4/5
Friday 26 April 2024
REVIEW: ST. VINCENT - ALL BORN SCREAMING
4/5
Friday 19 April 2024
REVIEW: TAYLOR SWIFT - THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT - THE ANTHOLOGY
4/5
Friday 12 April 2024
REVIEW: MAGGIE ROGERS - DON'T FORGET ME
4/5
Wednesday 10 April 2024
REVIEW: VAMPIRE WEEKEND - ONLY GOD WAS ABOVE US
Tuesday 9 April 2024
REVIEW: J. COLE - MIGHT DELETE LATER
3.5/5
Cole As Ice.
Feel cute? Whatever your hip-hop Mount Rushmore is in this modern day (we're still waiting for one more piece of head...erm...what?! That sounds a little like Tyler The Creator), you can't deny the big-three. Unless you're Kendrick Lamar, that is. Who sees it as "just me" (not me, he) like the ominous words of Willem Dafoe's Harry Osbourne before he turned into the Green Goblin for Spider-Man with 'No Way Home'. Responses came raw, fixed and fast. Whether it was all the memes mocked up online for Drake, or J. Cole's surprise album that he 'Might Delete Later' (if you're reading this...it may already be too late). Especially as he took to the stage this week to walk back his bars and explain how corny this all was. Admittedly, that's what this writer first thought when he heard all about this. Beef?! Again?! Is this 50 Cent and Ja Rule all over again? Nas and Jay-Z? Pac and BIG? We've already got mo' problems in hip-hop right now, with some of its most famous faces turning out to be disgraces. The only stakes I want to see is a second season of the Ali Wong and Steven Yeun show on Netflix. That was what I thought...until I heard the diss track.
It really is 'Like That' as on a '7 Minute Drill', Cole gets his dentistry on, filling in with no novocaine for the soul, before he sputters out. "I came up in the 'Ville, so I'm good when it's tension/He still doin' shows, but fell off like the Simpsons/Your first s### was classic, your last s### was tragic/Your second shit put n####s to sleep, but they gassed it/Your third s### was massive and that was your prime/I was trailin' right behind and I just now hit mine/Now I'm front of the line with a comfortable lead/How ironic, soon as I got it, now he want somethin' with me/Well, he caught me at the perfect time, jump up and see/Boy, I got here off of bars, not no controversy/Funny thing about it, b####, I don't even want the prestige/F### the Grammys 'cause them crackers ain't never done nothin' for me, h#."Apart from 'The Simpsons' triggering (last year I decided to take on the mammoth task of watching all the seasons, an episode a day), this was the moment I realized hip-hop was back, and this battle on wax was like the good old days when ladies loved Cool James. But then, when Cole walked it back, people declared hip-hop was dead like Nas. 50 Cent even urged J to call him to gas up his lyrical ether. But we understand why. This purist just wants peace. And love to inspire his industry so used to ignorant hate. Feeling like he let Nas down, even that 'Mastermind' was hurt when he had to lyrically kill Jay-Z and how whole squad. This drill felt like a Drake freestyle in a city of his choice, or the time Cam'ron went at Jigga for ten minutes with Beyoncé singing about slinging crack receipts. The Diplomat is back too, like the 'I'm Ready' sample on 'Ready '24', which shows Cam is still the man on the mic, like he is on the podcast one with Ma$e for the money like Anthony. All as the rapping ballplayer with the SLAM cover, Cole, shouts out the potential of another Cam (Lakers player Reddish) in this game.
