Manchester Orchestra, 'COPE'

By: David Savage

                “Sometimes when you’re making up lyrics on the spot, God will drop one on you that you didn't intend” says Andy Hull, via Manchester Orchestra’s Facebook page. Manchester Orchestra frontman, Andy Hull, is referring to the line “And I hope if there’s one thing I let go, it is the way that we cope”, off the title track to their latest release, COPE.

                Manchester Orchestra didn’t exactly have a label, and questioned the potential existence of the band, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and build their own studio in a house in Atlanta, Georgia, where they would sculpt what is now COPE, their fourth studio album. This album is exactly what the music industry needs, and that is rock music. I still managed to be continually impressed with music today (not in the commercial sense), but rock music is lacking these days. There’s something different about being able to actually rock out to an album, start to finish, and that is exactly what COPE is; it is exactly what I needed.

                The second the album starts; I knew this is what I was missing. This may be a bold statement, but I think the opening track, “Top Notch”, will be one of my favorite tracks this year. It blows up in your face with that first crunchy chord, and just escalades to a fantastic rock song. The chorus screeches out “All that I know, it’s no way to fix it”, which could be further extending the theme of “coping”.

                I was obsessed with their last album, Simple Math, for its diversity, experimentation and impeccable lyricism, but like I said, I think an album that rocks from beginning to end is really what I needed, and so did this band. Songs like “Every Stone” have the more alt-rock feel to it, which works well for them, and then they come in with heavy hitters like the title track, “Cope”. This album carries Andy Hull’s lyrical talent with Hull singing out “Cause all the progress you made/ won’t end up meaning anything. / I won’t leave indentions of me/ I won’t leave intentionally” from the slower (but not too slow) song “Indentions”.

                I was luckily enough to see Manchester Orchestra recently at the House of Blues, and they put on quite a show. Their set list was diverse ranging from all of their albums, and a visit from Kevin Devine, where he and Andy play the Bad Books song, “42”. Cope was a heavy guitar-driven record that I think music needs right now. Every record that Manchester Orchestra puts out seems to continually impress me and always keeps me rockin’.  

Favorite Tracks: “Top Notch”, “Every Stone”, and “Indentions”

Mogwai, 'Rave Tapes'

By: David Savage

                This album came out early in the year, but I still think worth writing now. There were two days in a row when I was driving home from work, listening to 93.1WXRT, and the songs that played were perfect. Like the rest of this winter, it was quiet and blustery, and the snow was stacking higher and higher on the streets. I used the Shazam application to find out what these songs were and on the first night, it was a song called “Heard About You Last Night” by Mogwai. The next night, another song by the same band, this time the track was “Remurdered”. I had no prior knowledge of this band before, but I knew I had to get acquainted.

                It turns out they had just released a record, titled Rave Tapes, on January 20^th. Like I said, I had never even heard of them before so I did some research. I found out they were a post-rock band from Scotland, and have been around since the early-to-mid 90’s. I guess I did things a little differently since Rave Tapes was the first record of theirs that I listened to. I fell in love with record, upon first listen. Instrumental acts aren’t too prominent in everyday airplay, so it was cool that my first experience with them came from the radio.

                The song that had me hooked was “Heard About You Last Night”. The first cut off Rave Tapes starts off very slow and ambient, and as the song continues it blossoms with steady bass notes and then the drums and guitar kick in. The first track is the most ambient and simple (in a good way) track off the record. The further in you get the heavier songs you discover, like “Hexon Bogon”. This is a band using synth in a more conservative way than most others. Mogwai lets the instruments shine throughout, but will occasionally give little hints of synth fills in the mix of the post-rock instrumentals.

                Rave Tapes is the type of record you let fill the background of a late night drive, or an outside look at the stars. The light vocal track, “Blues Hour”, features vocals that have a hint of Elliott Smith tied to them with a lasting crescendo to top it off. I dig Rave Tapes. I think it shows a good balance between rock, synth, and ambient instrumentals that is a breath of fresh air. I’m glad I turned on the radio to catch Mogwai.

