Author: nolankane706

Posted in Album of the Month

June Album Of The Month: Jamie XX – In Colour

Posted on by nolankane706

Jamie XX is on our radar, good or bad he has been shouting like a child down a hole for a good part of 7 years through his re-edits, remixes, his band the XX, and his own productions. Unbeknown to many music fans he has slammed a solid foot into music trends and sounds since he appeared in his late teens.

His ‘All Under One Roof Raving’ was arguably the anthem of last summer and left us drooling at the mouth for more. Almost a year later he has returned with his first full solo effort.

Thus far on this blog as well as with others outside of this realm there has been split debate over the early releases from this album. Some liked ‘Oh My Gosh’ but not ‘Loud Places’ and vice versa. So what was the album going to be like, and would we like it?

I may be following the pack on this and going against the feelings of others, but I really like this album. It’s got a bit of everything, a little pop, a little club, some chilled tracks, and a great flow for an album.

My main worry with this album was that it would become a bit same-ish after a couple tracks as did the last XX album, but Jamie XX kept me on my toes throughout the 11 track offering.

I find myself moving day to day on what are my stand out tracks. The fore-mentioned ‘Loud Places’ and ‘Oh My Gosh’ are big tracks. “Sleep Sound’ and ‘See Saw’ are great for driving…. actually I’m going to leave it there so you can get your head around them all for yourselves.

Happy June brothers, hopefully this album brings a little sunshine in what has been thus far a dreary summer!!

Posted in Album of the Month

March Album Of the Month: Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly

Posted on by nolankane706

A bit late on our March album brothers, but I do think it’s worth the wait. 

Brother David and I were having a chat last weekend about Kendrick Lamar’s last album. I can’t remember the exact words but in short we both agreed that we were big fans, but it did take a while to get what he was about and what he was doing with his music. If album 1 was a slight climb to get to it, this is a steep hill. 
 
When I approached ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ I was ready for something different, but what I was presented with was a curve ball. It would have been very easy for Kendrick to continue on from where he had last left us and what he has shown between albums with guest appearances; amazing lyrics and one of the most versatile flows in current hip hop. Big beats and solid lyrics, job done. To be honest I would have been more than happy with that, in-fact that’s what I wanted from this album. Sadly for me this isn’t the case… luckily for me it’s much better. 
 
I will give you a couple pieces of advice. Firstly, listen to this album end to end. I found it a bit hard but it’s worth it. When you listen to it end to end, do it again… and for me much fell into place. 
 
I think many artists have tried with mix reviews doing an album with a jazz foundation. Kendrick enlisted the likes of Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and Thundercat who had input on the majority of the tracks. Now I’m not big on jazz but I even know who those guys are. 
This album is an adventure and lets you in the mind of King Kendrick. This is a guy with allot to say, and I think has put it across in a way that has made me think more than a few times when listening through. There are allot of political thoughts, thoughts on society, and thoughts on his day to day. Hip hop, soul, jazz, punk, metal, etc. What ever genre you’re in it’s tough to put accross an album with impact…and he has. Is there a message to this album? Yup, arguably a few. 
 
The first single “I” was great, and the album version still is. The second single “The Blacker the Berry” hits pretty heavy but within the album ads allot of context and lets the penni drop in many ways for what he’s done with the entire effort. Pitchfork compared his albums to how Spike Lee does films. It’s a pretty spot on analogy. This album is full!
Hats off,  two weeks in “TO Pimp a Butterfly’ is still giving me more and more. I think this has potential to be an all time classic. 
I digress, brothers I look forward to your thoughts and hope you enjoy this as much as me.