On our podcast I mentioned I'll be doing a '10 Best Albums of 2012'. Considering I didn't get to listen to all the albums I wanted to from 2012, I figured I'll just do 5 fun ones. These are 5 albums that were top rated of the year, or not. That being said, whether they were top rated, or not, it doesn't mean they were bad, or not fun. None of these are listed in any order as most or least favorite. Here are 5 fun albums. I like fun.
Com Truise - In Decay
One of the more fun albums of the year comes from synth-obsessive Com Truise. Though he's an artist knocked for his sound and sometimes being compared to Ford & Lopatin, he has many clever aspects that go with his sound. Ever since his release of Galactic Melt, he has shown that he is very in touch with his sound. Songs like "Klymaxx" and "Colorvision" show melodies with emotional attachment to 80s synth, while "Controlpop" does the same, but shows true artistic originality. The use of bass in this song alone is enough for him to gain his "bragging rights". Some parts of the album fall flat, the opening dragged a bit, but picked up at "Dreambender". Altogether, very enjoyable, lot's of fun. 7.5 out of 10
One of the more fun albums of the year comes from synth-obsessive Com Truise. Though he's an artist knocked for his sound and sometimes being compared to Ford & Lopatin, he has many clever aspects that go with his sound. Ever since his release of Galactic Melt, he has shown that he is very in touch with his sound. Songs like "Klymaxx" and "Colorvision" show melodies with emotional attachment to 80s synth, while "Controlpop" does the same, but shows true artistic originality. The use of bass in this song alone is enough for him to gain his "bragging rights". Some parts of the album fall flat, the opening dragged a bit, but picked up at "Dreambender". Altogether, very enjoyable, lot's of fun. 7.5 out of 10
Pig Destroyer - Book Burner
Blast beats will never go out of style!! Once again, we have a brutal, crushing, punch a mother in the baby-maker release by Pig Destroyer. With 19 songs, all with an average duration of 1:30, I literally listened to the entire album on my way to work. Not literally, but pretty close. Opening with "Sis" and "The American's Head", these heavy metal hard hitters show no hesitation to peel your face off and use it as a mask for their sawed-off shotgun to mutilate your family, figuratively speaking. Lots of fast changes and Southern influenced guitar riffs fill the first half of this album, especially in "The Diplomat". Then we get to "Baltimore Strangler", and this song just rocks, still with a lot of tempo jumps from part to part, but feels more like a slow build up. Then it gets right back into the metal grind with "White Lady" continuing the consistent inconsistency. Only a few moments I lost interest altogether, maybe a total of 30 seconds, nit-picked from various transitions, and some of the sound clips in between songs were kind of lame. Altogether, extremely fun album. 9.0 out of 10
Blast beats will never go out of style!! Once again, we have a brutal, crushing, punch a mother in the baby-maker release by Pig Destroyer. With 19 songs, all with an average duration of 1:30, I literally listened to the entire album on my way to work. Not literally, but pretty close. Opening with "Sis" and "The American's Head", these heavy metal hard hitters show no hesitation to peel your face off and use it as a mask for their sawed-off shotgun to mutilate your family, figuratively speaking. Lots of fast changes and Southern influenced guitar riffs fill the first half of this album, especially in "The Diplomat". Then we get to "Baltimore Strangler", and this song just rocks, still with a lot of tempo jumps from part to part, but feels more like a slow build up. Then it gets right back into the metal grind with "White Lady" continuing the consistent inconsistency. Only a few moments I lost interest altogether, maybe a total of 30 seconds, nit-picked from various transitions, and some of the sound clips in between songs were kind of lame. Altogether, extremely fun album. 9.0 out of 10
Lil B - God's Father
Thank you Based God!! I would talk about all of his 17 mixtapes from 2012 but life is pretty damn short, plus this one was just great. I'm going to be honest here, this mixtape is pretty hard to explain, due to his antics being less explained as much as just understanding, which doesn't happen immediately with him (I know I didn't get him at first). I would almost make the analogy that Lil B is to Rap as Neil Hamburger is to Comedy if that helps in this review. Anyway, the album opens with a particularly serious track from Lil B. He does a 2-minute freestyle on his life struggle on his opener "The BasedGod Layers", and strangely, it's inspiring. Then he adds his disclaimer, which is pretty funny.. but it really defines him. So in a way, it can be taken seriously (if that makes any sense). I.e. "Ahh so you finally met Lil B, huh? How was it? It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. Come outside! The BasedGod is here! Yes! This is amazing. Look at his face, he's so happy." Then brings it right into "I Own Swag". This song is what Lil B is all about. I feel like this song is Lil B being cocky not in his words, but on how well he can parody. It's just the mixture of the badass, full beat and how "in your face" he portrays himself. "Fuck ya Money" samples Tears for Fears so that's enough for me to love it immediately, though I think it might be a sample of a cover of a Tears for Fears song, but I still love it, ya feel meeee? "Febuarys Confessions" brings it all back to Lil B's more real side. This song really makes you feel for him, adding beautiful piano melodies mixed with simple Hip Hop drums behind it. Funniest opening to a song on the album has to be on "I'm Just Livin". Even if you don't listen to the album, the opening sketch to this song is hilarious. Other notable tracks include "Breath Slow", "God's Father", "Bitch I'm Bussin", and "Sf Mission Music". Only downfall I see is some mastering flaws here and there from the beats. Overall, extremely fun album 9.0 out of 10.
