Sin-A-Matic by Louis Logic

Louis Logic
Sin-A-Matic
2003
Hip Hop
Solid

1. Sintro
2. Street Smarts
3. Freak Show
4. Celph Hatred
5. Diablos
6. Dos Factotum
7. Coochie Coup
8. Postal
9. Mischievous
10. Halfway Stretch (Sinterlude)
11. Best Friends
12. Revenge!!!
13. Fair Weather Fan
14. The Rest
15. The Ugly Truth
16. Idiot Gear
17. Dust To Dust
(Also included is a 342x342 album cover .jpeg)

You're just another asshole
Who wants to see me dressed up in my dad's clothes
Working underpaid until I'm mad old
As far as that goes
You'll never live to see it take place
I've brought a little present for you in my attache case

"Postal"

Scroll to the bottom of this blog post and click the download link, right now. After you've done that, continue reading. Ready...go.

There are a lot of rappers on the scene right now who are trying to differentiate themselves from the mainstream by putting a serious message in their lyrics, as opposed to rapping about material possessions and women. Louis Logic takes a step in the opposite direction. It's apparent that he's trying to become noticed by being as offensive as he possibly can towards anyone he can. He gets this message across as soon as the album starts, with the opening statement: "Perfection is rhymer, it's only 'cause I'm such a dick you always find me next to vagina."

The title of the record, Sin-A-Matic, refers not only to the lyrical content, but also is a play on words of "cinematic," to describe Louis Logic's visual delivery style. He's quite a storyteller, and his lyrics are very easily understood and followed. This works great on songs like "Postal," "Best Friends/Revenge!!!" and "Dust To Dust." Narrative lyrics are even more apparent on his follow up album, Misery Loves Comedy, but this is by far a superior disc.

Though Louis Logic tries to offend for shock factor every chance he gets, it's all in good fun. Most songs are satire on the common radio rapper, like "Coochie Coup," which is probably the most obscene piece of music I've ever heard in my life. His lyrics are absolutely hilarious because of this, though. I dare you to sit through Sin-A-Matic without having a good belly laugh or two. He doesn't let the album end without a serious note or two though. "The Ugly Truth" is a very thought provoking song about the average middle aged white man's prejudiced views on the world around him, and "Dust To Dust" is a story of a married man's scuicide, induced by years of adultery.

Apart from Louis Logic's awesome writing and delivery, there's another huge plus to this record, and that's the very fresh beats, mostly by J.J. Brown, who is currently Louis Logic's partner-in-crime on his new record label, 5G productions. I can't brag on this guy enough. Every beat he does is ridiculously catchy and full of energy. Check out Misery Loves Comedy and Sin-A-Matic: The 80's Edition for 100% J.J. Brown produced beats on Louis Logic records.

Sin-A-Matic is my favorite hip hop album of all time. However, it's not perfect. There's but one flaw, and that's the song "Freak Show," which keeps in tune with Louis Logic's theme of shock-and-awe obscenity. But I think this song takes it just too far, and is far from being actually enjoyable. I think that if this song from the record, or maybe placed in a different order in the tracklisting, the album would be very near perfection. I'm sure someone will be able to get into it though. Just not me.

Click here to download part 1 (63.2 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (72.85 MB)

Louis Logic has an entire song dedicated to keeping his music out of the reach of children, and he means it. Very vulgar.

Unfortunately, Sin-A-Matic is out of print, both for physical copies and legal digital copies. If you really want a physical copy of the album, you can look on amazon marketplace (like I did) and pay over 20 bucks for a new copy. It's worth every penny, though.

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust by Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós
Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
2008
Post Rock
EMI

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur ("Within Me A Lunatic Sings")
3. Góðan Daginn ("Good Day")
4. Við Spilum Endalaust ("We Play Endlessly")
5. Festival
6. Með Suð Í Eyrum ("A Buzz In Our Ears")
7. Ára Bátur ("Row Boat")
8. Illgresi ("Weeds")
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright
(Also included is a 400x400 album cover .jpeg)

At light speed
Inside a heart explodes, an airplane crash
Down on the earth sings
I make a wish and close my eyes
Yes do that, a silly dance
All is forgotten in very little time and yet begins
Open eyes
Oh no

"Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" English Translation

I love Sigur Rós. I do not love that every time I blog about Sigur Rós, I have to copy+paste a thousand Icelandic words back and forth from Wikipedia.

