Eleventh Post: clipping., "Splendor & Misery" (2016)

DISCLAIMER: This is all written after first listen. This post will be a bit different, and probably longer than other posts on the blog. Links at the end.

clipping. is the experimental hip-hop trio of Daveed Diggs, best known for his Tony-winning role in "Hamilton", Jonathan Snipes of Captain Ahab, and William Hutson of Rale. They've been creating experimental, noisy hip-hop since around 2010, combining the rapid-fire flow of Diggs with sharp feedback bursts and blown-out, distorted instrumentals. They incorporate excellent samples in their music as well, from crushing glass to a truck backing up. Since their inception, they've worked to create an incredible sense of atmosphere; dark, grimy, and foreboding, their songs reek of the locations brought up.

With the huge success of "Hamilton", more and more fans have been drawn to clipping.'s output. Following their trajectory has shown a refining of their sound to a fantastic climax with "CLPPNG", an album of noisy, brainy tracks with a unique sound. The rough edges of "Midcity" were smoothed out somewhat with incorporation of less outwardly noise-driven elements. The question after this was: where to now?

The answer was "Wriggle", an EP released in June. It seemed to be a continuation of "CLPPNG", but a bit more disjointed: modern hip-hop was almost parodied on "Shooter", disgustingly grimy cut "Back Up" harkened back to their earlier sound, and "Hot Fuck No Love" is one of the dirtiest songs of the year. It seemed like clipping. had stayed true to their formula, making slight variations as opposed to large jumps forward.

With the release of "Splendor & Misery", however, the EP turns into something different: a farewell to a sound clipping. has seem to grown past. This new album is radically different: gone are recognizable samples, replaced by cold, metallic soundscapes and blaring sirens. Diggs' impressive flow and great lyricism are present, but entire songs have been turned into instrumentals or, stranger still, choral pieces reminiscent of old American folk songs or sometimes African American spirituals.

This album toes a strange line between out-and-out concept album and avant-garde art piece, telling the story of a cargo-ship in the future after an uprising of the people (slaves, human cargo) leaves all but one. This person, referred to as Cargo 2331, uses music within the ship's hull to explore human history and begins to chart his future. It's a topic that, at first glance, seems ridiculous, but in the midst of the album, 2331 is an easy character to project oneself onto: he is terrified and liberated by the darkness of the universe, he raps Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse to himself just because he can, and even strikes up a relationship with the ship's computer.

The project casts a strange spell from the first track, the first mention of a repeated theme ("Long Way Away"), foregoing the usual lightning-speed flow of Diggs over tense silence and feedback stabs in favor of a, forgive the wording, spacey soundscape with melodies hanging in the background like a ghost. The following track sounds like a typical clipping. intro: it's impressive how readable the lyrics are, which describe the captain of the ship detailing the occurrences aboard. The song ends with the "uprising" - a swift, violent smattering of noise, over as soon as it starts. The next song, "All Black", introduces us to 2331 with a subtle, metallic instrumental that feels like a storm not quite breaking: after the violence of "The Breach", the tension created through "All Black" is palpable. Lyrically, this may be my favorite on the entire album. It has a spoken-word quality to it that contrasts the repeated mantra of "all black everything" - it's a fantastic dynamic. The following track is labelled a a freestyle, with a fast flow that fades into the distance as well. It's worth noting here that all the songs lead into each other beautifully, making the album, with its genre-hopping tendencies, feel cohesive.

"Wake Up" has a driving bass pattern that mimics modern rap music (maybe some juke influence?), with a strange sing-song-y rap style married with the rising and falling sirens of the ship. It leads directly into the strange, new style of the album - a style that is reminiscent of folk music, chanting voices under a beautiful feature soloist. From what I gather, this seems to be 2331's examination of human history through the music found on the ship - it doesn't stray from the concept, though, leading into a metallic interlude led by a female AI. The next track, "True Believer", is really fucking strange. It tells the story of a civil war type of battle, with odd chanting coming through in the chorus. It's a gorgeous song, shoving the two main types of songs on the album together in a way that feels very theatrical.

The instrumental that follows leads beautifully into "Air 'Em Out", a fantastic single from the album that somewhat confounds me in the context of the album. To be honest, I lose track of the concept in the last third of this record, but the atmosphere is so undeniable that I really don't mind. This track is dark, ambient and spacey, with massive bass hits contrasting the star-like synth stabs. It's the introduction to the  "hardest" moments of the album, and the most outwardly rap-focused. The next two tracks, a crackly, textured freestyle and a harsh, quick rap cut, are difficult. They leave accessibility behind in favor of making an impressively harsh noise-hop tune.

This is followed by the strangest, most out-of-left-field moment on the entire album: "Story 5", a beautiful choral piece following a revolutionary named Grace. The "Story" series has always followed characters at a pivotal moment in their lives, while this one takes on an entire life in a haunting and somewhat disturbing manner.

