New Music Friday!

NateOEB said:
Kendrick's album is really good but Obongjayar's "Some Nights I Dream of Doors" is the best album I've heard today. One of the few albums this year that fully grabbed me from beginning to end, highly recommended.
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I saw this was coming out the other day and it piqued my interest, so I'm happy to see this post. I have it saved in my library to listen to after I've finally sat down with the new Kendrick.
 
Couple on my radar that I didn't see mentioned yet - My Chemical Romance has a new single, and Moon Tooth have a new album - Phototroph.
 
Kendrick's albums always require multiple listens to fully absorb.

Just wrapped round 5 and it's gotten better (and more cohesive) with each listen. It's too early to say, but this might be the best lyrical work of his career. As to the production? It's still growing on me. Particularly disc 1. Disc 2 was immediately up my alley. Die Hard and Rich Spirt (+ interlude) are still my least favorite tracks on the album but they have become enjoyable.

I gotta think that part of why this album is so polarizing is because Kendrick's fanbase is so broad at this point. Like-- all the cats over at r/indieheads don't like rap on the whole but love GKMC and TPAB... and are shitting all over this. And then over on r/hiphop most people are digging it but there's also a lot of low key complaining from old heads because he has completely abandoned G-Funk at this point. And then I'm sure that all my LA folk that LOVE Kayne and Drake but wanted nothing to do with Kendrick until Damn dropped are finding it way too experimental / political. And that's before you even get to the fact that there aren't really any bangers...

Basically, it's a great fucking record. But there are obvious reasons that various fragments of his fanbase may be put off by it. And then there are all the Pitchfork and Twitter warriors of the world who are upset he used the wrong pronouns in Diaries (without considering the context of the storytelling).

As to where I am at-- I think this probably winds up my 3rd favorite Kendrick album.

1. To Pimp a Butterfly (11/10)
2. GKMC (10/10)
3. Mr. Morale (?)
4. Section 80 (9/10)
5. Damn (9/10)

Favorite tracks = N95, Father Time, We Cry Together, Count Me Out, Crown, Aunties Diaries, Mother I Sober.
 
Hollywood said:
New Florence is really good 👍 She sounds reinvigorated on Dance Fever!
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I listened to it last night and really loved it. I have dipped in and out of her discography since the beginning. Ceremonials was really good. I even really liked the last one though I didn’t listen to it enough. Dance Fever might already be my favorite from her though. There’s so much good stuff on it. It was the one new release yesterday that I loved immediately.
 
Bennnnn said:
I listened to it last night and really loved it. I have dipped in and out of her discography since the beginning. Ceremonials was really good. I even really liked the last one though I didn’t listen to it enough. Dance Fever might already be my favorite from her though. There’s so much good stuff on it. It was the one new release yesterday that I loved immediately.
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Agreed 💯
 
Bennnnn said:
I listened to it last night and really loved it. I have dipped in and out of her discography since the beginning. Ceremonials was really good. I even really liked the last one though I didn’t listen to it enough. Dance Fever might already be my favorite from her though. There’s so much good stuff on it. It was the one new release yesterday that I loved immediately.
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Hollywood said:
Agreed 💯
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Dance Fever is kind of like the last Lord Huron album for me. My wife has had most or all previous Florance + The Machine records for awhile and I've not disliked them by any means but also haven't loved them. This one, however, I absolutely love.
 
As expected, the new Kendrick has unpacked itself quite a bit further after further listening and distillation. There is so much to it that I don't know how long it'll take to formulate any sort of "final" opinion about it, and while it may not be my favourite of his albums I think it is certainly his most important one. My commute to and from work is pretty much exactly the length of one of the album's discs each way, so I'll be spending a lot more time in the car with it over the coming week and I'm looking forward to it.
 
I still haven't wrapped my head around the new Kendrick to form a solid opinion. It kind of just makes me want to listen to his other albums... I don't think it's bad though, but there is something that is uncomfortable about it. And I think that's intentional. However, I feel like there's either a lot to digest, or it's pretty straightforward and kind of underwhelming. I've been trying to think about the intention to make it two discs, each with 9 tracks. Some of the tracks do talk to each other in a way, like the openers United In Grief and Count Me Out. But other ones I can't seem to make sense of entirely - in terms of a mirroring between the discs.

