Kid Cudi- Man on the Moon III: The Warrior

       I won't lie, I'm not that familiar with Cudi's discography. I didn't grow up listening to his stuff and the first time I have heared of him was after the release of Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven, which is probably the worst possible way to find out about Kid Cudi. Although maybe hearing him only at his worst made me enjoy this record more than I would have otherwise.

        The record starts out very strong with Tequila Shots, not the catchiest track on the project but an excellent tone-setter. Instrumentation has this mysterious and cosmic quality to it that is going to be a constant over most of the running time. This consistent vibe helps elivate some tracks that otherwise would sound like straight-up filler. There are a few of those, especially on the first leg of the album. I was expecting it though, it's really dificult to avoid those oon a record of this size. There's only one truly awful track on the record though. It's not great when majority of the listeners can unanimously point out the worst moment on an album and after reading a bunch of reviews and comments about MOTM III it's definitelly a case here. Elsie's Baby Boy fails in all fronts, as a key moment in the albums narrative, it sounds out of place stylistically and the House of the Rising Sun sample is simply afwul. Luckily that's all when it comes t negatives, there were quite a few tracks I found entertaining. The Void is a clear standout with an infectious refrain and its cinematic outro. Following Lovin' Me with Phoebe Bridgers is just as good, it brings a nice instrumental change, subtly snicking into some indie rock elements int the background. Also their vocals work suprisingly well together. The Pale Moonlight matches the quality of the previous cuts, really utilizing those classic Cudi hums to their full potential. The album finishes on a high note as well with Lord I Know.

         Despite a few boring spots and one awful track, Man on the Moon III is a very memorable listen with a consistant sound that feels quite cinematic. I might not love every single idea Cudi presents on this project but the highlights can be serious contenders for the best songs of the year.

RATING: 6.5/10

TRACK REVIEWS: King Gizzard, Y2K & bbno$, The Voidz

 Here are some of the single releases from last week that I decided not put in seperate reviews because I'm too lazy to write so much about a single song.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard- If Not Now, Then When?

I'm getting a little worried about the future of King Gizzard. Their recent album was decent but there were moments that make me wonder if the group is starting to run out of steam. This new single didn't help to shake off those worries. The only quality that makes this song stand out from most other KG tracks is the weird, high-pitched vocal which isn't exactly flattering. The track ends very abruptly, it's probably just a fragment of a longer composition. I just don't know why the band released as a single a piece of music that feels more like a transitional moment between some other more interesting cuts.

RATING: 5/10

Y2K, bbno$- Wawawa

I can't say I enjoy Wawawa as much as Lalala. It doesn't mean it's not entertaining, it just had some big shoes to fill. Bbno$'s performance is very solid, the beat is fun as well, it’s like an instrumental taken out of the latest Carly Rae Jepsen album. The biggest fault of the track is that it doesn't really goes anywhere, the beat stays the same and there's not really a major difference between the verses and the refrain. It's a 2 minute cut so it's not that big of an issue but the last time those two collaborated they managed to do much more in that period of time.

RATING: 7/10

The Voidz- Alien Crime Lord

I guess releasing a stellar Strokes album this year wasn't enough, Casablancas also found time to drop a song with The Voidz as well. I'm still not sure how to feel about it though, it's quite a rollercoaster.  It has a strong groove throughout, I enjoy a lot of the vocal melodies at the beginning of the track but around the midway point the song just drowns in all the layers of the distortion that are being thrown on top of each other. At the last minute everything starts too sound clean again and we get a pretty exciting guitar outro.

RATING: 6.5/10

The Avalanches- We Will Always Love You

      The new Avalanches project is more of a vibe then any of their previous albums. It’s a very atmospheric listen filled with vintage production, haunting recorded messages  from beyond the grave and an impressive number of guests that manage to perfectly fit into the world The Avalanches have created on this record.

