Warm Weather Beats
New Album: Tyler, the Creator - Cherry Bomb
On Monday, West Coast rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator released his third studio album, Cherry Bomb, after having announced the drop only four days prior. I have not gotten a chance to listen to the album very thoroughly yet, but here are my first impressions: the album overall was a little bit underwhelming, however, it produced a handful of highlight tracks that stand out not only among the rest of the album, but among Tyler’s whole catalogue.
On “Deathcamp,” the intro track and possibly the number one standout from the album, Tyler flaunts a stellar flow and angry lyrics over an energetic and minimalist beat that may be one of his best to date. The song hits a lull in the middle where the beat gets more mellow and Tyler is singing, before coming back in full force for the final minute or so.
On the title track “Cherry Bomb,” Tyler takes a much more experimental and musically abrasive path than he has been known to, probably inspired by the surge in popularity of experimental hip-hop groups such as Death Grips and Clipping in recent years. Tyler shows once again that his flow is maturing on “Smuckers,” which also contains two fantastic features from Kanye West and Lil Wayne.
The Animals - “Boom Boom”
If you’ve seen “Skyfall,” you may recognize this track from the movie. Otherwise, you may not be aware of it, because many of The Animals’ songs get overlooked in favor of their biggest hit “House of the Rising Sun,” and while that is a fantastic song, “Boom Boom” is certainly worth a listen as well. Its catchy intro and call-and-response style lyrics, along with Eric Burdon’s signature gritty vocal delivery, will leave it stuck in your head for hours.
Alabama Shakes - “Don’t Wanna Fight”
Alabama Shakes has been getting ready for the release of their album Sound and Color, which will come out in just under a week, by releasing a couple of singles, one of which—“Don’t Wanna Fight”—has been getting a lot of radio play since its Feb. 10 release. Alabama Shakes offers a soulful, bluesy style that is hard to find in modern music, especially on the radio, and “Don’t Wanna Fight” shows just how good they are at it. With Brittany Howard’s powerful, screeching vocal style and some great guitar licks, this song should get people excited for what promises to be a great album.
Milky Chance - “Running”
While Milky Chance has been fairly succesful in the past year with a very popular single in “Stolen Dance” and a slightly less popular one in “Flashed Junk Mind,” they have sometimes been criticised because their songs tend to sound very similar to one another. However, the song “Running” stands testament to the fact that Milky Chance is not a one trick pony; they went for a much darker sound with this song, and succeeded greatly. The song creatively incorporates electronic influences, using synthesized basslines and computerized drums, with folk influences, sporting a plucked acoustic guitar and something that sounds like a ukelele or a banjo—it’s definitely worth a listen.