Week 3: Listening to 7 Albums a Week and Reviewing Them (JAN 15–21)

In Search Of… — N.E.R.D.

N.E.R.D. is undeniably an inspirational band with a lasting legacy. They combined genres to create some of the best fusions of the 2000s. The legendary trio includes Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and the elusive Shay Haley.

In Search Of…. shows another side of Pharrell’s artistry, and everything he makes is guaranteed to have great production quality. In this debut, they showcase smart fusions of lively hip-hop and rock music and introduce a few names that will become household in later years.

This album has one of the best intros of all time. It’s an absolute mood-setter for the rest of the music you’ll hear. “Lapdance” follows the “hit ’em early and hit ’em hard” mantra. Nearly every track on here knocks. These songs have an irresistible kick you can feel and a youthful attitude along with it.

The production is the highlight of the entire album. There are audacious fusions of rock and hip-hop. What’s great is that all of it feels authentic. The drums are an absolute joy. It doesn’t matter what genre they’re in.

This record is professionally made, but there is a lack of polish. This. lack of polish is particularly in the vocals. I don’t think Pharrell is the most talented frontman, but there is a flare within his vocals. I feel as though it is intentional. It enhances the aforementioned attitude and roughness.

This is exemplified in the song “Rockstar.” The lyrics are fun, and the riffs have a lot of punch. It makes me think whether N.E.R.D. were called posers by people not in their audience back in the day. I mean they don’t stereotypically look like a rock band. Maybe they were refuting that notion by calling other people posers.

Alvvays — Alvvays

This Alvvays self-titled album is dream pop for the most part. The tunes on here are lovingly subtle, with the loudest thing being Molly Rankin’s vocals. The guitars and drums have a consistent, easy-going warmth to them.

I found dream pop bliss with “Next to Kin.” The slightly distorted riffs are kind to the ears. The vocals are slightly muddled but passionate. It felt like music for the coast, and this whole album carries a carefree feeling. This is great background noise but is also worthwhile to listen to.

The mood is consistent, but each track offers a different enough idea. The best tracks are certainly in the latter half. The band is at its best when they slow things down a bit more. I enjoyed the structure of “The Agency Group.” It’s by far the most rewarding and emotionally in-depth track. I mean, you don’t expect “An outcast of modern society, suffering from a case of sobriety,” from your standard pop record.

If you’re in for some laid-back and relaxing alt-pop, I strongly suggest this album. I’m sure the rest of Alvvays’ catalog is just as enthralling.

LOUIE — Kenny Beats

Known beatmaker Kenny Beats released an album last year. This comes after being all over the hip-hop landscape. In recent years he has collaborated with Rico Nasty, KEY!, Denzel Curry, and Vince Staples. Each of these names has released entire albums produced by Mr. Beats. He decided to do it all himself this time around with LOUIE.

LOUIE has an undeniable heart behind it. Lasting barely over 30 minutes, it is a loving tribute to his father who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Though there is vocal sampling throughout, the instrumentals do most of the talking. Beats did an outstanding job depicting his emotions with the music.

Most of the beats are lush and soulful. I can guarantee that it is a fantastic driving record. Along with vocal sampling, Beats pulls in featured performers as well. These features, however, rarely take center stage. They melded just right so they sound like samples.

One of my favorites is the fifth track, “Family Tree.” I love the funk rhythms at the end. Slowthai’s contributions are enjoyable, and his vocal tuning was a smart idea. “Still” mixing so many elements at once it’s hard to not relisten. JPEGMafia’s adlibs have plenty of energy, and the singing sample is glorious.

“Moire” may be the best drum showcase on the record. It acts as a short buffer between all these soul samples. One of the things I feel that producer albums should do is consistently bring something new so the listener doesn’t get bored. This is probably why all of these songs are less than three minutes. Kenny Beats does an adequate job of mixing it up without abandoning the intended vibe.

The sample in “Eternal” is powerful. The refrain “we will live forever” feels like he is telling his father that no matter what happens his legacy will last. I’m happy that Beats can send messages without saying them himself. A fundamental function of music is to tell the audience what you cannot do yourself.

The fact that listeners can hear Beats and his father conversing on “The Perch” is a beautiful thing. The love and admiration these two have had for each other for years are palpable within the music. All elements of this album are to be appreciated.

Sublime — Sublime

This will be a long intro.

I was extremely excited to hear this album. 90s pop and rock give me a signature feeling I cannot explain. I am a 1998 baby, so much of the popular music during this time feels nostalgic to me. One genre I feel has not been in popular culture in a while is ska. The Caribbean-birthed genres that are popular in the current day are reggae and dancehall.

People may mistake the ska genre for white reggae, but White bands and artists simply made it more “palatable” to white audiences. It is not necessarily a bad thing. One of my favorite bands, No Doubt introduced me to ska four years ago. I cannot tell you how much I replayed “Sunday Morning.” Music has grown over the centuries because of its influence. I believe ska has one of the most interesting evolutions of any genre. In its most popular form, ska is a love-it-or-hate genre. Those who love it regard Sublime by the ska punk band Sublime as a classic.

