Mike Posner & The Brain Trust – A Matter of Time

Mike Posner & The Brain Trust A Matter of Time:

This really should be worse than it is. Most of these songs are like reading some lame dude’s blog about love. But there is great production and also the songs are catchy. So it’s not super bad, but you may feel embarrassed if you friends catch you listening to this even if you are a girl.

Rating: 9/15 Justin Timberlake clones

Philip Glass-Glass Works

Philip Glass Glass Works:

Two fast pieces with really cool horn parts that change subtly over the course of the piece, combined with four slow songs that basically play the same phrase to death.  I usually just listen to the faster tracks. If I want slow repetitive piano music I’ll take Arvo Part any day over the ones contained on this album.

Rating: 9/15 Boring phrases

Throbbing Gristle-Part Two: Endless Not

Throbbing Gristle Part Two: Endless Not:

Musically passable, dark ambient drifts keyboards drift around while muted percussion and jarring noise break up the monotony. Lyrically, Genesis really misses the mark. These might be his blandest lyrics and worst vocal delivery on an album to date. The tracks s/h e is credited with writing also rank as the worst on the album. Perhaps s/he should focus on Psychic TV as, poppier material seems to be coming easier to he/r these days.

Rating: 9/15 mild irritants of civilization

Burzum-Draugen

Burzum Draugen:

As usual Varg has some cool ideas which are quickly destroyed by cheesy synths, church burning growling, and the whole murdering, racist, arsonist deal. That being said a couple of the tracks here are kind of interesting.

Rating:9/15 Crazy fucks from Norway

Of Montreal-Jon Brion Remixes

Of Montreal Jon Brion Remixes:

Cutesy dance-pop gets cutesier with the help of ukuleles and bubbly keyboards. Basically exactly what you’d expect from this collaboration. Its fun for a couple of minutes, then you realize the entire EP is the same borderline-twee lyrics plucking keyboards and goofy hipster vocals.

Rating: 9/15 overcute

Steve Vai-Passion and Warfare

Steve Vai Passion and Warfare:

Some cool soloing, but everything else is fairly boring. Vai in a band, with Zappa for instance,  is great, but this like most of his solo work is big on technicality, but small on taste. Still worth the purchase, double so if you’re an aspiring guitarist.

Rating: 9/15 goofy song names

John Zorn-Hemophiliac

John Zorn Hemophiliac:

An improvised set with Zorn on sax Mike Patton on vocals and Ikue Mori on lap-top. Proves that all three can make really beautiful music, but prefer to make lots of shitty noise.

Rating: 9/15 piercing squeals

The Beatles-Love

The Beatles Love:

The more experimental tracks on this album suck, but on tracks where the remixing serves to complement the original piece, I am the Walrus and Lady Madonna for example, the results are pretty kick-ass. A bit of a stinker over all, but their are a few really good tracks.

Rating: 9/15 the best two are dead points.

The Derek Trucks Band-Already Free

The Derek Trucks Band Already Free:

Astoundingly good musicians make the same watered down bluesy jam album, that misguided astoundingly good musicians have been making for years.

Rating: 9/15 The 60’s are over points

Extortion – Terminal Cancer EP

Extortion Terminal Cancer EP:

Your usual Power Violence album. That means it’s loud, fast, angry, and poorly recorded. Gets old quickly, but still fun to listen to once in a while.

Rating: 9/15 better song titles than actual songs