REVIEW: KANYE WEST - DONDA

 

4/5

Dear Mama.

Finally. The self-made biggest album of the year as anticipated as a new pair of Yeezys is here. 'Donda' has dropped like another church session on Sunday for all your streaming services. Unexpectedly like Notorious avian excrement (your move Drizzy Drake). Even if Universal have released it without approval ('Jail pt. 2' was briefly on blocked lockdown). All after weeks of backdated pre-order backlogs and more listening parties than when you have control of the aux cord in your friends car. All as Kanye West redefined the preview party to a stadium rock sound in concert with an actual live show for his tenth album launch. There was the classic, iconic moment and coming of age of 'The College Dropout'. The genius of 'Late Registration'. The dropout bears 'Graduation' (still waiting on 'A Good Ass Job'). The hurt of losing Donda with '808 and Heartbreaks'. The absolutely amazing and career confirming 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'. 'Yeezus'...need we say anymore? The art of 'The Life Of Pablo'. The epic EP length of 'Ye' during his seven track string. And of course the heaven sent 'Jesus Is King' two years ago for the man that walks with God. Not to mention classic collabo LP's with Jay-Z ('Watch The Throne'...their baaaack) and Kid Cudi ('Kids See Ghosts' too. Scott Mescudi is also invited to the party). Or group ones like the hot as hell 'Cruel Summer' for more G.O.O.D. Music and the 'Jesus Is Born' follow up to 'King' with the Sunday Service Choir ('Emmanuel' is still on his way). But is 'Donda' and its 'Yeezus' like sparse black album like artwork Mr. West's best yet? Even for this writer who after all these years still refuses to leave 'College'? It's certainly his biggest at 27 tracks and 1 hour and 48 minutes of runtime like a movie. It's also his boldest with collaborations with the mainstream music legendary likes of The Weekend, Travis Scott and a redemption reunion you've got to love, Mr. S. Dot. Carter. All for the man who has made music with everybody from Bon Iver to Daft Punk. Although we really wish this man would stop working with people like Marylin Manson and Trump. But in swapping a red baseball cap for a 'Donda' bulletproof vest, the artist with a stocking cap over his head is doing it all for just one person. 

Hey Mama. I'm so proud of you. This one's for you. From the opening 'Donda Chant' to the crowd of this son that has holed himself up in Atlanta and stadiums, honing his sound. To the 'Jail' that chant beat finds itself in and its soaring second go round like rolling double in Monopoly for the rapper that owns it all like Regent Street. "Guess who's going to jail tonight," Kanye screams as he sets us all free like his long awaited and anticipated album. All before an unchained Jay-Z gives us all what we've really been waiting for. A chance to watch again. "This might be the return of the throne" on this stunning slow flow, back and forth. The kingdom is Rocafella's again like DJ Khaled wearing a roc chain on last week's episode of King James and Maverick Carter's 'The Shop' on HBO, next to 'Melo. After that 'God Breathed' as Jesus wept for a Yeezus like classic that will have you call and chorus response in holy matrimony like a choir as the genius exhales. "I know God is in all of this" the boy from the city of wind tells a world divided by disease like red and blue states, as he keeps walking with two sets of footprints in the sand. 'Off The Grid' the prolific producer beat to beat does it for the kids, kids, kids. So much so you'll say it again like Candyman. "I talk to God every day that's my bestie/They playin' soccer in my backyard, I think I see Messi", Yeezy who jumped over the Jumpman adds, referencing the almighty and the new Paris St. Germain icon like Jordan. Keeping up to date with these times a-changin'. Then The Weeknd's unmistakable register comes in like a 'Hurricane' for this pair of M.J.'s, dancing like it's the last time. 'Praise God' you'll say with Travis Scott and Baby Keem like the "it can't always be night" sermon that preludes this service. And make sure you check in with 'Jonah' over the hill for this Superbad star who once told us "chicks give (him) McLovin" on Drake's 'More Than A Game', 'Forever' for LeBron. Supersizing over a billion served for that McDonald's money and an album that went number one on iTunes quicker than Ali getting into bed before it went dark after hitting the light. Light up all of them. 'OK, OK?' 

Kim K needs to listen to that one and it's part two from K. As for the rest of this reality, it's more than just for show. Tell it like it is on the church organs of 'Junya' who gets his own sequel too for your collection. "This on Donda. On my momma," Kanye declares. Doing it all for Watanabe like Yuta, dropping bars for the new Milwaukee NBA champion Antetokounmpo, "See more comments (Mmh, mmh)/Than I see commas (Mmh, mmh)/They going dummy (Mmh, mmh)/We going Donda (Mmh, mmh)/Let me be honest (Mmh, mmh)/Let me be honest (Mmh, mmh)/I won with the bucks, boy/Let me Giannis (Mmh, mmh)/I won with the bucks, boy (Mm, mm)/The spirit is on us (Mmh, mmh)/The spirit of Donda." Mmh, mm. Yet for 'Ye like when it 'All Falls Down' it's the soulful sample of Ms. Hill's 'Doo Wop' that's that thing as West goes over some, "celebrity drama only Brad would know." This is anything but the pitts. Sitting on '24' like Kobe this top tenth album is the eighth wonder. This is what happens when the best is told to be "more successful" by the late, great Mamba Mentality himself like that classic Nike commercial. Different animal, same beast. "What the f### does that mean?" This! Right here. Challenge accepted. Bar cleared in this Olympic year of Tokyo 2020 were West owns ever stadiums podium. Now what's better than gold? Platinum world domination! Who needs to stand on plastic crates to get to the top when you've been digging through them your whole life to find the real grail? So keep your balance. Because this 'Remote Control' can zap everything and break not only the internet, but Spotify too. Here's the hard work the GOAT talked about that brings champagne for Chi-towns finest since Michael. Three-peating as he goes into double digits for the record. Stack the plaques. Because its going all the way to the 'Moon' for the man who arm strongs the game like NASA in his own galaxy and twisted fantasy with Cudi. Because everyone's got to make a living. Even those in a whole new stratosphere. Ben is back with J-Lo and now Kanye samples 'Jenny From The Block' too for 'Heaven and Hell', dropping fire sent from the angels. "No more promos, no more photos/No more logos, no more chokeholds/We on Bezos, we get payrolls/Trips to Lagos, connect like LEGOs/Make this final, make this, my eyes closed/Burn false idols, Jesus' disciples/I can feel your pain now, I done bled my vein out." Now that's years of dedication and all it deserves. But glory to God who is a woman, it's 'Donda' on 'Donda' that you really need to hear for yourself. "You know I'm my son's mother," she said. It's her influence and inspiration to not only this album, him, or us, but everyone. All that 'Keeps My Spirit Alive' in this new genre of heaven hip-hop. Can I coin that, or at least get an amen? 'Jesus Lord', please believe for a nine minute prayer and an eleven minute one the morning after with the legendary Lox for your Versuz in this collections closing that just takes you there. The legendary enigma of Jay Electronica too "back from the great beyond" after his Ghostface to Raekwon 'Cuban Linx' Jay-Z assisted album that came out right before corona last year for 'A Written Testimony'. Feeling 'New Again' and fresher than a Prince from Bel-Air on his 1st birthday as we try to come out of quarantine (say what you will about this man's costume choices, but at least he's wearing a mask). Just 'Tell The Vision' like Wanda in grief, because down, but not out, 'Lord I Need You' and this track will take you to the heavenly father like the 'Purple Haze' of Cam'ron's 'Lord You Know' with Jaheim for the ROC. You know what to do. Hell yeah. Put your diamonds in the air for the 'Pure Souls' touched by the light like God's gift. "The truth is only what you get away with, huh" he tells us with sense all as the man who once had more in Common with rappers that asked 'Can I Borrow A Dollar' now has enough money to give every boy and girl in the world a buck. "Ever wish you had another life" 'Ye asks on 'Come To Life', bringing everyone to his congregation as the devil gets behind him with 'No Child Left Behind' for his mission like God's plan (your move Aubrey), as the life lessons of this album asks more as he answers all we wonder, unquestionably. After baptising entire crowds in concert in the holy water healing of his beats and the fire of his bars, Kanye's new Sunday Service testify touches more than the sky. It touches the hand of God and the mother watching over him above. This is for you 'Donda'. Rest peacefully Mrs. West. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Jail (Feat. Jay-Z)', 'Hurricane (Feat. The Weeknd)', 'Jesus Lord (Feat. Jay Electronica)'. 

