Album Review: M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\

M.I.A. has definitely not been one of my favorite artists ever, admitting that is easy for me. To be honest I can only recall liking two songs before this, "Paper Planes" and "Bamboo Banger". I have a feeling that she's bound to grow on me much like Major Lazer did a couple months back, and if there was an album to promote this growth, it's MAYA.

I've actually done some reading up on what the community thinks of M.I.A.'s new work, and it seems that a good amount of people think that there is inconsistency in MAYA. I actually disagree to a large extent on that criticism. From my end, this is a consistent album, full of danceable, beat driven songs, and I definitely feel that the inconsistent remarks come from the fact that not all these songs fall on the same wavelength as far as energy, some are slower and some are fast, but if that's inconsistency, then I've definitely got issues with our definitions.

One thing I can definitely remark on MAYA is that M.I.A. takes somewhat of a passenger seat to the music, hardly ever taking control of the song rather than working with the beat to make a neat, tight package. What M.I.A. is saying is usually some sort of commentary, social or political, but you might be boogying too much to notice.

The album kicks into gear with "The Message", a nice opening track with electro-tribal beating with a british man telling us "Headphones connected to the iPhone, iPhone connected to the Google, Google connected to the Government." Trust me, I hardly like social commentary, especially when it's coming from someone that is most likely hypocritical towards all her own messages, it's just that I can't muster the hate with all the awesome sound coming with it! "Steppin up" continues the interesting sound with a heavy dance beat full of power-tool noise and huge bumps and bangs. Something I've noticed about M.I.A.'s beats, for the most part they are spacious in their heaviness, never feel excessively crowded, which is probably something I can definitely get behind, as there are places where somebody else would want to add ticks and excessive noise to add more club possibilities. "XXXO" is my least favorite track on the album, with probably the most club-friendly beat, and an annoying course that sounds like it's stripped from a Britney Spears song telling us "You want me to be somebody who I'm really not", it sounds conceited and stupid, which is why I really wish I could delete this song from the album all-together.

The album as a whole has a electronic-fed-tribal feel to me, something I definitely have learned to embrace, where as I believe I resisted it on Kala. Bongo, maraca, djembe, among others seem to appear in songs, adding to the aforementioned spacious feel that her songs have. "It Takes a Muscle" is a nice dub-ish jam that is definitely smile worthy with it's hook revolving around a light dick joke. You can definitely feel the production that Rusko brought to the album, adding light dubstep elements to most songs, once again adding to the heaviness I spoke of earlier, and adding to why I dig this album so much. "Born Free" is definitely my favorite track on the album, it's a heavily drum and bass driven track that would feel right at home sitting next to BADASS in the dictionary. As with most of the album her vocals work with the track, fitting next to it, not on top, making her more of an instrument rather than a vocalist.

You can feel influence all over the album, as if M.I.A. grabbed a piece from everyone she's worked with in the past. I get a The Very Best vibe from "Tell Me Why", a lovely track with a chopped african sounding choir in the background with light sitar and snare drum adding excess flavor. "Space" rounds off the final corner of the official album with a not surprisingly airy and spacious beat that somehow feels cultural in indescribable ways. It's a nice way to finish off a sometimes heavy, sometimes abrasive, and sometimes lovely album.

As for the four bonus tracks, they feel right at home and not as if they were after-thoughts. "Internet Connection" is one of my favorite tracks on the album as a whole, feeling light-heartedly stupid and at the same time danceable and cool. "Caps Lock" ends the deluxe edition of the album in the same way that "Space" would have, except in a somewhat more somber tone that does remind me strangely of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness", it's light and calming, yet deep and melancholy.

By the time I've finished writing all these paragraphs about the album, I can say that M.I.A. has grown on me in a way, proving her ability to create culturally influenced elctronica-dance music.

I can't say if she's grown since Kala, I wouldn't know, but what I can say is that she has definitely figured her sound out, and is good at flexing it in the right ways. While some songs slip into the lower levels of consciousness and fail to work fully, there is an understanding in MAYA, telling me less about her political views that she tries a whole album to express, and more about her knowledge in music making that I understated from the begging, for that, and not for what she has to actually say, is why I give MAYA the props it deserves.

