Sonink Music | Reviews

January 8 at 12:47am by Joe Muñoz about The Black Keys

The Black Keys + Danger Mouse? Again? Really? More please.

The Black Keys

El Camino

If the Black Keys maintained that "Danger Mouse" sound on Brothers with just a couple of contributions from the man himself and could create a really compelling album, imagine what they could do reunited with aka Mr. Brian Burton? What do you THINK they could do? It's really good - obviously. So there's some recent controversial statements made by Patrick Carney (the drummer for The Black Keys) because of some comments concerning the quality of Nickleback's music. I tend to speak out against the shitty quality of commercial Hip-Hop but maybe I'...more

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December 31 at 04:28pm by Joe Muñoz about Raphael Saadiq

Raphael Saadiq Proves Soul Never Really Went Out Of Style

Raphael Saadiq

Stone Rollin'

Seriously, does anyone do this style of music anymore? Well, yes. Raphael Saadiq does it as does Mayer Hawthorne. These guys are so earnest in their plagerism of classic soul. You can't really call this "Neo-Soul" either. It's just straight up old Soul. It's too new to be classic...but give it some time. Just listen to "Heart Attack" to hear what I mean. All classic Soul early Rock instruments. It even sounds like it was recorded in a session with the entire band in the room. There's an aged quality to the production that is completel...more

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December 31, 2011 at 03:51pm by Joe Muñoz about The Roots

Classic Soul Meets Hip-Hop As The Roots Create A Listenable Concept Record

The Roots

Undun

For all the hype and gimmickry of the "concept album" I find that it's difficult to create one that is listenable. Prince Paul's "A Prince Among Thieves" fell back on too many skits rather than simply telling the story through the music itself. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Deltron 3030 is entirely made up of music but it doesn't really tell a single cohesive story. It's more a series of narratives set in the conceptual world of the future. So when The Roots announced that they were working on a concept album, I was skeptical. ...more

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December 31, 2011 at 04:52am by Joe Muñoz about Tycho

Instrumental Music Made Mostly With Actual Instruments

Tycho

Dive

I got to see Tycho live recently and I was surprised at the amount of live instruments that are used to create the music. I don't normally imagine live instruments when I listen to this sort of music. That's not to say that folks who make instrumental music without live instrumentation can't make good music (I saw Teebs do a killer show and all he did was walk on stage with a sampler) it's just that I can appreciate this style so much more when I see live instruments on a stage. Visually, there's just more to look at. Hell, even Dr. Dre knows that live d...more

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December 31, 2011 at 04:33am by Joe Muñoz about Lykke Li

Almost Get Some

Lykke Li

Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li's voice reminds me very much of Stevie Nick's voice. Except, I think that Stevie Nick's music is a bit more exciting. I think that the direction of this particular album is at odds with the direction of the hit song that it holds. "Get Some" got my attention in the same way that it got most folks attention. It's one of those incredibly performed, ostentatiously lyriced songs that makes you wonder what else that artist has to offer. This album has also found it's way onto many a critic's top-ten list. Well, this (part-time) critic doesn...more

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December 31, 2011 at 04:06am by Joe Muñoz about Thundercat

I Love Jazz My Man

Thundercat

The Golden Age of Apocalypse

Thundercat is not a cartoon about anthropomorphic cats. Thundercat is a bass virtuoso who is a good friends with Flying Lotus. So it should surprise all of you none that he's put out what is essentially a modern Jazz album. If you can get behind that, then you'll probably find lots to enjoy here. If you are expecting some electro-jazz shit ala FlyLo, well, maybe move on. Well, it's a Jazz album brought to you by a bass-player and a keyboardist with the occasional super producer assist from Flying Lotus. As such, I dug the tracks that had lyrics more than...more

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December 31, 2011 at 03:41am by Joe Muñoz about Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Stepping Out Of The Shadows Of Oasis

