Artists chart new territory with releases
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue — that combination has worked for ages for weddings, so why shouldn’t it work for music?
In many ways, the most creative artists marry concepts to create a harmonious union of an old sound with a new style. This notion of charting new territory was reinforced last week with the release of various mixtapes. Whether it’s Jim James branching out from his usual My Morning Jacket territory, Paul Banks going hip-hop-commando in what is possibly the most amazing act of randomness in the last few years or a refreshing taste of the Spit that is Alexander, inspirations, original production, derived beats and retro rock are the trappings for the melodious weddings of the music-forward.
Of course, in true music form, these trappings have been tweaked to represent something bold, something “who?!”, something inspired, and something Blood Red.
Jim James: Regions of Light and Sound of God
My Morning Jacket has been tripping us out for about 15 years with its unique brand of Pink-Floyd-goes-Kentucky psychedelic rock. Frontman James released his second solo album this week, and thanks to NPR’s “First Listen” series, the nine-song album was made available for streaming beforehand. The album Regions of Light and Sound of God is inspired by Lynd Ward’s God’s Man, a 1929 woodcut art novel that tells the dark tale of an artist who is tricked into a contract that Mephistopheles would be hella proud of.
James’ first album, Tribute To (2009), was a collection of George Harrison and Beatles covers, which he put out under the super mysterious moniker of “Yim Yames.” In Regions of Light, however, James brings all of his talents to the table, considering he penned every lyric, recorded every instrument and produced the entire album all on his own.
It is because of this that the album branches out from My Morning Jacket territory and, as a whole, allows the audience to appreciate James, uncut, through his philosophical anxieties mixed against fresh and pleasing melodies and beats.
Alexander Spit: A Breathtaking Trip to That Otherside
One of the Bay Area’s finest unknowns in the underground rap scene, L.A.-based Alexander Spit parlays his easy West Coast flow into futuristic and original beats, which shun the flashy, excessive sounds of mainstream rap in A Breathtaking Trip to That Otherside.
Proving he’s just as talented a producer as he is a rapper, Spit varies his backdrops, taking the album from the eerie, trip-hoppy beats of the title track to the confident rhythm of “GREAT SCOTT!!!,” all the way to the controlled chaos in “Ride.” If there’s such a thing as rap noir, Spit is definitely flirting with it here, using dystopias, social commentaries and an overall anti-hero ambiance. The notion of creating an atmosphere for each tune seems to be of just as much importance to Spit as it was to famous film noir director Robert Siodmak when he created pitch-perfect dark atmospheres in virtually every one of his movie scenes. Featuring appearances from Alchemist, E-40, MFN Exquire and Bago, A Breathtaking Trip is a refreshing taste of underground hip-hop that sets the stage for Spit’s future endeavors.
Blood Red Shoes: Water EP
Brighton rockers Blood Red Shoes have nearly perfected its version of the indie alt-rock sound. The band became the new big thing in indie with the release of its tertiary 2012 record, In Time to Voices. The lauded album, rooted in atmospheric melodies, showcased the duo’s comfort in its growing sound, which was presumed to be the band’s signature style. In Water, though, Blood Red Shoes decide to ditch the soft, gentle balance of its sound that made up In Time to Voices and just go full out rock-and-roll. No longer is the duo dancing around you, trying to get your attention — instead, they’re using a metaphorical guitar-shaped pan to whack you over the head to get you to notice them. The EP is much louder and more distorted than the band’s usual tunes, and though the sound works for the band overall, there are times that the duo sound like some reject metal-wannabe band from the late ’90s. The record was apparently inspired while driving around America, so there’s that for an explanation.
Paul Banks: Everybody On My Dick Like They Supposed To Be
Yes, you read that right. Paul Banks, as in Paul Banks of Interpol, has decided to drop the whole precious-British-mopester act and reveal his true self — a down-ass G. This mixtape, which has apparently been in the works for the last nine months, was originally supposed to be included as a pre-release bonus for his solo album released last year entitled Banks. The Interpol frontman hinted that his hip-hop liasoning would happen in a recent Spin interview: “I was listening to a lot of Drake when I was recording [Banks], but that was once all the songs were written,” he told the music magazine. “I took hip-hop songs to [co-producer] Peter [Katis] [and] said, ‘Check this out.’ But he’s not into hip-hop. A lot of times he’d be looking at me like, ‘Why the f-ck are you playing me this?’”
It’s not a bad question. One definitely doesn’t think of hip-hop when Paul Banks comes to mind, but still, in an act of brilliant randomness, Banks has somehow managed to give himself some serious credibility in the hip-hop world through this mixtape. It doesn’t seem as though Banks is doing any rapping himself — he’s mostly just acting like a hipster Dr. Dre, producing beats for guest rappers such as Talib Kweli, El P and Mike G. The worst part of all of this? The mixtape is insanely good. Like, insanely good. Um … thanks, Drake?
Rishbha Bhagi is a graduate student pursuing a degree in communication management. Her column “New Noise” runs Wednesday.