We try to keep you guys informed on the current state of music. But mostly we want to keep you informed about good music. It is with this in mind that we backtrack to 2004. A man named Michael Milosh puts out an album on Plug Research. The result is a beautiful symposium of found sounds, warm feelings, cold beats, off balance and soulful lyrics, and melancholy music. A melding of Dntel and Radiohead that works so well. And you just have to feel moved or at least intrigued when Michael’s opening track has happy and uplifting lyrics. You’ll understand why that’s something of intrigue when you hear it. I recommend hearing the whole album, because it has the power to captivate and guide your ears into the world of Michael Milosh. And it sounds really good.

Milosh - Your Taste

Milosh - You Make Me Feel

I have no idea what to think of this album. I don’t know if I love it or if I hate it. I feel like them rushing this album made it feel more like a mixtape, than an album. But on the other hand, there are a bunch of good tracks. Every time I listen to this album it grows more and more on me.

The album starts off with “Ares” which sounds like Bloc Party trying to replicate Silent Alarm, but on a more extreme level. Of course being Bloc Party, I find this song extremely catchy. The song has this breakdown that is so reminiscent of A Weekend In The City, it seems like the producers divided the song between Silent Alarm and A Weekend In The City. Next comes Mercury, and there isn’t anything more to say about this song.

The next song, “Halo” is one of the best on the albums. Bloc Party makes pop punk so good by adding interesting guitar hooks and melodies. Every time I listen to this song it grows more and more on me.

After this comes my second favorite track, “Biko.” This song has the electronic feel of “Mercury” or “Flux”, but it’s so soft spoken and just great. For the chorus they add these hand claps that belong on a Top 40 hip-hop song, but somehow fit.

“Trojan Horse” is the first time I’ve ever heard Bloc Party use a tambourine. Weird.

The next song “Signs” doesn’t really do it for me. I don’t know what it is, it’s just boring. I just think of Hot Chip’s “Over and Over” whenever the song begins.

“One Month Off” is the standout track on this album. This song could have easily been one of the better songs on Silent Alarm, which doesn’t feature a bad track. This song has an extremely catchy chorus with creative lyrics…

“I can be as cruel as you, fighting fire with fire wood.
I can be as cruel as you, fighting lights with lights.”

This song has a Silent Alarm feel, but the way it ends says that they’re moving in a new direction, which I feel leads into the next song, “Zepharus.”

While I was writing this review, I forgot how much I love this song. There is something about the electro beat and then the choir that kicks in that makes it so epic. This song belongs in a Spiderman chase scene, and I absolutely love it. I normally dislike bands going for something epic, but Kele really holds his own against a whole choir… It gets absolutely fantastic at about 2:40 when the drums drop out and it’s just Kele belting out the chorus, with that choir. The song only gets better from there.

“Better Than Heaven” sounds like the entire middle part of A Weekend In The City, but remixed. I really don’t like this song, but once again Kele sings a dynamite chorus… The only highlight of this song. Although this song does get better towards the second half of it, I still don’t like it. Kele literally has a catchy chorus on every single track. I’ve probably sung a chorus from each song while I was in the shower, at least once.

Although I don’t particularly enjoy “Ion Square”, I can understand why they closed the album with this. It sort of sums up what has happened throughout the album, and blends all the ideas together for one final conclusion.

Overall , I liked this album more than I thought I would… But it wasn’t fantastic like Bloc Party can be. Coming from a drummer, I found this album disappointing, especially with the talent Matt Tong has shown on the past two albums. If you don’t own this album, I say go for it because it’s only $8.99, and there are a few tracks worth that cost alone.

Bloc Party- Halo

Bloc Party- One Month Off

Bloc Party- Zepherus (Zshare)

My favorite violinist this and that side of the Mississippi has released a couple of great tracks. Final Fantasy (Owen Pallatt) makes great pop songs revolving around violin loops. He’s released a couple of albums and has a fantastic live show that involves stories on a projector*. I’m sure most of you know who he is so I won’t go into a lot of detail, but if you haven’t heard him I highly recommend you listen to his cd’s, as well as these new tracks. These songs are supposedly going to be released on a series of EP’s being released in September and October.

