REVIEW: TYLER, THE CREATOR - CHROMAKOPIA

4/5

The Mask

Surprise, b#####s...in your best Dave Chappelle voice! Who's that 'Noid', walking through the black and white streets with The Verve of Richard Ashcroft in a 'Bittersweet Symphony'? Bumping into people in the phantom of the opera black mask like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James going hard, playing through a facial fracture. It's only Tyler, The Creator. The man with the funkiest freestyle that set Funkmaster Flex off. Back with an album out of the blue this New Music Friday, following his Grammy Award-winning 'Call Me If You Get Lost' ODB I.D. Expect another one for the compelling 'CHROMAKOPIA' in ALL-CAPS. An eighth wonder off Colombia Records for The Creator. A straight shooting classic, all the way to the same masked up black and white throwback album artwork, that's really saying something. If only you would take off your own brilliant disguise to realize.

God loves a 'Bastard'. And this 'Goblin' and 'Wolf' explodes like a 'Cherry Bomb' this Halloween. 'Flower Boy', 'Igor', 'Call Me', the big-three of amazing album art have just been joined by a fantastic fourth for the man in the best stretch of his creative career, that's lasted for a decade plus, and running. A cut above the rest, from the Daniel Caesar assisted 'St. Chroma' opening number, to the 'I Hope You Find Your Way Home ' lost ones reflective curtain. Fusing hip-hop, R&B and jazz like awakening the love of a Childish Gambino (he's here, too), Tyler Gregory Okonma, 'Chromakopia' in all its chrome features some of the best in the business. Offset by a sample of 'Thought I Was Dead' (featuring Schoolboy Q and Santigold), this follow-up to 'If You Get Lost' also finds Teezo Touchdown ('Darling, I'), Daniel Caesar again with LaToiya Williams ('Take Your Mask Off'), Lola Young ('Like Him'), Doechii ('Balloon') and Playboy Carti on the physical album'. Not to mention one of the best posse cuts with the 'Sticky' ( I smell...) GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Weezy F. baby, Lil' Wayne collaboration.

The creative force raps with reckless abandon, "Wipe that silly grin (Mm), b####, I'm really him (Mm)/You better put them palms together, b####, I really sin (Mm)/No, me and crack don't share daddies, but we really twins (Okay)/If she ain't got her s### together, she ain't gettin' in (Okay)/You see the bed top bunker, the boy got thumpers/I'm a bonafide face seat, box muncher" on the 'Rah Tah Tah'. But it's the song about 'Hey Jane' that offers more in the form of, "Hey, Jane, your hair long and your legs long/And we can both relate to the fact that our dads gone/Couple good qualities on you you could pass on/You're not dumb, and your face good, and your head strong, look". Reminding you in this safe sex education to "always, always, always wear a condom," like his mother says. 'I Killed You', the creator of Odd Future declares, as you let him cook with all he had to bear. Not one to judge like 'Judy'.

'Tomorrow' offers even more in this redemption song, feeling like a Kanye 'Runaway', running as fast as you can. "Fear it, face clear, few wrinkles on my spirit/Thought this s### out, I pop out with that oven/Tell that new version of me that I'm comin', yeah/My brodie had another baby, that's like number two (Number two)/My homegirl, her knot tied, she like thirty-two (Thirty-two)/They sharin' pictures of these moments, s### is really cute/And all I got is photos of my 'Rari and some silly suits (Man)/Mhm, will I flip the switch and finally settle down?/" At a career creative crossorads, is this a turning point for Tyler? Cohesive yet confused in its nature, this is a man who is nurturing his style, but still can afford more. Will little creators come next? Or is this collection his legacy? Time will tell, for a man whose always known how to pivot with pride. His whole career is his magnum opus. Now will he wear one or let it ride? Inglewood's finest with pearls from his mother gives us another jewel. Andre 3000 once reminded us that chronophobia is the fear of time, but with 'Chromakopia', it's still on The Creator's side. Yes, it is. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Noid', 'Sticky (Feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil' Wayne)', 'I Hope You Find Your Way Home'.

