Showing posts with label alternative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alternative. Show all posts
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Album Review: Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time


Besides her most recent drug possession allegations, Sky Ferreira has been an imperfect, yet modern role model for young females due to her fully immersed and independent attitude when it comes to her music. By taking on the executive role for most of her tracks on debut album Night Time, My Time, she gained creative control not only on her music, but also in her explicitly naked album cover. If the album cover doesn’t shock to some degree, she is pretty open that her music might, even saying, "Well pop music is provocative. Well not always, but it should be. Maybe in some ways the image is distasteful, but I don’t feel that it’s trashy. At least not trashy in a bad way. I feel like it’s pretty spot on."

Night Time, My Time is a straight-up alternative pop-rock album, anchored by "I Blame Myself" and "Your Not The One," the kinds of songs that are often hard to achieve a final, cohesive soundscape on by just anyone, but in Ferreira’s hands, are sung precisely how you’d want: soaring vocals with a little bit of edge. One of the big things Ferreira first sought after in creating her record was a sense of brutal honestly, so when she sings "You think you know me so well. I just want you to realize I blame myself, I blame myself. I blame myself for my reputation." in "I Blame Myself," it becomes apparent she stayed true to her original goals. In contrary to this upbeat, retrospective song is the sexually assertive "Your Not The One," the lead single and one of Ferreira's most radio-friendly tracks to date. It's a culmination of hazy vibes, engaging vocals and a memorable hook making it one of those few alternative pop songs that has a real chance at becoming a mainstream hit. 

Unlike the aforementioned tracks, "Nobody Asked Me" targets feelings of relationship frustration with a strong rock 'n roll presence that was missing in the other songs. Fueled with emotional rage, Ferreira shouts "You don't seem to care if I'm feeling lost. Nobody asked me, if i was ok. No no no no no no." over blaring guitars. In the sweetest way possible, Sky's song "24" crashes the disco party anthem theme with an ender of "I wish that God had no hands." That song was especially captivating sonically up until her her grim ending. As misleading as "Heavy Metal Heart" may appear, its sound isn't that heavy or mind-blowing, however, it does feature one of the most powerful vocal performances on the album. Ferreira's transitions between verses comes across as rapid, tongue-twirling noises that blend into the electronic elements of the song.  

The whole message of Night Time, My Time isn't to get people to the dance floor like many of the other artists today, but instead to showcase the qualities of vulnerability, sensibility, and flaw-full nature that Ferreira lives with everyday in her own personal way. Her added style in pop music makes for an interesting combination that today's music could benefit from, if only there were more like her. 

 Grade: B






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Album Review: Cage the Elephant - Melophobia


Cage the Elephant entered the spotlight on a fun enough note when "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" first invaded the airwaves. On their second album, the band appeared to have made the great artistic leap forward, gaining legitimate comparisons to the Pixies. And now, with record number three, the Kentucky alt-rockers continue to progress and press onward.

Melophobia engages from track one, the crawling "Spiderhead." Minus a few dips in quality here or there (Alison Mosshart's vocal entrance on the otherwise wonderful "It's Just Forever" feels a bit too off-Broadway for the song's style), the entire work maintains a vicious sonic edge. Frontman Matthew Shultz's voice switches octaves and inflections in furious bursts. Although he is never quite as unrestrained as the Pixies' Black Francis (or as lyrically wild), he does once again uncannily incorporate many of the aspects that made the Pixies so memorable.

Cage the Elephant, however, are not the Pixies. They are a band with merits to be taken on their own terms. Though on the experimental "Teeth," Shultz may mention a character who "only speaks to hear his cheeks slap together and worship the sound of his own voice," the vaulted voice of Cage the Elephant itself is one well worth hearing. Melophobia's crunchy chords wind in playful twists of sound, making for an exciting and addictive album.

Grade: B+ 




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Album of the Week: The Greys - Project Grey Matter


The Greys awaken the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and channel the zainy persona of Tyler the Creator in their first full-length album off of Dead Trash Mob Records, Project Grey Matter, which was released this month after their first EP, All Grown Up, was met with much success in April. From the heavy guitar riff and steady snare beat in “Made in America,” to the dark, apocalyptic mood evoked in tracks like “Mob Mentality,” the 14-track album provides an eerily stimulating experience through grunge, alternative rock and paranormal hip hop sounds. 

 Most of the album takes on a horror story-telling tone that thrills and chills the senses as it leaves the listener either on another planet or feeling trapped alone in a dark room only to confront their subconscious. The duo, consisting of Tonawanda-born emcee Ian Cochran (Sparkmatik) and Buffalo lyricist Tré Marsh (Tre Ocho), turn tracks like “The Project” into outlets for deeper discussion through subtle spoken word moments and tell-it-like-it-is lyricism. Bagel Jesus spices up the listening experience by building up the angst on "Trash-Hop." The dark and silly immaturity of "All Grown Up" offers some comic relief among a stressful work day. Weird and catchy, the album is a must-listen.

You may stream and purchase The Greys' Project Grey Matter on their bandcamp page.



Jessica Brant
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