Album Review: Roc Marciano's Reloaded

There's an art in subtlety, and Roc Marciano knows this. If Action Bronson sounds like Ghostface - a claim which I find only discouraging to one of the best up-and-coming underground rappers - then Roc Marciano is certainly the Raekwon to Bronson's Ghost; Reloaded even implements the same stripped-down beats and movie samples Blue Chips featured. But what makes Marciano's efforts so notable is how cohesive this record is. If the album's opening track, "Tek to a Mack", teaches us anything, it's that Marciano is well aware of how talented he is and he's going to make damn sure you remember by the time the fifteenth track is done.

This feels like an album from the first wave of Wu-Tang solo records: the beats are simple, gritty; the words carry more weight with each listen; and there's nothing a life of drug dealing can teach you better than a unique flow carrying stories of the streets. And Roc almost carries the entire record with his spitting, using only two features. It's amazing how Roc's languid flow and tough guy voice never border on becoming tedious or repetitive - there's enough variety to warrant multiple listens, which is the goal of any word heavy album.

Roc Marciano has always been one of my favorite featured rappers on some notable raps albums - Sit Down, Man's "Roc Marciano Joint", Blue Chips' opener "Pouches of Tuna", and NY Finest's "It's So G" - and though I slept on 2010's Marcberg, I was excited to see this album announced. Though it isn't entirely produced by the rapper like his previous album, Marcberg, Reloaded does see Marciano bear most of the production weight, adding that auteur watermark; it is a controlled environment Marciano dwells in. The other beats are from lauded producers The Alchemist and Q-Tip - "no rookies, only veterans" seems to be Marciano's m.o. on Reloaded. This doesn't feel like someone sharpening their teeth, despite this being the rapper's second solo album, but someone who has seen the rise and fall of multiple ersatz rap revivalists.

If you're a hip-hop fundamentalist, this album will feel like a welcomed return to form. Marciano is a steam of conscious rapper spitting over low-key, boom-bap beats. "Not Told" slights Nas's outsider perspective vaguely, but Marciano is way too far along to pick any sort of beef with rappers, though I'm sure he'd have no problem squashing anything; he's focused on his own survival, not making any compromises along the way.

Final Grade: B+

Album Review: Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

Yes, Good Kid came out over two weeks ago. Yes, it's a critically lauded album. But when an album carrying the weight of returning Compton  back to its glory days, you take time with it. I have spent about three weeks with Kendrick's latest release. I had extremely high hopes, as I loved Section.80, and fellow Black Hippy releases from earlier this year, Habits & Contradictions and Control System. The aforementioned Black Hippy efforts solidified my confidence in the rap collective. And with just one more member needing a proper release, Jay Rock, this first wave of proper solo albums might end up being cited as the impetus for a west coast rap revival.

This album is a study in different flows, characters, beats, and styles, as much a result of his roots as his originality. Good Kid does as much for advancing the legacy of Compton as it does for paving the road for Black Hippy. ScHoolboy Q struck the iron first with Habits & Contradictions, Ab Soul threw a curve ball with Control System, and now Kendrick used every resource available to produce a modern masterpiece with Good Kid -- it's difficult to separate Kendrick from his colleagues due to the resurgence of the rap collective and the overall movement of recapturing Compton as a dominant rap force. 

To focus on the album as a whole is difficult; it's dense. When a friend of mine, equally as excited for the release as I was, asked me how it sounded, I could only reply "dense." There's a lot here, more than I anticipated. Yes, it lacks the sudden impact and familiarity as Section.80, though Kendrick himself said it would be, though this album is also ready for radio: a Drake feature, an already charting single with "Swimming Pools, and Aftermath's backing. It's the contradictions, following ScHoolboy's lead, that demand multiple listens and your full attention. If properly marketed, this could spark an upheaval of what we consider marketable rap - music with substance and a message. 

