Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Ryan Leslie & Cassie - Addiction


Ryan Leslie comes out with some pretty warped,sometimes awesome r&b tracks, and Cassie was responsible for one of my recent fave tracks 'Is it you', off the Step Up 2 soundtrack. So here they are together. I am so sure that this is a dope track, that I'm not even listening to it until I've uploaded it.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Record Review -Bon Iver 'For Emma, Forever Ago'


Bon Iver comes across like Jose Gonzalez on valium, in a good way. He recalls the swedish guitar maestro's polished technique, but his ethereal voice and obtuse lyrics portray someone more emotive. You get the sense listening to his lyrics that Iver is a man searching for hope, finding it through the music.

Album opener Flume floats and flows, quietly introducing Iver's soft voice and sets the template for the rest of the record. Soft strumming, brush stroked drums and Iver's multi-tracked vocals are the foundation for the majority of the album, but it's the application of those elements that sets him apart.

The albums builds slowly throw the first couple of songs, culminating in lively shuffle of Skinny Love. But Iver pulls back on the reins just as quickly, and the mournful Wolves (Act 1 & 2) showcases his strongest points: Simple, choir-like layered vocals against a soft, slighty strummed guitar. Iver is not the most literal lyricist around, and the last repeated refrain 'what might have been lost, would not have been lost', backs that theory up, challenging you to interpret.

The rest of the album hits you like the title of the next track Blindsided, as each song quickly finds its intended emotional core and runs it's arc through to climax. Creature Fears successfully relates the paranoia of a fresh relationship, whilst re: Stacks is a stunningly literal example of the after effects of gambling away your life.

The whole album feels like a cold winter, with references to forests, snow and foreign roads providing the backdrop to stories of love lost, fear and gambling. Iver has a way of connecting atmospheric music and lyrics, his heavenly, yet vulnerable voice being the bridge. At times he is seemingly heartbroken, other times he appears to be describing the action from a distance; but he is always there and makes sure we are too.

It's altogether intimate and revealing, but Bon Iver has made quite sure that you'll need more than a first listen to hear all that he has to say.

myspace.com/boniver
Free download - Full Stream of For Emma, Forever Ago Album