Favorite Tracks: “Heard About You Last Night”, “Blues Hour”, and “Hexon Bogon”

Asher Roth, 'RetroHash'

By: David Savage

I’ve noticed artists will release “teaser trailers” for their albums which is what brought me to this record, RetroHash. For whatever reason, I looked on Asher Roth’s FaceBook page and noticed there was a link to a video “Pot of Gold”, so I checked it out. Turns out it was somewhat of a trailer for Asher Roth’s sophomore release, titled RetroHash. The video consisted of Asher riding a Sea-Doo followed by two topless women. In the background, the hook for the song “Pot of Gold” was playing. It was a mysterious one-minute video, but it caught my interest, and not just because of the topless women. The song playing in the background sounded nothing like the “I Love College” rapper I was familiar with.

I was a fan of Asleep in the Bread Aisle and heard some of his various singles that were released, so needless to say, I enjoy Asher Roth. There was something about this “Pot of Gold” video that intrigued me, because the sound was more developed and had a mellow, almost indie vibe to it. The first single, “Tangerine Girl”, was released and that was when I became extremely excited for RetroHash. The song spends the first half with just a chill vibe and falsetto singing Asher repeating the hook. Not exactly common for hip-hop to spend the first half of a track with predominantly instrumentals, but it worked. His vocal work was pretty impressive and unexpected.  

On April 22^nd, RetroHash was finally released and it was worth the wait. One word comes to my mind when I listen to this record, and that word is maturity. It’s easy to notice that this record is ahead of anything he has ever released; everything from instrumentation to lyrical themes is taken to the next level on RetroHash. “Fast Life” was one of those songs that took the record to a new maturity level for Asher. The video was a big reason for my love of this song, so go see for yourself why this song/video is an impressive level for this rapper.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still a slight taste of the rapper we know and fell for back when “I Love College” dropped. Songs like “Pull It” and “Last of the Flohicans” have that hint of childishness and laughability, but even “Dude” has some humorous wordplay that we like to hear from Asher Roth, with lines like “Good weed got me talking ‘bout deities/ Aphrodites, sucker for good lighting/ and neat handwriting, sorta like calligraphy/ trick or treat at thirty, dress up as Jackie Tree”. “Dude” also comes off sounding like a song by A Tribe Called Quest with that slick bass line throughout the track.

Overall this album takes Asher Roth’s reputation to a new level. Adding more real instrumentation and mature rhymes makes RetroHash an exquisite record for someone who used to be known as merely “The guy who sang ‘I Love College’”. The song “Pot of Gold” that was feature in the album trailer wasn’t released in its entirety until the record dropped, and that is another track of this album that is pure smooth, mellow, and mature hip-hop music. Asher Roth truly stepped his game on this record, and so when people say to me “He sings ‘I Love College’ right?” I tell them he is detrimentally more than that. Asher Roth holds an incredible amount of talent and maturity and it is great to see some of that spill out into his sophomore album, RetroHash.

Favorite Tracks: “Tangerine Girl”, “Parties at the Disco”, and “Pot of Gold”

Chevelle 'La Gárgola' Album Review

Chevelle 'La Gárgola' Album Review
By: Max Sagan

     Have you ever wondered what would happen if Tool and Queens of the Stone Age conceived and had a baby? Probably not.... BUT IF YOU DID! Chevelle's 'La Gárgola' would be there 13.4 pound bastard child. Punchy, tight drums compliment the distant guitar sounds all throughout Chevelle's latest 'La Gárgola'.
     I'll have to admit, I was oblivious to this band until my roommate demanded that I check them out. He likes working out to them, and I can see why. 'La Gárgola' is a very intense listen that sounds like it could be an action movie soundtrack. Right off the bat you can hear the massive Tool influence on "Ouija Board". This lead singer has got pipes that you will want to write home about. He has a pretty nice screaming voice too. Track two "An Island" has a unique underproduced, fuzzy guitar sound to it. At first I thought it was bad production on this particular track. But I realized this is the only song with these qualities so I think it was a artistic choice. They have a tasteful use of the popular metal bass drop right around the mark 3:35 that makes for a nice impact moment. If you are too busy to listen to the entire album, make sure to check this one out.

