Man vs. Video is back! We know you’re a busy old lot, so we’ve taken the time to break down some of the biggest music videos from the past seven days for you.
 
The xx – Say Something Loving 
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As covered in <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/33348-man-vs-video-the-week-in-review-240217" target="_blank">the last edition Man vs. Video’s Week In Review</a>, nostalgia-porn is the go-to tool in the video maker’s arsenal. Is this any different? Nope. Old video games, VHS filters and 90s-style raves all feature, filling out that reminiscence checklist.
It’s nice enough, I’m just never going to watch it again.
 
Glass Animals – Pork Soda 
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One of the weirder Crufts applications I’ve seen.
 
The Weeknd – I Feel It Coming (Feat. Daft Punk) 
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In the original Star Trek series, I always wondered how the crew could land on an alien planet and not have their insides violently eject their organs, or be crushed like a Panda Pop bottle by the increased gravity. I also found it strange that when Kirk would engage in coitus with a space lady he wouldn’t be incinerated in some kind of outer space breeding ritual.
Now I think about it, I guess I’m not really talking about Star Trek at all. It’s more wishful thinking.
 
KYLE – iSpy (Feat. Lil Yachty) 
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If you don’t smile while watching this then… I don’t know. We can’t be friends. How about that? Who amongst us hasn’t wanted to live a magical life under the ocean or hates those sing-a-long videos where the words light up? Heathens. That’s who.
 
Foxygen – Upon a Hill 
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Ah, I get it, this whole thing is an exploration of what Scott Walker would sound like if he performed at children’s birthday parties.
 
Arianna Grande & John Legend – Beauty and the Beast 
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It’s miraculous how such an obviously expensive video can look so cheap. Aside from that? It’s dullness personified. It’s so boring it records catch-up episodes of Antiques Roadshow. It’s so inane it thinks Enya is club music. It’s so tedious it uses a piece of bread for a sandwich filling. It fucking sucks.

Man Vs. Video: The Week In Review 10.03.17

Want some hot takes on the biggest music videos from the past week? Don’t worry, here at Man vs. Video we’ve got you covered.
Katy Perry – Chained To The Rhythm 
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Everyone in this world is so clean and primary coloured. Too clean. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happens to their body hair. Would everyone be smooth like dolphins? And, more importantly, would they have to get their assholes bleached?
Maybe we’ll never know for sure, but what movie does this bit remind you of?
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That’s right: The Ring. Coincidence? Doubt it.
Let’s hope we never live in a world where a member of the Marley family forces us to go through invasive hygiene measures. Stay woke.
 
Spoon – Can I Sit Next To You 
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I’ve not done an art degree. This also means I’ve never done a video module in an art degree. But, I’ve got a good idea on what the first lesson would be: make it black & white.
After that? Well, I’d say some shots of a city. Maybe someone dressed as an animal. Possibly in an interspecies relationship. Who gets kidnapped. Then? Some dancing scenes. Swathe everything in analogue filters. Conclude with a murder. Fin.
Shove some people playing chess in too. You ever seen The Wire? Chess is a metaphor for everything.
 
Conor Oberst – Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out 
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Not really sure why so many people look sad here, I’d kill for a pint. Not at this pub though. Getting served would take forever.
 
Future – Draco 
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Ever wondered how Future is so famous? This video has your answer. In a metaphor for his career, a series of stylish scenes that only have fleeting connections to one another flash at you.
Future looking cool? Check. Objectification of women? Check. Unexplained violence? Check. Enjoyment against your better judgement? Well, damn. Check.
 
Lana Del Rey – Love 
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I’ve always wondered what Lana Del Rey would do if you offered her the chance to travel back in time. Does she really want to go back to the 50s and experience racial segregation and female repression? Or would she decline and continue to make meaningless nostalgia porn videos? I’d ask, but she’s too busy creating another Urban Outfitters advert.
 
Young Thug – Safe 
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I’m not saying that watching Young Thug lip-sync and dance in a corridor for like 4 minutes is a bad thing, but I will say that it’s definitely not good. The only answer is that Mr. Thug got lost and this is a cry for help. Mumble and yelp four times in a row if you’re in danger. We’re praying 4 u.

Man vs. Video: The Week In Review 24.02.17

Just like Mark Morrison’s The Mack, the return of the Avalanches was something you didn’t think would actually happen. After sixteen long years, the sample-happy Australians careened back into public view with their album Wildflower. While largely enjoyable, and aside from the occasional guest verses, there wasn’t anything radically different on show from their first effort, the seminal Since I Left You.
Now the group has released its fourth single from the album, ‘Because I’m Me’, and put out an accompanying video. So far, so normal. Yet the joy of music videos is they allow artists to visually express themselves in a way that can augment their music. It can give you a glimpse into a song, without focusing solely on the track itself, colouring your understanding of it. At times, they can also reveal an inner truth about an artist, giving the watcher a glimpse into something bigger. This is what’s happened with ‘Because I’m Me’.
Let’s start right at the beginning: the plot. A young boy, Wallace, tries to put money on a travel card, is denied this by the attendant, an older girl he is seemingly in love with named Becky. He then puts together an extended song and dance routine she ignores, all while accompanied by a brass band and a mysterious gentlemen with a toothpick, who’s hopefully not a paedophile. Eventually, this comes to a close with a giant inflatable heart bursting out his jacket and a look of derision on Becky’s face. End.
Catch it here:
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To get to the bottom of the video, it’s important to understand how the Avalanches make their music. Generally, they take snippets of different songs and then mould them together, creating something new, but at the same time familiar. This musical approach is adopted visually by the video’s director, Greg Brunkalla, in ‘Because I’m Me’.
Firstly, the setting. The base and propulsive element of ‘Because I’m Me’ musically is the funk-infused brass track, which is lifted from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJGSnRB9RM" target="_blank">a 1969 single by a Los Angeles group, Honey Cone, called ‘Want Ads’</a>. Brunkalla then reflects the seventies in the video. You can see it in the colours. Look at the whole washed-out, but warm yellow-tinge that’s smothering everything. It couldn’t be more of this era if it was shouting at you from a burning oil drum on street corner wearing flared jeans with a bad cocaine habit holding a stiletto. This could be a coincidence, but the whole thing is eerily similar to Baz Luhrman’s recent work, The Get Down. Hell, we should probably call this whole visual effect The-Get-Down-Filter from now on.
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This harking back to past eras and TV shows is nothing new in music videos, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4" target="_blank">Weezer’s ‘Buddy Holly’</a> immediately springing to mind. The trend of reaching deep inside the past like a veterinarian does a horse continues throughout ‘Because I’m Me’. Take its central themes for example: dancing and unrequited love. The former is something that has been integral to music videos since day one, playing a primary role in almost every major pop music video from the last thirty-odd years, while if the latter didn’t exist Morrissey might’ve not had much of a career. Both deeply embedded, both expected, but not much new.
Let’s zero in on the opening scene:
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I’m sure I’ve seen a tracked shot of someone strutting in a seventies style before…
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Ah, of course.
This aren’t the only tropes that crop up in the video though. The underground setting is a favourite of directors, as it can be shot at any time of day, lit in any way they desire and hired for very little money compared to other spaces. One of the most famous examples of this has to be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q" target="_blank">Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad</a>’. The Avalanches themselves seem to have a thing for subway systems <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPIMfOIuEe4">as a video for their previous single ‘Subways’</a> is all about a subway. Surprisingly.
Another throwback trope is the appearance of a brass band playing behind someone dancing, just like in Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’. But, you know, minus all of that Harajuku Girls nonsense. 
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This is where we hit the stumbling point in ‘Because I’m Me’. All we have up to this point is a combination of tropes and a plot that has popped up in countless music videos. Yes, the video is a heartwarming, nostalgic journey, but it’s something that’s been done many times before. The question then is if there’s a reading we can take that causes this amalgamation to appear ‘new’.
The first point of call considering this is the rap verse from Camp Lo’s Sonny Cheeba. Unfortunately, doesn’t hold up as a modern reading for two main reasons:
a) Camp Lo hit peak popularity in the late nighties
b) While a rap verse on a pop track was exciting and new in the early 2000s, it’s now become the genre’s version of a guitar solo on a rock song
No joy here, but there is another part of the ‘Because I’m Me’ video that you could view as utterly modern, if you overanalyse it of course: the complete disregard for the innocence, purity and exuberance of a child.
When our main character, Wallace, approaches the window to put a dime on a travel card, he is admonished by the ticket office attendant, Becky. While this plot strand is never truly resolved (at no point is it revealed whether said Wallace managed to achieve his travel plans or exactly why Becky was unable to put that money onto the card), we do get a slice of modern nihilism here.
After complimenting Becky’s hair, Wallace tries to impress her through the seductive power of dance. Look at these moves:
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Undoubtedly, that’s impressive. If you don’t think so, I’d like to see you do better. If I’m honest, my dancing can only be described as taser-chic; a grouping of jerky, uncoordinated moves culminating in a  flailing limbs. While the above? Smooth as Vin Diesel’s scalp. Ask yourself this: how would you react to the above? A smile? An appreciative nod? Or would your expression be like this:
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That’s the face you make when someone sits next to you on the bus and you get a whiff of the cloying, ammonia rich scent of stale piss. That’s the face you make when a friend tells you that Milo Yiannopoulos actually has some pretty strong points. That’s the face you make when you step in dogshit. That’s probably not the face you make when a young teen shows you some fine dance moves. That is a modern, social media-tainted emotion.
We get to visit this face again when young Wallace pulls the old inflatable heart trick.
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In seriousness, this negative indifference from Becky isn’t too dissimilar from a gamut of other videos covering the old unrequited love trope. So what about the inflatable heart? You could call this a break from old music videos, where this was maybe too costly to be feasible, but instead it’s more reminiscent of when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd_pigs" target="_blank">Pink Floyd had giant inflatable pigs above live performances</a>. It’s unlikely this is a direct reference to this specific event, it’s more of a proof point that even when the ‘Because I’m Me’ is trying to break with traditions of the past, it just ends up rehashing them.
In all honesty, the video for ‘Because I’m Me’ could actually work as metaphor for the Avalanches’ comeback. In the time from Since I Left You’s original success, things have changed. At the time, access to huge amounts of music was novel and the technology to splice it together was in its infancy. The Avalanches took mash-up culture and combined it with a DJ Shadow-esque approach to music making to create something truly otherworldly and, importantly, new. In the sixteen years between their debut album and Wildflower though, music has progressed. What once was revolutionary has now become a widely heard and admired part of popular culture.
This is where the parallels lie. While both this video and Wildflower are hugely enjoyable, they lack that little bit of excitement, of genuine innovation that would mark them out as great. They have the same ingredients and make a very tasty meal, but are missing the topping that brings the whole thing together.

Man vs. Video: The Avalanches – Because I’m Me

How many songs must a man write down, before he wins a Nobel Prize? The answer my friend, is in the region of 522.
In case you’ve been living under a non-rolling stone, Bob Dylan was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. I’ll leave others to argue if this was the right choice (nope), deserved (nope) or just a publicity stunt (yes), because I’m more interested in what happens in the future, as far fewer people can call you out on predictions.
Dylan’s award, which finds him spoken in the same breath as writers like Beckett, Hemingway and Pinter, has opened the door for a whole other group to consider in future events: musicians.
Ahead of the bookies opening betting on next year’s event, we’ve got some hot tips on who might just take home the biggest prize in Literature in 2017.
30/1: DMX
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Commercial hip-hop has undergone a sea change. Where once tongue-twisting, intricate wordplay could take you to the top, artists like Future and Young Thug have heralded in a more percussive and melodic style of rapper. This style has a clear godfather and his name is DMX.
Whether it’s barking like a dog or getting by on <a href="https://poly-graph.co/vocabulary.html" target="_blank">the bare bones of the English language</a>, DMX inspired a generation of wordsmiths to change their approach to lyricism.
Just look at how he kicks off the first verse of Ruff Ryder’s Anthem with the quartet of “try”, “lie”, “why” and “die”, a scheme that makes far more sense than Dylan’s half-assed attempt to rhyme <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0" target="_blank">“medicine” and “government”.</a>
The singer won the Nobel Prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” something DMX has also achieved. He’s an unpretentious poet who just wants to let you know where the party is: up in here. And for that, we should all be thankful.
25/1: Mike Oldfield
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Dylan winning the Nobel Prize made a clear statement for the future. The world’s top literary prize is no longer about how things read, but performance. So what’s the next logical evolution? Something with no words.
Think about it: if <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4" target="_blank">John Cage’s 4′33″</a> forced academics to reconsider classical music, then wouldn’t Tubular Bells do the same for literary critics? Wouldn’t they begin to ask if we really need all these words? If they were reductive enough to believe that literary worth is tied to scrawls on some paper? Isn’t the purest piece of writing something that contains nothing at all? Yes is the answer you’re looking for. Yes. A thousand times yes.
Plus, baby boomers love Bob Dylan and Mike Oldfield and what they say goes so you’d best shut up and accept this is happening okay?
10/1: Hot Action Cop
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Death and sex are the most primal human experiences and have inspired some of the greatest works known to humans. Yet, if you were to analyse the canon, there is far more quality work on the former. With the Nobel Prize in Literature now open to musicians though, the balance can be re-addressed. Pop and rock music is synonymous with sexuality, but there’s a group that stands above the rest, primed and ready to burst open the dams of repression and dowse the bone-dry world of books with a rush of raw promiscuity. Their name? Hot Action Cop.
Let’s delve into their poetry:
Do you think that I can get some? (jiggy jiggy) 
 Maybe just a little finger (sticky sticky)
Notice how the rhyming couplet has a sense of onomatopoeia, activating the senses of the reader so it almost feels as though we are personally asking if we can fingerbang a complete stranger.
She got the power of the hoochie 
 I got the fever for the flavour of the coochie
Observe how the group insert a colloquial tone into this excerpt with the rhyme of “hoochie” and “coochie”, echoing the primal nature of this desire. On top of this this, who among us has never had a “fever for [a] flavour”, a phrase made even more powerful by alliteration.
Oh hey hey hey hey hey hey oh pretty pretty shy whoop, whoop
What we have here is a classic epizeuxis. Do you know who also used this technique? Shakespeare. Just check out this line from Macbeth: “O horror, horror, horror.” Case closed.
5/1: El Mudo
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The Tower Of Babel is a biblical tale that explains the evolution of language. The story states that humanity originally spoke a universal language, but, when people tried to build a city to reach heaven, God struck, scattering them across the globe and forcing them to speak different tongues. Well, I have it on good faith that El Mudo has broken this curse and discovered humanity’s original tongue.
The written word has always been bound by the language of its creation. A translation will never quite replicate the nuances and meanings of the original script, making awarding a Nobel Prize in Literature fraught with difficulties. Not any longer.
Chacarron Macarron is what Gottfried Leibniz searched for in vain, while attempting to sum up human thought in mathematics. Chacarron Macarron is what L. L. Zamenhof dreamed of when he invented Esperanto. Chacarron Macarron is what John Lennon wished he wrote instead of Imagine. Chacarron Macarron is the reason El Mudo deserves a Nobel Prize in Literature.
3/1: U2
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Did you ever watch the first Tomb Raider in the cinema? If so, I guess you’ll have had the same experience.
The credits start rolling. You stretch slightly, then place hands on the stiff, plastic armrest, pressure spreading through your palms as you prepare to heave yourself up, but something happens. Three notes buzz on a bass, it throbs in your chest, you stop as stirs in you, then a voice, a heavenly, lilting voice, cries “EL-E-VA-TION”.
“Ohhhh oh,” it goes. Then again: “Ohhhh oh oh.” Powerchords chug underneath and you say to yourself “this is it, THIS is it.” It’s as though you’ve lived life in black and white, but everything has just burst into glorious technicolor.
The guitar drops out, drums skitter and you realise someone is talking to you, directly to you, telling you things you’ve always known, things you’ve felt deep down, but were unable to vocalise. “Yes,” you say, “I have lost all self-control, I have been living like a mole.” Your mouth opens in an imitation of a python and you pull all the available air down your throat to the bottom of you your lungs, holding it there for a moment before, with all the force you can muster, screaming “EX-CA-VA-TION.” A mother glances over her shoulder and quickly ushers her child out of the cinema, but you barely notice.
You’re standing now, bug-eyed, mouthing wildly, sweat is trickling down the nape of your neck and your arm hair is at attention. “Tell me, talk to me” you say, “I have to know, I must know” The thirty-foot tall Bono seems to hear you, leering from the screen, he fixes you behind those sunglasses, somehow staring further into you than you thought possible, you can’t see his pupils, but you can feel them. The song seems louder than before. More intense. Apart from his voice. It sounds as though he’s whispering, lips almost tickling your earlobe, you hear every word as though they were written for you, he says “it’s like a mole, living in a hole, is digging up my soul.”
The next thing you know, you’re lying down, your mother is standing above you, your hand in hers, with bloodshot, puffy eyes, she strokes your hair and tells you everything is going to be okay and you’re safe now. You’re finally safe.

