April 30, 2022

Miilkbone - Da' Miilkrate (1995)

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*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: CDP 530697 (Club Edition)

© 1995 Capitol Records
From Perth Amboy, Miilkbone's rapid delivery and pumping jams recall fellow New Jersey-ites Naughty By Nature. His lyrics deal with living an inner-city lifestyle, especially on "Ghettobiz."

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 


tags: miilkbone, da miilkrate, the milkcrate, milkbone, 1995, flac,
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April 29, 2022

Anne Clark - Hopeless Cases (1987)

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Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop
Label Number: DIXCD 48

© 1987 10 Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

tags: anne clark, hopeless cases, 1987, flac,
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Gary Numan - Telekon (1998 Remastered Edition)

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*Reissued on CD for the first time in 1998 by Beggars Benguet US. 
This pressing contains 16 tracks total and remastered audio.

Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop, New Wave
Label Number: BBL 19 CD

© 1980-1998 Beggars Banquet US
Gary Numan's follow-up to the flawless The Pleasure Principle was 1980's Telekon. Although it was another mega-hit back home in England (his third consecutive number one album), Numan could not follow up his massive new wave hit "Cars" in the United States, where he was unjustly slapped with the one-hit-wonder tag. Telekon would also turn out to be the last true classic Numan album, as monetary problems and an unfocused attempt to try different musical forms (as well as a short-lived retirement) would steer him away from his original vision. Although Telekon was indeed a strong album, it could have been even stronger if it included the U.K. Top Ten singles "I Die: You Die" and "We Are Glass" (both were recorded during the Telekon sessions). Numan experimented with funk for the first time in his career ("Remind Me to Smile"), but there were still plenty of chilling synth excursions to keep the Numan faithful satisfied -- "This Wreckage," "The Aircrash Bureau," "I'm an Agent," and "I Dream of Wires" are all choice cuts. The 1998 Beggars Banquet re-release eventually did include both the U.K. singles, as well as several other rarities, including a bare "piano version" of "Down in the Park." [Note: In addition to bonus tracks, all of the Gary Numan/Beggars Banquet re-releases contain classic photographs and informative liner notes by Numan biographer Steve Malins.]

tags: gary numan, telekon, 1980, 1998, remaster, flac,
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Gary Numan - I, Assassin (2002 Remastered Edition)

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*Reissued and remastered in 2002 by Beggars Banquet US. 
This pressing contains 8 bonus tacks. 
15 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop, New Wave
Label Number: BBL 40 CD

© 1982-2002 Beggars Banquet US
After the spare and lengthy reflections and dislocated experiments of his excellent Dance album, Gary Numan made a return to a more focused approach with I, Assassin, which turned out to be his last truly great album for many years. Much of what would characterize his later music in the '80s did start to show up here, to be sure, but instead of the formless flailing all too apparent on Warriors, and especially on Berserker, Numan's work here with modern electronic funk combines his early rigor and to-the-point rhythms with a deft, creative hand in the arrangements. "White Boys and Heroes," the brilliant opening number, remains one of his best singles, featuring fretless bass work from Pino Palladino (long before both it and him had turned into rent-a-clichés), and set against droning, distorted vocals and doom-laden keyboards. The vaguely Asian (or at least the group Japan)-inspired textures of Dance linger on in songs like "A Dream of Siam" and the title track (the latter possessing a captivating hollow-drum-punch introduction), while one of Numan's most randomly entertaining songs pops up with "The 1930s Rust." It's a suave finger-snapping number that even features harmonica, but somehow Numan's ear for to-the-point rhythm and strange futurism still comes through. Perhaps the most underrated song remains the sharp hipshaker "War Songs" -- U2 may never want to admit it, but "Numb" takes more than a little from the distorted up-and-down introductory guitar clips.

tags: gary numan, i assassin, 1982, 2002, remaster, flac,
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Capital D & The Molemen - Writer's Block (The Movie) (2002) ☠