REVIEW: CHVRCHES - SCREEN VIOLENCE

 

4/5

No CHVRCH In The Wild.

Take me to CHVRCH like Hozier, because I need it right now as I write this Sunday morning. Hungover from yet another Saturday night of the same old addiction. You know the type I'm talking about. Drunk. Scrolling through the treadmill of our screens. In a darkness illuminated by such a bright light from the black mirror that in reflection could burn you. Or at least deprive you of that rest you need in that midnite hour. Tell you you're not enough. Not big enough. Small enough. Good enough. Beautiful enough when we all are in the latest hot take of the day. "We make assumptions on people based on their size/We decide who they are/We decide what they're worth" as Billie Eilish says on the inspired talking point of 'Not My Responsibility', as we all search for a way to be 'Happier Than Ever' in a world that won't allow us to be. Especially when we unlock our phones and like leaving the door to our homes ajar, leave ourselves open to attack from anyone with a social media account and no accountability for what it could do to you and me. Now if that's not 'Screen Violence' I don't know what is. In a time were the pure pop euphoria of the higher power CHVRCHES from the Highlands of Scotland (well...the glorious Glasgow) gives us their testament on the TV. A hand reaching out for help between fuzzy venetian on the tube in a red room that's blinding for some amazing artwork for the Holy Trinity's fourth album after the definitive debut 'The Bones Of What You Believe', sophomore opening 'Every Open Eye', and 2018's declaration 'Love Is Dead'. Scintillating synth in all its indietronica inspirations. Taking on the "feelings of loneliness, disillusionment and fear" due to the illumination "on screens, by screens and through screens". Taking us all the way to finding a solution to stop submerging and come up from under the water. Instead of swimming in the sadness of scrolling stroke. Showing and teaching us 'How Not To Drown' with Robert Smith for The Cure.

"I'm writin' a book on how to stay conscious when you drown/And if the words float up to the surface, I'll keep 'em down/This is the first time I know I don't want the crown/You can take it now/You promised the world and brought me it hangin' from a string/Stuck it in my mouth, into my throat, told me to sing", lead Lauren Mayberry sing as Smith of The Cure counters, "I'm writing a chapter on what to do after they dig you up/On what to do after you grew to hate what you used to love/That was the first time I knew they were out for blood/And they would have your guts" for a decadent duet. Him and her, just like on the 'He Said, She Said' lead single that has its hooks in you for all of CHVRCHES classic choruses for your Instagram bio lines. "He said, "You need to be fеd"/"But keep an eye on your waistline" and/"Look good, but don't bе obsessed"/Keep thinkin' over, over", are lines that draw one right through our anxious age were we are gaslighted to believe we don't look to a set standard. Coercing us to confirm with coddled concern. Fake in its filtered nature of a toxic tonic that will always keep us inebriated in their influence. Another 'Violent' take here like the 'Soil' of their London Grammer best of British pop pulse of epic, electro 'phoric contemporary is the screener of 'California'. A slow burner like Los Angeles evenings from the hills of a Hollywood studio. "Waste a month, waste a year/Waste the time you could've been here/Count the debt, count the tears/Count the truths and all of my fears", the words of wisdom tell you in weary experience omen. "Nobody ever warns ya/That you could die in California." But its the opening track that's 'Asking For A Friend', not wanting to say, "that I'm afraid to die/I'm no good at goodbyes/I can't apologise." All over atmospheric, cinematic music like the Nine Inch Nails of movie like production by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Halsey's same new music Friday top album 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' and the film that goes with it too. All before the steps of the beat kick in. 

In all their power. All their glory days, you've got love. "You still matter", Mayberry sings in harmony, no maybe. In the most inspiring charting song of the year. No need to ask somebody...just tell them. This really is the golden era of pop like Halsey, Lorde and Billie, forget this year...but this month alone. Its a hot Summer in all its 'Solar Power' that will leave you 'Happier Than Ever'. Smile as the sun shines down on you and Lauren, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty gives you all these 'Violent Delights' sounding like a Massive Attack in this most violent year like Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac reuniting next month for 'Scenes From A Marriage'.  This 'Final Girl' tells us in all her closing couplets. "And it feels like the weight is too much to carry/I should quit, maybe go get married/Only time will tell/And I wonder if I should’ve changed my accent/Tried to make myself more attractive/Only time will tell," Lauren asks herself. Although no one can doubt her talent and place in not only the charts, but our solidarity standing hearts. No question. This dance floor music for 'Good Girls' and boys alike, just beat to beat like a Jezabel, steps in line with that rhythm. "Killing your idol is a chore/and it's such a f#####g bore", this alive one sings in a 'Kill Your Darlings' world were almost all our heroes have become zeroes. Expect ones like this who sing us electronic 'Lullabies' for our middle of the night malaise bringing about days. As unable to sleep we have to get out of our bedrooms as we can't stand the heat. Stuck with the 'Nightmares' of our screens and the terror of trolls no longer hiding under our bed, but residing rent free in our head. "No one broke my heart quite like that man", Mayberry sings on the 90's like metal riffs of 'Better If You Don't'. But when it comes to this album it's better if you do like couples in matrimony too young. At least you have the hope of the youth that's sadly now wasted on the screen-time generation reduced to a Z. This 'Violence' at least causes enough of an alarm to wake you from this trending reverie of all likes and no love. Now how about this sharing statement for your big-screen? Not since Lana Del Rey in 'Brooklyn Baby' black and white, singing on a Lou Reed 'West Coast' wild side walk like a 'Summer Girl' Haim has ultraviolence actually sounded so good. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'He Said, She Said', 'California', 'How Not To Drown (Feat. Robert Smith)'. 