Feature: Who’s next in line for a Nobel Prize?

Oh yes, that headline’s correct. We’re proud, excited and hyped to announce that on the 13th January, Crack in the Road is putting on a grime show. 
It’s going down on the 13th January at Birthdays, Dalston and it’s free to get in. You read that right, completely free. 
This is the first event in a series of three FREE events taking place across January, so stay tuned for details on the rest. 
Grime Roots is the opening night and focuses specifically on groups and artists based outside grime’s ‘traditional’ geographies. Show your support and attend the Facebook event <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1678526605727192/">here</a>.
Anyway, that’s enough preamble, let’s have a look at who’s playing.
<h3>Scumfam</h3>
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Straight outta Sheffield, Scumfam are a northern grime collective putting their own spin on the genre. They are one of the country’s best crews and have kept true grime alive and kicking not only in their area, but across the entire country. Each member has a unique spitting style and has featured on BBC, JDZMedia, SBTV and much more.
<h3>Hardy Caprio</h3>
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Traditionally, grime was tied to Bow and East London. 2015 has changed that;, now it’s all about the South. The success of artists like The Square and Stormzy has changed the game and Hardy Caprio is the next in line to re-define grime’s boundaries.
Hailing from Croydon, Hardy Caprio has a slick, versatile flow and is set to be one of the stars of 2016. Catch him while you can.
<h3>Snowy</h3>
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Nottingham has become a hotbed of grime activity and, alongside Izzie Gibbs and Mez, Snowy is one of its leading lights.
Snowy has a tight flow and is a phenomenally exciting prospect for the genre. Expect to be hearing a lot more from him over the coming 12 months.
<h3>Cloudy Tribe</h3>
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Cloudy Tribe cannot be confined to a single genre. While their sound is heavily influenced by grime, the collective pulls in sounds from everywhere.
The London-based group is united behind a love of woozy beats and they’re guaranteed to put on an energetic and raucous live show.
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Make sure you bring yourself down to Birthdays on the 13th January, it’s gonna be great fun and easy on your wallet.
You can get more information about the whole thing here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1678526605727192/
See y’all soon!

CitR present… Grime Roots

OOFJ have an interesting backstory. The group are a couple, Jenno Bjørnkjær and Katherine Mills-Rymer, who met while working on Lars Von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’. Their music has been used on a variety of films since then and you can hear that suspense and atmosphere leaking throughout the track.
‘You’re Always Good To Me’ blends sultry, dream-pop influenced vocals beside scattering drums and sweeping strings. The effect is almost hypnotic, the disparate influences coming together to form something otherworldly.
OOFJ are releasing their second album Acute Feast next spring and you can listen to ‘You’re Always Good To Me’ below.
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New: OOFJ – You’re Always Good To Me

Hell. Yeah.
To say I’m hyped about this track is an understatement.
Heems, a member of the now defunct Das Racist, has just put out the excellent ‘New York’, an outtake from his upcoming album Eat Pray Thug.
The track begins with a scat-esque (the singing style, nothing to do with faeces) female vocal sample and finds Heems in fine form.
Displaying his usual verbosity, Heems manages to be both irreverent and insightful. The beat, produced by Heems himself, Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift fame and Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, builds with swelling bass sounds, completed with a middle-finger of a hook.
You can find the link to the original song on <a href="https://nehrujackets.tumblr.com/post/102873985290/here-is-new-york-produced-by-himanshu-suri" target="_blank">Heems’ tumblr</a> and give it a listen below.
If ‘New York’ didn’t make it on Eat Pray Thug because it wasn’t good enough, we’re in for a huge treat when the album drops.

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New: Heems – New York

Hailing from Albuquerque, Schleep Boys debut EP sounds of youth. Taking cues from the landscape of New Mexico, the beats are dry and airy. While not wholly minimal there is a sense of space in the songs. Between the hi-hat trills and hazy synth sounds you can hear the warmth of the desert leaking out.
Lyrically, Schleep Boys deal with a variety of topics. On ‘Apathetic’, the group touch on depression and, well, apathy. This isn’t a typical humourless release though. ‘Riley Interlude’ is a recording of the character from Boondocks and the following track, ‘Riley Freeman’ has enough quirks to be entertaining.
The only mis-step on the EP is ‘Tuesday’, which feels listless in comparison to everything else. ‘Outchea’ finishes the release in fine style though, with an unhinged and energetic hook that ties the EP up nicely.
You can download the ZZZ EP below on a name your price scheme.
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 400px; height: 340px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2713645371/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://schleepboys.bandcamp.com/album/zzz-ep">ZZZ EP by Schleep Boys</a></iframe>

Introducing: Schleep Boys – ZZZ EP

Artwork by Jimmy Wragg <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">(@Sui42)</a>
At the end of last week it became apparent that Apple intends to purchase Dr. Dre’s Beats, changing the music game forever. For a lot of bands, branded merchandise was just a way of earning a bit of extra beer money, but now it’s equivalent to a start-up: SERIOUS BUSINESS.
So, what’s next for Apple? Well, maybe they should buy-out these musicians’ products to ride that wave of relevance right to the bank.
 
Drake lint roller
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A major reason for Apple’s success is the company’s adherence to aesthetics. The iPod, iPhone and Mac are all examples of stripped back design. If you’re selling products that have such a heavy emphasis on appearance, it’s vital the user’s personal brand represents this.
In other words, you gotta look dope.
Drake realises this and Apple need to pay heed. Hell, they could sell the lint rollers with laptop cases and maybe hire a few people in their stores to make sure visitors’ trousers stay fluff free. The company could even fly in some of their well-looked after workers from Asia to help out. There’s nothing, NOTHING, worse than looking anti-fly.
 
St Vincent Coffee
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Beer and pubs. MacBooks and coffee shops. Cocaine and strippers. Some things are made to be together. Not only should Apple sell coffee, they should install cup holders onto their machines.
There you go guys, that’s the next product overhaul sorted. I’ll await my cheque.
 
Wavves grinder
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28482" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder.jpg" alt="wavves_blue_grinder" width="600" height="600" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder.jpg 600w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder-150x150.jpg 150w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder-300x300.jpg 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder-100x100.jpg 100w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/wavves_blue_grinder-50x50.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />
Weed legalisation is gaining serious momentum worldwide and Apple need to jump on this trend. Not only will the company seem all hip and down with the kids, but with people routinely more confused, they’ll be more likely to wander into an Apple store before leaving a grand lighter and with a free grinder.
 
One Direction toothpaste
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28483" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/ColgateOneDirection_Toothpaste.jpg" alt="ColgateOneDirection_Toothpaste" width="659" height="900" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/ColgateOneDirection_Toothpaste.jpg 659w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/ColgateOneDirection_Toothpaste-220x300.jpg 220w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/ColgateOneDirection_Toothpaste-37x50.jpg 37w" sizes="(max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" />
Everyone loves One Direction. Everyone. Their music is timeless, classy and ornate. They’re like Wham!, but, somehow, even better.
Plus, tweens adore them. And tweens have lots of money. Fuck it, just strap the One Direction toothpaste to Apple TVs and watch them fly off the shelves.
 
JLS condoms
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28485" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/jls.jpg" alt="jls" width="960" height="720" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/jls.jpg 960w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/jls-300x225.jpg 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/jls-50x38.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Let’s face it, children are expensive. Raising one of them costs on average £225,000. Investing in these stylish dick hats means Apple won’t have to worry about all that money going on something other than a new MacBook Pro.
If that doesn’t do, whipping out a JLS condom is gonna be an effective contraceptive whatever.
I’ve got to say, it was good to see Apple buying Beats. There’s nothing more legitimate than purchasing street-cred. Just make sure if you’re in a band you have a slick selection of merch, otherwise you may never become fabulously wealthy. Remember, never lose sight of what the music business is all about: money.

Feature: What musicians’ merch should Apple buy next?

Artwork by Jimmy Wragg <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">(@Sui42)</a>
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Ever since watching Scarface, I’ve always wanted to break into slinging class A’s. Everything about it speaks to me: the women, the houses, the lifestyle. I mean, I’ve never actually finished the film, but I don’t see it ending badly.
Well, turns out I’m in luck. The video for ‘Brick In Yo Face’ by the Miami-based Stitches is tailor made for those of us who want a simple guide to conducting yourself in the drug trade.
 
Get face tattoos 
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How can you deal gak if you don’t look the part? Personally, I wouldn’t consider buying any Colombian marching powder unless the dude shotting it has a gun, or at the very least a knife or baton, inked across his face.
Think of the police as well. Are they really gonna arrest a fella with an AK-47 on his cheek for dealing drugs? Unlikely. They’ll probably try and get you on weapons charges instead. On that note…
 
You need guns. Lots of guns.
<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-28217" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-2-1024x768.png" alt="photo 2" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-2-1024x768.png 1024w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-2-300x225.png 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-2-50x38.png 50w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-2.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
Anyone who says you shouldn’t mix violence and drugs is a pussy and should stop reading this right away.
 
Live for your profession 
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28222" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/love-selling-blow.gif" alt="love selling blow" width="600" height="317" />
 
Stringent quality control
<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-28218" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-3-1024x768.png" alt="photo 3" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-3-1024x768.png 1024w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-3-300x225.png 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-3-50x38.png 50w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-3.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /> 
If you have an inferior product, you’re not gonna sell any. Stitches knows this. There’s no other reason he’d fling a brick of blow round a room otherwise. Well, unless it’s filled with talcum powder. Which it obviously isn’t.
 
Store that snow in style
<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-28219" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-4-1024x768.png" alt="photo 4" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-4-1024x768.png 1024w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-4-300x225.png 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-4-50x38.png 50w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/05/photo-4.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
So now you’re a top dealer pushing enough bricks to build a house, you’ve got to make sure you’re rolling with a timeless sense of class. Cultivating this is no easy task though. While transporting your nose candy, you’re faced with a tough decision between style and safety and straddling that divide is no picnic. There’s only one choice that fits the criteria: a bin liner.
There it is. In just over three flawless minutes Stitches laid down the definitive guide to starting your life as a jet-setting drug baron. If you do end up making millions from these tips, remember who wrote the article and let you in on the secrets. I’ll accept payments in cash or cocaine.

Man vs. Video: Stitches – Brick In Yo Face

Nas’ Illmatic is now over 20 years old and, in that time, it has unarguably become one of the greatest rap albums. Cookin Soul, the Spanish production duo, has taken a spin at remixing this classic. Where this excels is that it only provides four actual remixes of tracks, with the rest of the music being constructed from snippets recorded at the time Illmatic was made.
The raw rhymes on the original album are present, but they are now backed with soul and funk samples, giving the project a more upbeat feel. You can listen and download Soulmatic below. I guarantee it’ll put a smile on your face.
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/147129047&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Mixtape: Nas x Cookin Soul – Soulmatic

Hip-hop is in rude health. Mixtape culture is constantly producing classic albums and some of the biggest music stars in the world are rappers, something that would have been virtually unthinkable 25 years ago.
In the midst of this Ratking, the New York born-and-bred trio, are hyped as the next ‘big thing’. Their Kurt Vonnegut referencing debut album begins with a spoken segment in which Wiki, the lead vocalist, says a modern day rapper “is completely different from Biggie and Pac.”
There is little doubt that So It Goes doesn’t aspire to copy either of the aforementioned artists. Still, you can hear influences from years of New York artists filtering into the music. The sparse, airy stabs of instruments you can’t quite put your finger on is reminiscent of The Infamous-era Mobb Deep. While on tracks like ‘Snow Beach’, you can hear echoes of A Tribe Called Quest in the baseline and jazz-y trumpets.
That’s not to say that Ratking are revivalists though, far from it in fact. So It Goes has an eye firmly on the future. Many of the tracks flirt with noise, overloading the listener with busy beats that border on the experimental. It’s not quite Death Grips, but you can hear a clear desire to innovate.
It’s where the group try and do something different that they achieve the most success. ‘Eat’ has a hook that worms itself into your head and displays the virtuosity of Wiki’s lyricism and rapping skills. He twists his words over the shuffling beat, elongating vowels and changing the speed of his delivery so it warps and wraps around the beat.
Although there are some fantastic moments on So It Goes, there are a number of missteps as well. King Krule’s hook on ‘So Sick Stories’ seems forced and corny, while Wavy Spice’s addition to ‘Puerto Rican Judo’ would be nothing but forgettable, if her rhymes weren’t so weak. The fact that Wiki is such an accomplished and strong rapper also works against Ratking at points, as Hak, the other MC in the group, is nowhere near his equal.
Still, So It Goes is a huge leap forward in both sound and lyrics than the Wiki93 EP. The production is rich and, generally, inventive, but there is a sense that Ratking have more to give. By pushing their experimental moments further, they have the potential to release something truly great, carving out their own space in hip hop.

Album Review: Ratking – So It Goes

Video: Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Strange Colores

2014 is shaping up to a be a bumper year for already established bands. This time round, it’s La Sera’s turn to get me all hot-and-heavy in anticipation. Following shortly after the announcement that Katy Goodman is releasing a new album, Hour Of The Dawn, she has dropped its first single, ‘Losing To The Dark.’
While her previous two albums were stepped in melancholy and slow tempos, this latest song finds the singer in a more upbeat mood that’s similar to her work with the Vivian Girls. Still, all the elements that make La Sera such an enjoyable listen are present. The harmonies are tight, the lyrics incisive and the vocals as bittersweet as ever.
You can stream ‘Losing To The Dark’ below and start counting down the days until La Sera releases her third album. Mark May 13th on your calendars people.
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La Sera – Losing To The Dark

Rejoice one and all, for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have not only announced a new album, Days Of Abandon, but have also released the first official single from the record.
I’ll be honest, if you were expected a revolutionary new sound, you’re going to be disappointed. Wanting that from the group though is somewhat missing the point. They make gorgeous, catchy and evocative indie pop. That’s their niche and that’s what they’ve done with ‘Simple And Sure’.
The track is rich and beautifully layered. Upbeat and cheery, complete cooed “ohs” and “ahs” in the background, all in contrast to the darker lean of the lyrics. It’s three and a half minutes of pop purity.
All hail The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – they’re finally back.
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New: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Simple And Sure

I’ve been waiting for Lakutis to drop 3 Seashells for an absolute age. Ever since I first heard his verse on Das Racist’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMeAvOgDUdE" target="_blank">‘Amazing’</a> I’ve been a keen follower of the rapper and this release on Greedhead, Himanshu Suri’s label, hasn’t let me down.
The mixtape is short and sweet, clocking in at under 25 minutes, which suits his rapping style perfectly. Lakutis’ lyrics tend to be quick-fire and referential, favouring splattering homophones and shout-outs to film and TV in his nasal tones. The album title itself is a reference to the Snipes/Stallone masterpiece Demolition Man. If you use the term masterpiece lightly.
The beats are constantly intriguing and come from a number of underground producers, as well as some more established names like Hot Sugar, with Steel Tipped Dove providing some of the stand-out tracks. The only song that left me feeling a bit cold is ‘Body Scream’, which comes across as a cheesy rap slow jam, but pretty much everything else on the mixtape is fire. Listen to ‘Too Ill For The Law’ or ‘Jesus Piece’ and tell me I’m wrong.
You can give 3 Seashells a spin below and download it in the same place. Rappers this good need to get paid.
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=126553349/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" height="240" width="320" seamless=""></iframe>