By ,
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: AN-023
☠: Selected by Lass
© 2002 All Natural/Molemen Inc.
Given the singles-oriented nature of the genre, it's not too surprising that you can count the number of great hip-hop concept albums on one hand -- most of 'em coming from the dynamic Handsome Boy Modeling School duo of Prince Paul (see A Prince Among Thieves) and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (see Dr. Octagonecologyst). But now Writer's Block (The Movie) can be added to that list: Over the course of 14 tracks, MC Capital D and production team the Molemen craft an imagery-filled tale as vivid as anything your average Hollywood writer could concoct. There's Eliza, a "Young Girl Lost" who left home at the age of 15 because her "two block radius was much too small/To contain her ambitions/With no inhibitions at all." There's "Mrs. Manley," the protagonist's elderly neighbor who "was like a surrogate mother for my family/It don't stop there, it's like the whole block/Used to treat her doorstep like a bus stop." And then there's Jay, a local thug who's "a magnet for trouble" and winds up the target of a drive-by in "Crossfire." These characters, and many more, are wound together in a well-crafted storyline that isn't so much about writer's block, the affliction, as it is about a writer with an impeccable eye for detail immersing the listener in the things he witnesses every day on his block. With the pitch-perfect production of the Molemen lending added emotion to each of Capital D's slice-of-street-life tales, Writer's Block really is like a movie waiting to get made.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 


tags: capital d and the moleman, writers block the movie, 2002, flac,
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Witchers Creed - Awakened From The Tomb (2019) ⚓

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*This is digital store download purchased from Bandcamp. 
The files have been tagged and sorted for convenience.
Contains 9 tracks total.
Country: Sweden
Language: English
Genre: Death Metal
Style: Traditional Doom
Label Number: None

© 2019 Ripple Music
It is no big secret that we seemingly exist in an era where it has all been done before, that rarely is there something new under the sun, if at all.
Such a reality does not bode well for musicians or music in general, as it lends itself to the notion that none are capable of creating something that is actually new. But, every once in a great while, or once in a blue moon, something comes along that lives up to all the talking hype. Something that sets itself far apart from the laming herd of heaping ho-hummery out there; something that strikes a nerve within you in such a way that it cannot and must not be ignored.

This is the point where we now find ourselves dazed or even slightly addled, from the stark introduction to the full-length début from Katrineholm, Sweden’s WITCHERS CREED, ‘Awakened From The Tomb…‘ Opened to the public by Ripple Music on February 22nd, this nine-song opus is indeed a grand gesture, one whose greatest strength might just be that which has come before…

With riveting elements of everything from Pentagram or Pagan Altar, to Blue Cheer and Witchfinder General, WITCHERS CREED wears their influences out openly upon their sleeves for all to admire. From the opening track “Witchers Creed” and headlong right into follow-ups “Depths Of The Black Void” and “Victims Of Retribution“, we are transported to the early Seventies. Laden with excessive fuzz and possessed with nearly immeasurable proto-metal magnitudes, there is an unsuppressable feeling of youth and vitality to this music.

Songs like “Raven’s Claw” and the amazing “Salem (Resurrection)” are unleashed and delivered with aggressive propulsion behind them. Then, there are other tracks that are soaked with stringently lysergic enhancements, to such a degree that they achieve a mind-bending quality about them. “Larissa” and “Monolith” are certainly two outstanding examples of this.

It would seem that WITCHERS CREED is able to channel some distinctly fantastic qualities in their music, yet do so without ever seeming like clones or somehow merely copying that which has been done before. Instead, they take that which inspires them, from 70’s heavy rock to the power metal of the ’80s, and run it through their own creative machinery. From there, it is reinterpreted, reformatted, and reconstituted in such a way that it becomes a contemporary construct, new music with a most vintage vibe about it.