REVIEW: HALSEY - IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE, I WANT POWER

 

4/5

Halsey and One.

Hollywood Hills higher than even the Showtime decades old courtside connection of 'The Shining' Jack Nicholson, your new Laker superfan for the LeBron James, Anthony Davis and now Russell Westbrook age of the big-three is pops Halsey. And why the f### not? The superstar not only knows their stuff, they've also created a separate Twitter account to live tweet during purple and gold games. Halsey and One. Now sitting on the throne with another little one Halsey is back in the blockbusters of the charts she holds a crowning castle in like King James. She may not always feel the love (fools) right now (apart from ours, their husband and of course all of theirs for their little one), but boy do they have the power like classic Kanye. 'Donda' may not have dropped again this New Music Friday, but the movie making 'If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power' certainly has. A compelling concept album about the "joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth". Scored in production by the industrial rock come mainstream movie soundtrack ('The Social Network', 'Gone Girl') duo of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Hear this one roar in all their regal lion grace of force and watch the throne. It's theirs now. Baring it all like Lorde's 'Solar Power' for the art and the solidarity. All whilst igniting the hottest summer with contemporaries like Billie Eilish as we're 'Happier Than Ever'. Going Gaga over all these Del Rey 'Chemtrails' in this eternal power of the woman and more than that. Following their opening EP ('Room 93') and their big-three pop shot albums of 'Badlands', 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' and 'Manic', the Jersey star gets their Springsteen songwriting on for the mothers milk of some Madonna and Mother Mary like inspirations that will really sing to you in this cinematic gold game of thrones, birthed for IMAX movie moments. 

With their own Best Picture like Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell's forthcoming album associated animation for Disney, Ashley  Nicolette Frangipane really is a Hollywood household Halsey name now like California courtside celebs. The Astralwerks star who has helped the likes of K-Pop goliath BTS achieve 'Boy With Luv' like crossover chart success before they billboard exploded in English language 'Dynamite' is now digging the competitions grave with NIN, all whilst bringing new life into this world. Cinematic. Feminism taking on misogyny and the patriarchy. This is more than a movie moment. It's a movement. A grunge-pop one to the tune of some stirring artwork that's on a Lorde or 'Never Mind' level of Nirvana. But no one's going to sue this time. Halsey's reign is as natural as breastfeeding. Come on if you think a woman can't do it. And recognise Halsey goes by the she/they pronouns now too. More than a woman like Aaliyah. But still an iconic role model for one and anyone. As beyond the nails in the critics career coffin this power play is also assisted by rock Gods like the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl (drumming on 'Honey' like he did Nirvana) and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham (not forgotten here like SNL ("What's Up With That"), 'Darling'). You've got to love it. 'The Tradition' begins with an opening piano play to this no love, all power. Halsey haunts hallmark harmonies, taking everyone to task and town with vivid vocals. "Oh, the loneliest girl in town/Is bought for pennies a price/We dress her up in lovely gowns/She's easy on the eyes/Her soul is black and it's a fact/That her sneer will eat you alive/And the buyer always brings her back/Because all she does is cry." Beating into the beautiful 'Bells In Santa Fe' that was built for the big-screen like the epic videos of this visual album. All for an artist who was walking around the Louvre in Paris with the one she loves like Jay and Bey for 13 minutes like she was going 'Apes###'. Looking the very fabric of a real queen in all their robes. 

The 'Bells' in turn instrumentally segue into the next track, 'Easier Than Lying' as Halsey speaks their truth. "My heart is massive, but it's empty/A permanent part of me, that innocent artery/Is gaspin' for some real attention/Some undivided hypertension." With 'Frasier' nostalgia, 'Lilith' is right there with the King Princess 'Taliah's' or Norah Jones 'Miriam's' that aim for the first person singular success of Dolly's 'Jolene'. I'm begging of you Halsey, don't take your songwriting away, just because you can. Because this 'Girl Is A Gun' track bangs across scattered drums singing, "It's a shot in the dark, I'm not a walk in the park/Unloaded, the safety switched off/This girl is a gun, and we been havin' some fun/And now I show you if you turn the lights on." 'You Asked For This' they tell us, hook, line and another song sinker over Reznor and Ross riffs. When it comes to these last two shots if the Laker fan was commented on by the Hall of Fame Mike Breen you know what he'd say. "Halsey for the win...BANG!" And the aftermath of this 'Darling' is beautiful like the Buckingham assist that feels like another tango in the night. "Well, I won't die for love/but I've got a body here to bury" she declares on the stone cold cut '1121'. Whilst like a 'Cold Day In The Sun', the Grohl of old growls on the skins of 'Honey' like a bear for the sap. All the way to the iron of "blood in my mouth". It's the 'Whispers' you really hear here. "It's the thing in your thighs when you're lonely at night/Scroll through your phone, getting high off the light/Numb in your chest when you close the blinds/We pose in time and you tell yourself you're fine but you/Sabotage the things you love the most/Camera flash so you can feed the light that show compose." Speaking truth to power louder than the lights, camera, action in this world that needs less likes and more love like a mural in Kobe, Japan. No wonder the Mamba Mentality of this artists lead single tells us 'I'm Not A Woman. I'm a God.' All the way to the shutter island beams of 'The Lighthouse' like Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. Even though "no one hears (you) screaming." It's that far out. Like the power of this album. All the way to the love and power struggle of the 'Ya'aburnee' closer. "And if we don't live forever/Maybe one day we'll trade places/Darling, you will bury me/Before I bury you/Before I bury you." Before this album is laid to rest in your record player. Fire ashes to vinyl dust, it feels like another mainstream classic for the music and movie billboards. It's just that much of a blockbuster in La La Land. In pops new golden era, one woman...no...one God has all that power. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Bells In Santa Fe', 'Lilith', 'I Am Not A Woman, I'm A God.'

