Retrospective Review: DJ Shadow - Live in Manchester: The Mountain Has Fallen

DJ Shadow - Live in Manchester: The Mountain Has Fallen Review

Performing live in 2017 at a sold out show in Manchester, England, DJ Shadow produced his first live album in nearly a decade, and showed growth in areas of his original music to great effect. I personally was left in the dark regarding the existence of this masterful mix of music, but I am so glad to have discovered it. 

I normally keep track of DJ Shadow's studio productions, having played his latest full length, The Mountain Will Fall, from 2016, multiple times through and blasting his hypnotic, eccentric beats in my car system and headphones. Upon realizing that he has since produced a follow up EP titled The Mountain Has Fallen and a live concert CD/DVD combo of the same name, I had to jump on my own personal journey through it and subsequent analysis. 

Retrospective Review: Paranormal Adam (PA) - The Black Plague

Paranormal Adam (PA) - The Black Plague Review

I wish I knew about my new friend, Paranormal Adam's, latest album at the time when it came out! It seemed a shame to pass up writing something about this splendid work of art, therefore, I will be starting another series of articles from time to time which will focus on albums which might have released a bit before my review window, and which I feel deserve an extra push into the spotlight of public consciousness. It's a pleasure, then, to introduce the first album in my retrospective review series: Paranormal Adam's The Black Plague.

Masterpiece Crates: Introduction (Titles Subject to Change)

Masterpiece Crates: Introduction (Albums Subject to Change)

Every so often, an artist or a group releases an album that fans often consider one of their best pieces or work, or even a masterpiece. In my lifetime, I would argue that a great number of music albums have achieved this high class distinction. Of course, every pick is a highly subjective and personal matter, yet I would go as far as to say that many fans of the artists I listen to would mostly, if not whole-heartedly agree with me that there are music albums out there which reach this class without question. Thus begins my introduction to DJ Dark Flow's Masterpiece Crate.

Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima Review

Karen O and Danger Mouse - Lux Prima Review

Both of the musicians involved in the creation of this work have already had highly successful careers in their own right. Danger Mouse, involved as a partner for such musical acts as Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells (with The Shins' frontman James Mercer), Danger Doom (with MF DOOM), as well as serving as a musical producer for Beck, The Black Keys, and Portugal. The Man among others, has proven time and time again that his talent for curating high-quality musical content for multiple big name artists is second to none. Karen O, frontwoman of the unique three-piece indie rock group The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from New York City, has been one of the main reasons three of their four albums have been nominated for a Grammy award since their debut, Fever To Tell, in 2003. Together, it seems fitting that these two artists would come together for a stab at a collaborative album. For their debut together, Karen O and Danger Mouse join forces for an easy listening and satisfying electronic pop experience in Lux Prima.

Claud5 - Dogs Carry Knives Review

After years of incubating beats and simmering synths, Connecticut based lo-fi electronic beat producer and emcee Claud5 releases his debut solo effort, Dogs Carry Knives, and wastes no time in pulling listeners in to his world of mythos and flow.

A brisk, head nodding treat worthy of many spins, Dogs Carry Knives has an encompassing, cohesive skin and theme of dogs, or rather, their ancestors, and exhibits Claud5’ drum-synth abilities in highly evolved form. Despite his producer name, this album has the inescapable atmosphere and feeling of exploration and discovery that you would find aimlessly scouting through the woods in the dead of night.