Time-warp yourself back to the land of lava lamps and tube amps by taking WITCHERS CREED‘s ‘Awakened From The Tomb…‘ for a spin via the Bandcamp stream in this review.

tags: witchers creed, awakened from the tomb, 2019, flac,
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Anne Clark - Changing Places (1983)

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*First pressing. 
Contains 11 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop
Label Number: BEECD 2

© 1983-1991 Beehive
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

tags: anne clark, changing places, 1983, flac,
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Anne Clark - Pressure Points (1985)

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Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop
Label Number: DIX CD 18

© 1985 10 Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

tags: anne clark, pressure points, 1985, flac,
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Editors - The Back Room (2005) ☠

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Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Post Punk
Label Number: PG-0534
☠: Selected by Lass
© 2005 Kitchenware Records
Before issuing their debut, The Back Room, in August 2005, Editors were immediately compared to the dark, brooding sounds of Interpol as well as the post-punk brashness of Echo & the Bunnymen. Singles such as "Blood" and "Bullets" quickly put Editors in the elite crowd of those to watch that year. The band -- Tom Smith (vocals/guitar), Chris Urbanowicz (guitar), Russell Leetch (bass), and Ed Lay (drums) -- compose a tight rock sound that's both raw and defined, particularly on album opener "Lights." Editors are an anxious, frantic, and passionate group, and the album is done with taste from the start. Smith is vocally passionate without being too steely, unlike Interpol frontman Paul Banks, as he exclaims, "I've got a million things to say," while his bandmates add to the song's rushing intensity. From there, the blistering "Munich" and the more luxurious, danceable "Blood" are the standout moments of this 11-song set. "Munich" is one of The Back Room's especially stylish numbers, thanks to the matching guitar work of both Smith and Urbanowicz. The surging storm that is "Bullets" is further proof that from the first note, The Back Room lunges at you with a dynamic that's fierce, wiry, and slightly fashionable. Alternative rock hasn't seen anything like this since the release of Turn on the Bright Lights.

tags: editors, the back room, 2005, flac,
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Editors - In This Light & On This Evening (2009)

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*Standard pressing. 
Contains 9 tracks total. 
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop
Label Number: PIASR 185 CD

© 2009 Kitchenware/[PIAS] Recordings
After two albums, England's premier post-punk revivalists Editors were at a crossroads. Their debut was a commanding snapshot of a young band whose emotional urgency outweighed its slavish devotion to the sounds of late-'70s/early-'80s Manchester -- there was no getting around singer Tom Smith's similarity to Ian Curtis -- but the power and passion of the songs trumped any "British Interpol" accusations. The follow-up found the band falling victim to the dread sophomore jinx, turning out a lackluster rehash of the same ideas as the debut. Ironically, it sold better than the first. Whether or not the band recognized they had come to a musical dead-end despite their booming sales, they were apparently wise enough to know it was time for a change in direction, and they decided to take a rather drastic left turn for their third outing. They've by and large ditched the guitars in favor of synthesizers, for a sound that's more New Order/Ultravox sleek than post-punk scrappy. If you open your mind up wide enough, you can draw a parallel to Van Halen's 1984 -- the sound of a guitar band getting its synth on but retaining its musical identity. While the shift to an electronic approach opens up more possibilities for the band in terms of dynamics, arrangements, and melodic contours -- there's a noticeable slant towards catchy refrains rather than billowing atmosphere -- this is still very obviously an Editors album. Smith's Curtis-like tones still boom out authoritatively, and the ominous intensity of old is a constant presence. And while it seems they will probably never equal the majesty of their debut, Editors have dug themselves out of their artistic cul de sac at least long enough to plan their next move.

tags: editors, in this light and on this evening, 2009, flac,
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Editors - In Dream (2015)

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*Standard pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Synth Pop
Label Number: PIASR830CD