Don't delete this, Cole. But maybe walk back those transphobic comments on the life of 'Pi'. Before 'The Fall Off', don't actually do so. Stand your ground. Your manhood and mantle was tested. Take it from this over apologizer. Don't do it! Just keep it on wax and then shake hands once the battle is done and won...which right now is by you. Even though, we'll wait to see what happens this New Music Friday. Soon this bad blood will be an afterthought when Taylor Swift comes through and rules the country again like 'Cowboy Carter' and there's nothing Kanye can do about it. It's not a man's world any more, but you still bring out the big guns and bars to warn a brother that you're 'Huntin' Wabbitz', no speech impediment. There's Ari Lennox, Young Dro and Gucci Mane on 'Pricey'. Bas and Central Cee on 'H.Y.B.' Daylyt and Ab-Soul on the track you should probably delete. Bas again going 'Stealth Mode'. And 'Trae The Truth In Ibiza'. Save the 'Crocodile Tearz'. Some of this, like that, snaps and slaps. Besides, this is just mixtape murder. Just wait until the album. Giving us Peggy Lee 'Fever' like, "Got a new deal, just ran a train on a label/They not real and so they came with some fables/Without a chain, them boys plain as a bagel/I'm from the Ville, they sellin' 'caine if they able/I play the middle, I never hustled or nothin'/But I got lit, now I got the customers jumpin'." These 'Stickz n Stonez' are capable of breaking more than bones to the '3001'. Rapping on this Alchemist produced gem, "Thеse n###s get rich and become so detached, they music start havin' that surface feel/Not a subliminal, speakin' in general, feelings get hurt when words get spilled/Sticks and stones may break your bones, but sayin' my name in a verse will kill." They say names will never hurt you, but calling them out in the most sensitive industry going will sure lead to some drama, like the late, great DJ Kay Slay. So long as you stand by what you say. We don't need the actions, but in this game, we must stay true to our word as a stronger than oak bond. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: '7 Minute Drill', 'Huntin' Wabbitz', 'Ready '24' (Feat. Cam'ron)'.
Sunday 7 April 2024
REVIEW: BECK (Acoustic) @ EX Theatre, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan (07/04/24)
4/5
Friday 5 April 2024
REVIEW: THE BLACK KEYS - OHIO PLAYERS
4/5
Friday 29 March 2024
REVIEW: SHERYL CROW - EVOLUTION
3/5
REVIEW: BEYONCE - COWBOY CARTER
4/5
Friday 15 March 2024
MOVIE REVIEW: TAYLOR SWIFT - THE ERAS TOUR (TAYLOR'S VERSION)
4/5
The Americana Dream.
211 Mins. Starring: Taylor Swift. Director: Sam Wrench. On: Disney +.
Tokyo, Japan. The middle of February means Valentine's Day (fun fact, in Japan, February the 14th is the day when women attempt to woo men like a leap year. Whereas, one month later on 'White Day', the men reply with a gift. Talk about getting left on read). Football fans know different, though. On any given Sunday in February, it's Super Bowl time. And as Taylor Swift played almost a week's worth of shows in the Rising Sun's capital, many 'Lovers' wondered whether she would make it back in time for the Sunday showcase featuring her partner, Kansas City Chief tight-end Travis Kelce. Especially with the last show on Saturday night. But the superstar, hero and biggest star on the planet did like only she could...and of course time zones would allow. But I wouldn't put it past Swift being able to go back in time as she brings all her eras back, like re-recording her albums so she could own it all in a master move. The same way the "Swiftenomics" of the biggest tour of all-time has stimulated the American economy (we need that here in Japan too). Prior to all this, the Japanese government had even issued a Taylor made official deceleration on paper that the Super Bowl would not get in the way of the singer performing the entirety of her Tokyo leg, day-by-day. An album announcement as big as best baseball player Shohei Ohtani (check out his Disney doc 'Beyond A Dream') revealing his wife to be Fujitsu Red Wave basketball star Mamiko Tanaka (expect a Kelce wave of fame now) also came in Japan for 'The Tortured Poets Department' (best Wes Anderson movie name ever). This is just how big Miss Americana is. She's an international incident. You could just tell from the legions of fans queueing up like only the Japanese could in a merch line that would equate to most major groups gig lines for the first day of sales of the actual tickets. And for those who couldn't cop a last minute one (hands up), for reasons we won't get into, they congregated and sang together outside, making new friends and memories in beautiful moments that showed how much Swift really does break down barriers, even in a socially shy land like Japan.
