Astronautalis-This Is Our Science

Astronautalis

This Is Our Science

Ⓟ2011 Fake Four Inc.

Rating: 8/10

Musical schizophrenia. Some times, it’s a bad thing. Actually, most of the time it’s a bad thing, an artist trying to do too many things at once. But some times a musical act draws influence and inspiration from so many different people and genres and locations and life situations, it makes for one massively frenetic, erratic beautiful mess. Astronautalis happens to be the latter. If you look him up on last.fm his “popular tags” are listed as hip-hop, indie rock, and experimental. Based on his latest release, This Is Our Science, I’m not sure I would agree with any of them. Are there elements of all three on the album? Yes. Absolutely, yes (although, I don’t really agree with indie rock as a genre at all. Indie rock, what does that even mean? You released an album independently? Or you’re trying to sound like you released an album independently? And experimental? That’s just because someone couldn’t shove him under some genre umbrella). Sorry. Tangent. But, honestly, Astronautalis would be hard to shelve at a music store. I suppose Pop/Rock would be best, because, let’s face it, it’s the catch-all section. All I have to say, if they had a “Leah Really Likes This” section, it would probably be the first place to have it’s own display (and if it happened in the next couple of weeks).

But you write hip-hop reviews! you say? Well don’t get me wrong, if there was one genre I would use to describe him to a friend (or you, the reader, as in right now), hip-hop, I suppose, would be it. Astronautalis, in fact, raps in most of his songs. He’s known for his rhyme skills, but after listening to this album, he really doesn’t seem limited in his musical voice. He sings in all of his songs as well, and some of them involve no rap at all. In Life The Curse, the final track on the album, I swear he channels Tom Waits. It took me aback the first time I listened to the album the whole way through. That distinct deep low growl resonating from my speakers.

If I’m having a hard time getting my point across, the best description I can give you, is that This Is Our Science sounds like something I’ve been listening to for years. In no way is it dated or played out, but Astronautalis knows how to use the breadth of his multitude of styles and how to play them off of each other. As he bounces around musically from track to track, he’s creating a feel that’s....familiar. And good, quite good.

Oh, Astronautalis. Apparently, he’s been around since 2003. Printing You & Yer Good Ideas and selling it exclusively at shows. He got picked up by Fighting Records and they reissued it in 2005 and two more albums before this. Sometimes music doesn’t make it in popularity across the border north (and the same in reverse) until it’s already on the decline. That point when the artist peaks and releases some of his best work, which sets the bar too high and he/she/they can’t seem to top it for the rest of their career and everyone accuses them of selling out or not being as great as they once thought they were. I’m in no way saying this is the case with Astronautalis, I’m saying that I hope it isn’t.

Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Beastie Boys

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Ⓟ2011 Capitol Records

Rating: 6.5/10

I might get a lot of flak for this, considering their fans and considering this is my first official album review, but the Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (HSC Part Two) ended up a lot like prom night (well, mine anyways); a lot of hype and anticipation, and nothing really happens in the end. After 7 years since To The 5 Boroughs was released, a lot of people (myself included) were waiting with eager anticipation for the original b-boys to make their comeback. And, sadly, it falls a little short. The boys seem to have lost it, whatever ‘it’ was in the first place.

I’ll admit, the first single, ‘Make Some Noise’, holds strong. With a catchy hook and a genius marketing plan, Beastie Boys fans couldn’t get enough. Honestly, the Make Some Noise video has almost every popular/talented actor they could get a hold of, and the first time I watched it, I bounced up and down in my seat like a 8 year old girl watching a Justin Beiber video. The song production is in classic Beastie Boys style with a mix of drums and turn tables, the beat makes your head bob, and the boys’ lyrics almost draw out your own inner b-boy, with simple rhyme time and scheme that makes you rap along. That is, if you can understand what they’re saying. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with Adrock’s recent surgery, so I’d just like to clarify, I’m not trying to be insensitive, but the boys seem to have taken to distorting their voices throughout the entire album. Sometimes there’s an effect that adds emphasis to a particular lyric, which is not anything new to their production style, but mostly it just sounds like the boys have tapped pillows to their faces and are attempting to rap through them in the recording studio. This effect adds nothing to the album overall and I actually find it particularly annoying.

None of the other tracks really stand out on the rest of the album, unfortunately. The Beastie Boys have lost their collective flow when it comes to lyric writing. A lot of the time it feels choppy and that they’ve chosen certain words simply because they rhyme. In my opinion, ‘Say It’ is probably their strongest showing, with the exception of ‘Make Some Noise’, and ‘Crazy Ass Shit’ follows at a close second. They hold true to what the Beastie Boys do best, while still sounding fresh. There’s a throwback to the punk rock days in ‘Lee Majors Come Again’, and ‘Don’t Play No Game I Can’t Win’ featuring Santigold sounds more like a Santigold song featuring the Beastie Boys.

I’m a little upset, I really wanted to like HSC Part Two. I would consider myself one of the more devoted Beastie Boys fans out of anyone I know, perhaps besides my oldest brother who turned me onto them when I was 7 or 8 in the first place. Overall, I’d give it an ‘A’ for effort, but the whole thing just never really came together. Perhaps it might be a case of over-production, which now that I think about it, seems entirely plausible since the whole album essentially had been recorded 2009. Anyways. Solid effort put for by the boys, but lacks the magic that used to take place, and in my opinion hasn’t been around since Hello Nasty.