Mixtape: Lakutis – 3 Seashells

Younghusband’s ‘Dromes’ was one of my favourite releases of last year. The album blends 60s pop sounds with 90s-infuenced shoegaze and is fantastic from start to finish. I managed to catch-up with Euan, Adam, Joe and Pete of the London-based band before their show at Madame JoJo’s in Soho.
Callum – I’m sure you guys have been asked pretty much the same questions again and again, so I’m gonna try and keep it lighthearted. Still, I might start with a few of the standards. Who would you say are your biggest influences?
Euan – Wire, Beach Boys, Television Personalities and Yo La Tengo.
Pete – Birthday Party.
C – What are your current favourite bands?
Joe – I’d say Cate Le Bon, but it’s a tough question. It’s like that feeling walking into a record shop and instantly forgetting what music you want to buy.
C – Exactly, it’s like being asked what your favourite film is and even if you’ve just been talking to someone about it, your mind goes blank.
E – I’ve been listening to a lot of Julia Holter.
J – Pretty much everything Ty Segall does.
C – I feel that, it’s amazing how he puts out so many albums that good, I’ve got no idea how he does it. Where did the album title ‘Dromes’ come from?
E – Not really sure, it’s a mixture of drones and dreams. Also, an aerodrome as a place of departure resonated. Just think it sums of the music really well.
C – What are your biggest interests outside of music, do you have any hidden talents?
P – Hidden talents… shit.
J – *chuckles* I like cooking.
P – You’re good at cooking man.
C – Anything in particular you like cooking?
J – Pies
C – What other band names did you try before Younghusband?
E – Pink Saris
*at this point music starts playing loudly*
J – This gonna be alright?
C – Dunno, might drown the recording out.
P – You gonna notate it after this?
C – Yeah.
P – It’ll be fine then.
*and it was*
C – What do you reckon the grimiest place you’ve ever played is?
E – The Hull Adelphi.
A – That place’s fucking grimy.
E – Yeah, it’s great, but really dirty. The first time I ever played there was there this moat of mud and shit going around the whole venue. You had to walk across bits of wood to get into it.
P – You ever play it when the dog was on the roof?
E – Nah…
P – Well, this dog used to hang out up there. It was deaf apparently. It was the venue’s dog and it was this big fucking thing that would just bark and bark all night. Got to say though, I often find it’s the grimy venues you get looked after really well in. I think it’s cos they’re independent and run by people who love music, rather than places like the O2. They’ve just got more soul.
J – I think the Hull Adelphi is owned by Paul Heaton out of the Beautiful South.
P – He funds it.
J – Ahhhh.
P – The guy who runs it is called Paul too and he’s a great guy.
J – Yeah, whenever we play there he always buys us curry and stuff.
P – The Shacklewell Arms, that’s pretty filthy.
J – Great place to play though.
C – Yeah I like it there, it’s a good spot. What are your plans for the future?
E – Got a lot of shows coming up, we’re going on tour with Cloud Control in mid-Feb and then we’re going to Europe with Toy.
C – Cool, well that’s all the boring ones done, thanks for getting through it! I read your name came from ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, so, on that note, if you could choose one fictional character to be in the band, who’d it be?
E – TinTin.
J – Jesus Christ.
C – Ha, suppose you’d have a pretty big ready-made fan base with Jesus in the band.
P – And his carpentry skills would come in handy.
C – No doubts, he could build you a stage wherever you wanted and you’d never have to worry about food.
J – It’s a tough one on the spot.
E – Adam who do you think you’d like?
A – Ha, I’ve got no idea, sorry.
E – Barry from Eastenders.
J – Barry from Eastenders would be good! Did you hear about that? When he sang on some sports thing?
E – Yeah, he sang at the indoor bowls world final.
P – Did he? What did he sing?
E – It’s the oddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. He sang a really famous song, I forget what it was.
A – Any good?
E – It was fucking weird. There were loads of shots of the audience looking really embarrassed as he’s sweating and singing.
J – And he’s taking it really seriously?
E – Yeah, and at the end he was like “HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON”, walks off and the bowls just started happening.
P – Is he into indoor bowls?
E – No idea.
J – He probably got paid for it.
E – Yeah, £500.
C – Maybe he did it for the love of bowls?
E – It’s possible.
C – What’s the greatest film ever made?
J – Paris, Texas or Midnight Cowboy?
E – I was gonna say Paris, Texas.
P – The best film ever made right? Not necessarily your favourite film?
E – Space Odyssey?
J – I dunno man, maybe it’s too new to say it’s the greatest film ever made, but Melancholia by Lars Von Trier is amazing.
E – Fuuuck, Easy Rider?
J – First use of glare in that.
P – Accidental though?
J – Yeah, it was completely accidental, they kept it in because they thought it looked cool.
C – Stallone, Statham or Schwarzenegger?
J – Schwarzenegger.
P – Schwarzenegger.
E – Schwarzenegger.
P – Junior, what a film!
J – Total Recall!
P – You can’t put Statham on that list!
C – You definitely can, Statham’s the modern day action hero.
P – No way.
E – They were all in The Expendables.
J – Also, Schwarzenegger’s a bit of a perv.
P – Did you see the thing where he went to Brazil?
J – Yeah, there’s this thing where Schwarzenegger goes to Brazil to make a film for tourists of brazil and he’s basically just getting drunk and letching on these girls.
C – You guys ever seen Pumping Iron? It’s this documentary about him training for bodybuilding competitions. There are some great scenes, there’s one when he’s talking about lifting weights and *puts on shitty german accent* “it’s as satisfying as cumming, I’m getting the feeling of cumming in the gym.”
J – It’s gotta be Schwarzenegger then, I don’t think Stallone is as nuts as that.
P – So we’re in agreement then? Schwarzenegger.
C – If you could get one actor to do a spoken word intro on your next album, who would you choose?
J – William Shatner.
E – Nah, Schwarzenegger.
P – Dustin Hoffman.
J – Woody Allen/
C – What about Christopher Walken?
All – Ahhhh!
J – That’s a big shout.
E – Done us.
P – Ha!
J – But William Shatner would be great.
C – Who’d win in a fight, Springsteen or Dylan?
E – Dylan, he’d talk him down.
J – I dunno, Springsteen.
P – Dylan’s tasty.
J – No he’s not, he’s old!
C – We can say they’re both in their prime to make it interesting.
J – Then it’s definitely Springsteen in a physical fight. Maybe not in a fight of words.
E – I don’t know, I think Dylan would win.
J – Why?
E – In a film scenario, both in their prime, Springsteen would be trying to grab him and Dylan would be hopping onto railings, shouting things down at him and skipping round.
P – Dylan would be a dirty fighter, a hair-puller.
E – Yeah, just killing him with words. Springsteen would just start crying after Dylan insults his, I dunno, his “papa”. Game over.
J – But if Springsteen gets hold of Dylan…
E – He’ll kill him.
P – It’d be a draw.
E – You could make the whole fight into a musical, like a Westside Story.
C – If Younghusband were any fruit or vegetable, what would they be?
J – Grapefruit.
A – Nahhh, plum!
E – Banana.
J – Why?
E – I like ’em.
J – Fruit salad.
C – So, final question. If you had a boat and took it into international waters, what would you do?
J – Can you do anything?
C – Yeah, Sea Law, if that’s a thing.
E – More of the same, really, but we’d get away with it. More of the same.

Interview: Younghusband

Taken from their debut album Howlin’, Jagwar Ma have just released the video for ‘Uncertainty’. It finds the Australian group performing behind spacey visuals, alongside a bit of slow-motion jiving and shaking.
The video was filmed by Dave Ma, brother of the band’s Jono, in California’s Mojave desert. Visually, it fits the song well. The pop harmonies and dance-influenced backing morph and build as the video becomes trippier.
‘Uncertainty’ will be released as a single on the 3rd March and you can watch the whole thing below.
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Video: Jagwar Ma – Uncertainty

New: RATKING – Canal

<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/?s=cholombian">Cholombian</a> has been making some waves recently and we’re delighted to have the premiere of his latest remix here on CitR.
Mt. Wolf’s ‘Midnight Shallows’, a track heavily influenced by dreampop, is the latest to get Cholombian’s treatment. The latter takes the dreampop theme of the original, twisting it into something more ethereal, while simultaneously adding some club-esque propulsive elements.
While the original ‘Midnight Shallows’ was undeniably the sound of a band, Cholombian has tinkered with the arrangements on his remix to produce something that’s more in vogue with the currently prolific bedroom producers plastered over countless blogs. To be perfectly honest, I’m not the hugest fan of Mt. Wolf’s original ‘Midnight Shallows’; the chorus is too overblown and bombastic for my tastes, leaving the whole thing lacking a certain amount of subtlety.
Cholombian’s version is different. He has added an airy quality to the backing track, now all gently moaning synths and hi-hat trills that ebb and flow. Cholombian some muted and delicate effects to the vocals, embellishing the hazy, soft sound of Kate Sproule’s voice.
Give ‘Midnight Shallows’ a spin and download below. Give in to its smokey grooves and tread a measure in your bedroom.
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Premiere & MPFree: Mt. Wolf – Midnight Shallows (Cholombian Remix)

Artwork by Jimmy Wragg <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">(@Sui42)</a> 

There are moments in popular music history that, due to their seismic impact, will never be forgotten. Elvis joining the army. The Beatles’ first tour of America. Grandmaster Flash releasing ‘The Message’. The list goes on…
Well, let me be the first to tell you that James Blake and Chance The Rapper doing a song together is more important than all of them combined.
<img class="size-large wp-image-24727 alignnone" alt="Evernote Camera Roll 20131023 201101" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/10/Evernote-Camera-Roll-20131023-201101-640x480.png" width="640" height="480" />
‘Life Round Here’ opens with a shot of some trees. At first I thought there was something up with my laptop’s video, black and white? I was literally seconds away from loosing a primal howl before I realised this might mean something. The question was though, what?
Then I got it.
Stick with me here, and try to keep up, we’re about to delve into some serious analysis. Now, James Blake is an indie(-ish) artist, while Chance The Rapper politely categorises his genre for us, and these are two different types of music that rarely cross. You could say that their genres are polar opposites, the former generally inward looking, the latter outward, almost as if they’re BLACK AND WHITE. Stacking further layers of meaning, I noticed that James Blake is white and Chance is black! Imagine that!
I almost pissed myself from excitement.
<img class="size-large wp-image-24732 alignnone" alt="Evernote Camera Roll 20131023 201050" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/10/Evernote-Camera-Roll-20131023-201050-640x480.png" width="640" height="480" />
After this we’re treated to above image, which is something I haven’t managed to comprehend. Any idea what a group of “bad bitches” “poppin'” in front of a “stately home” could mean in this context? Me neither.
<img class="size-large wp-image-24733 alignnone" alt="Evernote Camera Roll 20131023 201108" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/10/Evernote-Camera-Roll-20131023-201108-640x480.png" width="640" height="480" />
Here, Chance The Rapper is in a ‘leader’ hat with a bird hanging hard in the back. Now, I could be wrong, but I think the cap is suggesting that Blake and Chance are some kind revolutionaries blazing a path of pure originality. Or it’s just a cap.
That fancy-ass crow then takes flight shortly after this shot. With birds being a symbol of boundless spirit and exploration, as they can travel to places humans are unable to, I think this builds on the suggestions of the creative track they’re trundling down. Put it this way, have you ever considered what the world would be like if rap and rock somehow combined to make a <a href="https://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/364417/Fred+Durst.jpg" target="_blank">new genre</a> of music <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk" target="_blank">unheard before</a>?
<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-24736" alt="Capture" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/10/Capture-640x481.png" width="640" height="481" />
The final shot of the video is of the (Brits read: fucking massive) (Americans read: undersized) car they’re driving down the road melting into the mist. Honestly, this shot kinda confused me, it’s definitely not the ending I would’ve chosen. I mean, if the whole of the ‘Life Round Here’ video is filled with juxtapositions to reference how CRAAAAZY it is for an indie musician and rapper to be working together, shouldn’t the end have reflected the song itself? The car should have crashed.

Man vs. Video: James Blake & Chance The Rapper – Life Round Here

With all the talk surrounding Kanye West’s decision to refer to himself as a God and Gucci Mane’s rapid descent into insanity, it’s almost, although not quite, possible to forget about the master of urban misguided-ness (that’s not actually a word, but who’s gonna stop me? You?); R. Kelly.
It’s been a long and lonely time since the Prince of Pillowtalk dropped his last album, well, about a year, but, in my book, that’s too lengthy. ‘Genius’ is the latest track that the Sultan of Sensuality has dropped from his upcoming album, Black Panties, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Did I hear anyone say smooth jam? ‘Genius’ has that. Want some “uhs” that sit halfway between sexy and stalker? The Viceroy of Voluptuousness has you covered. Weird metaphors about being a sex genius? All over that like butter on toast. If R. Kelly is butter and your girlfriend is toast.
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New: R. Kelly – Genius

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Morgan Hislop, the drummer from Tropics, is continuing his transformation into an incredibly exciting electronic artist. Following his <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/23617-premiere-cholombian-morgan-hislop-they-leave-me-and-say-they-cant-love-a-girl-in-a-gang/" target="_blank">recent collaboration</a> with CitR fave Cholombian, we’re ecstatic to have the premiere for his remix of Blondie’s classic ‘Heart Of Glass’.
The track is almost unrecognisable from the New-Wave original, the drums click and stutter, while the bass thumps contrapuntally underneath, giving the song a club-happy vibe. There are even hints of steel drums in the background.
Debbie Harry’s vocals are warped and twisted enough that the melody from the Blondie version is close to unidentifiable. Instead of usinga long sample of the singer, Morgan Hislop takes a snippet of her lines and morphs into a sinuous and alluring pattern that seems to float over the song.
On top of the sheer quality of the song, you can also download it <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/09/Blondie-Heart-of-Glass-Morgan-Hislop-remix.mp3" target="_blank">here</a> for absolutely free. Sometimes, we’re just too nice to you. I’d also recommend giving Morgan Hislop’s <a href="https://soundcloud.com/morganhislop" target="_blank">soundcloud</a> a visit and checking out some of his other tunes. Enjoy!

Premiere & MPFree: Blondie – Heart Of Glass (Morgan Hislop Remix)

We’ve been <a href="www.crackintheroad.com/music/12524-introducing-cholombian/" target="_blank">repping Cholombian</a> over at CitR Towers (how I wish that was an actual ‘thing’) for some time, so I lept at the chance to premiere his latest collaboration with Morgan Hislop of Tropics. The pair have put out a couple of tracks before, the excellent ‘<a href="https://soundcloud.com/morganhislop/versacetalons" target="_blank">Versace Talons</a>‘ and ‘<a href="https://soundcloud.com/cholombian/cholombian-morgan-hislop" target="_blank">Brittany Murphy</a>‘, with the latter track receiving some substantial buzz, including being on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/fadermedia/fader-mix-ryan-hemsworth/s-fVJ68" target="_blank">THAT </a>Ryan Hemsworth FADER mix.

<audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-23617-1" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/08/They-Leave-Me-and-Say-They-Cant-Love-a-Girl-Thats-In-a-Gang.mp3?_=1" /><a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/08/They-Leave-Me-and-Say-They-Cant-Love-a-Girl-Thats-In-a-Gang.mp3">https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/08/They-Leave-Me-and-Say-They-Cant-Love-a-Girl-Thats-In-a-Gang.mp3</a></audio>
The two artists pick-up where they left off with ‘They Leave Me and Say They Can’t Love a Girl In a Gang’. The track begins ethereally, clipped vocals looping around a percussive rhythm, before it begins to unfurl and slowly bloom. You can hear elements of Evenings oozing out of the song, but, where the aforementioned artist lets his tracks roll in a cyclic motion, Cholombian & Morgan Hislop subtly introduce different elements, lending ‘They Leave Me and Say They Can’t Love a Girl In a Gang’ a laid-back sense of propulsion.
As the track evolves, the pair move away from total ambience and bring club-esque sounds into the mix. There are snare clicks that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Lil’ Wayne freestyle cut and an elongated, high-pitch synth that rises like a siren over the song, nestling alongside the intimate and shuffling percussion.
Basically, it’s a fantastic tune that takes influence from a variety of places, while retaining a core sense of originality. Grab yourself a pair of headphones, stream it below, or download it <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/08/They-Leave-Me-and-Say-They-Cant-Love-a-Girl-Thats-In-a-Gang.mp3">here</a>, turn up the volume and let ‘They Leave Me and Say They Can’t Love a Girl In a Gang’ wash over you, then do it again. And maybe once more when you get in from your night out. Happy Friday folks.

