Rapid Fire Reviews: Albums I Didn't Review Because I Was On Vacation

Sorry about this one. These albums have nothing to do with each other aside from being released recently and I recommend you listen to all of them. They just came out in a time where I was busy with other work and about to go on a week vacation. So to apologize I'm going to review as much as I can over the next two weeks leading into my year end lists starting with this. Enjoy <3

the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures - R.A.P Ferreira

Despite the fact that he publicly criticized my last review of his music earlier this year in a series of now deleted tweets, I'm still a big fan of Rory and I was excited about this project. After dropping one of the best abstract hip hop projects of 2020 he kicked 2021 off with a much more indulgent and compositionally abstract record that I was lukewarm on. Light Emitting seems like a mix of the two as it features some more structured sung hooks and a number of fantastic conventional rap verses, but it isn't afraid to go wandering into some strange soundscapes and unexpected song structures. The sounds of classic and experimental rap are still at the core of this record with sampling that sounds like it was pulled directly from record shop crates and a smooth verbose flow that's part Q-Tip and funny enough, part Raury. Some of these tracks have pretty consistent thematic ties many of which detail Rory's come-up and where he feels is his place in the world of music. There are some tracks here that feel more like an excuse for him to flex his seriously impressive pen game, with Hyperion in particular delivering nonstop quotable. Even though this thing runs under half an hour it does have 11 distinct songs most of which feel complete and most of which deliver on either a fascinating instrumental, excellent rapping or both. It's further proof that the relentless creativity of one of rap's most interesting outsiders isn't anywhere near slowing down. 7.5/10

Bloodmoon: 1 - Converge & Chelsea Wolfe

Even though they have collaborated in live performances before I never expected an entire collaborative album from metalcore legends Converge and experimental gothic singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe. All of my skepticism went out the window when I heard the lead single and album opener earlier this year. It's an 8 minute doom metal epic with sauntering haunted verses from Chelsea and an eruption of a screamed hook. I did have my questions about the limitations of the nearly hour long record to keep this gimmick interesting, but at the very least they pull it off a handful of times very successfully. The album has moments flashing back to Converge's pioneering mathcore days and others that sound more like some of Chelsea's industrial era but generally speaking this is an anthemic and theatrical doom metal album whose biblical themes of justice and punishment will be very familiar to metal fans. Like many a doom metal project the make or break element is in the long form compositions and how compelling their winding instrumentation turns out to be. I'm happy to report that most of the best tracks here are also the longest, taking their time expanding their sonic atmosphere and reaching satisfying conclusions. While that lyrical content can run a bit thin here and there generally it's a good accompaniment to the overwhelming grandiosity of these songs. I find myself coming back to the record over and over again as the most overwhelming and memorable songs deliver on something that not many other records I've heard this year are capable of. 7.5/10

30 - Adele

It feels weird that I've been reviewing music for this long and have never really gotten the chance to talk about Adele in depth, but that's just how long she was gone. The way I feel about Adele is similar to many critics who don't have any direct ties to her chart success. She has an incredibly powerful voice and when that is paired with well structured songs like Chasing Pavement and Someone Like You it is absolute magic. The issue is that her albums are so often filled with the driest renditions of her formula on tracks with so little momentum that her huge voice almost felt out of place. 25 was her weakest full length album yet and given that I felt just okay about the lead single Easy On Me, I went into this record cautiously. That caution turned into optimism once I made it through the first pair of songs and the record started on a string of not only interesting tracks, but varied ones, new territory for Adele. People have always been quick to engage with her music emotionally and while she does occasionally breakthrough with something meaningful, usually on heartbreak anthems, way too many of her songs sound like they are ripped directly out of the songwriters cliché book. This time around she is sounding much more authentic from the very moment that the recordings between her and her son hit on the song My Little Love. After hearing one of the driest and most forgettable divorce albums earlier this year with Kacey Musgraves hearing Adele really bearing her feelings is incredibly refreshing. There really is a lot to like about the middle of this record. Oh My God is a genuine bop with a hook that feels more Jessie Ware then Adele and I Drink Wine is one of the better slinky piano ballads in her catalog even if the 6 minute runtime feels excessive. Speaking of excessive runtimes this record is nearly an hour long and has FIVE songs that run longer than 6 minutes. The run of three straight 6+ minute tracks to close the record is the biggest achilles heel of the entire record as getting through them all is an absolute slog. There are so many tracks here content with wasting so much time, occasionally it works like giving the aforementioned My Little Love space to breathe, but most of the time it feels completely unnecessary and that stuff starts to add up and really wear me down. This is definitely an improvement for Adele and I have no doubt that it will break some kinds of sales and streaming records. Ultimately I'm just thankfully she exceeded my expectations even if some of these songs feel like particularly audacious filler. 6/10