NYC’s newly formed Roosevelt Franklin are no strangers to the underground rap game-MC Kimani hails from the Masterminds, while DJ Mr. Len cut his teeth with the seminal Company Flow. Kimani rails on “internet emcees” and fake underground rappers, perhaps alienating his own fanbase but providing laughs nonetheless. He pokes fun at rappers using nonsense big words in “Dropping Mad Science Yo” and channels big money mofos in “I’m So Rich,” but the standout tracks are messed-up love songs like “The Line.” The sing-a-long chorus of “S N M” sums up Roosevelt Franklin’s/conundrum: “Smart nigger music/that’s how they label it/like we should be ashamed for saying it/cuz the radio stations they ain’t playin it but I don’t care man, I’m a stay makin’ it.” Frustration with the music industry fuels this creatively ambitious but ultimately underwhelming LP.
Lmno & Mum’s The Word Collision
LMNO of the Visionaries teams up with producer Mum’s the Word for an album that glories in staying small and taking shit day by day. “Empty Out” has a barebones drum stutter-step, showcasing LMNO’s tight-throated, tightly cornering rap, which moves in fits and bursts. The real sly star here is Mum’s production; “Forward” bangs with a peppery slant, and “Jealous” is pure smooth sailing. Check LMNO’s history of music, delivered in a single breath.
Various Artists Saturday Morning Empires
Saturday Morning Empires is a lovely compilation of slow-glazed electronics from Montreal’s Intr_version. Loscil’s “The Grid” has clear edges beset with icy chimes, like a brightly brittle morning after a storm-its hard, pure glint gives way to a simple guitar motif with a steady, subtly glitchy pulse. Ghislain Poirier’s “300,000 Engants Soldats” contains all the stillness and sadness of a curl of steam rising from a teacup, and the Polmo Polpo track is a dream drift propelled by chipper guitar plucks. Meanwhile, Tim Hecker haunts the edges of the album with tr»s filtered guitar creep.
B. Fleischmann Welcome, Tourist!
Well, hello yourself, gorgeous! B. Fleischmann’s back with a two-CD set of unbelievably warm and perfectly blurred electronics. Welcome, Tourist! is full of signature Fleischmann melodies, circular and insular, but he’s added other instruments that further round out the glow-witness the dignified piano beneath the shuffling static on “02/00” and his fingers sliding languidly off the guitar strings in “Guided By Beats.” “Le Desir,” a small shining lullaby, gently clicks its tongue as Charhizma label owner Christof Kurzmann’s fragile voice lightly skims the surface; when he sings that “the day was almost shiny” on “Sleep,” your heart crumples just a little bit. Welcome‘s a whisper that lingers long in the ear.
The Fitness Call Me For Together
By combining dancey synth beats with hard-edged guitar riffs (no way!), The Fitness is trying to pioneer “new” territory that’s already been discovered and defiled. Although their melodies and lyrics are catchy and amusing, you can’t help but sit there, twiddle your thumbs, and think about how many other bands they sound like. Ironically, The Fitness adamantly claims to be against NYC electroclash, a sound that they encompass right down to their distorted vocals and glitchy beats. But irony is hot right now, right?
Underworld 1992-2002
From 1992 to 2002, Underworld rocked all that was raved-out and trance transcendent. Pretend this album’s a time machine, and you can use it to travel throughout the ’90s, listening to the duo progress (“Rez,” “Cowgirl”) and regress (“Two Months Off”). With the singles picked by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith themselves, (mostly) on-point production, and epic-sounding anthems to match any mood, fans will find plenty to love among these 16 tracks. And yes, “Born Slippy” is on it!
Kanye West Through the Wire
I like what he did with that sample of Chaka Khan. I just feel what he was tryin’ to do by puttin’ his experiences on wax.
Alicia Keys You Don’t Know My Name
She came off with this one because the beat is funky and I feel her emotion. It takes me back to one of those Jackson 5 joints. It makes ya feel good, you know what I mean?”
Musiq For The Night
It’s a soulful, danceable joint that I like to play in my set when I DJ. It puts people in the right mood to party.
Plasticman Spring Roller
Comin’ straight outta muthafuckin’ Thorton Heath (why don’t East London ‘hood names sound menacing?), Plasticman puts down a scorcher for BBC 1Xtra garage DJ Femme Fatale’s newly established imprint. And if you expected anything less than a boomer, stand back, as your boy throws down a melange of whomping bass, shrill, chattering high-end chords, and hyper crowd barks over a springy, electro-ish riddim. In short, pure pleasure from this bad man.
