Fire Squad's "Give me an album and I'll rate it'" Thread

Started by Fire Squad, Aug 10, 2020, in Music Add to Reading List

  1. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Nov 12, 2020
    Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
     
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  2. Sign Language
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    Sign Language We miss you Screw

    Nov 12, 2020
    He has returned! :blessed:
     
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  3. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 12, 2020
    @Ordinary Joel
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    #57 Sault - UNTITLED (Rise) [8.5/10]

    Ok, soooo there's a reason I haven't done these in awhile That has nothing to do with the fact I was swamped with therapeutic work. So one day I was just about my business right, suddenly somewhere in the deepest trenches of mind my mind, a figurative file drawer opened and I was reminded "Oh s---t, lemme go check out what OJ recommended me real quick." I sat there in front of the Youtube window listening to this, from there, I blacked out and didn't wake up until today, like I was in some fossilized condition and was left in hibernation. Was I hypnotized? Sequestered by the music? I dunno, but lemme recap what I experienced while I was floating in limbo....

    There's nothing quite like this that I heard in quite some time. I have no clue who the heck each of the performers are (there's little to no information at all). Trying to even pin this group down to a single music genre is another exercise in futility, the mood shifts ever so often that you don't even realize what hit you till it's gone. What this is, is a one way ticket to that boogie wonderland that Earth Wind & Fire prophesied to us many moons ago. It was like I was airdropped into this exotic African jungle of the very best elements of funk and soul, I dare you even trying to sit still when all the instruments come full force barreling in your direction. There's a bit of a afro-futuristic theme that's ever so slightly hidden within the music, each part is so musically dense with lush drums, moving baselines and gentle synths that you can't seriously find anything to complain about. This is one of those hidden jewels that you gotta venture through a lair of pitfalls and traps on some Indiana Jones s--- to firstly capture, and then appreciate, this is one heck of a surprise!
     
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  4. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 12, 2020
    @Bourbon Ben
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    #58: The Stooges - Fun House [9.5/10]

    This was admittedly my first time ever listening to The Stooges. Mind you I still have a ton of frontiers to check out when it comes to super classic rock; I'm a huge proponent of Velvet Underground, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath to name a few. But there's plenty of exploration for me to go around, if anything I hella appreciate these recs, always more stuff to add into my never ending catalog. Whenever you go back to listen to stuff like this, you immediately draw the influences and legacy this left behind, I can quite literally see the cauldron of Punk/Garage Rock bubble as they spin that paddle in each subsequent guitar riff. Needless to say, if you didn't know already, the lead singer of this band was Rock God Iggy Pop so you already know what you're in for if you're familiar with his work!

    This is just a fireball of monstrous riffs and vintage Iggy banshee wails from top to bottom. It almost feels so dirty listening to that g.d. guitar being shredded, you gotta take a clean shower after you immerse yourself in the music. Iggy himself was such an eccentric lyricist, half the time you'll be head bopping along and you hear something out of the blue like WTF? There's no shortage of entertainment, as with most of the albums from the old days it's short-form with longer songs so it's very digestible. Honestly I can see why this is a seminal record, there's almost a before and after of Rock's landscape when you hear this and then go ahead to the Sex Pistols/The Ramones, this was the tipping point of a revolution that was going to take over Rock, all it needed was the spark from this masterpiece.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  5. Chrollo
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    Chrollo ♱ كرولو

    Nov 13, 2020
    Bring Me The Horizon - amo
     
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  6. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 14, 2020
    @Enez
    [​IMG]
    #59: Can - Mago Tago [10/10]

    It's funny how I was just saying I needed more classic rock recommendations in that last review. When it comes to experimental stuff, I don't know about you guys, but I always enjoy that challenge of digging deep to find that kumbaya moment where I truly come to understand the art I subjected myself too. Nothing is more rewarding than challenging your tastes and uncovering something that could warp your own perception of music in general. In the case of this album from German Krautrock band Can, I truly enjoyed every moment of me sitting there and absorbing everything I could from this experience.

    Similar to when I just did The Stooges review, I could immediately trace all the influences that this has gone on to govern. This was almost like The Flaming Lips before they were, The Flaming Lips. There's this brisk element of psychedelic that is absolutely mind-blowing at how subtle it is, almost like your traveling through the very subterranean of your conscious before it crescendos at the very end of the album and you reach total enlightenment. I can't even describe at how crazy it is an album like this sounds as futuristic as it is....and it was recorded in 1971!!!! There's a real cutting edge at how each instrument is arranged to induce this dreamy, almost dystopian atmosphere, like some crazy acid jazz but with rock instruments, it's only exacerbated more when the vocals come out from nowhere like if this were some demented fever dream. Overall it's something I was absolutely floored with and I highly encourage any other music connoisseur here to challenge themselves with, its one of the most spell-binding pieces of music I've ever heard.

