Reviews by mikey_nc

The energy and sharpness of this album are cool, but the sound is pretty thin, the production is blah, and the vocals range from nonstandard to flat-out bad. It’s definitely a unique spin on punk, so I can appreciate it but I’m not a big fan of it.

Best song: Slideshow at Free University

This is relatively innovative, smooth, and cleanly produced. All that said, there is something I find profoundly lame about this album that I can’t dismiss. Most of it sounds like the music that would play when the henchmen appear in a bad 90s movie.

Best song: We Have All the Time in the World?

Shimmery, emotive, yearning soul music, like someone threw Aaliyah and Beach House in a blender. Great atmosphere and vocals. I’m into it.

Best song: Normal Girl

Exceptionally average 70s rock. Consistent, if unexciting.

Best song: Bad Company, by Bad Company, on Bad Company

Woo, Yeezus. One of the most challenging albums I’ve heard (and actually enjoyed). It doesn’t help matters that Kanye West himself has become a more challenging guy to appreciate than ever, but I’m going to set that aside for now and just focus on Yeezus in its own context, at least as much as I’m able to.

From the start, Yeezus is disorienting and confrontational. That’s not to say it’s some completely uncommercial experimental album, but it’s also not designed to be a friendly listen. If 808s and Heartbreak was expanding who Kanye West could be and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was a celebration of his accomplishments, then Yeezus is a furious assault on his past work, his fanbase, and even himself. Try to ignore the comically excessive bragging and boasting on “I Am a God” and “New Slaves” and just listen. Does this sound like a guy who’s having a good time? Beneath the uber-horny hyper-masculine bluster, Yeezus contains a barrage of negative emotions: anger, paranoia, and resentment abound. It’s the most aggressively misogynistic album Kanye ever made (which is saying something) and the lyrics tend towards vulgarity more than any coherent theme, but honestly, that matches what’s going on here sonically. This is the psyche of a man enraged by the world he lives in, one where he’s shattered every barrier to success and still feels like a second-class citizen in his own country, without a single real friend or even a real peer. (Note the crushing loneliness of “I Am a God”—he’s so arrogant that it’s made him despondent.) Pretty much all he’s got left to say now is some variation of “fuck all y’all.”

The music itself is in a continual feedback loop with the troubled emotional state of the songs, and it sounds like nothing Kanye had done before. It’s full of chopped-up electronic noise, grinding synths and guitars, eerily empty spaces, screams and roars shoved through AutoTune. By the time we finally reach some familiar territory in the chipmunk soul of “Bound 2,” the song almost feels like a cruel mockery of his old work, a final goodbye to the awkward guy in the pink polo that he started out as. Now we’re left with this snarling megalomaniac, lost in his own myth, endlessly chasing highs at the cost of his own family, and apparently in love with Hitler. You listen to this album and it really shouldn’t be a shock that Kanye turned into what he is, he’s always been almost *too* honest about himself—after all, his masterpiece, Runaway, is a self-pitying confession about what a bad person he is… but I digress.

One thing I want to highlight is the way Kanye sometimes breaks the hostile environment with sudden and emotive interludes: see the children’s choir in “On Sight,” the arena-rock finale of “New Slaves,” or the gospel bridge of “Bound 2.” It’s hard for me to identify why these sections work so well for me, even though they’re usually completely out of step with the songs they’re included in. A reprieve from the harsh sound font of the album? A reminder that there’s still some light among the darkness? I just like the melodies? Maybe all of the above, but whatever the reason is, they’re among the album’s most memorable moments. Many of these songs live on contrasts, the switch between soft and sharp, and the execution of that idea is pretty great.

I don’t love Yeezus. It would take someone made of tougher stuff than me to love an album with this many jagged edges, that goes out of its way to spit in your face so often. But I do admire it, because in a musical world increasingly defined by the monotony that the streaming economy rewards, Yeezus sticks out as a legitimately bold move. I can’t think of an artist today with the sort of stature that Kanye had in 2013 who would release something this intense and unusual. It isn’t my favorite Kanye album, but it probably represents his peak as an artist who commanded real respect and attention. Now he commands none of either, and that just makes Yeezus even more of a feel-bad album than it already was. Would be a shame if he didn’t deserve it.

Best song: Blood on the Leaves

Strange, creative, whispery, soothing yet eerie. Indie Disney is the best way I can describe the sound. This is not really my thing but definitely worth hearing.

Best song: Endlessly

Parts of this are charming and I do like some of the beats, but so much of it is corny and inane that I can’t say I enjoyed it all that much. Also these guys seriously needed editors—did Doowutchyalike really have to be 9 minutes long?

Best song: Underwater Rimes

My favorite Springsteen album. I think Springsteen is a good (if repetitive) singer-songwriter who has trouble balancing that with his bombastic showman persona, but he strikes the balance as well as he ever does here. The performances are strong, the arrangements clean, and Bruce’s gravelly roar of a voice is at its most effective. Most critically, lots of great songs.

Best song: Adam Raised a Cain

An all-time favorite. One of the tightest albums I’ve ever heard in terms of both production and performance; so smooth, crisp, and clean. It’s not perfect—I can take or leave Faust Arp and even Videotape—but to me this is Radiohead near the top of their game, fusing the mope-rock of their 90s with the electronic experiments of their 2000s to excellent effect.

Best song: Jigsaw Falling Into Place

The pop/rock songs are mostly very good and the blues/R&B songs are mostly very mediocre, so kind of a mixed bag. Definitely the beginnings of something good, though. Keith Moon’s drumming is so insane.

Best song: My Generation

Slow, sorrowful, grim, and soulful. Great songwriting, pretty solid production, and of course it has the big hit. Worth more listens.

Best song: Nothing Compares 2 U

I wouldn’t listen to this again but I will give it some credit for its originality. Doesn’t save it from being kind of a snore unfortunately.

Best song: Ok

Great flow and vibe to this album. Strong musicianship, love the jazzy touches. Took a little extra time with it to really get a handle on it, but once I did I really enjoyed it.

Best song: The World is a Ghetto

Woohoo it’s Elvis. He is kinda old and kinda lame already, but it’s still Elvis. Extremely schmaltzy, but a couple great songs.

Best song: Gentle On My Mind

That’s definitely fascinating but too weird for me to enjoy it very much. Brian Eno has a lot of interesting ideas, but he is not a good singer and only a couple of these songs really grab me. Still, I come away curious to hear his other albums.

Best song: On Some Faraway Beach

A wild, creative, and mildly disorienting mix of dance(?) music. The whole concept doesn’t totally click with me, and neither do some of the songs, but there are some great moments here.

Best song: Frontier Psychologist

Cool and smoky with high-quality production and some strong melodies. Quite unorthodox but in a welcome way. I’m no Scott Walker fan, but I can hear and even appreciate his influence on this album.

Best song: Standing Next to Me

Really gritty and electric album, great energy. Waters’ voice grounds the music, which already has a great balance between edge and old-school blues fundamentals. Quite enjoyed it.

Best song: I Can’t Be Satisfied

Some great grooves here, but pretty scattered and lacking in melody for my taste. Not necessarily what I’d be looking for out of this band, either.

Best song: Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On

Sharp, dark, bluesy. Drags a bit in the middle but there’s some really strong stuff here.

Best song: Roadhouse Blues