REVIEW: LORDE - SOLAR POWER

 

4/5

Solar Flare.

Lorde have mercy. Its hot out here right now. But let the iconic album artwork of Lorde's 'Solar Power' step-over all that and give you power like drawing it from the sun. It's a new day and year after 2020. COVID-19 is still running rampant, but we're still trying our best to cope. We could still be 'Royals' again. Like fellow independent crowning pop star Billie Eilish with her own iconic, global megahit ('Bad Guy'), also having released an album this month, 'Happier Than Ever'. Blonde bombing the competition like Marylin. By royal appointment, New Zealand's own Lorde is back with the solar panel of a platinum plaque bound album for the walls of the rock and roll Hall of Fame as you walk. Fresher than a kiwi fruit this goes down like your hand over your brows to cover your eyes and shade yourself from the coming sun. There's a lot of shade coming these days from the sons of social media trolls who forget they have mothers and will one day have daughters (if they're lucky). But Lorde, Lizzo, or Billie don't need to pay that no mind when their braintrust of collective empowering and introspective music that matters and means more for the mainstream stands on its own like the big-three stars of this industry and twenty, twenty one never afraid, always have. Especially Lorde, who since sixteen has come in unprecedented long ways for a teenager with the 'Pure Heroine' of her huge hit 'Royals' that took over absolutely everything. Now at 24 and following up 2017's 'Melodrama', she comes to terms with it all like a heartfelt note to fans that devotes.

Environmentally not available on CD and streaming after her 'Going South' memoir wrote after her trip to Antarctica, this activist album's friendly sound provides energy for everybody and everything. That perfect precursor has led to 'The Path' of this opening. Her self-dubbed "weed" album of psychedelic indie rock revolving like the sun around the theme of summer escapism and the philosophical idea of solipsism that only one mind exists let's Lorde truly make peace with herself. Taking us higher as we jonz off this nirvana in harmony with its 'Never Mind' classic cover that is all about art and not gratuity for mainstream money. The lead album titled single off this Electric Lady studio created record with frequent Lana like collaborator Jack Antonoff is a summer solar scorcher. Released on a solar eclipse, 'Solar Power' will have your heart...totally. "I hate the winter, can't stand the cold/I tend to cancel all the plans (So sorry, I can't make it)/But when the heat comes, something takes a hold/Can I kick it? Yeah, I can", she sing channeling Tribe on this innervision quest for wonder. All before NZ's finest takes us to 'California' on this delightful dozen for another classic song of the state of San Diego, Francisco and Los Angeles, Hollywood dreams. Although this album like a 'Happier' Eilish is all about the pitfalls of fame and rising above it all to find your one true self and not the one that is plastered all over billboards or tabloid headlines. Like Tarantino for DiCaprio she writes like Billie for a broken relationship with traces of abuse, "Once upon a time in Hollywood/When Carole called my name/I stood up, the room exploded, and I/Knew that's it, I'll never be the same/That's when the doors swung open/And a voice said, "We're glad you came"/Now I've spent thousands on you, darling/All the hotels and the jets/And I'd pay it all again to have your golden body back in my bed/But I don't miss the poison arrows aimed directly at my head."

Laud over this. Lorde over everybody. 'Stoned At The Nail Salon' she gives us her second single that Ben Affleck's character from 'The Town' can cry to. The perfect follow-up. "To the ones that came before us", she dedicates on the 'Fallen Fruit' of another playlist hit ripe for picking. This sounds like a throwback testament to some of you're favourite grunge from the 90's gone acoustic, but still as raw as they are real. But when she breaks it down, "from the Nissan, to the Phantom, to the plane" that's when you know she, or music will never be the same. Between her and the aforementioned 'Bad Guy' we can't tell which megastar is better. But why pit them against each other when we can just enjoy this time to be alive with iconic women in music going Gaga like Madonna...Duh!? 'Secrets From A Girl (Who's Seen It All Before)' doesn't just harbour an incredible song title, but also reveals life lessons like "’Member all the hurt you would feel when you weren't desired? (Doing anything for more touch)/’Member what you thought was grief before you got the call?/Baby girl, no one's gonna feel the pain for you/You're gonna love again, so just try staying open/And when the time comes, you'll fall/Yeah, when the time comes, you’ll fall." All as the one and only Robyn plays emotional baggage tour guide background, over the tannoy telling you "please be careful it doesn't fall on someone you love." These 'Sadness Airlines' only fly, "when you face it." Take off! The acoustic creaks of 'The Man With The Axe' really hits, taking "here's Johnny" swipes at the Michael Scott 'Office' life for a track that really shines like Jack for those who "thought (they were) a genius." Forget falling for someone just like your father. How about someone whose favourite record is the same as pops? Yikes! Melancholy majesty that falls like 'Dominoes' on this Woodstock record that will tide you over as you feel the surf of getting high with a few box of pizzas and your lamenting loneliness that at least compels the couple you used to be a part of as you hold on to lost love like a last hit. Pass, pass nothing on this album from the 'Big Star'. All killer, no munchie filler "burning through the amber light." Just press repeat, there's no need to skip. All the way to the closing call for a 'Leader Of The New Regime' and the changing colour of the mesmerizing 'Mood Ring'. Taking spirited shots at fake wellness culture on her latest single she sings,"Ladies, begin your sun salutations/Transcendental in your meditations (Love and light)/You can burn sage and I'll cleanse the crystals/We can get high, but only if the wind blows (Blows just right)". Satirising a dangerous developing culture that targets impressionable people and crystallising her songwriting talent. All before the 'Oceanic Feeling' takes us away as we could listen to this album as we drift and it tides us over before we make it to the shores of a brand new horizon. Last year destroyed us. This one gives us power. And Lorde does it all under the sun. Get ready to rise. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Solar Power', 'California', 'Secrets From A Girl (Who's Seen It All)'. 

REVIEW: JOHN COLTRANE - ANOTHER SIDE OF JOHN COLTRANE

 

4/5

A Coltrane Supreme.

