» September: The Releases We Didn’t Cover

September: The Releases We Didn’t Cover

ALBUM REVIEWS: All the rest of September’s big-guns
words: Jamie Milton // David Molloy

Jay Z

September’s always felt like the last rush before all begins to settle into a steady drying-out period for album releases. And so it’s no surprise that there was another pleasant scurry of big artists all making a name of themselves once more. From criminally big hip-hop stars to downtown darlings riding an other-worldly level of hype, there was that last minute-effort by many to ensure that their name would be what people remembered the final year of the decade for.

So yes, we were more than busy. With the exceptions of Brand New and Raekwon (both of whom should be receiving a full review very soon if all goes to plan), we’ve just about gathered our thoughts for the remaining names that took the month by storm:

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THE BIG PINK – A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOVE

‘Velvet’ might be the damn-finest British export this year; tangled up in delay-ridden melancholy and knife-sharp electronic drum patterns. These are all flavours found in the majority of Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s debut release, but never do they master it quite as fully as on ‘Velvet’. And so it’s a smart move to place it at the heart of the album, following a flawless start courtesy of the emphatic ‘Crystal Visions’, the brutal ‘Too Young To Love’ and current swaggering single ‘Dominos’. What it’s in front of is much less pleasing: ‘Tonight’, a dramatic, playful number, sounds totally out of place and the title-track leaves a lot to the imagination in that it doesn’t do enough to tease it. But when ‘A Brief History…’ comes to life, it’s alike nothing else in recent time – it’s an album more confident and assured than any other 2009 release, but it remains young and naive in the process. (JM)

mp3// Velvet

7.3

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BLK JKS – AFTER ROBOTS

The TV On The Radio comparisons can now go to bed. BLK JKS have stayed true to their South African roots despite overblown success staring right at their beady eyes. ‘After Robots’ isn’t the coming-of-age or a classic release this Johannesburg four-piece might just be capable of. Instead, it’s a theatrical showcase of the potential on offer. ‘Kwa Nqingetje’ steps deep into tender territory, boasting jazz rhythms and calming vocals all at once. ‘Molalatladi’ is wilder at heart, brandishing tribal drums with a supersonic energy. There’s variety and there’s escapism in this, all the while reassuring us that there’s more to come from this evidently talented group. (JM)

7.0

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GIRLS – ALBUM

After years of traveling through Asia and Europe with his mother, Girls frontman Christopher Owens escaped to America and lived on the streets of San Francisco, where he and Chet White formed Girls. It’s almost odd that Album has been released in September as it seems to have been made for the summer – influenced by surf rock and most it’s lyrics inspired by, er, girls. “Laura” in particular is an almost perfect song about an ex he just wants to make up and be friends again. Album is far from perfect – there are times when the adolescent lyrics and Owens’ whiney vocals do not help irritating tracks such as “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker” and “Morning Light” . But that said, the highlights on Album make this a very enjoyable debut indeed. (DM)

7.4

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JAY-Z – THE BLUEPRINT 3

The final part of The Blueprint trilogy doesn’t make great attempts to reinvent or introduce brave new styles to Jay’s repertoire, it seems to simply serve as a reminder all of us of Jay-Z and that he’s still around doing what he does. He could have used some more strong material to do so, though. Jay is on fine form on tribute to New York “Empire State Of Mind”, anti-autotune anthem “D.O.A.” and proclamation of “love for his haters” on “Hate”, but many tracks feel overlong and worn out by their end, along with pestering guest spots from the likes of Young Jeezy and Mr Hudson putting a damp on proceedings. The Blueprint 3 does it’s job as a reminder of Shawn Carter’s presence well, but hopefully the low points on the album won’t be used as a “blueprint” for whatever he does next. (DM)

mp3// Hate (ft. Kanye West)

6.7

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KID CUDI – MAN ON THE MOON: THE END OF DAY

A conceptual soundtrack to an imaginary movie, split into five “Acts” with narration courtesy of Common, Kid Cudi as at his best on Man On The Moon when the story, based around a series of nightmares taking over a man’s life, takes a slight step to the side to allow listeners to concentrate on the at-times very enjoyable pop music he has created. Beginning with relaxed introduction “In My Dreams”, the album moves onto strong opening scenes before the start of Act II, “Solo Dolo”, sets the tone for the rest of the record, a cold, creepy look into Cudi’s dreamlife, unfortunately however the following tracks sound comparatively dull to the promising start and the album fails to make up much ground until the last 5 tracks, including the “poke her face” smile raiser “Make Her Say”, the MGMT/Ratatat produced “Pursuit Of Happiness” and suitably optimistic credits roller “Up Up & Away”. Man On The Moon thinks big and almost reaches it at various points, which is a slight and very welcome surprise. (DM)

7.0

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TAKEN BY TREES – EAST OF EDEN

‘East Of Eden’ is ever so keen to express the act of escape: travelling to Pakistan, becoming exposed to a polar opposite of a culture to Sweden (Victoria Bergsman’s home) and putting a souvenir photograph on the cover of the album that was a result of the experience. Bergsman’s voice is sweet and graceful amongst the eclectic atmosphere behind the scenes, but the album itself relies too much on cultural exposure and this “new experience”, which the listener isn’t actually greatly exposed to what with guest vocals from an American, Noah Lennon on ‘Anna’ and a cover of his very band’s 2009 hit ‘My Girls’. Only in ‘Wapas Karna’ are we truly exposed to new grounding, and that “interlude” of sorts is very nauseating if anything. So a not altogether successful attempt to “discover”, it would seem. (JM)

5.6

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VIVIAN GIRLS – EVERYTHING GOES WRONG

‘Everything Goes Wrong’ starts just as the self-titled debut finished; rude, raucous and uninviting. Evidence suggests that this small-town three-piece can’t exactly go “wrong” with this follow-up as it repeats a successful, albeit opinion-splitting formula. In many cases this would be a rookie mistake but in fact, all charm found on the debut is perfectly maintained through quick-fire, red-faced punky numbers like ‘I Have No Fun’ and ‘I’m Not Asleep’. Understandably, this is nowhere near as fresh and inviting as last year’s introduction because it’s quite simply, not new anymore. But Vivian Girls remain one of the few acts not giving the brand of lo-fi, quick-fire recording a sloppy image. (JM)