They said it couldn't be done. Well, they didn't expect it done. A band as moody and greyscale and atmospheric as Sigur Rós, releasing an incredibly organic sounding summer record? Ridiculous. But last summer, the band released Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, which not only seems like an incredibly natural progression in the band's catalog, but also contains some of the happiest music of the year. And they did an excellent job.

Happiest music of the year might be an understatement. I dare you to sit still during "Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" or "Festival." The first five tracks of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust really bring to mind an icelandic version of Animal Collective. The backbone of the songs are acoustic guitars, as opposed to Jónsi's signature reverb soaked bowing on an electric guitar. Also, many of the songs feature a standard tenor vocal range, unlike the band's frequent use of falsetto in the past. It's so incredibly different, yet it still feels like Sigur Rós.

My only complaint with the record is the pacing of the last half of the album. After the insane buildup and release that is the coda of "Festival," every song after that gets gradually slower and calmer, until finally the band has reached it's all time softest intensity for the closer, "All Alright." All of the songs are great. Don't get me wrong. But I think that because they were put in this order, the listener slowly becomes disinterested as the record closes out. Especially because of the extreme amound of energy behind the first five tracks. However, give the B-side of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust a chance. It's the same quality as the A-side, it just takes an extreme detour in mood.

This is the definition of a summer album, and I've waited to post it until now for a reason. Listen to this outside, driving or running or working, on a humid summer afternoon or evening. Completely perfect accompaniment.

Click here to download part 1 (65.16 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (54.5 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Alive 2007 by Daft Punk

Daft Punk
Alive 2007
2007
House
Virgin

1. Robot Rock/Oh Yeah
2. Touch It/Technologic
3. Television Rules The Nation/Crescendolls
4. Too Long/Steam Machine
5. Around The World/Harder Better Faster Stronger
6. Burnin'/Too Long
7. Face To Face/Short Circuit
8. One More Time/Aerodynamic
9. Aerodynamic Beats/Forget About The World
10. Prime Time Of Your Life/The Brainwasher/Rollin' And Scratchin'/Alive
11. Da Funk/Daftendirekt
12. Superheroes/Human After All/Rock'n Roll
13. Human After All/Together/One More Time (Reprise)/Music Sounds Better With You (Encore)
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

RroooOoooooOOooOoobBoOoOootTttttttTtTTtTtt
HhHuUuuuuuUUUuUuuuuuMmAMMaaaAaAAaaaaaaaANnnnnnnNNannn

"Robot Rock/Oh Yeah"

This is the first and probably the last album that I will ever say this about: Alive 2007's only flaw is that it is so good, that every time I listen to it, I can't help being sad that I wasn't actually there. When an album is so good that being good becomes it's only flaw...I'd say you have one incredible album on your hands. This is the best house/electronic/dance/techno/whateveryoucallit album you will ever hear in your entire life. And I am aware that them's fightin' words.

What is Alive 2007? It's a live recording of Daft Punk playing at the Bercy arena in Paris on June 14th, 2007. What makes it so special? Here's a rundown of what Daft Punk's live show: it's almost every song that the group has ever released, sampled and played on top of each other in one singular, stream-of-consciousness mash-up song. To top it off, (no pun intended) Daft Punk is putting together this music as it happens at the point of a gigantic glass pyramid. Inside the pyramid are hundreds upon hundred of lights and screens, which are being controlled along with the music to create a light show for your dancing enjoyment.

Obviously this is audio and you can't see the light show, but the music is plenty visual. It's also incredibly well produced for a live album, and you really should do it some justice by listening on a pair of good headphones with high bass response. Sorry I can't describe the music in more detail, but I think it really speaks for itself. You will be blown away. If you aren't familiar with any of Daft Punk's music, then this is a great place to start. If you already know most of their catalog, then you'll be pleasantly suprised at the vast amount of songs and samples included in this show.

Click here to download part 1 (89.48 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (90.77 MB)

I own the standard edition of Alive 2007 that you can pick up off of any record store shelf today. However, at the time of release, it was also offered in a Deluxe Edition that included a huge photo book, a heavy duty booklike CD-case, and a bonus disc, containing the Finale from this show. The Deluxe Edition is no longer being made, or I would have a copy. But thankfully, one of my good friends got it as soon as it came out, and so he has given me a copy of the Finale. Ususally I don't upload anything to the blog unless I have paid for it and have a physical copy myself, but this is an exception because I really don't feel like the album is complete without it. The Finale is the best track, and it definitely deserves to be heard by everyone who downloads Alive 2007.