Album Rating: 8.6 - 10

-Matt Galey

Album Review: The Books - The Way Out

Let's get something straight away with this review, I'm biased. I've loved The Books for years now, I believe it started in 2007 or so, when I first listened to one of my most beloved albums Lost And Safe, it was a masterpiece, and it still is to me. So before you go any further, know that this is review stems from a mind already in love, and that you might not get the most unbiased review on the planet, but I will try my best to set my adoration aside.

It's been five years since the last Books release, and for those of you who are wondering what The Books sound like, think existential experimental music, composed of minor vocals from the duo, and a series of recordings from film, radio, field recordings, and audio books, all layered on top of cello, guitar plucking, and the occasional drum, with the inclusion of the band's new instrument, the electronic influence. If that doesn't make sense, I wouldn't be surprised, so therefore, I think you should hear it then. Their sound is really something to behold, sometimes eery, sometimes funny, many times sobering, lovely, and gorgeous.

The Way Out is quite a bit different from Lost And Safe, and it's safe to say that I was quite bothered to begin with upon hearing it. The first half of The Way Out is very focused on implementing electronic bass, aggressive and almost angry recordings, and drum beats that are anything but the relaxing Books I know and love. The first track, "Group Autogenics I", is what I understand from The Books, small guitar tapping, light drumming resembling more of a clanging, and chanting from the duo, all underneath what I'm sure are recordings from motivational tapes slowly telling the listener "I am calm, I am relaxed, I am the loop that goes around and round in your head, flowing warmth." It's truly calming, and it made nostalgia crawl up my spine, but then, after that track the album shifts into a funk of electronic driven experimentation I can only describe as aggressive, as far as The Books go. One of these tracks "A Cold Freezin' Night" features fast tribal drumming fed through a series of electronic elements, and children explaining how they would like to kill each other or simply change their sex. It wasn't until I found out that all the recordings of the children were gathered from home recordings via cassettes bought at thrift stores did I truly appreciate the track. It's angry but amazingly well put together, and definitely shows off the composing talent of the Duo, but it simply isn't what I know from the books more relaxing tone, and I felt truly angry for a bit that I wasn't getting the soothing experimental music I enjoyed from them.

Then the other half of the album started, right around track 7 of 14, the songs revert to the old Books in some small way, light, playful music that can be enjoyed by focusing on it, rather than having it in the background as noise. "All You Need Is A Wall" is definitely one of the more interesting tracks in the album, because of it's simplicity and strange effectiveness, Nick Zammuto's vocals are easily the best he's done, really singing with the same guitar clanging, and Paul De Jong plays some cello on the album, which is one of the biggest elements I feel was missing from The Way Out. The cello sounded amazing in every track from Lost and Safe, bringing a sense of purpose and immense beauty, and it seems here it was replaced by dirty, old disco beats that take away from the beauty.

"Collage Music" as Nick Zammuto calls it, isn't something done by many, in full truth I've really only heard this style of music done by these two, which is what makes The Books such an endangered species, making music I couldn't hear anywhere else. It's a style of music I place with orchestral pieces as far as complexity in composition, and for that amazing attention to detail, I love The Books with a sense of awe. I want to protect them, because for this band to stop making music is for this fascinating genre to die. This album feels to me like The Books stepping out from the protection created by Lost and Safe, and into places I might not like as much, such as a parent knowing their child is getting into "goth" music and hoping they don't start asking for tattoos, it's the fear of change and I'm trying to accept it. I started the album disappointed, but probably ended it nodding with understanding, wanting to hear the songs that bothered me most again, in hopes of gaining something new. That's probably the nicest thing I can say about The Way Out, it made me want to understand something new.

Album Rating: 8.9 / 10

- Matt Galey

OH AND A SIDE NOTE: The album cover is god awful ugly, as with most Books releases, it's some sort of reference to a bible or something, either way, It's still ugly, so don't judge the album from that.

