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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To think a legion of TNGHT followers waited seven whole years for a successor to their influential 2012 EP, only for the duo of Hudson Mohawke and Lunice to half-ass eight repetitive, manufactured bangers is woeful. II strips the nuance and tactful placement of elements TNGHT featured on epics like 'Higher Ground' and 'Bugg'n,' replacing the bulk with encroaching samples set on loop over exotic instruments best left for the dumpster fire they cause. There are but a few pleasant sounds on II's 24 minutes, the Junkanoo drums on 'Serpent,' the undulating breathy vocals on 'What_It_Is,' and the scaling synthesizers of 'I'm In A Hole' being, by and large, the only three.
The rest of II borders on unlistenable, using instruments and stunted samples that can rarely be appreciated in any context. Take 'First Body' which diminishes TNGHT's bombastic style with a childish flute (or whatever that is) and irritable vocals. I would be ignorant in stating TNGHT didn't itself excel with a childlike flair, but the difference here lies in the cheap, slapdash construction that doesn't feel labored over, or even given a second thought. 'Dollaz,' 'Club Finger,' and 'Clever Pants' fail due to the same reasons, as II's secondary fault is the predictability TNGHT adheres to with each and every track. Given their futuristic brand of Wonky - at least in 2012 - unpredictability is a necessity. And when II's imprint is that of annoying, in-your face sample loops and exotic instrumentation shoehorned with no subtlety, the sideswiped magniloquence TNGHT was known for is totally lost. If you want something similar, but executed with precision and purpose, listen to Clap! Clap!'s two LP's; Tayi Bebba and A Thousand Skies.
D-
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2019 | Avant-Garde Jazz | Listen
PROMPTING ESCAPE WITH A SCALDING BRANDING IRON
The fourth iteration of Matana Roberts' COIN COIN series, Memphis, jolts listeners with circumferential firepower. Like Gens de couleur libres - the only version I've heard up until now - Roberts' command of literature, musicianship, and emotion allows for a visceral experience wrapped up in theatrical brashness and turbid escapism. These two factors seem to be at the forefront of Memphis, an album about seeking one's individuality while part of a society infringing upon the right to do so, particularly for African-Americans and women. Finally, there's an artist who pairs the ruckus and free-form rabble of Avant-Garde Jazz with a conceptual underbelly that services the production's liberating qualities. Similarities, in this sense, are drawn to Colin Stetson. Just perhaps a bit more grounded and historical.
While I'm still hesitant towards Avant-Garde Jazz as a whole, and therefore am not overwhelmingly in favor of Memphis, the ambience created in the shifting tonal strategy often dips into ingenuous territory. Of all comparisons, on tracks like 'As Far As The Eye Can See,' 'Trail Of The Smiling Sphinx,' and 'How Bright They Shine,' I'm reminded intently of Post-Rock and the measures that genre takes in order to create vermiculate uncertainty. Particularly, the absence of bombast set against Roberts' excellent Spoken Word sections really sets up a "calm before the storm" effect that works in tandem with the set pieces flourishing in the rhapsody. Picture a revolt, rioter taking center stage, tossing a molotov cocktail in slow motion. The surrounding ambience dies down, yet the storm and strife can still be felt. Then BAM, window smashes and the fire ignites. By and large, that duality defines Memphis.
B-
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2019 | Conscious Hip-Hop | Listen
PHONE BAD; ENJOY ON STREAMING SERVICES
There's no denying DJ Shadow's message on Our Pathetic Age is indistinct, passé, and misguided. But what's worse, that or the fact it's barely discussed beyond the goading title and cover? Of the whopping 23 tracks split into two discs - one instrumental, one vocal - only three, maybe four songs ('Drone Warfare,' 'C.O.N.F.O.R.M.,' 'Small Colleges,' 'Urgent, Important, Please Read') discuss the issue of addiction towards modern technology and the detrimental effects it can have on users. Regrettably so, as is to be expected with Conscious Hip-Hop artists beyond their prime, the language falls down a rabbit hole of insubstantial conspiracy theories without any intellectually-stimulating ideas to boot. But again, that's but a minor aspect of Our Pathetic Age, which in and of itself makes DJ Shadow's attempt at a coherent concept more diminishing and fruitless. It's not bad because of its "old man yells are cloud" idioms. It's bad because Shadow dramatizes it without explanation or purpose.
Moving away from Our Pathetic Age's message and we're left with a typical, post-Private Press DJ Shadow LP. Highly erratic in terms of quality with errant, confounding decisions everywhere. This can be seen on the mercurial instrumental half, where genres clash in ugly substances, be it 'Beauty, Power, Motion, Life, Work, Chaos, Law's' Third Stream, 'Juggernaut's' Breakbeat, or 'We Are Always Alone's' downtempo Ambient. There's no formula or coherency here, leaving singular identities to form on the basis of quality, which is really limited to 'Slingblade' and 'Intersectionality.'
The second half, rife with noteworthy features right up DJ Shadow's alley, achieves greater success amidst greater failures. Nothing seeps lower than 'Juggernaut,' a tortuous auditory experience gone awry, but plenty, like 'C.O.N.F.O.R.M.,' 'Small Colleges,' and 'Dark Side Of The Heart,' do their best to outbid the bottom with disgruntled, old man lyrics or excruciatingly-bland production. However, there are highs that typically coincide with an expulsion of Shadow's theme. 'Rocket Fuel' with De La Soul and 'Kings & Queens' with Run The Jewels are both a blast, with playful energy and impassioned performances from all those involved. Still baffled El-P wasted his verse, one of his best in years, on Our Pathetic Age. Thankfully 'Kings & Queens' is the easy standout, and something to return to often. Elsewhere, 'Drone Warfare' is an admirable take on 7L's (of Czarface) Sci-Fi Boom Bap, 'JoJo's Word' finds Stro unraveling a darkened tale of maturation, and 'Our Pathetic Age' gives a platform for Sam Herring (of Future Islands) to work his majestic vocals.
Overall, Our Pathetic Age is still a mess. Guided by a moral which is often reactionary but, with enough persistence, commitment, and research, could've provided some thought-provoking insight. Instead, it's quintessential conservative fear-mongering and a bad look for Shadow, especially considering a bulk of the LP has nothing to do with the main idea. And considering that idea falls apart, mixed with Shadow's knack for unsystematic genre-jumping, causes Our Pathetic Age to have virtually zero coherency or purpose.
D
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