Premiere: Cholombian & Morgan Hislop – They Leave Me and Say They Can’t Love a Girl In a Gang

Sam Thomas, the English multi-instrumentalist, has released another cut from his second single, ‘Gifts’, the haunting and ethereal ‘Blue Cologne’. While ‘Gift’ has a strong post-rock vibe, ‘Blue Cologne’ has the artist exhibiting his Classical chops.
The track is intricately put together, with the instruments washing and weaving over one another. There’s a tension bubbling underneath ‘Blue Cologne’, giving it enough edge to avoid slipping into tedium, while remaining a pleasant listen.
You can give the track a spin below, maybe even grab a pair of headphones and chill in the sun. Sam Thomas’ debut album, Blind Theatre, is coming out soon on Just Music and you’ll be able grab it at the usual places. Peace.
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New: Sam Thomas – Blue Cologne

Video: Earl Sweatshirt – Hive (Feat. Vince Staples & Casey Veggies)

It’s that time of year again when Tramlines transforms the steel city into a pulsing center of music. Sheffield opens itself up, with traditional venues like <a href="https://www.theharley.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Harley</a>, alongside public spaces like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Gardens" target="_blank">Peace Gardens</a>, all putting on an array of acts. The music is diverse, ranging from bass-heavy warehouse raves to twinkly indie pop.
So, what’s worth seeing you might be asking, if you were in the business of asking questions to a screen. Well, quite a bit. I’m stoked about seeing 2:54, the moody and atmospheric indie group. Toddla T, Sheffield’s own electronic maestro, returns again to play over the weekend, which is always fun. It doesn’t stop there though, with Holy Other, Alessi’s Ark, Sky Larkin, Summer Camp, IYES, Nadine Shah, Wolf Alice and a hell of a lot more all bringing their sounds to the city over the weekend. It’s gonna be HYPE.
Outside of the music, it’s the vibe of the event that really marks it out from a standard festival. Sheffield, one of the friendliest cities about, opens its arms and further exhibits its all-encompassing attitude towards entertainment. In past years, one of my favourite activities has just been wondering around the town, bouncing from bar-to-bar, finding new bands and soaking in the atmosphere.
Previously, the festival was free, but, due to its ever-expanding size, the organisers have begun charging. On one hand, the introduction of tickets takes away an element of spontaneity, but, as the Great Escape, and anyone who queued for hours to get into a Tramlines show, can testify, it should make the festival run smoother and give it the opportunity to expand each year.
Tramlines runs from Friday 19th July until Sunday 21st and you can buy yourself either day tickets, or a weekend pass <a href="https://2013.tramlines.org.uk/tickets/">here</a>. See you there, chumps!

Preview: Tramlines 2013

LE1F put out one of my favourite records of the year with his excellent <a href="https://www.mediafire.com/?0gb56rml54kssmx" target="_blank">Fly Zone</a> mixtape, so I jumped at the opportunity to go and check out whether he can bring game to the live scene.
When I turned up, Concrete was empty, as venues are bound to be a couple of hours before the headline act. This didn’t take long to change though, as both support acts, Getme! DJs and DJ Mess Kid respectively, were dropping beats obese enough to get the crowd moving.
LE1F came on around thirty minutes later than advertised and, with DJ Mess Kid on the decks, Concrete burst into life. The rapper spent the set bounding and gyrating across the stage, embellishing his music with a physical energy. He also twerked. A lot.
The sound at Concrete was a little muddy to begin, with LE1F’s vocals mixed a bit too low, but this was sorted out by the end of the performance. Still, a good artist and a good night, what more can you ask for?

Live: LE1F At Concrete, Shoreditch

Le Diamentaire is a member of the French Hip Hop collective DansLaCuisine, which, unfortunately is about all I know about him. It’s not that he’s a mysterious and shadowy figure, more the fact that I can’t speak any French.
You could argue that this would hinder my enjoyment of ‘Fosse Commune’, but, whatever they’re saying, it sounds splendid. Organ stabs judder and hang, while the bass rolls underneath, lending the track an almost fairground vibe.
Best of all, the track is completely free to download! God bless the internet. You can listen and grab it below.
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MPFree: Le Diamentaire – Fosse Commune (Feat. Olek Brown & J-Funk)

First off, I suppose the title of this post is a bit misleading, as this is more of a compilation than a mixtape, but, hey, it’s all good right? *untitled collects tracks that Th’ Mole recorded between 2010- and 2013, but comes across more cohesively than you’d expect.
Cohesive, though, isn’t probably the best way to describe the mixtape. It’s chaotic and cut-up, most songs coming in at under two-minutes. The vocals are pitch-shifted and hi-hats constantly clatter behind them, yet the songs frequently breeze into each other.
Th’ Mole spits with purpose and a ragged flow. His lyrics aren’t always the most incisive, but they’re consistently interesting. Picking out highlights from the album is blissfully easy, check out ‘untitled’, ‘untitled’ and ‘untitled’, HA jk?! Srsly doe, I’d recommend to give the fourth, sixth and eleventh tracks a spin. You can give them, and, of course, the whole thing, a listen below and it’s also on “name your price” download. Enjoy.
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Mixtape: Th’ Mole – *untitled

Win Tickets To See LAW At CitR Live #002 <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/22058-win-tickets-to-citr-live-002/" target="_blank">Here</a>.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rm4ZlFSieA
LAW is one of the most exciting artists to debut this year. Her songs are little islands of melancholy, held together with smoky vocals and glittering beats, while her videos display a keen aesthetic eye.
The Edinburgh-based musician is also headlining CitR #002 and we managed to catch-up with her for a chat before she plays at our showcase.
First off, I’d like to say how excited everyone is at Crack In The Road for you to be headlining our second ever live event.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to it.
So, how long have you been playing music for?
I’ve been singing for quite a long time and been in bands for a couple of years.
Did you play in anything I’d recognise?
Not really, it was more local things. It was an opportunity for me to get used to playing live with musicians and learning, not really something to be pushing. Singing covers and things, but I think you need to do that at some point.
Yeah, I have to agree. So, who would you say your biggest influences are?
I like the old singers, Bessie Smith especially, a lot of the jazz singers. I’m into new stuff as well, lots of indie bands like Pavement and I’m listening a lot to the new Deerhunter album.
Monomania is a fantastic album. I’ve got to say, I was really impressed with how Deerhunter took a completely different direction than expected.
I think it takes a lot of balls to do that, too many people say “oh, it’s working, we’ll keep doing that”. Artists should reinvent I think, they should keep moving with what they’re doing.
Exactly, Bradford Cox could have made Microcastle again and again, but chose to expand his sound.
I went to see them when their Halycon Digest was out and, at the end, they did a guitar drone for like forty minutes and drove everyone out. There was just me and like 5 other people watching. Finally, everyone just left. And I like my hip hop, like MF Doom, he’s coming to London isn’t he?
He is! The only thing is you can never be sure it’s actually him. I’ve heard that he just sends random people on stage with the mask on.
I heard about that, he’s cool, isn’t he? He’s so good he can do what he wants.
I really liked your video for ‘Hustle’, what were you trying to achieve and did anyone influence it?
We tried to make it strange as possible! Young Fathers influences it a lot as well, they go for this VHS look that’s really grainy and we used that effect. We tried to give the video a weird and creepy vibe. I think, with a female artist, it’s good to do it a bit blurry and not too “look at my tits”, so it has something about it, rather than just “OH HI!”.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLzJKZkiEyY
Do you have anything geared up to release?
We’re definitely gonna release something, we have an albums worth of material ready, but we need to decide what format it comes out on. There are songs waiting, it just depends on what happens and how things progress. Both an EP and an album are good options, but, as we have enough material, we can be a bit loose with what happens.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence?
“What just happened?”
I was browsing online and saw a comment that you described you as “Billie Holiday & Joe Strummer’s Jamaican daughter”, what do you reckon? 
Ha! That’s nice, those are both great people.
Yeah, I thought it was a good way of looking at it.
It’s a great way of looking at it! I’m just gonna take that quote and use it. I’ll find who said it and give them a bit of money!
What do you think your next move will be?
I’ve got a few gigs lined up, so I guess the main focus is getting the live show up-and-running and then, I think, get a new music video out. After that, I’m going to release some tracks from the album.
How does your live set work?
It’s just me, a laptop, auto-harp and other little bits of equipment.
A friend wanted me to ask about the auto-harp. It’s not a particularly common instrument and, as she plays one, she wanted to know how you started with it.
It was just something that I picked up in the studio. I never had the discipline when I was growing up to play the guitar or piano. One day, Tim, my manager, asked me to give it a go to see if I could find something.
It’s an amazing instrument because you can build things around the chords. It’s a great looking thing to take on stage and, as you say, it’s unusual, so people are intrigued by it. And it makes a beautiful sound. It’s hard though, I broke a string and you can’t get these strings; you have to go to these Irish places to get a replacement.
Thanks for your time!
 
CitR Live #002 is on at the Bussey Building in Peckham on the 30th May. The Facebook page is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/503640323024237/" target="_blank">here</a> and you can <a href="https://www.wegottickets.com/event/222572" target="_blank">buy tickets online</a> or at the door..
You can find LAW’s twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/LAWHOLT/" target="_blank">here</a> and her website <a href="https://www.lawholt.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Interview: LAW

<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/tag/man-vs-video/" target="_blank">Man vs. Video</a> is a bit looking at the often ignored world of music videos, written by a self-styled asshole with a Lit degree. Artwork by Jimmy Wragg <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">(@Sui42)</a> and words by C R Booth <a href="https://twitter.com/c_r_booth" target="_blank">(@C_R_Booth)</a> 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI
You can call me a party-pooper if you want, if anyone actually uses the phrase “party-pooper” these days, but my first thoughts when watching the start of A$AP Ferg’s new video for ‘Persian Wine’ were dominated by the rampant health and safety violations. To begin with, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI#t=0m23s" target="_blank">@00:23</a> we see a shirtless gentleman waving around an AK-47, which cannot adhere to any of the recommendations laid out by responsible gun-user associations. The whole thing just screams “blown-off nipple” to me.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a guy then climbs/walks on a ladder <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI#t=0m37s" target="_blank">@00:37</a> with no safety equipment visible whatsoever. It’s a good job that A$AP Ferg & Co. decide to kidnap the man, otherwise who knows what damage he would’ve done to himself wandering around that abandoned building? I hope that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI#t=0m57s" target="_blank">@00:57</a> they’re praying for him to gain a bit more common sense; danger awareness is an important attribute for adults.
Something that the video re-roused in my mind is bewilderment over grillz. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI#t=1m07s" target="_blank">@01:07</a> we get a close-up of Ferg’s shiny, shiny teeth, which, as $$$WAG as they look, just make me think about how you go about your day-to-day business with metallic dentures. Do you have to take them out to eat? Do they need polishing every night? Do they make your mouth taste weird? The more I think about it, the more it appears to be a sure-fire way to get a huge dentist bill.
Making the ‘Persian Wine’ video even more perplexing, a kid with grillz turns up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIigWhNt4sI#t=2m32s" target="_blank">halfway through the piece</a>. If I wasn’t already confused enough about their role, this child muddied the waters further. What’s going to happen as he grows up? I suppose they could be handed down to other younglings, but surely they have to molded to a person’s dentures, making the whole thing a financial car crash.
So, in summary, I need a goddamn pair of grillz as soon as humanly possible.

Man vs. Video: A$AP Ferg – Persian Wine

On Sunday 5th May, Streetfest is putting on another explosive amalgamation of “street art” and live music. The event, which is entering its 6th year, plays host to a number of exciting artists.
The one I’m most “hyped” about is headliner Oddisee. The barsmith has been putting out consistently excellent music for a couple of years and it’ll be interesting to see how his music works in a live setting.
Aside from the American rapper, there are a number of British MCs on the line-up, with Dot Rotten being the most prominent. You can also catch performances from the likes of DJ Vadim & DJ Nikki Beatnik, Livin Proof and Supa Dupa Fly.
You can find further information about Streetfest and buy tickets <a href="https://www.streetfest.net/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Preview: Streetfest London 2013

Scheduled to drop yesterday, but pushed back due to <a href="https://twitter.com/veeveeveeveevee/status/328979345110609920" target="_blank">“technical difficulties”</a>, Kool A.D. and Kassa Overall have just put up their collaborative mixtape Peaceful Solutions. We all know Kool A.D. from his time with the transcendent Das Racist and his <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/19525-mixtapes-kool-a-d-63-and-19/" target="_blank">solo mixtapes</a>, while Kassa Overall is a producer, rapper & drummer, who has put together tracks for the aforementioned group, as well TECLA.
Kass oversees production on a number of tracks, but other names that contribute beats include Busdriver, Keyboard Kid and Amaze 88. Peaceful Solutions finds Kool A.D. more focused than his last, sprawling release(s) and it’s interesting to hear him juxtaposed with Kassa Overall. The producer/rapper, when compared with Kool A.D., has a style that veers closer to “traditional” rap, but they both have the same irreverent humour.
In related news, according to Kool A.D.’s twitter account, the dates for his European tour are going to announced soon. Which is awesome.
You can download Peaceful Solutions from Bandcamp on a “name your price” system <a href="https://koolandkass.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a> and check out the video for the lead single from the mixtape, ‘Pleasance (WDGAF)’, below. Enjoy!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3W7EqBmcss

Mixtape: Kool & Kass – Peaceful Solutions

On the 8th May, London is turning gold (come on, I couldn’t not open this article without a reference to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I" target="_blank">that song</a>) with Trinidad Jame$ and DJ Semtex set to play a show at Village Underground. I’ve been a fan of Mr Jame$ for a little while now and, like pretty much everyone else, absolutely <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/19611-man-vs-video-trinidad-jame-all-gold-everything/" target="_blank">adored the video for ‘All Gold Everything’.</a>
Still, Trinidad Jame$ is more than a one-trick pony, as his mixtape-cum-album Don’t Be S.A.F.E showcased. The Trinidadian rapper, who is supported by the UK’s DJ Semtex, should put on an entertaining show that displays his credentials as one of Hip-Hop’s rising stars.
You can buy tickets for the event, which takes place on Wednesday 8th May, from Ticket Web <a href=" https://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/trinidad-jame-tickets/53827" target="_blank">here</a>. In the meantime, check out the latest Trinidad Jame$ video for ‘Female$ Welcome’ below. See you guys on the 8th!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=076eXb3Xx5c

News: Trinidad Jame$ & DJ Semtex To Play In London

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCRWxw0M1sw
2011’s Native Speaker was one of my favourite albums of that year and I cannot tell you how hyped I am about Braids returning. The Canadian group found a great balance between experimentation and accessibility on their first release and they appear to have continued in this vein on ‘Amends’. Their newest track toys with repetition, the music rolling and bubbling underneath Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s seductive vocals, and, after a couple of listens, it does a fantastic job of worming itself into your head.
‘Amends’, which is being released as a double A-side 12″ alongside ‘In Kind’ is released on 11th June and you can pre-order it <a href="https://braidsmusic.com/InKind//Amends" target="_blank">here</a>.

New: Braids – Amends

This Thursday, also known as 25th April, Crack In The Road is putting on its first ever live show, the imaginatively-titled <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/525433147500120/?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">CitR Live #001</a>. For a measly £5 you can watch not only some of the buzziest buzz-bands about, but you also get to enjoy them surrounded by some arty stuff courtesy of MadeScapes^.
Now, you may be thinking: “CitR Live sounds good and everything, but five pounds? I don’t think so”. If that’s indeed your train of thought, my reflex was to track you down and slap you upside-the-head, but, fortunately/unfortunately, lethargy halted this action shortly after inception. Even though physical inaction won the battle, I knew that something had to be done.
Then, it hit me! If I put together a list of five things that are worse value for money than CitR Live, it would solve everybody’s problems.
Shout out to Jimmy Wragg, whose blog is <a href="https://j-wragg.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>, for putting together the cover image for the post. You can follow him on twitter with <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">@sui42.</a>
 
A Pint
<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://www.tamarachristensen.com/uploads/2012/10/pint.jpg" width="300" height="400" />
Yeah, okay, so a pint might only cost a fiver in (reasonably) swanky central London bars, but still, a fiver?! Fuck off. If you’re going to spend your money on alcohol, rather than watching <a href="https://jamieisaac.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Jamie Isaac</a> rip it up, then show a little bit of sense and grab yourself a few cans of Special Brew or, at the very least, a bottle of Frosty Jacks. #classy4LYF
 
Five Packs Of Premier League Football Stickers
<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://www.theintoy.co.uk/images/images_big/premfull.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
To be fair, five pounds would buy you quite a few stickers. The real problem is that, although you might get close to fifty stickers, you’re really only just scratching the surface of one of those ridiculous-sized annuals you have to stick them all in. Plus, I can guarantee that, of those five packs, over half of them are gonna be doubles. Even if they’re your first stickers of the season.
 