The last two tracks, "Baby Don't Sleep" and "A Better Place", are totally crushing and oddly uplifting, respectively. The former is the noisiest track on the album, recalling moments on "Midcity" while furthering 2331's journey. The last track is another pairing of the two main styles, featuring synth piano chords hammering under Diggs' melody, repeated the last time here. It's also very theatrical, feeling about as much like a finale as a modern hip-hop record can.

As a note, this album is slated to come out September 16th. I'm on the fence with how I feel about leaks: if I can support the artist in some way aside from purchasing a digital copy of the music, it seems fine to me. I highly recommend supporting art and artists, and it's your decision if you want to download this or other "leak" posts.

This is an experience of an album, a weird and groundbreaking work that will turn off some and totally click with others. It requires deep listening, and I honestly can't wait to jump back into its odd, horrifying, and weirdly beautiful world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUR_ChqUJbc ("Air 'Em Out")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkVIRXPG7oY ("Baby Don't Sleep")

http://tinyurl.com/zfmjl57 (MEGA)
http://tinyurl.com/hr3r6wr (FileFactory)

Tenth Post: Lightning Bolt, "Wonderful Rainbow" (2003)

Lightning Bolt is the collaborative duo of Brian Chippendale and Brain Gibson. They've created some of the most distinct noise rock music ever, with the band still releasing music and touring after 22 years. What makes Lightning Bolt so captivating is the pure energy in their music, and the sheer uniqueness of their sound. No one else makes music like Lightning Bolt.

Chippendale and Gibson met at Rhode Island School of Design and found commonality in the improvisational style of their playing. This has maintained one of the highlights of the group; through simple, repetitious song structures, the two members play off of each other freely. The band's origins lie in Japanoise scene and Japanese noise rock, such as Boredoms or Incapacitants. The group, with only two members, has obvious restrictions but they have made it their mission to do as much as they can in the limitations.

Both members of Lightning Bolt push their instruments to strange extremes. Gibson plays a very un-traditional bass guitar, tuning it to a cello's pitch and even adding banjo strings to create a more dynamic palette. Chippendale plays drums with such speed and ferocity, it's easy to get swept up in the sonic assault. The vocals are ear-grabbing as well, strung through a mask on Chippendale's face and distorted beyond recognition.

This album, "Wonderful Rainbow", may be the band's most well-received and iconic of their sound. From the distorted peals of noise on "Hello Morning" to the virtuosic bass solo in "2 Towers", this album is incredibly noisy. It's not near the levels of straight noise, but the face-melting assault was and is a breath of fresh air from the stagnant scene they came from. The album carved them a permanent niche in the noise-rock community, which was only heightened by their insane live shows. This album finds Gibson and Chippendale not looking for inspiration outside themselves, but really allowing themselves room to forge their own way.

Fantastic, seminal noise rock album. Links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJleaLhyB8s ("Longstockings")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bbNmXMLImg ("Assassins")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z5BJ_s9EtM ("Dracula Mountain" Live)

http://tinyurl.com/jonwhea (MEGA)
http://tinyurl.com/z3w8ok2 (FileFactory)

Ninth Post: Five Singles (8/18)

Second installment of the singles posts. More actual posts coming soon.

The Wytches - C-Side
This is a piece of scuzzy, throwback lo-fi rock music from the UK. This song comes from the upcoming album "All Your Happy Life", the follow-up to the excellent 2014 album "Annabel Dream Reader". That album featured a lot of genre crossover, with modern alternative music trends bleeding into "harder" genres, making a garage-rock album that had some serious teeth to it. This new song is a bit calmer, but still features the noisy, slightly demented angle that The Wytches have been working on over the past few years. It's a great single, painting a picture of where the band will go on the album. This is the lead single to "All Your Happy Life", out September 30th via Heavenly Recordings.
https://soundcloud.com/heavenlyrecordings/sets/the-wytches-c-side

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Limerent Death
TDEP is a legendary math-rock and technical metal band that have decided to break up after over 20 years. They have a signature, disorienting style, focused heavily on  technical grooves and angular, piercing guitar riffs. Lead singer from 2001 onwards Greg Puciato is an excellent vocalist for the band as well, flipping in tone and style on the fly, shouting in his mid-range and incredibly high screams to articulate the band's style. This song finds them doing what they've been known for extremely well - the first half of the song suddenly switches from slow and plodding to an almost indiscernible tempo set by shredding guitars. The last 45 seconds of the song are fantastic, building gradually to a repetition of the main theme. It's a shame TDEP is calling it quits, but it looks like they'll go out with a bang. "Dissociation" is out October 14th (my birthday!!) on Party Smasher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p4tQUBtsBw
https://tdep.lnk.to/Dissociation

