Lasers

"Tell 'em what it do, holla from the bottom, yell it from the roof"

Lasers is the third studio release from Chicago born rapper Lupe Fiasco.  It has been rumored as the final chapter in a trilogy consisting of Food & Liquor (2006), The Cool (2007), and now Lasers.  Released just last week (March 8th), the album has been receiving mixed reviews ranging from 91 (Entertainment Weekly) to 60 (The New York Times) to 20 (Sputnikmusic).  Now, unfortunately, I can't say I'm in the same group as Entertainment Weekly, but, fortunately, I am also not of the same opinion as Sputnikmusic.  I think I fall somewhere in the middle, much like Lasers' average on Metacritic, a 59.  With his release of Food & Liquor and The Cool being back to back, Lasers was a highly anticipated album.  I remember first hearing about it from my roommate when Lupe announced the album at a Halloween concert in Chicago (that was in '08).  With all this time and hype you would think that the album would be blowing people away.  His first two albums averaged an 83 and a 77 respectively and Lupe was easily one of the biggest breakthrough rappers of the past ten years.  

The drop in quality isn't without explanation, thankfully.  The album had been delayed for a long time and there was a whirlwind of controversy between Lupe and his record label Atlantic for some time.  When asked if Lasers was ever going to come out by Complex.com, Lupe responded with the following: "It could. The situation with me and my record company has gotten to the point where it's just like... we're really at our final straws. People could say it's me, that 'Lupe doesn't want to make popular music' or 'The label has got to have records that they can sell and Lupe is not giving them the records they want to sell' and XYZ. I'll meet a fan on the street and we'll have a full conversation about it. There's maybe six or seven people walking around who know the whole story with their mouths wide open and their jaws to the floor as to why Lasers has been held up to this point and why it's not coming out. I can't tell you that. We're in a space where we're still negotiating and some stuff isn't meant for the public."  So, for a while it seemed like the album was never going to come out, especially because of Lupe's somewhat secret side project Japanese Cartoon, but thankfully he tweeted a picture of himself and Julie Greenwald, Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Records.  Things seemed to be alright, but after the release of Lasers, I have a feeling things still aren't so hot.

Lupe said it best when he said "Lupe doesn't want to make popular music," and that is exactly my problem with this album.  I've heard from people that it's too political, but if that's your view you don't know Lupe.  Lupe is all about politics, all about pushing the boundaries, all about bringing up uncomfortable topics and that's what makes him great.  Who could forget his "Kick, Push II" from Food & Liquor dealing with drug addiction, spousal abuse, and physical handicaps?  What about "Little Weapon" from The Cool that begins by describing a series of events leading up to a school shooting only to transition into the self-narrated story of an Invisible Child?  To say that Lupe's new album is too political is saying the opposite of what it is.  While Lupe does have his political ties in Lasers, it doesn't push nearly as many boundaries as his past albums.  What's wrong with Lasers is exactly what he said, it's popular music.

It took me a while to figure out what was wrong with it, even though the first thing I said about it was that it was "too poppy."  On my first listen through I picked out "Out of My Head" as one of my favorite songs, but once I remembered I was listening to Lupe Fiasco and not Trey Songz (the featured artist on the song) a haze was lifted.  "Out of My Head" is definitely the catchiest song of the album and will most likely be a single (if Lupe goes a long with it), but since when does Lupe sing traditional poppy songs about girls and how fine they are?  Okay, maybe "Paris, Tokyo" is an example from The Cool, but I would even put that on a different level because it differentiates itself because of its production value and lyrics.  "Kick, Push" off of Food & Liquor could be an example too, but how often do you hear love songs about outcast skaters?  What's worse is that the album is infested with other poppy songs such as "State Run Radio," "Letting Go," and, possibly the worst, "The Show Goes On," which just sounds like every other empathetic hip-hop anthem.  Several other problems loom over the album such as sacrificing quality more no-name guest appearances for more main stream ones (i.e., substituting Matthew Santos for Trey Songz).  "Fighters feat. Matthew Santos" still gives me the chills whenever I turn it on.

However, the album isn't without its bright spots.  In another interview with Complex.com Lupe mentions that he is "happy for the fans, this is their album. This is the album that they fought for and that’s what made me do songs like ‘Words I Never Said’ and ‘All Black Everything.’"  These are definitely two of the songs that hearken back most to the old Lupe.  "Words I Never Said" has a darker, heavier, more political feel with much harder hitting lyrics whereas "All Black Everything" shows Lupe's lyrical creativity and empathy toward all people, a common theme in past albums.  Another one of my favorite tracks is "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now," which arguably is a more poppy song, but Lupe's flow just reminds me of "Sunshine" from Food & Liquor.  More importantly, it sounds like he's having fun on the track, something that is almost absent throughout most of his songs.

