Album Reviews
Puscifer Ride the New Wave on Existential Reckoning: Review
The Lowdown: Puscifer’s fourth studio album sees the enigmatic vocalist Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) joined once more by core members Mat Mitchell (guitar/production) and Carina Round (vocals/songwriting), among others. Existential Reckoning is their first LP in five years (Money Shot dropped in 2015). On the new effort, Puscifer offer up another go-round of electro-arty rock tunes, which lyrically seem to follow the continuing adventures of characters Billy D, and his wife, Hildy Berger … with the former purportedly the victim of an alien abduction. The Good: Any new music from Mr. Keenan is sure to please his legion of admirers. And Puscifer once again sees Keenan and company build tunes around electronics as their foundation (at times comparable to early ‘80s new wavers...
The Adventurous Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Illuminates a True Talent: Review
The Lowdown: The pseudonym of Brooklyn-based electronic musician Daniel Lopatin, Oneohtrix Point Never has made a name for himself not only with his own releases, but also through his collaborations with notable artists like Tim Hecker, FKA Twigs, and The Weeknd. He’s also found acclaim as the composer for both Safdie brothers films — 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems — and he set a high bar with 2018’s Age Of. Thus, he had quite the task in front of him in making its follow-up, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, a worthwhile addition to his impressive and renowned catalog. Fortunately, Lopatin goes one step further by creating a fascinating and evocative, yet periodically frustrating, sequence. Recorded in lockdown between March and July of this year, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never sees him c...
Tom Petty’s Wildflowers & All the Rest Faithfully Fulfills a Legend’s Vision: Review
The Lowdown: Few creative efforts ever reach the finish line without compromise. In the case of Tom Petty’s 1994 solo album, Wildflowers, the final product barely scratched the surface of the artist’s intended vision. While Petty originally mapped out a sprawling 25-song double-album, executives at new label Warner Bros. thought such a massive collection might send sales freefalling. The suits weren’t necessarily wrong. The relatively quiet and reflective album would go on to sell more than three million records domestically in the face of grunge, and many would consider it Petty’s last great studio effort. Still, fans were left to wonder what might’ve been … until now. [embedded content] Wildflowers & All the Rest fulfills Petty’s vision and then some. In addition to the 2014 remaster...
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Boldly Looks to the Future: Review
The Lowdown: Even bosses get writers’ block sometimes. Such was the case for Bruce Springsteen in early 2019. Facing down 70 and preparing to release Western Stars (his best-reviewed record in nearly a decade and one of our top 50 albums of 2019), Springsteen wasn’t totally sure what might come next. On his 20th studio album, he answers that question on both a micro and a macro level. Much like Western Stars found Springsteen exploring bygone California sounds from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, Letter to You also discovered its inspiration in the not-yet-faded past. In addition to a newly vital set of songs devoted to aging, death, and legacy, Springsteen also resurrected three tracks written before his 1975 debut and reconvened the E Street Band for their first full-length studio collaborat...
Pallbearer Forge Ahead with Emotionally Charged Doom on Forgotten Days: Review
The Gist: Pallbearer have ascended the arduous music industry ladder like many metal bands before them. They released a strong demo in 2010, got indie label attention, and released a string of successful underground doom albums. Now, the band is freshly signed to storied metal label Nuclear Blast Records for their fourth studio LP, Forgotten Days. The album marks that proverbial turning point in their career. There are expectations from thousands of fans the band has built over a decade of touring and releasing music — much of it among the finest doom metal money can buy. Not to mention Forgotten Days arrives amidst a global pandemic that delayed the album’s release for months and renders it currently un-tourable. As Pallbearer bassist Joseph D. Roland told Heavy Consequence, a world ...
Jeff Tweedy’s Love Is the King Conquers Anger and Fear with Happiness: Review
The Lowdown: Who in 2020, a year defined almost exclusively by fear, hate and unprecedented political division, has the nerve to release a record called Love Is the King? That might sound a little too optimistic for Jeff Tweedy, but while the Wilco frontman doesn’t always paint a rosy picture in his songs, he knows how to offer calm reassurance in dark times. Few songwriters possess such an acute ability to make sense of the craziness around them, and if Tweedy’s latest solo endeavor proves anything, it’s that sometimes that’s good enough. [embedded content] The Good: There was a time when recording a record amid such social or personal turmoil would have sent Tweedy down the path toward artful rancor. But Love Is the King is the latest in what has been a string of relatively calm releases...
Gorillaz Continue to Exude Colorful Chemistry on Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez: Review
The Lowdown: Ever since they first stole our hearts about 20 years ago, Gorillaz — the genre-splicing virtual band spearheaded by Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, and now Remi Kabaka Jr. — have provided about as much visual flamboyance and experimentation as musical. In other words, they’ve always made exceptional use of things like music videos, 3-D concert projections, and web-based gimmicks to not only enhance the impact and mystique of their albums and lore but also to push the limits of what modern, multimodal artistry can achieve in a broader sense. Earlier this year, they announced arguably their most ambitious endeavor yet: Song Machine, a web series wherein each “episode” features a new song/music video that encapsulates Gorillaz’s trademark tongue-in-cheek bizarreness, stylistic flex...
Benny the Butcher Flexes His Street Cred on the Star-Studded Burden of Proof: Review
The Lowdown: Despite how prolific Griselda have been in 2020, it has been a full year since we have gotten a solo Benny the Butcher project. In that time, Griselda have signed a Roc Nation management deal, dropped a group album, performed on Fallon, and tested the limits of how many solid albums a collective can drop in a short period of time. People have been waiting on Benny ever since 2019’s The Plugs I Met, an EP that brought him to a higher level of fame for its coke tales, OJ comparisons, and 38 Spesh’s lamb and stick. Benny is a man of history. The East Buffalo-bred MC has studied the game to a tee and has all of the co-signs that other rappers spend a whole career wishing they could boast. Growing up on the infamous Montana Avenue, he has spent a lifetime waiting for this moment to...
Artist of the Month beabadoobee Unleashes the Raw and Gutting Fake It Flowers: Review
The Lowdown: If you’ve ever scrolled TikTok, you’ve heard beabadoobee’s sweet single “Coffee”. It — plus a song that samples it — has been used to soundtrack almost every clip that includes any of the following: a nausea-inducing relationship montage, a racoon (or other wild animal) doing something kind of cute, or a craft project that you will absolutely never do but bookmark anyway. “Coffee” had taken off even before it made its way onto the omnipresent app, when it was posted by 1-800-LOVE-U, a popular YouTube channel with 700,000-plus subscribers. Characterized by a soft, almost dissolvable voice, the song is just under two minutes of simple guitar chords, doughy lyrics, and pleasant feelings. It’s charming, the equivalent of a gentle hug and kiss on the forehead. If, at times, the son...
Future Islands’ As Long as You Are Is Familiar yet Captivating: Review
The Lowdown: Future Islands first truly caught the world’s attention with the Letterman performance of “Seasons (Waiting on You)” that brought lead vocalist Samuel T. Herring’s confident and expressive singing style into the viral limelight. This coincided with the release of Singles, their most polished album thus far and an encapsulation of all their post-wave aspirations. Now, two albums and six years later, they’re back again with As Long as You Are, a twinkling and pulsating slow burn that finds them employing many approaches that by now feel familiar to their sound, but still cohesive and captivating. [embedded content] The Good: It opens with seagulls and it ends with the coast. This is an album that deals with expanse and immensity that feels difficult to conceive of, let alone to ...
21 Savage and Metro Boomin Deliver a Grimy Sequel with the Masterful Savage Mode II: Review
The Lowdown: After the success of Savage Mode in 2016 and Without Warning in 2017, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin return to the scene with their latest collaborative album, Savage Mode II. Although some time has elapsed since they released their last project as a dynamic duo, both have kept plenty busy on their own, providing the streets and clubs with hit after hit. Savage dropped the highly acclaimed I Am > I Was in 2018 while Metro Boomin has crafted a plethora of hits with his signature trap sound. Featuring guest appearances from Drake, Young Thug, and Young Nudy, there’s plenty of reason why Savage Mode II became one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2020 the moment it was announced. The Good: The album begins in cinematic form with the masculine voice of God, none other than A...
Jónsi Soars and Crashes (in a Good Way) on Shiver: Review
The Lowdown: On Shiver, his first solo album in 10 years, Icelandic artist Jónsi presents atmospheric electronic art-pop, which balances uplift with glitchy dread. With band Sigur Rós on indefinite hiatus, and after separating from his longtime partner/collaborator, the singer-songwriter-composer now lives in LA and had his first visual-art exhibition last fall. Those themes of the uncomfortable freedom of dislocation and transition are reflected on the songs of Shiver, which soar, short-out, crash and re-boot. [embedded content] The Good: While Jónsi’s mystical countertenor voice has often been associated with glacial fjords and forests thick with elves, Shiver evokes dark landscapes that are more industrial and interior. The 45-year-old multi-instrumentalist teamed up with en vogue young...
