That's My Dad.

Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream

Frank Ocean isn’t the only R&B poet worth your attention this year. Enter “Kaleidoscope Dream”: the sexual, dazzling and zealous sophomore LP of soul singer/songwriter Miguel. After an impressive artistic renovation, Miguel comes at the top of his vocal and lyrical game. Whether its the immaculately potent opener “Adorn”, his dreamy psychedelic title track “Kaleidoscope Dream”, the existentially eloquent Alicia Keys collab “Where’s the Fun in Forever” or his most authentic moments on the intimate yet boyish “Do You…” and “Pussy Is Mine”; Miguel keeps his material definitively fresh and wholly consistent. Along with an earnest level of musicianship effort following suit, “Kaleidoscope Dream” earns a well-deserved reputation with a modest yet mature artistic approach for a timeless sounding record. (8/10)

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Top 50 Songs of 2012: #29, Alabama Shakes - Heartbreaker

Mama couldn’t tell me about the feeling. 

Earlier in the year when I reviewed “Boys & Girls”, singer Brittany Howard blew me away with the force of a torpedo with her stunningly raw and eerily striking vocals that channeled greats like Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone as if they possessed her soul. Her take on a break-up song is “Heartbreaker”: a visceral, goose-bump inducing three minutes of gargantuan misery. Howard creates her own chapter in soul and blues music, regardless of setting or era, with an unadulterated passion that sings as if ten thousand people watching yet explodes with sadness as if she’s the only one there. 

(Source: Spotify)

How to Dress Well - Total Loss

You were there for me when I was in trouble.

Front-man Tom Krell of R&B/ambient Brooklyn project How to Dress Well, Tom Krell wants you to dream with him. Not in a romantic or inspiring sense, more like the ‘seduce you on a beach at night and disappear by the morning’ type. His delectably under-rated debut 2009 record, “Love Remains”, an LP built for cathartic late-night drives but also marked the beginning of a slew of experimental R&B based projects in years to come. Three years later comes his sophomore effort, “Total Loss”: an ethereal sound built to please ears more R&B-laden and less lo-fi than Krell’s past work. “Total Loss” takes production cues from the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince while following similarities with his contemporaries like Purity Ring or Holy Other. In comparison to “Love Remains”, How to Dress Well achieves a set of more realized artistic sensibilities, then again, trades off large chunks of experimental value from his sound in the process. For me, Krell fits the proverbial glove of a dark and brooding ghost that he plays on “Love Remains” better than the omnipotent narrator character heard on “Total Loss”. Take your pick though. Artistic transitions are always welcome, some are just better than others. (7/10)

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Jessie Ware - Devotion

Sexy, dreamily mature and pure in sophistication, latest rise-to-fame contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Jessie Ware hits the underground UK pop scene with a satisfying slow-burner debut record, “Devotion”: an alluring work of love more enticing than Janet Jackson, smarter than Lana Del Ray and as emotionally effective as James Blake. (8/10)

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Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

What a darling little album. 

You may know him as the most attractive and sober member of everybody’s favorite gang of hooligans, Odd Future, or as the R&B singer who recently came out with perhaps the finest viral love letter of all-time, declaring his first true love was with a man, making for the best days of his life. There are plenty of attention-catching or cool aspects of 24-year-old Frank Ocean, but the biggest of this year is his unanimously acclaimed debut studio record: “Channel Orange” (stylized “channel ORANGE”), the smoothest, confessional, love-story album R&B or soul has had the pleasure of calling its own in many years.

While “Orange” comes instantly affable as a sequel to Ocean’s 2011 mix-tape “Nostalgia, Ultra” (one of my favorite 2011 albums) with its trademark vintage textures and love for all things retro, it’s zen-like progressive value comes off as an after-thought; the best fucking artistic after-thought any singer/songwriter could dream of. From the soul-sucking poetry of “Thinkin Bout You”, a song that practically makes “Roses are red / violets are blue” poems feel permanently archaic, or the satirical yet restrained “Super Rich Kids”, Ocean instantly hits mentor-status to mainstream pop artists by effortlessly displaying how feasible multi-dimensional albums are inclusive of radio-friendly/record-selling singles.

Obviously the list doesn’t stop there: the track “Bad Religion” works as the album’s intimate ethos show-stunner, dealing with Ocean’s relationship with faith, love and himself. Near the album’s close, songs “Pink Matter” and “Forrest Gump” come off as some of the most effective and minimal love songs on “Channel Orange” and in Ocean’s entire discography. 

It practically goes to show that Frank Ocean is one of the finest artists in his respective niche and industry, even without the years of a veteran like Stevie Wonder or popularity like Usher or Drake, Ocean immaculately holds his ground, his name, style and ideas in a parasitic pop. culture. Not only is that impressive on its own, but comes as a familiar trait to every music idol and serious innovator in history. 

