Cordavision Music Reviews

They’re just farming for XP to level up by the end of the year, don’t worry about quality over quantity. Since I literally wrote about these guys a few weeks back, I have no idea how to properly introduce you other than to link you to my Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava review so you can get the full picture. However, there’s even more context behind this release. In 2017, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard put out five albums, just as they did this year with this album, Changes . This album, however, was meant to be the fifth album of 2017. With most King Gizz releases, there’s a core concept, with this one having every track in D major / F# major chord changes. I’m not even sure if I worded that correctly, but you get the idea. There’s also a pretty visual reference to the track titles, if you’ve got a keen eye. King Gizz have continued to raise the bar all this year and this shouldn’t be any different. Let’s get into Changes and see how I felt about it. As I looked ...

Luckily, this didn’t sound like hell was engulfing my eardrums. There was a little phase last year where there were a bunch of post-punk albums that really clicked for me. One of my more controversial takes is that I thought that black midi’s Cavalcade , which is considered by many to be one of the best albums of last year, was just a little bit overrated. I understand the raw talent from each member, but I thought that it didn’t gel as well as their first album, Schlagenheim . However, this might be a different story. I haven’t heard any of the singles ahead of Hellfire , so I’m going into this completely blind. This is getting even higher praise than Cavalcade , not that that matters to me, but it’s worth pointing that out. Let’s not waste any more time and get into Hellfire . Since I never went into detail about it, I prefer Schlagenheim over Cavalcade because the more chaotic sound suits the group much more. I think that was sacrificed with more complex tracks on the latter, whic...

If you wanna know my thoughts on the movie itself, click here ! If you anything about director Baz Luhrmann, he’s always used music in his movies in relatively weird ways, whether you like it or not. A prominent example is his adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby , which has heavy involvement from Jay-Z, serving as an executive producer for the film and its soundtrack. Oddly enough, one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a movie recently is Tobey Maguire narrating over “No Church in the Wild” from Watch the Throne . We now have a similar soundtrack for Luhrmann’s latest film, a biopic of music icon Elvis Presley. The movie’s fantastic, but since the music is so tied to it, it’s gotta be judged on its own. Let’s see how the ELVIS soundtrack does. There are a few distinct categories for the tracks: 1. Recordings of Elvis repurposed for the movie, 2. Austin Butler actually singing Elvis songs taken from the movie, and 3. Existing Elvis tracks being remixed by artist...

Better late than never, I guess. I had never heard of electronic act Sam Shepherd, better known as Floating Points, before this album, but he’s been acclaimed for a little bit now. However, if you’ve caught the eye of Pharoah Sanders, one of the most influential jazz musicians ever, you must be doing something right. Along with working with the London Symphony Orchestra, Floating Points and Sanders ended up releasing an entire album together, titled Promises . Before its release, it was being hyped up as the return of Pharoah Sanders. It ended up slipping past me because of a busy schedule, but I knew I had to cover this before 2021 was up. So, let’s not waste any more time because enough was wasted already. Is this an album? Is this a song? It’s honestly tough to tell what it is, but either way, it’s fucking beautiful. I mean, damn. I’m kind of at a loss for words while writing this. Floating Points really makes you float on this ambient/jazz fusion experience, and the performances fr...

More like GOODGOODNOTBAD. Man, I’ve really been trying to get into modern jazz lately. An album I’ve been listening to a lot recently when it comes to 2021 jazz is Promises , the new album from Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders. It’s definitely growing into an all-time favorite for me in the genre, but there might be some competition now. I don’t know anything about BADBADNOTGOOD, but after singing the praises of Promises , I got recommended that I listen to this when it dropped. Let’s get into Talk Memory and see how it is. Throughout this album, I’ve really enjoyed how this quartet combines all of the different types of jazz and instrumental hip-hop. Where I think this album stands out the most is its production. I feel like it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. Self-production is something that’s always so impressive to me, and there are plenty of artists that don’t get enough credit for it. BADBADNOTGOOD entirely produced this album, like most of their own work, and it...

The double whammy of Dawn of Chromatica and this within weeks of each other is so funny to me. For those that don’t know, this album marks the end of an era for music. Because of his battle with Alzheimer’s, this is the final album of jazz legend Tony Bennett. To end his career on a high note, he’s decided to make another covers album with pop icon Lady Gaga. Their last album together, 2014’s Cheek to Cheek , ended up being a welcome surprise for fans of both parties involved. Now, with Love For Sale , we not only have a second helping of that but along with this being Bennett’s final album, there’s a lot of good expectations for it. Let’s just not waste any more time and get into it. Remember when I covered that Black Keys album earlier this year, which was covers of 50s-60s blues-rock tracks? These are essentially jazz/show tune covers, and really, what’d you expect? Did you think this was gonna be bad? Both Bennett and Gaga are very talented singers, and most of these songs (if not...

