Run the Track.

BEST COAST - THE ONLY PLACE

If there had to be a mascot for California, Best Coast would fit it perfectly. Cosentino’s defined voice takes us through the record while it screams “I love California”. California love affair aside, the band took a turn for a less impact of a sound than their debut.  Crazy For You gave them a chance to do anything and make mistakes and be a little basic, unlike The Only Place, where they buckled down and showed us a more clearer sound. Sonically and lyrically, the album is fine, it’s just not remarkable.

The lyrics hid behind the drowned out echoes in Crazy for You, making it easier for Bethany to get away with being a little too drawn out. Stripping this effect away concentrates the focus on her lyrics, which turn out to be repetitive, at least in The Only Place. However, the album, sonically is saved by the smoother production than their debut. Notably in “Dreaming My Life Away”, it drifts you into a decent daze thanks to their improved arrangement.

The record sounds great at a beach party in the background, not to focus heavily on in your bedroom. Paying close attention to this record will leave you noticing a limit to their versatility once you hit the halfway mark after “Dreaming”. The album becomes jaded, as if they just revised their love poems for california or a guy Cosentino’s yearning for. 

The Only Place is a good album to play casually in between more notable records. Cosentino’s bold voice could entrance you in the lo-fi esque Crazy For You, but it might bore you in this full length. It’s not that the record is bad, it’s good, it’s just something good that might get lost in the rest of the records in the “just alright” pile.

6.8/10

AZEALIA BANKS - 1991

Azealia really can’t be stopped at this point. Staying busy releasing 2 EPs a week between each other with a full length in the Fall, the New York native rapper/street warrior still has time to stand her ground in countless twitter fights. At last she can walk off the battlefield with a proper release that isn’t via her Tumblr page. 1991 is an excellent addition dishing out two tracks that breathe new life into Machinedrum’s SXLND in what seems to be a introducton EP (1991 being her year of birth), giving us a taste of what’s to come.

The title track 1991 flows through Travis Stewart’s “DDD”, introducing a classy lounge beat contrasting a “be that bitch” signature Azealia Banks persona. In this cut, Banks hints at her New York upbringing while eating a french croissant like a badass. The lyric “I make hits motherfucker” rings a bell to someone who has mashed the repeat button one too many times when Liquorice came out. Yes, it’s reused, but it gets the point across just as well as Liquorice did because the line is still relevant. She’s still making hits, so she can recycle a line or two.

The tasteful beats continue with Van Vogue, keeping the original name that Stewart dubbed the instrumental, Banks continues treading on with her flow not missing a beat. This time she’s back in New York digging her claws in to some “hood rat bitches”. It’s obvious she has a problem with the partying unambitious and she isn’t afraid for them to light her up.

Azealia could be described as having two sides, switching between hood and class with her tasteful arthouse smarthouse instrumentals while singing about bitches she doesn’t like. She tramples over them and does this seamlessly without skipping a beat. And on a side note, yes, it’s obvious that she wants to milk 212 and Liquorice out a little more by giving them a slot on a proper release, but the two new tracks stand on their own reassuring us that Azealia isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

8.2/10

OUT JUNE 12TH!

(Source: maddecent.com, via diplotrizzy)

MELANCHOLIA (2011)

(Source: fuckyeahmovieposters)

Frightened Eyes

Don’t judge me.

DIABLO3 4 DAYSSSS

BEACH HOUSE - BLOOM

The word “daze” is a complement in music today. It suggests getting lost in a feeling that is somewhat familiar and enjoyable. Bloom should just be renamed “Daze” because you just get lost in this sound that is almost a continuation of Teen Dream; it’s familiar and each song complements the next. Legrand and Scally have successfully delivered a third album by keeping that sound unchanged. From their indie anthem “Myth” to their final wave goodbye in “Irene”, the album takes you on a seamless journey.

The first track “Myth” starts the familiarity with the first single off the album that catalyzes the stream of sound that perpetuates throughout the album. Intertwining with “Wild” we venture through the nostalgia of childhood. We get lost in our imagination as we “go on pretending”, only to be meshed with the next track which drops us gently into the next topic in this soundscape.

“The Hours” is arguably the best track on the album next to “Wild” in that it scoops you up from the harmonizing vocals to a more steady pace guitar riff. The sound is more conventional in this song, but it works with the Beach House standard. This is one of the high points in the album with it’s relatively higher energy, but with comforting lyrics that impede anyone from being overwhelmed.

“On The Sea” sets off commencing a departure towards the end of the album before “Irene”. This is mentioned as Legrand yearns “wouldn’t you like to know how far you’ve got left to go” as we sail through the final parts of Bloom. The saddest point in the album, but at the same time one of the most beautiful. Once again it merges with “Irene” as the last wave goodbye to the world that is created for us from this full length.

Beach House is known for not wanting to change themselves by sticking to the same room to make their music, the same size venues, the same tour lengths to keep their music special. This is probably what made Bloom such a familiar album to Teen Dream. Their deliberate resistance to “making it big” or “commercializing” themselves for the sake of their music kept the daze from Teen Dream burning strong. At least for them, sticking to the same old routine works out for the better.

9.5/10