***

P.S. I’m not sure “Ultimatum” is new, but it’s really good as well.

Final Fantasy- Horsetail Feathers

Final Fantasy- The Butcher

Final Fantasy- Ultimatum

The first is by a Tape favorite, Calvin Harris. Calvin took his happy synths and dancy lines to Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat.” Even if you don’t recognize this song by name, it should be immediately identifiable as that song Napolean Dynamite dances to. You all know, the one that goes “na na na na na just DANCE!” The also has some Surkin-esque strings that really set the song off during the chorus.

Jamiroquai - Canned Heat (Calvin Harris)

The second remix is of the coolest kids we know, Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks, also known as the Cool Kids. This remix was found on missingtoof and it’s by Grandtheft (GT) of the Canadian DJ group the Eh! Team. Aside from being potentially the greatest name on the universe, GT really delivers on this fresh remix of “Mikey Rocks.” He adds some some drums and a bassline but the highlight is a salsa track that kicks in during the chorus and sticks around for a while. I don’t even know the name of this song, but I’m pretty sure they played it every time Rafael Furcal came to bat with the Dodgers. Its like stock salsa music, but totally identifiable. You’ll know when you hear.

The Cool Kids - Mikey Rocks (GT Juke and the City Mix)

You all know Mr. Shaquille O’Neal loves to run his mouth. Who could forget him asking Kobe how his ass tasted? Or that time he was in the Aaron Carter video. A slightly lesser known fact is that Shaq is an accomplished rap artist. With songs like “I Know I (Got Skillz)” and “I Hate 2 Brag” we can hardly complain. I’d just like to take a moment to acknowledge that this man is 7 feet tall and weighs 325 pounds. And he raps. He raps! His beats are not unlike other early 90s rap artists (LL Cool J, anyone?). But his lyrics are what sets him apart from the rest. All the songs on his album Shaq Diesel appear to be about how awesome he is. And like, shit. He’s outstanding. Not musically, no, but I can’t remember a time when I’ve been so thoroughly entertained by listening to music.

Shaquille O’Neal - I Hate 2 Brag

Mashups are dead. Mashups are back. Mashups are dead. Blah blah blah. Look I know everyones saying mashups are dead but damnit I still have respect for a good mix of music. Phoenix Jukebox is doing exactly that. He’s got an album/ep out and I’m not going to tell people what to think here but We Goin’ Down is great. Anyone sampling Digitalism, Chromeo, and Whitney Houston in the same song deserves props. Especially because it works.

Phoenix Jukebox - We Goin’ Down

The Game- My Life (Feat. Lil Wayne)

Bangers & Cash- (I Want) Pu$$y (Sweatshop Labor vs. Nick Hook Remix)
best ever

Lil Wayne- A Milli (Infuze Remix)

Kanye West- Champion (Olympic Version)

The Cool Kids- Delivery Man

Jay-Z- Jockin Jay-Z (Rob Low Throwback Remix)

Mickey Factz- Swahililand Feat. Cocoa Sarai & Jesse Boykins

We love Surkin. We love Bobmo. Their collaborations are nothing short of spectacular. They have one original track under their belt, “Hoes Get Down.” You have no doubt heard this song if you’ve been to any Institubes party. It’s got that very distinctive Institubes sound. It’s more relaxed, a bit more old school. The beats are choppier and less sidechained. This is in opposition to French contemporaries Ed Banger, who will sidechain the shit out of anything in sight. That sound has become the identifiable “French House” sound of the modern era, but in my humble opinion, almost everything put out on Institubes has been of higher quality. But not to get sidetracked, High Powered Boys also did a remix of MSTRKRFT’s club hit “Bounce.” The remix sorta removes Nore’s vocals while leaving the other vocals intact and gives the song more of a bmore spin.

