Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You

August 29, 2011 2 Comments

Of the most popular rock acts of the past twenty years, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are no stranger to lineup changes.  Throughout the bands 28 year history, they’ve had a singer, a bass player, three drummers, and nine guitarists.  The band’s most consistent lineup – vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante – were together for ten straight years before Frusciante left the band for the second time in 2009.  While the band split up amicably, there was some question of the band’s will to go on.  Frusciante was a principle songwriter during his time in the band, and he was a huge part of the band’s biggest hits (which included “Under the Bridge”, “Californication”, and “By the Way”).  He played a huge role in moving the Chili Peppers from their early funk/punk style to a more melodic, accessible sound.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , ,

Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne

August 9, 2011 1 Comment

While formulating a personal opinion on a piece of art – whether it be music, film, literature, etc – expectations are everything.

When Kanye West released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in November 2010, critics praised its excellent instrumentation, interesting subject matter, and grand ambitions.  It is one of the more interesting, unique albums in the history of hip-hop, and it clearly contained some of West’s best work.  When he announced his collaboration with Jay-Z, his long time friend and mentor, it was hard not to expect the same thing.  With Kanye’s production skills and the combined rapping skills of the two, how could an album with two of rap’s greatest (and most popular) not at least equal West’s previous album?  Then “H.A.M” was released in January 2011 to mixed reviews.  While critics praised it’s symphonic nature and gloating lyrics, it was not as special or interesting as anything from West’s Fantasy.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , , ,

Album Review: Meg and Dia’s Cocoon

July 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

Surprisingly, I owe this review to a TV singing competition.  Specifically, NBC’s The Voice.

I’ve never really enjoyed or even occasionally watched singing or talent shows like America’s Got Talent or American Idol.  Shows like that always felt a little contrived atmospherically to me, and kind of fake.  And I never fell in love with any of the singers.  So when I randomly decided to watch The Voice, I was surprised at the level of talent on the show.  The show’s four “coaches” also seemed much more genuine than the judges on American Idol.  I started tuning into the show regularly in order to see if my favorite singers moved on.

One singer in particular struck me as being great.  Dia Frampton had a unique voice and a personality, especially for the type of show The Voice was.  I was surprised when I looked her up online after her audition and found out she was from the band Meg & Dia (Meg Frampton is her sister), who I had heard of a few times before.  While Dia didn’t end up winning the show, she made it all the way to the end and was only narrowly beat out.  But her voice was so enjoyable to me that I checked out her and her sister’s music.  Cocoon was the first album I listened to.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , , , ,

Show Review: Odd Future In Pomona, 4/1/11

April 2, 2011 4 Comments

someone let me know who took this awesome pic so i can give them credit.

45 minutes before the Glass House doors opened for the OFWGKTA show, the line was already around the block.  Around ten people (including some guy in a “Pavement ist rad” shirt…kudos for getting in, dude) were walking back and forth down it, asking “any extra tickets,” visibly disappointed every time someone said, “No, sorry man.”

If this isn’t indicative of the amount of popularity Odd Future has gained in the past few months – since appearing on Jimmy Fallon and being one of the highlights at the SXSW festival – I don’t know what is.  The hip-hop collective, based out of Los Angeles, has a real buzz surrounding them, and the energy before the show was impressive.  It’s not often (well, never in my experience) that you see crowd surfing and mosh pits before the music starts, but Odd Future is something different, new, and interesting, and people want to see them and be involved before they truly blow up.

