Quick Music Review

Garbage - Not Your Kind of People (2012, USA) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: Blood for Poppies, I Hate You, Sugar, Battle In Me
At the time, it was amazing how many of my childhood artists and bands were coming out with new material. I was excited and ready to indulge in it all. I've been wanting to review this album since its release and I'm glad I've decided to quickly review certain things with minimum detail, because honestly...I haven't listened to this album in a long time. Although, I was happy to hear that a good friend of mine fell in love with Garbage because of this album recently. So, how do I feel about their latest album? Well, to some extent it doesn't sound like Garbage. It fits in with what's playing on rock stations, but still maintains certain aspects of their signature sound that I grew up with in the 90s. The album displays a good range of that. Perhaps I can squeeze in some Garbage time to properly re-appreciate this album.



Dagoba - Post Mortem Nihil Est (2013, France) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: I, Reptile, Yes We Die, Kiss Me Kraken, The Great Wonder
I'm very new to this band and I was a little skeptical whether I would like them or not when I saw them live. I can't get into too much detail about the live experience as I'm in the process of getting the report posted here, but it made me check out their latest album. I don't think I'll ever be super into metal music. The genre's very miss miss hit with me. That's probably a very good way to describe this album as it ranges from very heavy metal to less metal growling. Don't let my negative comments discourage you from checking out this French metal band, because they're really awesome. There's a lot of energy and aggression that you could easily lose yourself in.



Jessie J - Alive (2013, UK) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: Thunder, Breathe, I Miss Her, Excuse My Rude
It feels like its been forever since Who You Are was released and I was getting a little concerned. Not because of the time gap, but the visual changes and comments made. When I saw "Thunder" posted on YouTube, I was psyched, but also a little nervous. Fortunately, what I heard and saw eased my worries. The video wasn't very noteworthy as it's very simple, but it was great to hear those powerful vocals make its way to my ears and not sound like something Katy Perry could pull off. Similar to her previous album, this one does a little experimenting with sound and genre here and there, so it might sound a bit noncohesive. Somehow I can excuse it in places. For the most part, I think she's slowly moving away from the bubblegum pop Katy Perry sound. No offense to Katy or anything. She still has silly songs that don't compliment her range like "Excuse My Rude", but like "Do It Like a Dude" I really like this song anyway.



Childish Gambino - Because the Internet (2013, USA) Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Tracks: Crawl, Telegraph Ave, Pink Toes, Life: The Biggest Troll
Due to my request to review Camp, I was curious what this new album might sound like. I wasn't sure where my feelings would fall as I really liked Camp, but I wasn't too fond of Childish Gambino's previous work. I'm not sure if I can compare the two albums and say if I like one more than the other as I listen to a lot of stuff and my mood shifts when it comes to what I want to listen to when I'm not catching up or whatever. From what I gathered from a couple music reviews, this is a commentary on internet culture...I suppose. Correct me if I'm wrong. When I really paid attention to the beats and content, I did slightly pick up on that theme. At those times I did pay attention, mostly to lyrical content, I did notice that at times the content was weak in areas and was able to understand comments on being blinded by Gambino's gift for selecting mesmerizing beats. Perhaps whenever I seriously concentrate on the lyrics I'll be more aware of it. For now, I enjoyed the album and I'm glad I gave it an open-minded chance.



Stromae - Racine Carrée (2013, France) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: Ta Fête, Papaoutai, Bâtard, Formidable
I think one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to music is that I'm open to trying new things. It all started when I saw the music video for "Papaoutai" and I figured why not give his album a shot. I didn't know what it would sound like or even what genre it would fall under. I'm still not completely sure where to classify it, but I guess electronic is kinda close. Honestly, there's a lot of genre mixtures from track to track. This album is simply something you'd have to experience on your own to figure out whether you would like it or not.


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Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"Papaoutai" by Stromae
I guess this has been circulating on Tumblr for a while, but I just now recently saw it on my dash. Anyway, I think this is a great example of understanding a foreign song through visuals that are both entertaining and emotion filled. The story is something people can relate to whether they've been through the same situation of abandonment or not. Aside from the visuals, I really love the choreography a lot and the song is both catchy and kinda odd, especially at the beginning.



"熱愛発覚中" by Shiina Ringo
When I saw that Shiina Ringo and Yasutaka Nakata of capsule were teaming up, I was immediately excited. This video and song combination was a win-win for the two Japanese musical innovators. With kick-ass visuals that properly represent Shiina's power and humor, it doesn't lose itself in the dance driven music and heavenly, light vocals. This is definitely one of those videos you can watch repeatedly and still find extremely entertaining, fun, and fierce.



"DOOM DADA" by T.O.P
What is this? A Big Bang related music video in the recommendations? Haven't seen one of these in my list, right? I have my reasons. I might explain in a possible future post about their solo projects, but for now let's focus on this visual cluster of images. To me, I don't find it all that odd as most do. It kinda strokes my inner cinemaphile in a very good way, obviously. Strangely, I think the hypnotizing music, playful but odd lyrics, and collage of imagery work very well together. It doesn't seem too out of place for T.O.P's character either. It combines his mature, sophisticated self, his stoic, confident demeanor, and his humorous, random self effortlessly. One more thing I want to add that I find amusing in the lyrics. Most of have heard the phrase "he/she could sing the phone book/alphabet/something mundane and it would sound amazing". Well, one line in this song is just the alphabet and sounds just as hypnotizing as the rest of the song. Thanks for proving that theory right, T.O.P!



"Party Rock" by Boys Republic
I think it's been a hit and miss for rookie groups this year for me, but I've been giving them a chance when something is released. I'm glad I gave these boys a chance, whether I continue to follow or not. This song is very upbeat and fun, good to bounce and dance around to. It's cute and charming and has an amusing visual story. The set pieces do remind me of a couple other kpop videos, but I kinda like this one the best.



"感電18号" by D=OUT
It's a shame how PS Company ignores this band's true talent. They have so much charisma and uniqueness compared to a lot of visual kei bands out there, especially the newer ones. This song brings me a lot of joy and reminds me of their pre-PSC days. It's very upbeat, catchy, and fun. The guys look confident and carefree as they perform with their instruments, sing, and act. I hope they continue to have more PVs that bring back their joyful roots and freshen up their bogged down image since the label move.