The Nightwatchman | World Wide Rebel Songs

Thundercat | The Golden Age of Apocalypse

CD Reviews

Open Mike Eagle | Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes

Hellfyre Club (2011)

By DAN WEISS | August 30, 2011

4.0 Stars

"Smart" rappers are out of vogue — but many of them aren't nearly as un-fun as is claimed by the hordes who flock to Waka Flocka Flame mixtapes. Certainly not Southern Californian Mike Eagle, who opens his third full-length with the intent to sing along with Weezer in his car, despite knowing only the "key words." The blurping, Atari-cum-Antipop Consortium beats 'n' clutter, especially on the amazing "NH2 (Grins & Lies)," sound particularly playful and even poignant under patter like "My uncle got married to a crack pipe" and "I treat the whole world like it's Fred Durst." Eagle's sardonic ideas recall indie peers like Mac Lethal, Serengeti, and Yoni Wolf, none of whom nailed the middle-class recession more aptly than "I've got a high IQ and a low credit score." That's from the gut-busting peak "Rent Party Revolution," which also boasts "I get ideas but they explode like landmines/I blame the Masons because they control us with hand signs." Wise-ass rap isn't new, but it's never been so catchy, tuneful, and rife with buzzing beats to buttress truths like "A lot of rich cats are dumb as shit/They just work loopholes in the government."

Classified | Hand Shakes and Middle Fingers
Classified is to Canada what Jay-Z is to the States in that both are pre-eminent rappers in their respective countries.
Lil B | I'm Gay (I'm Happy)
Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.
The Cool Kids | When Fish Ride Bicycles
As you'd expect from the name, the Cool Kids have a fascination with social status and trends as well as with rebelling against them.
Main Attrakionz | 808s and Dark Grapes II
Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.
Evidence | Cats & Dogs
As competent as Evidence has always been with mic skills, he's no lyrical miracle.
Das Racist | Relax
They still have jokes for days, but lyrical dexterity has taken precedence on their debut LP.
Jedi Mind Tricks | Violence Begets Violence
It's a daily struggle to avoid murdering Drake fans who bump that trash on the train in front of me, cliché Auto-Tune hooks leaking from their Skull Candy and polluting my perimeter.
Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008
Trans Am are distillers of guilty pleasures, mixing fat AOR riffs with sleazy electronic accents and a propulsive attitude typically reserved for arcade soundtracks. What Day Is It Tonight? covers the DC-area band’s 20-year history with high-quality, high-energy live cuts taken from their many tours.
Fashawn | Boy Meets World
Since Boy Meets World dropped into my radar a month ago, I’ve discovered how much magic stretches clean across the tracklist, and I was planning to include it on my year-end list. Yet more immediate praise is due.
Various Artists | Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965 - 1968
More than three years in the making, the most recent installment of Rhino's legendary archival garage-rock series offers an amazingly comprehensive excavation of an absurdly fertile scene.
Various Artists | Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966–1970
Girl-group records are great and everything, yet the countless compilations out there were becoming a little hit-or-miss until 2005, when the great Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found box set finally gave this diverse genre a proper taxonomy.
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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, CD reviews, rap

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ARTICLES BY DAN WEISS

WUSSY | STRAWBERRY | November 22, 2011
Wussy's a brilliant Cincinnati four-piece for whom the local record shop turned into a label.

EMPEROR X | WESTERN TELEPORT | November 02, 2011
Every so often a bright, nerdy, nasal-voiced and infallibly catchy male songwriter appears to less critical notice than he deserves for his remarkably concrete lyrics and thoughtful melodies.

SURFER BLOOD | TAROT CLASSICS | October 18, 2011
This is a literal holdover. A charming band of Floridians who realized their musical dream in a dorm room, they made the difficult push to Pitchfork ascendancy and won what they really wanted: a major label deal.

DJ SHADOW | THE LESS YOU KNOW, THE BETTER | October 05, 2011
Bias alert: 1996's Endtroducing . . . DJ Shadow is one of the most firmly enduring perpetual motion machines in all of musical history, defying genre ("What was trip-hop, dad?") and all preconceived notions regarding an hour filled with turntablism, spoken word, and Metallica samples.

DUM DUM GIRLS | ONLY IN DREAMS | September 27, 2011
Kristin Gundred, a/k/a Dee Dee, is no actual dum dum, so she made good where Vivian Girls didn't.

See all articles by: DAN WEISS

CD Reviews

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