Album Review: Taylor Swift - reputation

Released: November 10, 2017

Label: Big Machine

Duration: 55 Minutes

Everyone knows the story of Taylor Swift. Her ever-changing "reputation" from country-girl to pop princess to vengeful diva, and her latest LP Reputation attempts to take advantage of this career arc.

It's impossible for me to approach this album without bias, but not for the reasons one might expect. I don't have anything against pop music (Lorde's Melodrama is one the year's strongest records), or even against Taylor's music (I enjoyed several of her singles from her last album, such as "Blank Space" and "Wildest Dreams"). It is merely the new "dark Taylor" persona that Swift is presenting through her latest run of singles that set my expectations low, and it is impossible to divorce someone like Taylor Swift as a person from the art she makes.

Still, I hoped against hope that the non-singles would prove stronger. They didn't. Reputation is a mess. Beyond the over-use of trap, African-American Vernacular English, and other hip-hop derivatives by one of the whitest artists on the airwaves (something someone with a more nuanced perspective on culture could likely tear apart), almost every track on the album has some sort of horrible aspect to it. Rather than repeat criticisms in some loose way, it's honestly just easier to go song-by-song and air my worst grievances with each.

1. ...Ready For It?: The album opens with the song that could most blatantly be described as trap. And Taylor Swift doing trap is a mistake, I don't care what anyone says.
2. End Game: This track features guest rap verses from Future... and from Ed Sheeran. If there's one artist who comes across as even more wimpy and white than Taylor Swift, it's Ed. At least there's thematic consistency in this atrocity.
3. I Did Something Bad: A voice I believe to be Taylor Swift herself starts doing some vocal dubsteppy "brap brap dududud duh" noises during the post chorus and it takes everything with in me not to laugh out loud when I hear it.
4. Don't Blame Me: Of the heavily trap-influenced songs, this one is the most passable. And also the most forgettable.
5. Delicate: Delicate sounds vaguely like atmospheric dream pop, except that it builds up to nothing and has some of the worst examples of Taylor using "slang", as well as a falsetto effect that sounds less like Taylor showcasing her singing chops and more like Alvin and the Chipmunks.
6. Look What You Made Me Do: This was the song that started it all, and it still comes across more like a bad parody than anything else. From the Right-Said Fred lifted chorus melody to the "old Taylor can't come to the phone right now" section, I spend most of this track about how serious Taylor is laughing. That's a bad sign, Ms. Swift.
7. So It Goes...: Just when you thought you had escaped the rattling trap hi-hats, they come back with a vengeance.
8. Gorgeous: This single comes across as a parody of today's eighties-influenced synthpop tracks, with the goofy baby intro and hilariously bad lines like;
"You should think about the consequence
Of your magnetic field being a little too strong
And I got a boyfriend, he's older than us
He's in the club doing, I don't know what"
And;
"You're so gorgeous
I can't say anything to your face
'Cause look at your face"
The Guardian, since they apparently music sometimes when paid enough, noted Taylor's skill at lyricism in their 4/5 star review. What album did they hear?
9. Getaway Car: Any song that opens with "It was the best of times" is an automatic fail in my book. More so when it's a white woman trying to do tough trap music.
10. King of My Heart: This song is all over the place, moving between a traditional modern pop sound for the verse into a heavy trap beat during the chorus, and the two do not mix well.
11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied: Something about Taylor's rushed vocal delivery in the verse just agitates me. The chorus is okay but sounds so indistinct from the other enthusiastic synth-lines on the record that I'd be hard pressed to identify it out of context.
12. Dress: During this track, Taylor utilizes a falsetto that is far more nasally and short of breath than usual, only worsened by high-pitched moaning that is not as sexy as both Taylor and myself wishes it was.
13. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Meme titles by non-comedy artists are unacceptable.
14. Call It What You Want: I don't want to go to far into the Taylor Swift-Kanye West feud, but when Taylor says "all the liars calling me one" in this song, I can't help but cringe at how ignorant Swift is of mental health issues and her own part in the "drama".
15. New Year's Day: The closing track of Reputation is easily the best song on the album, a completely passable piano ballad. It is rather sweet, and is the most natural and genuine performance on the album.

Coming into Reputation, I had hoped the low quality of the singles had been a fluke, and that the finished product would be a completely passable pop record. For me personally, that is not the case. While some of the songs are catchy, at this point in Taylor's career I'd be more concerned if they weren't. Catchy was the minimum requirement, but Reputation offers little else, and instead chooses to fill itself with questionable decisions and laughable lyricism. 