The songs' diversity make Good Kid feel like a mixtape and Kendrick the keystone, bearing the weight of progressing rap. A microcosm of the album is the lengthy, yet earned, "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst". To understand this song is to translate the entire album. It features multiple, well-developed characters; a helplessness cast by inheritance, the implausibility of escape; necessary skits, never feeling superfluous; and two distinct movements. Lamar's first character is a difficult concept to grasp at first, but certainly helps you grasp each character following. With the first listen, it's someone struggling with the loss of his brother, but with each listen a layer is revealed, finally displaying a meta character - it's Kendrick playing a fan of a pseudo-Kendrick rapper. The second character sees a former Kendrick song dedicated to a woman discredited by a working girl. She wants nothing to do with Kendrick's progressively messaged songs, quagmired in the working girl life, seeing his efforts as futile and exploitative. Lamar refutes his previous character's plight to be remembered in song, but by being in a song adds a layer of irony -- I told you this was layered and complex. This is a song of dedication to those trapped within the ghetto, fully aware that their mentality is set, but hoping someone, possibly Kendrick, will carry their message out of the void. Kendrick is the third character here, spitting a verse inundated with references and messages from Nas, Biggie, and the "classic" era of progressive hip-hop: a rapper accepting his position and influence, defending it. All of this is enough for entire album, but Kendrick one ups himself by adding a second movement to the song, shifting the dreamy beat with a skit detailing a turf dispute and revenge. A militaristic beat is brought forth, characters are thrown out. What follows is the most powerful four and a half minutes of music I have heard in recent memory: a litany of gruesome situations, rules to survive by, and an ever present struggle for change. This is Lamar's best song to date. 

With an understanding of "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst", the rest of Good Kid seems much more serious, stripping back any humor displayed by Lamar's characters featured on the album. It's a jaw dropper the umpteenth listen thought that I believe will only get better with time, as the Black Hippy catalogue grows. I could go into as much detail with almost every other song on the album, but writing about "Sing About Me..." was exhausting, much like the first couple listens through Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. But this isn't a calculated obfuscation of art, it's organic music from a true human. Nothing is manufactured, and that, from an outside perspective, is horrifyingly eye-opening.

Final Grade: A+
I know, I know, such a bullshit grade and Flatted Third has already marked two albums as classics, but fuck you - have you heard this thing?

Album Review: Death Grips' NO LOVE DEEP WEB

First off, this is the fucking album cover I'm using because it's the "properest" of the lot. Secondly, I was explaining to one of my friends about how Death Grips released their own album early (this one) much to the dismay of their label, and having their website "shut down" in the process. I don't know if you have ever tried to describe what Death Grips sounds like, but it is extremely difficult to do without using the word "violent;" that's exactly the word I decided to go with. Even if the subject matter of the song is paranoia, the dangers of misrepresentation, or bouncing, everything feels like its being rocketed at your face. After I said, "Well, they're like, violent and angry," I went on to describe their genre as "militaristic-electro-hardcore-rap," which I think does a fair enough job of labeling an almost ineffable rap collective.

So as you all may know now, Death Grips decided to release NO LOVE DEEP WEB themselves. I saw flashed of when Radiohead released In Rainbows for a price you named; it's certainly something that will change how artists interact with labels from now on out, which brings me to an almost completely unrelated anecdote: I was randomly looking up Arcade Fire's Neon Bible - maybe I just felt like I didn't know enough about the album - and discovered how the band accidentally released the wrong song as a single, tried to remove it, and found out just how fast peer-to-peer sharing is. NO LOVE DEEP WEB was leaked, the website taken down, but after about six hours - about a weeks' time in Internet time - the album had gone viral. It would be nearly impossible to hunt down every copy and have it deleted. Death Grips had won: the record released on their own accord.

It would be unfair to be have this release's birth go unmentioned in this review, as it escalates the rating immensely. It's difficult to not overly romanticize and admire the album, due to its completely groundbreaking release. Yes, it's nowhere close to being as good as The Money Store, but I believe it to be a much more important record. If NO LOVE DEEP WEB had been released under the label's stipulations, it would be a solid B/B+ album, but because of its release, I am going to give it an A+ (something I vowed never to do; calling something an instant classic is extremely brash).

Every label that saw what happened with Death Grips and this record is scared shitless. This adds a whole other level to how a label will handle records from now on out. Obviously, albums leak -- I myself am part of two leak websites -- but never has a band so recklessly avoided a label's decisions than Death Grips, and then broadcasted it through twitter! And how perfect it is to have the first band to so dramatically leak their own record than Death Grips.

"I've got some shit to say, just for the fuck of it" MC Ride testifies on "Lock Your Doors". The band is known for its sporadic, cryptic operations, so when they signed to Epic I was baffled. How could a band so anti-establishment sign to a proper label? Well, I guess it didn't matter where they signed; they were going to continue to operate the same. The Money Store proved the collective could produce the same product under a label's supervision. It features the best work the band has ever done, a wide range of songwriting and anger. NO LOVE DEEP WEB prolongs the band's reputation as one of the most original acts to come out in years.