(Show review/video of a new song from Goblin after the jump)

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews, Shows Tagged with , , , , , ,

Review: James Blake’s James Blake

March 30, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s hard to describe exactly what kind of music James Blake creates – his wikipedia page describes his music as “post-dubstep” and “minimal techno”.  However, his signature electronic/R&B sound defies even these loose genre lines.  Add Blake’s soulful crooning, and his debut album James Blake manages to be a unique listening experience.  It’s a very atmospheric record, filled with minimalistic soundscapes, and synth-treated, sometimes even auto-tuned vocals.  It’s an intimate record in a way that nothing released in the past few years is.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with ,

Single Review: “Civilization” – Justice

March 29, 2011 Leave a Comment

French duo Justice released Cross in 2007 and became almost instantly popular. Fans of electronic music praised the record endlessly, obviously in awe of its well-produced techno-funk sound. It definitely was one of the most interesting electronic albums released up to that point, and it was a breath of fresh air to hear something so unique and interesting. Most popular electronic music suffers from the same thing – repetitiveness, uninteresting song structure, and boring instrumentation – so it makes most of it pointless to listen to away from a concert. Justice transcended this musical barrier and made electronic music that was interesting to examine and enjoy outside of the dance scene.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , , ,

Review: The Strokes’ Angles

March 29, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s strange to think of The Strokes as a band that has been active for over ten years, probably because their first record, Is This It, still sounds modern today.  However, it’s easy to hear that album’s overarching influence on popular Indie/alternative music.  Bands like The Arctic Monkeys based their upbeat, guitar-heavy sound on a style The Strokes popularized, and a lot of the new music on the radio can be attributed to The Strokes’ influence.  Maybe that’s why an album recorded ten years ago still sounds like it has a place in the present musical climate.  Is This It has been called one of the best records of the 00′s by many mainstream music publications, and it’s often been used as a measuring stick to judge the quality of the band’s work.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , ,

Chilidish Gambino – EP Review

March 10, 2011 1 Comment

Donald Glover is a self-proclaimed “renaissance man” – he writes for 30 Rock, acts on NBC’s hit show Community, and is a talented comedian.  But for some reason, a lot of the mainstream media is ignoring his music, released under the moniker Childish Gambino.  Glover is a talented rapper and his work – musically and lyrically – is unique in the rap music spectrum.  It’s emotional and honest, and it’s an interesting look into the life of an on-the-rise celebrity.  It’s a shame that many people consider his music to be a side project, when Glover is putting a lot of himself into his songs.  And in the coming months Childish Gambino is only going to get more popular.  Quote me.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews Tagged with , , , , ,

Review: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

December 10, 2010 1 Comment

 

this ballerina looks surprised to see me.

Kanye West is one of those artists I can’t help but defend.  He’s one of the more talented artists out there today.  People tend to focus on solely on the negative aspects of his personality and discount his music as a whole, which is really quite a shame.  In reality, he’s everything a great artist should be.  He evolves over time, he’s not afraid to be different, and he’s a little odd.  2004′s The College Dropout was a refreshing rap record that focused less on the conventional subject matters of the time (getting laid and drunk) and more on complicated things like the nature of family and God.  Late Registration, released in 2005, was in a similar vein – but on a higher level as far as musical arrangements go.  In 2007, West completely switched his style up with Graduation, which retained a similar lyrical style on top of synth-y party beats.  2008′s 808s and Heartbreak, West’s most controversial album stylistically so far, was a minimalistic (and underrated, in my opinion) experience where Kanye refrained from rapping in favor of autotuned vocals.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the next step in Kanye’s artistic development, is the exact opposite of everything 808s was.  It’s full of rapping as opposed to singing, the musical style is more complex, and it sounds huge. It’s also a fantastic look into the lifestyle of the eccentric West.  And it’s his best album yet.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews

Kanye West’s New Single, “Power” Review

June 4, 2010 1 Comment

Is there a more polarizing rapper than Kanye West?  There’s a large portion of mainstream music fans that hate him, which is unusual for an artist of his popularity, and magazine writers (who usually praise his albums) continually berate him for his egotistical attitude.  Here on Nick Reviews, however, I like to focus on solely the musical aspect, because I really don’t know Mr. West personally at all, and never will, so I could care less if he interrupts Taylor Swift at any award show.  Despite all his critics and haters, West continues to put out good music, and “Power” is no exception.

Read more of this post

Filed under Music, Reviews

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.