Alive 2007 also contains the only profanity ever uttered by a Daft Punk recording, and I quote: "fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it." In that order and that many times.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

blink-182 by blink-182

blink-182
blink-182
2003
Pop Punk
Geffen

1. Feeling This
2. Obvious
3. I Miss You
4. Violence
5. Stockholm Syndrome
6. Down
7. The Fallen Interlude
8. Go
9. Asthenia
10. Always
11. Easy Target
12. All Of This
13. Here's Your Letter
14. I'm Lost Without You
(Also included is a 492x500 album cover .jpeg)

Like violence, you have me
Forever and after
Like violence, you kill me
Forever and after

"Violence"

I've had a hard time convincing people that blink-182's final and self titled album is actually legit. Most people can't look past the boner jokes all over the band's first four albums, and most notably the megahit Enema Of The State. However, it's very clear to me that the band found on this release, blink-182, is a much more matured group of guys, both mentally and musically. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I think it's not too much short of being a perfect record.

How has the band changed exactly? Lots of ways. For one, the lyrics are actually good. It's no Shakespeare, but these songs are the most personal that blink-182 has ever written. "Here's Your Letter" is a song about communication and how people are incapable of being able to explain what they truly feel to someone. Would you find those lyrics on Take Off Your Pants And Jacket? I'll give you one guess.

Also, the production quality is incredible. Listen to this album on a good set of headphones. The guitars are huge, Travis Barker's already machine-gun drumming is even more pounding, and all of the vocals are crystal clear and sparkling. It almost has a psychedelic feel very often, with lots of pretty sounding swirling layers and effects. Huge props to the late Jerry Finn for putting this together so well.

My favorite part of the album is that it just sounds powerful. The first time the chorus blasts through the mix in "Obvious," everything gets turned to 11. This album is incredibly dynamic. And apart from getting your blood pumping with heavy beats, blink-182 really figured out how to affect their listener emotionally using only music with their self titled finale. Listen to the beautiful guitar sounds after the intro of "Asthenia" or the dissonant bells at the beginning of "I'm Lost Without You" and tell me that it didn't tug your heartsrings just a little bit.

GIVE THIS A SHOT. The album blink-182 might as well have been done by a completely different band.

Click here to download part 1 (51.98 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (52.38 MB)

A couple f-bombs still made it onto this album, despite the major changes that blink-182 has gone through.

Buy it!
CD

Madvillainy by MF DOOM

MF DOOM
Madvillainy
2004
Hip Hop
Stones Throw

1. The Illest Villains
2. Accordion
3. Meat Grinder
4. Bistro
5. Raid
6. America's Most Blunted
7. Sickfit
8. Rainbows
9. Curls
10. Do Not Fire!
11. Money Folder
12. Shadows Of Tomorrow
13. Operation Lifesaver A.K.A. Mint Test
14. Figaro
15. Hardcore Hustle
16. Strange Ways
17. Fancy Clown
18. Eye
19. Supervillain Theme
20. All Caps
21. Rhinestone Cowboy
(Also included is a 455x455 album cover .jpeg)

Who rock the house like rock and roll
Got more soul than a sock with a hole
Set the stage with a goal
Or have the game locked in a cage getting shocked with a pole
Overthrow it like throwing over a biscuit
A lot of bitches think he overly showmanistic
Let go his dick if that’s the case
Rats want to waste
There’s more cats to chase
Dogs, we got to light new powers
Woke up broke, spit shit, few hours
Sheesh, been unleashed since the Greek club
Have the fans saying please make me a dove
Well, since you asked kindly
Where you been behind the mask you cant find me
Ya blind, in the wine zone leave ya mind blown
When he shine with the nine
He’s a rhinestone…cowboy

"Rhinestone Cowboy"

Derek Dumile goes by many different names. For example: Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Supervillain, Madvillain, and Danger Doom. However, his most famous and encompassing emcee alias is Metal Face Doom, or MF DOOM. ("Use all caps when you spell the man's name") So that's how I tag the "artist" section of Madvillainy. On this record, MF DOOM teams up with producer Madlib, under the alias "Madvillain," to put together an album themed around old-school superheroes and supervillains. Most of the beats have a retro feel to them, as if they were playing from a phonograph or a mechanical television.