"Stay there don't move
I think its got fangs.
Watch if they turn
Become the villains."

     Track 3 "Take Out the Gunman" started to make me recognize how much these guys really sound like mid 90s Tool. The vocal melody in "Take Out the Gunman" sounds like it straight out of Tool's 'Ænima'. Skipping to track 6, they try to pull of the emotional ballad. This one did not work for me.  I don't know why these heavier bands insist on trying to do these. Don't get me wrong sometimes they work, but "One Ocean" just feels forced. It ended up sounding like a Muse song. I like Muse, but its confusing when in the last song they were screaming in my face. It really kind of killed my mood too. The rest of the album gets boring for me. Luckily, there was one more diamond in the rough. "Choking Game" is another high octane jam that sounds like it belongs in the first half of the album instead of where it is located in the 7 slot.  The second half of this album was a let down for me. If 'La Gárgola' kept up its pace it would have been much better in my opinion.
     All in all 'La Gárgola' had a promising beginning but just couldn't hold on to the intensity throughout. I am happy I finally got around to listening to this band, and would definitely recommend select tracks especially to people engaged in physical activities because they will get you going.

 ALBUM REVIEW 6/10

Notable Tracks: Ouija Board, An Island

Follow Max Sagan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/xvwmax

Asher Roth 'RetroHash'
     
                                                                                                                                          By: Max Sagan

     Get ready for a wild and emotional ride through Asher Roth's new album RetroHash! His sophomore album takes you though some deep conceptual subjects and makes it easy to get lost in the smooth beats of producer Blended Babies. First, let's go back to school and take a history lesson....
     Asher Roth, became active in the rap game in 2008. He began creating a buzz throughout colleges nationwide by recording himself rapping over other artist beats. This is what became his first release the Greenhouse Effect Vol 1. It was during this time that he hooked up with talent agent Scooter Braun (manager of Justin Bieber, PSY, Carly Rae Jepson, The Wanted, Ariana Grande) by simply sending him a message on MySpace. One Week after speaking to Braun, he flew down to Atlanta to begin recording. Since then Roth has grown his hair out, made one full length and 2 mixtapes which I encourage you to check out to hear the HUGE contrast from his latest and greatest RetroHash.
     Let's dive right into it. This album sounds drastically different from his earlier work. You might be thinking "Oh no! Not another one of these!" but hold your horses cowboy. Give it a chance and you won't be disappointed. From beginning to end RetroHash radiates a "keep it real" and free vibe throughout. The opening track "Parties at the Disco" demonstrates Asher's new skill: singing. I was blown away with the dudes voice! He really hasn't sang on his tracks much in the past and it was a very pleasant surprise. Im sure it helped that he has the female vocal powerhouse ZZ Ward backing him up, but impressive nonetheless. He sings a lot on this album with gets a big thumbs up from me.
     Track 2 "Dude" is the closest to anything you might have heard from a younger Asher Roth. Teaming up with Curren$y, they lay down the heaviest hip-hop track on the album. Asher reminds us that although he can now sing, he can still spit the crazy, off topic rhymes that his first album was riddled with. His wacky flow is probably the reason I was attracted to his music in the first place. Its so unconventional, and proves that you can rap about things like daily routines or what you had for lunch and still make it sound sick.