     After hearing the singles I was a little worried that inviting so many collaborators onto the record would really hurt the unique sound of The Avalanches. Luckily, at least for the first half of the record, it still didn't feel like things have changed that much. We Will Always Love You, The Divine Chord and Interstellar Love all have stunning, lush instrumentation, production that sound a little lo-fi and extremally detailed at the same time. I don't think any current artist manages to achieve that vintage esthetic as successfully as The Avalanches. There's plenty of interludes between those songs but none feel like filler. The mood is so consistent throughout the record that each transitional moment can serve as an outro to a proceeding song as well as build up to the one that follows. Biggest highlights for me have to be Gold Sky (having Kurt Vile on this cut was a nice change of pace) and We Go On, it's colorful production gave me a slight Superoorganism vibe.  Sadly when we get deeper into the track list there are a few missteps. Most of the time guests play into the records esthetic but Jamie XX and Denzel Curry overtake the tracks they are featured on, making them feel out of place. Also, as catchy as Running Red Lights is, Rivers completely loses me on the outro, I fail to understand what "California life" has to do with anything the track is about. I really appreciate the incorporation of some lyrics from the Purple Mountains record into the song though, despite how unnecessary it seems to bring Karen O onto the album just so she can recite a few lines from a different song for 30 seconds. Especially after those same lyrics are brought up again, it's just the one interlude that could have been cut. Still, there's not many moments on the record I have any issues with. It's especially impressive considering it's over an hour long.

      Despite some weaker tracks on the second part of the album, We Will Always Love You is among the most consistent and unique releases of 2020. The Avalanches took a huge risk with this album and it definitely paid off.

RATING: 8/10

Foster The People- In The Darkest Of Nights, Let The Birds Sing

     I've found myself rooting for Foster The People throughout the majority of their career, despite not really caring about their work a lot of the time. I enjoy Pumped Up Kicks but I can't say that Torches aged that well, listening to it now, it really embodies majority of the annoying trends of millennial pop, it's kind of a time capsule in that way, sadly not one I wish to open any time soon. Their second album flopped, they briefly managed to reach the Bilboard 100 again with Sit Next To Me but never came anywhere close to the success of their early work. With their  new EP  the group works towards reinventing their sound and test new waters instead of trying to score another hit, which, considering the results, is a very correct direction.

        Opening Walk With A Big Stick isn't the strongest moment on the EP, it really begs for a stickier melody but makes up for it with its funky instrumentation and detailed production. It only gets better from here though. Cadillac starts out with a groovy bass-line and claps but as the track progresses we get some strings and group vocals that give me some LCD Soundsystem vibes. Lamb's Wool is probably the strongest cut on the record, the refrain is quite beautiful, there's a lovely piano melody and synth passage during the bridge. Marks vocals have improved noticeably since Torches, which is especially clear on this song, they are still eccentric but never cross a line and become annoying which happens quite a bit on the debut. The Things We Do is hands down the strangest cut on the EP, verses and refrain seem to have nothing to do with each other compositionally and the  vocal is very autotune heavy, especially towards the end. It's weird, maybe it's not good necessarly but definitely entertaining. Final track on the record, Your Heart Is My Home manages to be a pretty impactful closer, despite how short the project is. With each minute the song gets more and more stunning, with its synth instrumentation and a lovely keyboard outro.

      This EP is clearly a transition moment for Foster The People and with the material they delivered here I am really curious when the group will progress. It isn’t perfect but definitely shows a lot of promise.

RATING: 7/10

LCD Soundsystem- Christmas Will Break Your Heart

           

I know I’ve been writing about nothing but Christmas songs lately but I promise it I’ll stop after this one (unless I change my mind at some point). Christmas Will Break Your Heart is one of my favorite tracks for this time of year, despite how mostly depressive it is. 