For a long time, MF DOOM was my favorite emcee, and while that spot is currently occupied by Louis Logic (or Louis Dorley), Madvillainy is still one of my favorite hip hop records, and it's something that I put on a lot when I'm stressed out or just want to relax to a nice beat. MF DOOM has a very calm voice, (wonder why? see: "America's Most Blunted") and Madlib's beats are smooth and tight on every track. Most of the music behind the raps is very jazz and swing oriented. It's not exactly something The Roots would put out or anything, but to a less extent.

One of my only criticisms of Madvilainy is that there are too many short or instrumental songs. Despite the whopping 23 tracks on the record, it's only a little over 45 minutes, and few of the songs are over 2 minutes. 4 are instrumental, and many of the rest have no room to breathe in the short time they're allotted. Could have been majorly improved, in my opinion.

Adjectives to describe Madvillainy: calm, cool, collected, random, retro, smooth, fresh, quick, clever, mysterious, intoxicated, witty, and thick. Check it out, it's one of the best hip hop albums to come out in the last 10 years.

Click here to download part 1 (55.6 MB)
Click here to downoad part 2 (43. 58 MB)

Not as profane as your average rap album, but it still was awarded a Parental Advisory logo.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

March by Goodbye Sons

Goodbye Sons
March
2003
Folk
Independently Released

1. Apart
2. March (Lion)
3. More Of The Same
4. Fullgrown
5. Good Work
6. Clockhammer
7. Periwinkle Springs
8. Close Encounter
9. Part Of The Wind
10. Streets & Avenues
11. Sanctuary From The Wasp
12. All About You
13. March (Lion)
14. Someday Or Later
(Also included is a 599x599 album cover .bmp)

Your smile's already told me
"Mark me off your page"
Well, I don't care, I wish I did
Next week I'll be okay
The way I see, it's gone
The way I looked at you
A drunken haze is good for the eyes
But never true

"Clockhammer"

I'm really trusting you guys, here. Goodbye Sons is a completely independent band, and they don't get paid very much for the great music that they put out. This album was put together in their own studio and released completely by the band. However, it is possible to buy a copy from CDBaby.com, (see the link at the bottom of this post) so I'm begging you to buy a copy and support the band if you like what you hear. However, if you don't, and this just gives people a way to pirate their music, then I could get in quite a bit of trouble. But like I said, I'm trusting you, and I'm hoping that this blog post will help rather than hurt. It's in your hands.

Goodbye Sons have been described by CDBaby.com as "a whiskey soaked wall of sound," and I completely agree. Their songs are very much still just simple folk tunes that could be played by anyone with the know-how and an acoustic guitar. However, the production quality and the atmosphere provided by their many instruments and subtle use of effects creates a very unique feel. The sound is very visual, and almost trancelike in some cases. However, they don't wander too far from their roots, and maintain a very natural, organic vibe.

Time for one minor complaint: I truly believe that March would be a near perfect album if the band had chosen to omit one song, "Good Work." It sounds so strange and out of place that it ruins the great pacing created by the song before it, "Fullgrown." (Which is the best song on the album, in my opinion) I will never understand why that song is on the record...but reguardless it is so I uploaded it anyways. I'm sure someone will appreciate it. Besides that song, I can't stress enough how good the rest of the album is musically.

Enjoy the fabulous music on March, it's really a great album. Please support the band if you like it.

Click here to download part 1 (57.93 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (71.09 MB)

Buy it!
CD or Digital Copy

The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West
1997
Indie
Up

1. Teeth Like God's Shoeshine
2. Heart Cooks Brain
3. Convenient Parking
4. Lounge (Closing Time)
5. Jesus Christ Was An Only Child
6. Doin' The Cockroach
7. Cowboy Dan
8. Trailer Trash
9. Out Of Gas
10. Long Distance Drunk
11. Shit Luck
12. Truckers Atlas
13. Polar Opposites
14. Bankrupt On Selling
15. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation, drinks, and gets mean
He's gonna start a war
And he hops in his pickup, puts the pedal to the floor
And says, "I've got mine but I want more"
Because Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation, drinks, and gets mean
Goes to the desert, fires his rifle in the sky and says
"God, if I have to die, you have to die"

"Cowboy Dan"

I don't really know how to describe The Lonesome Crowded West. I guess the best way would be to say that it's THE Modest Mouse album. Every indie band that surfaced after they hit the scene wishes that they had written it. This is where everything is at it's best. Great lyrics, great guitar work, great vocals, and just great songwriting. The production is a bit better on their "commercial" albums that they put out after The Moon & Antarctica, but it's certainly nothing to complain about here.

