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More Life
Drake
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released March 18, 2017 | Cash Money Records - Young Money Ent. - Universal Rec.
After releasing the hugely popular but artistically underwhelming Views in 2016, Drake went back to the mixtape approach for his next release, 2017's More Life. Over the course of 22 songs and almost an hour and a half of music, Drake shows again why he's one of the most frustrating rappers in the world. The main problem is that he's a better hip-hop-inspired R&B singer than he is an R&B-inspired rapper, but he refuses to acknowledge it. Listening to track after track of molasses-slow trap featuring Drake going on about how once he was on the bottom and now is firmly cemented at the top is tiresome at best, painful at worst. He only really comes to life on the songs where he drops the hard façade and lets some of his emotion show through, like the lovely island-inflected groover "Get It Together," which features Jorja Smith killing it in the role often occupied by Rihanna, or the dark-night-of-the-soul ballad "Nothings into Somethings," which balances his intimate crooning with introspective rapping. The bubbling "Passionfruit" is Drake at his smooth, melancholy best, showing off his skill at creating surprising melodies and entrancing atmosphere. These moments are too few and far between and most of the record sits right in the center of the rut Drake has dug for himself over the years. There are some tracks that break free of the boredom and show some kind of pulse -- usually the tracks where guests drop by and add their skills to the mix. Young Thug, in particular. His dramatic rapping and outsized persona put Drake to shame on "Ice Melts." He's Technicolor, while Drake is various shades of gray. That track and Sampha's feature ("4422"), where the singer gets deeper emotionally than Drake ever has, don't do Drake any favors. They only serve to showcase his flaws and make it clear that More Life is another overly serious, musically uninteresting effort. The few choice tracks, high-profile guests, and occasional stylistic shifts aren't enough to keep More Life from being another disappointing release. That it proved immensely popular upon its release will only serve to reinforce his misguided belief that he's the best rapper around.© Tim Sendra /TiVo
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LOVE AND COMPROMISE
Mahalia
Soul - Released September 6, 2019 | Atlantic Records UK
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Not yet out of her teens and already put through the showbiz wringer, Mahalia considered leaving music after the 2016 release of Diary of Me, a full-length the singer, songwriter, and guitarist (perhaps tellingly) termed a project, not an album. The next year, Mahalia rebounded when the single "Sober" took off through social media, and on a semi-regular basis well into 2019, she continued to release new singles evincing total rejuvenation. Some of those songs appear on this, what Mahalia considers her true first LP. It continues to nudge the artist in a more commercial direction -- collaborators higher in profile, no songs written with her parents, and almost no acoustic guitar -- without forsaking her young-woman-next-door character. She's paired smartly with a crop of U.K. and U.S. producers whose collective work includes sessions with Jazmine Sullivan, Elle Varner, Jorja Smith, and featured artist Ella Mai, consequently securing her position in a hip-hop soul lineage that can be traced back to the likes of Caron Wheeler, Mary J. Blige, and Lauryn Hill. Mahalia's accounts of opposing and moving past unsuitable male behavior, seeing beyond her faults and persuasively bigging-up herself, are distinct and flow as freely as the hooks that embellish them. No matter how detailed the productions get, they don't obstruct the vocals, which are consistently dynamic without being showy. Going by the natural charm of the album and the fun Mahalia seemed to have in making it -- the smile cracked in the chorus of "I Wish I Missed My Ex" is the clearest evidence -- she might only be getting started.© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Big Colors
Ryan Adams
Rock - Released November 6, 2021 | Pax Americana Recording Company LLC
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This is the second album in a trilogy that the singer started with Wednesdays in 2020. Big Colors is the 18th album from Adams, and as he puts it, it is meant to sound like the soundtrack to an imaginary 1980s film, a kind of road movie set between New York and California. After a few run-ins with the law (which upset the release schedule for this trilogy), the Jacksonville native decided to bring a little colour back into his life with this album. But the tones he has chosen are less vivid and more pastel, as evidenced by the layers of dreamlike synths and delicate guitars that infuse these 12 songs. The Smiths' melancholy influence on Ryan Adams - especially the guitarist Johnny Marr – can be heard on tracks like the single Fuck the Rain or the introspective What I Am. Alongside these sombre ballads, other songs display Ryan Adams's rock vigour (Power). Unlike many of his colleagues, the singer did not opt for a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 1980s. Instead, he brings unfailing sincerity to this homage to a decade he associates with "watercolor painting of neon blue smoke rising up off summer streets in the night". © Nicolas Magenham / Qobuz
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Angels Running
Patty Larkin
Pop/Rock - Released June 9, 1993 | High Street Records
As she churns out quality albums and engaging performances like clockwork, you have to wonder why Patty Larkin is one of the most overlooked, underrated singer/songwriters around. Perhaps she is destined to lead the "underground" folk movement alongside Ellis Paul, John Gorka, and Dar Williams, rather than break through to the masses à la Shawn Colvin. Either way, with 1993's Angels Running, Larkin continues the good fight, penning some fantastic tunes and delivering them with a fine blend of class and humor. In songs such as "Who Holds Your Hand" and "I Told Him That My Dog Wouldn't Run," she both questions and embraces faith, in whatever form it takes. The latter piece details an encounter with an old flame who has been distanced emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The character struggles with his demons by reading the Bible every day, searching for his salvation, having lost who he once was. With her added harmonies, Mary-Chapin Carpenter is the perfect grounding point in this poignant tale. It's the kind of song you'll listen to many times as you dig through the layers of emotion. Never to bog things down for too long, Larkin counteracts the sentimental stuff with her unfailing sense of humor in "Might As Well Dance" and her keen observations in "Pundits & Poets." If you have ever seen her perform live, you might remember her talent for impressions that has thusly been recorded in "Channeling Marlene," as in Dietrich. Angels Running is pure Patty Larkin from "Banish Misfortune/Open Hand," an instrumental showcase, to "Helen," a story lifted from New England's coastal heritage. Every ounce of this record reflects a piece of who she is. It didn't top any charts, but being a cult hero isn't necessarily a bad thing.© Kelly McCartney /TiVo
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More Life
Drake
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released March 18, 2017 | Cash Money Records - Young Money Ent. - Universal Rec.