Spin This: Childish Gambino - 'Awaken, My Love'

REVIEW: WILLIE NELSON - LAST LEAF ON THE TREE

4/5

The Tree Of Life 

Spooky season may have given way to the festive one, as quick as shopping malls change their Halloween decorations, to Christmas ones. Yet 'Last Leaf On The Tree' is not a festive album from Willie Nelson, hot on the snow boots of Ben Folds' 'Sleigher' last week. We're sure the 91-year-old icon of country and American music has already done that in his 76 solo studio albums and counting. Besides, this is his second album of the year, this fall. Coming after the May day checking of 'The Border' patrol, which clocked in as one of his best records yet across the plains. And did we just mention he's chasing a century in not only age, but albums? As Autumn strips the trees, 'Last Leaf' plants new material based on the roots of other artist's records. Sure, this is a covers album, but it doesn't make it any less compelling than Willie's other work. This is no half-baked Nelson here.

With a few chickens in his Hen House studio in Venice, Los Angeles, Willie Nelson's 'Last Leaf On The Tree' is led by the singles 'Last Leaf', 'Do You Realize??' and 'Lost Cause' by Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips and Beck respectively. The latter lamenting a sea change for the "hello, walls" singer as he broods, "Your sorry eyes, they cut through the bone/They make it hard to leave you alone/Leave you here wearing your wounds/Waving your guns at somebody new" with a devil's haircut. These Legacy Recordings (produced perfectly by the maestro Micah Nelson) from the long-haired singer also braid work from the fellow legendary likes of Neil Young ('Are You Ready For The Country?') and Nina Simone (the compelling 'Come Ye') for the faithful. But, this wouldn't be a Nelson album without original work from Willie himself and his outstanding output.

On 'The Color Of Sound' he asks, "if silence is golden, what color is sound/And the love we don't hold in plants a seed in the ground," for some of his most poetic prose yet. Nelson describes this album as, "facing death with grace". We don't want to think about this being it for Willie, especially after two albums alone, just this year. Not to mention the fact that any moment could be the last for anybody. Yet, he really is working on new material like there's no tomorrow. With youthful vigor, just like 94-year-old legendary director Clint Eastwood with 'Juror #2' this week. I guess 90 really is the new 20. With the 'Spirit' of his most stripped down classic, Nelson also doesn't give up 'The Ghost' off of 'Naked Willie'. "The silence is unusually loud tonight/The strange sound of nothing fills my ears/Then night rushes in like a crowd of nights/And the ghost of our old love appears", as classics, like legends, never really die.

They live forever like a hidden bonus track 'Looking For Trouble' and the last laugh in this song and dance. On the wings of a 'Broken Arrow' like John Travolta from the quiver (featuring a snippet of 'Mr. Soul'), Nelson gives us even more legend in this lengthy number that flies as one of the best of the set. And this includes 'If It Wasn't Broken', robbing a Rolling Stone like Keith Richards blind and revisiting Waits for the familiar 'House Where Nobody Lives'. Always on Willie's mind like the walls that tell a thousand tales, families in frames couldn't quite capture. Willie is doing this until the 'Wheels' (wrote by Micah) fall off, and they're firmly turning too. Either way, he wants you to 'Keep Me In Your Heart' like the Jorge Calderón and Warren Zevon standard. How could we not as "hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams/Touch me as I fall in view/When the winter comes, keep the fires lit/I'll be right next to you" (and us, too) beats on? As inspired as his interpretations of these songs his own ones probably helped influence, the heart keeps getting filled from Willie's well. The tree stands strong. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Lost Cause', 'Broken Arrow', 'The Ghost'.

