Untrue - Burial

What happens when you cross British electronic music with vinyl textures, ethereal vocals and crisp beats? The result is pure dub-step magic from Burial. Their second album, Untrue, is a Mercury Prize nominated album with brilliant sound production and atmosphere that sets itself apart from other dub-step artists and even Burial's previous self titled album. 

When I purchased the album via iTunes I wasn't sure what to expect and upon first listen I was in heaven. The album as a whole is cohesive with fairly similar tracks that manage to stand apart from one another creating a sense of unity that guides you through the album from beginning to end. Songs like "Archangel" or "Etched Headplate" have echoing and modulating vocals that surround the listener like blowing wind, penetrating your ears. Most of the songs also have an urban feeling, like you walking down the sidewalk with towering buildings at night as cars fly past you - "Near Dark." The music's ability to create a visual sense of space is at the album's core. Overall it's a refreshing journey from start to finish. 4.5 Stars. 

I recommend these tracks: 

1. Archangel

2. Near Dark

3. Untrue

4. Raver

5. Endorphin 

Mezzanine - Massive Attack

When Massive Attack dropped their debut album, Blue Lines, in 1991 they made headlines with an original sound utilizing paths of hip-hop, reggae and electronic music that caused several other musicians/bands to follow in their footsteps (i.e. Portishead, Tricky). To this day, many fans and critics still consider Blue Lines to be Massive Attack's most commercially successful release. I, however, tend to disagree with that opinion. When the band tried to replicate another Blue Lines, Protection, it was of course a very similar released, however, it contained less hip-hop influences and more electronically focused songs with somewhat drawn out instrumentals and downtempo rhythms. It wasn't as successful as Blue Lines, but it took the band into new directions making way for one of the best albums of the late 1990s - Mezzanine. 

Like I stated before, while Blue Lines was an excellent album, it was not Massive Attack's best work, it wasn't until 1998 rolled around that changed everything. By the time Massive Attack released the much anticipated Mezzanine, they had built quite the reputation for being one of the best "trip-hop" groups the world has ever known - sure Portishead had an equally powerful impact on the critic dubbed genre, but they weren't all encompassing like the boys from Massive Attack. When it dropped, they made headlines yet again.

It was a huge success in the UK and other parts of Europe, however, it was not as well received in the United States - peaking at number 60 of the Billboard 200. Critics and fans alike praised the band for taking on new musical territories. Unlike, their last two releases, Mezzanine was heavily influenced by ambient sound samples and dark undercurrents as conveyed through songs like "Black Milk" or "Angel." Other songs like "Teardrop" are calming tracks with surreal lyrics, crisp acoustic guitar playing, electronic textures and crackling vinyl sampling, culminating with Elizabeth Fraser's soft vocals - it's one my personal favorites on the album. "Risingson" is a darkly layered track with Robert del Naja rapping with playful  lyrics - "toy like people make me boy like, they're invisible as they trip they slip they physical." 

Overall, Mezzanine is Massive Attack's most prized claim to fame for its departure from typical fan/critic expectations and into versatile/eclectic variations of the band's sound. It's always refreshing to see a musical group to challenge itself and its listeners by breaking genre molds and diving into uncharted territories. If you have never heard of Massive Attack, Mezzanine is a great place to get acquainted with the boys of Massive Attack. 

Check out these tracks:

1. Teardrop

2. Risingson

3. Man Next Door

4. Exchange 

5. Group Four

 

Music for the Traveler

Homeward Bound
Originally uploaded by arizonaphotographic

Recently in my AP Art class we were assigned to create a digital collage/sculpture based on the concept of "there's no place like home." As soon as I was free to sketch my ideas for this project, I already had a good idea of what I wanted to convey through my collage. I wanted to design a worn down postcard that told a story of a traveling artist writing to her mother back home. This assignment really draws its roots from my complete obsession with female singer-songwriters of the 60s, most notably Joni Mitchell. Whenever I listen to her poetic based lyrics and acoustic guitar, I get the feeling I'm traveling through remote locales of a Canadian forest, wishing I was homeward bound. Her album Blue is like a dedication to the importance of remembering where you came from, especially since the majority of songs on that album were written as she traveled from California to Paris. It's like the only way she could truly know herself was to recognize where she came from by writing songs that cleared her head from the lifestyle of a tourist. Every song is its own letter home telling of the heartbreak, adventure, isolation, nostalgia traveling can leave you with. "California" is a perfect example of that, with lyrics like, "I'm going home to California/California/I'm coming home," she really conveys her longing for being at home. Also take note of songs like "This Flight Tonight" and the obvious hints at traveling through forms of transportation. Overall Joni's highly successful album, Blue, is the quintessential singer-songwriter album / music for traveling as its poetic lyrics and emotional charge illustrate the importance of knowing your origins.
As I continue working on this AP Art assignment, I will be drawing more and more inspiration from Joni Mitchell's music and work. She's such a wonderful visionary artist it is hard not to take note of her and be inspired. God! If I could just meet her I would just die and go to heaven.

My Top 25 Artists

1. Tori Amos
2. Bjork
3. Portishead
4. PJ Harvey
5. Goldfrapp
6. Zero 7
7. Nine Inch Nails
8. Andrew Bird
9. Cat Power
10. Massive Attack
11. Kate Bush
12. The White Stripes
13. Pink Floyd
14. Mazzy Star
15. The Beatles
16. Beth Gibbons & Rustin Martin
17. Sarah McLachlan
18. Joni Mitchell
19. Electric Light Orchestra
20. David Bowie
21. Fleet Foxes
22. Sigur Ros
23. Bon Iver
24. Martha Wainwright
25. Lucinda Williams

Harpischord by Massive Attack

This is amazing performance from Massive Attack of their new song "Harpishchord," which will appear on their highly anticipated release, Weather Underground. It's amazingly dark and powerful song and I can't wait to hear it on the album with the other songs to accompany it. Hopeful the boys from Massive Attack we'll be touring in the United States too!


For now, stay tuned.

Aerial by Kate Bush

British singer-songwriter Kate Bush has been around much longer than I have been around this world and it's interesting to me, as someone who has listened to her very first recording, The Kick Inside, to see the grand difference in her 2005 release, Aerial. For one, this album features less piano and more studio based sound utilizing more drums, new-age effects and additional support from an orchestra. Secondly, this album is not as unabashedly romantic, but more content with the beauty of life and motherhood. Listening to this album reminds me of lush green forest during the summer in which the day feels endless. I'm sitting on the ground with headphones in my ear listening to the entire album's content while the shadows move ever so slightly as night draws nearer and nearer. Songs like "Pi" or "Prelude" really instill a nature orientated sense of reflection; as the course of the album progresses its a quiet affair. It's as if Kate Bush intended this album to be an emotional cleansing of the demons within. At the end of the album, you can't help but feel the colorful spectrum of rejuvenation surround you.


For those of you who are not familiar with Kate Bush's work, this is an excellent place to begin. Earlier works might be challenging to listeners who are not acquainted with the deep territories of their eclecticism and musical adaptability.


Songs I recommend from this album:
1. King of the Mountain
2. Pi
3. How to Be Invisible
4. Joanni
5. Bertie
6. A Coral Room
7. Somewhere in Between

Check This Out Kiddies

So just to get a feel for the broadness of Bjork's music, check out this video clip of an orchestra performing her classical composition piece "Overture," from Dancer in the Dark, during her Vespertine tour. It's quite awe-inspiring.