Lav's Music Corner

  Autechre - Plus Two months ago if you had told me that Autechre would drop two records of varying intensity I would confidently say I'll take the higher octane of the two, but after putting off the more reserved Plus  for a few weeks I found myself even more enamored with it than it's big brother Sign . This record too is over 60 minutes in length but trades out its predecessors shrill synths and jittery percussion for something more sustained and steady. The three tracks on the record that last over 10 minutes each bring not only a unique sonic palette but also a meaningful and ultimately worthwhile progression. While Plus  isn't completely devoid of up-tempo moments the mixing aims for a much calmer experience this time around and it pays off big time. Even many of the shorter tracks here let their pulsating percussion patterns unravel around  backing instrumentation designed more to calm than to confuse. With improved sonic cohesion and more effective use of a slightly

Megan Thee Stallion is a Houston based rapper who has had as consistent a viral presence across 2020 as just about anyone. It started off with her Tik Tok anthem Savage  which eventually garnered a Beyonce featuring remix and had a Billboard #1 shootout with Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj. Musically she also lent a feature out to one of the most talked about songs of 2020 Cardi B's WAP . Not to mention she made headlines for months after allegedly being shot in the foot by Tory Lanez. She is following up last years Fever  mixtape and this years Suga EP with her studio debut album Good News . Review By Lav: There are few voices in the modern hip hop game as hilarious, charming and overwhelming as Hot Girl Meg. From last years Hot Girl Summer  becoming an anthem before it was even released to her near constant presence across every facet of the music industry and social media one thing is clear, nobody can get enough of Megan. I felt the same way despite coming off pretty mild on her EP e

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are a truly unique Australian psychedelic rock band. For the last decade the prolific group has released a number of records which often indulge in conceptual narratives under a wide variety of sonic approaches. Last year the band released a two albums that indulged in environmentalist themes with the hokey Fishing For Fishes  and the thrash metal experiment Infest The Rats Nesi .  Review By Lav:  King Gizzard have certainly been one of the most exciting bands of the past 10 years. Not only do they have a versatile roster of musicians on hand to tackle all kinds of sounds but they release music so prolifically that a new idea or concept is always right around the corner. When they hit their stride on records like Nonagon Infinity , Paper Mache Dream Balloon  and most recently Infest The Rats Nest  they are exciting, unique and ferocious. Unfortunately going into K.G.  it was clear that the concept was another journey into microtonal tuning, a sequel

Liturgy is a "transcendental black metal" project spearheaded by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hunter Hunt-Hendrix. Last year Hendrix surprise released the projects 4th album H.A.Q.Q  which was centered around grand philosophical theories of self and surroundings. Given the free time during quarantine the project has had a quick turn around with the release of two singles this year leading up to Origin of The Alimonies  just over a year after H.A.Q.Q .  Review By Lav: Like each of the Liturgy records I wanted to be as educated as possible going into the project and this one was quite tricky. Not only does the project relate to some of the philosophical subject matter from her last record but also dives into some details that had me googling theories and origin stories of the universe before I even started listening to the music. While I have tried pretty hard to understand the album as much as I can there are still things I don't have the right context to see throu

Dirty Projectors are a New York based indie rock group who have managed to achieve their goal of releasing 5 EP's this year with the release of Ring Road . While the first four EP's each featured one prominent lead vocalist this EP feature vocals from typical frontman David Longstreth as well as numerous renditions of group vocals to support. Review By Lavender: For the 5th time this year I've sat down to review a Dirty Projectors EP and so far it has gone one of two ways. I really enjoyed the first two EP's of the year which impressed with catchy songwriting and gorgeous instrumentals . Unfortunately the other two were more defined by ill thought out experiments and strangely mixed tracks . Thankfully Ring Road  is a fantastic return to form to close off the series and makes a difficult choice even harder for picking which set of track is my favorite come the end of the year. Por Que No  is a great, kooky and off kilter indie pop song that sounds straight off the las

Kali Uchis is a pop and R&B vocalist who first emerged with a number of high profile features in the second half of the 2010's. She followed this up by releasing her debut album in 2018 to massive critical acclaim for its refreshing songwriting and infectious genre blending. After releasing a quarantine EP earlier this year she announced the release of her 2nd studio album just two weeks before its release date.  Review By Lavender: I really enjoyed Kali's debut album and it's best tracks Miami , Just A Stranger  and Your Teeth In My Neck  haven't left my summer rotation in the two years since the record came out. While I wasn't a huge fan of the lo-fi bedroom pop songs from Kali's EP earlier this year I was excited for this new record given the singles taking a distinctly latin direction in sound. The resulting album isn't perfect but is isn't bad either and at a breezy 34 minutes doesn't bring much of anything it doesn't need.  The record

So Help Me God  - 2 Chainz   I was pretty excited for this record given how much I've enjoyed 2 Chainz in the past even leading up to his record last year which landed on the back half of my albums of the year list. Unfortunately some of the issues I had with the singles leading up to this record lasted onto the project itself, starting with a stacked roster of features that come off really lame more often than not. With the exception of Kevin Gates none of the high profile names end up really showing their best side and a handful of tracks are nearly ruined by bad supporting cast. Pair this with some very average production and the only saving grace the record has is 2 Chainz himself. What makes the record worth hearing is 2 Chainz animated and infectious performances, hilarious lyricism and generally great attitude that's as infectious as always. Even though this isn't the longest record in the world I still wish I had dialed back on the feature overload because some of t