Spin This: Willie Nelson - 'The Border'

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: ROAD DIARY - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND

4/5

Glory Road Trip

100 Mins. Starring: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. Director: Thom Zimny. On: Disney +.

Even the planet's pandemic couldn't stop 'The Boss' Bruce Springsteen from getting back on the road like his beat version of Keourac's American dream. Yet on his new tour documentary, 'Road Diary', with his legendary E Street Band, he takes stock at this moment, with all that's come before and all that's left. Giving fond fans his most intimate 'Letter To You' yet. Streaming on Disney +, this Hulu and Star original directed by Thom Zimny (the wonderful 'Western Stars' movie), is the closest you'll get to the boss of all bosses this side of 'Springsteen On Broadway'. It really is the year of the Jersey boys on the documentary stage, Jon. As this diary follows the marvellous miniseries of 'Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story'.

Jon Bon saved someone's life recently. Just like, Bruce has been giving hope to those who work hard in boot leather and worn denim for their own slice of the American dream. Something that's needed now, more than ever, as we are all 'Working On A Dream' towards a new election day we hope doesn't hit us like a 'Wrecking Ball'. An inspired, in-depth look at the most influential band on the concert circuit, no Springsteen catalogue is complete without this backstreets, backstage, behind the scene's footage of rehearsals, rare archival clips and reflections from the man himself. All before this band on the run takes to the road for their legendary live shows. Signature in the fact that they last as long as 'The Godfather' trilogy with the don doing everything from silencing the crowd (check out the friendly fan at the front), to collecting all their banner song-title favours ('Devils Arcade', 'Trouble In Paradise') and performing it all, off the cuff and with tremendous power that blows the house down.

Proving it all night, Springsteen is embarking on another world tour. Despite illness forcing the 75-year-old, who still puts on mammoth three-hour plus sets, to postpone some of his shows last year. Even the great Taylor Swift can't deliver epic eras like this. 'Born To Run'. 'The River'. 'The Rising'. We still need his 'Magic'. The 'High Hopes' he gives us with his E Street Shuffle. 'Only The Strong Survive' and this documentary is a dedication to his dearly departed friends and bandmates Danny Federici and Clarence 'Big Man' Clemons (like his classic cover of The Commodores' 'Nightshift'), honoured by the young man that is his nephew, Jake Clemons. Not to forget Bruce's beautiful mother, the late, Adele Zerilli Springsteen, as this film concludes, post-credits, with their last dance and waltz on the porch. Bruce Springsteen has been through it all, over the decades, born in the USA. War, 9-11, the recession, his own great depression. Love, loss. The American dream and nightmare. And now, heart and soul, he stares down his own mortality.

Life's impermanence is a fate none of us can escape. It seems cruel, but there can be beauty in it too as you look back on the life you have lived and loved. All the work you've done and all the shifts that are still to come in this long and winding road. Because this concert movie of sorts is more than a BTS look at the man that is to rock music what Korea is to pop. Sure, you'll love to see the mighty Max Weinberg and legendary Stevie Van Zandt give their terrific testimonials to the touring times. Just like you will the beauty of the love between Bruce and the real boss, Patti Scialfa that still burns like 'Fire', because remember, "brunettes are fine, and blondes are fun, but..." Getting the job done, The Boss takes us from the boardwalk to Barcelona and all the bold and beautiful moments in-between. Making every stop on the way, as there's still life on the road yet, and pages in the diary to write to the letter. Ending on a powerful quote by Jim Morrison, open the doors on this definitive and delightful documentary, breaking on through to the other side, and your fire will really be lit once more. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Touring: 'Springsteen On Broadway', 'Bruce Springsteen: Western Stars', 'Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story'.

REVIEW: HALSEY - THE GREAT IMPERSONATOR

4/5

The Pretenders 

Taylor Swift. Beyoncé. Maggie Rogers. St. Vincent. Billie Eilish. Maya Hawke. Nelly Furtado. Katy Perry. Lady Gaga. For all the pop artists that have released highly-anticipated albums this year, you just knew you were going to hear from them. Here is Halsey's new album, and her first studio since 2021's influential, 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power'. The first release since the last live take of the classic 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' at Webster Hall. Here you'll hear one of the 'Maniac's' best since the Bruce 'Badlands'. Their fifth album and first with the classic Colombia records. Recorded at the Electric Lady Studios and shot to the stratosphere with super singles like 'Lucky', the incredible 'Lonely Is The Muse', the 'Ego' shedding, and the new breakup ballad 'I Never Loved You' for the "by myself" flowers generation. The star stamped on this Tears For Fears 'Songs For A Nervous Planet (also released this weekend) Warhol like album artwork almost looks like Ziggy Stardust...with good reason.

