Damon Albarn has taken fans many places on his almost twenty years of musicianship.  I can also say that as a musician myself, he frustrates me to no end, because I can hardly begin to imagine how a person can possess the same amount of creativity and direction he does.  From Blur to “The Good, The Bad, and The Queen”, and his solo work, Albarn likes to switch up his musical and conceptual direction, and the project, Gorillaz, might be the single most important part of his career in that respect.  But this isn’t about that, it’s about the newest release under the Gorillaz name, “Plastic Beach”.

Ride out the album review with one of the tracks from the album:

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Download: Gorillaz – Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)

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After four years without a release, the sprawling epic menace that is Lightning Bolt is back with a new record. If you are familiar with this band then you already know what you are in store for and this album delivers in full force what Lightning Bolt fans have grown to love about the band, heavy chop-shop bass guitar, and spastic beats.

For those that don’t know, the band consists of the two-piece of Brian Gibson on bass and Brian Chippendale on drums and distorted-ass vocals. The band formed out of the Fort Thunder noise scene in Providence Rhode Island in the late 90’s and is arguably the most influential band to come out of the scene as they have helped progress noise music in general throughout the decade.

This album in particular strays just slightly from its predecessor Hypermagic Mountain that was released in 2005. While that album saw more of the high register shredding from Brian Gibson, this record shows Gibson’s riffs as driving swampy steamrollers that stay for the most part in a gritty lower register. Chippendale’s drumming goes along with this motif in that much of his beats are straight pummeling instead of the crazy sporadic beats that come out of Hypermagic Mountain (although there are plenty of moments where the drumming goes out of control, in a good way). With the opening track “Sound Guardians” you get the latter out of Chippendale, those frantic snare hits and unyielding kick drum are going a mile a minute while Gibson’s bass chugs along bringing a full dose of the heavy. The next track “Nation of Boar” (my personal favorite on this record) you get a sense of the riff based straight driving momentum that stands out next to the spastic rhythms of the majority of their catalog. Most of the album is recorded by the same engineer as their previous three records who does a great job capturing the power and precision of this band, but a couple of the songs were recorded by Lightning Bolt themselves. These songs give off a pleasantly more gritty sound similar to Chippendale’s solo project Black Pus and brings some extra variety to the already massively dense record.

This record has been in the making for a long time, I remember hearing some of these songs for the first time when I went to see them in New York two years ago. Finally it is here, printed, in all its glory. Anyone who has an interest in this band will not be disappointed, and if you have not heard them, this is actually a good record to start with, it covers a great variety of the sound the band has been developing over the past decade. If you decide to buy it, cause come on, we all know you download music ferociously, then get it on vinyl, it has a sweet etching by Chippendale on the last side of the second LP and the artwork is incredible!

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Lightning Bolt – Nation of Boar

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Lightning Bolt – Funny Farm

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Hey have you heard that track that goes boom, boom, boom…?

Guy J | Esperanza [Bedrock Records]

Minimalism is what most people call it, but however you would like to classify Guy J’s album, “Esperanza” it for sure makes you want to skip the club and head straight to an after party. Released on legendary John Digweed’s record label Bedrock, this album really sets the mood for some contemplative daydreaming. Hell, I set this whole album to my morning playlist to get the day started on my iHome alarm clock! The sound he produces is subtle with the main melody slipping in and out of each track until you find yourself bobbing your head.  Guy J, with his melodic rich sound, has currently released several other singles including Fall Star, Lunar, and Lamur since the album’s release. The sounds from Guy J can be found for download from the Transition’s Podcast: Spring Bedrock Collection 2009 or purchased from Beatport.com.

01. Indigo Fields
02. Nebula
03. Geko
04. Mikro
05. 2 Steps
06. Under Pressure
07. Love Is Not Alone
08. Save Me
09. I See You Next Time
10. Druma
11. 7 Steps
12. Esperanza

Sample Track:

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Download: Guy J – Esperanza (Track #12)

Here is a little sip of Earmilk from Guy J’s energizing new 2009 single – Lamur(post album release).

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Download: Guy J – Lamur (2009 Single)

• www.myspace.com/guyj1

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Mos Def is back and better than ever. Mos def did not let Hollywood change him. He has recently released his newest album entitled The Ecstatic. This album was highly anticipated because of the producers involved in the project and the return of Mos Def to his roots. The album features such producers as: J Dilla(R.I.P), Madlib, & Oh No (Madlib’s brother). With production from these guys it really takes the album to another level. I may get flack for this but i personally believe Mos Def’s last true good album was Black on Both Sides. The two albums in between I feel as though they were all missing “something”. This album inst missing that “something”. Mos Def really hits a stride on the tracks on this album and he never really slows down.

The album starts out with “SuperMagic” which has a great beat and a great flow. But the album really gets started on the second track called “Twilite Speedball”. This track minds me of a slowed down version of the Outkast song “Speedballin’” which is ironic since Mos Def uses one of Outkast’s lines from “Ghetto Musick”. Next you have the track “Auditorium” which slows down the tempo a bit in order to incorporate the featured artist Slick Rick. “Auditorium” is the best track on the album for re-playability. Also, this track is where the “middle eastern” theme of the album kicks in. The album features many middle eastern instruments and also themes. “Wahid” also has the middle eastern theme. The next major track “Priority” is one of the best tracks of the album. This track is classic Mos Def.

One of the most interesting tracks on the album is “No Hay Nada Mas” which ruffly translate to “There is nothing more”. Unlike the title of the song; there is much more to the album. The whole song is done in Spanish which is a very nice change of pace. The last major track I want to mention is “History” because you have BlackStar reuniting on a J Dilla beat. Its a short track but carries much weight. Ultimately The Ecstatic is a instant classic album. Mos Def has returned to his roots with consistant flow and amazing beats. You can’t go wrong with this album.

Best Tracks:
Auditorium
Priority
The Embassy
History
Casa Bey

Album Score:
4/5

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