Isn't the weather gorgeous these days? Jiminy Christmas, I am loving this weather! You can feel the sunshine hit the skin of your arms, blossoms are blooming everywhere and the very vernal air outside is filled with the hormones of crazy college students, It's pure joy! 10/10
But I digress. I'm a music reviewer. I don't write weather reports. I critique music. March 2015 presented a slew of albums from great artists. I'll provide everything you need to know.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, "Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress" --
Some fans won't like this album because it shies in comparison to their recent work. Sure it's shorter and slower than other Godspeed projects, but the volume is still there. Instead of focusing on grandiosity, this album is centered on some legitimately weird sounds. 8/10
Death Grips, "Jenny Death"--
Experimental rap project Death Grips have recorded some of the most low budget, abrasive, futuristic music of the last five years. "Jenny Death" is disc two of their now-released double album "The Powers That B." Disc one was released in June 2014 and I didn't enjoy it. "Jenny Death" comes through powerfully sounding more like a Nine Inch Nails and John Bonham collaboration than a rap album. I'd give the entire double album 7.5, but as for "Jenny Death": 8.5/10
Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell"--
Sufjan Stevens changed both indie folk and my life with his 2005 album "Illinois." Some folks are calling his new album is his best. No, it isn't. However, I love it. All the songs are solely acoustic. The lyrics are heartbreakingly personal; the whole album telling his childhood relationship with his step parents. It's depressing as hell yet musically quaint. Try its opener "Death with Dignity." 8.5/10
Bjork, "Vulnerica"--
Iceland's most beloved female artist streamed electronically released this album in January but the physical CD was only released a couple weeks ago, so this is a "March" album if you live in the 20th century. But I digress. Alongside "Vulnerica"'s complex string arrangements and choppy beats, Bjork's voice sounds delicately human. Her best work in over 10 years. 8.5/10
Father John Misty, "I Love You, Honeybear"--
OK, so this album was actually released in February. But you should try this. The instrumentation is tender and its lyrical personality is impressively witty. 9/10
Kendrick Lamar, "To Pimp a Butterfly"--
So. Cal. rapper Kendrick Lamar's 2012 LP, "good kid, m.A.A.d city," is one of my all-time favorites. In addition to its critical reception it produced three U.S. top 40 hits. Having made a loveable 70-minute concept album about hood-life adolescence, what could he possibly deliver three years later? An uninviting 80-minute concept album about the meaning of "negus."
On this album, Kendrick explains that "negus" is an Ethiopian term for "king" or "ruler." Yet when its vowel sounds are switched around, it becomes a skin color-inflicting slang term as old as the birth of our nation. All the music for this album is influenced by funk, jazz, soul; most any genre purely based on African-American roots. The album cover depicts a crew of shirtless, all-black males of all ages celebrating in front of the White House with handfuls of cash. On "The Blacker the Berry" Kendrick claims, "Marcus Garvey got all the answers." This isn't some rapper nagging about Ameirca's undying issues with racism. It's about authority and it's personal. From Kendrick's experiences as a shy boy in poverty and as an internationally renowned star, "To Pimp a Butterfly" expresses his intense, remarkable take on the past, present and future of African-American culture. 10/10
-Scott E Hall
Scott studies stage management at USU. He likes hiking and food. Email: scottehall3@gmail.com
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