Music Reviews

Review: Brockhampton Play to Their Strengths in New Album, "ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE"

Brockhampton blend different sounds, moods and themes into something that emerges as revelatory and reflective of the complexity of emotion

Brockhampton

There has been a lot of awful quarantine content. Like, a lot.

From the early days of the celebrity "Imagine" video to quarantine albums that should have stayed in the vault (sorry, Nick Jonas; we're looking at you), it's been a tumultuous year and music has followed suit.

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Tyler, the Creator on Gay Rappers, Profanity, and His Artistic Idiosyncrasies | SEASON 2

Today, March 6, 2020, Tyler Okonma—best known as Tyler, the Creator—turns 29 years old.

The polymathic rapper first rose to prominence as a founding member of the alternative hip-hop collective, Odd Future, whose debut album was released in 2012. And although multiple members of the now-inactive group have experienced fruitful solo careers—Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt among them—Tyler, the Creator's has arguably left the most recognizable influence. With five studio albums, a clothing line, a music festival, and much more on his resume, Tyler has been cited as a major inspiration to Gen Z icons like Billie Eilish and BROCKHAMPTON's Kevin Abstract.

Occasionally controversial but always a brilliant artist, Tyler has made himself known as not only a masterful musician, but a filterless class clown of the real world. Below, here are nine of Tyler, the Creator's most iconic moments.

A Walking Paradox

With just a cockroach, a noose, and a perspective control lens, Tyler introduced his solo rap career with one of the most unforgettable music videos of the decade (self-directed under his alter ego, Wolf Haley).

MUSIC

BROCKHAMPTON's "GINGER" Experiments with Grief

"America's Favorite Boy Band" is back with their most thoughtful and mature record yet.

Press Photo
You can hear traces of BROCKHAMPTON's past all over GINGER.
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MUSIC

Release Radar: New Music to Ring In Taurus Season

New singles, EPs, and albums to welcome in the energy of Taurus season.

Now that the dust from the chaotic energy of Aries season has settled, it's time to tap into a steadier rhythm and ease our way into Taurus season—a period marked by restoring structure, welcoming new changes, and embracing earthy bliss.

It's a gentle prod towards the spring months, a time to slow things down a bit and tap into your feelings, and what better way to breathe new life into your routine than listening to new music? This week has brought highly-anticipated returns from the likes of FKA twigs and the Black Keys, in addition to exciting drops from Kevin Abstract and Rico Nasty + Kenny Beats. Plus, a whole slew of new gems from artists like Lucy Dacus, Mannequin Pussy, and Jackie Mendoza.

Singles

1. FKA twigs — "Cellophane"

"Didn't I do it for you? Why don't I do it for you? Why won't you do it for me? When all I do is for you?" asks FKA Twigs in her latest single "Cellophane." On it, twigs' voice moves unvarnished over a sparse piano pattern, her words stretched out and raw, sporadically punctuated by little ripples of synth. The accompanying video features FKA Twigs entering the metaphysical world as she contorts and lifts her body through an elaborate pole dancing routine, climbing towards the sky. Once she ascends, twigs meets a robotic, mythic creature and before she can bask in being high up, she plummets through a murky green limbo and lands in the depths of a terracotta cavern.


2. The Black Keys — "Eagle Birds"

The Black Keys are gearing up to release their new album, Let's Rock, later in June, and this week they've shared a new song called "Eagle Birds." The song isn't as rough around the edges as the tracks on Brothers, but it's still got the same blues-infused riff-heavy guitar work that made their sound so infectious in the first place. It's the kind of straightforward rock song that will make you romanticize the idea of keeping one hand tucked in your jeans pocket and the other wrapped around a whiskey as you stomp your foot along to the chorus in a dive bar. Let's Rock is out 6/28 via Easy Eye Sound/Nonesuch Records.

3. Lucy Dacus — "My Mother & I"

In her latest song, "My Mother & I" Lucy Dacus grapples with body image, and the complexities inherent to a mother/daughter relationship. In quintessential Taurus fashion, Dacus finds herself as an observer, remaining patient and understanding despite the painful subject matter she's excavating. Singing in a soft lilt over acoustic fingerpicking, Dacus searches for meaning in her shared astrological sign with her mother: "The stars have a lot to say/About babies born in the month of May." She draws from her experience growing up adopted, and tries to untangle which parts of herself are inherited from her biological mother, and which parts have been learned. Dacus ends on a note of resolve "All she has given/ All I have taken / All is forgiven / All is forsaken."