Posthumous albums from late, great maestros of music come out by the bucket load for your bucket list these days. Like breaking into Prince's Paisley Park vault ('Welcome 2 America'). Or Moonwalking all over all those lost Michael Jackson songs. Rappers and rock stars. They've all had their cutting room floor dusted up and turned into records on the shelves, as we still try to stay close to our artistic loved ones like photos in a frame. Sometimes it's a little lacking in taste and crassly in concert even some live shows have tried to incorporate holograms into their gigs. There is something slightly off-putting about seeing Snoop Dogg high-five a digital 2Pac. With that being said sometimes there are lost treasures to find digging in these crates and if they are left untouched and as raw and real as they came then we can get more for our catalogue collection of our favourite players. And maybe even get a different stroke of our artists too. That's what we get with the gold digging like Leon Bridges sound of 'Another Side Of John Coltrane'. The latest, lost album from the late, jazz great. With supreme love this set showcases this legend as a sideman. Mastering his craft of playing the background but never behind the notes. This is Coltrane coming of age and finding his feet and fingers next to some of the greatest in the game like the incomparable Miles Davis and the perfect piano play of Thelonious Monk. But there is meat to these salad days. This is no rookie. Instead here stands an expert sideman honoring and honing his place and artistry. It's still a masterclass of some of his best work...just from a different side.

Another album is exactly what you need when it comes to this John. The outstanding 'Oleo', perfectly produced by Sonny Rollins was the single that spearheaded Coltrane's return to the charts in 2021 and it really is a standout. On this lost album it really shows just how much this lost American art form means to music, as we are atmospherically taken back to the haze of jazz bars and clubs like smoke spirals dancing through the horn. Almost impossible to tell where they come from. Cigarettes, or the fire made on stage? Fitting in this COVID quarantined time of locked down concerts we can only watch from a YouTube distance. Set alight like how one blow can show just how hurt or heartbroken the player is behind the tones, the action of this offbeat but in rhythm, on line, but free to roam sound cuts through you more than a million words could. Coltrane captured that essence as well as anyone. Even those Miles ahead. All you need to do is hear 'A Love Supreme' if you're 'Kind Of Blue'. Or John Coltrane's superb solo on the classic closer 'Someday My Prince Will Come', playing for Davis. A cut that led Coltrane down to the line to being a part of the playing on the classic 1961 Miles Davis record of the same name and perfect portrait artwork. 'Trane on tenor sax displays a workmanlike dedication to his craft that is as awe-inspiring as it is admirable, even 'Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet'. Reigning supreme on 'Aireign', in this time of hard rock, hard-bop is back. 

Modern jazz greats are on full display here like a Newport Festival, but it's when Coltrane rocks 'Round Midnight' with Thelonious Monk when things get otherworldly and spiritual in this realm of jazz age decadence. A perfect time capsule to a better time to be alive in sound, as on  'Monk's Mood' the titan Thelonious masters the piano until his fingers and the keys fall off. Only a couple of sessions (like 'Epistrophy') were made between Coltrane and Monk-all in the same calendar of 1957-but boy are they something to behold. Rolling with Rollins on 'Tenor Madness' the terrific talent here is crazy and just shows in this world of beef, subtweets and shade, nothing compares to seeing the icons of a genre carved together on a darkened stage like the real Mount Rushmore of legacy makers. Who cares what was going on behind the scenes. Fights and the like. Or as the late, great comedian Richard Pryor told us-no joke-"Miles tongue kissing Dizzy Gillespie" (to each his own). On the hallowed stage, NOTHING could tear them apart. Save, the tangent of their own solos that 'Trinkle, Tinkle' in all their epic ebb and formidable flow. But they always made it back to the line, keeping in rhythm. All in perfect time like this machine of a pressed record taking us back. The 'Soultrane' just keeps on stirring all the way down the 'C.T.A.' and another album highlight in the gem of 'Billie's Bounce' getting down. You will really dig this 'Dig It' take with pianist Red Garland. As you will all the sheet of sound garnishings from one of jazz's big-three, flying next to Bird and you know who. The perfect black and white portrait blowing into the hard-worked horn on a juxtaposed yellow spotlight highlights the album artwork of some vintage music brought to the modern mainstream in this streaming age of Spotify consumption. 'Trane probably wouldn't have taken to the way we take in music these days (even I haven't really, it's just necessity). But this timeless collection proves even this generation can cater and curate their playists to his style. All the way to the scratches from pressed vinyl that are evoked like the lighting of a cigarette for just another night in the jazz bar, listening to some of the greatest musicians of all-time. There will never be another. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Oleo', 'Monk's Mood', 'Someday My Prince Will Come'. 

REVIEW: THE KILLERS - PRESSURE MACHINE

 

4/5

Under Pressure.

Raging against the machine with Springsteen like Tom Morello's Nightwatchman, The Killers are back...and it's not even been a year. Next week will be 12 months since Brandon Flowers and his Vegas lights exploded back on the scene, 'Imploding The Mirage'. But after heeding his own souls warning, Flowers spent the rest of the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 quarantined with the blooming of his brooding for his younger days before the glory, growing up in Utah. Another desert like the city of Sin, but not one built on a runaway American dream. Small-town to the heartland, rather one that rubs the salt of its lake in your wounds and all that jazz. It's enough to dust off a 'Dustland Fairytale' that seems like a 'Day & Age' and rework it with 'The Boss' Bruce himself for a live barroom chat via Zoom from 'Sam's Town' to E Street for the band. And that what The Killers did making a killing. The perfect precursor to this 'Pressure Machine'. Its not a mirage, the Killers really are back a calendar and your change since they imploded with inspiration. And on this introspective influence of isolation that really is three crosses behind barbed wire in black and white. It's a lot to bear, but this band have been through it. They said The Killers were done in 2017 when they lost members like a John Wick death count, but just like that 'Wonderful, Wonderful' album they bet on making you happy again like a train returning to the rails, or a ship back in the harbour. It turns out all the songs hadn't been written. The man came round again and just like the 2012 album that reached for a new decade of definition after the 'Hot Fuss' and its top, first five career spanning singles of the 2000's, this band were always 'Battle Born'.

Seventh heaven for this seal, because not only are The Killers back...they're almost all back as guitarist Dave Keuning returns after his 'Mirage' of an absence last year. Although due to the COVID-19 pandemics problems, the role of Mark Stoermer is significantly reduced. Thank God for Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and that full grown beard. And if you want more acts for this album that you really don't need to listen to abridged, but in full how about some one who is even bigger than The Boss right now? Yeah, I said it. 'The Punisher' Phoebe Bridges for the bones of Flowers Nephi roots. On 'Runaway Horses' singing together, "You traded school for weddings rings and rent/Invitations sent of you and him by a barn out on the edge of town/Small town girl, you put your dreams on ice, never thinking twice/Some you'll surely forget and some that you never will". Cantering on this classic album that also features 'Of Mice and Men' John Steinbeck and Sherwood Anderson at least in lyrical inspiration for their respective, 'The Pastures Of Heaven' and 'Winesburg, Ohio'. Taking it back to the basics of hometown influence for better or worse, the band who recorded a protest video for the 'Land Of The Free' with 'BlackKklansman' director Spike Lee really are increasing their legend with this legacy. From the 'West Hills' born and raised introduction with soundbites from the community on tape as Flowers lays it down, "I was born right here in Zion, God's own son/His Holy Ghost stories and bloodshed never scared me none/While they bowed their heads on Sunday/I cut out through the hedges and fields/Where the light could place its hands on my head/In the west hills." 'Quiet Town' from Sam's finest begins with a telling of a train here that kills someone every two or three years, the pleasant sound of the song juxtaposes the dark tones. "A couple of kids got hit by a Union Pacific train/Carrying sheet metal and household appliances through the pouring rain/They were planning on getting married after graduation/Had a little baby girl, trouble came and shut it down/Things like that ain't supposed to happen," Flowers sings for the American dream derailed of those "hard working people" who didn't make it to the heartland. 