Score: 2.3/10

Best Track: New Year's Day

Worst Tracks: ...Ready For It?, King of My Heart, Look What You Made Me Do

P.S. If the estate of Ms. Swift would like me to change the review score in exchange for some spending money, they can email me at lokki242@gmail.com. Thanks in advance. 

Album Review: Weezer - Pacific Daydream

Released: October 27, 2017

Label: Atlantic, Crush

Duration: 34 Minutes

At this point in Weezer's nearly twenty-five year career, their arc in quality has become almost legendary. After their fantastic self-titled debut and the raw power of 1996's Pinkerton, the band turned towards pop rock and the critical reaction to their music began to drop... and drop... and drop. Rivers Cuomo, the band's rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter, pushed the band further away from their quirky charm and further towards a generic pop sound.

Then, in 2014, things started to turn around. Cuomo gained some self-awareness as shown through the significantly improved Everything Will Be Alright in the End.

And then there was The White Album, which dropped in the spring of 2016.

Though it by no means received universal acclaim, the White Album was considered by many to be a major return to form for Weezer, and in my humble opinion, is a masterpiece of pop rock (even topping my favourite albums of 2016!). The White Album took Cuomo's love of the Beach Boys, his affection for the summer, his penchant for quirky, honest lyrics, and the occasional heavier side of old Weezer, and blended these elements together perfectly.

A year and a half later, Weezer's eleventh studio album Pacific Daydream combines these ingredients once more. This time, however, it shows how to use them in the worst way possible. The above context makes the low quality of this latest album even more painful; Weezer was set for redemption, and they blew it.

On Pacific Daydream the respect shown for the pop acts of the late 1960s turns derivative and unoriginal, and goes against the more modern pop structure of the tracks. The track listing is still very much "summer oriented" (as the faux-bombastic "Feels Like Summer" clearly shows), but now in a much less fun or memorable way. The charm of Weezer on their last album has dried up; River's lyrics fall into the category of cringe far more often, and the album feels like the sort of pop rock any four losers with guitars and a record deal could pump out. There is no tight musicianship here; the drums and bass follow simple rhythms and the guitars show no playing or solos of note.

Few of the songs here even stand out in how bad they are, besides the incredibly generic and obnoxious sounding "Happy Hour". It is impossible to imagine where such lazy, mediocre song-writing came from. It feels almost as though Cuomo wanted to make sure his pockets were full with some "radio-friendly" tracks before he wrote another, more "challenging" album. Except, as radio songs, many of the choruses lack well-structured melodies, and the whole thing just falls flat on its face.

It must be restated that I find some of Cuomo's writing here to be truly painful. One of his biggest strengths, his dorky honesty, becomes one of his biggest weaknesses with lines like "Turn it up it's the beach boys/singing out in a sweet voice" making a clumsy melody in a song also containing the phrase "it's a hip-hop world". When Rivers isn't just sounding out of touch, he instead writes generic lyrics that mean nothing, just like any easy-to-swallow pop singer would Other terrible examples include;

"I'm like Stevie Ray Vaughan on the stage, high on music
Teeth grindin', sweatin' under the lights
But then my boss calls and she's crushin' me with a 20 ton weight
Just like in Monty Python
Somebody left on the sink, it's still running
My eyes are gonna overflow"

And;

"Behind a bolted door
Times a-wastin'
Times a-wastin'
And now the clock keeps ticking on
It's like my own private time zone
But then you came along
And now we're famous"

The first half of the album is an unbearable mess, and the back half is forgettable. Right in the middle of these two sections is a single moment of respite: the acoustic driven song "QB Blitz", which would have sounded right at home on The White Album. The song sounds more unique and emotionally honest than anything else on the record; it's the only song that feels like any effort was put into its creation. The rest of the album feels like it was finished to fulfill a contract requirement.

I can state, without hesitation, that this is my least favourite Weezer album to date (though the fact I still haven't heard Raditude should be noted). It's lifeless; it feels empty and hollow. One great track can't save it from nine disasters. Weezer fans, Weezer haters, pop music lovers, everyone; avoid this one at all costs.