David Bowie. Bruce Springsteen. Joni Michell. Dolly Parton. Cher. Stevie Nicks. Linda Ronstadt. Kate Bush. PJ Harvey. Björk. Fiona Apple. Tori Amos. Britney Spears. Aaliyah. Amy Lee of Evanescence. And the late Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries, whose legend lingers on. Not to mention, the great Marylin Monroe, for the outstanding Hollywoodland opening of the 'Only Girl Living in LA'. Or even herself, for the inspired cover of her own 'Badlands' 'Hurt Feelings'. Halsey inspires impersonations, appearing as them all, as they hold all the cards in this great American concept songbook album. Resulting in some of the amazing artist's own best work yet. Especially when it comes to the epic 'Letter(s) To God', spanning the decades from 1974 to 1998 (and '83 in-between), if you know, you know. This is the greatest show, man, for one of the best releases of the year for the record. From New Music Friday to those from times gone by.

'Hometown'. 'Dog Years'. 'Darwinism'. It's all here, "in the space between life and death" for Halsey's best and boldest yet. "Does the story die with its narrator" on the titular 'The Great Impersonator'? Not this one. "Uh-AH!" Pure pop at it's most subtle and beautiful. It doesn't get much finer than this down the line. Personal and profound. What was once meant to be her last album, turns out to be, not only her best, but a celebration of all those who came before her. From the scavenger hunt for the album art of different decades. All the way to the bonus wonderland of 'Alice Of The Upper Class'. On 'Panic Attack' the New Jersey songstress stresses, "My body carries sadness that my brain cannot yet see/And I've been holding on to memories in my stomach and my teeth/And both my shoulders have been burdened by the weight of my mistakes/And every time you lean in closer, both my knees can't help but shake". Going even deeper through the darkness to find the light and that of a new day.

'The End' justifies the Joni Mitchell means. Whilst, 'I Believe In Magic' and its great deal also believes in the country strength of Linda Ronstadt. Just like the 'Hometown' of Nashville's very own Dolly Parton. Across America in concert, we would love to see some of these artist appear on stage in duet, alongside Halsey. If you dream it, you can see it. A letter to God, or the Boss Springsteen (1983 to infinity). It's a draft you could weave into reality like the 'Life Of A Spider' song in her back pocket. But for all these love letters and dedication to greats, whether turning back time with Cher in '74, or bringing the dearly departed Li-Li back to 1998, it's the Fiona Apple amazing 'Arsonist' that burns this all down. "You built a small container to keep all of me confined/I am water, I am shapeless, I am fluid, I am divine/Somebody will love me for the way that I'm designed/Devastation, creation, intertwined." Canadian poet Rupi Kaur would be proud. They say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Impersonation here, on the other hand, is the most influential and inspired. By greatness. TIM DAVID HARVEY

Playlist Picks: 'Only Girl Living In LA', 'Letter To God (1974)', 'Lonely Is The Muse'.

REVIEW: TEARS FOR FEARS - SONGS FOR A NERVOUS PLANET

4/5

No Fear

"Shout/Shout/Let it all out/These are the things I can do without/Come on/I'm talking to you/Come on", Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' of classic composer Leonard Bernstein dances along to the Tears For Fears iconic track in the club, for the 'A Star Is Born' director, actor, writer and hitmaker's Netflix Oscar nominated movie. Just another legendary moment for the great British pop act in theatres. Countless cinematic, absolute scenes like when 'Donnie Darko' showed you it really was a 'Mad World' as we followed the W.T.F. rabbit like Jake Gyllenhaal. It's 'No Small Thing'. 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World', that's been sampled more times than Toto's 'Africa'. 'Woman In Chains' (for all you misheard song lyric heads, listen up for the band's soup order around the three-minute mark) and 'Change'. They're all here, live from Franklin, Tennessee, for Tears For Fears' new album. One that's part live album, as four brand-new studio tracks are joined by a concert set-list. 

