Album Review: James Blake's Overgrown

I won't shirk the claim that James Blake is my favorite artist to debut in the last couple years; that's a pretty concrete feeling I have. He seems to do everything right - his EPs allow him to experiment with new styles and sonics, his LPs are focused on furthering his songwriting and catalogue. That being said, Overgrown feels much more complete than Blake's eponymous debut. It is pure joy to pick out the little nuances Blake buries in his music, whether it be the subtle shifting of elements from foreground to background or just a noise I cannot begin to fathom constructing myself. He is at the forefront of Electronic music, passionately concerned with moving the genre forward.

Overgrown finds Blake stripping back the digital masking on most his vocals, offerring a more honest listen to his maudlin crooning. What makes Blake's second effort much better than his first is the song writing. His lyrics are tight, pensive, organic -- this is why I was rather disappointed that Blake didn't include a lyric sheet in his physical release like the debut did. I'm not just humming along to these songs anymore, but singing the lyrics clearly all day: chewing, digesting the material. The structures of these songs are complex and unique, more so as the record progresses into its increasingly experimental second half.

Enough Thunder, one of the two EPs in between the debut and Overgrown, saw Blake flirt with a Bon Iver collaboration and a beautiful Joni Mitchell cover; and even though the former wasn't anything to write home about, it allowed the artist to broaden his musical palette by including someone else in the song writing process. With this experiment under his belt, Two legendary musical figures, RZA and Brian Eno, helped James Blake with two songs on Overgrown. Both efforts are wins, the RZA song being one of the best songs Blake has done, giving hope to anyone (me) who wanted him to produce for rappers - his mix of R&B singing with stellar production dovetails RZA's heartfelt and serious lyrics pointedly.

There are more traditional songs - "Overgrown", "I Am Sold", "Retrograde" - on Overgrown than any of James Blake's previous efforts, be it EP or LP. And even though, as previously mentioned, the back half is a little experimental, there aren't any Lindisfarne ones and twos taking up record space. When it comes to a bonus track, a concept Ben Goodheart is vehemently against, "Everyday I Ran" may be the first bonus track to warrant a couple extra bucks, as it is just as good as Blake's breakthrough "CMYK".

I cannot wait to see where he goes from here; hopefully we get more experiments and new musical approaches on an EP in the near future, which isn't hard to imagine considering how dense the artist's output has been since his emergence.

Final Grade: A-

Electric Flavor #1

Before I begin with my own introduction, I would like to say that I don’t get the title of this blog. Also, thank Kyle for inviting me to work on this project. Kyle probably has the most diverse and well informed music taste out of anyone that I know. His ability to ferociously devour, comprehend, and adeptly criticize new artists with a wit and contextual understanding to rival P4k’s most pretentious and self-righteous blogger is a quality I have come to both loathe and admire; for trying to keep up with him in this manner has often proved very frustrating for me.  I look forward to reading his musings on future releases and I hope he looks forward to mine.

Now I’m going to tell you about myself:

I started DJ-ing about 5 year ago - in a strange coincidence, almost to the day. After years of playing drums in various bands I was sick of sitting in the back having all the attention focused on someone other than myself. I couldn’t play guitar, so the narcissist in me decided that buying turntables was the next best thing.

My philosophy behind my craft is pretty simple: Don’t get too caught up in trends (and in the world of EDM there are certainly a lot), always push yourself to get better, and for fuck’s sake keep people dancing.

I try to let a diverse taste in music inform my DJ-ing and I will try to let that same taste inform my posts here on Flatted 3rd. Although Kyle brought me on as the resident EDM expert, you can look forward to posts from all across the genre spectrum but always something danceable with a electronic flavor.

Now on to the music...



The Grooviest Track You’ll Hear all Week: Bondax - Baby I Got That



If you haven’t heard of Bondax before, don’t worry, you haven’t missed much. These two teenage producers from Lancaster, UK have only just started out, but they have burst on the scene in a big way.

They’ve been getting a lot of love from BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac who has featured pretty much every existing Bondax track at some point on her show.

