What We've Been Listening To - Week Of 3/21/2014

Every week, the Dynamicism staff takes a look back and talks about the albums that they have been listening to. We get to showcase albums that may not otherwise get attention on our blog. Below are the staff's weekly picks and, as always, I (Adlai) will add more as they come in.

Adlai: This past week has been insanely hectic, but I still got some time to enjoy some great music. I've had Piñata, the Madlib and Freddie Gibbs collaborative effort, on heavy rotation (check out our review), but otherwise I've been revisiting some of my favorite jazz albums of all time, most notably the classic Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. This was one of the first jazz albums I ever owned (I received it for Christmas in 2009, along with John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Freddie Hubbard's Hubtones) and Miles Davis is certainly one of my earliest influences on my playing. On Kind of Blue, Davis plays with one the best lineups in the history of jazz. The horn section is padded out by John Coltrane on tenor and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto and the rhythm section features Jimmy Cobb on drums and Paul Chambers on bass as well as both Bill Evans and Wynton Kelley on piano.

In addition to a great lineup, the album features an amazing sense of style and structure; the beautifully climactic ballad "Blue In Green" is sandwiched in between two blues songs, "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues," which in turn are bookended by two modal tunes, "So What" and "Flamenco Sketches," that begin and end the original album respectively. On the Legacy Edition, however, the album continues with a series of alternate takes, studio sequences and false starts that, while they are a neat novelty for the avid fan (which I certainly am), could be off-putting to the average listener. Really, I don't listen much past the original five tracks, but when I am, I am fascinated by the studio chatter and noodling of these legendary musicians. The real reason to own the "Legacy Edition," to me, is the second disc which is full of rare and overlooked cuts. Highlighting these are "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Stella By Starlight," which, while they did appear on the often overlooked 1958 Miles, serve to give the listener a sense of Miles transition from his earlier bebop style (like on Round About Midnight) to his new, more modern and modal preference.

Hazel: So I didn’t realize that everyone was introducing themselves during last week’s roundup - I’m Hazel, and I listen to a lot of alternative pop/folk and soul. I was asked to join the blog as an equalizer to the many hip-hopcentric reviewers. I also run Community High’s radio station, and have a show every Monday 8-9, should you be inclined to tune in. This week I’ve been listening to Cherub’s second album, MoM & DaD. The album isn’t one I listen to a lot as a whole, mostly I just dig certain tracks, Cherub has found their niche in 80s inspired electropop, reminiscent of fellow electropop artist Work Drugs’ earlier work. Cherub’s lead singer Jordan Kelly owns the falsetto, and many of the choruses on MoM & DaD have you straining to sing along to the high notes. “Doses and Mimosas,” my personal favorite track off the album, is dedicated to “All the bitch ass hoes who hate me the most.” It’s the ultimate fuck you anthem, and catchy as hell. Other notable tracks include “xoxo,” a cautionary tale of a cheating ex girlfriend, “All,” one of the slower tracks on the album, featuring the sultry voice of Natalie Press, and “Lynndenberries,” filled with ear candy harmonies. Cherub, while not as profound lyricists as, say Passion Pit, have succeeded in creating an album that’s fun to listen to, and great dance music. For any readers in the greater Michigan area, they’re playing at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit this Friday, and they’re sure to be a fun concert.

Noah: Tastes change. Music is such a fluid, personal thing to many musicians and listeners, and I pride myself in being open minded to stylistic change and experimentation. Sometimes, this experimentation can be extremely hit or miss (ahem, Kid Cudi), but on occasion my casual listening can be intruded by eclectic genres and artists. This week has just been... one of those weeks, I could say. The Handsome Family's 2003 album Singing Bones is unmistakably country. From the wailing (literally wailing) saw in "24 Hour Store" to the deep vocal range of the singer, Brett Sparks, this album is a breath of fresh air. The husband-wife team of The Handsome Family can be undoubtably creepy at times, singing with a deep southern twang about loneliness and long lost love... But it's not supposed to be uplifting. It's supposed to be moody as hell, something you play in the background of a sensitive conversation in a desert convenience store parking lot. It's wild west desert music. I couldn't help but singing along to tracks such as "Gail With the Golden Hair," and nodding my head sleepily to "Far From Any Road," The latter might be recognized by some as the theme from "True Detective," and anyone who's seen the show would admit it's pretty spot on in creating a gloomy mood. For anyone interested in a slower change of pace, and an alternative country album of rare quality, check out Singing Bones.


