Kevin|Nottingham: This Is Hip Hop » New Music Tuesday: July 17th

Wow, another blah week for new music releases. Where’s all the new hip hop and R&B music?!? Anyway, the new Yellowcard is finally out and here are a couple more notable CDs that may be worth a listen.

Update: I totally missed this! Only because it was originally released in Europe last month, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4 is out today in the U.S. I highly recommend this CD!!!

Yellowcard: Paper Walls

Add Yellowcard to that very short list of spirited pop-punk acts that made the transition from an indie to a major label and got better in the process. The SoCal by way of Florida band’s brand of strident, post-emo pop has only improved with each release, even as their sound grew more anthemic and radio-friendly (and reached double platinum status). Their first album since founding guitarist Ben Harper split the group, Paper Walls has been described by the band themselves as a sort of group therapy attempt, an effort to “tear down obstacles and heal old scars” amongst the five members. Unsurprisingly, the lyrics are direct and honest, while they’ve broadened their sonic palette to allow a tad more dissonance in with their urgent and propulsive pop-punk. The songs “Shadows and Regrets,” “Paper Walls” and “Five Become Four” mix thoughtful lyrics with a sped-up, catchy violin in a way that’s both “mature” and the ideal soundtrack to your next extreme sports adventure.

Tracklist:

The Takedown
Fighting
Shrink the World
Keeper
Light Up the Sky
Shadows and Regrets
Five Becomes Four
Afraid
Date Line (I Am Gone)
Dear Bobbie
You and Me and One Spotlight
Cut Me, Mick
Paper Walls

The Chemical Brothers: We Are The Night

Those not familiar with the electronica circuit, may have never heard of the Chemical Brothers. They’ve been around since the early 90s and you may have heard some of their music in TV ads. With We Are The Night, one can never accuse the Chemical Brothers of consistency. This CD continues their eclectic electronica approach even though the big-beat groove of the title track remains their digital calling card. Spotted with a minimalist keyboard pattern, vocal non sequiturs, and sampled sound effects, the infectious groove of “We Are the Night” eventually evolves into the monotone-chanted dance chorus of “We are the night skies/We are the bright lies,” recalling Brian Eno circa Here Come the Warm Jets. However, for every catchy electro-dance, there’s a tune that leaves you scratching your head. Then there’s Midlake singing the trancey ballad “The Pills Won’t Help You Now,” making the Chemical Brothers sound like a sci-fi version of Coldplay. Retro-analog synthesizers dominate, with the electro-grooves of “Das Spiegel,” “Burst Generator,” and “Saturate,” which builds on a Kraftwerk-forged metal framework coupled with storming sampled drums. The circuits of ’70s techno-pop artist the Normal are re-soldered on “Do It Again.” With Ali Love singing the title-track chorus, it’s built to be a summertime anthem akin to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is),” albeit robotically chilled.

Tracklist:

No Path To Follow
We Are The Night
All Rights Reversed (The Klaxons)
Saturate
Do It Again (Ali Love)
Das Spiegal
The Salmon Dance (Fatlip)
Burst Generator
A Modern Midnight Conversation
Battle Scars (Willie Mason)
Harpoons
The Pills Won’t Help You Now (Midlake)

Suzanne Vega: Beauty & Crime

With a career spanning more than two decades, Suzanne Vega has long stressed quality over quantity. It’s no surprise, therefore, that her first release in six years is more than worth the wait. Her eye for detail, laconic vocal cool, and thematic focus on New York City continue to distinguish her artistry. Crisp guitar riffing recalls the streetwise work of fellow New York chronicler Lou Reed, while chamber strings, electronic atmospherics, and multitracked background vocals lift the results well beyond the folk realm. Vega writes from a perspective of memory and maturity, recalling the New York of old on “Zephyr & I” and “Ludlow Street,” showing the musical sophistication of bittersweet seduction on “New York Is a Woman,” applying a musical Brazilian wax to “Pornographer’s Dream,” and contemplating her life as a wife on “Bound” and as a mother on the lullaby “As You Are Now.” The results are richly satisfying throughout.

Tracklist:

Zephyr & I
Ludlow Street
New York Is a Woman
Pornoghrapher’s Dream
Frank & Ava
Edith Wharton’s Figurine
Bound
Unbound
As You Are Now
Angel’s Doorway
Anniversary

Guru: Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4 - The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future

If practice truly makes perfect, it makes sense that Guru, one half of one of Hip Hop’s most respected groups (Gang Starr with DJ Premier), would be well on the way to perfection. In a genre where most careers are finished after their first two albums, Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 is the twelfth album where Guru has functioned as the lead MC. Nearly a twenty year hip hop veteran, Guru has had a lifetime of practice. So after nearly twenty years of making albums, what does Guru have left in him?

On Jazzmatazz Vol. 4, Guru has turned in the best performance of his career. While his delivery has stayed much the same throughout his career, his lyrics have constantly evolved, from his complex rhyme schemes in Step In the Arena to more simple, profound styles in albums like Streetsoul. Here, he has stopped experimenting with new styles in favor of perfecting old ones, and it pays off tremendously. Guru runs this album like an anthology, melding together the best of his efforts into one magnificent package.

While he under whelmed many with Street Scriptures, Solar’s production has been elevated tremendously. The Jazzmatazz moniker seems to have given him a focus for his talents; his production here arguably outstrips even Guru’s rhymes. While previous Jazzmatazz albums have always been slightly awkward, seeming to force together separate genres, Solar blends rap, jazz, soul, and even funk and reggae seamlessly to create the best sounding Jazzmatazz album yet.

Guests on this album include Common, Bobby Valentino, Bob James, Damien Marley, Slum Village, Kem, Vivian Green, Blackalicious, David Sanborn and many more. Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 is, overall, and excellent album that displays the full talents of the individuals involved. The chemistry of Guru and Solar shouldn’t be compared to that of Gang Starr; they have a greatness that is entirely their own. This album is the absolute embodiment of the growing maturity of hip hop music. It is not only a great album for hip hop in 2007, but a success by any musical standards that should be any music fan’s collection. Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 gets my hip hop seal of approval — go out and get this!!