When I first heard The Lonesome Crowded West, I was on a hiking trip with my dad. So when I think about the album's sound, I think about autumn trees, leaves, dirt, and rocks. And looking at the songs now, I think that's a very acceptable way to think about them. The instrumentation is gritty, but beautiful. I still get a bit bored with Isaac Brock's repetitive atheistic messages, but the lyrics to these songs are much more tasteful than usual, and I actually really like them most of the time.

I have a hard time trying to explain the sound that Modest Mouse achieves here, so I'm sorry that I can't pitch it to you. Just trust me on this one. Good songs with soul.

Click here to download part 1 (87.01 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (69.66 MB)

Pretty vulgar. Not for sensitive ears.

Buy it!
CD

Hi, Everything's Great and Hey, Everything's Fine by Limbeck

I am such a nice guy. Today is my birthday, and instead of taking the day off to play with my shiny new guitar amp, I'm going to give you a present. Yes, you, my loyal music addict blog reader. I've decided to upload two albums that go hand in hand for you to download, one of which I don't think you can get anywhere else on the internet.


Limbeck
Hi, Everything's Great
2003
Alternative Country
Doghouse

1. Honk + Wave
2. Silver Things
3. Julia
4. This Place Is Deserted
5. I Wrote This Down
6. The Sun Woke The Whole State
7. Tan + Blue
8. Gamblin' Man
9. In Ohio On Some Steps
10. Brand New Orange
11. Albatross + Ivy
12. Comin' From Tuscon
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I'm not ready for some burned down bridge just yet
And I'm not saying that I want anything from you
The only thing I really want now, if I see you, Suze
Is if we drove side by side on a highway
In the beehive state, and we could honk and wave

"Honk + Wave"

Limbeck is one of my favorite bands of all time, just like this album is one of my favorite albums. They're called "indie" and "alternative country" a lot. But I would describe them as just good old fun. Limbeck writes perfect little pop songs with a noticeable southern influence in their music and lyrics. They're not overly country, but it's there.

All the songs on this album are about traveling, and meeting people in different places around America while on tour with a semi-successful rock and roll band. Even the title, Hi, Everything's Great, seems like something that you'd read on a postcard from someone's road trip. It's wonderfully enjoyable music that is just brilliantly enjoyable. I can listen to it no matter what mood i'm in, and it always relaxes me. Just feel good stuff.

I can't begin to describe how much I love this album. There's not much I can say that will immediately make you want to download it, but I think this is something that you just have to hear for yourself to appreciate it's charm.

Click here to download (78.28 MB)



(This is not the actual cover for Hey, Everything's Fine. Apparently, a scan of the cover doesn't exist on the internet. This is a photo of the inside sleeve, however, which shows pictures of all the guests that appear on songs for Hey, Everything's Fine.

Limbeck
Hey, Everything's Fine
2004
Alternative Country
Doghouse

1. Honk + Wave
2. Silver Things
3. Julia
4. This Place Is Deserted
5. I Wrote This Down
6. The Sun Woke The Whole State
7. Tan + Blue
8. Gamblin' Man
9. In Ohio On Some Steps
10. Brand New Orange
11. Albatross + Ivy
12. Comin' From Tuscon
(Also included is a 590x572 album cover .bmp)

Hey, Everything's Fine is a more personal and warmer sounding Hi, Everything's Great. When I bought the first album, I had no idea that I was actually going to be getting this one as well absolutely free, until I opened the package and this fell out. I must say, it was one of the best musical suprises I have ever had. This album is every song from the studio album, performed acoustically, live at a small party that Limbeck held with only their close friends. It's very quaint, modest, and just an all around awesome performance that I listen to even more than Hi, Everything's Great.

The audience is very small, and most of them have a small part in the music of these performances. Each song has it's own guest star or guest stars, including Nate Ruess from The Format, Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack, and close friend Rachel Cantu. The recording really makes you feel like you're there. Limbeck didn't edit out any of their mess ups, including having to start "Gamblin' Man" three times because of honest mistakes, and restarting "Albatross + Ivy" because the singer "heard a funny noise." There's something about it that just really hits me the right way.