Locally, this 'Terrible Thing' continues with "these quicksand streets" over somber acoustics and 'Nebraska' like harmonica taking up the cross, "in my bedroom on the verge of a terrible thing." "Hanging on his Holy name." It's just the cards some are dealt in this life that doesn't hand everyone a fair deal. "A barbed wire town of barbed wire dreams". Not everyone makes it to The Strip with a bag of chips. The story of the troubled child 'Cody' starts a fire. Whilst 'Sleepwalker' wakes up towns like this that feel like both a dead end of hope and a spur for a success. Its just how you look at the "Wildflowers paint the western hills/Or the first autumn whisper mid-September brings/And the glowy excitement that it builds." 'In The Car Outside' waits for you like "I told her if she ever needed a helping hand/I would lend, swear to god/It's like the part of me that's screaming not to jump gets lost/In the sound of the train, it's a lot." 'In Another Life' the curse of numbing what could have been with another substance medicates nothing but an addiction that will always itch, as. A brooding Brandon asks, "Is this the life you chose yourself/Or just how it ended up?/Is that the yard you pictured when/You closed your eyes and dreamed/Of children in the grass running through the sprinklers?/Being somebody's wife?/Or were you living in another life?" If you're desperate times make it to 'Desperate Things' with those same measures you'll hear the first song not beginning with a local interviewed with their take on this town, but the story is just as brutal regarding a cop pulling over a girl doing 60 in a 35 with dried blood on her mouth, "laughing it off like lemonade". Domestic violence plaguing households like these with the highway leading to nowhere as the only escape of those who would drive all night just to see that light...at the end of the tunnel. The title-track makes diamonds too in all its shining beauty like "hope will set your eyes a gleam." This whole Utah pressure is a well oiled machine now for a band who are part of the American dream deferred's assembly line. We've all come across hard times these last few. Even the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But 'The Getting By' closer shows you like 'Deadlines and Commitments' this band still has a house you can stay if you lose your way. And there's nothing like the one Brandon Flowers grew up in. Town's like this can kill you, but The Killers show you there's still life in the margins of your story. Keep working on that dream. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'West Hills', 'Terrible Thing', 'Runaway Horses (Feat. Phoebe Bridgers).' 

REVIEW: MAX RICHTER - EXILES

 

4/5

In Exile.

"Creativity is activism", the British, German born, Hans Zimmer rivalling classic, cinematic composer Max Richter told The Guardian newspaper last week. And over this last year in a world stricken with COVID-19, isolation and a quarantined loneliness just yearning to reach out and touch someone, or anything, he has been so active in his creation. Actively helping us. Creating new ways for us to make it through. Delving deep into our minds and swimming in the influence of his introspection he brings out of us in inspiration. The instrumental icon giving us all 'Voices' without even saying a word (he doesn't need to). His sequel 'Voices 2' came in April and now in August he gives a voice to even more lost. All until they are finally free. Soaring like the spirits of his sound. Showing that even when the news turns off and the headlines read something else, Richter is honouring their memory in his scales on yet another album that is not about sales, but the hope that prevails through all the hurt.

Libya, 2015. A ship containing 800 refugees sank off the coast. Losing families. Mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Grandparents. Babies. All as we watch a small segment on our television from the comfort of our couch. There's not much we can do, of course. No finger is being pointed here to the remote generation. These refugees looking for freedom and finding fear just deserved more. Like all those do crossing seas and risking lives all for a better one...for their family. In this 'Exile' and the truly haunting artwork that also strikes a chord, Max gives his all to their rememberance. Producing and performing orchestral versions of his early work alongside the Sol León & Paul Lightfoot’s ballet Singulière Odyssée. This album was made in 2019, but finally after all the 'Voices' and social isolation sees the light of day now. Recorded in Tallinn, Estonia with Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic this album arrangement will make you shed a tear, but never lose a thought for each and every one of those refugees lost to the sea. This social project also brings together young, impressionable players from both former Western and East European countries. All nations from around the Baltic Sea. Coming together on what Max coins as a "peace-making project" that looks to change hearts with courage and give these young men and women that same opportunity. Creativity. Activism. 

Blooming beautifully through all this brutality, 'Flowers Of Herself' opens like pure petals and lays some down for every victim. A new sombre tone is reached from the soil of some of Richter's best work. Originally wrote for the Virginia Woolf inspired ballet 'Woolf Works' this truly works as something else here in 'Exiles'. Like all of his updated works do here. Not throw away and cobbled together to fit a new release schedule (besides the title track tribute is over a half hour long), but reworked, reimagined and just like outstanding, original tracks of their own. Like 'On The Nature Of Daylight'. Made famous by being mixed together with 'This Bitter Earth' of soul legend Dinah Washington and punctuating the pain of the harrowing haunted Leonardo DiCaprio character in Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island'. Arguably this De Niro and Marty like perfect actor/director partnerships most classic collaboration and the leading man of Hollywood's leading men ('Once Upon A Time'...and still) most compelling of his conflicted man performances. Underscored undeniably by Richter's scores to the soundtrack. Not to mention the factor of Max's official video for 'Daylight' featuring a top of her game Elisabeth Moss walking around the cold streets of Canada, between filming 'The Handmaid's Tale' in Toronto. The 'Exiles Version' of 'The Haunted Ocean' is what will really break your bow however. It was already hallowed and harrowing, off the soundtrack to the 'Waltz With Bashir' movie about the 1982 Lebanon War, but it truly translates to paying tribute to those taken with this tragedy. The 'Infared5' introspection recorded in reaction to the 2005 terrorist bombs of London also has been added in adaptation. Just like the hope of David Bowie's 'Sunlight' from the artist humanitarian who could lock himself away in his studio and make music for himself, but is always using his composure and conduction to reach out to others. When we get down to the final 33 minute 'Exile', we don't want the comfort of this composition to leave us, just like Max won't the memory of all those that are gone and their families. There is little escape from the cruel, unflinching realities of this world at times, but Richter gives everything he can to give us a release in orchestral solidarity. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Exiles', 'Flowers Of Herself'', 'On The Nature Of Daylight'. 