Shoutout to Brainfeeder and Flying Lotus for signing these guys, good lord. If you’re a hip-hop fan, you’ve definitely heard a Hiatus Kaiyote song. They only have three albums to their name, including this one here, and during that time, their songs have been sampled by Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Anderson .Paak, and Chance the Rapper, among many other artists. After a few roadblocks since the six years that came after their last album, Choose Your Weapon , the neo-soul group is finally back with Mood Valiant , jumping labels from Sony to Brainfeeder. Is Mood Valiant the massive comeback the group was needing? Let’s find out. Let me get a little detailed first, though. It’s tough to combine the layered nature of jazz and the openness of soul for any artist. I hope you get what I mean by that because it’ll be tough for me to explain that. Hiatus Kaiyote has done that very well in the past, and it’s no different here. I personally feel that this sounds a lot better than Choos...

CLASSIC ALBUM #1: THE FIRST IN A NEW SERIES THAT I WILL OCCASIONALLY ADD TO. THESE ALBUMS ARE NOT RANKED OR SCORED BECAUSE THEY’RE, WELL, CLASSIC. The other day, I watched Miles Ahead , a biopic on legendary jazz performer Miles Davis. That really didn’t influence my review, I’m just saying that Don Cheadle plays a great Davis and should be much more appreciated in the acting world outside of being Rhodey. As stated above, I’m starting a little classic album review series. It’s something that can get me writing about other albums I like and listen to outside of the new releases that I pretty much only cover outside of a few exceptions. I figured I should start off with something for the masses, something that people could say ‘Oh, yeah. That album IS a classic’ before I get into the more opinionated reviews. So, let’s get into Miles Davis’ 1959 masterpiece Kind of Blue . I know, I know. It’s pretty cliche to put this album on a classic album list or a greatest albums of all time list, ...

LET FLYLO DO THE BLADE  SCORE PLEASE. I support anything Flying Lotus is involved in. He’s one of my favorite producers of all time, he’s been involved in and has made some of my favorite albums of all time, and he’s really influenced my taste in music. First, let’s give a little context to this project right here. In 2018, Netflix announced that Studio MAPPA, a Japanese animation company behind popular anime like Yuri!!! on Ice , the final season of Attack on Titan , and the upcoming adaptation of popular manga Chainsaw Man , is creating a miniseries for the platform called Yasuke , a story about recorded history’s first black samurai serving under Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga. While there are slightly more fantastical elements in the miniseries, the core story is still there. LaKeith Stanfield voices Yasuke and executive produced the series along with Flying Lotus himself. Flying Lotus also did the score for this project, which is being considered his seventh studio album. Along...

 

I’ve been a Thundercat fan for a while now. I first found him through Flying Lotus’s music and albums and as a part of Kendrick Lamar’s band for To Pimp a Butterfly , and I’ve been in love ever since. His solo projects have always been a little lacking to me, though. It’s been style over substance, in my personal opinion. When It Is What It Is was announced, I was feeling excited about it. I have always enjoyed Thundercat’s solo projects, but they’ve never had any replay value to me. I’m hoping that It Is What It Is isn’t that, so let’s get into it and find out. It Is What It Is is a jazz album with soul, R&B, and hip-hop influences throughout. Like his past albums, Thundercat knows how to set a good atmosphere. He knows how to make a soundscape, and this is shown off in all of its glory in It Is What It Is . One thing that popped out in this that I never really noticed in his other releases is his personality. He’s very funny, and his writing is proof of that! The singles are t...

For the uninitiated, Braxton Cook is a saxophonist and singer that’s been on the scene since about 2014, starting with his debut EP Sketch . Since then, he’s joined Grammy-nominated trumpeter Christan Scott’s big band, the Christian Ensemble, along with being a part of different bands throughout his career. His sophomore effort, No Doubt , was where Cook broke onto the scene. It received critical and acclaim, with some calling it one of the best jazz records of the year. His newest release, titled Fire Sign , expands upon his fusions of jazz, R&B, and alternative music to much success. Fire Sign is a laidback R&B album in the disguise of a jazz album. Yes, there are many jazz influences, but he’s a truly great singer amid the glossy and pristine instrumentals. “Don’t Wanna See You” is a standout breakup track while Cook shows off his saxophone skills, and the opener “Moonchild” leans towards the R&B-trap side, yet it still shows off his crooning chops. The final three t...