Injury Reserve - Oh Shit!!!
This is shaping up to be one of the most fun hip-hop singles of the year. Following up the relatively good album "Live From the Dentist's Office" last year, Arizona-based rap group Injury Reserve return with a well-produced, funny, hype song featuring some of their best efforts yet. In their words, it's "spazz rap" - not something all that intellectual, but entertaining with a fun and hard edge to it. Also, it's called "Oh Shit!!!". I mean, how can you not?
https://soundcloud.com/injuryreserve/oh-shit

Darkthrone - Tundra Leech
One of the most influential Norwegian metal bands are back! Darkthrone, composed of Nocturno Culto and Fenriz, has been regarded as one of the best black metal bands of all time, although they have incorporated elements of death metal and speed metal into their sound. Just today they unveiled their new, heavy-as-hell lead single, "Tundra Leech". The song dips into death, speed and doom metal as well as their established black metal roots, creating an absolute monster of a song. The track is excellent, incorporating all the elements of a Darkthrone song that one would want. The changeup at the back end of the song is fantastic. Darkthrone have really put all fears aside with this track. "Arctic Thunder" also comes out on October 14th via Peaceville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwz7gucE7x0
https://www.burningshed.com/store/peaceville/product/233/7884/

Touché Amoré - Skyscraper (feat. Julien Baker)
TA is a post-hardcore band from Burbank that's been at it for a while, right now gearing up to release "Stage Four", their fourth album. Their last record, "Is Survived By", featured the band heading in a more accessible direction, incorporating alternative rock into their sound. Bolm's traditionally intense and versatile vocal delivery was matched with equally expressive instrumentation. This album seems to be heading down that road even further, adding fantastic indie singer/songwriter Julien Baker into the mix for this second single, and the last track of the album. The vocals are subdued, the track all heading to the conclusion, where Baker and Bolm's vocals mix beautifully in a flurry of guitar and drum passages. The album seems to be a step away and forward for TA, and one I'm pretty excited about. "Stage Four" is out September 16th on Epitaph Records.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkm_U9HD1wY
https://lnk.to/toucheamore

Eighth Post: Sonny Sharrock, "Black Woman" (1969)

Sonny Sharrock was a fantastic experimental and jazz guitarist, well-known for his free jazz, experimental music and punk work from the late 60's to his sudden death in 1994. He worked with greats like Pharaoh Sanders, Herbie Mann and even Miles Davis. He was inspired by Davis to play saxophone after hearing John Coltrane on "Kind of Blue", but his asthma prevented him from accomplishing this, leading him to guitar.

Sharrock's style of playing guitar was a shock when it first appeared in 1969 on the album "Black Woman". Going against the careful, more easy-to-digest styles of highly regarded guitarists such as Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery, Sharrock favored a heavier, more hectic approach. What's especially notable is the chemistry between Sharrock and the band members of this record - the freeform compositions flow very well, with each move feeling organic but still shocking and in the moment. Sharrock also pioneered incorporation of tremolo picking into his style, complimenting fast, loose drum playing throughout the album.

Track for track, this album is expertly conceived and executed. The first two tracks are amazing, experimental free jazz songs with standout, passionate vocal performances from Linda Sharrock. The first track is dreamlike and languid, favoring the group moving through various chord changes as one, letting a simple idea manifest itself slowly and beautifully. The second track, "Peanut", has one of the most memorable and gorgeous melodic lines on the album, but after the first minute and a half, quickly becomes a challenging and intense exercise in clashing chords and rhythms. The guitar and piano lines intertwine in odd, hard to predict ways, while the vocals shout and moan in a startling and haunting style.

The next two tracks are less hard to get into. "Bialero" features a semblance of rhythm and easy-to-follow song structure, which is welcome after the breakdown of the previous track. The vocals are graceful and beautiful, complimenting the piano and bass runs while the guitar and drums rumble in the background, occasionally springing to the surface and fading again. The harmonized tremolo picking is impressive in this song as well. The next track, the guitar solo "Blind Willy", reminds me of an old man sitting on his front porch in a rocking chair with a banjo. The song is, as one would expect, expertly played, and is even harmonious to listen to.

The last song is fantastic as well, featuring not only vocal performances from Sharrock himself, but horns complimenting Linda's voice, and a heavy rhythm between drums and guitar driving the song towards its dark final moments. It's a great closer, incorporating the best elements of the album while introducing new ideas and leaving the listener wanting more.

Though some say "Ask the Ages", the album recorded before his death, is his best, I think this, his debut, is. It's unabashedly odd and experimental, but brings a sense of beauty to it all with fantastic melodies and song ideas.

One of the best free jazz albums ever. Links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYDg_G65oj4 ("Peanut")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSIyKaUcJSQ ("Blind Willy")

http://tinyurl.com/zcvosv3 (MEGA)
http://tinyurl.com/j4etnwq (FileFactory)