Foreign Exchange – Connected
Random Records Score 8/10
Here’s the back story if you don’t already know: A rapper named Phonte, part of the excellent group Little Brother, heard some beats he liked on the internet and contacted the creator, Dutch producer Nicolay. These two exchanged beats and rhymes via email and the end result is Connected. So how do two people who never met face to face release an album that sounds like the two only had a piece of studio glass, not an ocean, between them? Your guess is as good as mine, but they did, and did it well. Connected is full of the kind of laid-back soulful hip-hop that doesn’t sell many records, and therefore is rarely heard. Phonte proves that he’s able to venture out of the Little Brother camp and still have success. His rhymes fit perfectly with Nicolay’s beats and the outcome is an album that is a breezy delight and was one of the best to come out of the underground last year. If you’re a fan of Digable Planets, any of Guru’s Jazzmatazz albums, or ATCQ’s Low End Theory, then you’ll want to check this album out. And if you’re a Little Brother fan who just can’t wait for The Minstrel Show to drop this summer, I’d suggest picking up Big Pooh’s Sleepers to tide you over (check for that review next week).
Fav Tracks – Hustle Hustle, Let’s Move, Nic’s Groove, Happiness
Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
Random Records Score 8.5/10
I’ll start off by saying that I’m probably the only person in the world who thinks Digital Ash is a better record than I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. For god’s sake Mojo gave this album a 1 out of 5. I’m really liking this album this time around and that’s probably why my score is a little higher than it may have been in the past. I will say that Bright Eyes (aka Conor Oberst) came close to becoming another victim of hype with all those Dylan comparisons and the articles in just about every magazine in the US. He was overexposed, but it helped him sell some records and grow his fan base so you really can’t get too worked up over it. Okay, so this album is the more “experimental” of the two releases, which basically means less folky and probably why I enjoyed it more than Wide Awake. After listening to Xiu Xiu yesterday, I wouldn’t consider anything about this album experimental; expect that Conor is branching off into new he territory for him. The album doesn’t really have any bad songs and almost feels a bit short after you’re finished with it. All in all, I think this is a fine release, one that makes me want to listen to Wide Awake again for comparison (I’ll save that for next week). If you’re a diehard Bright Eyes fan you probably think I’m an idiot, but I’ve been called plenty worse before.
Fav Tracks – Arc of Time, Hit the Switch, Devil in the Details, Light Pollution
Dungen – Ta Det Lungt
Random Records Score 9/10
Okay so when is the last time you heard an album where you didn’t understand any of the words but the music was so cool and compelling that it just didn’t matter? For me it would have to be Sigur Ros’s ( ) or maybe Bone Thugs & Harmony’s E. 1999 Eternal (that was a joke…well not really). Anyways, this whole album is in Swedish save for some great instrumental tracks, which will probably scare a lot of people off, but if that’s the case they are missing out on one hell of an album. I guess this is the third release from Swedish wunderkind Gustav Ejstes; yes only one guy made this whole album, another amazing feat. I haven’t heard Dungen’s two previous albums, but I’ll be on the lookout for them in the future. I’m not sure how to describe this album, it almost sounds like something that was made in the 70’s…in Sweden of course, and then put in a time capsule and unearthed last year. I guess the critics are calling it psychedelic-rock, but whatever it is I like it. If you have trouble sitting through subtitled movies or like to dissect lyrics, you might want to sit this one out. For the rest of you, just press play and enjoy.
Fav Tracks – Panda, Festival, Ta Det Lungt, Sluta Folja Efter
Daft Punk – Human After All
Random Records Score 4.5/10
Human After All is more of the same from Daft Punk: lots of repetition, a few good tracks here and there, and not much else. This is Daft Punk’s first studio album since 2001’s Discovery, which spawned the dance floor anthem "One More Time". You would think with 4 years to work with they could have come up with some more catchy tracks. It’s really a shame when songs with cool titles like "Robot Rock" and "The Brainwasher" come up short, way to waste good song titles. So if you’re a big Daft Punk fan I’d say check it out, but if you’re expecting to find another song like "One More Time" you may to wait another 4 years.
Fav Tracks – Human After All, Make Love
Mos Def – Black On Both Sides
Random Records Score 10/10
Let me start off by saying that Black on Both Sides was my favorite rap album of 1999, just beating out The Root’s Things Fall Apart and Dre’s 2001, both classics in my mind. So the perfect score should not come as a surprise. I should also mention that Mos’s sophomore album, last year’s The New Danger, was probably the most disappointing album of 2004. Black on Both Sides was a revelation for many music fans, however true hip-hop heads had been highly anticipating this solo outing ever since hearing Mos guest on De La Soul’s “Big Brother Beat” from their Stakes is High LP. Also, I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the stellar Blackstar album that paired Mos with like-minded rapper Talib Kweli (who also ended his streak of quality albums in 2004 with The Beautiful Struggle). So it’s not like Mos came out of nowhere with this album, but I don’t think anyone expected all 17 tracks to be so diverse, political, and otherwise fantastic. Woody Allen, bottled water drinkers, Limp Bizkit, the minimum wage rate, the Rolling Stones, and many others feel the wrath of Mos’s rhymes throughout the album, but all of his points on the above topics are interesting and in most cases valid. He sings, he raps, he throws in a great instrumental track, he basically does it all on this album. Overall this is a great album that makes you hope his next solo records feature just Mos Def and none of that Black Jack Johnson crap that ruined The New Danger.
Fav Tracks – Hip Hop, Ms. Fat Booty, Umi Says, New World Water, Mr. N*gga, Mathematics
Doves – Some Cities
Random Records Score 7.5/10
I really wished I had gone back and listed to Lost Souls or The Last Broadcast before listening to this one. I know that I liked both of those records, but it’s been a while and I feel like a Doves refresher might have helped me out. Either way I enjoyed this album more than I did the first time through, which is probably because it’s Friday afternoon and I’m focusing more on the music than work. Over 11 tracks the Doves bring more of the same Manchester rock that they are know for. Only a handful of the songs jumped out at me from this album but it was never boring and a good listen for a Friday afternoon (I can’t wait to get out of my cube). So that’s it, I’ll keep it short because I’m ready for the weekend. To summarize, if you’re a Doves fan you’ll probably enjoy hearing from them again, and if you’ve never heard of the Doves, this is a good starting point, but you’ll definitely want to check out their previous two albums also.
Fav Tracks – Black & White Town, Walk in Fire, Sky Stars Falling
That's it for this week. Hopefully, some more people will find this blog next week. Enjoy your weekend,
King