I do like the piano motif that crops up throughout, but I wish it was there more. It does seem like a thread to connect it all, but it's not quite as prominent as the running themes in TPAB or even DAMN so I'm not sure it works super well. The minimalist production on some of the songs are real highlights for me because it does create an incredible, dark atmosphere. But there are still some songs here that I think just fall flat musically, Idk.
 
Some goodies. However, I'm not on board with the opinion of most for this week.

🔥
  • Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter [I had no idea what to expect...and this one had me in its grasp from the first seconds of "Family Tree (Intro)." Comparisons to Lana Del Rey, you say? More like LOWna DUSTERey. How is this going to sound in a small venue in ~3 months?!?!?]
  • The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention
👍
  • Action Bronson - Cocodrillo Turbo
  • Quelle Chris - DEATHFAME
  • Ibeyi - Spell 31 [first time I've listen to this duo; which means that yes, I haven't listened to the relevant N&G AotM, either. Probably should rectify that. As for Spell 31, this was lovely and I might move to 🔥 in time]
  • Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers [still good, but not a bona fide classic like most in his 2010's run. It does contain the exceptional "Mother I Sober," a candidate for song of the year. Obviously will be returning to reevaluate; could very well move to 🔥, very dense]
  • Patricia Wolf - See-Through [more environmental/nature sounds on this compared to I'll Look For You in Others. This offering doesn't have me as entranced, but it is very much a worthy follow-up. "Recalibration" should have been longer!]
🤷‍♂️
  • Maria Chiara Argirò - Forest City
  • The Black Keys - Dropout Boogie
  • Florence + the Machine - Dance Fever [sorry, N&G]
  • Ibaraki - Rashomon [sorry @musicjunkiegreg, but I'm not connecting with this]
  • Moderat - MORE D4TA
  • Emma Ruth Rundle - EG2: Dowsing Voice
  • Sunflower Bean - Headful of Sugar
  • UFOMAMMUT - Fenice
👎
  • Jack Harlow - Come Home the Kids Miss You [not as bad as the internet/reviewers would have you believe, but it isn't good either. Cringe bars + production choices aplenty]
🤮

None.​
 
Bennnnn said:
I still haven't wrapped my head around the new Kendrick to form a solid opinion. It kind of just makes me want to listen to his other albums... I don't think it's bad though, but there is something that is uncomfortable about it. And I think that's intentional. However, I feel like there's either a lot to digest, or it's pretty straightforward and kind of underwhelming. I've been trying to think about the intention to make it two discs, each with 9 tracks. Some of the tracks do talk to each other in a way, like the openers United In Grief and Count Me Out. But other ones I can't seem to make sense of entirely - in terms of a mirroring between the discs.

I do like the piano motif that crops up throughout, but I wish it was there more. It does seem like a thread to connect it all, but it's not quite as prominent as the running themes in TPAB or even DAMN so I'm not sure it works super well. The minimalist production on some of the songs are real highlights for me because it does create an incredible, dark atmosphere. But there are still some songs here that I think just fall flat musically, Idk.
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Disc one = decision to see a therapist and the surface level discussions of his issues (daddy issues, infidelity, ext).
Disc two = the breakthrough and a deeper level analyzation of specific childhood trauma and the way it's impacted his failures as an adult-- and then, in turn, using that to look at the ways trauma is intergenerational within the black community. Obviously Mother I Sober is the key moment in that regards.

The part that makes it messy is the low-key obsession with cancel culture and inclusion of Kodak Black on 4 songs. But when you take a step back, that inclusion also helps clarify his overall thesis. That essentially Kodak is a "lost soul" and a product of deep child hood trauma and thus deserves an opportunity at redemption. It's also, I think, why Kendrick is so clear about his own failures as a human being.

This is, after all, somebody who straight up says in Good Kid "If I told you I killed somebody at age 16, would you believe me"?

I have always believed him because, when you dig into his art / themes over multiple albums-- they align heavily with somebody who is obsessed with outrunning his past actions. But yes, definitely an uncomfortable listen in many, may ways and definitely by intent... because for the first time he is turning a lens on himself and saying-- I am a deeply flawed person with views that may not align with yours, but I'd rather you know because "I'm not your (i.e this community's) savior" and "I can't please everyone".
 
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