A Single Peak Ticket From Neasden To Plaistow
<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://www.mytrainticket.co.uk/admin/image-resizer.php?w=508&h=260&keepAspect=y&crop=y&img=project/uploaded-media/travelcard.jpg" width="508" height="260" />
Firstly, why would anyone want to travel from Neasden to Plaistow in the first place? Secondly, why anyone would shell out almost a fiver for that abortion of a journey? It’s not even like travelling on the tube is a pleasant experience; all you’re gonna get is a sore arse and a strong smell of piss.
 
Two iPhone Cases That Look Like Cassette Tapes 

<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/iphone_cassette_case.jpg" width="600" height="630" />
I’m not confident that having two iPhone cases would be all that useful, but I guess you could double-up for extra protection (HA!). Anyway, I never really “got” the whole making your phone look like a tape thing. Do people think that if they get mugged the robber will just leave them alone because they’re confused about why they’re carrying round a tape?
 
A Three Piece Combo Meal From Your Local Chicken Shop 

<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="https://www.clevescene.com/binary/24e3/1292358458-fried-chicken.jpg" width="430" height="300" />
Okay, you’ve got me, this is actually better than the gig.
 
There you have it! The shameless plugging is over and, hopefully, I’ve convinced you of the positive impact that coming to CitR Live #001 will have on your life. The Facebook page for the event can be found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/525433147500120/" target="_blank">here,</a> while you can grab tickets from <a href="https://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?466892" target="_blank">Resident Adviser</a> or <a href="https://www.wegottickets.com/event/216179" target="_blank">WeGotTickets</a>. Go on, you know you want to.

Feature: Five Things You Could Waste A Fiver On

Monomania, the latest Deerhunter album, is streaming over at NPR. The follow-up to 2010’s Halycon Digest finds the group in a more confrontational mood, with the whole thing feeling looser and slightly less melodically inclined than their past few releases. Still, it’s a new Deerhunter album, which is always an exciting prospect and it’ll be interesting to see how Monomania, which, for all those who are curious, means a “pathological obsession with one idea or subject”, will hold up after a couple of listens.
The album is released on the 6th May by the lovely folks over at 4AD. You can hear Monomania via NPR First Listen <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/04/21/177759938/first-listen-deerhunter-monomania" target="_blank">here</a>. Enjoy yourself kids!

Stream: Deerhunter – Monomania

As you’ve undoubtedly heard, <a href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/apr/14/justin-bieber-anne-frank-belieber" target="_blank">Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam</a> and, in the guestbook, left a message which said that he hoped “she would have been a belieber”. I’ll be honest, when I first came across the story I was taken aback, stunned into disbelief even; Bieber was right! I bet if Anne Frank was born in the late 1990s, she would have thrown away that dumb paper diary (so pre-Y2K lol) and would have her very own Tumblr filled with pictures of Justin Bieber with text like “<3THR0B” and “HAWT STUFF” emblazoned across them.
This got me thinking, if Anne Frank was born in the last twenty-odd years, we might have not read her diary, which was a MAJOR DRAG btw, and be gifted instead with a sweet-ass twitter feed. So, this caused me to ponder what other historical figures would be fans of musicians today.
All the images were put-together by the always excellent James Wragg and you can have a look at his boner-inspiring blog <a href="https://j-wragg.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>.
Emmeline Pankhurst & Beyoncé
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/21167-feature-beliebe-in-yourself/attachment/diag1/" rel="attachment wp-att-21287"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/04/diag1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="400" /></a>
This one goes out to all the feminists worldwide! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst" target="_blank">Emmeline Pankhurst,</a> one of the most influential and pivotal figures in the struggle for women’s rights, rocked it out for all the single ladies in the early 20th Century, while Beyoncé is, well, Beyoncé. Ms. Pankhurst would be wild about the ex-Destiny’s Child diva, infatuated with how she is SMASHING down the walls of injustice.
I might not be the foremost authority on Pankhurst or the Suffragette movement, but I can guarantee that everything would have gone smoother if she took a leaf out of Beyoncé’s book and hired someone to <a href="https://www.gq.com/women/photos/201301/beyonce-cover-story-interview-gq-february-2013" target="_blank">film her every waking moment</a>. This would have not only meant those pesky police officers couldn’t have roughed up the protestors, but also got to the core of what the Women’s Movement was really about; the opportunity for mindless vanity. Plus, I bet she’d have looked FABULOUS breaking those windows.
Then, just have a quick think about how much quicker the Suffragettes would have achieved their aims if they combined their rhetoric with an improved public image. It’s like that interview where Beyoncé was all like:
“You know, equality is a myth, and for some reason, everyone accepts the fact that women don’t make as much money as men do. I don’t understand that. Why do we have to take a backseat? I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let’s face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what’s sexy. And men define what’s feminine. It’s ridiculous.”
And, in the accompanying photos was dressed all like:
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/21167-feature-beliebe-in-yourself/attachment/beyonce-gq-cover/" rel="attachment wp-att-21168"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/04/beyonce-gq-cover.jpg" alt="" width="409" height="516" /></a>And, after reading it, I was all like:
“WOAH, BRAH, I DIDN’T KNO FEMINISM WAS SO SEXXXI”
I have to say, it kinda upsets me that Emmeline Pankhurst wasn’t around to be influenced by Beyoncé. If she had been, she would’ve quickly realised that the only way to be a strong woman and enact positive change in a patriarchal society is to show a bit of skin for the lads.
Al Capone & The Strokes
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/21167-feature-beliebe-in-yourself/attachment/diag2/" rel="attachment wp-att-21292"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/04/diag2.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="400" /></a>
Al Capone would have LOVED The Strokes. The O.G. bootlegger was born and raised in rough streets of Brooklyn and kicked out of school at 14, while The Strokes were also from New York, albeit via Swiss Boarding & Fancy Art Schools. The humble beginnings of The Strokes would have pleased the self-made-mobster and, as a well-dressed fellow, he would have definitely appreciated how SHARP they looked back in the day.
I also think that Mr Capone would have truly emphasised with the Strokes’ career arc. The gangster was hugely successful and loved by the public until around the time he was involved in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine%27s_Day_Massacre" target="_blank">Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre</a>. On the other side, The Strokes were hugely successful and loved by the public until around the time of First Impressions Of Earth. Which, to be fair to all parties, was probably worse than the slaughter. See! Uncannily identical lives.
To further muddle the boundaries between them, Al Capone died in 1947 following a stroke.
Malcolm X & Vampire Weekend
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/21167-feature-beliebe-in-yourself/attachment/diag3/" rel="attachment wp-att-21298"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/04/diag3.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="400" /></a>
If there was one thing that Malcolm X loved, it was white people. And who are the whitest white people around? Vampire Weekend! At the time of writing, and I doubt it’s gonna change any time soon, the two most successful artists to take “heavy influence” from Afro-Pop are Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend. This would have been an endless source of satisfaction for Mr. X; there’s nothing that man loved more than a bunch of crackers appropriating black culture and receiving vast financial rewards for it. Nothing. Well, unless Vampire Weekend got blacked-up in dashikis of course.
Genghis Khan & Morrissey
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/21167-feature-beliebe-in-yourself/attachment/khan1/" rel="attachment wp-att-21338"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/04/khan1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="400" /></a>
My god, would these two be the best buddies that the whole entire world has ever seen or what? Dinner time? No problem! Genghis Khan was a dedicated vegetarian. The warlord loved his salad and would have never, ever even dreamed of eating an animal. Violence? The Khan-meister couldn’t stand it. I can see the two of them now, hanging out in their pajamas and talking deep into the inky night about their feelings and peace and poetry and love and delicate things.
Morrissey also famously declared the Chinese a <a href=".https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/03/morrissey-china-subspecies-racism" target="_blank">“sub-species”</a> and this comment would have made Genghis punch the air in jubilation; he couldn’t stand those of an Asian descent either. Getting TOPICAL, they’d have both bonded over their dislike of Thatcher. One thing I can say with certainty is that there’s no way the Mongolian would have admired her; he hated fucking people.

Feature: Beliebe In Yourself

In the eyes of many, the best thing that Thatcher ever did, apart from, you know, dying, was inspiring a countless number of bands to write songs about how they really weren’t that fond of her. The thing is though, that for every subtle(-ish) masterpiece like ‘Ghost Town’, there are thousands of less impressive anti-Iron Lady songs, most of them by Billy Bragg. Now, at CitR we’re not just gonna write an article to garner some hits of the back of a news story; we’re going to try and be snarky and insulting too.
 
Frank Turner – Thatcher Fucked The Kids
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1NyWbhCxZE
Honestly, I hope you’re reading this Frank Turner, because there’s something I’d like to say:
Fuck you, buddy.
On one hand, I feel kinda bad about insulting the man, he did his time in a (post-)hardcore band, built his folk fanbase from the ground up and genuinely seems like a pleasant guy, but then I listen to his music and those factors just get washed away in his piss-stream of sound.
Now, ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’ was released in 2006, which, when I went and checked, was roughly sixteen years after she stepped down. Sixteen. Fucking. Years. Say what you want, but I seriously doubt that NoFX are going to be writing songs about George W. Bush in 2025. Hell, even if they did, they at least lived through his entire term, while Mr. Turner was born in ’81.
Maybe I could look past this if the lyrics were an elegant and allegorical deconstruction of Thatcherism, but, alas, they read like the scribblings an editor of an adolescent political zine would find somewhat heavy-handed. Put it this way, if you were going to play a game of protest-song-bingo and this came on, everyone would win.
 
 
The Specials – Maggie’s Farm
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA8KR0Qo8R8 

There’s something hauntingly pathetic about deciding to record a protest song and realising that someone else has already done it better, so you may as well just do a version of that. I mean, what does it say about your political dedication if you can’t hammer a couple of chords together and shout about how much The System irks you?
If you want to be pedantic, it’s easy to state that Bob Dylan’s version of Maggie’s Farm was itself a reworking of an old folk song, but that’s kinda missing the point, as the recycling of music is a folk staple that does not exist in the Two Tone movement. It’d be akin to Mumford & Sons deciding that they really, really dig Hip-Hop’s vernacular and are going to endlessly drop “bitch”, “fag” and the “n-bomb” on their next album. To be fair to them, if they did, I would probably actually listen to it.
 
Billy Bragg – pretty much any song he’s ever written 

I’m not going to choose a single Billy Bragg song, because I don’t have to and you can’t make me.
 
Klaus Nomi – Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vXR5gjRMPk
I never really worked out what a German living in New York had to do with Thatcher, but she must have done something or other that pissed him off pretty badly. I can’t really imagine how someone would annoy me enough that I would consider covering a song from The Wizard Of Oz to be a logical and level-headed way of dealing with my emotions though, but that’s most likely a personal failing.
Then there’s the fact that ‘Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead!’ was released in 1982, a good thirty-one years before Thatcher actually snuffed it. This means that the song has, at the time of writing, only been factually accurate for two days and that, in my humble opinion, is just not acceptable.
 
So, there we have it. The real question we need to roll round our minds, is what have we learned from this article? Well, as it turns out, it wasn’t just free milk and miners that Thatcher fucked (WAY-HEY!).

Feature: Four More Things Thatcher Fucked

<a href="https://www.datpiff.com" target="_blank">DatPiff </a>is an awesome site. Even if you ignore the fact that it’s the premium location for finding new mixtapes, it has the hidden benefit of being a veritable cornucopia of cover art. Now, I didn’t want to ruin the magic of many of these album covers with small concerns like “what it actually sounds like”, so I take no responsibility for the quality of the music. Well then, without further ado, and in no particular order, I present my ten favourite pieces of artwork from DatPiff this week.
 
1) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/A-Rodge-Ele-mixtape.470650.html" target="_blank">A-Rodge – E.L.E.</a>
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/a-rodge_ele-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20552"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/03/A-Rodge_Ele-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
Just take a moment and look at those eyes. There’s an endless expanse of pain and suffering that seems to seep out from them, I mean he’s smiling, but I’m far from convinced that he’s actually happy. It also probably doesn’t help that he looks like the lass from <a href="https://socialnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Overly-Attached-Girlfriend-Uses-Meme-For-Charity.png" target="_blank">Overly Attached Girlfriend</a> meme. I’m also digging the backwards cap with the quiff poking through. It’s a strong look that balances gangsta style for the men out there, with a seductive, metrosexual tint for DA LAYDEEZ. I’ve also heard that bitches love comic sans.
 
2) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/Various-Artists-Ballers-Vol3-mixtape.470490.html" target="_blank">Various Artists – Beach Ballin</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/beach-ballin/" rel="attachment wp-att-20565"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/beach-ballin.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
When observing a truly great piece of art, your mind should be awash with the questions you need to ask in order to comprehend the covert meaning of the imagery, and Beach Ballin is no different. What’s the deal with that woman in the background to the left? Why is the bro in the middle staring at that the giant woman’s elbow? On that note, why is she so massive? What kind of man who is so close to a sack full of CA$H and has such a luminescent watch would drink out of a plastic cup? These are the kind of queries that make us human.
3) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/LITTLE-MAN-Its-Lils-The-Demo-no-Pen-Or-Paper-mixtape.470827.html" target="_blank">Little Man! – It’s Lil’s … The Demo! (No Pen Or Paper!</a>)
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/little_man_its_lils_the_demo_no_pen_or_pap-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20615"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/LITTLE_MAN_Its_Lils_The_Demo_no_Pen_Or_Pap-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
It’s Little Man! This cover upsets me slightly! The man is holding a fist full of cash, yet claims he can’t afford a pen or paper, or, seemingly, a shirt! That displays a serious issue with dealing with the realities of everyday life! At least he has that cleaver, so he can hunt his own food, because, with his inability to even sort out the appropriate level of his stationary needs, I feel that going to the supermarket might be beyond him!
4) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/Boy-Logix-Ass-Nation-mixtape.470788.html" target="_blank">Boy Logix & InFiniti – Ass Nation</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/boy_logix_infiniti_ass_nation-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20617"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/Boy_Logix_InFiniti_Ass_Nation-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt in my 24 years, it’s that there’s no such thing as too much ass or too much lens flare.
5) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/jfrass-Easter-Bashment-It-Tun-Over-2013-mixtape.470563.html" target="_blank">Jfrass – Easter Bashment It Tun Over 2013</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/jfrass_easter_bashment_it_tun_over_2013-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20619"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/jfrass_Easter_Bashment_It_Tun_Over_2013-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
Jfrass does not fuck with the whole “reading something from top-to-bottom” tradition, he’s far too much of a badass for that. Truthfully though, if I was his size and towered over a room of shadow people, I too would disregard the traditions of the written word. Got to say, I hope Jfrass is getting some money for that Usain Bolt advert, otherwise the athlete is just taking advantage of the “The Mix Master’s” fame.
6) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/King-Pimpin-King-Pimpin-Muzik-Volume-2-Hoodbound-Edition-mixtape.470412.html" target="_blank">King Pimpin – King Pimping Muzik Volume 2 Hoodbound Edition</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/king_pimpin_king_pimpin_muzik_volume_2_hoodbound_e-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20621"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/King_Pimpin_King_Pimpin_Muzik_Volume_2_Hoodbound_E-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
Photoshop is a phenomenal tool. It still amazes me that images can be edited in such a seamless manner that, fifty years ago, experts would have been unlikely to recognise them as fake. Now, I’m not wholly confident that this has image has been edited at all, as surely anyone who would grant themselves the moniker “King Pimpin” would possess their own throne from which to pimp. Otherwise, they’d have to call themselves “Manager Pimpin” or “Associate Pimping”, and I don’t believe King Pimpin would lie to me like that.
7) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/the-drew-ftlil-john-marine-brown-The-Drew-Dope-Shit-mixtape.470514.html" target="_blank">The Drew Feat. Lil John Marine Brown – The Drew Dope Shit</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/the_drew_ftlil_john_marine_brown_the_drew_dope_shi-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20623"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/the_drew_ftlil_john_marine_brown_The_Drew_Dope_Shi-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
Sometimes, I feel that artists just put in too much effort, what happened to nonchalance?
8) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/ZooBoyChapo-This-Is-All-I-Know-Part1-mixtape.470536.html" target="_blank">ZooBoyChapo – This Is All I Know Part 1</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/zooboychapo_this_is_all_i_know_part1-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20626"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/ZooBoyChapo_This_Is_All_I_Know_Part1-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
This might be the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen. It’s pure $$$WAG visualised in motherfucking SPACE. There are dollars, UFOs AND a submarine.
9) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/Killa-Throwed-Ufo-Fly-2013-mixtape.470137.html" target="_blank">Killa Throwed & Day Beatz – UFO Fly</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/killa_throwed_daybeatz_ufo_fly_2013-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20628"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/Killa_Throwed_DayBeatZ_Ufo_Fly_2013-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
Now this guy I don’t like. I’m not sure if it’s that unsettling leer, his glowing third nipple or simply the fact that he’s swearing at me.
10) <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/NOAH-The-Chronicles-Of-Noah-ditibution-mixtape.471180.html" target="_blank">NOAH – Tha Chronicles Of Noah (Di$Tibution)</a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20551-feature-the-ten-best-mixtape-covers-on-datpiff-this-week/attachment/noah_the_chronicles_of_noah_ditibution-front-large/" rel="attachment wp-att-20661">><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/NOAH_The_Chronicles_Of_Noah_ditibution-front-large.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
There’s nothing quite like staring off into the middle distance to make me perceive you as a deep-thinker and/or philosopher. Hold on, what’s this? Military insignia? Is it possible that NOAH has a violent edge to his musings? Maybe, but then, maybe not. All I know is that whatever he’s pondering, it’s going to be a weighty and serious topic.
So, there we have it. The Ten Best Mixtape Covers On DatPiff this week is over. We’ve learnt a lot, had some emotional moments and come out the other side better, smarter and with more SWAGGER. #thuglyf