4. Connan Mockasin and Andrew VanWyngarden — "Bad Boys"

Connan Mockasin and MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden have teamed up to create a surrealist trip of a song called "Bad Boys." The new composition was written for the collaborative film Self Discovery for Social Survival, from record label Mexican Summer and surf brand Pilgrim Surf + Supply. In nearly seven minutes, they wade through ebbs and flows of experimental instrumentation while repeating the central conceit, "Bad Boys," over and over again until it morphs into something alien-sounding. Self Discovery For Social Survival is out 6/14.

5. Mannequin Pussy — "Drunk II"

Mannequin Pussy is back, thank god. The Philly-based punk band reign supreme when it comes to crafting brutal, gut-wrenching songs that tackle the emotional tangles of a relationship. The band's getting ready to release their third LP and Epitaph debut, Patience, and this week they've shared a new single called "Drunk II." This is their first release since 2016's LP, Romantic. On "Drunk II," the band departs from their volatile tendencies in favor of a sound that's a little more toned down, while still keeping their raucous energy intact. There's no vocalist quite like Marisa Dabice when it comes to cutting through the noise and singing lyrics that shoot an arrow right to your core, like when she declares "I still love you, you stupid f**k" and later confesses "And everyone says to me 'Missy, you're so strong' / But what if I don't want to be?" before sinking into the bittersweet realization "I drink to drown / I am alone." "Drunk II" is agonizing and messy, exciting and urgent––like falling in and out of love. You can pre-order Patiencehere.

6. Gringo Star — "Get Closer"

Atlanta garage/psych band, Gringo Star, are celebrating ten years since their debut album All Y'all came out by releasing a new live album entitled Controlled Burn (Live in Atlanta) via Baby Robot Records. Today, they're back with a new song. The live version of "Get Closer" finds Gringo Star at their maximum, reverb-drenched potential, hitting the sweet spot between sounding heavy and easygoing, with a hooky chorus to match. You can pre-order the album here.

EPs

7. Jackie Mendoza — LuzHz

Inspired by Latin pop and folk textures, Jackie Mendoza crafts enchanting compositions that reimagine what electronica/synthpop can sound like. The San Diego native started off melding ukelele pop songs with electronica on entrancing songs like "La Luz," before venturing deeper into the experimental realm. Mendoza often slips between Spanish and English as her songs delve into dream-pop territory. After putting out two singles, "Seahorse" and "Mucho Mas," earlier this year, she's now sharing her debut EP, LuvHz, via Luminelle Records.


8. Thin Lips — Carrot Milk

Philadelphia rock trio, Thin Lips, are back with a new EP titled "Carrot Milk," out via Lame-O Records, that's currently available on Bandcamp for a pay-what-you-wish price. The band put out the three-track release after they ran into issues when their van broke down in the midst of touring with Camp Cope. The EP is meant to help raise funds for the repairs. Written and recorded by Chrissy Tashjian, "Carrot Milk" is a collection of songs that reflect on feelings of grief and alienation. The EP is made up of three riff-y tracks, "Butterfield Road," "Dear Beautiful," and "Laugh At Me," that upholds their sensitive, punk sound.


LPs

9. Kevin Abstract — ARIZONA baby

After a piece-meal rollout, Kevin Abstract's new solo album, ARIZONA BABY, is finally here and it's seriously exceeding all expectations. While some of the songs were initially released in 3-track EPs, it's a completely different listening experience to hear them all together from start to finish. Co-produced by pop aficionado, Jack Antonoff, and Brockhampton member, Romil Hemnani, ARIZONA BABY blends jazz, experimental rap, and R&B and tops it off with a pop sheen. Abstract plays with new soundscapes, from the marching band horns on "Joyride" to the spacey breakdown on "Baby Boy" to the samples and field recordings used on "Use Me," it's one of the most diverse pallets from the pop rapper who's prided himself on defying genre.