       I’m extremely thankful LCD Soundsystem had decided to reunite to record this little gem. I know a lot of people might not have been too happy with the group at the time and during following years. James Murphy decided to end the band in 2010 he made that whole process very grand and dramatic- there was a documentary made about the group and a 4-hour goodbye concert at Madison Square Garden that ends with sounds of people crying. So when he brought LCD back just few years later to release a Christmas song and an album shortly after that, people weren’t too thrilled. Nonetheless, the song in question is actually quite stunning. Occasionally Murphy would write those heartbreaking piano ballads that sticks out like a sore thumb among all the 8-minute dance-punk numbers but each time is a highlight. Christmas Will Break Your Heart is probably the most emotional and, well, heartbreaking track James has recorded since New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down. Murphy’s performance is immaculate, he perfectly sells the vulnerability during the first leg of the track as well as the grand, loud finish. It sounds almost like a musical number with how theatrical the vocals are. The instrumentation is perfectly assembled, I love how the instrumentation builds up as the song goes on and how satisfying the pay-off is. I also really vibe with this track lyrically, anyone who acknowledges how depressive this time of year can be gets points from me. We need more Christmas music full of feelings of anxiety and dread. It has a pretty hopeful ending though, I don’t want to oversell it simply as a gloomy listen.

      I know I’m probably biased when it comes to this song because of my love towards LCD Soundsystem but I found Christmas Will Break Your Heart absolutely irresistible. It’s a daily listen for me every December. 

Twenty one pilots- Christmas Saves The Year

   We have actually gotten quite a few great new christmas songs this season, so I guess we had to get at least a few duds as well. I wouldn't expect twenty one pilots to drop one of the them though, escpecially after how strong their recent material has been.

I don't think this track is terrible by any means but I was expecting a bit more from the duo, especially because this type of synthy sweet pop is right in their wheelhouse. The instrumental is fine, it's mixed soft and clean, fits in nicely with Tyler's vocals. Lyrics are serviceable, they fade into the background pretty quickly after you realize all they're saying is "everybody wants to go home for christmas". It's just not a very creative approach to the topic. The biggest issue with the song is that the refrain wasn't strong enough to be satysfying, I kept thinking that the track is just building up to something, we are going to get a grand outro full of loud synths, maybe more vocal layers but it just never ended up happening. There were few moments that seemed to be hinting at that but then it just returned to it's verse-refrain-verse structure. What was bothering me the entire time is that melody during the refrain, especially certain parts of it, is ripped of from somewhere else. After few more listens I got it- Foreign Girls by Bleachers. I wouldn't call it a rip-off but it's pretty similar and trying to remember where I have heard those notes was driving me mad.

Honestly the song is so uneventful I don't even know why I'm writing about this. It's not awful, just very standard by twenty one pilots standards. I'm sure their fans are loving it, I just don't think anyone else would want to return to it in the coming years.

RATING: 5.5/10

Coldplay- Christmas Lights

         I’ve covered a few new Christmas songs lately, so I might as well write about a few of mypersonal all-time favorite ones as well. One of them hands down has to be Coldplay’s Christmas Lights.

         I’m glad Coldplay decided to release their holiday cut at the time when their music was still good. All their material this decade has been pretty mediocre, Everyday Life being the only exception. Christmas Lights feels more like an extinction of their Viva La Vida era, both in style and the esthetic of the music video, which by the way is nearly as atmospheric and impressive as the song itself. The band isn’t really  breaking any new grounds here- it’s lead by a beautiful piano melody, the verses are a little understated in order to make room for a catchy, grand refrain you just want to sing along to. Chris Martin delivers a very emotional performance, his vocal are on point as usual. The track follows a typical formula for Coldplay, only this time it’s in a Christmas setting and every element works perfectly, like it did on best moments from Viva La Vida. Despite all the criticism Coldplay usually receives you can’t argue that even if the song is bad, they know how to create a vibe (Ghost Stories being a perfect example of that). So it’s no surprise that they Christmas song is overflowing with holiday spirit without even having to rely too rely that much on instrumentation usually associated with that kind of music.

       I’m very thankful for that track and for the fact that it was released during Coldplay’s creative peak. Despite their latest record being a slight improvement from their previous projects I don’t think the band would be able to create a track like this at this point.  It’s a perfect listen for a cold, winter evening and I find myself going back to it every December.