Lav's Music Corner

These are reviews of 5 records that I was pretty sure weren't going to top my albums of the year list, but I nonetheless wanted to talk about because of the significance of the artists behind them.  AM I THE DRAMA?  - Cardi B Cardi B's story is something I've always been very interested in. After years of teasing the release of a sophomore record, I really thought she might have waited too long to capitalize on any of the meteoric hype she generated from 2017 to 2020. Now that the record is out and being digested by fans, the verdict is very much still out. One person who thinks about Cardi's place in popular culture even more than I do is Cardi herself. Her debatably triumphant return is the subject of the first two tracks on the record, the pretty good "Dead" and the mediocre "Hello." While Cardi does a lot of flexing on the record, the results are pretty inconsistent, and the best victory lap she takes on the song "Check Please" outclass...

I am in the thick of Rolling Loud weekend and running on absolute fumes right now.  5.  Monaco  - Ride Is it a bizarrely full circle moment to hear Ride sounding like they're trying to be Amusement Parks On Fire? Yes. But that doesn't prevent me from enjoying the results. While Ride's comeback has never inspired the same critical acclaim as some of their classic shoegaze contemporaries they have managed an impressive consistency in both release schedule and quality that I've grown to appreciate a lot.  Listen 4.  Enough for you  - Wisp Once again shoegaze upstart Wisp has impressed me with a track from her upcoming EP. The formula here is far from unheard of but she's dabbling in sounds heavier than some of her contemporaries. With smashing drums and chugging riffs she's wandering her dreamy poise into Hum territory, an influence many of the other new age shoegaze acts probably won't reach for years. What results is an impressive level of sonic intensity th...

Dummy Corporation  EP - Actress Actress is a British house and electronica act that I admittedly should have been paying more attention to in the time I've been reviewing music. While most of the biggest highlights from the project came before I started, they have still released some interesting house and dance music worth covering in the past few years and after hearing this new EP which dabbles in micro house and ambient techno, I knew I had to cover it. Though it's only 4 tracks the EP runs about 40 minutes and nearly half of that is taken up by the monster title track which kicks the record off and spans just under 19 minutes. It starts with a long ambient intro that you may not realize is a build-up at first, but around five minutes in it starts to work towards the core of the song with gentle vocal samples, glittery synths, and steady pounding percussion. While I think the full length of the song might be a little bit more indulgent than necessary I also think it's th...

More big releases this week so lets not waste any time in sorting through them.  Enjoy <3 5.  We're Not In Orbit Yet...  - Broken Bells After teasing the return of Broken Bells for years, the duo of Shins frontman James Mercer and Danger Mouse are finally back with this meandering five minute piece of spacey indie rock. It's lackadaisical approach makes the drifting through these passages sometimes feel a bit monotonous but when they hit their stride pairing exciting instrumentation with good refrains it makes for some amazing moments. Listen 4.  Hot Shit  - Cardi B (Feat. Kanye West & Lil Durk) Cardi's long awaited and highly anticipated new single is a collaborative effort with features from Durk and Kanye alongside a booming Tay Keith beat and even an Electric Boogie  sample. It's a big swing for one of the biggest artists in the industry but does it work, sort of. Despite all the grandeur Cardi is actually right in her comfort zone with this extr...

Best New Songs Of The Weekend: 5.  Fly Again  - Turnstile Turnstile continue to impress with what feels like their thousandth single this year. While they are taking away from much of the surprise on their upcoming album they have also managed to flex quite a bit of sonic versatility from their hardcore bassline with these singles and this one is no different. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xHt98f5JxI  4.  Rumors  - Lizzo (Feat. Cardi B) Lizzo is back in action after having a major break-out in 2019 and is doing it with a charming and unabashed pop rap cut. She addresses many of her haters straight on with a raunchy lyrical outing and catchy hook. Cardi does tend to steal the show a bit with an excellent second verse but I think at this point you expect Cardi to attract quite a lot of attention when she's on your track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9XUrniiK4 3.  Back To Oz  - Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine Sufjan and Angelo are back with...

Migos are an Atlanta rap trio consisting of Quavo, Offset and Takeoff whose sound in the middle of the 2010's was extremely influential to the culture and style of mainstream trap rap that still persists to this day. The duo first broke out with a series of hits from their early mixtapes and cemented their status with their universally acclaimed 2017 album Culture . After the follow-up Culture II  along with each of the rappers solo records were all critiqued for the bands routine and omnipresent sound, they took a few years of studio album silence.  Review By Lav: At this point, the Migos are who they are. I wasn't expecting Culture III  to be any kind of major change of style for the trio and it isn't. If you're familiar with the band you pretty much know what you're getting with this record, which can be a blessing and a curse. There are plenty of tracks here particularly on the first half that see Migos executing their formula very well, but when there's a f...

Singles are the engine upon which the music industry runs. From stan Twitter to the Hot 100 the best way to drum up hype and all the revenue that comes with it is on the back of a great single. For the 5th straight year  it's time to look at all the great singles released by artists new and old throughout 2020 and rank them. Unlike the songs and albums lists that will follow this one over the next 2 days this isn't strictly about the best in terms of sheer quality alone. The list takes quality into consideration alongside cultural significance. reception within an artists listener base and how the songs fit into the context of a band or artists image or discography at large. With all these factors combined I put together my list of the 100 best singles I heard in 2020.  100. Waxahatchee - Fire I've been an enjoyer of Waxahatchee's music for years now and in 2020 she added Fire  to the high end of singles in her discography. The song is a vocal wonder that shows off Kati...