Make us proud, Frankie. You bring the independent music world a step closer to nirvana.

This album was my dad. (8/10) 

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Dr. John - Locked Down

In this day, being a revival artist in the arena is menacingly challenging when old time veterans like Dr. John are still here ready to kick your ass. At age 71, New Orleans native Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr. (a.k.a. Dr. John) returns with his latest LP, “Locked Down”: a world-weary, indignant and dark album colored in with kick-ass funk, blues and R&B textures.

It always seems like influential artists of the past own an exclusive rite of way to critical acclaim. It’s a staple of music criticism, but also a factor that gets scrutinized by youngsters. While a marginal slice of young listeners pay homage to classic musicians, it’s understandable, to a degree, why they wouldn’t be interested in listening to Willie Nelson’s new album or the 900th Bob Dylan Greatest Hits reissue. In perspective, this notion makes “Locked Down” even sweeter; despite decades of reputation, this thing makes no sacrifices and rocks hard. Dr. John understands the dynamic of his seniority, making adjustments to better suit his age without sacrificing quality. The doctor does this with help of Black Keys frontman and guitarist Dan Auerbach, who makes this album a gem with stellar production efforts sprinkled with some guitar and back-up vocal work.

From the killer brass jams on “Revolution” to the gritty and aged blues theme song “Big Shot”, “Locked Down” is a consistent album loaded with engrossing lyricism slathered with classic New Orleans styled blues-gone-funk grooves served with a modern punch to knock you out, whether you care for past generations of music or not. (9/10)

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THEESatisfaction - awE naturalE

Like Shabazz Palaces was to hip-hop, THEESatisfaction is an experimental R&B group that offers the same verve and innovation to their genre. Hell, the two groups have more ties together than you’d think. THEESatisfaction featured on Shabazz’s 2011 LP “Black Up” and Shabazz is found on this album too. So think of “awE naturalE” as a sequel to “Black Up” in a slightly different genre, a different set of tools and respective intentions.  a restrained, undeniably peppy and devious serving of neo-soul. From the killer jam, “Queens,” to the brooding “Enchantruss,” if there isn’t a moment on “awE naturalE” that makes you ache for more progressive to happen with R&B, you probably skipped over it. (8/10)

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JMSN - Priscilla

JMSN is an R&B project of multi-talented underground artist/producer Christian Berishaj; his self-made debut release, Priscilla, has picked up steam around the indie side of the Internet for its strong noted resemblances to recent sensation The Weeknd. While Priscilla deserves tremendous praise on its production quality, one of a vivacious, intrepid and detailed nature, nearly every single other speck of this record reeks of intolerable amateur failure. From every conceivable aspect: lyricism, vocal style, hooks and choruses, Priscilla falls hard; face front on the concrete hard. It’s unfair to bare artists as influences to JMSN when the whole affair sounds like a childish copycat to artists Drake or The Weeknd. It’s not as if you can hear elements used creatively to fit a new, similar sonic concept, it sounds like the cheap grocery store knock-off version. If I may deplore: JMSN’s lyricism serve as an textbook example of the “douchebaggery” element that gets wrongfully tagged with emotional postmodern R&B. String along that much of what this over-long album has to offer thematically comes off unconvincing, juvenile and laughable. It doesn’t help that there isn’t an instance of artistic ingenuity here either. Priscilla, for me at least, is undoubtedly one of 2012’s scoff-worthy flops. (3/10)

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Returning with his third mix-tape and the finale to his trilogy of previous releases House of Balloons and Thursday, R&B project The Weeknd is back with his most mature, well-produced and daring release: Echoes of Silence.

This, without question, could be The Weeknd’s most recommendable release yet by a long-shot. Where House of Balloons was an experimental R&B release, there was a slight requirement to keep an open mind and a bit of patience to appreciate the complexities of the album. On Echoes of Silence, we’re given a perfectly structured mix-tape where old and new fans can fall into The Weeknd’s immersion and intoxication almost immediately.

The mix-tape opens with “D.D.”, a phenomenal cover of Michael Jackson’s classic pop track “Dirty Diana”. Comparisons between The Weeknd and Jackson have always floated around, but this cover blows all possibilities way out of the water. The Weeknd gorgeously updates the 80’s hit, honoring it with a bold musical treatment by building bigger, darker and sadder beats along with a production style that’d give Nine Inch Nails a run for their money. It almost seems like The Weeknd even goes so much to improve on Jackson’s version by giving a focus on the storytelling where Jackson only used it as a vehicle for his abundant style. The Weeknd keeps both style and substance intact, and then some. It’s such an accurate cover, I could put money on the fact that if you played it for your parents, they’d think it was an unreleased Michael Jackson B-side or a remix of the original.