Feature: The Ten Wildest Mixtape Covers This Week

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekFWPsXXcg0&feature=youtu.be
The new video from John Grant, whose album Pale Green Ghosts is currently making waves, is definitely worth five minutes of your time. While ‘GMF’ is a maudlin, folk-y pop song, the video finds the singer/songwriter in a far more jovial mood. The premise of the piece revolves around following the artist while he is going about his daily routine, which includes activities such as playing basketball, visiting a pet shop and throwing some shapes on a night out. The whole thing is good fun and was directed with some serious swagger by Lucy Luscombe. Pale Green Ghosts is out now on Bella Union.

Video: John Grant – GMF

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCZidRAtNbI
London based art/fashion/music collective Last Night In Paris have put out a video for their track ‘Blackout’. The song finds the group in scintillating form, with members Taurean Roye, Flowzart, Sir. Berus and Collard all spitting with confidence and style. The beat consists of rolling bass underneath squelchy single-note synth stabs with the drums on a half-beat.
‘Blackout’ also has a pretty impressive video. It does nothing particularly special in its portrayal of night life, but it is constructed, edited and shot with the utmost skill. The cuts and camera movement create an aesthetic spectacle that reflects both the lyrical content and general feel of the song. If you like ‘Blackout’ then check out Roses, the group’s mixtape, which is available for download <a href="https://soundcloud.com/lastnightinparis/sets/roses" target="_blank">here</a>.

Video: Last Night In Paris – Blackout

One of my favourite mixtapes from the past couple of months was the collaboration between Freekstile & JoeyG, <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19954-mixtape-freekstile-joeyg-golden-house/" target="_blank">Golden House</a>. Something that caused the Brooklyn-based MC to stand-out on his last release was the manner in which he eschewed many common hip-hop themes and, instead, rapped about subjects that he holds dear. In Freekstile’s case, it happens to be video games and movies that occupy a fair amount of his attention.
The beats that populate Vigilante are filled with ethereal synths bubbling between hi-hat heavy drums and, in general, are all skilfully put-together. At times, Freekstile sounds reminiscent of early Kanye West, minus the inflated sense of self-worth, and throughout Vigilante his rhymes remain consistent, if not earth-shattering.
Highlights include: “Geeked Up (It’s All Good)’, ‘Tag Team’ and ‘Label’s Choice’. You can stream and download Vigilante below.
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 300px; height: 410px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1767513964/size=grande3/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="410" width="300" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Mixtape: Freekstile – Vigilante

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upeZRL3mRYo
Detroit’s FowL put out the video for ‘I’m Goin Crazy’ yesterday. The twenty year old rapper won the Red Bull Emcee Battle in 2010 and has released five mixtapes, all of which can be downloaded <a href="https://fowlstyle.com/#projects" target="_blank">here</a>.
His latest track has a laid back and minimalist feel to it. Over the slow-burning beat, FowL varies his delivery and performs with conviction. The video itself is less successful, as it has moments of style, but, generally, it’s pretty unremarkable. Still, there is no denying the potential FowL displays and he is definitely one to keep an eye on in the future.

Video: FowL – I’m Goin Crazy

With the release of Old rapidly approaching, Danny Brown has upped-the-ante in guest appearances over the last few weeks. His latest track is a collaboration with the UK-based producer Paul White, who contributed three beats to Brown’s excellent XXX.
Although Brown has toned down his rapping recently, ‘Street Lights’ finds the MC breaking out a flow that would not be out of place on his last album. The Paul White beat displays dizzy drums that could easily pose a challenge to a less accomplished barsmith, but Danny Brown excels over it. He raps about social issues and the difficulties of living in a violent city, which, if Brown hadn’t already mentioned his change in lyrical direction, would come as a surprise. Luckily though, he sounds as hungry and vital as ever.
‘Street Lights’ is being released as a single on the 15th April and you can give the track a spin below. 
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New: Paul White – Street Lights Feat. Danny Brown

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Dc8DtVxb0
Deptford Goth, the artist known as Daniel Woodhouse, released a video for ‘Feel Real’, a cut from his album. The piece is well put-together, especially as it appears to have a shoestring budget. Even though it doesn’t do anything revolutionary, the ‘Feel Real’ video is a pleasant enough affair and does a good job reflecting the tone of the song.
His album, Life After Defo, was released on the 18th March and you can grab it in the normal places.

Video: Deptford Goth – Feel Real

Early this morning, Black Milk, the Detroit based producer and rapper, released his first music of 2013. ‘Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst’ is a double single from the barsmith, with both tracks set to appear on his next album.
Judging by these songs, Black Milk has substantially improved as a rapper. He was never poor in the first place, but there was always the sense that his lyrics and flow were overshadowed by his beat-making skills. Both parts of ‘Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst’ are quality, but it is the latter part of the song, which begins around the two-minute mark, that’s the highlight. The soul samples seem to channel J Dilla and the track builds, gaining momentum as it progresses.
Black Milk’s album is currently untitled, but is due to be released in the summer and you can hear ‘Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst’ below. 
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New: Black Milk – Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anRkutaPS9w
Giving me the best possible (music-related) gift for the day, <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/artist/earl-sweatshirt/" target="_blank">Earl Sweatshirt</a>, as promised, dropped the video for his latest song, ‘Woah’, at 5am this morning. The track, which was directed by Tyler, The Creator, who also features on the chorus, is closer to Earl’s earlier material than ‘Chum’. This is reflected in the differing styles of the videos, ‘Chum’ was black & white and introspective, while ‘Woah’ has a more playful primary-coloured trailer park aesthetic, with other Odd Future members making appearances,
Earl Sweatshirt continues to display a phenomenal virtuosity, his bars drip class and he piles rhyme upon rhyme in that peerless flow of his. At the time of writing, there has been no release date mentioned for his album, Doris, but, judging by the amount of new material coming out of his camp, it can’t be too long now.

Video: Earl Sweatshirt – Woah (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSDcNF9SxTA
I pretty much lost my shit when I watched this video of Earl Sweatshirt. He performed the new songs, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Hive’ and ‘Guild’, in Los Angeles, at the end of a Flying Lotus concert. His EP, EARL, I rank among the best releases of the last ten years and, while his two year absence from making music sucked some serious ballsack and ‘Home’ was kinda weak, ‘Chum’ was a continuation of where he left off.
The first track he plays is ‘Burgundy’, a horn-swelling, cymbal-splashing Pharrell produced song. Hearing this, it’s easy to draw further parallels between the careers of both Earl Sweatshirt and Eminem. They each released deliberately provocative, almost cartoonish, yet aggressive albums and, if the lyrical content of ‘Chum’ is a sign of Earl’s direction, both followed that by including more ruminative themes in their music. ‘Burgundy’ fits into this pattern, with the rapper discussing issues like the pressure of success and a troubled relationship with his parents.
Next up, he plays ‘Hive’, which can only be described as a “banger”. The bassline is classic Odd Future, in the best possible way, and, if I had to go out on a limb, I’d guess that it was produced by Tyler. A recording of him turns up on the chorus, which might mean he’ll have a verse on the recording version. The beat is well put-together, the introduction of the off-beat hi-hat a highlight, and Earl does what’s commonly known as “going in heavy”, spitting like an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp0Bt2cbcc8" target="_blank">irritated goat</a> and generally parring it.
Finally, Earl performs ‘Guild’ with Mac Miller. The track is a bit more subdued than ‘Burgundy’ and ‘Hive’, with the latter doing admirably, even if I’m not his biggest fan, but Earl Sweatshirt continues to rip it up. His ability to vary his flow is staggering and his keen lyrical ability is in full force throughout. The video for another new song, ‘Woah’, is being dropped next week and, if that’s not good enough, it won’t be too long until Doris is out. HYPE.

News: Earl Sweatshirt Performs New Songs ‘Burgundy’, ‘Hive’ And ‘Guild’

Last night, <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/artist/ghostface-killah/" target="_blank">Ghostface Killah</a> dropped ‘The Sure Shot [Parts 1 And 2]’, the second track he has released from his upcoming collaboration with <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/artist/adrian-younge/" target="_blank">Adrian Younge</a>, Twelve Reasons To Die. It definitely sounds that Ghostface is back on form, flowing over the jittery beat with confidence and those trademark offbeat rhymes.The second part of the song is stronger, as it allows some space between Ghostface’s bars, meaning he doesn’t sound quite as strained, but, whatever your opinion on what the best half ‘The Sure Shot’ is, one thing is for sure, it  warrants multiple listens.
Twelve Reasons To Die is a set to be a concept album that takes inspiration from crime and horror films, which, if nothing else, is an interesting proposition. RZA is the executive producer on the album while Adrian Younge is providing the beats. You can listen to and download ‘The Sure Shot [Parts 1 And 2]’ below and grab the full release on the 16th April. <iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 300px; height: 100px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2444557878/size=grande/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="100" width="300" frameborder="0"></iframe>

MPFree: Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge – The Sure Shot [Parts 1 And 2]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy7j96s8Ciw
I have no idea what’s going on with <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/artist/kool-a-d/" target="_blank">Kool A.D</a>. and <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/artist/heems/" target="_blank">Heems</a> currently. It seems that as soon as one ex-Das Racist member releases something, the other is hot on his heels. Earlier today, <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/20024-video-heems-desi-shoegaze-taiko/" target="_blank">Heems dropped the video for ‘Shoegaze Desi Taiko’</a> and then, mere hours later, Kool A.D. releases his own for the track ‘Moneyball’.
The track, which is off his 63 mixtape, is one of the highlights of the album and the video differs quite dramatically from Heems’. Rather than being constructed from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_(film)" target="_blank">the beginning of a film</a>, ‘Moneyball’ finds Kool A.D. in a variety of psychedelic situations in which he is framed as some kind of bohemian overlord. It’s definitely a far artier affair than the Heems’ piece and has considerably more staying power, even if the concept is not quite as amusing.
Still, whatever happens I’m delighted that both ex-members of Das Racist seem to have actually upped their activity levels since the group disbanded. You can find information about Kool A.D.’s two latest mixtapes 19 and 63 <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19525-mixtapes-kool-a-d-63-and-19/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Video: Kool A.D. – Moneyball

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwUo7_Avhs
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/artist/heems/" target="_blank">Heems</a>, the ex-Das Racist rapper, has just posted a link to video for the song ‘Desi Shoegaze Taiko’, a cut from his first mixtape, Nehru Jackets. The video, which was uploaded to youtube on Dapwell’s account, consists of a slightly time-warped beginning of the Wesley Snipes opus, Blade. Honestly, that’s the whole video.
I have to say, it’s an odd move, considering that his second mixtape, Wild Water Kingdom has been out for months, but one that I find heartening. ‘Desi Shoegaze Taiko’ is not, in my opinion, one of Heems’ best songs, but neither is it the worst. I find it impossible to take any kind of issue with a rap song that samples Yuck though and I do adore the fact that Heems, most likely deliberately, is messing with the public’s expectations just for lulz.
Heems has a tour of the UK planned soon, details of which you can find <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19462-news-first-uk-solo-show-for-heems-since-das-racist-breakup/" target="_blank">here</a>. Happy Friday folks!

Video: Heems – Desi Shoegaze Taiko

The Unseen x Delight track ‘Supervillian’ is a straight-up banger. The track does nothing that hasn’t been done before, but the old school style beat channels the spirit of the kind of traditional hip-hop that I hope never goes out of style. It’s sample heavy, with lofty sounding strings and turntable scratches, the kind of beat that seems to beg your body to take action. Unseen does a decent job spitting over the track, his husky voice, while not being particularly nimble, has enough of an edge to add a bit of grit to proceedings.
The mixtape this cut comes from, the Past Present Perspective LP, isn’t quite as impressive as the track, but it is probably worth a spin if you like the song. You can stream and download ‘SuperVillain’ below.
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=4983404/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="100" width="400" frameborder="0"></iframe>

New: Unseen x Delight – SuperVillian

Dialate has just put out his latest track, which is an ode to the joy of smoking weed. This is a topic that has received a large amount of coverage in the rap industry, but the barsmith really makes the topic his own. ‘Another One’ clocks in at just under two minutes, but remains a riveting listen. Dialate’s flow is sharp and accurate, spraying percussive rhythms over the minimal beat, which the artist produced himself.
‘Another One’ is currently available for free download, but, if you don’t have time for that, you can also stream the track below. Isn’t life lovely?
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1188622906/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="100" width="400" frameborder="0"></iframe>

MPfree: Dialate – Another One

R.L. Kelly, who consists of half of Kiss Kiss Fantastic, put out her debut solo EP, Life’s A Bummer recently. If the title of her release doesn’t already give you a good idea regarding the kind of music she’s making, I’ll help you out a bit. Life’s A Bummer consists of melancholic lo-fi songs with a dark lyrical undercurrent and, I have to say, almost every track on it is impressive.
One reason the EP succeeds is R.L. Kelly has the talent to make something beautiful and unique from everyday concerns. ‘A Familiar Concern’ is a perfect example of this, taking the theme of uncertainty about the direction of her life and, through simple instrumentation and melody, creating something heartbreakingly honest and candid.
Life’s A Bummer is currently available for download on the “name your price” model and I would highly recommend paying as much as you can to support her making an album. Hell, if she’s successful enough, maybe we’ll get a chance to witness her doing her own version of Trapped In The Closet. Give the EP a spin below.
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 300px; height: 355px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=2379963783/size=grande2/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="355" width="300" frameborder="0"></iframe>