© 2015 Play It Again Sam
Five albums into their career, Britain's post-punk stalwarts Editors dig deep for a cohesive set of sophisticated, nuanced songs rife with a hard-won maturity, which still retain all of the intense emotionality of their debut. Though Editors have experimented with their sound in the past, 2015's In Dream is the group's most well-rounded album to date, combining the best stylistic elements of each of their previous efforts. Here, we get the driving, angular guitars of 2005's The Back Room, next to the chilly synths of 2009's In This Light and on This Evening, all wrapped up in the expansive, church-studio production sound of 2013's The Weight of Your Love. As always, burning at the center of these icy, monochrome anthems is vocalist Tom Smith's closed-eyes, pyrrhic, baritone croon. Smith, who has drawn easy comparisons to Joy Division's Ian Curtis, has matured into an assured, commanding singer, and Curtis is but one touchstone, along with Nick Cave, Neil Diamond, and Elton John, all of whom inform the music on In Dream. In fact, the ebullient, classically inflected sophisti-pop of "All the Kings" wouldn't sound out of place on an Annie Lennox album. Musically, while the dark, '80s alt-rock influences remain, the group's work has grown richer, and In Dream is much more than an exercise in style. This is an album of highly compositional, slow-burn epics that build with Kubrick-ian intensity and attention to detail. Cuts like opening "No Harm," with its circular keyboard pattern laying the groundwork for Smith's slow, off-kilter vocals, and "Salvation," with its piercing orchestral intro building palpable harmonic tension near its ending choruses, full of bashing catharsis and symphonic desire. And while there is a spareness to the arrangements on In Dream that reads, at first, as arch in tone, tracks like "Ocean of Night," with its sparkling piano and thumping bass drum and "Our Love," with its pulsing, Giorgio Moroder-esque beat, find the group reworking disco and house music elements in unexpected ways. Also adding to the richness of the album is Slowdive's Rachel Goswell who lends her angelic voice to several tracks. Although In Dream is neither a dance record, nor a cerebral art-rock album, by borrowing elements from both, Editors have crafted something grandiose and utterly transfixing. As Smith sings on the epic ending cut, "Marching Orders," "These are our marching orders/These are the rules that we break/These are the doubts we cling to/Tryin' to give more..."

tags: editors, in dream, 2015, flac,
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Television - Marquee Moon (1977) ☠

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Post Punk
Label Number: E2 1098
☠: Selected by Lass
© 1977-1989 Elektra Records
Marquee Moon is a revolutionary album, but it's a subtle, understated revolution. Without question, it is a guitar rock album -- it's astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd -- but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine's words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album -- it's impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it. Of course, it wouldn't have had such an impact if Verlaine hadn't written an excellent set of songs that conveyed a fractured urban mythology unlike any of his contemporaries. From the nervy opener, "See No Evil," to the majestic title track, there is simply not a bad song on the entire record. And what has kept Marquee Moon fresh over the years is how Television flesh out Verlaine's poetry into sweeping sonic epics.

tags: television, marquee moon, 1977, flac,
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The Real People - The Real People (1991)

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*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Alternative Rock
Style: Britpop
Label Number: 88561-1080-2

© 1991 Relativity Records
The Real People were Brit-pop before the genre had a name. Of course there was nothing new about Brit-pop -- it was merely a rehash of British Invasion sounds from the '60s, albeit a fun one. And that aptly describes the Real People's eponymous 1991 debut album. Some of it is reminiscent of Oasis, especially the big guitars and the soaring harmonies. Since this full-length predates Oasis, it becomes obvious what other English group besides the Beatles they pilfered from. Then again, the Real People aren't completely original themselves: the Stone Roses' influential brew of psychedelic rock, '70s funk, and late-'80s dance music appears now and then, most notably on the catchy "Window Pane" and "Open up Your Mind." "Window Pane" tried to woo modern rock radio listeners in the early '90s, but even its hypnotic riffs couldn't sway them from the sonic sludge of Nirvana. The album is a fine antidote to Seattle angst; the band seems like they're having a good time. However, it's a tad faceless; there's nothing much to distinguish the Real People from their peers. Stephen Street produced "Window Pane," "The Truth," and "Another Day," and the guitars are as crisp as Johnny Marr's on the Smiths' records that Street worked on. The Real People try really hard to make their songs hummable and memorable, but their songwriting hasn't caught up with their top-flight musicianship yet.

tags: the real people, the real people album, 1991, flac,
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Jeremih - Jeremih (2009)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: R&B
Label Number: B0013096-02