So, to finally touch upon the material featured on the album: it's excellent. MC Ride sounds as exhaustingly frustrated as all hell, the beats are minimal yet effective, and the songs feature a variety of styles within the band's own niche. Zach Hill played all the beats himself, there are no programmed drums, which would be impossible to recognize due to Hill's perfect drumming; I mean, the guy is a well-oiled robot. The beats are a little more dialed back here - you won't hear any random found sound in the beats, just a few samples sprinkled in. It parallels what FlyLo did with Until the Quiet Comes, letting the instruments breathe in the beats rather than cramming as much in as possible.

When I put my headphones on for the inaugural listen, my eardrums tingled from the bass, a little uncomfortably but just enough to keep my interest piqued; this is some deep bass music, not your shitty overly trebled "brostep." MC Ride comes through with a lot less effect-driven vocals, a lot cleaner - if he could ever be clean - on NLDW than The Money Store. It's easy to see the evolution from album to album here, so it makes sense why Death Grips cancelled the tour for The Money Store to record this album. Sometimes the creative process can consume.

At the end of the day, Death Grips have released what could easily have served as the second LP in a double release with The Money Store, but it's the fashion in which it was released that holds the most bearing over how I listened to NO LOVE DEEP WEB. If you see this as just another release from a band that's having one hell of a year, you lack scope and imagination: The record industry will never be the same.

Final Grade: A+

NO LOVE DEEP WEB and What That Means for Trent Reznor

By now, everyone has probably heard that Death Grips leaked their second record of the year themselves after their major label Epic fucked around with the release date. Death Grips had recently cancelled a string of major tour dates to go back in the studio and work on NO LOVE DEEP WEB, their immediate follow up to the insanely stellar The Money Store, released in April. It was clear that they wanted to get their new album out by October or November and they were set on it. In announcing they signed with Epic, they also promised two albums in 2012. This has been known for the majority of the year. Death Grips, in their announcement of the deal, seemed quite confident in their partnership with not only the label but L.A. Reid, the head of Epic.

About two weeks ago, Trent Reznor announced that his project How To Destroy Angels had signed a major label deal with Columbia. I was particularly surprised by this move, as Reznor was probably the most outspoken dissenter of labels at the time he left Interscope in 2007. Along with Radiohead, but arguably more successfully, Reznor released an incredible online model so that, as an artist, he could be self-sufficient. So, after that success, why was he back on a major? For the buzz? Even if you weren’t Trent Reznor, you could do well on a large independent, and I think a large indie like XL would have made the most sense. Is it for the money? Ostensibly, Trent Reznor has no need for extra cash. He’s an Oscar winner, a major recording artist who had a major hand in greatly revolutionizing the music industry. It’s not like he needs the label to pay for studio time; he already owns a studio. So what’s the reasoning then? He’s yet to divulge many details, but he’s mentioned that he’s excited to work with his close friend Mark Williams. That detail, I believe is crucial to why I think this was a short-sighted move.

It’s a tale as old as the industry. Band signs to label to work with friend/relative/someone who believes in them. They release an album. It charts or it doesn’t. That doesn’t really matter. After a year or so, the ownership/creative director/whatever changes and then the bands are jettisoned from the label or put in purgatory to rot while the next glitter vomit project reproduces asexually. Ownership changes very often at record labels. In September, for instance, Universal took over EMI in an effort to control what consumers are buying.  Control changes constantly and should be regarded as such.

I bet this is what happened to Death Grips. L.A. Reid is still heavily involved with Epic sure, but his focus has probably changed. After all, Death Grips’ The Money Store only spent a week on the charts at the 130 spot. I doubt that’s considered satisfactory, despite the fact that the album, and very possibly NO LOVE DEEP WEB, will top year-end lists. I applaud L.A. Reid and Epic for taking a chance with the infinitely fucked-up M.C. Ride and co., but both the artists and the management lacked the foresight to prepare for what would happen. Of course The Money Store wouldn’t chart. Why would an electronic rap group with roots in hardcore and a front man with crippling paranoia do anything but alienate the masses with their abrasive and confrontational music? I applaud even louder for Death Grips leaking their album to piss off Epic. Death Grips aren’t ones to fuck with and they made the right move in this case. They made the wrong move in signing to a major though. I can’t imagine NO LOVE DEEP WEB will ever see the physical light of day, except perhaps for a bootleg cassette or something. Epic will retaliate with legal fury, and this very well may be the last thing that Death Grips ever releases. At the time of writing this article, Epic has already taken down Death Grips' website.