Album Review: Tokyo Police Club - Champ (2010)

When I sit down and think about it, Tokyo Police Club really changed how I thought about music, along with all my other favorites that brought me out of my classic-psychedelic-rock phase that had dominated my early teen years. A Lesson In Crime EP was AMAZING, not only for a young boy obsessed with Pink Floyd, but anyone who likes music. Highly praised by the "indie rock" community, A Lesson In Crime featured quick songs with catchy beats, a strangely depressed tone, and smart, slightly story driven lyrics. Back then lead vocalist and bassist Dave Monks had a strained, yelp driven, angst ridden voice perfect for the subject matter. With that said, A Lesson In Crime EP is still one of my most listened to pieces of music on my iPod, finding it's way into my heart on a constant basis.

Jump four years, one EP, and one LP later, and Tokyo Police Club have just released their new effort, Champ. Now, without going into history too much, it's safe to say that their first full length Elephant Shell disappointed critics, fans, and even me with it's more simplistic "indie rock" flavor, but at the same time, I listen to it almost as much as A Lesson in Crime, so my disappointment was minor and temporary. Champ might be in the same flavor as Elephant Shell, but it does its job much better. The album has a typical feel, shedding it's roots of hand-claps and chants from A Lesson in Crime, but it manages to add on new electronic elements and a different vocal style from Dave Monks that adds to where Elephant Shell faltered.

The album kicks off in a strange way for sure, the first song, Favorite Food is a slow, almost acoustic piece, with starting off lyrics like; "With a heart attack on your plate/ you were looking back on your days..." you can't be totally sure that Champ will be what you wanted from Tokyo Police Club will deliver on their style of fast, fun, "indie rock" we love from them, but by the end of Favorite Food, and into Favorite Colour, you start to feel the upswing. After the build up, TPC throws on the best tracks of the album, Breakneck Speed and Wait Up (Boots of Danger), two back-to-back classic TPC songs in the vein of singles like Tessellate and Graves. Breakneck Speed was the first track I got to hear off Champ, and it's definitely my favorite, showing off perfect execution as far as mixing catchy bass, great lulls for upturns, and fantastic lyrics such as "Spell it out/ I always skip the words/ because all the pictures are so bright and loud" Here we get to see a new element in Dave Monks' slightly monotone voice, in some places where he should punctuate the music by raising his voice, he actually will lower it into a bass tone, which adds a dynamic to the music telling you that you aren't hearing the same, boring "indie rock".

If I think about Champ I definitely picture a roller coaster, with ups and downs, each song leads to another hill or climb to the next exciting song, and thats where the problem in Champ lies, while you are waiting for that next electrifying fix, you ignore the slow songs like Hands Reversed and may even miss the end song Frankenstein, all together. They are certainly not slow depressing songs possibly seen by The National or Antlers, but they definitely are a slowdown when compared to my favorite new Summer jam form the album, Gone.

The problem that Champ has is almost the same as the one in Elephant Shell, Tokyo Police Club is a band that kicks ass at EP's because they are full of track-after-track of fast paced excitement, but in LP's, there is a need for slower songs, and those songs take away from YOUR fun. It really isn't TPC's fault, it's the album system in a way, possibly if they regularly released EP's instead of full length albums, we'd get the amazing work we want without any fluff, but then we'd complain that they should put out an album already!

So, at it's basic core Champ is a great album if you're say, on a road trip to the beach, or having a party at your house, because it's as much of a Summer Jam as Summer Jams can be, and as long as you don't want TOO much, you will get your kicks out of Champ. It fits in with a tone sustained by a cool breeze, friends, laughter, and carelessness, as much as it pains me to say it. I really wanted a lot from Champ, a return to my early teenage love for the band would have been the easiest way to put it. But to say that Champ is a disappointment isn't easy, or really possible to say, because it isn't, it's just a different flavor debuted from our friends, Tokyo Police Club.

Album Rating: 8.5 / 10

- Matt Galey