Keri Hilson – Knock You Down (ft. Kanye West and Ne-Yo) (2009)

One of the most legit tracks in weeks.

kWest does it again.

you may remember Hilson from Nas’s Hero.

Video:

-toastone

Boy In Static – Young San Francisco (2009)

Wow I’ve finally made it into the new year. This is Boy In Static a couple dudes from .. guess..: Alexander Chen and Kenji Ross. Music that can only be described as beautiful. They’ve just released the single Young San Francisco in anticipation of a new album in April.

Check it out at RCRD LBL:

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Boy_In_Static/music

While you’re there check out Where It Ends (Helios Mix)

There’s an animated video for one of their earlier songs which introduced me to them last year (tight):

http://www.bellyfull.tv/

Album art JFF (although I’m almost 100% sure there’s been no physical pressing of this single :P)

Leona Lewis – Run/Spirit (2008)

Alright so everybody knows about Leona Lewis. #1 albums what she got like 1 of them? (Jay why do you keep giving me hot lines) anyways. Most people left of the Atlantic haven’t heard her take on Snow Patrol’s Run. Now legitimately anybody can do Run and do it well (song’s just that good) but she still brings some flavour with the backup at key moments:

Run Video

So in case you heard a couple of her tracks and want to get her album Spirit. I say fuck that she’s got two tracks: Bleeding Love and Better In Time and if you know her you already have them. There’s a couple tracks that I kept off the album but they’re so-so: The Best You Never Had  and You Bring Me Down. Sony was like we’ll spend 500 g’s to get her a couple insane singles then let her fend for herself..

lol whatever 2 best industry produced tracks in a while

Album art jff:

 

Ludacris – Last of a Dying Breed (ft. Lil Wayne) (2008)

 

Tight track. 

Luda’s got like one or two amazing tracks each album.. rest is like ehn .. lol

There’s 2 versions I like the demo one better: 

"Ludacris Last of a Dying Breed ft. Lil Wayne (Album Version)"

"Ludacris Last of a Dying Breed ft. Lil Wayne (Demo)"

holla at dilandau for the tracks :D

Arkells – Jackson Square (2008)

Holy shit. I just re-listened to this album and I have to say it is phenomenal. It’s so surprising how good this band is considering they are getting no airplay on the radios. Review follows:

It’s hard to listen to Arkells without thinking about a beer commercial (Molson in particular), at first it sounds like pretty typical bar rock. It starts off with a couple working class anthems, culminating in the single Oh, The Boss is Coming! Totally catchy tunes. But its from the 4th song on that the album really starts to shine. The band’s not afraid to be creative and you really hear it in The Choir, dude kills it right at the end. They have this brash attitude in their songs that’s uniquely Canadian, it’s a brashness that’s not conceited and it’s totally charming.

You can hear influences from Danko Jones, Joel Plaskett Emergency, and Sloan making them almost stereotypical in their maple leaf waving sound but they break through that stereotype and make some of the best hard rock I’ve heard in a while.

Album edits: none, tight as is

Album art

Travis – Something Anything

 

So it’s the new year. And no I didn’t pos t the cliche end of the year list of music. That’ll come later, soon I promise :D. But to take us back to 2008 and to something I’m probably retarded to have missed: it is Travis (yes there’s something about that island which draws me implacably; it’s the land of Harry Potter what do you expect- incidentally I also differentiate British accents by whether they are of the Ron, Harry, Seamus, etc. variety). I probably just wasn’t expecting a new album so soon, I mean the band took 4 years between 12 Memories and The Boy With No Name.

I haven’t listened to the album yet (scrambling like a dog to get my hands on it.. *cough it’ll be ready in a couple minutes) but this song has probably the best use of a guitar solo in alternative (indie as they call it) rock and the video works it well

Here’s the vid

Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul

  

Oasis is probably my favourite band ever. Some people say Radiohead is/was a great catapult for young people into the world of rock and/or roll but for me it really started with Oasis. Sure I had heard other rock bands before, I had a huge thing with Korn when they were big (even when they fizzled out, but when Head left they broke my heart with utter garbage: See You On The Other Side and Untitled), I even listened to Radiohead for a while (great accompaniment to the Harry Potter books btw). But it was Oasis that really opened my eyes to the possibilities of.. the influences of post-punk?? lol

Anyways following oasis I got into travis, coldplay.. wait .. i mean the world got into travis and coldplay because of oasis.. but yeah i went down that vein too and just started exploring with newfound confidence in what alternative rock could offer

so the review for their new album Dig Out Your Soul…

I’d say for the most part, quite good. On par with anything really good I’ve heard in a while (I'm not going to be specific because how can you seriously compare Oasis to MGMT or Lola Ray). That being said.. my first 3-4 listens of this album I barely even noticed it was playing

After noticing this and wondering why this album sucked so hard I took to the review sites, to my surprise there were a few which really liked the album, calling it new and fresh and I was like “wtf no?” so I went back and listened to the songs which they marked as highlights and I was like “how’d I miss this, this is amazing”.

The problem was the long winded intros, which I can’t stand (my brain will filter out the music before it starts to play) and the decidedly midrange sound which the entire album is set in. My brain simply failed to get hooked into any of the songs

Let me say first 4 songs, if you let the intro play out completely.. boring as fuck, rest of the album becomes static.

For the songs Bag It Up, The Turning, Waiting For The Rapture, The Shock of Lightening (which critics are raving about.. but honestly sounds like Rock n’ Roll Star without the range). I started the song at 6.5, 7, 6, and 5 seconds respectively on my iTunes. I also changed their default EQ to dance to liven up the sound a bit.

Those songs first 4 are ok, quite listenable after the edits I made but the album really starts to pick up with Liam Gallagher’s I’m Out of Time. Absolutely tight power ballad. If the song is directed to his brother, as many suspect, it may just be one of the most heart wrenching songs I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. The song decidedly Lennon-esque, even incorporating a sample of Lennon’s voice at the end.

It’s followed by Falling Down which caps off the two song crescendo of the album. The song is very experimental for Oasis, and very well done. The rest is just smooth sailing, Soldier On is another notable track.

Overall rating: A- (after edits)

^^ yeah I was getting bored of writing the review so I cut it at that

* edit I just realized that the reason I'm Out of Time and Falling Down are my crescendo is because (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady was deleted from my library. High Horse didn't cut it for me.. see for yourself

anyways,

The video for I’m Outta Time:

album art jff:

-tony gallagher (yeah I’m ripping off weworemasks, this whole blog is)