Lasers definitely isn't the album the fans wanted and it isn't the album Lupe wanted.  Lasers consists of what Atlantic Records wanted in order to increase sales and rake in the dough.  Unfortunately, due to the demand of fans Lupe was pushed into finishing the album and the product was something he didn't know if he loved or hated.  “One thing I try to stress about this project is, I love and hate this album. I listen to it and I’ll like some of the songs. But when I think about what it took to actually get the record together and everything that I went through on this record—which is something I can’t separate—I hate this album. A lot of the songs that are on the album, I’m kinda neutral to. Not that I don’t like them, or that I hate them, it’s just I know the process that went behind it. I know the sneaky business deal that went down behind this song, or the artist or singer or songwriter who wrote this hook and didn’t want to give me this song in the first place. So when I have that kind of knowledge behind it, I’m just kind of neutral to it like, ‘Another day, another dollar.’ As opposed something like The Cool, which is more of my own blood, sweat, and tears, and my own control. With this record, I’m little bit more neutral as to the love for the record" (Ahmed).  Hopefully Lasers isn't the final chapter for Lupe and he comes out with the rumored Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album.  What's wrong with this album is that it isn't Lupe and that's something that should be clear to everyone.

Music Recommendation #6

3/13/11-3/19/11 

Alright, I know it's a day late, but better late than never, right?  This week I have The Darlings' "Warma - EP" and Stateless' "Matilda."

The Darlings’ “Warma” is the New York based band’s second record release coming out of Famous Class Records.  Their debut album, “Yeah I Know” was released in 2009.  They have a sound similar to Pavement, the Replacements, and the Thermals.  Starting in 2007, the band is spearheaded by singer/guitarist Peter Rynsky and consists of four friends who, after graduating college, had nothing better to do than pick up their guitars and jam.  This band goes right back to the knitty-gritty of classic party rock.  The guitar riffs and drum beats are steady and simple, and the combination of female and male vocals make for a very uplifting feeling.  The Darlings rose from scrutiny by playing parties and lower level shows and finally got signed, and while the "Warma - EP" may not be much, it's definitely  an uplifting listen.  "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" is definitely the stand out party pleaser, but "Don't Wanna hang Out Tonight" is my favorite track on the EP with a slower, more mid-century rock feel too it and easily displays the best juxtaposition between Peter Rynsky's more harsh vocals and Maura Lynch's softer ones.  Again, the "Warma - EP" from The Darlings' isn't a lot, but it's a step in the right direction and I look forward to them coming out with their next LP.

Stateless’ “Matilda” is their second studio release after their self-titled album released in 2007, coming out of Ninja Tune Records.  This English electronic alternative rock group is based out of Leeds.  They combine electronic and classical sounds to make for a contemporary, yet cinematic feel.  The album features Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond (“I’m On Fire”) as well as the Balanescu Quartet (“Ballad Of NGB” and “Song For the Outsider”), and  was produced by Bjork producer/programmer Damian Taylor.  Their sound has been described as Jeff Buckley battling Modeselektor with a twist of Timbaland.  While a week ago I may have put Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx on a pedestal for album of the year with seemingly little competition as of yet, Stateless proved me wrong.  Something about what Stateless does just sucks me in.  While people have compared them to several various artists, I can't help but to compare them to more.  To me they have the daring sound of Muse's earlier days with their album "Origin of Symmetry," they take the grand orchestral sound and story telling nature of DeVotchKa, and put it in a blender with some sitar (maybe Ravi Shankar?).  What is even better is that "Matilda" is one of those albums in which every song is a potential favorite.  Out of all of the albums I have ever reviewed for 1190, "Matilda" may be the only one in which I had difficulty picking out my Top 6 Favorites.  To put it in the words of my Music Director, Jessi: "[Stateless]!  Why couldn't you have come two weeks sooner!"  I'm assuming that Stateless would have been made CDotM for March.  

Onto the music though, something about it just comes out right.  I don't know if it's luck or skill, but Stateless manages to combine a number of sounds that are radically different yet mesh and flow flawlessly.  My favorite song, "Ballad of NGB," starts out with a repetition of piano chords and with a soft hint of clapping, shortly followed by Chris James singing "I can feel her rapid waves/ Dark and glittering, sharp and shimmering/ So pure, so damn pure/ Dancing in the kitchen cooking up a snow storm/ Dancing in the kitchen cooking up a snow storm."  This line of lyrics is immediately followed by a booming bass and accompanied by a string section that replaces the repetitious piano from earlier.  I could go on and on describing the almost palpable melodies and tangible rhythms in this piece for ages, but the best advice I can give you is to listen to it.  My other favorite songs are "Ariel" (a song combining sitar licks with a bass heavy back beat and echoing lyrics), "I'm On Fire" (a song combining the trickling of an electric guitar with a beautiful duet between James and guest singer Shara Worden), and "Assassins" (tribal drumming and transcendental bells meet a synthesizer and energetic vocals).  I couldn't rave about this album more than I already have, just give it a listen already.