\Hannon: I like an album that I can sing along to; which means the lyrics on the album have to be great, and Mat Cothran of Coma Cinema is a great lyricist. This past week I've been listening to his LP of 2013: Posthumous Release. I would describe it as indie-bedroom-rock. If that means nothing to you, then it's sort of like if you wanted the energy of a live indie rock band in your bedroom but didn't want to wake up your roommate across the hall. They have a very unique energy, with a smooth and sweet delivery which makes me keep this 11 track LP on repeat. One of my favorite tracks is called: "Satan Made a Mansion." There's a sort of mellow-depressive element in this delivery that gives the song an added beauty as the band jams hard behind him, emotions are contrasted. This song reminds me of his other cleverly named band: Elvis Depressedly. This band as the title suggests, takes on a lot of depressive vibes coupled with great lyrics and better melodies.

Another favorite on Posthumous Release is the album opener: "VHS White Trash," which makes me smile every time I see it. Although the song itself doesn't make me crack a smile, I really get down with the harmony and again- the lyrics are on point. "Sick refusing sleep- childhood lie in dreams- somewhere out of reach- safe from all bad feeling." 

So if your looking for some mellow beauty, Mat Cothran and Coma Cinema are all over it. I initially picked up this album on a recommendation from a friend and I'm quite pleased with the result. You can download it here. I'm not gonna get all preachy about name your price, but this album will be worth every cent of your contribution.

Erez: The one great advantage of having a huge iTunes library is that you forget about albums. This week, I was browsing through my artists when I stumbled upon the Digable Planets album Reachin' (A new Refutation of Time and Space). 

Digable Planets busted out on the scene with Reachin' as their debut album, showcasing their smooth and funky rhymes coupled with deeply jazzy beats. The year was 1993, Wu-Tang and ATCQ had both released landmark albums, while Snoop Dogg was being charged for murder. It was a complex time for Hip-Hop, with gangster rap rearing it's head and competing with fans of artists like ATCQ. Then, rising from the turmoil, came the Digable Planets. 

In Reachin', Digable Planets come through with what I consider to be a beautiful and hard-to-find sound in Hip-Hop. The whole album is produced by Butterfly, one third of the trio, and his production truly incorporates jazz in a way few producers, save Madlib or DJ Premier, have achieved. In the classic song Rebirth of Slick, a sample of an Art Blakey's song appears, with the horn theme almost made for sampling. However, Butterfly also chooses to employ Dennis Irwin's great bass line in the song, showing at least some mature perspective on jazz music. In What Cool Breezes Do, the same type of horn theme is used, giving the song a melody for the listener to grasp onto. Plus, the beats, while not too imaginative, are very tight, leaving room for the rapper to bounce around lyrically. Ladybug MEcca, the only woman in the group, delivers great flow throughout the album, partly because having a woman in the group is a nice refresher form the male-dominated hip-hop world at the time. Her voice is slightly sing-songy, which goes perfectly with the more melodic beats. of the album.

The rhymes are immensely clever, from the title track (butterfly uses the rhyme "others from our brother planet" a spoonerism referencing the classic John Sayles film). In the track, Appointment at the Fat Clinic, Dp is at their best, with a strong grooving beat with jazz organ samples and a live-sounding drum loop. Most of the rhymes on the album are standard Hip-Hop "rapping about our funky lives" kind of stuff, save for a few songs. However, the delivery, especially from Doodlebug, the third group member, has a jazz solo like feel, with the rappers bouncing their words with the beat, clipping words so that they sound like they're trying to be part of the surrounding drum loop. In Fat Clinic, the lyrics talk about chaining music, and there are some great jazz references, such as Ladybug alluding to the song "Straight No Chaser," and Doodlebug talking about young sax players having the ability to play Charlie Parker licks. In this album, the rhymes fit the beats, the beats fit the groove, the groove fits the style, and the style fits life. Enough said.

Kirikou: Grooves. Kirikou love grooves. Kirikou love to groove. I was digging and came upon a two dollar copy of Cheryl Lynn's self titled LP. I'm familiar with this record and most importantly with the opening track "got to be real", but I bought the record and have been back up on it the past few days. Not an amazing album through and through but at least you gotta check out the opening track. Serious banger grooves. The rather hard to find classic old school track "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise" by Brother D and The Collective Effort is recorded over "Got To Be Real". Other tracks are worth checking out but I'll let you do that. Nuff Said. This album is serious heat.