Shout. Shout. Let it out. Come on. I'm talking to you. Come on. These are the 'Songs For A Nervous Planet'. And ones that show us it's still a mad world that everybody wants to rule. Just like, this band still sound as good as they always did. Don't doubt it. Like Hall & Oates. You just can't deny these harmonies, like a Pet Shop, boy! Why hate, when you can celebrate this oasis of reunions. If only they had more songs to go with this four-track and all the greatest hits that have ruled the world. An 'Astronaut' stands in the middle of a field of sunflowers that Van Gogh would be proud of for a classic cover that will be legendary to the Tears of their iconography. Presenting our greatest fears, a graduated Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal are on a tear as they 'Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad'. The opening and most outstanding track as they sing, "Say goodbye to mom and dad/Say hello to all the ghosts of Leningrad/Everything is up for grabs/Go tell all your friends society's gone mad/God is wise and Jesus loves us all/There's no life in silent fear/When tomorrow comes, brave and wild frontier/Get out this place, inside, outside, nowhere to hide/When tomorrow comes, we'll face the great divide", together.

In this mother's talk, it really is a mad society, let alone world. But with their sweet new single, they still show love in times that are critical. All for 'The Girl That I Call Home', by the beach like, "You get to walk among the flowers/I'm a man who tries to hide away his scars/Beyond the sea of stars/You seem to find a higher power/And when part of me is darker than the night/You fill the void with light." Holding your hand in an Instagrammable moment for this day and age, that you just wish you could capture in the forever frame of a real portrait. It's just like 'Emily Said', "the light outside is heavenly/She takes another picture then she cries/Ain't this the sweetest life/No pain or human sacrifice/Just you and me and strawberry skies." Like fields forever. If only. Because like The Beatles, that's all we need in this time to be alive. For a world rocked with anxiety, these are the tunes we always needed like their best of, alive and hear to quell the fear. Save your tears. Life is still as good as it always was. Just like these world rulers sound as great as they always will. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad', 'The Girl That I Call Home', 'Astronaut'. 

Spin This: Tears For Fears - 'Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits '82-'92)

REVIEW: BEN FOLDS - SLEIGHER

4/5

Five Have A Wonderful Christmas. 

Never folding, it's barely been a year since Ben Folds showed us 'What Matters Most' with the Ben Folds Five singer's solo album, but it's already that time of year again. Now this rock star gives us 'Sleigher' like it was all heavy metal. Playful and melancholy. Loving and longing. All for the best Christmas album since Norah Jones' dreamed of Christmas, and some outstanding originals to go next to the great American Christmas songbook album standards. "Christmas is constant", Ben Folds tells us, and over the last few like WHAM, everyone has been getting in on the act. From 'A Legendary Christmas' from John Legend, who has just released a children's album with Sufjan Stevens, to Bill Murray getting lost in translation with Sofia Coppola again, in another high-end hotel for 'A Very Murray Christmas'. No Scrooged humbug.

And now, 'Sleepwalking Through Christmas', and a new classic, following the instrumental number of 'Little Drummer Bolero', an animated Ben Folds is walking his dog through a cartoon Christmas night that greets you like a card on the album cover, carrying a bag of poop...because this is as real as it gets. Even if he creatively, not shamelessly, enlists the help of A.I. to write a funky 'Xmas Aye Eye' number before the Yuletide 'You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus', with sleigh bells and cicadas ringing in the dead of night background. There are no better lyrics than the ones rolling with 'Me and Maurice', mind you, as Ben tends to lyrics like, "Christmas Eve/A silver blanket spreads into the night/Distant sounds of bells and laughter/Plastic joy and light/Past floor plan variations/More or less the same/I walk Maurice/And a full green bag of shame/Giant inflatable Santa Clauses/Smile and wave/As we head back through the snow/Through the dark and down the lane." There's that poop we were telling you about. No shame. This is the s###!