Sublime was able to make its final statement. Their frontman Brad Nowell sadly died of a drug overdose a couple of months before the album was released. Their self-titled album blends ska, hip-hop, and a plethora of other genres. It is truly a sign of the times covering major events such as the Rodney King protests. This album has plenty of ideas within and I believe that most of them work. Overall it’s a fun and surprisingly poignant album.

The guitar glistens on this record. You’ll disc jockey scratches here and there. When there is a ska rhythm, it’s strong all the way throughout. They announce their love for Jamaican music early with “Garden Grove.” Nowell sings, “music from Jamaica, all the love I found.” Throughout the album, I realized that Nowell’s vocal inflections imitate reggae and soul singers. The wiki says that there are elements of blues within the album. Perhaps, this was what they were referring to.

Nowell is quite interesting as a narrator. His storytelling is sporadic but does not fail to be simply coherent. In “Wrong Ways,” he tells the tale of a seemingly underaged prostitute who never really got a real chance to make her own life decisions. Later, he speaks against the treatment of protestors after the Rodney King court decision on “April 29, 1992 (Miami)”. Nowell doesn’t only look outward, he looks inward as well. Sublime covered Secret Hate’s “The Ballad of Johnny Butt” on the eleventh track. Nowell certainly saw his reflection on this track surrounding drug addiction. It’s kind of eery and must have been a heart-wrenching listen to hardcore fans at the time.

“Burritos” is for sure the punkiest record on here, along with “Paddle Out.” The nice fast-paced guitars and drums weirdly feel like a pallet cleanser from all the reggae rhythms. I really wish there was more electric guitar usage on these tracks. I haven’t listened to their previous albums, but I hope they have more hip-hop-sounding records too. I knew “Doin’ Time” was a classic when I first heard it.

The album may overstay its welcome with a couple of tracks. I know “Caress Me Down” is supposed to be funny, but I cannot get past one minute of that song. The reprise of “What I Got” feels unnecessary because I don’t think the original is good enough to be rehashed.

Covert Coup — Curren$y and The Alchemist

Short Review: Curren$y is a rock. He’s immovable. In my listening experience, he does a couple of things great and attempts to do nothing else. If you try to get him to do something different, he’ll probably explode. The best you can possibly do is change his backing soundtrack. In the words of Jeff Weiss, Curren$y’s songs “ are generally one-dimensional odes to women, weed, and whips.” Thankfully, The Alchemist is the right man for the job.

Great beats and the background to slick rapping. There’s a great mood throughout that encourages you to smoke whatever you want. By the way, this album is worth listening to solely because of Freddie Gibb’s verse on “Scottie Pippens.”

Paranoid — Black Sabbath

I know Black Sabbath pretty much just as a buzzword. When people talk about rock, they mention Black Sabbath. When people talk about metal, they mention Black Sabbath. When people talk about “the good ole days,” they mention Black Sabbath. The first thing that popped out to me while researching is the name of the lead singer. I was like “oh, this is where Ozzy Osbourne came from.” Safe this to say I was at a pretty good start.

I want to thank Madden 10 for being the only reason I recognize the title track of this album. Those were some damn good days. Anyways, you can hear the primitive elements of what would become heavy metal. I listened to most of these tracks and had trouble finding the “metal” initially. Then, I heard Iron Man, and holy shit. Not only have I already heard this riff before, but this is also very much the birth of metal right here. I probably heard it at multiple sporting events, commercials, and radio.

It’s important to pay respect to the innovators as well as those who have properly built upon that innovation. I imagine metal music as much brasher and louder than this. Everything has to start somewhere, however. I’ll be excited to pinpoint the connecting threads to Black Sabbath when I listen to more metal music this year.

Some tracks on Paranoid feel borderline psychedelic. I love the openness of “Electric Funeral.” The distinct panning of the guitars provides an engaging experience. I loved the slowness of “Planet Caravan.” I didn’t expect a song such as that to be on here.

There is stark political commentary being showcased through the music. They hit listeners with it right off the bat with “War Pigs / Luke’s Wall.” This is what lyricist Geezer Butler had to say about the anti-war record: “Rich politicians and rich people start all the wars for their benefit and get all the poor people to die for them.” It doesn’t get more metal than that.

The Vietnam War is certainly one of the least popular wars worldwide. “Hand of Doom” is a song about soldiers returning from Vietnam who later turned into drug addicts to deal with the pain and anguish they endured. War is the most vicious cycle. Soldiers can be at war with another nation at one moment, and a war with themselves the next.

The Shepherd’s Dog — Iron & Wine

Short Review: It’s a nice and calm record. I love the colors on the album cover. There are good, heartfelt songs on here. Very interesting sounds here too. The song that first grabbed my attention was “White Tooth Man.” It was an approach to folk rock that I haven’t quite heard before. It sounds like a stereotypical background song to a long desert trek in some movie. Of course, that description doesn’t do the song justice but this is a short review.

This is an album you would sit on your easy chair and listen to. There are psychedelic aspects of this record too, like at the end of Lovesong of a Buzzard. I love the odd vocal effects of Carousel, too. Sam Beam did a good job of keeping a folk record interesting.