year: 2018 tones of: dj koze, moby, nico jaar, darkside, fuck buttons genre samples: house, disco, soul, electronica, dance, funk music: fun, danceable, glitchy, joyous, tricky, exhilarating, scratchy, warm, kinetic, technical, funky, energetic, precise, soulful, wild favs: i never dream, you are going to love me and scream,now u got me hooked, flash in the pan, cityfade
notes: a.a.l. stands for against all logic which is apparently one of a handful of pseudonyms nicolas jaar operates under (he also does work as a member of darkside, just friends, bladerunner, and daftside). this seems to be a collection of his work under that moniker from 2012 to 2017. score: 8/10
year: 2018 tones of: lil wayne (early dedication weezy) genre: rap, trap rap, southern rap, mixtape rap notable samples: kendrick (loyalty), lil pump (gucci gang), migos (slippery), makavelli (hail mary), jay-z (family feud), playboi carti (woke up like this) lyrics: metaphorical, clever, graphic, egotistical, sophisticated, comical, layered, crazed, imaginative, irreverent, violent, structured, visual, disrespectful, complex, absurd favs: bloody mary, for nothing, back from the 80's, big bad wolf,family feud, back to sleep
notes: the question and answer style responses from Weezy at the end of every track on here are priceless. this is also one of the better outings he has had in quite some time in terms of lyrical content, consistency, and delivery. score: 7/10
year: 2017 (broader release) tones of: floating points, todd terje, LNRDCROY, skee mask, shlohmoh genre samples: jazz, techno, house, electronica, drum'n'bass, ambient music: sonic, chaotic, impromptu, encircling, busy, layered, improvised, echoing, ecstatic, reverberating, drum saturated, off beat, lively, high frequency, colorful, crowded, energetic favs: untitled a1, untitled b3, untitled d3, untitled a2, untitled c1, untitled d2 notes: apparently SW. never names anything, hence all the generics - from the album name, its tracks, and cover, down to his own moniker. i consider this just an unconventional but principled way of letting the music speak for itself. score: 8/10
year: 2016 tones of: drake (esp noah "40" shebib's production style), kid cudi, chris brown, childish gambino (on the kauai mixtape) genre samples: r&b, rap, hip hop music: chill, dark, trippy, mature, spacious, sexy, moody, hazy, ominous favs: prblms, never know, alone/ea6, ex callin (cover of Future's "perkys callin"), gettin' old, worst luck notes: 6lack is pronounced: "black". this was one of my favorite low key artists back in 2016 (this is a long over due sketch!). looking forward to his next project. score: 7.5/10
year: 2017 tones of: caribou, four tet (from the "rounds" era), massive attack (on "planet") genre samples: electronica, ambient techno, jazz, indian classical, downtempo music: spacious, frenetic, light, simple, charming, circling, fresh, sparse, bright, quirky, airy, amorphous, expanding, clean, happy, dainty, soothing, textured favs: lush, two thousand and seventeen, daughter, planet, memories,you are loved, LA trance, the scientist notes: beautiful enough at first listen but the intricacies really start to reveal themselves over time. keep listening until you get there. it's worth it. score: 7.5/10
vocals: crisp, drawling, precise, athletic, rhythmic, dexterous, smooth favs: big k.r.i.t., drinking sessions, confetti,bury me in gold, 1999, price of fame, get away, miss keep the devil off (production), georgia fornia,mixed messages (lyrics) best guest: lloyd (on "1999") notes: the split personality that is Big King Remembered In Time offers up a rare double disc rap album that delivers nearly its full record length in musical gold. score: 8.5/10
year: 2017 tones of: bright eyes, black keys, the flaming lips (on mal à l'aise) genre samples: indie rock, punk pop, DIY rock, folk music: jangly, marching, lofi, bright, jagged, melodic, soft, quick lyrics: longing, regretful, reflective, abstract, nostalgic, insular, assured, cathartic vocals: scratchy, straining, blue, angst-ridden, delicate favs: fear & force, cold apartment, the embers,alive and well, cleaning house notes: this album only clocks in at 28mins but it takes every advantage of that limited time score: 8.5/10