Score: 2.8/10

Best Track: QB Blitz

Worst Tracks: Happy Hour, Beach Boys, La Mancha Screwjob

Album Review: Primus - The Desaturating Seven

Released: September 29, 2017
Label: ATO Records, Prawn Song Records
Duration: 34 Minutes

Primus, everyone's (or rather, my) favourite weirdos fronted by bass virtuoso Les Claypool, have returned with their ninth studio album, The Desaturating Seven. And, in true Primus form, the subject matter of this release is absurd. The Desaturating Seven is inspired by children's book The Rainbow Goblins by Ul De Rico; a particular favourite of Claypool's. The lyrics of the album thus follow the story of the book, with rainbow-colored goblins who seek to consume the colours of the rainbow and absorb their power. Or something like that. It's sort of insane and unclear, but what else did I expect?

This album also sees the return of Tim "Herb" Alexander, who, with Claypool and guitarist Larry LaLonde, released what are generally considered to be Primus' best albums, a stretch from their debut Frizzle Fry to 1995's Tales from the Punchbowl. All three are exceptional at their respective instruments. The tightness of the groove through the time signature changing "The Seven" shows the excellent chemistry between the musicians. The track also hints at the band's prog rock influences while never losing that classic Primus character, and is one of the most enjoyable works of their career.

The impressive skill of these musicians carries through the entirety of The Desaturating Seven, alongside a few forays into new sounds the band has rarely utilized before on original material. Opening track "The Valley" builds with beautiful upright bass and acoustic guitar interplay, while "The Trek" features classical-style guitar work that devolves into a pulsing rhythm. Every instrumental boasts new ideas, allowing the band to show off their skills. From a technical standpoint, this is another fantastic release.

The fatal flaw for this album, however, is that on certain tracks Primus is just too "out there", building tracks that are impressive but never lock in to create truly satisfying experience. At its worst moments, the whimsical tunes don't create anything notable, much like the weakest tracks off of 2014's Primus and the Chocolate Factory. This is especially evident in the back half of the album, where the jamming can go on a little long without going anywhere especially interesting.

That isn't to say that The Desaturating Seven isn't full of great tracks; it is, and they're aided by some punchy production. Every instrument hits hard in this mix, with LaLonde's guitar thankfully strong enough for his excellent riffs to play off of Claypool's well, as in previous releases the guitar can be too quiet to get the attention it deserves.

Ultimately, the members of Primus are some of the most talented and unique musicians working right now, and even with its indulgences The Desaturating Seven reminds me of why they're one of my favourite groups. Every song is fun and impressive to listen to, and if you like Primus as much as I do, you're going to love this.

Score: 8.5/10

Best Tracks: The Seven, The Valley, The Trek
Worst Track: The Dream

Album Review: Foo Fighters - Concrete and Gold

Released: September 15, 2017

Label: RCA - Roswell

Duration: 48 Minutes

I have developed a very cut and dry, specific perspective on the Foo Fighters over the years; they have only two types of albums. The first type, which makes up the bulk of their 2000s discography as well as the recent Saint Cecilia EP and Sonic Highways, is mediocre, perfectly functional releases with one or two songs that shine a little brighter. There's nothing inherently bad about these albums, but there's very little special about them as well, even if I wish there was. The other type of album the Foo Fighters is capable of releasing are fantastic, energetic hard rock albums like 1997's The Colour and the Shape or 2011's Wasting Light. I can happily say that their new, ninth album, Concrete and Gold, falls into the latter grouping.

The album's name itself hints at what one can expect to find within. The dark, sullen nature of "Concrete" calls back to the bands grunge/post-grunge origins. "Gold", on the other hand, calls to mind the glamorous hard rock of the 70s and 80s; influences that Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foos wear more openly here than ever before. 

Dave Grohl's deep respect and love for groups such as Led Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, the Beatles and other classic rock giants is no secret. Celebrating these past groups was the whole thesis statement behind 2014's Sonic Highways. Concrete and Gold finds the group fully representing their influences, with the complete "dad rock" vibe that summons. Is dad rock such a bad thing though? Not when done like this. Much of the album is a fun blast, something you'd expect from a twenty-year old band trying to sound like the mainstream rock of the past century. The Beatles-esque "The Sky is a Neighbourhood" is a wonderful, energetic and melodic piece. The album's title track finds itself using choruses (which spring up periodically throughout the album) in a way reminiscent of Pink Floyd's The Wall, calling forth both melodrama and true energy. The band is having fun, and that can't help but spread to me as I listen. 

