It's time to succinctly review a handful of deserving albums. No time to delay, here we go;
General Electriks - Good City for Dreamers
This album is such an oddity, mixing pleasant noises, pleasant vocals, and a little bit of funk, to create a very unique album I'm not sure I could throw in my CD player and just enjoy. The album starts off with the funky 'Take Back The Instant' which is pleasant enough but when track two starts, 'Raid the Radio', it's as if you are listening to a mix and the hope is that more of the songs will end up sounding like this one. Again, the song is hard to label style wise, it's a mix of whistles, claps, bass lines, and several singers, and every bit of it makes me want to get on my bike and ride to a lake on a sunny day. 'Helicopter' is a little too Go-Team and 'Little Lady' is a little too sexy. If you aren't afraid of a band who isn't afraid to get a little strange and create unique music, this might just be for you.
Youth Group - The Night is Ours
This is just pleasant. Maybe you are getting tired of your most recent Coldplay album (who they recently toured with), or you always wished that a little taste of the 80's could infiltrate new music; if so, these guys are for you. Already huge in their home country of Australia, if they follow the SOP of Australian bands they have one of two routes to go, semi-stardom like John Butler while keeping their integrity, or international superstardom with little self respect like Men At Work. Either way this album is soothing if not at all remarkable or refreshing. 'Friedrichstrasse' and 'Babies in Your Dreams' are tear jerking beauties, but the whole album doesn't have this same sense of heart unfortunately. All in all, a pleasant album, fit for a Tuesday afternoon while sitting on your couch, hoping something might happen.
Aesop Rock - Music For Earthworms
It took me an awfully long time and an awful lot of (not very) hard work to acquire this album but now that I have it I'm so intrigued by how it differs from other albums. This was his first official release, and depending on the source it was either in 1997 or 1998. What I do know is that you can tell immediately it is not as polished as his newer work. My thoughts on that? I don't care. His lyrics give insight into the mind of someone just coming to terms with how to properly use his words to get across exactly what he's hoping to. Some lines are used in later albums to much more avail, some lines should be. The beats are far simpler than anything he's putting out these days (this certainly wasn't DJ'ed by N.A.S.A) but he has background singers on several tracks and plays around with his style just as much as he does these days. There are definite highlights with 'Shere Khan' and 'Plastic Soldiers', which really give you a hint of what might be to come (and what thankfully did end up coming). What blows my mind is that this guy even exists. I have sat down and tried to write a verse or two in his vein and it is such a challenge. My hats off to Aes Rock and my thanks to the fact that he keeps evolving at such a breakneck pace.