REVIEW: BILLIE EILISH -HAPPIER THAN EVER

4.5/5

Eilish Has It.

COVID-19, 2020. I vowed...and still have to this day to not listen to what I'm sure is Billie Eilish's incredible Bond theme for Daniel Craig's last 007 movie, 'No Time To Die'. Not until I see it for the first time in cinemas across the credits for the iconic introduction to the spy through the scope. Call me a bad fan for this 'Bad Guy' singer (I mean this review is a week and change late. Because, Olympics...and I work in Tokyo, but still no excuse. How about a mental health episode...because that's real), but I want to resist the need to be first in this binge age of B.S. bragging rights. There will just be something so special this fall about seeing and hearing this all for the first time finally back in cinemas after corona quarantined us to a home movie one. All for a monumental movie that's been pushed back more times than a stirred Martini across the bar for James. Do you know how hard it is to avoid trailers? Anyway, meanwhile Eilish has been shaking up the game. The American teen is the new alternative pop dream like when Del Ray was 'Born To Die'. The rest is just chemtrails for your classic country club. Now with Adele like ascension to being pop's theme as well as queen, we haven't gone Gaga over someone like this since a star was born from a 'Poker Face' to a 'Bad Romance'. Maybe not since we put our hands together for Madonna 'Like A Prayer'. Now Billie on her own holiday is 'Happier Than Ever' beyond a social media curated, cliched catchphrase, on a sensational, soaring sophomore set of magnificent minimalism that proves to all the bad guys that the 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go' debut was no fluke...DUH!

Don't doze on the sleepy smouldering, smoky sound of the acclaimed artist advancing past peers who have decades on her. Downtempo on a sparsely subdued electropop trip, this is subtlety epic through the Darkroom Interscope. Produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell and in reflection to last years socially distant self analysis, the torch songs of 'Happier Than Ever' find peace through the pain of finding true elation in the substance below the surface of our filters. The downsides of fame are explored on this rising stars second act. The outstanding opener, 'Getting Older' brings this all in season, coming of age and stage. "I'm gettin' older, I've got more on my shoulders/But I'm gettin' better at admitting when I'm wrong/I'm happier than ever, at least, that's my endeavour/To keep myself together and prioritize my pleasure/'Cause, to be honest, I just wish that what I promise/Would depend on what I'm given, mmm (Not on his permission)/(Wasn't my decision) To be abused," which sets off this restrained sounds passion perfectly and so compellingly for her new classic. California cool, but so much more below the surface that's cool to touch. The green day dye may be gone young punks, but this is her Marylin 'Blonde On Blonde' as she searches for a great American songbook like Dylan in her Los Angeles residence. Hey, starting as a teenager helps. An onslaught of stellar singles gives more lyrical pages for the songs in her back pocket that are more than that instantly recognisable do-do-do-do beat. The forward thinking 'My Future'. The sure thing 'Therefore I Am', The corruption omens of power dynamics in relationship politics and the abuse and actual rape of sexual coercion are brought to mainstream light and minds on the acoustic, 'Your Power'. The 'Lost Cause' for a role model who is anything but in iconic status for this Insta ignorant age. And the 'NDA' who's signed off subject matter, we can all agree on needs to be addressed. "Had to save my money for security/Got a stalker walkin' up and down the street/Says he's Satan and he'd like to meet/I bought a secret house when I was seventeen (Ha)/Haven't had a party since I got the keys/Had a pretty boy over, but he couldn't stay/On his way out, made him sign an NDA, mm/Yeah, I made him sign an NDA". Full disclosure.

Screen this call to the toxic nature of celebrity...from the fickle fans abuses. Twitter takes have already told us as hot as hell how much men especially think they are entitled to judge, demean and act like everything made in the world of entertainment (let alone the world) was designed and catered towards them (bollocks). But there's an even more dangerous, dark side that lurks behind the shadows of a street that's making it even more unsafe to walk at night, hidden behind all sorts of masks as we are just trying to stay safe. No wonder Billie says, "I didn't change my number/I only changed who I reply to" on the albums second trach that confirms even less than ten minutes in that this is going to be a synth classic. On the purely poetic, spoken word standout 'Not My Responsibility'-that beat burns into the bubbling 'Overheated' like an INXS 'Mediate' to 'Need You Tonight' kick-she addresses the whole world, not just the industry, press, or ex on this perfect breakup record for those long lonely nights with this rain on the window neon dimmed reflective sound. "Would you like me to be smaller, weaker, softer, taller?/Would you like me to be quiet?/Do my shoulders provoke you?/Does my chest?/Am I my stomach?/My hips?/The body I was born with/Is it not what you wanted?/If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman/If I shed the layers, I'm a slut/Though you've never seen my body, you still judge it/And judge me for it/Why?/We make assumptions about people based on their size/We decide who they are/We decide what they're worth." Amen. Word. FACTS. Or whatever expression will make you really feel this word-for-word in heed, beyond a share for your own likes, 100. Because this is gospel for a singer who is displaying not only her vivid vocal range, but her genius introspective one of inspirational against all this ignorance influence. Never playing up to 'Male Fantasy'. This is 'Billie Bossa Nova' and the sound is beautiful, even if the subject matter is brutal. Outstanding like a 'Oxytocin' audio drug that demands another tote for this take two that sings, "Can't take it back once it's been set in motion/You know I love to rub it in like lotion/If you only pray on Sunday, could you come my way on Monday?/'Cause I like to do things God doesn't approve of if She saw us." The out of this audio of 'Halley's Comet' for the young star who burning bright and never out hits NASA stratospheres. The glowing, Goldfrapp would be proud 'Goldwing' that also takes flowing flight at night. And the 'Everybody Dies' introspection live and let die now notion that we have all the opposite of the new James Bond title for. ("Everybody dies, surprise, surprise/We tell each other lies, sometimes, we try/To make it feel like we might be right/We might not be alone/Be alone"). Come to think of it as we rock out to the acoustic strings to heavy like metal title track of bohemian rock operatics and feel 'Happier Than Ever' ourselves, how about a trip to the theatre? Because they're about to play Billie over the Bond before we die and there's no time like right now...ever. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Oxytocin', 'Halley's Comet', 'Not My Responsibility'.

REVIEW: NAS - KING'S DISEASE II

 

4/5

Rewatch The Throne.