The rest of the album glides through with all of the elements The Weeknd is known for while also presenting a lot of new themes and ideas. The romance found in the lyrics is devastatingly sadder, mournful and gorgeously decaying. The drugs, the nightlife, the alcohol, are now a realized evil. There is an overshadowing darkness that gives everything the past two Weeknd releases were about a mirror to show how horrifying the party really was. By being the most mature mix-tape out of the three, Echoes of Silence makes sure not to make past releases seem inferior. Instead, it gives all of the Weeknd’s work a certain closure, making the themes come full circle and seem like it had been liked this all along; right from the release of House of Balloons. It was almost like reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the succession between the two series are similar.

This release alone not only works as the most successful Weeknd release that can be appreciated individually, but also credits the past two releases dramatically and places it in a more interesting context.

House of Balloons welcomes to the party of your life while warning you of the dangerous and intimidating high you’re about to encounter. Thursday explores the experience and provides the wishful thinking associated with that high. Echoes of Silence is what it feels like the morning after. The painstaking reality, the pain, the sadness, the sorrow, the regret of everything you just went through. You want to experience this. I don’t suggest you wait. It’s a critical musical experience for our generation for this year.

This album was my dad. (10/10)

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If anything took 2011’s music scene by storm, it was undeniably Odd Future.

Frank Ocean is OFWGKTA’s emotional relief. Unlike Tyler, the Creator and Earl, Frank Ocean is based on R&B, social commentary, nostalgic homages and tenderness. This is the album if Bastard is too abrasive or unsuitable for your taste.

Nostalgia, Ultra is just perfect. It’s a mix-tape that does everything within its format’s limitations and does it humbly with immense confidence, creativity and talent. Jumping between remixes of classic pop songs (Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing, The Eagles’ Hotel California, MGMT’s Electric Feel, to name a few) and original tracks that feel fueled by past generation’s creations all while creating something very brand new entirely.

What sets Nostalgia, Ultra apart from getting legitimately labelled as “hipster propaganda” is how sincere Ocean’s skill of reminiscence and lack of pretension he has, as an artist. Throughout the album, Ocean places many half-minute tracks of a cassette being paused and rewinded and labels them under classic video game titles (Street Fighter, Soul Caliber). He doesn’t do this to impress or attract a certain crowd, he does it so the continuity of the album actually sounds like a cassette and frankly, he does it just for fun.

Aside from this album’s superb technical ability, Ocean should be recognized as a damn good lyricist. His single (not to mention, one of my favorite tracks of the year), Novacane, tells this cool, transgressive story about meeting this porn star/dentist at a concert and getting high in an unexpected way. Ocean tells this story all while sounding cute, vulnerable, sexy, smart and even funny. This is how the whole album plays: filled with a very honest personality and delivered with great storytelling skills. His best songs are his best written: tracks like We All Try, Ocean’s personal statement that’s delivered with style and poignance, and Lovecrimes, which puts a spin on classic sayings like “Murder, She Wrote” in a delivery Animal Collective would be familiar with. This is not to say that certain songs are composed better than others; Nostalgia, Ultra is a consistent work of clever, thoughtful and worthwhile music that aims to achieve its own maximum potential.

In the current hip-hop based scene, one overloaded with self-righteousness and disturbingly abundant amounts of boasting and insults, being humble as an artist or a person can be like finding a feminist eating at a Hooters; almost impossible. Nostalgia, Ultra may not only be one of the best releases of 2011, but also the debut of the hardest-working and most under-rated guy in the industry right now.

This album is my dad. (10/10)

Sometimes we should remind ourselves of the romance found in misery.

Drake’s sophomore LP Take Care is a definitive album of love and sadness. If we start from the top, Take Care is near perfect. It’s an atmospheric, admirably honest and sexy album filled with songs that rank up as some of the year’s best. Take Care opens incredibly strong with tracks like Over My Dead Body, Shot for Me, Headlines and more sprinkled throughout the album (check out “Lord Knows”). It doesn’t take long, however, to find the album’s faults, of which there are quite a few.

I cannot call Take Care a filler album because, unlike Lil Wayne with his recent Tha Carter IV, Drake isn’t lazy or focused on making music for profits. Take Care is made with a consistent effort and a strict ethic of musicianship and it shows. Regardless of the end product’s quality, that is a factor that should never get neglected. Tracks like Make Me Proud and Buried Alive (Interlude) may get your your eyes rolling, but the atmosphere and attitude comes off just as strong. On a whole, Take Care could lose some weight. The LP spans 18 songs and near the length of a feature film. That’s the only true complaint this album deserves, but then again, Drake is used to taking his time and then releasing a big album.

Take Care has the caliber of standing the test of time, given that Drake can jump out of the realm of a contemporary artiste. It may come with some easily avoidable blemishes, but theres still much to enjoy.

This album could make for a cool sibling. (7/10)

Inside your self-centered world of glamour, everything is falling apart.