    [​IMG]
    #60: Deftones - Diamond Eyes [8.3/10]
    You're g.d. right I'm going two for two with this! Man I haven't heard this s--- in so long, it's funny cause every now and then a Deftones song comes up in my rotation and I'm immediately reminded of the greatness this band perturbs. If I was ever in the mood to hear some badass guitar being shredded complemented with a distorted, guttural vocalist via Chino, this band was the one. They also have the best covers of any band ever, don't @ me! This album was also my introduction to them, right around that summer entering my senior year of high school. Even if alt-metal was so seldom seen at the time, Diamond Eyes has a strangely nostalgic ting to it, now that it's been so many years since this first dropped. The cool thing about Deftones is that no matter how hard they thrash their instruments, there's still a very melodic formula behind it, it's the sort of metal that won't make you squirm in discomfort. Chino's lyrics are also so heartfelt, it's something genuine that you don't get from the cringe nu-metal stuff that served as predecessors. This album is honestly where they reached a new level of polishing when it came to studio mixing, especially when you look back at their earlier work, which is so rooted in it's timeframe. Overall it's not something that will blow your mind, but if you're already a Deftones enthusiast it's another staggering album in their collection.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  7. TheRealEbonIvore
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    Location: Ottawa

    Nov 14, 2020
    Wack Rac / Bizarre - All In My Head EP

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    Mar 29, 2024
  8. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 15, 2020
    @Ordinary Joel
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    #61: Charles Hamilton - The Pink Lavalamp [11/10 8.6/10]

    It's that time of the year when the weather gets nippy, there's nothing better to do so you lay back on your couch and pick up your favorite pieces of music and stare at the ceiling as you hit the time travel button. So lemme take you back to the end of 2008, just going through the excitement and angst that comes with early high school, any form of escapism you find in that age leaves a permanent mark on you. In my case, it came with new music from artists that were bubbling, in the case of CH, I felt like I was on the precipice of hearing the next paradigm shifting rapper and everything he rapped about was gospel. The day after this dropped, I left my limewire on to DL this tape, classes were just secondary to me for the rest of my morning, all I could think about was what kind of crazy a--- sample-flip Charles was gonna pull off when I get back home. As if it couldn't be anymore aesthetic, we had some slight snow that day now that I recall, so getting back home I ran straight to my PC and grabbed my iPod and hit play...

    This whole album was a pain for CH himself to get into. He was undergoing some label issues along with a host of his own personal demons that were slowly wrestling into his career, if I had know things would spiral down from this album onwards, this first listen would have made it even more impactful. I feel if you didn't follow his journey up to The Pink Lavalamp, all this might sound like some drug-influenced rants and mindless warble, even then, out of context this is still a very tremendous example of creative sampling techniques and it was all done with limited studio resources as CH was under a stretch of homelessness. So taking all this into mind and me being an impressionable teenager, this was one of the most personally moving albums I've ever heard and struck a deep chord that hit even harder now many years later. Staring out the window today and seeing it get dark and chilly outside, immediately took me back to 12 years ago....

    I mentioned this about Charles Hamilton before, but he was almost like the prototype to P'ierre Bourne's video game-esqe sound combined with early Kanye soul. This production generates an enticing nostalgic atmosphere that seriously hasn't been replicated since, if you're a particular fan of lo-fi this will sound like the gates of heaven opening. The Pink Lavalamp borders on heavy diaristic venting, CH opens up about everything and anything, it can almost feel uncomfortable but it makes the overall experience all the more heartfelt that you got through it, more so on CH's part. Depression, addiction, mortality...topics that otherwise would belong on another tin-foil theory pondering rap artist are all addressed here with a genuine sincerity that makes me look back and wonder how much maybe we all have changed since our younger days, shedding away the innocence. We take comfort in our pasts, when stress wasn't prevalent and our optimism was maybe at our highest, listening to this took me through a train of emotions that made me honestly miss all of my youth. Much like Charles career, perhaps things went in directions that we didn't anticipate, but the memories we left behind are always there to give us that relief, I'd like to think CH looks back at this album with a fondness for managing to make something out of a difficult situation. It's a totally unique experience, maybe it's the melancholy taking over me, but I highly encourage anyone to tune in to listen to a burdened soul's most concise and riveting effort.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  9. Chrollo
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    Chrollo ♱ كرولو

    Nov 15, 2020
    Beautiful write up for an beautiful album. The production is out of this world and your comparison with early Kanye is spot on. I'm pretty sure that TurboGrafX was aiming for exactly that sound
     
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  10. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Nov 15, 2020
    Had the :mjcry: face as I read this review/rating.