Shortly (within minutes), I will be posting my review of Lupe Fiasco's new albums "Lasers." Stay tuned for that as well as next week's music recommendations.

Music Recommendation #5

3/6/11-3/12/11

First things first.  This week is Radio 1190's Spring Pledge Drive.  We're an independent radio station and in order to keep it that way, we need our listener's to support us.  All we ask is the bare minimum which helps us keep the promotions going, the lights on, and the music playing.  If you have a minute, go to Radio 1190's website, check it out, and if you can spare a few dollars, donate what you can.  Also, check out this awesome shirt design you could get!

Onto the blog.  I know it isn't Sunday yet, but I have a busy weekend and I've been productive, so I thought I would drop next week's new music on you now.  Sound good?  I thought so.  This week I'm bring you two new albums, Brown Recluse's "Evening Tapestry" and Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx's "We're New Here."

“Evening Tapestry” is the debut LP from Brown Recluse out of Slumberland Records.  The band formed in the early 2000s and self-released their first EP, “Black Sunday,” in 2007.  Their second EP, “The Soft Skin,” was released in 2009, shortly after they released a cassette-only release on Dead Format called “Selected Hymns (Of the Evening Tapestry).”  They combine narrative lyrics with a psychadelia-tinged indie pop creating lighthearted, flowing tunes.  Brown Recluse does a good job of making their music seemingly innocent on the surface.  At first I thought it was really fluffy and light, and nothing at first glance really gave me the impression to believe otherwise.  However, when I went through it again I noticed some of the lyrics are deep, profound, and some times disturbing.  "March to Your Tomb," the closing track of the album (contrasting the opening song, "Hobble to Your Tomb"), has an upbeat, light guitar melody, but the opening lyrics are as followed: "Smeared my blood on the neighbor's fencepost/ Dragged my arm like a limp fraying paintbrush/ Trimming hedges by her briars/ They gashed my pale flesh like barbed wire," after which a twangy guitar solo follows.  Brown Recluse's lyrical content is without doubt the best feature of this album and each and every song has interesting insights not only vocally, but instrumentally as well, a plethora of sounds strung out across the album.  Brown Recluse has a number of interesting stories to tell and "Evening Tapestry" is a strong debut LP for the band.

“We’re New Here” is a collaborative effort between Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx from The xx.  What the duo did was take Scott-Heron’s “I’m New Here” (released in 2010) and remixed it by putting a thick, electronic, bass filled sound behind Scott-Heron’s raspy, hip-hop inspiring spoken word vocals.  This is without doubt the epitome of combining old and new to make something both versatile in sound, yet somehow familiar.  While seemingly far apart, Scott-Heron and Jamie xx are connected through XL Recordings and owner Richard Russell who connected the two.  This album blew.my.mind.  It seems like an odd combination especially because Scott-Heron and Jamie xx are so different: one is black, one is white; one is young, one is old; one is British, one is American; one is a vocalist, one is a instrumentalist.  However, surprisingly, when the two of them come together they create a wonderful fix of old fashioned singing and new age electronic instrumentals.  If "I'm New Here" wasn't already incredible enough, Jamie xx puts a wonderfully innovative twist on the entire album.  The sounds across the CD have a wide variety, each of which has it's own unique feeling.  The trance like, bass flooded, standout favorite of the album, "NY Is Killing Me," alters some of Scott-Heron's vocals with strong reverberation and compliments them later in the song with a high-pitched, repetitive shrieking.  Put that together with the thumping bass, synthesizing, and bells and you get a sound that engulfs you and throws you into a musical chemistry experiment gone horribly right.  "My Cloud," in contrast, shifts both instrumentally and vocally.  In this song, Jamie xx slows it down and has longer drawn out chords with a softer back beat that compliments Scott-Heron's decision to sing instead of use spoken word.  "We're New Here" is an incredible mix of new and old and Scott-Heron puts it best in "I've Been Me" when he says, "If I hadn't been as eccentric, as obnoxious, as arrogant, as aggressive, as introspective, as selfish... I wouldn't be me, I wouldn't be who I am."

So, there's next weeks new music and hopefully I'll be able to bring some of the other music I've been listening to on here in the next week or so.  Look out for a DeVotchKa review in the next week or so along with maybe some other stuff if I decide not to be a lazy college student.  Keep listening and thanks for reading!