The Weeknd’s is an experimental R&B project of 21-year old Abel Tesfaye that has caught on major popularity in the indie community from their debut mix-tape, House of Balloons, earlier this year. Not only was House of Balloons a major game-changer for the genre currently and earned prestigious critical acclaim, it also earned my vote for the best album of 2011. Several months later, The Weeknd is back with it’s sequel: Thursday.

As far as Weeknd’s fans are concerned, this is a brand new style from the previous mix-tape and not the easiest one to get into. Those familiar with House of Balloons will go through a major transition from what they’re used to listening to the reality of new efforts. House of Balloons’ music style was one that felt immaculate in storytelling, atmosphere-setting and progressive in blending production from different genres; this starts to fall apart on Thursday, yet comes off as a necessary sacrifice in order to produce a new sound. It’s not easy to like Thursday, but does click after predestined expectations are broken down.

There is no doubt that Abel Tesfaye can sound as smooth as Michael Jackson and twice as sensual. Each song by The Weeknd sounds like a dangerous experiment at a party with repercussions completely unknown. Listening to “Life of the Party,” one could envision lines of cocaines being snorted off a woman’s chest and living through the high. Where The Weeknd allows liberties is how that situation concludes, it could be about a violent overdose or a night filled with intoxicating sex. And that’s what makes The Weeknd so exciting. It’s like the songs don’t play the same way twice; the number of interpretations possible are near endless and disturbingly beautiful. With Thursday, this formula still resides yet, the execution lacks definitiveness. This is certainly an experimental side of The Weeknd, but one that wasn’t as well-constructed as thought.

Certainly not as masterful as House of Balloons, Thursday makes for a relatively decent sequel mixtape, Let’s hope we have something better in store next from The Weeknd.

This album was like a shady drug-dealer. (3/5)

An old personal favorite. Review prescribed by request. 

Mayer Hawthorne’s debut album is wholly essential. A Strange Arrangement sets out to re-live the classic essences of old-school R&B and Soul that lives within the heart of Detroit. His talent beams through many fields: his sharp and atmospherically conscious production skills and as a musician, Hawthorne blissfully impresses his audience with nearly every instrument he touches and lets that modestly show itself off on his compositions. A Strange Arrangement is a wholesome collection of pitch-perfect sonic snapshots of the flavorful R&B culture and the crisp idealization of love that comes with it. 

As an artist, Hawthorne has two strong qualities going for him that drives his work all the way home: inspiration and his lovely retro sense of class. His music is derived from this very simplistic and kind blend; it’s terrifically accessible and equally pleasant. I call this album essential for its straight-forward approach in recreating the core elements of R&B. The fuzzy and constant beats and heavily retro accented chord progressions will take you to a place any hipster with the right heart would delightfully fetishize over endlessly. 

My only issue with A Strange Arrangement is the approach to its songwriting. The lyricism ranges as being one-dimensionally simplistic to unnecessarily serious to surprisingly artistic. Hawthorne is a bit too young to take himself so seriously, a fact which conclusively brings uneven results. When he keeps things plain, it manages to compliment his signature style of compositions. However, the standout track here is Green Eyed Love, which shows a much deeper, mature and successfully dynamic and developed side of Hawthorne. Hopefully a promising foreshadow to new directions desired to be taken. Who knows.

If you crave a classy, retro-loving R&B jam, what in God’s name are you waiting for? Get yourself acquainted to this guy.

This album is certainly my dad.

If Aretha Franklin were schizophrenic and an eccentric evil genius with giant heaps of gold in her mansion that she enjoys to climb and dance upon whenever she feels a jam coming her way, you’d get Janelle Monae.

Monae is sincerely a creative breed of her own, built with two parts electric charisma and one part pure old-school musical inspiration. She feels like a musical prodigy who spent her entire childhood locked in her room, relishing science fiction, David Bowie and jazz endlessly. This girl has seriously done her homework and not just that, she’s obsessed with her inspiration and let’s it shine sharply through her highly enjoyable spastic production and arrangement style.

What makes The ArchAndroid is how relentlessly enjoyable the end to end listening experience becomes as you acquaint yourself to the meticulously constructed tracks, each craftily designed with these beautiful, eternal stories not unlike the works of Ray Bradbury or Fritz Lang. 

The collaborations are immaculately contributive to the album; artists like Big Boi and Of Montreal keep up with Monae’s vision and neatly expand the sonic palette of their respective tracks. They behave as creative utensils that succumb to Monae’s massive creativity instead of individuals; a strict but dignified feature necessary for a great concept album and Monae has that to show in spades.

The ArchAndroid is the ever-changing Gobstopper of music. Monae’s bouncing off the walls at her own show and does it all with this level of class and purpose that’s cerebrally untouchable. Watch her take over everything you ever knew about R&B and let her open your eyes to something this side of town has never seen. 

This album is my dad.