High Powered Boys (Surkin and Bobmo) - Hoes Get Down

MSTRKRFT - Bounce (High Powered Boys Remix)

I’ve been a fan of Ra Ra Riot since their EP’s debut last year. Something about the strings, the mood, and the subtle infectiousness of their songs got to me. The Rhumb Line marks Ra Ra Riot’s first full length and I’m doing the duty as a fan of reviewing it.

The album opens with a sense of urgency, “Ghost Under Rocks” a favorite from the EP sounds more menacing and pained. The strings almost seem devilish, lulling you in before they strike and stab you in the face with their spiked bows of animosity. The whole song carries a very haunting atmosphere which seems distilled from its first incarnation on the EP.

After the powerful opener Ra Ra Riot lays back and delivers another favorite in the shape of “Each Year”. I have to say I’m partial to the RAC remix of the tune but the original is splendid none the less.

The album moves on into St. Peter’s Day Festival, a song I had only heard in their live WOXY sessions. The song feels a bit off balance appearing so soon after two numbers so close to hearts by now. The song tries to endear itself by giving all of the Ra Ra Rioty goodness that Ra Ra Riot can. Lyrics like “C’mon c’mon let us in” pave the way for acceptance and by the end of the 3:36 duration St. Peter’s Day Festival has won me over.

“Winter ‘05″ begins with a very somber string section like the beginning of a shadowed symphony. The hihats begin to carry the song as the lyrics carry an aloof sense of sorrow. The song never dares to rise up, almost defeated, and then ends.

Suddenly “Dying Is Fine” breaks its way in. Another favorite from the EP which I expected to carry a more morbid tone since the seriously tragic death of Ra Ra Riot’s former drummer John Pike. I was wrong. The song is one of the most foot tapping, head bobbing ditties out of the pack. Still, I can’t help but feel a post mortem message and a little remorse in the lyrics “Death oh baby/You know that dying is fine but maybe/I wouldn’t like death if death were good”.

Another new song “Can You Tell” sounds familiar and even more at home once the drums and strings come in. This one is the most blatantly a love song for better or worse, and though it sounds like Ra Ra Riot it doesn’t strike home for me.

“Too Too Fast”, another new song, opens in the most unusual way so far with loud drums and a synth. Sounding more like their contemporaries (they did tour with Tokyo Police Club) the backing vocals of Too Too Too Fast and the upbeat chorus are sure to make this one a new favorite. It’s damn fun to hear strings so welcome in the upbeat bass+drums+guitar+synth combo. It’s damn fun.

“Oh, La” brings back Ra Ra Riot’s most folky sounds as if to reassure us that they still sound like themselves. The song is good but not them at their best, which is a bit sad since the chorus is pretty catchy. Alas.

“Suspended In Gaffa” brings a very circus like feel with the up and down nature of the song. Once again Ra Ra Riot succeeds at venturing a little bit out of bounds. The song, like the title, has a very suspended quality, almost acrobatic in its melody.

The final song in the 10 track album is “Run My Mouth” with a subject matter about “days ending too slow” and “where to go from here” the song reads like a meditation on the whole album and the future of Ra Ra Riot. As the song climaxes “when the only thing left to do is run my mouth” it lends a sober insight on the entire act of creativity. When there’s nothing left to do I guess the answer is to make a damn good album. RIP John Pike.

Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks (mediafire)

Ra Ra Riot - Winter ‘05 (mediafire)

Ra Ra Riot - Too Too Too Fast (mediafire)

It’s really hard to outdo his masterful album “Liquid Swords”, but he came as close as you can with Pro Tools. I didn’t expect this album to be half as good as it is. I expected a piece of junk that was created to circulate hype, and get GZA a little bit of extra money. But that was rash and unfair of me to judge GZA, The Genius like that.

A few odd things I noticed on this album:
#1 No Kung-Fu movie samples
#2 half of the album is under the alias “GZA” while the other half is under “GZA The Genius”
#3 Many of the songs revolve around the theme of “Cinema,” or “Movies”

Anyways, here are a couple of standout tracks.

GZA The Genius- Paper Plate

GZA- Columbian Ties

GZA- Cinema