    Time to spin this once again. I was late to Charles, but thanks to @Nori back in '15 he put me on and that was when I took a deep dive into his career. Though I wasn't there from the jump, to read all the twists, turns, turbulence that he dealt with and still deals with now as an artist is just heartbreaking. There was glimpses of him looking towards a better tomorrow through the Red Bull doco on his return, but since then he's slipped back into obscurity.
     
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  11. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 15, 2020
    Thanks bro! d--- bruh I would love anything that has that sound, s--- I'm even waiting for the day a rapper hops on an album full of
    V A P O R W A V E even if it's a disaster in the making :laff: That Kanye album was gonna be crazy

    Always flattered by your kind words old friend! Of course, I remember me and Nori (mostly him) would share some of CH's stuff on the Plug haha.

    All of that came like a whirlwind when I ran through it, just a flood of memories and emotions on his situation and I guess drawing parallels to perhaps myself & others I'm thinking of. I'm glad that he's doing better and is in better control of his life, I'll always line up if he ever drops anything in the hereafter.
     
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  12. Ordinary Joel
    Posts: 28,743
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Nov 15, 2020
    His music and more importantly, this album, has that ability to leave an indelible mark on the listener. He's similar to Cudi in that respect but I dunno I find myself gravitating to the Charles a whole lot more.

    Speaking of drops, he dropped the 10th anniversary edition of this album last year! I ordered mine a few months back on a whim and it's only a week or so away from arriving.

    http://thepinklavalamp.com/
     
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  13. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 18, 2020
    @awhellno
    [​IMG]
    #62: Terror Jr - Unfortunately, Terror Jr [8.2/10]

    Unless you've been sleeping on your keyboard, it should be common knowledge around this site the homie Awhellno has one of the best ears around at discovering the most cutting-edge music, namely anything Pop related. Similar to rap's cross-genre explosion thanks to Soundcloud, Pop has also seen a number of different waves take root. Indie Pop lately has broken barriers, the likes of Lorde, Charli XCX and billie eillish have thrived under this assimilation under the streaming era, I think in due part to how EDM/Rap music have deconstructed conventional pop formulas & sounds (re: the drop & trap drums being everywhere). This has opened the door to a ton of talented bedroom pop artists to come in and mix things up, in the case of Terror Jr, it's one of the more unique takes at the avant-garde.

    This was my introduction to this duo, pretty much had no idea what kind of water I was about to dive in. After awhile of swimming around, this group reminded me a lot of some of Chairlift (another great Indie Pop band) but if they stole the new wave drums/synths of CHVRCHES, and then got a hipster haircut. The production value is absolutely superb, everything sounds crisp, almost like if the 808s could shatter concrete if you played it loud enough. One thing that immediately stands out is she does not bite her tongue, the themes addressed are explorative of feminism, relationship trauma and identification, it's quite explicit and in a sense just as refreshing as when you bump some of Charli's hardest slappers. While it's not a novel flip of the electro-pop genre, it's still a remarkably cohesive project with a fantastic synergy from each track, with well-meaning messages that tackle the never ending saga of stigmatism towards talented women in music. Apparently they got another album dropping in a few more days, pretty excited to see where they pick up from this, but in the meantime please guys go bump this!
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2021
    Mar 29, 2024
  14. Chrollo
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    Chrollo ♱ كرولو

    Nov 18, 2020
    As usual a great review, I appreciate it. Glad that you enjoyed it and that it got you hyped for their upcoming project. Let's run these streaming numbers up, S80!!!
     
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  15. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 19, 2020
    @Boos
    upload_2020-11-19_19-5-19.jpeg
    #63: XV - Zero Heroes (Remastered) [8.2/10]

    As if the last Charles Hamilton review wasn't already another trek up Melancholy Hill, you might as well call me Marty McFly at this rate with all this time travel. The Blog Rap era was like the primordial soup of everything that we have become accustomed to: a new level of interaction with our favorite rap stars, grassroots projects from artists at organically building a fanbase followed by record deals, a genuine interest from media sources at labeling these emerging talents as the next firebrand ready to stamp their mark as the new paragon of the genre...not to mention blogs/forums becoming hives for all these buzzing geeks *cough* SXN80 *wheeze*.
    It was honestly a blast witnessing it firsthand, I used to frequent Rap Radar & The Smoking Section for the latest updates on the likes of J Cole, Drake, Wiz, Cudi, Meek, Mac--I can almost perfectly recount exactly where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard anything from any of those guys mentioned. Most of those names have been around for over a decade now, one of them we regretfully lost...let that sink in. For most of us this likely cemented our permanent presence within the hip-hop community, I know for me I still harbor a warmth for anything that dropped during this time period, among them, this gem of a tape.

    I really thought XV could have been on a Gibbs/Curren$y-esqe level of continuity and fame, where he could comfortably churn out projects at how own pace. XV had a certain nerd charm, something that wasn't overly dramatic like Wale or verbose as Lupe, but accessible and endearing enough to distinguish himself. XV was also one heck of a curator, the sequencing and direction of lo-fi/soulful production is properly holistic as you venture further in. The production value of this tape is so unapologetically early 2010's, what once sounded innovative can be deemed as routine nowadays, but for the sake of context, I still honestly get a kick when I hear this b-----r. Perhaps it's nostalgia blinding me, but these mixtapes still feel so pristine, there are few traces of overproduced mixing that you can evidently hear on retail albums, in the case of Zero Heroes (Remastered) it's mixed to the point where the quality is friendly for your headphones but still retains it's straight-out-the-file Datpiff spirit. This is once again, not a mixtape masterpiece compared to a Da Drought 3 or a Re-Up g---, however it's still an eclectic reworking of backpacker rap and in the grander scheme of things, served as a gateway into the likes of more than just XV's talents, but buying into the whole enthusiasm and culture of what it's like to discover a unique rap project/artist and to watch them grow from there. That was the magic of the Blog Rap era, a bygone time when you look at it now, but those of us that still remember it, still cherish it.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  16. Boos
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    Boos Nova Nation

    Nov 19, 2020
    Ayyyyy that was a great read! You summed up the blog era perfectly, and way better than I ever could. I will always have nostalgia for those days. Having any song at your fingers tips in a matter of seconds these days is nice, but it’ll never top scrambling for a link, uploading it to your iPod to repeat for the next month, and searching the blogs for new rappers and songs to show your homies, in my eyes.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  17. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 22, 2020
    @Sign Language

    [​IMG]
    #64: Pepper - Kona Town [11/10 8.4/10]

    Yoooo I soon as I saw that fish on the cover I was like "Ahhhhhh shieett, this bout to be another bomb the home Sign plugging in". It's a good thing I kicked vey smoking & drinking habits to the curb, well, maybe not. I do sometimes miss the extra kick that somehow gets produced when you're busted, not that I'm trying to condone y'all to start becoming a junkie or a fiend that I'm likely gonna step over the next time I'm on my way to the corner store. But like I was saying, if I was high while I bumped this s---, a Rasta hat would have immediately dropped from the sky onto my head, I would have thrown my life savings to h--- and bought a sail boat for no f---ing reason and breezed to the Caribbean where I would have spent the rest of my life on a hammock, getting blown on the beach as the tides gently caress the sands.

    If it isn't obvious by now, this is very much a Reggae Rock album, with just a twist of alt-rock themes/drum work. If you are a fan of Sublime or old school No Doubt, you're gonna love the h--- out of Kona Town. The intro is exactly the type of entrance music you'd get as you land on some exotic island and beautiful women throw flower petals at you while burly men twirl fire torches and whatnot. While it's mostly feel good music, as any Reggae Rock album should make you feel, there are some social commentary tracks that actually caught me off guard, even if the execution isn't particularly striking it's still a great attempt at adding variety. The tempo does shift from classic Reggae bass breaks to Alternative chords mostly around the B-Side where the album does tend to slog a bit, but I can't even be mad at just how good these instruments sound. Honestly I've absolutely loved this album, been coasting through their discography as a result since this music is just irrepressible, it has just enough pop to reel you in while the more relaxing undertones will ultimately win you over. Great album guys go check out Pepper!
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  18. Sign Language
    Posts: 11,696
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    Sign Language We miss you Screw

    Nov 22, 2020
    s---, meant to respond to this earlier! Great review as always! I genuinely enjoy reading these. Glad I could put you on to another album that you ended up liking.
    :bookah:

    Next album:
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    Mar 29, 2024
  19. Boos
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    Boos Nova Nation

    Nov 22, 2020
    Idk if the song Rent is on that Pepper album, but that songs a classic for me and the homies in real life
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  20. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Nov 22, 2020
    Getting familiar with their disco, but that one a groove, that's what the homies listen to when I'm not around
     
    Mar 29, 2024