10. Rico Nasty + Kenny Beats — Anger Management

Rico Nasty is pissed. She brings the heat on her collab with producer Kenny Beats in a new album called "Anger Management." Nasty doesn't hold anything back; as soon as the album starts, she lets her rapid-fire verses loose in bursts of unbridled, genre-bending fury. It's a cathartic listen that feels like you're vicariously exploding with anger that's been building in the pit of your stomach. Helped along by Beats' production, Nasty speeds through her raps and fills every corner of the mix with her clever but vitriolic turns of phrase. Whether you're working out or pregaming, this album is sure to be your next hype up playlist.


Sara is a Brooklyn-based music and culture writer. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER magazine and Stereogum.


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Music Lists

Six Songs You Should Hear This Week: Musical Acid Trips

New tracks from Valerie June, Kevin Abstract, Norah Jones, AURORA, and more.

Photo by Danny Howe on Unsplash

Each one of this week's best new songs is a miniature revelation in itself, trippy enough to open your mind to new worlds.

For the record, the creator of this list has never taken acid; but these songs are what she imagines it would feel like, and truly, who needs drugs when you have songs like these? Transcendence, peace, revelations, a feeling of interconnectedness, swirly imagery—it's all here for your listening pleasure.

1. Drinker: Wave

Bicoastal NY/LA duo Aaron Mendelsohn and Ariel Loh (aka Drinker) have gifted the world with a gorgeous piece of pop psychedelia in the form of their new single, "Wave," released on Wednesday. The haunting track starts slow and ethereal, building up to a climactic tower of synths punctuated by bell-like guitar tones. A slow burn that's rewarding the whole way through, it's the kind of song meant for lying on a dock at sunset, sifting through memories and feeling the first hints of evening chill. Lyrically, it's a testament to the strangeness of time—the way it continues to move forward, but the past always seems to surge into the present. "Who is this? I'm stuck inside a wave," goes the refrain, a line that could be about dissociation, or fear of the future, or déja vu. "I feel like we've been here before," sings Mendelsohn, "but it wasn't you that I was here with." Hypnotic in its spaciousness, disconcerting in its dissociative leanings, this is an immersive sonic experience that bodes well for the duo's upcoming EP release on May 3.

2. Valerie June: Little Wing

Valerie June - Little Wingwww.youtube.com

Valerie June has returned with a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," and it's absolutely breathtaking. Mystical and pure, raw and electric, it's a compilation of whirling guitars, whistling strings, distant organs, and eventually a horn section to drive it all home. June sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks, but perhaps even more weather-worn, her voice is ageless, meant for staticky radios. She proved her songwriting abilities on 2017's The Order of Time, but this cover is a testament to her aptitude as an arranger and a conveyer of raw emotion. In a way, it seems to come straight from a timeless dimension where there are only peace and starlight, and yet, at the same time, it cuts through to the core of something distinctly of this world, some pain known only to humankind. If you listen to one song this week, listen to this one.

3. Novo Amor: I Make Sparks

Novo Amor - I Make Sparks (official audio)www.youtube.com

Nobody is better at making soupy lullabies than Novo Amor, but he's made a particularly beautiful one with "I Make Sparks," a title that—despite its swaggering implications—moves beyond the realm of woodsy folk. Ideal for the ending frames of a film, the song is a miniature vacation in itself. Light strings cast flickering lights over Amor's frail, breathy vocals, and though his voice never grows to anything more than a whisper, the music swells and grows throughout, reaching a satisfyingly disorienting conclusion.

4. Aurora: The Seed

For a slightly more energized but equally intense listening experience, AURORA's newest release, "The Seed," will do the trick. It sounds perfect for, say, the finale of a show like Game of Thrones—hopeful and dramatic, full of rhythmic humming and intense violins, designed for scenes of armies charging over snowy hills.

In essence, this is a song about environmental destruction—one of many, certainly, as we approach the end times. "When the last tree has fallen and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no," she sings. Ominous, indeed; maybe avoid this if you're actually going to take acid because it could potentially send you on a bad trip.