Click here to download (89.11 MB)

These two albums together are probably the most listened to in my entire music library. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Buy it! (You may or may not get both if you order the CD...I got lucky with mine.)
CD / Digital Copy

808s And Heartbreak by Kanye West

Kanye West
808s And Heartbreak
2008
Pop
Roc-A-Fella

1. Say You Will
2. Welcome To Heartbreak
3. Heartless
4. Amazing
5. Love Lockdown
6. Paranoid
7. RoboCop
8. Street Lights
9. Bad News
10. See You In My Nightmares
11. Coldest Winter
12. Pinocchio Story
(Also included is a 420x420 album cover .jpeg)

My friend showed me pictures of his kids
And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs
He said his daughter got a brand new report card
And all I got was a brand new sports car

"Welcome To Heartbreak"

Kanye had a rough year. His mother, who has been the subject of more than a few songs of his, passed away, due to complications with a cosmetic surgery. He was also arrested for getting a bit too jumpy with the paparazzi, and had a bad breakup with his fiancee of a year and a half, because he was spending too much time on his music and not enough with her. Though, if you look on the bright side, the product of all this misery is 808s And Heartbreak, one of last year's best albums.

When hip hop artists like Akon, Flo Rida T-Pain, and Lil Wayne started becoming the new craze on rap radio, I stopped listening. There was just no soul behind it. Hip Hop in the mainstream had hit a major low. However, Kanye has always been one of those rappers whose music has really hit me the right way. And while it took me a long time to warm up to the idea of his putting out a pop record instead of a rap one, now I love it. He took the ideas of the aforementioned rappers and used them as a springboard for something truly meaningful, expressing real emotions about real loss through simple yet very classy music.

808s And Heartbreak features no real rapping. All the vocals are sung by Mr. West himself, through extreme levels of auto-tune, and in some cases, more rock-like effects such as distortion or reverb. This may be a put-off to some, but Kanye isn't using the auto-tune because he can't sing (he's a fine singer, especially for someone who is primarily an MC) but because it can actually sound really cool. He uses it to compliment the electronic beats, which are all made with old Roland TR-808 drum machines (does the title make sense yet?) and squeaky lo-fi keyboards. It all comes together to make a very modern yet un-cliche sound that towers above what most mainstream rappers are putting out currently.

Click here to download part 1 (67.2 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (42. 02 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Relationship Of Command by At The Drive-In

At The Drive-In
Relationship Of Command
2000
Post Hardcore
Grand Royal

1. Arcarsenal
2. Pattern Against User
3. One-Armed Scissor
4. Sleepwalk Capsules
5. Invalid Litter Dept.
6. Mannequin Republic
7. Enfilade
8. Rolodex Propaganda
9. Quarantined
10. Cosmonaut
11. Non-Zero Possibility

A vivid dissection that mocked the strut of vivisection
Semi-automatic colonies and a silencing that still walks the streets
In the company of wolves was a stretcher made of cobblestone curfews
The federates perform their custodial customs quite well
Callous heels, numbed in travel, endless maps made by their scalpels
On my way, nails broke and fell into the wishing well

"Invalid Litter Dept."

I got into At The Drive-In after becoming a huge fan of The Mars Volta, and then looking into the history of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. When I first heard them, I thought their music was great, but it would never be equal in my mind with some of the music put out by The Mars Volta. While I still think that albums like Frances The Mute or De-Loused In The Comatorium was the duo's creative peak, At The Drive-In's music has grown on me a lot more than I thought it would. They have a lot more lasting potential than The Mars Volta does, and don't lend themselves to sounding dated.

Relationship Of Command is one of At The Drive-In's best albums. All of the instrumentation is top notch, and in my opinion this was the peak of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar playing. While the songs may not seem complex at first listen, there are a ton of off-kilter things going on in the guitar department that really add to the craziness of the songs. This is also Cedric's strongest album with At The Drive-In. His vocals got a bit better for The Mars Volta's first two albums, but his delivery is spot-on here, and it's hard to believe how he's able to keep his voice from wearing out while screaming out the words to songs like "Rolodex Propaganda" or "Enfilade." His lyrics are as cryptic as ever, and he sings with a passion that's simply not found in The Mars Volta's music.

Relationship Of Command is pure, raw energy. This is both one of it's strong points and one of it's weanesses, in my eyes. On one hand, it is impossible not to shake your fists and stomp around during the opening of "Arcarsenal," but the power that this album has comes with a price. The only rest stops along the way are the verses to "Invalid Litter Dept." right in the middle of the album, and "Non-Zero Possibility," the finale. This is probably not going to be an issue for those used to listening to heavier music... but I'm a fan of mellower stuff, and I think Relationship Of Command can be a bit of an exhausting listen.

Click here to download part 1 (49.45 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.74 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy