What's a Listening Log? Well, the idea is quite simple. It's a weekly segment that consolidates all the mini-reviews Dozens Of Donuts has given on RateYourMusic over the past week, split between the Past and Present. A straightforward grading scale has been put in place, ranging from A+ to F-, with C acting as the baseline average. There is no set amount of reviews per week, just however many I get around to reviewing. And don't expect week-of reviews. I wait one month - with at least three listens under my belt - before I rate and review an album. Enjoy!
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2019 | Hardcore Hip-Hop | Listen
PSEUDO-INTELLECTUALISM AND A RUGGED EXTERIOR
There was a time, brief but valiant, where Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire was the talk of the underground. That, of course, came in 2011 when his single 'The Last Huzzah!' inadvertently represented an era of Hip-Hop in flux. It featured Danny Brown on the cusp of a breakout, Das Racist on the cusp of divorce, El-P with Killer Mike as second hand before Run The Jewels, and the forever-enigmatic Despot in his most prominent guest spot.
But Hip-Hop, the underground or otherwise, has moved on since then. And Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, with his hardened New York City swagger, wasn't something worth investing in. His style relied on outmoded traditions of flash without the substance to separate such heresy from the craft. It should be of no surprise then that the self-titled Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire upholds those principle values, essentially condensing the emcee's modus operandi in 45 minutes of varyingly-predictable topics. The one surprise, that of deluded conspiracy theorist, occurs in the middle and end ('Nosediive,' 'Silence'), representing the most needless of material. Seriously, don't listen to 'Nosediive,' you'll lose brain cells.
Elsewhere, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire tends to succeed more when he goes for the gut rather than gasconades across the ring. Opener 'FCK Boy!' is a ferocious start that dabbles in Industrial Hip-Hop with a supremely-grimy beat that, regrettably, is seen nowhere else on the LP. It's the best you'll hear here. 'Pink Champagne' and 'RumbleFish' aren't half-bad because eXquire's vocals have some merit when they stray from formality, which is the exact thing that brings down the ambition, eight-minute story of 'Nothing's What It Seems.' Plus it sits jarringly between an aching, four-minute spoken word ramble and the atrociously-amateur sounding 'I Love Hoes.'
D+
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Few artists can attest to being as staunch and unwavering as Tycho. Compared to any Electronic producer in the disappointingly-dull Downtempo genre, he's changed the least. All aesthetic and zero substance, Tycho's relevancy has only maintained thanks to the increasing popularity of chill, curated playlists for Coachella attendees on their rest days. And that's exactly who Weather's directed at, with the inclusion of Saint Sinner - a forgettable singer in a trove of lookalikes whose legit SoundBetter profile (a website of for-hire artists) pegs her as a "luxury vocalist" - as primary feature for five of the eight songs. It's almost a laughable unison that, ironically, fits Tycho's somnolent production like a glove.
That's excluding 'Pink & Blue,' which I find to be a legitimately great SynthPop hit. Here her presence forces Tycho's hand, providing a more minimal soundscape to allow for an explosive chorus that's quite intoxicating. Combine the best elements of the second and third best songs (let's say 'Weather' and 'Japan') and they're still not as good as 'Pink & Blue.' That's because on all the other efforts Saint Sinner follows Tycho's indolent lead, which is seen prominently in the three instrumental cuts that find no evolution in his sound from 2016's Epoch. The hazy, generic psychedelia is slathered over light tropical instrumentation, as is Tycho tradition.
C-
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2019 | Pop Rap | Listen
THE CHEESY, 'IMPROMPTU' DANCE DOWN THE AISLE
There was once a time Chance The Rapper was considered a prodigy, a sure-fire bet to reestablish love in Hip-Hop while promoting challenging and provocative ideals both musically and lyrically. That was 2013 when Acid Rap, a project that sits comfortably in my top 100 of all-time, came out. Turns out, that was Chance The Rapper's peak; We just didn't know it yet. The descent began soon thereafter, with the admirable Surf, the inconsistent Coloring Book, a great long silence of worry and doubt, and now that passage's result: The Big Day.
Simply put, it's a disaster. A failure so immeasurable that any hope for positive Hip-Hop, a facet of the genre I've been clamoring for since the early 90's D.A.I.S.Y. Age, has been irrevocably lost. Following The Big Day, no rapper's going to touch the messages, motifs, and motives of Juke with a ten-foot pole. Chance The Rapper's failure is a sad day for Hip-Hop, as his potential guidance was one both refreshing and necessary. Unfortunately, a devotion to Christianity soured his perception of reality to the point where, a once down-to-earth comrade of the people, now sways in the ecstasy of conservative, familial life. In other words, near to the antithesis of Hip-Hop.
The problems of The Big Day have been dissected substantially by this point, but I'll speak on behalf of just a few. Hinted at with Coloring Book, Chance's abysmal decision-making in regards to feature selection hits an all-time low here, with an aimless assortment of pseudo-talents (Francis & The Lights, Nicki Minaj, John Legend), inferior defaulters (Shawn Mendes, Randy Newman, Gucci Mane), and complete no-names (Calboy, Kierra Sheard), with no sight of Chicago's intellectual artisans who were once at his side. The political insight Chance once bestowed as a denizen of Chicago's gang-ridden streets is not only entirely absent - most disappointing given Donald Trump's current presidency - but subjugated by menial concepts of financial understanding and an embrace of complacency. In other words, it's excessively safe and content. Which, given Chance's current standing in life, isn't a surprise nor a reason to call for hypocrisy, it just makes for non-essential art.
What follows is a list of The Big Day's other problems. A 22-song tracklist, clearly meant to profit off the streaming age. Skits so abysmal and irritating it makes one question why Hip-Hop even continues with such an insipid tradition in the first place. Hip House so sheltered ('I Got You,' 'Ballin Flossin,' 'Found A Good One') that it would make legends in the genre roll over in their grave. Mindless hooks ('Do You Remember,' 'Handsome,' 'Get A Bag') that appeal to airwaves, yet so parched that no radio would dare play them. One-liners you can't help but shake your head at ("Life is short as a midget," "big tongue make it slippery," "they can see that shit on Facebook, they can like it, they can share it").
All that being said - and even more left unsaid - there are meritable moments, so much so that a ten-track album of The Big Day's best wouldn't have been half bad. For starters, 'Hot Shower.' You heard me right. The song getting the most hate is the one I feel is least deserving, for it's the only on the whole LP to be self-aware of its own absurdity. It's easily the most enjoyable song, with stripped-back production that matches Chance, MadeinTYO, and DaBaby's silliness. Elsewhere, The Big Day actually starts and closes on significant highs. 'All Day Long,' perhaps more so, because of the initial excitement and purity before the Hip House grows nauseating. 'Zanies & Fools' because the tribal production is outstanding, the chorus is uplifting not in a demanding way, and Chance's verses are both intriguing and on-point. Oh, and The Big Day's most mocked aspect - Chance's obsession with his wife prompting the LP's entire concept - I find more admirable than bothersome, for love that tight can only be cherished. Still, the skits that fulfill that "big day" are really, truly awful.
That last paragraph aside, there's no denying the cons far outweigh the pros. It's almost overwhelming how numbing The Big Day makes a listener who suffers through the 77-minutes. And I did so three times. Unlike most, I'm not mocking Chance like I did with another infamously bad album; Kid Cudi's Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven. I'm just sad, dejected, and anesthetized. Which is arguably worse considering Chance attempted to elicit the complete opposite. The Big Day's a complete failure and nowhere can that be seen better than its title track wherein a calm Chance foretells his incoming craziness as if it's planned, only to lash out in the most orchestrated, Kanye-lite way possible. Like Chance, "I don't wanna, get it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it."
F+
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2019 | Modern Classical | Listen
A TREACHEROUS PLIGHT TO RECLAIM ONE'S INNOCENCE
Who's to say what's causing the shift but it seems as if television studios are calling upon Electronic artists to create Classical music nowadays, perhaps to modernize tenuous drama in fictional series. Oneohtrix Point Never, Amon Tobin, Son Lux, Ben Frost, and Clark are just some names instituting this shift, many of which have acclimated Modern Classical - for better or worse - to their own discographies. With Kiri Variations, Clark does just that; Retooling his soundtrack for the TV show Kiri in a way that's both unfamiliar and concise.
This is Clark's second foray into television soundtracks, with 2016's largely Ambient - and quite formulaic - Last Panthers being the last. Death Peak, a more familiar and grand IDM project, came in the creases of these two efforts, and surprisingly Kiri Variations differs from both. Yes, Ambient underscores the entire project, but that's to be expected. What Clark does to differentiate himself from the flock descending upon Modern Classical is to provide an unsettling elasticity that teeters quite precariously over the minimalistic background. There's a heavy presence of Electroacoustic, best seen on 'Forebode Knocker,' 'Yarraville Bird Phone,' and 'Goodnight Kiri,' that heightens the sense of distress and uneasiness. It also makes for some interesting sonic combinations rarely heard, like the excellent 'Kiri's Glee' which plays out like some twisted folklore from a foreign land.
Beyond that, Clark exhibits some everyday Modern Classical ('Bench,' 'Tobi Thwarted,' and 'Banished Cannibal') that doesn't really impress, if we're to exclude the magnificent 'Simple Homecoming Loop.' That movement works wonders and its execution is utterly effortless. Ambient in line with Oneohtrix Point Never's Glitch reveals itself on tracks like 'Flask / Abyss' and 'Banished Hymnal,' whereas 'Cannibal Homecoming' is the only composition of the lot to feature a vocalist that goes beyond Choral. It's interesting and not too far removed from the otherworldliness of Utopia-era Bjork or even 22, A Million-era Bon Iver. Overall, within the context of television soundtracks, a varied release that offers provocative sounds that tantalize the ear.
B-
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