BUCKSHOT AND 9th WONDER-“The Formula”

“The Formula” is the follow-up to one of the greatest underground grime albums of all time, 2005’s
“Chemistry.” Before I get into the meat of the review, I’ll get this out: No, it’s not as good as
“Chemistry.” But that album is a classic. And “The Formula” can sit proudly beside it on any headz shelf.

After the intro track, which has a good groove but doesn’t go anywhere, the album jumps into “Ready
(Brand New Day),” which has chipmunk funk on the hook but otherwise features 9th Wonder’s usual inspirational, laid back beats.

The big change here is in Buckshot. He’s still got the same low-key flow (he never shouts, never raises his voice, never spits quick or urgent), but his message isn’t as gritty as it has been in the past.
In fact, quite a few songs border on RnB. But Buck proves himself to be versatile--he's no Cool J. These are more real--they're not smooth talking raps, they're just songs about relationships, and the lyrics are powerful enough to keep the album tight. It’s not gangsta, not at all. In fact, calling it “The Formula” seems intentionally ironic: There’s absolutely nothing formulaic here.

It’s quite a refreshing surprise.

For those who don’t know, producer 9th Wonder is from Little Brother (and also produced “Honey” off the wonderful new Erykah Badu album) and rapper Buckshot is affiliated with Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik. But you really should know that already. Most of “The Formula” is Buck, but there are some excellent cameos and supporting works by Swan, Carlitta Durand, Talib Kweli, and others.


Hold It Down (feat. Talib Kweli & Tyler Woods)

PICTURE OF THE DAY: Stay in Skool edition

RADARS TO THE SKY-“The Big Bang EP”

Radars to the Sky’s debut EP begins with “Long Walk Home,” a fuzzy, charming duet that has all the importance and hook of the best indie rock singles. Male lead vocalist Andrew Spitser falls somewhere between David Byrne and Stephen Malkmus, while wife/keyboardist Kate Post Spitser’s voice has an airier, more pleasant quality. Together, they bounce between solid rhythm guitar and unexpectedly delicious riffs. For me, track two, “I Might,” is the real revelation here: The drumming is some of the best around, and the fast pace and booming vocal tracks show off the best parts of this excellent new band. The use of two distinct and distinctly different vocals is an unusual choice in indie rock, and it serves this band well. We never get too Morrissey-ed out by Andrew, and Kate’s voice alone would likely be swallowed by the massive heft of the power chords and rhythm section.

I’ve got high hopes for this group. They’re on to something. This may be the best EP of 2008.

I Might

Victoria

PICTURE OF THE DAY: OLYMPIC MOMENT EDITION

Check out the dude with the flag. Gold medal winner in leering at the bootay.

POMEGRANATES-“Everything Is Alive”

Named after a “fruit” that was supposed to be an aphrodisiac, the Pomegranates’ debut LP, “Everything Is Alive,” begins with the obligatory atmospheric intro but then delivers a hot, upbeat, and extraordinary single that begins with a sad lyric: “I don’t see it getting better, from a lover’s point of view.” It’s the happiest song about the end of love I’ve ever heard. Not only is it lyrically complex, but it has some of the most interesting guitar work I’ve heard in a pop album in years. This is dance music for the thinking person, but it’s emphatically not quirky. In this way, the Poms manage to construct a rare creature: A complex pop album that sounds nothing like !!!, Hot Chip, Beck, or any of the other “we’re weird white dudes who dance” types.

Indeed, the Pomegranates are decidedly not male. The lead vocal tracks are often in the capable hands of Joey Cook, whose falsetto had me thinking he was a she the first time I listened to the record. The band is drawing comparisons to lots of blog buzz bands, but I’m not going to repeat them here because I don’t see it. I find the music here to be original, wholly original, particularly because it abounds with a quality not usually found in indie rock: Fun. Lots of fun. Fun without being silly. Fun without being odd for fun’s sake. The kind of fun that comes from hope.

I love this record!

Whom/Who

Thunder Meadow

CLAWJOB-“Manifest Destiny EP”

With a name like Clawjob, I expected “Manifest Destiny” to be a nightmarish tale of getting hand release from a witch. But I found that while the band has its hard side, it’s capable of softer, meditative songs as well, like the opening cut, “Era of Good Feelings.” The band describes the album as six songs about 19th-century America, but at it’s core the album is contemporary, singing of universal themes like death and drugs. As their name suggests, the album has hardcore influences, yet it’s not just a bunch of screaming and power chords.

The band picked “Diamond Hoax” as the single, which features dramatic vocals, crashing cymbals, and a heavy, almost Fugazi-ish bassline. It’s an obvious pick for the single, as it’s probably the most mainstream song on the record and the tempo is an urgent march, but it’s not even my favorite track here. The lyrics on “Slice Me Up” hit me right where I live, being that I’ve had several major operations and almost died twice due to my various medical maladies. The lyric, “I wanna live to see another day/this is the only way/so slice me up,” is pretty much the mantra I chanted waiting for the drugs to take me away.

Diamond Hoax

And some older songs from their previous work:


Poop is the New Pee

I Got My Space Pass

LOS CAMPESINOS-“Hold On Now, Youngster”

Los Campesinos already have a rabid fanbase, even if this album is their debut, but this is the first album of theirs I’ve had the fortune to hear, and it reminds me a lot of The Go! Team. Only better, because it doesn’t suffer from muddy production and because it doesn’t lack song structure. At least not entirely.

“Hold On Now, Youngster,” has lots of shouting, hyperactive beats, beeps, jumps, and every guitar plays riffs. Nothing but riffs. It’s like eating Fun Dip through Pixie Stix, and washing it down with Pop Rocks and Pepsi. Some songs have verses and choruses, although most just seem to be speed freak rants that, in the case of “Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats,” suddenly slow down into a string-section lament.

There’s seven folks making sounds on this album, and all of them attempt to coordinate together and form a synthetic whole. There’s even pop Glockenspiel. Sometimes it works (“Death to Los Campesinos!”; “We Throw Parties You Throw Knives”) and sometimes it doesn’t (“Drop it Doe Eyes”), but it works often enough to make the album a lot of childish fun. If you have to ask what the songs mean, you obviously haven’t listened to them. What kind of depth do you expect from a song titled, “You! Me! Dancing!” anyway? I expect unabashed booty shaking, and that’s what I get. Sexless dance music for any age, complex dance music for the hipster crowd, without a trace of crunk or crudity.

Naïve and innocent, stupid and unsophisticated, hysterical (in the lack-of-sanity sense) and raving, pure and delightful.

For fans of : Art Brut, Len, The Go! Team. Available on e-music and wherever music for mental patients is sold.

Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)