5. Kevin Abstract: Georgia

Kevin Abstract announced his newest project, ARIZONA baby, in a cryptic Instagram post a few days ago. But the first single, "Georgia," is transparent and honest, a welcome return to Abstract's distinct solo work. On this song, he draws lyrical inspiration from the old classic "Georgia On My Mind" and spins it into a web of bells, swirling electric guitar, and gritty basslines. At heart, it's a love song, a tribute to the free-fall of true emotion, communicated through rapidly panned vocals and electronic vocal effects layered over a slow beat. Abstract is a master of his craft, and with the release of ARIZONA baby, he's continued his tradition of making some of the best atmospheric rap out there. (For better or worse, it was produced by Jack Antonoff, which may explain its sonic similarities to Lana Del Rey's "Venice Bitch"—the high-pitched synth is definitely the same—but that's another story).

6. Norah Jones: A Song With No Name

This song is the sonic embodiment of a tall glass of water, a breath of fresh air, a drive upstate in the midst of a New York City summer, a comedown after a wild night. In classic Norah tradition, it's easy on the ears and heart, just ambiguous enough to feel applicable to almost any kind of subdued situation, but has enough nuance to merit multiple listens. Striking lyrics cut harshly against soft acoustic guitar and not much else—"If I had a gun, if I had a knife, if I had your love if I was your wife," she sings, as gentle piano twinkles in the background.

Special Mention: LSD

This list wouldn't be complete without mentioning LSD, the project of Sia, Diplo, and Labrinth, whose debut LP dropped this Friday. But unless you have a taste for poorly crafted, shamelessly algorithmic, and lyrically embarrassing pop music, spare yourself the pain and skip this one.


Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York City. Follow her on Twitter @edenarielmusic.


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MUSIC

Kevin Abstract Waxes Introspective On New Project "ARIZONA baby"

The Brockhampton member shares three songs produced by Jack Antonoff and Romil Hemnani.

Photo by Mason Field on Unsplash

Brockhampton's Kevin Abstract has just shared three songs off his forthcoming solo project, ARIZONA baby.

The tracks––"Big Wheels," "Joy Ride," and "Georgia"–– are produced by Jack Antonoff and fellow Brockhampton member Romil Hemnani. If this snippet is any indication of the upcoming release, you can expect a sound that skews much more experimental. The EP only runs about eight minutes, but in that time, Abstract manages to pack in tons of densely layered rhythms as he looks back on the whirlwind of last year.

Abstract's work is helmed by the idea that it never stops. This is the same work ethic that motivated his boy band/rap collective Brockhampton to put out three albums––Saturation I, II, and III––in one year, and follow it up with their first no.1 album and major-label debut, Iridescence, a few months later in 2018. Around the same time of the album drop, the BH boys put out a documentary entitled The Longest Summer in America, reflecting on their ascent and the controversy surrounding Ameer Vann's departure from the band in response to sexual misconduct allegations.

In the span of a year, Brockhampton reshaped the mold of the American boy band, faced the trials and tribulations of pop fame, and managed to secure status as one of the most important musical acts of our generation. That's a lot of pressure. Pretty soon, their usual outspoken personas on social media went quiet and the boy wonders began to withdraw from the public eye.

Kevin Abstract, the bonafide leader of BH, broke his silence when he shared his finsta a few weeks ago, an account called cliffhollywood. It's a collection of creative scraps, emotional text exchanges, and entries detailing the distress surrounding the band's fame. But it was on Abstract's regular Instagram that he dropped cryptic hints of the upcoming project's release with a photo that featured the dates "11, 18, 25," (which align with every Thursday in April.) Earlier this week, Abstract dropped the visuals for "Big Wheels" with the misnamed video "THE 1-9-9-9 IS COMING."

"Big Wheels," "Joy Ride," and "Georgia" are held together by a thematic thread of Abstract looking back while reaching towards new sounds. He waxes introspective on his experience growing up gay and Black in a conservative town in Texas, the criticisms that he's faced as he's gotten more visible in the public eye, and the band's growth from their humble beginnings. Abstract delivers the verses in his usual breathless style, but adds in polyrhythmic beats and dips into some jazzy rumblings along the way. This is Abstract's first solo work since his 2016 album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story.

Listen to "Big Wheels," "Joy Ride," and "Georgia" below.