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.

A Mash-Up Album Guide

Let's just say that Mashup's have been around for a while. I'm not gonna pretend to be smarter than shit, I have "The History of Mashups" wikipedia article open in another tab right now, so you know. I don't know everything, but this article says that "mashing" has been around since recorded music started, makes sense I guess, there's some kind of indescribable rush outta hearing you're favorite m83 song mashed with Ludacris lyrics, so it would make sense some motherfuckers before us wanted to see how his favorite Waltz's would sound if crammed together. I decided to write a little guide if you'd be so kind, of my favorite mash-up albums.

Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

Let's start with the obvious king at the moment of the Mashup scene. Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis) has been releasing a steady stream of Mash-up albums under the Illegal Art Label since 2002, but just recently, Girl Talk has definitely come to the forefront of the genre with his newest release Feed The Animals. From first listening to the album, you'll instantly know that Mr.Gillis knows what he's doing. You get the feeling many pieces have been magnetized together to create the sound, or at least that's how I feel. The best thing I can say about this album is that it's probablythe ideal party album of all time, with everything for everybody.

Jaydiohead - Jay-Z x Radiohead

One of my current favorites is this lovely creature conceived using the sperm of Jay-z a capella tracks and the egg of Radiohead samples and instrumentals. It seems that Jaydiohead creator Max Tannone gets quite a bit of blowblack for his little monster, and it makes sense, Jay-z is one of hip-hop most prized sons, and Radiohead are the kings of alt rock everywhere. I don't mind a bit because I was never the biggest fan of either, but I love Jaydiohead. Some of the tracks are really well done, one of my favorites, "Change Order" using Jay's "Never Change" and Radiohead's "Gagging Order", it's a gorgeous song, one that I've actually used to open people's mind about Hip-hop, now that's something.

Easter Egg- Jackin' For Beats

Easter Egg is very similar in a way to Girl Talk, when it comes down to it, but fortunately, they are different enough to allow love for both. While Easter Egg isn't anywhere as big as Girl Talk is, he definitely holds his own. Jackin' For Beats is a beast of an album, 30 or so tracks of mash-up goodness, and with smart production, it's a great album for the parties, or anyone wanting to hear Ice-Cube, MGMT, and Grandmaster Flash, all on the same jammin' album. It's got the same amount of hard hitting staying power, except in quicker, easier to digest dosages, definitely worth a listen.

Team Teamwork - The Ocarina of Rhyme

Team Teamwork makes something very special, like dung beetles' turd balls. It takes a special person to see the amazing wonder in it. You got a cappellas from respected hip hop artists such as Clipse, Snoop Dogg, Common, and even MF Doom laid lovingly on top of gorgeous beat tracks composed of old school gaming songs and noises. You can hear "I Used to Love H.E.R." mashed with a beat using Zelda's Hyrule Market song. Magnifique! Now, if that doesn't sound so great, you need to hear it, because the 8-Bit goodness laden with bass and sprinkled with classic hip-hop swagga is something to truly behold.

E-603 - Torn Up

E-603 is similar to Easter Egg and Girl Talk in that he (Ethan Ward) mashes hip-hop vocal tracks with various songs from various artists, and boy does he do it just as good as both GT and Easter Egg. It's possibly my favorite Mashup album, partially because I found myself pushing my hand to my mouth hurriedly and murmur through my fingers, "Oh shit, that's fucking Float On...in a mash-up!" or "Fuck, he just used Math The Band...shiiiit!" over the course of it's 15 tracks. Any album that give you "Oh Fuck" moments definitely has some kind of charm to it. It's your favorite dance-mash, but with M83 and Aphex Twin in it, daumn.

Wu -Tang VS. The Beatles - Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers

Ever wondered how Wu Tang and The Beatles would sound together? Or are you just wondering it now? If you answered yes, then this is definitely worth your time. 27 tracks should either tell you lots of time was spent on this, or that this was (no pun intended) mashed together quickly as a gimmick, trust me, it's the former. These beats, in a way similar to The Grey Album aren't easily placeable, they aren't simply Beatles songs with more bass, it's a crafted entity. It's still the badass Wu Tang, but with fascinating beats placed undertow.

The Legion of Doom - Incorporated

Now, this album isn't totally my cup of tea, not on the part of the creators, Legion of Doom, but rather the songs they chose to mash, but this album simply makes it on my favorites out of pure interest in something so out-of-the-ordinary for a mash up album. Tracks by Underoath, Thrice, Norma Jean and others are crammed together, and they sound pretty cool, considering I kinda hate all three of those aforementioned artists. My favorite tracks are easily "Dangerous Business Since 1979" for its use of mewithoutYou and "Devil In A Blue Dress" for its use of Coheed & Cambria, respectively. It's definitely a horse of a different colour, and something a more open minded person in the harder genres (TYNAN) should enjoy. -Matt Galey

Respectably Honorable Mentions:

Danger Mouse - The Grey Album

The Kleptones - Yoshimi Battles The Hip-Hop Robots

The Kleptones - Uptime/Downtime

The Very Best - Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best

Xaphoon Jones - The Xaphoon Jones Mixtape Volume 1.