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

I had the privlidege of seeing Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Royce Hall at UCLA. Now, Royce Hall - aside from being the logo of my alma-mater UCLA - is a smalish venue. I remember seeing Oasis play at the Hollywood Bowl at a sold-out show. So to see Noel on a smaller stage was amazing. You don't often get the opportunity to see a huge name in Rock go back to where they started. And yet, there he was. On that small stage playing both new stuff as well as really incredible arrangements of older Oasis-era hits. It's a hard thing to do to step out of...more

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December 31, 2011 at 03:14am by Joe Muñoz about Adele

A Very Big Voice

Adele

21

I'm detecting a bit of a woman scorned vibe here =) Here's yet another massive commercial success. And yet, this one more than deserves the record sales as well as the acclaim. I really liked Adele's previous release. Passion is often missing in music today. Too much formula and not enough SOUL. Well, Adele has never been shy when it comes to using her real life experiences as fuel for her music. That voice is incredible. It's a shame that she missed a lot of tour dates this year due to voice ailments. My wife said to me that I wouldn't like this album b...more

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December 31, 2011 at 01:55am by Joe Muñoz about Young the Giant

Giant Song Writing

Young the Giant

KROQ puts on a great show with their Weenie Roast. This last year they had a small stage to compliment the main stage that had lots of smaller groups. Young The Giant are a band that played that small stage (announcing eagerly that they were natives of Irvine, California where the event was held). They put on a really good show. They tied for second best performance of that stage with Foster The People (Neon Trees easily took first place, they just killed it). It's interesting to me that those two bands resonated so much with me considering they are radi...more

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December 31, 2011 at 01:26am by Joe Muñoz about Kanye West

Artful Shit Talking About Wack Rappers And Material Possessions

Kanye West

Watch the Throne

This wasn't made for me subject matter-wise. But when you have two of the most recognizable and commercially successful rappers together you stick to what works. So what works? Hot ass beats, slick as a rain slicker production and some old-fashioned shit-talking lyrics. I was hesitant to even bother to review this because it is essentially critic-proof. In fact, any criticism that would be thrown against it would be less a criticism of the album per se, and more a criticism of popular-Hip-Hop itself. These guys have sold millions of albums. They've sold ...more

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December 31, 2011 at 12:45am by Joe Muñoz about Bon Iver

The White TV On The Radio

Bon Iver

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

When asked by friends to describe Bon Iver's music, I usually have to say something like, "Well, take TV On The Radio and make them white, then slow the music down and subtract the funk." That isn't a knock against them. In fact, I honestly and truly love this album so very much. But with a description like that, you have to know that this isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. This is decidedly downtempo music to genuflect with. This is more about setting a mood than it is to Rock your socks off. I've probably listened to this album more th...more

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December 30, 2011 at 02:15pm by Joe Muñoz about People Under The Stairs

Independence Set Them Free

People Under The Stairs

Highlighter

The Barney Ruble of trouble on acid - Double K on "The Second Track" PUTS have toiled in the underground for many years. In spite of that, they have a die-hard cadre of fans who buy the merch and loyally attend the shows. The last show I went to see them at though, they seemed a bit aloof and extremely drunk. They delivered a serviceable set in spite of themselves and I thought to myself, "I probably won't be seeing them live again". Fast forward about a year later and PUTS have gone the way of folks like Radiohead and Louie C.K. and ...more

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October 18, 2011 at 11:25pm by Joe Muñoz about Incubus

Just, No

Incubus

If Not Now, When?