Thank you Based God!! I would talk about all of his 17 mixtapes from 2012 but life is pretty damn short, plus this one was just great. I'm going to be honest here, this mixtape is pretty hard to explain, due to his antics being less explained as much as just understanding, which doesn't happen immediately with him (I know I didn't get him at first). I would almost make the analogy that Lil B is to Rap as Neil Hamburger is to Comedy if that helps in this review. Anyway, the album opens with a particularly serious track from Lil B. He does a 2-minute freestyle on his life struggle on his opener "The BasedGod Layers", and strangely, it's inspiring. Then he adds his disclaimer, which is pretty funny.. but it really defines him. So in a way, it can be taken seriously (if that makes any sense). I.e. "Ahh so you finally met Lil B, huh? How was it? It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. Come outside! The BasedGod is here! Yes! This is amazing. Look at his face, he's so happy." Then brings it right into "I Own Swag". This song is what Lil B is all about. I feel like this song is Lil B being cocky not in his words, but on how well he can parody. It's just the mixture of the badass, full beat and how "in your face" he portrays himself. "Fuck ya Money" samples Tears for Fears so that's enough for me to love it immediately, though I think it might be a sample of a cover of a Tears for Fears song, but I still love it, ya feel meeee? "Febuarys Confessions" brings it all back to Lil B's more real side. This song really makes you feel for him, adding beautiful piano melodies mixed with simple Hip Hop drums behind it. Funniest opening to a song on the album has to be on "I'm Just Livin". Even if you don't listen to the album, the opening sketch to this song is hilarious. Other notable tracks include "Breath Slow", "God's Father", "Bitch I'm Bussin", and "Sf Mission Music". Only downfall I see is some mastering flaws here and there from the beats. Overall, extremely fun album 9.0 out of 10.
