of *****]

Dollabin – Styles You Can’t Afford (2009/Hip-Hop)

Slick, well produced, full of great stuff and you can get it for free legally. Has a lot of old school charm, the samples are cut, blended and spun into a tepestry of topics. Strong flow with a dose of humor. Fantastic.

[**** out of *****]

Busdriver – Jheli Beam (2009/Hip-hop)

Busdriver’s flow is hard to get used to, but ultimately rewarding. He’s still annoying in places though.

[**1/2 out of  *****]

The Fiery Furnaces – I’m Goiing Away (2009/Indie subgenre of some sort)

It’s main problems is that it’s far too restrained. The Fiery Furnaces work best when they sound like a rampaging ADD monster constantly playing around with rhythms and themes. It’s still enjoyable. Just a little tame for their standards.

[**1/2 out of *****]

Cicada – Roulette (2009/House)

It’s a house record that does everything a House record should with a bit more enthusiasm. Fun record to dance to with some songs that overreach and try to mean something, but who cares? Shut up and dance.

[*** out of *****]

Chain and the Gang – Down With Liberty, Up With Chains! (2009/Funk)

Pretty cool. Ambitious and succesful at what it wants to do. Requires a certain kind of mood though

[***1/2 out of *****]

Ceu – Vagarosa (2009/Bossa Nova?)

Pleasant female vocals flavor this latin treat. Very substantial, interesting music. Creeps along. I don’t understand a thing, but it’s effective without the meaning.

[****1/2 out of *****]

The Latin American style of music has served as inspiration for some of the greatest musicians of all time, the genius of Dizzy Gillespie’s salsa flavored jazz remains his best work, filled with some of the funkiest jams you’ve probably never heard. So drawing from the musical stylings of the area is a pretty safe bet for a talented musician seeking inspiration. Earlier this year, I got a fusion of Ethiopian Jazz and funk flavored hip-hop from Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics (Interesting fact: Malcom Catto of The Heliocentrics is on the drums here). Now I’m getting an ear of wonderful funk with the flavors of salsa and Latin jazz all over. Quantic and His Combo Barbaro have brought us one of the downright funkiest albums of the year. For those who enjoy hip-hop and especially funk.. get on Tradition in Transition NOW. For those who enjoy all other kinds of music? Get on Tradition in Transition now.

Points:

Recorded entirely traditionally, with all the players creating dialogue between each other, this is a gorgeously lush record, a treasure for the ears to dissect. Crisp, clean instrumentation leads the way, creating soundscapes that are almost guaranteed to be more rewarding for attentive listeners. The players get into tight, interlocking grooves. Not only is this intuitive, rewarding music, but it’s downright fun music as well. There seems to be an unspoken trust between all the players that what they offer is going to just as valuable as all the other musician’s contributions to the album, and indeed it is.

The vocal spots on the album are surprisingly organic, never disruptive, never distracting from the flow of the album’s groove, instead complimenting it. The array of vocalists is impressive, coming from places such as Panama and India. The vocal pieces flow well with the instrumental pieces and no song really drags forward. I find myself trying to find flaws but quickly forgetting them because I’m simply enjoying the album so much.

I really hope we see more interesting music like this arrive as the year moves closer to 2010 because I adore the international mix, it’s genuinely fun music and interesting music as well, it never needs to compromise one or the other, everything feels wonderfully organic and unforced. It’s dance music that can be enjoyed with or without dancing, and it’s classy dance music at that. Wonderful is the proper word to use here.

Download a track off of the album here

PSY/OPSogist’s Kings of Sleep snuck up on me, while I enjoyed his previous effort, Suffused With Static, I didn’t think he had a new album coming out this year. I’m pleasantly surprised to hear a new full length record from PSY/OPSogist and also happy to report that it’s a record of note, worth your attention and time. The style is best summed up in his ‘About me’ page, it describes the sound of his music as being ‘Atmospheric headphone music’, and after spinning the record a few times on headphones, I’d have to say that’s an apt description of what this is. Music one puts on to enjoy themselves, best experienced isolated from the world. Well placed samples and generally excellent production give the album it’s distinct flavor. And did I mention it’s legally free?

Points:

Samples define the mood on Kings of Sleep often. While it’s not ‘dark’, It is suitably moody and often sets the direction the album takes for a short time. Each movement is defined by the sample that precedes the music. Mood is key to Kings of Sleep as it’s largely defined by mood and atmosphere. It’s worth noting how tricky this is to do. Depending on mood to drive an album, like crafting a great horror film, the mood must never change too rapidly, but it can’t be one note. Kings of Sleep does an excellent job balancing consistency and variety. The shifts on the album feel natural and unforced.

As a side note: If you ever needed proof that it’s passion that defines good music, this should be it, created and crafted without the interference of a record label, distributed online for free in addition to being offered as numbered CD packages, PSY/OPSogist has crafted an album that doesn’t compromise quality. You’ll never notice this is ‘free music’ because the production never sounds cheap

It’s not without flaws, it’s an album that’s sequenced in such a manner that you lose something when you separate it from it’s place on the album. In addition to that, PSY/OPSogist lets beats ride on a bit too long at time, it’s not that the songs need trimming, it’s that they need shifts to keep the album interesting. Despite that, Kings of Sleep is one of the best of the year. It’s an album the never needs to make an excuse for a lack of something. It’s a soundtrack for those times when you may find yourself in bed, it’s music that’s best experienced as an experience.

A link to Kings of Sleep.

A small edit and an apology to PSY/OPSogist who’s name I misspelled three times. My fault not catching that.