Occasionally, the cheesiness of the material does override the quality, such as in the track "Make it Right". Though the verses boast a grooving blues riff that easily sounds like a Led Zeppelin B-side, the lyrics of the chorus ("On a train to nowhere, baby/want to hitch a ride?") are difficult to sit through without laughing. Other tracks fall dangerously close to the mediocrity of weaker Foo Fighters albums due to uninspired riffs, and fail to leave any lasting impression. 

There are other stand-out moments where the raw "concrete" side of the band peaks through, such as the sections where Grohl's voice turns into a throat-tearing growl on "Run". At other times, however, this is far less effective. Fuzzy guitar riffs clash with the more nostalgic vocal melodies on La Dee Da, creating an experience that is less enjoyable and far more schizophrenic. 

The strongest songs on this album, ultimately, are the ones where Foo Fighters do what they do best; fast-paced arena-ready rockers. The slower, more intricate pieces do not have the variety and risks to stand as tall. 

I should also mention the guest appearances on this album, including Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney (who drums on the track "Sunday Rain"). They're there. Dave Grohl has famous friends, and that's honestly all there is to say about it. 

Speaking of "Sunday Rain", it finds the Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins taking over for Grohl on lead vocals, and it actually works quite nicely. Hawkins tone pushes the band even further towards the late 70s tone they're looking for, and the track ends up becoming much stronger than it likely would have been with Grohl behind the microphone.

Ultimately, there's little more to say other than that I'm a sucker for when a band is clearly having fun, and the Foo Fighters are definitely enjoying themselves here. Concrete and Gold proves itself a stronger homage to the influences that made Dave Grohl the musician he is than the much more inconsistent Sonic Highways. Though several of the tracks are quite middling, it is much stronger than the band's worst material, even if it doesn't reach their strongest. If you want a collection of energetic "contemporary classic rock" songs, that's what this album will give you. I look forward to listening to it more, and will continue to watch whatever Grohl and company choose to do closely.

Score: 7.5/10

Best Tracks: Run, The Sky is a Neighbourhood, Concrete and Gold

Worst Tracks: Dirty Water, La Dee Da

Album Review: Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now

Released: September 8, 2017
Label: Last Gang
Duration: 36 Minutes

Outrage! Is Now is the latest release from the Canadian dance-punk duo Death From Above (who have officially dropped the 1979 portion of their name), following another major release cycle. The group's debut 2004 album You're A Woman, I'm A Machine is beloved by many, and I find that their 2014 return with The Physical World, while divisive among fans, is another strong set of tracks that showed their maturity of 10 years away from the band. Outrage! Is Now is not as good as either album, and is much more of a mixed bag.

There are, however, many things to like about the newest album. I thoroughly enjoyed the sound of the instrumentals this time around, with everything clicking together nicely alongside a more lo-fi sound to the leading basslines. Some of the tracks take full advantage of this tone to build a feverish energy, such as Holy Books and the opener Nomad, which left me excited for what came next (I would be disappointed). I The title track shines as well, with an almost paradoxical industrial-pop feel to the song.

If only the rest of the tracklist had lived up to these standards. Most of Outrage! Is Now is largely forgettable, with predictable songwriting that does little to take advantage of the group's trademark energy. The song Moonlight is particularly cringe-worthy, as Sebastien Grainger (drums and vocals) does his best impression of Matthew Bellamy. Muse is one modern rock band no artists should be trying to emulate. The meandering, even more mainstream sound of this release forces many interesting riffs to take a backseat to attempts at catchy melodies that ultimately lead nowhere interesting.

Lyrically, the album is as inconsistent as anywhere else. Some songs ooze sex, fury and power, such as the previously mentioned Holy Books. Others attempt to inspire the outrage the album is named for, and fail miserably. The line "Pray to American Idol/YouTube haircut so in style" from Never Swim Alone strikes me very much as sell-out profit-machines wondering where their hippy ideals fell apart, and somehow deciding to blame Millenials. I suppose this isn't that surprising when one considers the band's progressively saturated sound, however.

Ultimately, Outrage! Is Now desperately lacks the character of the band's previous efforts. Outside of the laughable Moonlight, none of the tracks are offensively awful, instead sitting in a zone of mediocrity that one would expect from a new indie punk outfit perfectly built for generic indie radio, rather than seasoned musicians like Sebastien Grainger and Jesse Keeler. Death From Above have by no means made a terrible album, but perhaps they have done something worse; releasing something completely uninspiring.

Score: 6/10

Best Tracks: Holy Books, Outrage! Is Now, Nomads

Worst Tracks: Moonlight, Freeze Me, Never Swim Alone, Statues