The Swifties were out in full force in the Far East like only a BTS Army could match for the biggest act in pop, whose still a little bit country, like a diamond Shania Twain, and one of the best folks in the biz. If you missed out on 'The Eras Tour' in any arena (it's just wrapped up a spot in Singapore), and even the cinemas that became concert halls for the sold out shows of the movie, you can now catch it with Mickey Mouse in the comfort of your own home and laptop speakers that can still bring the full force of all the power she had to bear on the jumbotrons of football stadiums she touched down in all around the world before she embraced her beau after his big win. Disney + is now the home for the three and a half hour epic 'Eras' show, making sure no one will miss this one of a kind event. To watch crimson and clover until your heart's content. Following 'Folklore' behind the scenes tales on Disney, and the Netflix 'Americana' standing next to Beyoncé's and a 'Five Foot Two' Gaga, this is the best concert film available to stream since BTS gave you 'Permission To Dance'. Directed by Sam Wrench, this AMC and Cinemark Theatres landmark hit is as cinematic as the biggest blockbuster of last year ('Barbenheimer' we're looking in your direction). And when Taylor makes her epic 'Eras' entrance underneath some Las Vegas like showwomanship, it's like a superhero entered the picture as she really sticks the landing. Mining heartbreak into gold.
And this Elvis will never leave the building, as she makes planet earth her residency like a Hollywood star in the 90s when we were more concerned about what was on the big screen than what was reflected on our "smart" ones. Those major film studios that passed on this distribution might want to order a plate of humble pie the next time they book a table at Planet Hollywood. They needn't have had reservations. Outside of 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie's' world, this has done the popcorn business. It would have been the biggest Marvel movie of the year from the star who is rumoured to play Lady Deadpool in the forthcoming 'Deadpool and Wolverine' film starring her friend Blake Lively's husband. Another friend joked with Swift about all the albums she didn't tour, making some of her best, folky work during our socially isolated pandemic. "What are you going to do, tour them all and do three-hour shows?" Responding like Nashville's Man In Black Johnny Cash when told it looks like he was going to a funeral, "exactly". Swift got her Springsteen at sixty on and brought each and every house down, night after night, after night. And you can see the California love of the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood here for your inspiration. I mean, this is a major player who even has a banner in the Lakers arena, presented to her by the late, great Kobe Bryant, even before one of his two jerseys made it up to those rafters he raised 'chips in. This cinematic rendering like a Beyoncé 'Renaissance' is a revelation that even impressed Oscar winning director Christopher Nolan who had the best film of the year. And now, like 'Oppenheimer' showing in Japan this month after the controversy and sensitivity, you can finally see what we missed. Classic choreography of all the Taylor made hits and star power of pop and perhaps now movie's biggest star. The trend these days may be to call everything an era (even your fashion choices and life decisions), but none is quite like Taylor's version. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Further Filming: 'Taylor Swift-Miss Americana', 'Taylor Swift: Folklore (The Long Pond Studio Sessions)', 'BTS: Permission To Dance- On Stage LA'.
Friday 8 March 2024
REVIEW: NORAH JONES - VISIONS
4/5
Saturday 24 February 2024
REVIEW: MGMT - LOSS OF LIFE
4/5
Love and Loss.
It's no longer time to pretend. The fifth album from psychedelic synth pop act MGMT is here. And with a 'Loss Of Life', it's all change for the 'Oracular Spectacular' legend's first release since the smartphone checking live album '11.11.11' of 2022. For one, the French icon of Christine and the Queens appears on the delightful 'Dancing In Babylon', marking the first guest appearance featuring on an album from collaborators Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser. 'Congratulations', Chris. Their first album on the new Mom + Pop label is also their first studio one in six years since the 'Little Dark Age' of 2018 and what a return it is. Marked by the sweet singles (like the latest with the Queens), 'Mother Nature', 'Bubblegum Dog' and 'Nothing To Declare', across the airport in a music video starring YouTube inspiration Inga Petry.