For Reznor though, this tale has yet to be retold. How To Destroy Angels is hardly music for the masses; the label certainly signed him for the weight his name brings. So when their initial EP fails to chart and then their LP fails to chart, we will once again be reading a long-winded rant directed at Columbia, as Reznor attempts to buy his way out of the deal. Reznor is one of the most powerful artists in the field right now. He may not have released a hard-hitting album since With Teeth, but he won a fucking Oscar in the interim. He knows what he’s doing, I’m sure, but I just can’t imagine that the Columbia deal with result in anything different than what has happened before.

And so, history repeats.

Three Huge October Albums

With October comes the first full month of fall. But it seems almost foolish to think of it as such, due to the more than noteworthy releases October will see. Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar, and Converge all have albums set to be released. On second thought, October may see the three best albums of the year, if any of these artists' prior releases are taken into account.

Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
October 2nd

If Cosmogramma has taught us anything, it's that each Flying Lotus release feels like a new artist; the guy never stops evolving his sound. From the hazy beats on 1983 to the nu-jazz sounds on Cosmogramam, Steve Ellison has crafted his own signature niché in electronic music, but always reinvents his sound throughout his discography. FlyLo recently released a video teaser featuring some of the material on Until the Quiet Comes. The video was shot on film by Kahil Joseph and is just as abstract and beautiful as the music featured on it. I can't see myself disappointed with this release, even if it finds Ellison staying on the same path found on Cosmogramma. You can preorder the record at Warp, and don't forget to check out the short film below.

Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, Mad City

October 22nd

In order for TDE to continue its dominance over underground hip-hop, Kendrick Lamar's proper debut album will need to be the keystone. ScHoolboy Q's Habits & Contradictions was a well thought out and executed first release from the TDE group, just after signing with Aftermath. Control System provided the weirder aspects of the Black Hippy collective, as Ab-Soul is oft found to do so. Lamar has been compared heavily to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, and with good reason - the two rappers have a similar pitch and delivery, while focusing their raps more on progressive issues than opulence. Single "Swimming Pools (Drank)" offers the most interesting point of view of drinking I have heard in music, let alone rap or hip-hop. I was a huge fan of Section.80, listing it as my favorite mixtape of last year. And with all the rumored features on Good Kid, Mad City, it's hard to imagine a failure.

Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
October 9th

Coming as the biggest surprise to me, Boston metalcore outfit Converge announced All We Love We Leave Behind in late August. Converge hasn't released anything since 2009's excellent Axe to Fall, and it's comforting to see just how the band is approaching this release - they are doing everything themselves, without any guests or help. Guitarist Kurt Ballou is handeling the recording, artwork, and by way of his own label, Deathwish Inc., releasing the vinyl record. There aren't any special effects or extra instrumentation on the record, just how the band performs live. "Aimless Arrow", the album's first single, is a mathy, brutal kick to the teeth. Flatted Third's own Gerry D'Apollo broke the news on this release to me and you can check that out here, along with the video for "Aimless Arrow".

Riff Raff: Making Sense of the Human Meme

You might remember a short lived show on MTV called “From G’s to Gents”. It featured a number of young men seeking to reform their umm... “urban idiosyncrasies” and become proper gentlemen. The show only lasted two seasons and didn’t prompt any spinoff’s. In fact, I’m pretty sure the show’s host, Fonzworth Bentley, went back to holding Diddy’s umbrella to pay off his Howard student loans (I’m not entirely sure he went to Howard or if that joke is racist). However, someone did emerge from this reality show a star in his own right.

Riff Raff, hailing from Houston, Texas was eliminated by the 2nd episode of season 2. But that’s all he needed. This was the perfect amount of fame needed to springboard his career. However, Riff Raff possessed a marketable “skill," unlike many reality stars who try to make a lifelong career out of what should only amount in short term fame.

It was not Riff Raff’s rapping ability which kept him relevant after his brief stint on MTV. To be completely honest, he’s rarely consistent with his verses, at times meandering through tracks like a drunk ESL student.  

Riff Raff has made some waves in the music world in the past through his attempts to stay relevant.

