Cordavision Music Reviews

I gotta keep holding to my promises about reviewing. I always love it when an artist takes a risk with their material. Whether or not it works out, I usually admire the risk and appreciate the fact that any artist can do something out of their comfort zone. Either way, the artist in question today is Lil Yachty, a rapper that has basically become a joke the longer his career’s gone on. However, going into a new genre out of left field isn’t totally new to rap. Childish Gambino jumping into the world of neo-soul with Awaken, My Love! , along with later projects from Mac Miller and Tyler, the Creator having more jazz influences, have proven that turning to a new genre for new ideas has worked out pretty well. Yachty, however, has turned to psychedelic rock in the vein of Tame Impala for this new album, Let’s Start Here. to mark the new chapter of his career. Let’s get into it. Having stuck around with Yachty during the rough patches, I can easily say that Let’s Start Here. is his best ...

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 ...

CAPRISONGS vs. Gemini Rights . Fight. I’ve always enjoyed Steve Lacy’s work with a catch. Oddly enough, his first solo album Apollo XXI really didn’t do anything for me at all, but his work with Odd Future-adjacent R&B group The Internet has always stood out to me more than his solo work. I am a sucker for some good neo-soul though, so why Apollo XXI didn’t click for me is beyond me. Either way, I’ve been pretty excited about his next release, Gemini Rights . How does it sound? Let’s get into it. In a weird way, there was an immediate comparison that I made a little bit after my first listen of this, and it was André 3000’s The Love Below , the second half of Outkast’s iconic double album. There’s no deep comparison on it like a similar theme or Lacy sounding like 3 Stacks at all, that’s just the vibe I felt while listening to this. Another thing about this is that this is beautifully produced across the board. Lacy’s voice, the beats, everything just comes together so smoothly. H...

There are three different people with the name Chris involved in one song, it’s basically the Marvel movies now. It’s no secret that Lizzo is a star at this point. While I appreciate her social media game about positivity (even if it’s not necessarily for me), I thought her last album, Cuz I Love You , is quite good. Some songs from that project are still in my rotation, and “Boys” is one of my favorite pop hits from the past decade. That being said, whatever Lizzo did next from a music standpoint would have my attention. While “About Damn Time” was certainly a fine song, it just didn’t do anything. Either way, we have Special now, so let’s just get into it. Right off the bat, I’m very happy that the song she did with Cardi B isn’t on this because it’s one of her worst songs. That’s a good start. Like on her past music, her voice is honestly what hits it out of the park for me, and while it doesn’t hit the same heights as her last album, it’s still very good. Where this project lacks,...

I’d take this entire project, to be honest. Right from the start of hearing GIVĒON, I knew that he’d be a star. Like most of us, we heard him for the first time on Drake’s quarantine project Dark Lane Demo Tapes, and he honestly floored me right off the bat. After that, it was having a small part (and the best part) on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” and that finally convinced me to check out his other projects. His When It's All Said and Done...Take Time compilation, which combines his two already-released EPs, is honestly fantastic, and ever since then, I’ve been excited for whatever he did next. Give or Take is the debut album, so let’s not waste any time and get into it. The biggest draw to GIVĒON for me is his voice, which is just as great as ever. Underneath that, though, is a genuine maturity that really wasn’t found in his past projects. The toxicity is mostly gone here too, with that being replaced by the way of making things right in the relationship. I don’t know what this ...

Australians are fucking crazy, man. That’s the biggest takeaway I got from this. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard really have it going for them. They’ve been a functioning band for ten years now, and not including live albums, they have twenty studio albums. Twenty. I’m on a trek to listen to all of them right now, and I think I have about seven down. Their third release this year, Omnium Gatherum , is their longest studio effort yet with 80 minutes in length. The Aussies gave us a lot to unpack in this album, so let’s not waste any time and get into Omnium Gatherum . At this point, it’s predictable for King Gizz to be unpredictable, and I’d say that this is one of the most all-over-the-place they’ve released yet. If they were throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck, they did everything and included the wall. The elements of rock, metal, pop, electronic, soul, and even rap just combine to make a smorgasbord of sound. Even one of the band member’s grandmother plays the role of a ...

Cache Saturday is a new series of unranked reviews where I’m gonna catch up on albums I’ve listened to, whether it’s for the first time or not. I’ll also cover new albums I’ve missed from earlier or were cut from my schedule. Also, they’ll all be done in one paragraph. Here’s the first entry, Jon Batiste’s Grammy-nominated WE ARE . Woooow, how have I not heard his solo work yet? I know he’s also nominated and won for his work on the score for Pixar’s Soul, but this is just great. I’m pretty sure Batiste has a degree as a jazz pianist and it shows here. I love all the influences here like funk, soul, hip-hop, and gospel, yet it doesn’t feel like any of them. I could also tell Batiste is from New Orleans, mainly because the sound just feels born from it. Most of all, it just feels genuine. It feels like there’s a talented man at work here and it shows across the board. No wonder Batiste is the most nominated artist at this year’s Grammys. Listen here YouTube Music WE ARE is a Verve rele...