On their latest album, Incubus decided that Brandon Boyd's opera voice should be placed front and center over minimal musical contributions from the rest of the band in lieu of any actual chemistry that the band has together in performing. The result ends up sounding a lot like all the slow parts in a Broadway play. Show tunes are not generally what I'm expecting to hear when I buy an album from what is ostensibly a rock band. The two best songs on the album are the ones you've already heard on the radio. I'm talking about "Promises, Promises" ...more

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October 17, 2011 at 01:45am by Joe Muñoz about KRS-One & Bumpy Knuckles

A Quality Collaboration Between Two Veterans

KRS-One & Bumpy Knuckles

Royalty Check

It is most definitely "a thing" right now in Hip-Hop to create super-groups. You've got (perhaps the most hyped one in) Kanye and Jay-Z. You've got Pete Rock and Smif and Wesson...sure the collaboration over one or two tracks has usually been the norm. But now you've got entire albums coming out around a pairing of vets. The other trend that I am noticing is that even without the guest spots, the vets in Hip-Hop are angry at the status-quo of the genre. Personally I don't blame them. In fact, I tend to understand and relate to their anger. Of t...more

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October 11, 2011 at 01:53am by Joe Muñoz about J-Live

I Said His Ability Is Extraordinary

J-Live

S.P.T.A. (Said Person of That Ability)

Pronounced spitta Grown man rap No sinner Timeless tracks No litter Smoke through mad packs of MC's since the ninteties No quitter Three's the company like John Ritter Kept the light for the a alikes pro Kids today bite similar styles they don't know When I was your age conscious raps made mad dough You listening to go and sell coke Radio is quid pro quo The videos they show are all dealing with gangsters, pimps, and hos Not even trying to turn up my nose But I know We've got so much more to offer on the low They run you like a remote control The trolls ...more

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October 5, 2011 at 12:22am by Joe Muñoz about Blueprint

Adventures In Counter-Culture Seems More Like Experiments In Hip-Hop

Blueprint

Adventures in Counter-Culture

With a title like "Adventures In Counter-Culture" you sort of open yourself up to a lot of interesting analysis. For example, "What culture is Blueprint referring to, exactly?". While I am guessing that some may think that the culture he is speaking of is actually American-Culture, or Popular-Culture, I am going to go with an even more myopic view and say that I think he his actually referring to the current state of popular Hip-Hop (also known as Hip-POP). You might guess that I myself am not a fan of Hip-POP which is why I don't buy...more

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September 28, 2011 at 01:15pm by Joe Muñoz about Funeral Party

Get It Just Because It Is GOOD

Funeral Party

The Golden Age of Knowhere

Funeral Party are all frantic energy and raw emotion. The band's singer Chad Elliott is mostly screaming, but not enough to not be singing. I have no idea how old the band members are, but I can say that they sound young. Like angsty teenagers without brooding who would rather dance than break a window. The Oracle (Wikipedia) tells me that they took their name from a song by The Cure. You probably wouldn't guess that except on a couple of spots on the album. To my ears, the band vacillates somewhere between The Strokes and early Killers (before they got ...more

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September 27, 2011 at 01:42pm by Joe Muñoz about Talib Kweli

Where Talib Kweli Shows Gangstarr-Like Consistency

Talib Kweli

Gutter Rainbows

Everybody knows that Talib Kweli is an amazing MC. I said so when I reviewed the Relection Eternal album and I'll say it again here. This time Talib goes for a mostly Souled-out feel with the majority of the production recalling classic Soul and R&B music. That's a great fit for Talib given the record's subject matter. Talib says on the titular "Gutter Rainbows": "This ain't fashion rap/I'm bringing the passion back " ...and it's really evident in his delivery. I don't know what this album did sales-wise, but I can tell you that i...more

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September 23, 2011 at 04:05pm by Joe Muñoz about NAS

Only The Strong Will Continue

NAS

Distant Relatives

Nas is one of my favorite rappers. I don't always like the music he puts out though. To my ears, his output has been inconsistent. But the man has released one certified classic album and more than a few classic songs off of less than classic albums ("One Mic" still gets me every time). I have love for Hip-Hop and Nas is a big part of why that is. Reggae and Dancehall are two genres of music that I also love. The problem is I never know what's good in those genres. I know Damien Marley for being Bob Marley's son and for that "Welcome to Ja...more

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