Jesu is the solo project of British musician and genre blender Justin Broadrick. It followed his pioneering experimental metal band Godflesh and took things in a different direction combining droning guitars with more conventional songwriting and lead vocals.  Review By Lavender: While I'm too young to have been able to appreciate Godflesh in their heyday I have spent a lot of time indulging with Jesu over the past decade plus. Whether it was with great albums like Conqueror  and Jesu , the pair of wonderful collaborative albums Justin made with Sun Kil Moon or the Before  EP he released this year that is still one of my favorite short form projects of 2020, I really enjoy the music of Jesu. While this is technically the 6th Jesu album the catalog runs extensively beyond this and would take far too long for me to unpack every part of it but what I will say is that as far as recent memory goes, Justin is on a hot streak ad Terminus  mostly keeps that up.  The record is only 8 track

William Basinski is an experimental and ambient music composer who has been working out of New York for over three decades. He is most well known for his  Disintegration Loops  series of short loops played on repeat while being stretched and distorted. Since 2013 Basinski has entered a particularly prolific period of releases with many distinct styles and collaborators, alongside remasters and re-releases of older work.  Review By Lavender: While I think it should be absolutely essential that all serious music fans familiarize themselves with The Disintegration Loops  there is plenty that William's greater discography offers. 2017's A Shadow In Time  brought a greater spotlight back onto Basinski and his music and he has released a number of projects since then but Lamentations  with it's trio of singles felt like the most major rollout since. Turns out it was for good reason because Lamentations  is definitely my favorite thing William has done with Disintegration Loops  a

  Forgotten Days  - Pallbearer The doom metal band is back in action 3 years after a record that divided fans and critics. While I liked it quite a bit the band heard the criticism apparently and returned to a bit of a stricter interpretation of their doom metal mixed with elements of stoner metal sound. With a handful of compositions that run between 4 and 12 minutes I think the band makes an impact the right way but never really brings it home. Nowhere on this record are compositions with as compelling builds as so many of my favorite doom metal records of old. While the band doesn't do much wrong on the record I also don't see it as anything necessary for metal fans to hear this year. 5.5/10 Wake Of A Nation  EP - Zeal & Ardor The bands first release of new material since wowing everyone with 2018's Stranger Fruit  came on the back of three singles and features 6 tracks with a wide range of influence. While many of the socially conscious themes persist across the EP

As we round the corner towards the end of the year it's time to start catching up on records that I didn't get a chance to review earlier before it's time to write my end of year lists. In this first set of more concise reviews we will cover a collection of hip hop records from 2020 by artists who made noise in their respective niches. Shrines - Armand Hammer On the newest collaboration from rapper Billy Woods and producer Elucid you really know what you're in for. The beats here work with a jazz rap fundamental but consistently push it into other worlds crafting some harsher and more abstract beats across the album than you may typically hear on a conscious rap project of the like. Billy Woods intoxicating and confrontational voice adds grit to some of the more narrative driven or politically charged moments on the album and guests like R.A.P Ferreira and Earl Sweatshirt make notable appearances. The only major problem I have with the record is Billy's constant sl

Salem is a Michigan based band who's early mixtapes in the 2000's and 2010 debut album King Night  are considered pioneering for the witch house subgenre. After a 10 year absence in which they shrunk from a trio to a duo the band began to make noise with new music earlier this year before releasing their long-awaited sophomore album just last weekend.  Review By Lavender: I am just about the right age to remember when Salem and their subgenre with house were a pretty big deal. Salem's debut record King Night  was an old favorite of mine during my formative years and while it may not have all that same luster today that it once did I still thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the project in preparation for this release. With so much time between releases I really had no idea what to expect from Salem going into this record but as it turns out they tend to stick to their guns on this project with only one major exception, an onslaught of trap drums.  The record didn't get off to

Oneohtrix Point Never is the project of New York based electronic musician Daniel Lopatin. Lopatin has worked as a composer for film scores like Uncut Gems  and has collaborated with numerous other artists most notably ANOHNI. He is primarily known for a run of critically acclaimed conceptual electronica albums in the mid 2010's including Replica , R Plus Seven and Garden Of Delete .  Review By Lavender: As far as experimental and conceptual electronica goes over the last decade it's hard to get better than Oneohtrix Point Never. After a trilogy of fantastic records I was just a bit let down by the Age Of album and accompanying Love In The Age Of Lexapro  EP. Both of which sported impressive feature lists but didn't manage to reach the same quality level as some of his hits earlier in the decade. Going into this record I was still really excited given Daniel's pedigree and that the record once again had a conceptual narrative to it. While track for track I don't thi

Black Thought is a Philly rapper and long time member of seminal rap collective The Roots. Black Thought began his career as a solo artist in 2018 with a pair of EP's that served as volumes 1 and 2 of the Streams Of Thought  series.  Review By Lavender: I love The Roots and I enjoyed Vol. 1  in this series in particular so I was moderately excited going into Cane & Able . Even with some strange features and production credits that sort of lacked the star power of the EP's I had a feeling Black Thought was going to deliver his typically strong blend of intense performances with conscious introspective lyricism. That happens for the most part although there are tracks on the project that take incredibly strange detours.  Good Morning  was the lead off single for this record and while it came out long before the album itself it feels just as fresh and compelling. If you were going to make an explosive, politically charged posse cut I think Pusha T and Killer Mike would be the