Rocking on the horse of a classic album cover, it's actually the 'Love and Loss' title-track(s) in both their parts (the second starting and setting everything off) that really hit home now the duo are back where they belong. Channelling indie rock and even Britpop in an Oasis of a Blur, MGMT still know how to push the envelope, even though, in this post Empire Of The Sun age, where they now seem like a throwback akin to The Strokes, they aren't dressing up like they're about to drop all sorts at Woodstock. The test pressing of this "elf of soils" with a Warhol like banana on top is art, just when you thought these two were going to split and part. "LOL", this anagram really does cook for the fans on Insta who know what we're talking about. The pair, proud of what they dub a, "relatively painless birth after a lengthy gestation period", are pregnant with pure sounds for an immaculate conception. 'People In The Streets' can see and hear the highlight that graffities lyrics like, "Life keeps on going/Showing you things that you can't unsee/In the sense of unknowing why/Anything happens to be/And just as the sun comes out again/Something is blocking the light/But it's alright/The inside's still glowing/Telling the heart what it wants to hear/But what if it's only lies/Twisted apart by fear?" What if indeed, in this perplexed day and age in need of the natural high, Goldwasser and VanWyngarden bring in the gold of their Eden.
Nothing to declare? Well, 'Nothing Changes' they say in words that may actually do that to you if you haven't experienced loss and life's wounds yet. "This is what the birds must have been squawking about/Right before the dream was ending/And maybe you'd have heard if you'd stopped f###### around/When it was time to stop pretending." We told 'The Youth', the time for pretending was over. Well kids, here you have it. It's been a long time since that Patrick Wimberly produced 'Electric Feel', but it's still in there somewhere, and he is too, manning the boards for that sonic studio sound. From 'Phradie's Song' to the title track classic closer that bookends this second-career breakthrough as successful as the 2022 comeback album from the similar sounding, same vein The Mars Volta. Attacking sounds in space and time, 'I Wish I Was Joking' when I said these lines will stay with you down your own one. But when you hear "Half of love is still love/You beg the dawn to ease you in/Pass the time a thousand ways/In the dump, you'll find love/Half the time, I feel sad/And any kind of love will do/But it’s a job, don't know if that's the dream/In a style that’s insincere" you may not look at life the same way again. As we treat love like a ghost that slow fades out like a track on your old CDs, and life like something to swipe past on to the next. But in the same track that references 'Disney On Ice' (who saw that coming?), they tell us, "Here's the thing about drugs/They'll sink your mind and steal your friends," this is the loss the partnership were referring to. The purple haze may have gone to a sombre black tone, but this album is seriously good. Just like life, if you treat it as such. In all its beauty and brutality. For at the end of this dark night, an electric day will rise again. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'Dancing In Babylon (Feat. Christine and the Queens)', 'People In The Streets', 'Nothing Changes'.
Friday 9 February 2024
REVIEW: USHER - COMING HOME
3.5/5
Tuesday 23 January 2024
DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: BTS - MONUMENTS: BEYOND THE STAR
4/5
Friday 19 January 2024
REVIEW: GREEN DAY - SAVIORS
4/5
Friday 12 January 2024
REVIEW: KID CUDI - INSANO
3.5/5
Insano In The Membrane. Insano In The Rage.
If you believe the 'Man On The Moon' could stare at the 'Man In The Mirror', then take a look at this. There's a massive silver statue of Kid Cudi right now making the rounds in Los Angeles. Kind of reminding us of the 'History' Michael Jackson made when his own monolith was pulled around London's River Thames to promote his greatest hits package in the mid 90s. Or, better yet, the massive robot he turned into with piercing eyes in MJ's 'Moonwalker' movie (and you thought a werewolf was thrilling). Following his own Netflix movie ('Entergalactic') and soundtrack, Mr. Rager gives us his latest in 'Insano', delivered by DJ Drama like a Tyler creation. It may sound like Cartmen from 'South Park's' robotic alter-ego, but this awesome album is crazy good...and loaded with features. As we still wait for the ray of Lana like SZA, the first big New Music Friday of 2024 gives us a new album from Cudda, 21 Savage (who has just teased the stranger things of his new biopic 'American Dream' starring Caleb McLaughlin and the 'This Is America' of Donald Glover's Childish Gambino) and The LOX across the pond outfit of D-Block Europe. In ALL-CAPS, this Wicked Awesome record starts the calendar off correct. Don't neglect it like movie studios who drop duds in dry January that otherwise would be box office bombs. This ninth wonder is also the Kid's last album with Republic records, who he's been with since 'The End Of Day'.