New: R.L. Kelly – Life’s A Bummer EP

Hailing from Brooklyn, but hardly indebted to the illustrious past of the area, Freekstile and JoeyG’s mixtape, Golden House, is an inventive and propulsive piece. Both MCs possess smooth flows which dribble over the beats and are easy on the ear. A number of the backing tracks, while influenced by Golden Age Hip-Hop, cut their own path with some inventive flourishes, ‘F1Humanauts’ being a fine example of this. The chords that provide the backdrop of the track are reminiscent of the of kind of progressions Nas favoured on Illmatic, but the fidgety drums and quick stabs of bass mark it out as something substantially more modern.
Both barsmiths display proficient lyricism, but it is Freekstile who possesses the greater skill behind the mic. He does nothing particularly revolutionary but, to paraphrase Men In Black, he makes it sound good. I also thoroughly enjoyed the references that are dropped throughout Golden House. Alongside the rap tropes of money and $WAG, Freekstile & JoeyG explore the less generic topics of video games, TV shows and movies, with the Dexter and Gandalf references on ‘2Jedi’ and ‘Das Flow’ respectively being some of my favourites. There is also a surprising amount of remarks regarding Greek Mythology throughout Golden House, which can only be a good thing.
Like pretty much every mixtape, there are some weak moments on Golden House, but, honestly, this is one of the joys of the form and the positive merits of the album far outweigh the missteps. Golden House is available for free download, so you should download it for free and bump your head… enthusiastically.
Highlights: ‘F1Humanauts’, ‘2Jedi’, ‘Kurosai’, ‘Das Flow’, ‘Sour Kreme’ and ‘That Man’.
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Mixtape: Freekstile & JoeyG – Golden House

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkghyKKQDss
In my <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/videos/19336-video-review-charli-xcx-you-ha-ha-ha/" target="_blank">Charli XCX edition of Man vs. Video</a>, I made a comment about how her video was popular-online-opinion-pandering “web vomit”, on account of the opening shots of the ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ video being constructing solely of ASS and (a) PUSSY(cat). What a pleasant surprise I had then when I began watching the video of current HYPEbbz Wolf Alice’s song ‘Fluffy’. It opens with the lead singer, who I assume is named Wolf as either a tribute to <a href="https://goodtoknow.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/111/0000024f8/85d4_orh100000w334/Wolf1.jpg" target="_blank">Wolf from Gladiators</a> or <a href="https://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200307/worf01/320x240.jpg" target="_blank">Lieutenant Worf</a>, telling us the song is for her cat, Fluffy, who she has had neutered. First things first, the fact that Wolf said “neutered”, rather than “spayed”, suggests that this cat is male. This worries me, because who the fuck calls a male animal Fluffy? I’ll tell you, a goddamn nihilist, that’s who. That moniker is bad enough itself, but then Wolf goes and cuts Fluffy’s cock off, which, and I’m just putting this out there, I reckon she did herself with just a pair of nail clippers and the desire to do harm. Then, after all this, she has the hellish level of audacity to write a song as some kind of tribute to the fact you now have to talk about the cat’s masculinity in the past tense. We are dealing with dark depths of depravity here, people.
The rest of the group, who I will collectively refer to from here on as Alice, also show some alarming personality traits. The first of these appears at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkghyKKQDss/#t=0m45s" target="_blank">00:45</a> when a 1/3 of Alice reveals that he has never been taught how to drink properly. There is something hugely upsetting about watching a fully-grown man failing to grasp the basics of self-nourishment. Watching him struggle gives me the same feeling I had at the end of the Jungle Book, when Mowgli enters society and you realise that, as he’s spent his entire life among animals, he has no, and will never have, any grasp of human language, let alone culture or traditions, and is doomed to spend the rest of his days an outsider, never being able to properly communicate, adapt or fit in. This is what I see when the milk spills down the front of a 1/3 of Alice’s top; a cascading waterfall of shame and loneliness you can almost see reflected in his cold, dead eyes.
There’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkghyKKQDss/#t=1m39s" target="_blank">a point in the video</a> where the removal of masculinity and the troubling characteristics of another 1/3 of Alice member cross paths. Here, one bandmate shows a complete inability to master the fundamentals of tool use. There might be some clever editing to show the actual hammer head hitting the fallen monitor, but I’m sharp-eyed enough to recognise 1/3 of Alice gearing up to hit the screen with the claw of the implement. As you can observe in <a href="https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2009/09/hammerparts.jpg" target="_blank">this diagram</a>, the claw of a hammer is not made for hitting. It’s made for pulling on things, specifically nails. Now, if we consider that a hammer can observed as a representation of “male-ness” and has been literally inverted from its normal use alongside the neutering, there is an argument to be made that Wolf’s only goal in leading the band is to wage a brutal war on masculinity. Truly disturbing.
As I don’t want to leave the article finishing on such a negative note, I feel the final section of the ‘Fluffy’ video needs a little attention. The segment moves away from the hate and instead turns into some kind of MAD RAVE, albeit a densely underpopulated one. Now, there are some emotions and reactions that words struggle to describe and, unfortunately, this is one of those moments. Luckily though, there’s a gif set that sums up my feelings towards the conclusion of the piece with phenomenal accuracy.
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19820-man-vs-video-wolf-alice-fluffy/attachment/maurice1/" rel="attachment wp-att-19823"><img class="size-full wp-image-19823 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/02/maurice1.gif" width="400" height="225" /></a>
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<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19820-man-vs-video-wolf-alice-fluffy/attachment/maurice3/" rel="attachment wp-att-19825"><img class="size-full wp-image-19825 alignleft" style="margin-left: 0px;" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/02/maurice3.gif" width="400" height="225" /></a>

Man vs. Video: Wolf Alice – Fluffy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4OD3IHs5jU
I woke up this morning to a glorious surprise that has really set me up for the weekend. While I was unplugged from DAS INTERWEBZ last night, Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator not only announced details regarding his new album, Wolf, but also dropped the video for the lead single from the album, ‘Domo 23’.
The video continues where OFWGKTA’s [adult swim] show Loiter Squad left off and revolves around a wrestling match against Domo Genesis, with Earl Sweatshirt acting as the referee. If you’re not a fan of Odd Future’s aesthetic and sound, then ‘Domo 23’ is not going to change your opinion in the slightest, although I seriously doubt that’s what Tyler was aiming for. The video is irreverently amusing and appears to be a homage to, rather than a satire of, professional wrestling.The song itself is a typical Tyler affair; high energy, stabbing synths with the chromatic scales the group loves, shuffling drums and provocative lyrics delivered in Tyler’s trademark growl, all of which is highly enjoyable.
The barsmith (this is going to be a ‘thing’ now) and beatmaker also released details regarding Wolf. Currently, the album is set to be dropped on the 2nd April and can be preordered on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wolf/id600946351" target="_blank">iTunes</a>. Probably my favourite thing about the announcement though are the three album covers Tyler has prepared for Wolf, which are shown below. The first of these actually gave me 4reel LULZ, which means that I need it on vinyl. Tyler also has a solitary UK show in London on the 30th March, with the venue TBA at the time of writing.
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/19803-newsvideo-tyler-the-creator-wolf-domo-23/attachment/tyler-wolf1/" rel="attachment wp-att-19807"><img class="alignleft wp-image-19807" alt="tyler-wolf1" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/02/tyler-wolf1-260x260.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
<a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/19803-newsvideo-tyler-the-creator-wolf-domo-23/attachment/tyler_wolfcover1/" rel="attachment wp-att-19806"><img class="alignleft wp-image-19806" alt="tyler_wolfcover1" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/02/tyler_wolfcover1-260x260.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a>
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News/Video: Tyler, The Creator – Wolf & Domo 23

Melbourne based producer eyeofzion has just put out his newest release, Minerals EP. The four tracks on the tape bubble with aqueous synths that are nestled alongside short snatches of clipped and warped vocal samples. While the drums, woozy and equable, provide the insular elements of the tracks a sense of propulsion. The whole EP is reminiscent of Baths instrumentals and you could easily imagine an Anticon artist rapping over something like this.
The only negative I can find in the artist is his moniker “eyeofzion”. It almost put me off listening to him altogether, which would have been a mighty shame. No one, not even those in Jamaican Reggae bands should give themselves a name that appears to reference Bob Marley or Rastafarianism, let alone a white kid from Australia.
Still, this should make no difference in appreciating Minerals EP, which you can listen to below. ‘Inhale’ and ‘Exhale’, the tracks that bookend the release, are the most accomplished, but the whole thing warrants multiple listens. If the urge takes you, the Minerals EP is also available for ‘name your price’ download.
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Introducing: eyeofzion – Minerals EP

Continuing the trend of Valentines Day releases, rapper Antwon has just dropped his latest mixtape. In Dark Denim sees the San Jose barsmith (I’m going to do everything I can to make “barsmith” a ‘thing’) displaying the same kind of form that made last year’s End Of Earth such a vital release.
Beats are contributed by a variety of artists, including Cities Aviv and B L A C K I E, while Goldfrapp are sampled on the title track, which has more than a whiff of Death Grips about it. You can download the mixtape <a href="https://www.mediafire.com/?vhu0p0cfbwe5rr8" target="_blank">here</a>.

Mixtape: Antwon – In Dark Denim

Brock Berrigan, the New York based beatmaker, has just released his latest collection of hip-hop instrumentals. Sample heavy, the album maintains a fine line between calming and propulsive. An outstanding feature of Berrigan is how, on each track, the sound subtly evolves as it progresses. The fact that the majority of the beats are under two minutes long, which is a refreshing change from the number of overlong instrumental albums, assists in Good Company not outstaying its welcome and remaining an engaging listen.
You can hear elements from traditional New York rap seeping through the mixtape, but Brock Berrigan is far from a revivalist. The beats, while having a foot in the past, with the snippets of old soul and funk horn samples, are arranged and layered in such a way that is undoubtedly contemporary. This forward thinking is most apparent on the songs that he produces with other artists, such as the excellent Toy Machine Shirt with Jalentuna.
This is an enjoyable beat tape and, considering you can currently grab it for free, there should be no reason not to head over to Bandcamp and download it.
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 300px; height: 410px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=2742085796/size=grande3/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="410" width="300" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Mixtape: Brock Berrigan – Good Company

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q_7fT-vSXU
Although Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson have made guest appearances on each others albums, I’ve been waiting for quite some time for The Uncluded to release a song. I mean, this was one of the oddest collaborations that I can think of. Unexpectedly, I’m not particularly surprised by the sound, which is standard Kimya Dawson style anti-folk with the addition of Aesop Rock laying down some bars at opportune moments, but, damn, does it work. Which I have to say, did shock me somewhat.
On first listen, ‘Earthquake’ appears to lack a certain amount of substance, but, after a couple of spins, it becomes apparent just how much of a fantastic job The Uncluded did with the song. The group ally the cute melody with sombre and touching lyrics, while remaining wholly enjoyable. Aesop Rock in particular is on top form, taking a slight step away from the hyper-dense internal imagery of Skelethon, while still retaining his innate lyricism, his verse is heartbreakingly beautiful:
October ended with a single feather funnelling its way to muddy earth in front of funny sparrow copycatting / Eventually it would select and circle one, as if to pause and crown the victim of a loss I wasn’t comprehending.
The Uncluded, who entitled their release Hokey Fright, made the album art and tracklist available as well, both which can be found below. It’s being released on the 7th May through Rhymesayers, so stick that date in your diary. Honestly, I can’t wait to hear the whole album. Here’s to hoping it lives up to the standards now set by ‘Earthquake’.
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/19734-video-the-uncluded-aesop-rock-kimya-dawson-earthquake/attachment/uncluded_cover_final/" rel="attachment wp-att-19736"><img class="alignleft size-archives wp-image-19736" alt="" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/02/UNCLUDED_cover_FINAL-350x312.jpg" width="350" height="312" /></a>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
01 Kryptonite 
02 Delicate Cycle 
03 TV On 10 
04 Earthquake 
05 Organs 
06 Superheroes 
07 Jambi Cafe 
08 Batts 
09 Scissorhands 
10 Eyeball Soup 
11 The Aquarium 
12 Teleprompters 
13 Alligator 
14 WYHUOM 
15 Boomerang 
16 Tits Up

Video: The Uncluded (Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson) – Earthquake

Brighton’s <a href="https://escapegreat.com/" target="_blank">Great Escape</a> festival is one of the premier showcases for emerging talent in the UK. Each year, a multitude of bands and thousands of punters descend on the coastal city and wreak musical mayhem. This year is shaping up nicely, as today a host of artists were announced. Check them out below:
1975 // ALLAH-LAS // ALUNAGEORGE // AWAKEN I AM // BEAR’S DEN // BLACKEYE // BLAUDZUN // BRODKA // CAITLIN PARK // CHARLIE STRAIGHT // CHILDHOOD // CHRISTINE AND THE QUEEN // CHVRCHES // CLOUD BOAT // COUSINS // CUB SCOUTS // DAN CROLL // DARKSTAR // DAVID RODIGAN // DEL BARBER // DINGUS KHAN // DINOSAUR PILE-UP // DRENGE // EAGULLS // ECHO AND THE EMPRESS // EDDI FRONT // ELIZA AND THE BEAR // FIST CITY // FOAM LAKE GALLOPS // HOW TO DRESS WELL // HUMANS // HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY // INDIANS // KING KRULE // LAB COAST // LAWRENCE ARABIA // LEWIS WATSON // LUKE SITAL-SINGH // MAC DEMARCO // MADE IN JAPAN // MARIKA HACKMAN // MARMOZETS // MØ // NEIGHBOURHOOD YOUTH // NICK MULVEY // PHOSPHORESCENT // PORTASOUND // RAINY MILO // ROYAL CANOE // RYAN KEEN // SAN ZHI // SCRUFIZZER // SKATERS // SKIP&DIE // SLEEPMAKESWAVES // SNAKADAKTAL // SPECTRES // STONEFIELD // SUPERFOOD // SWEET BABOO // SWIM DEEP // TELEMAN // THE NATURALS // THE NEIGHBOURHOOD // THE UPSKIRTS // TITLE FIGHT // TO KILL A KING // TOM ODELL // TOMORROW’S WORLD // TOWNS // TRES.B // UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA // VELCRO HOOKS // VELOCIRAPTOR // WALL // WOLF ALICE // YOUNG RIVAL //
There’s a good mix of some big and some up-and-coming names nestled in the mass, which makes the weekend look exciting as hell. Mac Demarco, Scrufizzer, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Darkstar, Alunageorge, CHVRCHES, King Krule and How To Dress Well cover numerous genres and showcase exceptionally well the strength of Great Escape; variety and excitement, with particular focus on the contemporary.
The festival runs from the 16th to 18th of May in Brighton and tickets can be purchased <a href="https://www2.seetickets.com/greatescape/event.asp?e%7Cartist=THE+GREAT+ESCAPE+2013&filler1=id1escapefestival&filler2=multiid1escapefestival&filler3=&orderby=date%2Ctime%2Ccode" target="_blank">here</a>.

News: First Names For Brighton’s Great Escape Released

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SZ0gF7Fu0M
Depending on your view, Purity Ring’s album, Shrines, was either one of the best or one of the most disappointing albums of last year. There’s no doubt of what the group are capable of, as singles like ‘Ungirthed’ or ‘Lofticries’ showcased, but, on the album, there was always the sense that they could have done more.
One of the most interesting elements of Purity Ring since the release of Shrines has been how they’ve been adopted by the industry as a whole, with Danny Brown’s rapping over Belispeak a particular highlight. The group have continued this vaguely left-field trend by releasing a cover of the Soulja Boy song ‘Grammy’, which, as the event itself has just occurred  is probably the closest thing the band have gotten to social commentary.
If you’re aware of what Purity Ring sound like, you’re not going to be surprised by the direction the cover takes, but, damn, do Megan James and Corin Roddick make it sound good. ‘Grammy’ can be downloaded <a href="https://purityringsongs.com/grammy.mp3" target="_blank">here</a> or you can watch the video above.

