Each week I will listen to and review/preview a handful of the more interesting music albums released that week. The genres I will mainly focus on are Rock, Pop, Indie, Hip-Hop, Rap, and Electronic.
Happy New Year! My apologies for the tardiness of this posting but this week we continue our countdown of the best and worst from the world of music from 2011. Next week we return with more new album reviews including the latest from Snow Patrol!
Best Hip-Hop, Rap or R&B Album
Honorable Mentions:
Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch The Throne
The Roots - Undun
Winner:
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin' - The former member of Tony! Toni! Tone!'s album of old school R&B jams is a blast to listen to. He borrows from past greats but he is able to create new gems that Motown wishes it could still create.
Best Electronica Album
Honorable Mentions:
Shine 2009 - Realism
Thievery Corporation - Culture of Fear
Winner:
Mocean Worker - Candygram For MoWo! - Mocean Worker eschews his reliable heavy drum and bass sound instead adding the Acid to more traditional jazz melodies that is highly danceable and extremely enjoyable. Think the catchiest songs of St. Germain mixed with the best of Zero 7 and you have the music given to us on this superb album.
Best Pop, Rock or Indie Album
Honorable Mentions:
Starfucker - Reptilians
Clive Tanaka Y Su Orquesta - Jet Set Siempre 1°
Oh Land - Oh Land
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Foster the People - Torches
Winner:
Danger Mouse & Daniel Luppi - Rome - This absolutely stunning soundtrack to a non-existent Western movie is both moving and beautiful. The sound is only elevated by the sublime vocal work of Jack White and Norah Jones on the tracks featuring lyrics. I could listen to this album endlessly.
Worst Album of 2011
"Honorable" Mention:
Mitch Winehouse - Rush of Love
"Winner":
Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow - Mitch Winehouse's album could definitely be sitting in this spot but I already picked it last week for Worst Cover Song of the year so I'm spreading the wealth with the very disappointing, puts-you-to-sleep-in-under-five-minutes release from Kate Bush. If you need a nap, watch and listen to the video below.
KasabianVelociraptor! - The Brit space rockers from Leicestershire release their fourth studio album this time with acclaimed producer Dan the Automator (Gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School) at the helm. This album came out last week in the UK and Europe and drops this week in the U.S. A copy of the album was leaked a couple of weeks ago so some of my naughtier readers may already have a copy. For those of you who haven't heard it yet, let's find out how this disc sounds.
"Let's Roll Just Like We Used To" leads off the album after a slow intro with a sweeping melody that has a rocking orchestral feel by smartly integrating piano, violin and horn instruments on a song that cleverly revels in past glories. The next song, and the first official single off the album, is another song that reminisces about the past but in a much darker manner, "Days Are Forgotten," which is a less catchy song with more simplistic lyrics that I had a hard time getting in to. "Man of Simple Pleasures" is the real standout from the second half of the album with its eerily syncopated early drumming before a bewitching melody and backing vocals are employed.
Velociraptor! is very good release and in many ways is the band's most accessible disc to date with less eletro-heavy rhythns and more indie rock-sounding songs. Frontman Tom Meighan's vocals are slightly off kilter sounding like Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs but it matches the energy and tempo of the tracks well. Beatles-esque backing vocal harmonies pepper the best tracks although some of the excitement the band's music previously brought about is lessened in favor of the more accessible style.
Score: 7.5/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Let's Just Roll Like We Used To" and "Man of Simple Pleasures" [sample it below]
VHS or BetaDiamonds and Death - The alt/post-punk rockers from Brooklyn by way of Louisville, Kentucky release their third studio album. For some reason they left the awesome Astralwerks label and are releasing this disc off of the much less cool Varese Fontana record label. Unlike Kasabian who left their electronica roots behind on their latest release, VHS or Beta is still heavily influenced by and tries to incorporate many techniques from the disco-heavy acid house genre. However overly lengthy tracks litter the album and bring down the enjoyment to be had from the release. By far this is the least entertaining and most monotonous album from the band to date. Whether this is due from changing labels or just the third-album-jinx many bands experience can't be determined from this disc alone but let's hope their future releases returns them to the fun and clever music they created in the past.
Score: 5.5/10 Song(s) to Sample: "All Summer in a Day"
Mocean WorkerCandygram For MoWo! - Alright, our second album with an exclamation mark in its name this week. Woo-hoo! Mocean Worker (pronounced "Motion Worker") is the stage name/recording alias of Adam Dorn. If you're familiar with Mocean Worker, you probably know that his albums are usually skewed towards either a heavy drum & bass sound or a fast tempo, remixed acid jazz sound. Candygram definitely skews toward the remixed jazz sound offering smooth rhythms behind raucous horns and ebullient piano work. However, it is in no way a traditional jazz album with most songs featuring a quick electronic beat and a few of the songs even feature well constructed raps or hip-hop styled vocal samples. Think St. Germain crossed with Zero 7. Candygram is a superb album from beginning to end with well crafted grooves that have an acid jazz slant. He manages to blend the more traditional style of jazz with funky electronica beats without ruining the fun to be had from either genre of music. It's a true marriage of the two styles where everyone ends up a winner. Do yourself a favor and have this Candygram delivered to your home.
Score: 10/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Shooby Shooby Do Yah!" [sample it below], "My Own Little World" and "Sho Nuff"