First, he adopted his own brand of SEO. By adding “MTV” to his Youtube handle (MTVRiFFRaFF) his videos would appear in the sidebar in all of MTV’s official videos. After some of his music videos and home movies began surpassing MTV’s videos in search results, they threatened to sue and he took the tag off his username. He added SODMG (which I can’t be bothered to care with this stands for) to his Youtube and Twitter handles after reportedly signing a deal with Soulja Boy’s label. But, the deal fell through, or maybe never even existed at all. That’s the way Riff Raff rolls. He deals in deception.

More recently, he signed a 7 album deal with Mad Decent. According to some sources, which might just be Riff Raff himself, the deal was apparently worth seven figures. All parties involved, including label owner Diplo, are keeping quiet on the exact terms of the contract.

I almost forgot to mention that James Franco is playing a character largely based on Riff Raff in Harmony Korine’s new movie Spring Breakers. There are several reasons why I will be seeing this movie.

Arguably the most important trait when trying to dissect Riff Raff is his insane sense of self-awareness. Riff represents everything that was wrong with Hip-Hop by the end of the Noughties, when artists like Soulja Boy, Nelly and the Ying Yang Twins have rose and fell from fame after they had become parodies of themselves and the genre as a whole; and he knows this. Riff Raff’s rhymes hail us back to a time when braggadocio surrounding one’s wealth, whether is was truth or fiction, was commonplace in both underground and commercial rap. But, Rapping about your garage full of cars and the price of your chain is no longer en vogue in the current hip hop and economic climate.

As the underground took a turn towards the harrowing and soulful, Riff trudged through, not paying any attention to the trends adopted by his contemporaries, staying “true” to himself -- or the version of himself he created: a point debated later -- authentically inauthentic. It is this commitment to his character...for lack of a better word, which has led some to label Riff Raff as a “performance artist," rather than believe that a human like this can actually exist and accept the decline of western civilization as a whole. The idea that Riff Raff is an innovation from the mind of a pretty clever hip hop fan from Houston seeking to point out the udder fucking ridiculousness of other white southern rappers isn’t that farfetched. I think the general consensus among fans is that Riff is more of a one man Spinal Tap.

Much like the Rock and Roll invention of Rob Reiner, Riff Raff’s music is at times infectious and catchy (Riff , Tap). It’s also seems like a pretty clear parody of everything that critics use to rail against the genre as a whole during a particular period. However, at the end of the day Nigel Trufnel takes off his wig and spandex pants, puts on his pajamas, and goes to bed Christopher Guest.

But Riff Raff doesn’t sleep.

Or wear pajamas. 

End rant.

Riff Raff’s debut mixtape Birth of an Icon is probably not  what you might expect after reading the description of him above. Despite some of his flaws as an MC/human being, he takes his craft seriously, and there are many points on this mixtape where that shines through. Sometimes he tries to take himself too seriously or goes out on a limb, fails, but comes right back with something you can bounce to.

The mixtape starts of with the Caspa produced slow jam “Jody Highroller”, named after his soulful after ego/twitter handle/actual name. The feel of this track is in stark contrast to most of Riff’s other previously released jams, but not the last time he explores his softer side on this mixtape. There’s also “Lil Mama”, “Don’t Wait” and “Only I Can Cure Your Broken Heart” where Jody croons about some of his lost loves. The tracks are both listenable and help round out the  “emotional spectrum” of the mixtape, something that Riff wants to remind everyone that he has, but there’s really nothing spectacular about them.

The other standout track on this mixtape - if only for how different it is - “Time” is Riff Raff’s chance to right the wrongs he committed on his way to the top (which is actually somewhere towards the middle, but hey, a false sense of self importance never killed anyone). This weird attempt at trying to get deep comes off as very insincere and contrived, even for a guy who still wears fronts. Also, the fact that its uses a Plain White T’s sample doesn’t help.

But if you’re willing to get on board with Riff Raff and his image, which includes his flow that can be kept up with at times he dances around the beat, there is a lot of fun to be had with this mixtape. “Jose Canseco”, “Rap Game King Tut” and “Terror Wrist” probably best sum up what I mean, and also give you the best idea Riff’s overall style. There’s a bunch of clever rhymes about ice and cars, as well as some catchy as hell hooks.

Where this mixtape really peaks for me is on all the collaborative tracks. There’s “Bird on A Wire” with Bronx based MC Action Bronson, which I would label as one of the overall strongest tracks on the album. It’s noticeably a bit smoother than some of the other songs and Bronson’s deep outer borough accent and the flavor that comes along with it makes a nice contrast to Riff’s higher pitched voice and slightly noticeable southern drawl and diction.