After releasing the hugely popular but artistically underwhelming Views in 2016, Drake went back to the mixtape approach for his next release, 2017's More Life. Over the course of 22 songs and almost an hour and a half of music, Drake shows again why he's one of the most frustrating rappers in the world. The main problem is that he's a better hip-hop-inspired R&B singer than he is an R&B-inspired rapper, but he refuses to acknowledge it. Listening to track after track of molasses-slow trap featuring Drake going on about how once he was on the bottom and now is firmly cemented at the top is tiresome at best, painful at worst. He only really comes to life on the songs where he drops the hard façade and lets some of his emotion show through, like the lovely island-inflected groover "Get It Together," which features Jorja Smith killing it in the role often occupied by Rihanna, or the dark-night-of-the-soul ballad "Nothings into Somethings," which balances his intimate crooning with introspective rapping. The bubbling "Passionfruit" is Drake at his smooth, melancholy best, showing off his skill at creating surprising melodies and entrancing atmosphere. These moments are too few and far between and most of the record sits right in the center of the rut Drake has dug for himself over the years. There are some tracks that break free of the boredom and show some kind of pulse -- usually the tracks where guests drop by and add their skills to the mix. Young Thug, in particular. His dramatic rapping and outsized persona put Drake to shame on "Ice Melts." He's Technicolor, while Drake is various shades of gray. That track and Sampha's feature ("4422"), where the singer gets deeper emotionally than Drake ever has, don't do Drake any favors. They only serve to showcase his flaws and make it clear that More Life is another overly serious, musically uninteresting effort. The few choice tracks, high-profile guests, and occasional stylistic shifts aren't enough to keep More Life from being another disappointing release. That it proved immensely popular upon its release will only serve to reinforce his misguided belief that he's the best rapper around.© Tim Sendra /TiVo
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Synthicate
Lazerpunk
Electronic - Released September 2, 2022 | Nrw Records, Under Exclusive License to Newretrowave, LLC
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4REAL 4REAL
YG
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released May 24, 2019 | Def Jam Recordings
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YG intended to release his fifth Def Jam album in April 2019, but after the murder of Nipsey Hussle, he pushed it back, and appended the tribute he delivered at the memorial for his "brother from the other color." Its cover inscribed with "In loving memory of Nipsey Hussle," 4REAL 4REAL would be the most subdued YG album even without that stirring reflection. Allusions to physical aggression are reduced and usually dealt with some humor. In "Bottle Service," outfitted with a fearsome Mustard and CuBeatz production, YG casually dismisses a foe with "You can be the next 50 -- take these nine shots." Later, in "Go Loko," he'll "put you in a chokehold," but it's meant as an enticement as he addresses his "mamacita" while he sports a sombrero. Only "Stop Snitchin" threatens gunplay in purely venomous terms. Elsewhere, he's rhyming at a conversational volume about "that heartfelt shit," narrating the downcast "Keisha Had a Baby" (realistic if not tragic like 2Pac's "Brenda's Got a Baby"), and rapping the turnabout side-piece blues in "Play Too Much." There's some good, tipsy fun in "Do Yo Dance," low-slung West Coast-via-Midwest funk in the vein of Still Brazy highlight "Twist My Fingaz," but then YG shows a little maturity -- and signs of creeping teetotalism -- by speaking lowly of recreational drug use on other tracks. A more significant development is the increased quantity of roles for women. Authoritative rapper/singer Kamaiyah and hook specialist Rose Gold are on two tracks each, while Day Sulan temporarily takes over with "Her Story," a plaintive and riveting standout.© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Do Not Disturb
MAETA
R&B - Released November 4, 2019 | Maeta’s World Music
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Do Not Disturb
Lola
Soul - Released September 23, 2022 | Laundry Music Company
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Do Not Disturb
Van Der Graaf Generator
Progressive Rock - Released September 29, 2016 | Strike Force Entertainment
Following 2011's A Grounding in Numbers, Do Not Disturb is the 13th studio album from English progressive rock outfit Van Der Graaf Generator. With a sonic palette composed of multiple time signatures, jazz-laden guitar work, bombastic percussion, and introspective lyrics, the record is the fourth effort from the band since they became a trio in 2007.© Rob Wacey /TiVo
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Do not disturb
Matty Mel Jr
Jazz - Released January 27, 2023 | JOJUMU
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Do Not Disturb
Mahalia
Pop - Released February 6, 2019 | Atlantic Records UK
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Do Not Disturb
Lazerpunk
Electronic - Released June 24, 2022 | Nrw Records, Under Exclusive License to Newretrowave, LLC
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