Painted in amazing artwork, the visual artist, who's just coming off a TV special award win, is riding around in a 'Porsche Topless' (and not just on his alternative album artwork takes). Getting this party started with that single and the second 'At The Party', bound to keep you moving to the 808 sounds of his heartbroken vocals that feel like their own instrument to this inspired pursuit of happiness. Even after what Drake said, this Kid is still legit. And even without Kanye, Cudi still makes goo...no G.R.E.A.T. music, as others just court controversy. If they weren't enough promotional singles for your Gangster Grillz to get your teeth into, then Cudi also hit the streets in black and red with the menacing 'Most Ain't Dennis', and the mesmerizing letting of 'Ill What I Bleed' as sick as Ne-Yo when he let the one that got away walk. Soon, Scott Mescudi could leave the Kid Cudi alter-ego behind for good, but until then he's giving you "pure superhero music." Assembling more capes for his crusade to marvel at, too. Aside from the Drama ('Often I Have These Dreamz' and more), there's Travis Scott on 'Get Off Me' (getting Savage this week with two guest features). A 'Wow' ASAP Rocky. A 'Too Damn High' Lil Yatchy. XXXTentacion on 'X and Cud'. Young Thug on 'Rager Boyz'. And the great Lil' Wayne delivering a classic on the 'Seven' seal. Not to mention Pharrell Williams himself, 'At The Party' with Travis again. A deluxe edition promises even more guest feature spots, like the anti J. Cole album. 'Keep Bouncin'' like A Tribe Called Quest indeed.
Maraurdering around some real mood music, no Drake diss on Joe Budden, Cudi rides this 'ElectroWaveBaby' in this 'Tale Of A Knight' that is the 'Cud Life', rapping, "Superstar (Yeah), how'd I let you wave? (Wave, wave)/Let it high (High), ain't we on our wave? (On our, on our)/Ask me where, I point the sky, just take me closer, I/Come with me, let's fly, mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm." Instrumental again in his musical musings in making his harmonies hallmark sounds. Ones that will 'Getcha Gone' like when Jermaine Dupri told you he had to 'Gotcha Getcha'. 'Mr. Coola' is so cold and the cool glass of Kool-Aid you need in a January that needs a little "yeah" to the start of your year. 'Freshie' is that fresh for your 'Tortured' souls as Mescudi reminds us, "My demons there to haunt me, keepin' focused, s###, it sucks, man/I don't give two f#####s what they say about me, own me (Yeah)/I'ma stay so focused, do my dirt up on my lonely." The pain is never top far away from the pleasure, but joy still comes in the new morning and year. This 'Funky Wizard Smoke' will tote-ally put a spell on you like Pottermore, forever more. All the way to the greeting of Mr. 'Blue Sky' that takes you high like, "The sky is blue, oh finally, been dreamin' of this for a while (Yeah)/The sun is shining, blinding, swimmin' in this place of mine (Let's go)/Help me out, pass that blunt, my guy/We're all on a quest to climb, and we're on our way (Hmm, hmm-hmm)." The chorus and the reign the new victory like MJ as you 'Hit The Street In My Nikes' to walk off with this mic drop moment. Just in rose gold, this man may have walked on the moon three times to complete the trilogy, but he's not wearing out his soul. The giant step comes next. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'Porsche Topless', 'ElectroWaveBaby', 'Hit The Streets In My Nikes'.