This selection “Baby I Got That” starts off with a airy build that might easily get it mistaken for a Jamie XX record. However, it quickly busts into a groove reminiscent of early 90’s electro pop. Then there’s also a fair bit of fun filter work which gives it a distinctive disco-y feel.

Overall, this track is right up my alley - hopefully we live in the same alley - and I look forward to its official release on August 26th.

(For those interested the Justin Martin remix is equally awesome)



The Best Remix of a Cover of Someone You’ve Heard on the Radio: DjSliink - High for This



With Ellie Goulding sitting rather uncomfortably at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 - still behind Flo Rida’s summer anthem, WHICH IS TOTALLY NOT ABOUT WHISTLING - and after releasing her debut album more than 2 years ago, there are bound to be a number of lackluster remixes and edits of a fair number of her tracks. The most glaring exception is Bassnectar’s “Lights” Remix , but this track also seems to stand out.

I really hate the obsessive subcategorization of every EDM track. The worst offenders being anything that warrants the “-step” suffix. But Sliink and Kiff really kill it on the “Future Trapstep” tip. Their remix of Ellie Goulding’s cover of The Weekend’s “High for This” is chill, one might even say “trill” at times, but it certainly does the original justice; this track has a feel all its own, qualities I value highly in remixes.

I’ll (hopefully) be catching Sliink on September 7th. I pray he beings a similar vibe there that he did in his Boiler Room NY Set.



The Summer Radio Jam Remix You’ll Play Well Into the Fall: Settle Down - Baauer Remix 



Although I try not to get caught up in trends, there is really no avoiding the explosion of Trap music on the EDM scene. Nu-Trap is a hybrid of the trunk rattling southern rap beats you might expect from the likes of Meek Mill, Bun B or 2 Chainz and Bro/Drum/Dub Step. Although this track is not a perfect example of this new genre - If you’re looking for that check out TNGHT - Baauer is by far one of the most prominent producers in the scene. Allow this official No Doubt remix to serve as proof.

Unlike his contemporaries, like RL Grime for example, Baauer steps out of his comfort zone on this remix. He doesn’t rely on the huge drops and constantly rattling hi hats, which are so painfully common in Trap music. Don’t get me wrong, you definitely want to turn your sub on for this one. But the cool island feel of this song accented by the background marimbas and bird chirps is a refreshing breath from the endless stream of trap remixes hitting the internet in the past few months.



The Best Moombahton Floorfiller I’ve Heard in a Minute: Beat Down - Steve Aoki and Angger Dimas ft. Iggy Azalea 


Let me make two things clear:
1. I fucking hate Steve Aoki.
2. Iggy Azalea makes this track.

Although this track has some weak points - most notably some annoying synth tones - overall, it really bumps. Even if you can’t stand this song or video, I still think it serves as a great introduction to Iggy Azalea. This 2/10 Australian almost became a supermodel, but when her agency said she was “too thick" (a distinction I'm totally cool with), She said, "Fuck It" and became a Bad-Ass FemCee instead.

If you’re digging Iggy check out her new Glory EP . I highly suggest you do.

The Track That I Totally Missed the Boat On: Epic - Sandro Silva & Quintino

This track was released in June of 2011. Apparently it made a big splash in Ibiza last summer...I never got the memo.

Leaky Pipes: A First Look at Coexist

The xx - Coexist

I have obtained a leaked copy of The xx's Coexist. After a couple of listens all the way through, I have reached a conclusion on my first impression of the album: It's lackluster.

What made The xx so interesting was their use of minimalism to inspire such a burning, grand sound. Every track glistened or was so covered in darkness, only an outline of something larger was broadcasted. It was the beautiful dichotomy between songs like "Shelter" and "Crystalized" that drew a listener into a constant rotation of the record. XX bloomed; Coexist sprouts, revealing an almost unfinished product. 

All of these dark, sparse songs come as a huge surprise considering Jamie XX, the band's producer and beat maker, revealed what would be the first details about Coexist, in an interview with Pitchfork:

I think it will definitely sound different than the last album and anything I've ever done, just because our ears have been opened to so much music. Two years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of listening to most of the stuff I listen to now. Like, I wasn't interested in techno and house at all before but, when I was in Chicago, I bought a bunch of Dance Mania records from the 80s and 90s, and I've listened to a lot of that.