"Bolognese, homemade, only played croquet 
 In a cloak, and like old episodes of Soul Train
 Run with the O'Jays, Whole Foods for the groceries 
 OJ, Moets, cherries and Yoplait"

     Track 3 was the first single released. "Tangerine Girl" is a song composed of 90% singing and in my mind is Asher showing off his new found singing voice. I think its about a girl he's trying to get wth, but also seems open to interpretation. It resembles a psychedelic song from the 60's with long drawn out, falsetto singing layered with heavy vocal effects. Definitely the most spacey song on RetroHash but was a ballsy move to release it as the single. I can respect that.
     Lets skip to the 6th track "Fast Life". My favorite track on RetroHash and will be my designated Summer jam. If I had to choose, this track best represents the overall theme of his album. He talks about growing up, and trying to develop a purpose in life. I love the introspective view that this song hosts. Vic Mensa is the voice you hear in the second verse. Vic is a 20 year old and very talented from Chicago. You may recognize him from his work with Chance the Rapper. I'm glad he was featured on this track because he is not very well known yet and this is great exposure for him.
     In my opinion, the album goes a bit down hill from here. I don't want to say they are bad songs but they just dont live up to the expectations of the first 6. RetroHash is a front heavy album and the end comes to a slow rolling stop at the final track "Keep Smokin". The last song is the ultimate "blaze up" song featuring the frequent collaborator Chuck Inglish from The Cool Kids.

"Change of ways and make you raise a gun
A spotless mind can't erase the sun" 
from track 5 "Something for Nothing"
     I feel like hip-hop has been changing the last few years. It is moving away from about rhyming how much money/cars/women you have and moving down a more artistic avenue. Look at artists like Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, Kid Cudi, Odd Future, Maclemore, and Kendrick Lamar.  Along with Asher I believe these guys are on the forefront of this movement. If you listen to their music its now starting to incorporate more real instruments into the production giving it a more real and organic sound. The guitar, trumpet, string, piano, and live drum work you hear on this album really shines through and gives it that true, laid-back feel.
     All in all, I would recommend RetroHash to music fans of all capacities. You can hear the maturity from his last release and can see where he is headed in the future. I look forward to watching him grow as as artist and continue to expand the boundaries of modern hip-hop.

ALBUM REVIEW 7/10

Notable Tracks: Parties at the Disco(feat. ZZ Ward), Fast Life(feat. Vic Mensa), Something For Nothing

Follow Max Sagan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/xvwmax

TANK, '9'

                Anonymously, a four-track EP titled 9 was released, via Bandcamp by the artist known as TANK. TANK is said to be a project where the music surrounds you as if you were stuck in a tank of liquid, absorbing the noise around you.  It then began to act as a “Tank” to hold miscellaneous feelings, as well as music. The Bandcamp page describes it as such:

Imperfect and tangible. Liquid. An ominous slap to the soul. Listen, and you get it. Make yourself vulnerable. Eat the sound. Hear it, but do not listen. Let it naturally grow around you. Swim in the tank.

                Hard to argue with that. The EP opens up with the distorted guitar riff of “Confidential”, then continues with drums and another guitar added in. The vocal style comes in like blown-out speakers, or a distorted megaphone. TANK’s vocal style was mainly inspired by Youth Lagoon, but also took on some inspiration from Sigur Ros and Bon Iver. The emotion bottled up, with lines like “Let the cool kids that fucked up their lives compliment each other indefinitely”, eventually explodes more than half way through the track with heavier guitar, blasting drums, and a subtle squealing guitar in the distance. An emotional first track features even more heartbreaking lyrics, “It’s true what they say/ You can’t save anyone these days”.

                Thinking of this EP in relative terms of said “Tank”, I think of “Confidence” as being the first step of being thrown in and trapped in the tank. Its heavier guitar riffs and emotional lyrics suggest this. Then the second track “Overgrown” is fully submerged and forced to be in the tank. Slow percussive sounds surrounded by piano chords, and the vocals sound like they are underwater. Without the lyrics being on the page, you may not have even known that there were words present. 