Azealia Banks - 1991
Hey! It's the self-proclaimed licorice bitch!! Though this is only an EP, I will still count it as an album. This has been a real blindside of fresh for the Rap industry, especially for how popular this girl is getting and for some of the more vulgar Rap that's out there. Sure we have Nicki Minaj, who I'm not bad mouthing (personally I think she's great), but Azealia really brings this dirty dance/pop/rap sound to another level. Bringing in dance beats from Machinedrum and Lone, she separates the girls from the ladies, well, the super potty mouth ladies in this genre (I might want to add this goes for men as well). First of all, these beats that she uses are not the most acquired taste by the general public. Let's just say they aren't as mainstream as our Skrillex, Tiesto, or the almighty Deadmau5 (or however it's spelled). Second, her use of language is, well, less than clean. But together, these two elements really bring out the sexual tension/exploitative not only in the singer, but also in the producer behind the music we hear. On top of that statement, 2 of the tracks on this are instrumental tracks coming from Machinedrum's SXLND EP (which I'm assuming translates as "sex land"). I don't have any beef with this EP, except for the sketch at the end of "212". I don't mind sketches usually, but in this case I feel like this one takes the feeling from the EP. Super fun!! 8.5 out of 10
Hey! It's the self-proclaimed licorice bitch!! Though this is only an EP, I will still count it as an album. This has been a real blindside of fresh for the Rap industry, especially for how popular this girl is getting and for some of the more vulgar Rap that's out there. Sure we have Nicki Minaj, who I'm not bad mouthing (personally I think she's great), but Azealia really brings this dirty dance/pop/rap sound to another level. Bringing in dance beats from Machinedrum and Lone, she separates the girls from the ladies, well, the super potty mouth ladies in this genre (I might want to add this goes for men as well). First of all, these beats that she uses are not the most acquired taste by the general public. Let's just say they aren't as mainstream as our Skrillex, Tiesto, or the almighty Deadmau5 (or however it's spelled). Second, her use of language is, well, less than clean. But together, these two elements really bring out the sexual tension/exploitative not only in the singer, but also in the producer behind the music we hear. On top of that statement, 2 of the tracks on this are instrumental tracks coming from Machinedrum's SXLND EP (which I'm assuming translates as "sex land"). I don't have any beef with this EP, except for the sketch at the end of "212". I don't mind sketches usually, but in this case I feel like this one takes the feeling from the EP. Super fun!! 8.5 out of 10
Lone - Galaxy Garden
Every time I listen to this producer, I can't help but have a smile on my face. Being his latest release, Lone has come such a long way from his earliest album release Lemurian. Even from his 2nd major release Ecstacy and Friends, he's become much more upbeat, melodic, and in a way, happy. Galaxy Garden shows all of this. It's chock full of happy melodies and fun little production tricks, which makes it a really fun album. There's no time wasted for him to let us explore these abstract synths and keys. All of them are well surrounded by electro and dance sounds that take us back, even to the 90s. With all of this going on, he is still able to bring some freshness to the table in multiple tracks. "Dream Girl / Sky Surfer" does a really cool variation on the side-chain mechanism, also known as the 'pump up trick', if you will. The best way to describe how this is used is a very slow pump mixed with a fast hard-hitting break, making it truly unique. The song has a bit of a slowdown but maintains a decent, yet, enjoyable drive. "Cthulu", well, really the only thing I could think of saying is, "holy sound engineering Batman!". Really though, there's so much packed into this piece, it literally blows my mind.. okay not literally. But honestly, there's so much going in this song, I can't even fathom the work that has been put into it to make it sound as crisp and as clean as it does. To top off the album, it ends with "Spirals". It's the most low-key song of the album, combining the richness of what the album offers with a down-tempo ambient sound. Anneka's beautiful verses and background cut-ups are the icing on the cake, making it a truly a great ending. An extremely fun album making it a 9.5 out of 10.
Written by: Charles McHale
Every time I listen to this producer, I can't help but have a smile on my face. Being his latest release, Lone has come such a long way from his earliest album release Lemurian. Even from his 2nd major release Ecstacy and Friends, he's become much more upbeat, melodic, and in a way, happy. Galaxy Garden shows all of this. It's chock full of happy melodies and fun little production tricks, which makes it a really fun album. There's no time wasted for him to let us explore these abstract synths and keys. All of them are well surrounded by electro and dance sounds that take us back, even to the 90s. With all of this going on, he is still able to bring some freshness to the table in multiple tracks. "Dream Girl / Sky Surfer" does a really cool variation on the side-chain mechanism, also known as the 'pump up trick', if you will. The best way to describe how this is used is a very slow pump mixed with a fast hard-hitting break, making it truly unique. The song has a bit of a slowdown but maintains a decent, yet, enjoyable drive. "Cthulu", well, really the only thing I could think of saying is, "holy sound engineering Batman!". Really though, there's so much packed into this piece, it literally blows my mind.. okay not literally. But honestly, there's so much going in this song, I can't even fathom the work that has been put into it to make it sound as crisp and as clean as it does. To top off the album, it ends with "Spirals". It's the most low-key song of the album, combining the richness of what the album offers with a down-tempo ambient sound. Anneka's beautiful verses and background cut-ups are the icing on the cake, making it a truly a great ending. An extremely fun album making it a 9.5 out of 10.
Written by: Charles McHale