I had Coexist pinned to be more of the dance inspired bass music Jamie XX was doing solo, or the Gil-Scott Heron remix album. I was sure the record would be a lot more of the stuff I loved off of XX, but with more "danceability." What Coexist does do is create a dark veil over the music, one that I'm sure will eventually lift, revealing a melancholic beauty, but for the first time through, it feels too shrouded.

With singles "Angels" and "Chained", The xx displayed the usual slow build, but with shifty, unpredictable drums. These features only make slight appearances in the other songs on the album, "Missing" being a highlight of this; you can feel the heartbeat, uncertainty, and hurt in the production. "Try" starts off with an eery guitar riff, yet it seems to stay at the same pace and never really excites. A lot of other songs, like "Tides" and "Our Song", feel almost like sketches or outlines for a larger song, never fully building into anything.

But maybe this is exactly where The xx is going, a starless yearning that is never fulfilled. It certainly doesn't produce anything you can show to someone and have them instantly latch onto, much like what XX accomplished. For right now, after a half-dozen listen throughs, Coexist feels more like an "honorable mention," for what it aims for, than a "best of," because of what it accomplishes.

Grade: B-

My 10 Favorite Albums of All Time

I was trying to think of a great first article to start this blog with, but I figured since this is a personal blog, I should give insight into my persona. What better, easier way to get to know someone than to know his or her top ten albums of all time? I don't think there are any better ways, so this is my list. Keep in mind, like with the rest of the internet, this is all opinion and my personal - there's that word again - experience with music. These are the records I have come to know and love throughout my many years of devotedly listening to music. Feel free to comment! 

1. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

The Slim Shady LP set up Eminem’s second record, The Marshall Mathers LP, to fail spectacularly, but the sophomore effort did everything but. There were the two deaths, of which the blame was placed on Eminem’s first release; the ICP feud; Slim Shady, the character; and Eminem’s crumbling relationship with his then estranged wife, Kim. Everything coalesces into a perfect album that balances social and personal responsibilities with ease. The first half of the record defends Eminem’s first effort and the chaos it provoked, while the second sees Eminem proving why he garnered so much attention in the first place with traditional

I found this record, or I guess this record found me would be more accurate, during a time when my older brother was showing me weird things. I was eleven and my brother fourteen. He was already a year into his teens and teaching me all sorts of foul words. The first time I heard The Marshall Mathers LP, I was struck with wonder and confusion. First of all, I had no idea what half of the lewd acts Eminem spoke of were; my brother would later translate ad hoc, continuing to be my guide into an auspicious maturity. Second of all, I had never heard anyone rap about issues that actually mattered - most rap at the time was about "bling bling." Time passed and I moved onto different kinds of music, always gravitating towards socially aware rap because of this record. Years later, when I first started to collect vinyl records, this was one of the first records I purchased, bringing with it all the memories and lessons learned. 

2. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

It’s nearly impossible to overlook Nirvana, when referencing the alternative rock uprising in the early to mid nineties. But Sonic Youth had been paving their own way since the early eighties, and released Daydream Nation a year before Nirvana broke ground with Bleach. While most of Daydream’s elements, from song titles to lyrics, are classic-rock inspired, it never sounds like anything majorly released up to that point. Sister and EVOL saw the band moving away from mostly dissonant, art-house sounds while still retaining noise jams, Daydream Nation brought forth some of the best guitar rock heard at the time, ostensibly inspired by the band’s connections to Dinosaur Jr. An album warranting well over an hour of listening, Daydream Nation never bores or caries on; it’s a whirling dervish from calm to chaos and back again.

When I first arrived at college, I brought with me my iTunes library full of CDs I painstakingly ripped. Then my roommate introduced me to the world of downloading music free off the internet. I think I used sordomusic.com for a month, constantly downloading whatever music I found noteworthy on "best of" lists. Of course Daydream Nation made its way onto pretty much every list I could find on the 80s, but I'm a 90s baby, so the album as put on the back burner for a while. The first time I listened to it, the album had been in my library for nearly half a year. It blew me away right from the beginning and all the way to the finish. I had never before heard anything so noisy yet beautiful, classic yet fresh, or angsty yet artsy. Since that day freshman year, I have always had this record to come back to. It's my breakup, bad day, good day, new girlfriend soundtrack.  