Squincy Jones - Nintendub

And as a final treat, one of my fellow bloggers here, Tynan has a mash up of his own, check it out:

New La Dispute Song and Split EP

La Dispute have posted a new song on their Myspace from their upcoming split EP with Touch Amore. The song, titled How I Feel, also features guest vocals from Touche Amore's vocalist. The split EP comes out July 27th and can be pre-ordered here.

Album Review: The Roots - How I Got Over

The Roots have been around. Their first studio album dropped in 1993, a year after I was born. Now for me, I've been listening to the roots for only about a year now, mainly to 1999's Things Fall Apart and what amazes me is how little these cats have been noticed. The critic community loves em', but as far as the average music listener is concerned, they're that one band with the drummer who has that afro and stuff, or even worse, the back-up band for fucking Jimmy Fallon. It's unfortunate, as The Roots have always seemed to be active in promoting a beautiful type of hip hop I wish would catch on; the kind that focuses on true lyrical content, sly beats, and a passion for honesty. These are things you don't find in radio hip-hop now-a-days, which focuses on club tracks with "ticks" and "booms" instead of interesting beat backing.

It's been 17 years since the release of their first album, and I'm very surprised to say, The Roots still got it. Their new album, How I Got Over is a definite change-up from their last album, Rising Down, which was claustrophobic, pent-up, and dark. How I Got Over to me feels more like when you stretch your legs on your bed toward the cool areas of the sheets for relief from the heat, it's airy, cool, and soothing in a way. The lyrical content is still there, full of cautionary wisdom of a life you've never lived, but at the same time, the contradictory beats and tone lead your mind toward a softer place, away from the problems mentioned in the album. This is the best thing I can say about How I Got Over, the album is a strange corral, it takes your mind off of The Bad of our world, but whispers it in your ear at the same time.

The album really doesn't kick off, as much as it slowly takes off, like an assistant levitating in a magic show, there's no big bang, just the act. "A Piece of Light", the first track, is just a vocal lead in, harmonies of "Do Do Do" are mixed with light keys to lead the listener into a smooth jive, which will hold for the spine of the rest of the album, as the smoothness hardly ever wavers. That leads into Walk Alone, a piano driven soul-hip-hop song that holds that smoothness. The new single "Dear God 2.0"features The Monsters Of Folk, a move that captures my love for the album. The Roots blew me away with the tenacity to try and mix artists like Monsters of Folk and Joanna Newsom into their message conscious hip-hop. I know that part of me just likes it because they are up my alley in the folk area, but at the same time, it's more entrancing because they work. "Right On" is my favorite track on the album, part of that reason is because it samples "The Book of Right-On" by Joanna, but at the same time, it's my favorite because it's so smooth and perfect to me, in mixing and lyrical work, that I had to add it to my "Top Hip-hop tracks" playlist on my iPod.

Another favorite is "The Day", a beauty of a track featuring the smooth rhymes by Blu and Phonte, but my favorite addition is Patty Crash lightly singing "I should start living today/ because today's gonna be the day". There are two tracks on the album featuring John Legend, and when I first saw that on the track listing, I was worried, but the beauty of it is, he fits in just as nicely as Common did on older albums. His smooth, soothing voice that even my Mother loves is perfect for this album, and the fact that The Roots knew that he would work wonderfully is why they must be one of the smartest hip-hop acts around.

If you've skipped all the bullshit I've written just to see what I gave the album, you'd know I have some problem with it. How I Got Over is a surprisingly great album, definitely one of my new favorites of the year, but my problem comes from how the album decides to end. We spend the whole album jiving to the light, smoothnessity of How I Got Over, and then, on the last two tracks, we get punched in the face with two harshly contrasting songs, "Web 20/20" and "Hustla", which feel simply out of place. It's like we've spent 40 minutes soaring on a nimbus cloud above war-torn Iraq to have an RPG shoot us down right before we decide to land. The beats are strong and the lyrics are harsh not only in content, but in delivery. I suppose this was The Roots' way of ripping us back into the reality of the issues, but, it would have been more polite to do this at the beginning of the album, saving me from having to finish in a mood that asks "Why'd you have to go and do that?" It isn't a big deal, just something that leaves the bad taste in my mouth I thought I wouldn't have to worry about.

Basically, How I Got Over is a gem. It's an album worthy of summer, perfect for a cool backyard party or an afternoon fuck, it's smooth and works perfect as a backdrop for nothing to happen. At the same time, the album works beautifully at the forefront of the mind, something I was skeptical about when I first read about it. In essence, How I Got Over is what you need, without you ever knowing you needed it. Album Rating : 9.0/10

-Matt Galey