My get up on Friday was quite unusual for some of my co-workers, I think. Hair combed for business, Kendrick Lamar Good Kid shirt, jeans, and loafers. I’m at my most comfortable. Only thing missing was a post-5 o’clock beverage.
One of the top brass at worked asked what my shirt was about. “Kendrick Lamar, he’s a rapper.” They replied with a simple “huh” and looked a little puzzled. I mentioned I had a wide ranging taste pallet.
Perhaps they should add my playlist to their Apple library?
https://embed.music.apple.com/us/playlist/a-a-march-mixtape-1/pl.u-qKGXs2xzPE6
There’s a great mix of new releases coming from both the top of the charts and the relatively unknown.
2 Chainz’s Rap or Go to the League leads the pack for strongest overall album so far. Tracks 1 through 11 run smoothly. Unstoppable. “Money in The Way” nails a rap/pop structure perfectly riding on Epp’s hook line, bombastic horns, and timed repetition under 3 minutes.
The feature list is an embarrassment of riches tapping Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Lil Wayne, Mike Dean and Pharrell on the boards, and Lebron James executively producing, explaining his lack of defense recently.
Reworking an old song on “2 Dollar Bill” ensnares better than the original. The E40 filter throughout the tracks keeps me drawn in with beats you could play on a loop all night.
I’ve already filed this one away for consideration towards the end of the year list. Hopefully YBN Cordae shows up on that list too.
Some have named him a bridge between generations within hip-hop, and I’ll buy stock in that. I’m in my late twenties, whatever that means, leaning towards 90’s rap. So when Dr. Dre works with Cordae, on his birthday, that’s all the affirmation I need.
No details on full studio album. He has a few mixtapes under an old moniker.
On the underground end I’m glad to see Andrew Whiting resurfacing again, or maybe I should say rebooting. After Attack Attack! disbanded he put together Drudge in Texas, put out some songs, and went silent for a few years.
With their new single “Tunnel Vision” they’re jumping into the game full force. Whiting sounds like a new player using anthemic riffs over chugging for the song’s foundation. This is not a metalcore band but Whiting’s love of low toning still remains. There’s a lot of groove here in a Dimebag modern rock way.
Speaking of heavy, Wage War has been rising in metalcore for a few years now. Honestly I’ve dismissed most of what the scene has produced with few exceptions. They started to win me over with the addition of “Low” to my gym playlist.
I’d heard it enough and wanted to hear what else they had, as I tried to get my cookie dough ass into shape after work. Put on Deadweight if you wanna pump that iron.
My criticism originally remains fair. These bands aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but then who is in music? Feel free to grill me but if you’re lecturing my little blog clearly no one should know them.
Anyways, music feels a bit like everything has been done but Wage War reveal themselves as one of those whom good song writing. They’ve taken this style, metalcore, and concocted a superb iteration.
Each track gets progressively better too. All the best songs aren’t stacked at the top, which made my work better as I worked through my routine.
My favorite tracks like “Witness” and “Indestructible” employ the same troupe all the successful metalcore bands use before they break through as a band. The meat of the vocals still lie in the screaming but reserve the cleans for well timed choruses. The clean singer also has the right kind of range.
On “Witness” when the pitch raises it’s not too high and hits with a little sand paper. There’s a balance of skill and performance with natural roughness. The chorus in the middle is also followed by a wonderful bouncy riff I could push through my sets to.
Graupel from Japan also made their way into aiding my workouts. I found them through a friend in the scene while reveling over Crystal Lake. More on them for another time. Japan suddenly possesses fertilest grounds for the new wave of metalcore.
It’s magnificent to see the country produce band after band recently. Graupel’s debut sounds like Parkway Drive’s Deep Blue on Veil of Maya brand PCP. The shit will make you move. The first few tracks don’t let up for a more than a second.
My favorite track “Horizon” might as well be an ode to Parkway’s album of the same title. The build-up a third of the way through djents into a Veil-ish barrage, finishing with dump-truck breakdown. They don’t make’em like that in the west anymore.
Friday was International Women’s Day which made this Henry Rollins clip very timely. He recognizes women have taken charge in punk, producing the most interesting and cutting edge music in the alternative scene.
Like a snail, of course, I’m behind on some of his suggested listenings. High Tension being the best of those. They have some older Mastodon riffing crossed with a little Converge. Not as black as King Woman but in the same ball park.
This is a band I’ve got to see live. The stuff can be brooding and dark but I can also see myself head banging and pushing around in the pit at the local dive. Frontwoman Karina Utomo roars with the best of them.
Her screeches fit very well within the band’s arrangements and tone. The lows reach the correct depth when called upon, which from experience presents everyone difficulty. She and the band are for real. Definitely my taste: heavy, divey, and diverse in every way.
Maybe you’ll add or at least skim my playlists and suggests for your own mixes. I haven’t found much inspiration recently to write but this array of new selections can get one a little motivated to complete their workout routines or move along in one’s day.
Disaesthetic 