3. Burial - Untrue

Untrue is as dark as it is inviting. By fusing 2-step and garage music, Burial released what most people consider the first successful, true “dubstep” album. With its shifty beats and pitch-shifted vocals, Unture made an indelible mark in electronic music history. The release also continued the myth Burial had created with his veiled appearances toward the media. A genre defining moment, Untrue is one of the rare instances of letting the music speak solely for itself, unapologetically.

I cannot recall exactly the first time I heard Untrue, but I think it was around the time Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma came out, so somewhere around 2010. I was just starting to break into the world of electronic music, always having cast it out as emotionless and programmed. Untrue provided a eponymous testament disproving that mindset. I must have listened to the whole album, all the way through, thirty times in the first week I got it. It sent me in an electronic music tailspin and I downloaded or bought anything bassy I could get my hands on. Untrue is a gateway album, a gateway into a seedy, dark London underground. 

4. Led Zeppelin - IV

Led Zeppelin had a knack for making classic rock and roll albums, right? Almost any Led Zeppelin record through Physical Graffiti could be considered one of the top ten albums of all time, but what separates IV from the others is the weight it holds in the classic rock community. It’s impossible to not associate Led Zeppelin with “Stairway to Heaven”, the band, and possibly classic rock’s, “greatest song ever.” The album also introduced the symbols that would come to represent each band member, making each one’s talent and legacy escape words. This was the record that made Led Zeppelin the rock gods.

Like every child, I inherited certain bands and albums from my parents. My parents love Led Zeppelin, I love Led Zeppelin. The first time I started to classify music and form a schema, I raided my parent's CD collection for bands of whatever I found interesting at the time; that was classic, guitar-driven rock and roll. I decided Led Zeppelin was the best at this kind of music, so that's all I listened to. Although I favor their first record, I recognize IV as their best and most well-known. I know almost every guitar riff from this album. It's the quintessential rock and roll god album. 

5. Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children

Boards of Canada’s first proper release created an entity looking as far backwards as forwards, an enigmatic record that would inspire most of today’s keyboard driven electronic music. There are multiple elements of classic songwriting but balanced with free-flowing beats and samples. Music seems to float somewhere above the listener’s head, always just out of reach, longing for moments of clarity.

I caught up to Boards of Canada around the same time I discovered Untrue and, I guess as the story goes, electronic music in general. What was so special about Music Has the Right to Children was the tone and execution of the music. Everything was so clean and mythical. It seemed to undulate while staying completely still. The mythos of the band furthers its reputation as a foggy, time-tested classic.  

6. The Roots - Phrenology

While it isn’t my favorite Roots album – that title goes to either Things Fall Apart or Game Theory – it certainly is their best. Phrenology never lets up. Each song flows effortlessly into the next, the production is near perfect, and The Roots are the main focus of the record; there aren’t any show stealing features, like in some later release. But let’s be honest, are there any bad Roots records? Phrenology sticks out most, much like Led Zeppelin IV, because of one song: “The Seed 2.0”. This isn’t why it is the best release, but because it has drawn so much attention with one song; it invites anyone unfamiliar with the band’s stellar discography to listen more.

I'm not going to lie, the first time I heard The Roots was "The Seed 2.0". I'm not ashamed to admit I fell onto an underground legend such as The Roots through their most well-known song. But as I stated before, the single did exactly what a single should and I as hooked. Following my proclivity to seek out socially conscious rap, The Roots fit right in with the Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest as one of my favorite rap groups to listen to all of. Phrenology is what hooked me. 

