Lav's Music Corner

Four Songs EP - Blood Orange Dev Hynes AKA Blood Orange is an artist that I can honestly say I've never been that crazy about. When he was breaking out with projects in his early days I didn't really love them, but when he dropped 2018's Negro Swan  I totally changed my tone. That record's dark R&B stylings were completely irresistible to me and I hoped it would signify the start of a run of music that I enjoyed more. That record was followed up the next year by his Angel's Pulse  mixtape which I can't say I was crazy about and since then it's been radio silence for projects of any kind. When this EP was announced and the lead single was dropped and I still wasn't crazy about that song, I didn't go into this necessarily thinking it would knock my socks off. That lead single Jesus Freak Lighter  combines a pretty beautiful New Order-style bassline with some rickety drums that sound pretty out of place. An even bigger issue with the song is how few...

The Avalanches are an Australian trio most well known for their heavy use of sampling and their critically acclaimed 2000 album Since I Left You . The band waited 16 years to follow the record up with the feature heavy Wildflower  in 2016 and have thankfully taken a shorter turnaround releasing this, their 3rd album, 20 years after Since I Left You . Review By Lav: I love The Avalanches. I have loved Since I Left You  since I first heard it sometime around 10 years ago and I was thrilled to see the band return on Wildflower  which I also thoroughly enjoyed.  Despite my love of the bands work I wasn't expecting quite as much from this record. The primary reasons being that it was less sample based than either of their first two projects and I thought the singles leading up to the album were a bit of a mixed bunch despite some major highlights. As it turns out there are still plenty of samples used perfectly all over the record, the original instrumentals are used...

Danny Brown is a Detroit rapper who made a name for himself in the world of experimental hip hop in 2011 with his breakout mixtape XXX . After releasing the conceptual Old  in 2013 he received some criticism for dialing back on what made his style so unique but found more critical success despite this. After taking an extended break Danny Brown returned in 2016 with one of the most critically acclaimed records of the year, and one of the most acclaimed experimental hip hop records of the entire decade with his magnum opus  Atrocity Exhibition . The record turned Danny into an overnight superstar in experimental hip hop and the anticipation for this new record was very high. Review By Lavender: Danny Brown's Atrocity   Exhibition  is one of the best albums I've heard all decade and his 2011 record XXX  isn't that far behind it. Danny Brown has shown off consistent ability to deliver on both genre bending and boundary pushing instrumentals and pairing ...

Blood Orange is the long time project of British R&B singer and songwriter Devonte Hynes. Dev has released four records under the Blood Orange moniker met with varying degrees of critical success and announced the  Angel's Pulse  mixtape just days before its release and dropped it without a single. Review By Lavender: For a long time my opinion caught the ire of many Blood Orange fans when in 2013 his  Cupid Deluxe  record began to turn heads, but I wasn't convinced. Still to this day the record reads to me as an homage to 80s synth pop with a funky/R&B twist, but made by somebody who didn't really understand what made that music so good to begin with. The follow-up  Freetown Sound  was certainly an improvement but I still wasn't head over heels for the sound, especially given how much acclaim the record received upon release. It wasn't until Blood Orange's next release that I finally came around to his sound, as it transitioned into a much s...