100 words music reviews
LA has its own unique psychedelic environment which can be seen today through the surreal lives of influencers and those scratching at the door of hot, empty fame. But in the mid-1960s, there was a genuine fascination for where the mental boundary was and how it could be snapped in two. The Human Expression never […]
Hip-hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON put themselves out of their contractual misery with a two-project dump. ‘The Family’ is an uncomfortable tell-all from Kevin Abstract, with the rest of the group virtually nowhere to be seen. Intimate details about the demise of their friendships are spilled over chipmunk-soul beats of varying quality. Meanwhile, Kevin checks his watch, […]
Like a King of the Dot championship rap battle, IDGAFATRSIJDUIDFLIA has a flurry of words, loaded references, and a meaty flow. $ilkMoney sounds rattled, but stays on top of his ailments and points of anger. It is a unique quality of abrasive, creatively sharp performers that they can claw us to their side with magnetism […]
Weyes Blood began life as a DIY, acoustic venture, where Natalie Mering’s voice fluttered above a sound collage of tape recorders, saws, bells, and whistles. This is Natalie’s fifth album performing under the moniker. The opener could be on a spacier version of Bowie’s Station to Station: it’s not just that well-produced, it’s that sweeping. […]
I don’t know if Doon Kanda’s music sounds more like a crude, AI-generated amalgam of all the clubs in Berlin, or a rave for deep sea creatures. His artwork is certainly a grotesque mix of the two. *snaps fingers* You know what Doon’s art is like? It’s like if a 12th century sacrilegious nightmare was […]
Elliott Smith packed more melody into a double-tracked whisper than would be expected in a Glee cover of Mariah Carey. He can also say ‘fuck’ with more power than any outlandish, testosterone-steaming ‘rockstar’. Either/Or is like the shadow of a pop hit—Brian Wilson might have written it if he spent the 1960s leaning musically into […]
With varying commercial and artistic success, Nas has always sounded certain. He is as sharply defined in his own vision as any hip-hop artist, which makes his singular place in rap more of a throne than a lonely corner. King’s Disease III is the third instalment in a progressively robust series. Featuring 100% Nasty Nas, […]
The Wau Wau Colectif found each other when Karl Jonas Winqvist was stranded in Toubab Dialaw, an hour down the coast from Dakar. He encountered local musicians in a spirited artistic community and, when he returned to Sweden, traded Whatsapp notes until a debut was born. Mariage is their second record, pieced together without hiding […]
‘Janela Escancarada’ is a gorgeous opener. It captures and bottles the dreamlike state of mind Ana Moura has slipped into. Despite her melancholia, Moura is careful not to detach. Her music anchors itself to the port of tradition while embracing new world musical goods: the vocal “yee-hees” above an accordion on ‘Andorinhas’ are indelible. In […]
100 words music reviews 