7. Radiohead - Kid A

Although Radiohead’s two preceding albums, The Bends and OK Computer, are both classics, Kid A saw Radiohead changing their music styles and popular music. Fans of the band’s traditional – as traditional as Radiohead could be – arrangements and instrumentation saw a move into more spacious, electronic sounds. Sonically, not many records, save this list’s and a handful of other classics, contain the beautiful, lurid soundscapes that Kid A offers. Even the transition instrumental tracks have enough depth in their sound construction to warrant multiple listens; “Treefingers” has more sound packed into it than most pop albums. Radiohead has had an illustrious career filled with many accolades, but Kid A stands out most due to its vast scope and halcyon production.

During my downloading binge freshman year of college, I followed up on a band I knew from songs like "High and Dry" and "Creep", and was I surprised to hear Kid A. At first, I thought maybe someone had mislabeled the band, but then Thom Yorke's melancholy croon entered and I knew what I as hearing, or maybe I had no idea. The album is challenging but rewarding beyond all expectations. To say you enjoy Kid A does establish some sort of dismissible indie-cred, but it's something all together different to love it. This is the smart kid with everything to offer in a relationship, the beautiful gem hiding in plain sight. There have been multiple times, like with Daydream Nation, where I have unconsciously gravitated toward this album, and it's always been just as receiving as that day I thought I was listening to something else.  

8. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins produced near perfection with Siamese Dream, but the reason Mellon Collie stands out more is its ambition. With added input from the rest of the band, Corgan and the group were able to construct something much larger than its parts, which range a wide variety of musical styles. A double CD and triple LP, Mellon Collie garnered the band’s only number one spot on the Billboard charts and received seven Grammy nominations. An hour and a half long, The Smashing Pumpkins gave the mid-nineties enough reasons to praise them.

I had always found The Smashing Pumpkins to be one of my favorite bands, but Mellon Collie is the album that solidified them as one of the most accomplished. The album was a double CD; I was confused by how something could be so large and still cohesive. When I first listened all the way through, nearly two hours later with bathroom breaks, I was captivated. The cover and album artwork isn't enough to capture your attention through the length of the album, so I found myself staring at my ceiling, in the dark, listening intently. It was one of the first times I can remember being completely invested in the music I was listening to. I just really hope it gets a vinyl re-issue. 

9. Rites of Spring - End on End

Receiving a proper CD release in 1991, Rites of Spring’s 1985 debut introduced the hardcore scene to more emotional lamenting. Widely considered the first Emo record, End on End is often overlooked when it comes to “best of all time” lists. It is baffling to see songs like “For Want of”, “Other Way Around”, or “Persistent Vision” not crack any influential songs list. Though the band lived a short career, with both only on LP and EP, it is foolish to marginalize a band that was decades ahead of its scene’s current sound, only to have its genre tarnished by mislabeling in the mid-2000s.

When I first started becoming sort of, what my friend RJ has dubbed me, a "music snob," I was listening to bands like Braid, Cap'n Jazz, and Poison the Well. I loved how these bands exhibited an emotional tenderness through hardcore and punk, but figured they couldn't be the frist to do so; this is where my research started. I looked up the genre Emo to see where I could find the music's roots. Rites of Spring was described in multiple findings, so I gave them a spin. I found what I was looking for and more; everything made sense, and I could move on through the genre's lineage. 

10. Bear vs. Shark - Terrorhawk

Destined to make only devoted fan’s lists, Bear vs. Shark crafted an album that strikes like lightning: a bright flash of light, rumbles, all leaving you with a cacophony of beautiful distortion and your ears ringing. With an effortless flow from reserved to release, Terrorhawk warrants multiple listens – what will end up being back to back - in order for the listener to capture its scale and emotional craft. Even with multiple listens, audiences will find hidden gems in the production work, like the subtle airplane flying overhead in “Catamaran”.

Not so uncommonly during my music downloading binge, I stumbled upon Bear vs. Shark in the hardrive of the roommate who opened my eyes to free music. "Catamaran" was all I needed. The song instantly nabbed my "I have to walk to ______, what should I listen to?" spot, which evolved into the whole album taking my top spot of "I have to drive to ______ and it's going to be a while, what should I listen to?" spot. It flows effortlessly from song to song, feeling like a movie score to a slasher film with a tender side about the killer's past. Terrorhawk is my top recommended album to people. I want everyone to love this band as much as I do.