As far as collabs go, there’s also “Cuz My Gear” with the Chicago rapper Chief Keef which blows “Brain Freeze”, with White Girl Mob/Female MC’s Who are Not Nearly as Talented as They are Cute Mob member Lil Debbie, out of the water.

So, my advice is this: Pick up this mixtape and have fun with it. Keep bumping the songs you like and don’t give a second chance to the ones you can’t get into. Don’t worry, you’re not going to miss anything. There’s really not much to be gained by a second critical listen to Birth of an Icon. There’s nothing deeper hiding beneath the surface of any of these tracks.

But I don’t know if I can say the same for Riff Raff.

Catch Up: 5 Albums You May Have Missed from 2012

It's nearly impossible to listen to everything noteworthy that comes out in a given year. Hell, I often find bands I love after they have broken up or a member died. What you should never do is catalogue a year, then forget about it. There's no shame in buying a DeLorean, going back a year, and finding an album you love - well, maybe there's some shame in all that 80's tail that'll be heading your way, aged and still dreaming to be the girl in the White Snake video. So here are some of the year's best music that, may not have been missed by all sites, but didn't get the proper coverage they deserved.

Joyce Manor - Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired 

Now, for most people I know, they are already well aware of this record - I have had it in heavy rotation in my car, and all of my other friends' cars who let me DJ. It's Long Island Pop-Punk, but the same way Brand New was Long Island Emo with Screams (L.I.E.S.); it's intelligent, original, and moving. There's even a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" that doesn't make you want to rip your hair out! It seems Absolute Punk was right...wait, what? Well, their community still sucks, giving the record a mere 72/100. The production is decidedly less lo-fi from the band's previous release, which really helps bring out all the subtle inflections that make this release so exciting and fresh. 

Joey Bada$$ - 1999

The album sounds like the title suggests: a return to the golden years of hip-hop. Featuring boom-bap beats, guest spots from the larger Progressive Era crew, and Joey's time tested - not necessarily by him - flow and style. 1999 feels comfortable all throughout. It's hard to believe he's only 17. With beats ranging from J Dilla, MF Doom, and Statik Selektah, this is a noteworthy mixtape, in a era where the lines between album and mixtape are beginning to blur more than ever. Album highlight "Survival Tactics" attracted the attention of Pitchfork and the website did a feature on the rapper. The best part is you can download the mixtape here for free. Yay, internet! 

Suis La Lune - Riala

Easily the least accesible on this list, the Swedish Screamo band crafted one of the densest listens this year thus far. The vocals aren't overly harsh, as they are washed clean with reverb, and there are moments when they wane and strengthen in emotional fatigue and vigor. What's so great about this album is that every song is flooded with excellent guitar harmonies and arrangements. At about 3:09 on "In Confidence", there is a major movement from the melancholia to an almost ecstatic feeling. The song feels extremely special, warranting multiple listens. The album shouldn't come as a surprise success to fans that have followed the band, as they have always released really solid material. I'm just kind of upset my copy of this record is the white first pressing, not the second pressings of black and clear splattered...

∆ (Alt J) - An Awesome Wave

If you were wondering how I typed a ∆, read the band's name again. Hip geometrical shapes aside, Alt-J created a sharp, technical album for 2012. The band's debut album, An Awesome Wave is exactly what I would like Maps & Atlases to sound like, if they continued the more poppy approach to mathy music like they seem to be. They even have a "Power" inspired music video for album standout "Tessellate". The vocals sound very familiar to Devendra Banhart, but the textured, swimming instrumentation and arrangements supporting the vocals is what sets the band apart. It's the perfect poppy album to pitch Math Rock to your friends! And isn't that what every fan needs?

blu - UCLA

If you consider yourself a hip-hop head, then you know who blu is. What makes this release such an under the radar one is how it was released, and now its difficulty to locate. The album randomly appeared on the mercurial rapper's Bandcamp page, boasting that it was entirely produced by underground hip-hop stalwart Madlib. Stones Throw then released a statement saying Madlib had nothing to do with the project. Despite the claim, the album does sound like it could have been produced solely by Madlib. And a single, "EZ", was released, then with Madlib's credit. All the controversy does nothing to discredit a great album from one of the underground's most consistant rappers.  

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.

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.