Lindsey Kraft helps make 'We Could Have This'. Whilst 'The Christmas Song' covers a great single, with a sweet lyric video for the animated Folds. 'Waiting For Snow' in this holiday mix of new songs and reimagined classics, the Christmas spirit will come to you, right now. Even with the pumpkins still on your porch and in your lattes. Smashing, singing along to the 'Christmas Time Rhyme' like, "Christmas morning, in the back of the old family Ford/With my feet dangling, wondering when they might grow to the floor/Pumpkin pie wrapped in foil/And gifts wrapped in newspaper, ringing the bell of my grandmother's door." It's one and the same. Like the nostalgia of family, this warm and fond season, that has no eve. And for all of those not feeling it this year, like 'The Bell That Couldn't Jingle', we understand. But just listen to "and Santa said, Jack Frost will bring my Christmas gift to you/And on Christmas Eve you'll jingle, just like you were brand new." You will too. This Tiny Tim doesn't need to tell you what day it is. Ben does. Through the lens of Christmas, all we have lost over these years...and all we still hold close. Wrapped a little tighter. To you and yours. We wish you a merry one, and a new year of happiness. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Sleepwalking Through Christmas', 'The Christmas Song', 'Xmas Aye Eye'.

Spin This: Norah Jones - 'I Dream Of Christmas'

SONG FOR THE MOMENT: MAGGIE ROGERS - IN THE LIVING ROOM

4/5

Maggie's Room 

Ever since Maggie Rogers followed the salad day 'Dog Years' of skimming 'Split Stones' with her breakthrough album debut, 'Heard It In A Past Life', she's furthered herself as one of the best artists of this generation and the next one to come. Her soaring sophomore 'Surrender' refused to do just that as she cut and bleached her hair and partied hard. Another two years later, she went back to her roots for another new album, and one of the best this year. Which even offered her the opportunity to troll the New York Knicks in the Mecca of the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden.

Now, she's followed 'Don't Forget Me' with another new single from the back pocket of her own great American songbook to follow. As if we ever could forget one of the best and brightest. Remember when she followed her 'Past Life' record-selling glory with the gold single 'Love You For A Long Time'? Well, 'In The Living Room' we get the same thing for one of the singer/songwriter's best record yet. Cinematically cued over a gorgeous video between lovers, that both look great, in the fashioned living room of their own shared apartment. This is classic Maggie Rogers, giving her and us her own signature sound like a Springsteen, or her own revised version of the American dream. In a place, so remote in the company of the one you love, and don't want to lose, that it could even be a lonely roadside motel.

Eyes are the soul, and they can stir the emotions and nuanced notions of thousands of words that even the greatest love songs couldn't write. You can see it in hers, in this video's opening. Lying in bed with her muse. Spooned and connected, but also a thousand miles away in stares and the unspoken things our hearts sing as Maggie traces the veins on her partner's arms like the lines she wishes she could express. "You trace your steps back to the start/See the clock there slowing/The hindsight's been the hardest part/Hurts to see you glowing/'Cause I remember late September/Your silhouette on blue wallpaper/In the hallway/You drew the line and pulled me under/But do you ever stop to wonder/About me?" she emotes. All before the chorus of heartbreaking seasonal change dances in the living room like the dark. The music video, in this post MTV, TikTok generation, is undeniably sexy. Making a star out of its muse, like South Korean singer KATIE's 'Unbreak'. Hoping the heart that matters does the same. In the living room we find comfort like the one who feels like home. And this song that reminds us, that even through the hard times, when it comes to loving memory, we're never really alone. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Sing-A-Long: Maggie Rogers: 'Say It', 'Horses', 'Love You For A Long Time'