Whilst Jadakiss and The Lox worked Cam'ron's Diplomats like Rocafella or their own former Bad Boy street team never could them on Verzuz this week, it's Nas versus the world that the King of New York used to rule (imagine that) this weekend. Whilst Kanye West's 'Donda' is still delayed, despite even more stadium streaming listening parties on this same day it was meant to come out, Nas drops unexpectedly with a week prior announcement on some Biggie bird s###. Even with the rumor of this Jay and 'Ye reunion producing a 'Watch The Throne 2' album, Nas is coming back to his own crowning castle with his own sequel to last years return to formidable form album, 'Kings Disease'. And after giving us second parts to his iconic 'Illmatic' debut (the stellar 'Stillmatic') and his B-side bravado of 'The Lost Tapes 2', Nasir Jones gives us a second part that is better than the original like James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' this weekend. All in the Summer of Tokyo 2020 after the last DC one came out during the season of the last Olympics in Rio. But Nas has the gold and the podium...even if he doesn't go platinum. Who does these days outside of Adele, Taylor and Gaga? Right now like last year you should wear a mask, but nothing will stop 'King's Disease II' from getting through as Nas distances himself from the competition like a Jada kiss of death barb bar. Ain't no lip-syncing here. 'KD 2' is like new Brooklyn Net Kevin Durant balling out at the Olympics like 'Melo too. The King is back like LeBron James adding Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony to his Lakerland kingdom. But this isn't Hollywood. This is grimy New York City in a state of mind across the bridge. And it's far from over. It was just halftime.

Dissing the competition with ease because he's still one of the greatest in the game, Nas is like the Nas of old. His 'Ether' is still so potent. No one else can handle it like Leonardo DiCaprio that flame thrower in 'Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood'. He's just that hot. They feel 'The Pressure' on this slow knife of a killer opener to this outstanding orange artwork that takes us back to the days God Son across the belly proved you lost already. Getting down, this is one of the best first cuts of Nas' in years as he raps, "I ain’t made it ‘til we all can say that we made it/Been down with the hustle so long, feel like we’re related/Take my word like you would from the book of Revelations/Dead presidеnts, that s### come when you dedicatеd/I invest in education 'cause we wasn’t privy/We got busy, put scholarship programs throughout the city/Jefe, did it my way, chairman of the committee/Rat Pack n####s like Sinatra in the 60s." You can't forget about this. Or the storytelling of 'Death Row East' that like his word with Big and 'Pac ('We Will Survive'), his 'UBR' unauthorised biography of Rakim wrote, or the time he put on a Dick Tracy cop voice for the 'Who Killed It' investigation off 'Hip-hop Is Dead' is classic by the book of rhymes. There's more rap revelations on here than all those designer documentaries could try to tell you. And if you don't know, now you know. The Future ad-libs of '40 Side' haven't sounded this good since Beyoncé bodied her hubby on The Carter's 'Everything Is Love', going 'Apes###' next to hip-hop's King Kong for the administration. But this is the Empire State of mind and on 'EPMD 2' featuring that legendary rap collective and a long sought after collaboration with the one and only Eminem for the sermon, this is rap renegades off the richter scale, Erick. Hearing Esco and Em on the same track is a hip hop purist's perfect dream as the King rap references Stephen King, "pull up with the Ghost like a haunted house (Haunted house)/She gettin' scary, blood on my hands like Carrie/Might walk through a cemetery to see where hip-hop is buried/I said it was dead, but it faked its death like Machiavelli/You see letters in red splatter, look like sauce and spaghetti." All before the 'Rap God' flow from Mathers that marshalls lyrics like, "I got no L's (Noels) like Christmas, you don't wanna make the claws (Claus) come out (Nah)/Y'all should call yourselves Santa (Why?) 'cause none of y'all are real (Nah)." Dropping shade, this is anything but slim.

Set to go viral like a virus, this second strain of Nas' 'Disease' shows just how 'Rare' a beat changing and riding talent he really still(matic) is. Dropping "Tarantino levels" like Django in this 'Pulp Fiction', writing, "Uh, musically I'm on Mars/Walkin' all over the beat, puttin' my feet on the stars/I rock it like Lenny, thinkin' like Jimi the first time he seen a guitar." Marking West's calendar, Nastradamus gives us some 'YKTV' with YK and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. All before going on a 'Store Run'. Do you need anything? Dope lyrics? A formidable flow? A slice of nostalgia. A 'KD' taken off the ice like Captain America as if shorty was still holding it with Ginuwine. The game still owes him, "as (he) looks at the New York skyline" for the soul sample "memories". Just like the 'Moments' for life on a quest like tribe that's got the jazz for this "legacy artist" who says "you can't relive moments", but does exactly that in this beautiful nostalgia. Speaking of which, before we talked about the time Nas imagined if he ruled the world and riding through New York's Times Square on the back of a trailer 'It Was Written'. Today like back in the day his official reunion with Fugee Lauryn Hill (aside from the mixtaped 'It Wasn't You' as you turned the Motown Marvin corner with a Supreme Diana Ross) is far from a 'Nobody'. "If Chappelle moved to Ghana to find his peace then I'm rollin'/Where the service always roamin', I'm packin' my bags and goin'" this icon referencing prior black entertainment history raps, "remembering calls with Dr. Dre" for that Firm biz before Ms. Hill drops her first rap in what seems like a lifetime and her first one with God's Son after singing, "if I ruled the world." "All my time has been focused on my freedom now/Why would I join 'em when I know that I can beat 'em now?/They put their words on me, and they can eat 'em now/That's probably why they keep on tellin' me I'm needed now/They tried to box me out while takin' what they want from me/I spent too many years living too uncomfortably/Making room for people who didn't like the labor/Or wanted the spoils, greedy, selfish behavior/Now let me give it to you balanced and with clarity/I don't need to turn myself into a parody/I don't- I don't do the shit you do for popularity". Damn. And after 'No Phony Love' with the legendary uncle Charlie Wilson, nephew, Nas gives us the Blxst assisted 'Brunch On Sundays' whilst we're still waiting for Kanye's Sunday service. Nas says it's his favourite day of the week, but ours is New Music Fridays with albums like this. 'Count Me In' like Hit-Boy for the fresh feeling 'Composure'. When it comes to this 'Disease', I want no cure. Because 'Nas Is Good' like when he said 'Life Is Good'. "Escobar season" begins again. Take a page out of 'My Bible' if you don't believe me and have faith. The world is his again. This is the vaccine from all the games ills. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'The Pressure', 'EPMD 2 (Feat. EPMD & Eminem)', 'Nobody (Feat. Lauryn Hill)'.