© 2009 Def Jam Records
There's more to Jeremih's debut album than "Birthday Sex," a bedroom ballad that became a major summertime crossover hit a la J. Holiday's "Bed." Outside of the startlingly direct delivery of its title and the stuttering effect that comes into play whenever Jeremih sings lines like "I know you want to cry-y-y out" and "Girl you know I-I-I" -- a twist on the-Dream's oft-deployed stammer -- "Birthday Sex" is a basic but ingratiating slow jam built over Mick Schultz's gently rocking lullaby beat, rather "Bed"-like. Schultz, who met the singer in college, produces the whole album. Despite being a mere upstart who takes many cues from the hottest pop-savvy R&B producers running, including Tricky Stewart, Carlos McKinney, Danja, and Timbaland, he supplies his partner with a set of backdrops that covers all the bases, from low-slung Southern trunk rattlers to glossy Euro-flavored pop. Jeremih's charmingly sly voice, somewhere between One Twelve's Slim and a young Raphael Saadiq, is hard to not like, especially when he tempers his cockiness with a little sensitivity -- best heard in "Break Up to Make Up," the song that also bears the album's sharpest hooks.

tags: jeremih, jeremih album, 2009, flac,
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King Tee - IV Life (1994)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap
Label Number: MCAD-11146

© 1994 MCA Records
King Tee has many things to be thanked for, from his humorous yet often very serious music to his early support of the now legendary Alkaholiks crew. IV Life has many a classic track for you to ride to in your car, like "Super Nigga," "Down Ass Loc," or the obvious "Let's Go Dippin." This album is more with the times than his past work, but the King still maintains that slow methodical delivery he's been known for. While it may not reach the respect levels that his previous albums had among his fans, this is definitely one of his better albums.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 


tags: king tee, iv, 1994, flac,
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R. Kelly & Jay-Z - Unfinished Business (2004)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B
Style: Pop Rap
Label Number: B0003690-02

© 2004 Jive/Rock Land/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records
Roughly as valuable as a half-price poster or mug, Unfinished Business is a glorified tour souvenir. 2002's The Best of Both Worlds, R. Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative record, was poor enough. The numbers tell you all you need to know: though that release had no trouble hitting gold status, Kelly's Happy People/U Saved Me outstripped its two and a half years of sales three times over in a matter of two months. So why did these two giants release a sequel to an obvious career lowlight? Unfinished Business' existence, in fact, is suspect in many ways. The press materials made a point to refer to these 11 songs as "previously unreleased," as opposed to "new," suggesting that they are leftovers from the same sessions that yielded The Best of Both Worlds. Further support for this speculation: the two records share much of the same personnel and recording locations, and the later release has even fewer bright spots than the initial one. More damning, perhaps, is that the release of Unfinished Business coincided with a tour that should've happened in 2002, had it not been for R. Kelly's belly splash into hot water, via an indictment on sex crimes. Two years after the indictment, Kelly's problems hadn't cooled down, but neither had his popularity. Touring with Jay-Z, the MC who carefully kept his distance from the situation, obviously became a possibility again at some point -- possibly after the supposed-to-be-retired Jigga witnessed the overwhelming support Kelly received from the fans. Touring in support of a record that's two years old -- and long forgotten -- is a silly proposition, so Jive and Roc-a-Fella (the two artists' labels) likely figured that they ought to capitalize on the development and patch this release together. Greed wins, fans lose. Can you really fault anyone for being paid millions to sleepwalk? Of course not, but you'd be less at fault for ignoring this slight release. Once you put it on, it's instantly evident that it's inconsequential in relation to everything else the artists have released before. Opener "The Return" wastes no time in deteriorating into a drone of background music, and the lack of positive features keeps flowing until the end of the final track.

* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 


tags: r kelly and jay z, unfinished business, 2004, flac,
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April 28, 2022

Marianne Faithfull - Faithless (1978)

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Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Country Pop, Pop
Label Number: CLACD 148

© 1978-1988 Castle Communications
Marianne Faithfull's first new album in a decade revealed the weathered voice she later would put to good, if harrowing, use in a series of albums for Island Records starting with Broken English in 1979. Here, that voice was smoothed out and used for pop and country material including such songs as "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "I'm Not Lisa," and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Faithfull had loosened up considerably since the chaste schoolgirl days of "As Tears Go By," and Faithless suggested that her hard life could be analogous to that of a country music star. Faithfull didn't have the accent to match that assertion, but she did have the attitude. (Faithless was a slightly altered version of the January 1977 album Dreaming My Dreams. It was reissued on CD in 1991 with four bonus tracks and as No Regrets in 2008.)

tags: marianne faithfull, faithless, 1978, flac,
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