This may not be true, but I saw that 500,000 copies of vinyl of this are being made just for the U.S. alone for this week. Good god. Okay, Adele doesn’t need any type of introduction whatsoever. Honestly, just look at the sentence above. That many copies sold on a dying format is gonna be nuts and this album will easily have the biggest opening week of the year and at least since HER LAST ALBUM, 2015’s 25 . Either way, it’s a pretty huge deal that Adele is back. We know she has a great reputation for dropping great albums since she’s been on a great run, so let’s not waste any more time and get into 30 . I’d actually like to state something about the lyrics and writing here, but it’s worth noting. Adele went through a pretty rough divorce with her husband and it really affected the content of this album. I say that because I think the lyrics could’ve been written a little better, but that’s just a little personal preference. Outside of that, Adele sounds incredible, as always. Her voca...

Holy shit, it’s finally here. You know, I could safely say that this is my most anticipated album of 2021. Who the hell would ever imagine Bruno Mars, an industry titan and hit-making machine, and Anderson .Paak, one of the most underrated yet most respected artists working now (who also happens to be one of my favorite musicians ever), to team up for an entire album under a new name, Silk Sonic? I know a couple of people that doubted this, but right when I heard the news of them working together, I knew this was gonna be an absolute treasure. The three singles released for this album, the chart-topping “Leave The Door Open,” the bubbly “Skate,” and my personal favorite “Smokin Out the Window,” were all damn near perfect. There was a level of chemistry between Mars and .Paak that’s rarely captured in music. I may not agree with this notion, but people I’ve asked have said that this is the closest we’ll ever get to having Michael Jackson and Prince working together. Either way, Silk Son...

This album cover really makes this seem like a prog-rock record, so now I want a James Blake prog-rock album. James Blake has been an artist I’ve admired for quite a long time. He’s among some of my favorite artists ever and has worked with some of the more impressive artists working now. I really don’t think he’s ever made a bad album, but after doing some research, not a lot of people were fans of his last album, Assume Form . While I don’t think it was his best album, it wasn’t bad by any means. Now, with a new album titled Friends That Break Your Heart , it seems like he’s back for now. With collaborators like SZA, J.I.D, SwaVay, and Monica Martin, it seems like he’s primed for success yet again. Let’s see how he did. I think that the thing that people go to Blake for is nailed across the board, and that’s the vocals. I’ve always loved them, and they’re still as good as they normally are. I also think that Blake’s songwriting stands out even more here than his past albums. His writ...

Oddly enough, I was listening to Kanye’s “Gold Digger” when I saw that this was announced. Leon Bridges is an enigma in music right now. He’s popular with fans and critics alike. Even most casual music listeners know who he is and enjoy his music. His debut album, Coming Home , is honestly one of my favorite R&B albums of the decade. For better or for worse, it feels like a love letter to the sounds of the 60s and 70s. Some have been pretty adamant that he relies on this sound a little too much, and granted, his voice is very reminiscent of an Otis Redding, but I’m a fan of that sound so it doesn’t bother me too much. On his newest album, Gold-Diggers Sound , Bridges’s sound palette changes from the psychedelic 60s soul to a more traditional pop-soul sound. How does it stand? Let’s find out. Starting off with the lyrics, I guess they’re a little typical for pop-soul in this vein. The main goal for the lyrics on here is to back up Bridges’s vocals and they certainly do that job. Spe...

A violet sky actually sounds really cool. A good chunk of newer R&B artists hasn’t really clicked for me lately. I’m actually reviewing this artist, Snoh Aalegra, and her new album because of a suggestion by a friend. I haven’t really heard of her before, but with a James Fauntleroy feature and multiple Tyler, the Creator features, I’m going into this with good expectations. Let’s not waste any more time and get into Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies . I’m not sure what the main single was off this album, but “Lost You” certainly would make a great single for it. She reminded me of Sade a lot, and that’s not a comparison I make lightly. It’s a good thing, though. I do believe Tyler had some pretty good contributions here and he makes a good duo with Aalegra. I’d love to see what she could do with someone like André 3000, though. As much as I like James Fauntleroy, I do think his feature was a little disappointing, but nobody’s perfect and I think I’d listen if they collaborated a...