                The third track, “Tall and Spineless”, takes on more of the rock element of the element, as well as anger and heartbreak filled lyrics. You can feel the pain and anguish in TANK’s voice screaming out “I’d rather be here, tall and spineless, / then be sure and perfect. / Any day of the week.” The vocals occasionally skipping and cutting out (intentionally) suggest a deeper sense of being cutoff and ignored by someone.

                The final track, “A Small Resemblance”, goes back on the more ambient and “liquid” sound experienced in “Overgrown”. Roughly halfway through “A Small Resemblance” the drums began to stop and cut out in a way that makes you check your headphone jack to make sure something hasn’t gone wrong, but it is in fact all intentional. 9 is full of powerful lyricism including lines like, “Look deep inside my eyes. / There is something dying and inside of you.” Let us not forget to mention that at the bottom of the artist’s page one of the tagged words is “lonely”. Among the words that describe what the music sounds like there is one word set aside that is the emotion of the music: lonely.

                This EP is multidimensional with so many layers and subtle intricacies in a short four songs. Be on the lookout for more from TANK, because we will be in for a treat. 9 is a fantastic EP that I only wish was longer, because those four tracks leave me begging for more. So take my advice, and “swim in the tank.” 

TANK Bandcamp Page

TANK Facebook Page 

S. Carey, 'Range of Light'

By: David Savage

Justin Vernon may have been the one in the spotlight of Bon Iver, but there was another member of the band with an extensive amount of talent. Sean Carey was the percussionist/vocalist in Bon Iver. On April 1^st, Sean Carey (under the moniker name ‘S. Carey’) released his first studio album, Range of Light. S. Carey did have another album, All We Grow, but it was more of a home recording. The new record was recorded at Justin Vernon’s studio, April Base in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. The title, Range of Light, comes from the way Sean Carey’s hero, naturalist John Muir, referred to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. In the sleeve of the vinyl, Carey writes that this record explores the beauties of nature, the way John Muir did. Even Sean Carey’s instagram (@scareypics) has photos dedicated for each of the tracks off the new record, looking like a transcendental journey.

S. Carey has released an album (All We Grow) and an EP (Hoyas), but never a studio record. Range of Light opens up with the track “Glass/Film”, featuring an array of instruments. The track features piano, vibes, banjo, and some subtle horns. Carey is a multi-instrumentalist, dipping his hands in as many instruments as he can on this record. In Bon Iver, he was known behind the drums, but by himself the piano is his instrument of choice.

Knowing that Sean Carey is a man of nature makes the music he creates even more beautiful. He paints vast images of nature with the sound of his music. The first single off the record, “Fire-scene”, is a wondrous song with intertwining piano and smooth finger-picked acoustic guitar. The lyrics further amplify the scene he his describing as “Reddest hue/ remind you of you/ clinging love and falling true”. It makes sense why Bon Iver was such a spectacular band, because there was endless creative talent in the group, and Carey’s talent is displayed in Range of Light.

Range of Light is soft and mellower than his previous work, but it’s such a soothing pallet cleanser. Songs like “Alpenglow” feel the way spring feels after a long winter, like the one we’ve had. The piano melody in “Alpenglow” is infectious in an interesting, soul-warming way. As mentioned, Justin Vernon did some work on this album as well, with some instrumentation as well as backing vocals. Easily detected on “Crown the Pines” is Justin Vernon’s signature falsetto, but you’ll find it tucked into other tracks, such as “Fleeting Light” and “Glass/Film”.

As a “debut” album goes, S. Carey pulls off a sweet sounding record to be heard out and about exploring the world. Range of Light explores “the light and dark in everything” according to Carey, and I couldn’t agree more. This record gives a taste of various instruments all in a calm soothing style, meshed with Carey’s vivid lyricism to set the scene for listeners. The final track, “Neverending Fountain, wraps up the album wonderfully, with pacing violin and a lullaby-like harp. Range of Light is an absolute success by S. Carey. 

Favorite Tracks: “Alpenglow”, “Fire-Scene”, and “Crown the Pines”