CLASSIC ALBUM #2: THESE ALBUMS ARE NOT RANKED OR SCORED BECAUSE THEY’RE, WELL, CLASSIC. Something I did this summer was binge the original run of the legendary Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion and its finale movie, The End of Evangelion . It really has been a pretty mind-blowing series, and with the four Rebuild films coming to the U.S. later this month, I decided I somehow had to get some of its music onto here. I’ve thought about reviewing the recent compilation, Evangelion Finally , which is essentially a greatest hits album, but the more I’ve thought about it, The End of Evangelion ’s score/soundtrack really deserves some praise and recognition. They might be the same in this case, but who cares, this is my website. Let’s get into what makes Shiro Sagisu’s score/soundtrack to The End of Evangelion a classic album. Let me just come out on record that this soundtrack has one of my favorite classical pieces of all time. It’s Sagisu’s rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’...

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...

Wow, I didn’t know that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg could reinvent themselves so drastically. I gotta be honest with you, this isn’t my type of music. I’ve always had an appreciation for rock music like this, but it’s never been my personal favorite. Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, has always been an artist that has consistently brought her a-game to every release she’s done. Now, her latest project, Daddy’s Home , is one of the most anticipated rock records of the year. Straight to the point intro here, so let’s get right into the album. Right off the bat, this album isn’t what I expected. The cover gives off some vintage, 70s soul vibe and it’s actually a really great look for Clark. As I said earlier, this is a rock album through and through. The production on this is clean and smooth as fuck, it almost feels magical. Super-producer Jack Antonoff gave his golden touch to this, and as always, it’s fantastic across the board. It’s really going for that 70s style and nosta...

Oddly enough, I ate some broccoli when I listened to this album. Dude, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this album. It hasn’t been high up on my list of anticipated projects, but god dammit, I’m so excited about this. Shelley is one of those artists that I’ve been dying to drop at some point. If you don’t know the name Shelley, you’d know the name DRAM. You remember “Broccoli” with Lil Yachty? Yes, that guy. Shelley FKA DRAM is his first studio effort in five years, and he’s quite different since we last heard him. Coming with the name change, Shelley has introduced a more sophisticated and even seductive sound that could work very well with his new image. Let’s get right into it, shall we? If you were (or still are) a fan of his breakout tracks like “Cute” or the aforementioned “Broccoli,” you’re not gonna find anything like that here. Changing to his stage name comes a new sound: classic 90s R&B. He isn’t really reinventing the wheel here, but it’s still a smooth ...

 

I’m feeling awful about how I’m just now writing about this. Back in May, an upcoming rapper named Deante’ Hitchcock released his debut studio album, BETTER , to critical and fan praise. I had listened to it about a month after it, and it sadly fell through the list of things that I wanted to review. I’ve been recommended his music before, and I had first heard him on the track “PTSD” from the Dreamville collective project Revenge of the Dreamers III . No wonder he was on RotD3 because he sounds like a young J. Cole, nearly to a T. Well, why am I reviewing it in October now? Hitchcock just dropped the deluxe version of BETTER earlier this week, and I decided to not put it off anymore and finally write about this record. Short intro, but let’s get right into the deluxe version of Deante’ Hitchcock’s BETTER . BETTER is a hip-hop album with some soul and trap influences. Before I get to Deante’, I got to talk about his features. All of them are properly placed and fit the vibe of each ...

I’ve never been the biggest Jhene Aiko fan. She has nice songs every now and then, but in an album capacity, it just seems a little too generic for me. For each album she puts out, I feel like there’s more and more potential. Her last double album Trip was actually quite good, and her collaborative project with Big Sean TWENTY88 has grown on me in the time it’s been out. Her latest release, Chilombo , is something that I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while. Maybe for this new album, her sound might get changed up for the better, or have a little more experimentation in there for good measure. Let’s get into Chilombo and see! Chilombo is an alternative R&B album with soul undertones. I don’t want this to be an incredibly short review, but this album just comes off as a little… bland. The vocals and production are pretty nice, but it feels so very one-note that it comes off as just one 63 minute song. It feels like taking making a sandwich out of just two slices of white bread ...

A Tribe Called Quest is one of the best and most iconic groups of the 1990s. Their two albums The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are considered classics in the hip-hop community. In March 2016, one of the most versatile members, Phife Dawg, passed away. There have been rumblings about a new ATCQ record for a while, and it eventually happened at the end of that year with We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service , the sixth and now final release by the group. Let’s get into it and see how A Tribe Called Quest’s final album is. We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service is a jazz rap album. Many thought that their 1998 album The Love Movement would be their final outing, having split just before its release, but boy, we were wrong. 18 years after The Love Movement , they’re back. Many people (myself included) were going to consider this a comeback album or a last hurrah to honor Phife Dawg, but they were wrong. We Got It from Here… feels so fresh. It’s like they ne...