New/MPfree: Purity Ring – Grammy

Canadian rap duo Pigeon Hole are gearing up for the release of their new album Chimp Blood and have recently dropped the opening track from the LP. ‘Wolf Pack’ smoulders with brooding intent, rumbling bass rolling underneath percussive guitar and piano stabs.
The duo, hailing from Vancouver, growl and howl their way through the track with flows that are reminiscent of an on-form Cage. Chimp Blood is being released through URBNET on the 5th March and can pre-ordered <a href="https://urbnet.bandcamp.com/album/chimp-blood" target="_blank">here</a>. You can stream ‘Wolf Pack’ below and, if the rest of the album consists of songs as good as this one, we’re all in for a treat when it drops.
<iframe style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=754177680/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" height="100" width="400" frameborder="0"></iframe>

New: Pigeon Hole – Wolf Pack

Trevor Powers, also known as Youth Lagoon, has just released another song from his upcoming and exquisitely titled album, Wondrous Bughouse. The album will be released on the 5th March by the lovely folk over at Fat Possum.
You can stream the latest cut from the album, ‘Mute’. below. Enjoy!
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F72107993" height="166" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

New: Youth Lagoon – Mute

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I
Deviating from my normal pattern of “reviewing” new videos, although, and let’s be honest here, they’re not so much reviews as opportunities to chat shit and make myself feel better about having no talent, I decided to take a look at a more classic (well, two months old) example of video art. Take a step forward then, Trinidad Jame$’ ‘All Gold Everything’. I must have watched this class-oozing opus at least thirty times and I still haven’t tired of it. Also, make sure you keep a careful eye peeled throughout the review for clever, hidden plays on the song title.
Right, in case you haven’t heard the song, and to break it down for you non-converts to the cause, Trinidad Jame$ cares only about a few, select things:
1) Gold chains
2) Gold rings
3) Gold watches
4) MDMA (which I assume he gets either spray-painted gold or, at the very least, contained in gold baggies)
5) Anything/Everything All Gold (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjU3e0IYgc" target="_blank">WORDPLAY</a>)
The infatuation with aurous substances continues with the production of ‘All Gold Everything’. Mr. Jame$ and director Devon Gallaspy want everyone to be aware of what this video is about, so, at the very beginning of the piece, they pull a clever move and swathe the screen in a thick yellowish filter. Now, I might be reading too much into this, but I think, and bear in mind I said think, that the yellow colour is reminiscent of the colour of gold. To make sure that we’re aware of quite how well-off the rapper is, we’re treated to a veritable Argos catalogue sized collection of jewellery. It’s a sensory overload of affluence, one whose impressiveness is intensified in the way his regalia morphs into his name. I mean, one could even argue that gold is in everything (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjU3e0IYgc" target="_blank">WORDPLAY</a>), including Trinidad Jame$ himself.
There is one gold item that I’m surprised isn’t mentioned in the lyrics though. At <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I/#t=1m24s" target="_blank">01:25</a> we are treated to Trinidad Jame$ and his crew doing their best Reservoir Dogs impression, but then, out of (almost) nowhere, a gold shopping trolley appears. I’ve got to say, although this might be a spray painted cart, which I severely doubt is the case, as, remember, this is a world where children play <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I/#t=0m23s" target="_blank">hula hoop with cuban linx</a>, there’s no way I’d let any of my friends near it, let alone one with a baseball bat. It might just be me, but if someone I knew had that much gold and I happened to be a holding a hefty piece of wood, I would twat that fucker and take-off with the loot. I can imagine having problems flogging it at Cash Convertors, but problems are made to be overcome.
Not everything is all gold in ‘All Gold Everything’ though (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjU3e0IYgc" target="_blank">WORDPLAY</a>). The rapper takes some time out of his hectic, precious-metal focused lifestyle to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I/#t=1m04s" target="_blank">hang out with a puppy</a>. At first, I couldn’t decipher what this meant. Is this how he has so much gold, through having a hound who, like those geese in Charlie & The Chocolate factory, shit solid gold everywhere? Or, more sinisterly, was this the next item on his list to get plated with gold? The fact of the matter is, I was blinded by how gold everything (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjU3e0IYgc" target="_blank">WORDPLAY</a>) was.
As far as I can tell, the point in acquiring so much gold is to entice attractive members of your chosen gender to rub their genitals on your own, meaning that, in this case, this was a move for the LAYDEEZ. Throughout the majority of the video, Jame$ is rolling around, looking thuggish and hanging out hard with his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOZhaxTw0I/#t=0m53s" target="_blank">bros</a>. Now, this shows that Trinidad Jame$ is a dominant alpha male, but it probably doesn’t appeal to women looking for something more. So, in a move of genius, the puppy is introduced. This shows that not only can he roll deep in a badman style, but that he also has a sensitive side, which, as you read this, is currently making a multitude of minges moist worldwide. Probably.

Man vs. Video: Trinidad Jame$ – All Gold Everything

“If she’s a hoe she better get my cocked sucked good/I’ll swing brown ball like conkers blud”
If that lyric doesn’t give you a little smile, then you’ll probably not want to progress through this article much further. K Dot is one of the leading members of Sheffield based grime collective SCUMFAM (which stands for Sheffield City Underground Music… FAM) who dropped their first EP, S.C.U.M, in the summer of last year.
This week he released a mixtape, entitled Let It Guh, and this is the first track from this release. As the title suggests, it’s a perfect song for winter. The backing track, produced by Darx, is icy and claustrophobic, skating over the drum beat, and K Dot spits over it with a sense of relentless aggression and intensity, coupling it with a keen sense of humour. It’s an absolute banger that demands to be pumped through headphones or speakers at the highest possible volume.
Download: <a href="https://www.sendspace.com/file/lcqzih" target="_blank">K Dot – Winter Sprayout</a>
If you like the track, it’ll be worth it to grab the album. It’s far from a perfect release, as it contains a number of missteps, but there are enough gems nestled in there to make it a necessary addition to any grime collection. If you like your rap dirty, frenzied and big on energy, Let It Guh can be downloaded from Sendspace <a href="https://www.sendspace.com/filegroup/zEaGCJu0BjsRl%2BQYUiLU0JV0mwnU%2BlGEfbbxaXsiwoCn2JH3w7YvaZiUG8P1a4MgyHepsPJNd3Kb0X9y07nOFh3NzoB3uWuHtep333XuCh5tCHSG7uCU0rGMS4zhyaZGtT7IxHOpGUspp91jgA6HlOaP20PsDKCT" target="_blank">here</a> or from Cameraman Sketch <a href="https://www.cameramansketch.com/download.php?set&file=kdot" target="_blank">here</a>.

MPfree: K Dot – Winter Sprayout

Georgia rapper, Kris J, has put together a slick mixtape, entitled #inspiredby, for his first release. His rhymes, while doing nothing particularly revolutionary, are delivered with the poise of a far more experienced artist, finding the right trade-off between punchy and chilled-out.
The beats are immediate and, although he hails from the south of the US, and this undoubtedly forms the backbone of his sound, you can hear an east-coast tinge on a number of the tracks. Clocking in a petite 12 songs, the album doesn’t slip into tedium, although there are a couple of weaker tracks in the middle of the mixtape.
You can stream and download the whole thing below. Highlights include ‘We Bang’, ‘Fresh Dressed’ and ‘Conversation Music’.
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<a href="https://www.datpiff.com/Kris-J-inspiredby-mixtape.450188.html" target="_blank">Download Mixtape</a> | <a href="https://www.datpiff.com" target="_blank">Free Mixtapes</a> Powered by <a title="Free Mixtapes" href="https://www.datpiff.com/" target="_blank">DatPiff.com</a></div>

Introducing/Mixtape: Kris J – #inspiredby

Ex-Das Racist rapper Kool A.D. has dropped not one, but two mixtapes today! Following Heems announcing dates for his UK tour (for details, check <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/19462-news-first-uk-solo-show-for-heems-since-das-racist-breakup/" target="_blank">here</a>), this has been a fantastic week for fans of the recently disbanded group. There are a host of guests across the new mixtapes, including Spank Rock, Lakutis, Meyhem Lauren and Busdriver, and some quality producers, such as Mike Finito, SKYWLKR, Amaze 88, Kool A.D. himself and, most interestingly of all, a beat the late Ad-Rock made for Das Racist, but the group never got round to using.
You can head over to Kool A.D.’s bandcamp and name your price to download the albums. Find ’19’ <a href="https://koolad.bandcamp.com/album/19" target="_blank">here</a>, and ’63’ <a href="https://koolad.bandcamp.com/album/63" target="_blank">here</a>.
The rapper also released a video from ’19’ about a week ago, which you can watch below. Damn, it’s been a good day.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4DvsihB6HA

Mixtapes: Kool A.D. – 63 and 19

Waking up this morning, I was given a boost when I saw that Justin Timberlake has confirmed the tracklist and artwork for The 20/20 Experience. Not sure how others in the “indiesphere” feel, but, goddamn, I’m excited. If there is one artist who is our generation’s Michael Jackson, it’s the mighty JT. If that doesn’t excite you, and I don’t know why it wouldn’t, consider that if MJ was the eighties’ Marvin Gaye, then Timberlake is our version of the peerless soul singer. If, for some reason or other, you feel that the two more modern singers are not in the same league as Gaye and are evidence of the decline of popular music, then quiet yourself, fool. We’re better off now, we can listen to all three of them as much as we want.
FutureSex/LoveSounds was, and still is, a great album, especially to bump uglies to, and I’m hoping he follows where he left off. The artwork is pretty stylish and slick, once again following in the wake of his last album. The 20/20 Experience is out on the 17th March on RCA, find the artwork and tracklist below.
<img class="aligncenter size-archives wp-image-19493" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/02/JT_The_20_20_Experience_Album_Small-350x350.jpg" width="350" height="350" />
 
01 Pusher Love Girl
02 Suit & Tie
03 Don’t Hold the Wall
04 Strawberry Bubblegum
05 Tunnel Vision
06 Spaceship Coupe
07 That Girl
08 Let the Groove Get In
09 Mirrors
10 Blue Ocean Floor

News: Justin Timberlake Releases ‘The 20/20 Experience’ Tracklist And Artwork

Yesterday, up and coming Chicago rapper (or rapress?) Sasha Go Hard released her new mixtape, Round 3. It’s an eleven track collection of unadulterated fun, with one foot firmly on the dance floor. Beats on the release are provided, among others, by Diplo and Absolut P, while Le1f and Kreayshawn furnish it with some guest verses. Have yourself a bouncy Wednesday and head over to <a title="Sasha Go Hard - Round 3" href="https://www.datpiff.com/Sasha-Go-Hard-Round-3-mixtape.451069.html" target="_blank">datpiff.com</a> to download it.
Fancy a little bit more of the charismatic character? You can check out her previous mixtapes <a title="Sasha Go Hard - Do U Know Who I Am?" href="https://www.datpiff.com/Sasha-Go-Hard-Do-U-Know-Who-I-Am-mixtape.371012.html" target="_blank">Do U Know Who I Am</a> (currently down) and <a href="https://www.datpiff.com/Sasha-GoHard-IL-Will-Of-MIC-Hip-Hop-V-s-Love-mixtape.409072.html" target="_blank">Hip Hop V ‘S Love</a>. While if all this seems like a bit too much effort, you can have a listen to ‘I’m Hotta’ below, which is, in my view at least, her career highlight so far.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqfzwVBrPv0

Mixtape: Sasha Go Hard – Round 3

A new bit looking at the often overlooked world of music videos, written by a self-styled asshole with a Lit degree.  – ed..
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_Ag7vk5X4
There are some music videos that just blow you away with their inherent creativity. They move beyond merely an advertisement for a band’s aesthetic and, instead, become transcendent pieces of art. I’ve always assumed that this is what goes through the communal consciousness of Animal Collective whenever it’s time for them to make another video. In reality, AnCo videos tend to reflect what detractors of the group find so irritating about them; artiness simply for the sake of it. I mean, go watch ODDSAC. Hell, if you’ve managed to get through that “film” without seriously empathising with the prisoners who had full-volume Metallica pumped at them for days on end, then you are either more in tune with the subtle machinations of modern art than myself or wrong, and I’m pretty confident it’s the latter.
This time, Animal Collective have teamed up with Gaspar Noé, the Argentinian director of Enter The Void, for ‘Applesauce’, a cut from their latest album, Centipede Hz. Now, before I wade balls deep into the Byzantine universe of the video, I should say that it supposedly takes inspiration from Paul Sharits’ short film from 1968, entitled “N:O:T:H:I:N:G”, which is cool, I guess. This means that the piece needs to be analysed with the same level of seriousness in order to be fully unravelled.
The vague premise of the ‘Applesauce’ piece is an extreme close-up of a lady, Lindsey Wixson, a model with a moderate sized wikipedia entry, eating some kind of fruit, which I guess might be a peach, but I’ll leave that investigation to the agriculturists, in front of vibrant, multicoloured lights. For five and a half minutes. A baser critic might state that this is the kind of thing that could be hobbled together in an afternoon by A-Level art students, but would they have a director with a cool-sounding, foreign name or an actual model in their video? Doubt it.
So, what’s the video trying to say, I hear you all yell. Shhh, chill out guys, I’ll tell you. The impact of those violent flashing lights, an intense and disorientating barrage of colour, give the viewer a sense of unease, as there is no solid foundation behind the main focus of the camera. This discomfort is furthered by the contrast between the aggressive imagery and the more carefree and cheerful music. As the band have also stated that the video should be watched in complete darkness, an isolating effect is also created. If all this is considered alongside the fact that, throughout this bombardment, a peach is consumed and framed in a way that is reminiscent of the tearing of flesh, with bits of skin hanging off and liquid dribbling down the protagonist’s chin, both being direct links to the human epidermis and blood, the meaning becomes crystal clear. Animal Collective hate fruit. I mean, despise it. They’re trying to do that old Clockwork Orange trick, forcing the viewer to feel nauseous whenever they stumble across a greengrocer or that aisle at the front of every supermarket. Shocking stuff.
I do have to wonder though about the motivations behind making a video like this. Sure, if I was at the numb face stage of a ketamine binge, all those pretty colours would ensure that I had an awesome time, but, at the minute, I’m not and I’d probably bet that most people reading this aren’t either. This asks the question, why? Come on Animal Collective, I’m a (semi) busy man, I can’t take narcotics every time I have to watch one of your videos.

Man vs. Video: Animal Collective – Applesauce

A new bit looking at the often overlooked world of music videos, written by a self-styled asshole with a Lit degree.  – ed..
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgK_Er7WZVg
Alarm bells should have started ringing as soon as I saw that Urban Outfitters were involved in the making of the video for Tame Impala’s new single ‘Mind Mischief’, but hell, I thought, Lonerism was one of the best albums of 2012, they couldn’t do that bad of a job for a video, could they? Proving that I am mortal, I was wrong. So very wrong.
‘Mind Mischief’ begins with a slow zoom on the Schoolboy’s face, suggesting that we are entering his mind. Maybe. Director David Wilson says that the whole video is a daydream, but, honestly, there is little evidence for that other than some slow ticks on the clock. This is further confused as, generally speaking, a sharp chiming sound normally screams back to reality, but who am I to argue with the director? Anyway, once the schoolboy has finished letching over a little bit of thigh, from (1:08) we get treated to pretty much 20 seconds of what can only be described as a visual representation of DAT ASS. At (1:23) there is a shot of some more school kids who also seem to agree on the positive merits of DAT ASS. David Wilson ramps this up another notch when the Hawt Teacher enters her car at (1:56) and we not only get another glimpse of DAT ASS, but also a nice shot of DEM TITTIES. Choice.
After they’re both in the car, there are some obligatory shots of them smoking on da reefer, because that’s exactly the kind of wild activity vaguely paedophiliac Hawt Teachers get up to, I suppose. So far though, I don’t really get what Tame Impala and David Wilson are trying to achieve in the ‘Mind Mischief’ video. Are they trying to create a 21st Century version of Hot For Teacher? Because, and let’s be frank here, no one needs another Van Halen. No one. Ever.
At (3:25), once some low-level raunchiness has begun, we’re treated to what everyone expects from Tame Impala; trippy psychedelic visuals. In space. I guess this trip had something to do with all the wacky baccy those wrongdoers consumed. If done well though, this whole section could have saved the video and added some extra layers to the piece, but instead it’s just filled with “metaphors” so basic, I had to put quotation marks around the word. At (4:18) we see the Schoolboy literally entering a woman, which I guess means that the Schoolboy entered the Hawt Teacher, and at (4:30) he gets pushed away and flies alone through the universe before bursting open and looking a bit sad, maybe representing some sort of rejection. Who knows? Greater minds than mine might need to wade in and battle with the intricacies.

Man vs. Video: Tame Impala – Mind Mischief

A new bit looking at the often overlooked world of music videos, written by a self-styled asshole with a Lit degree.  – ed..
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtrHH1BDlzk
Charli XCX has courted a reasonable bit of controversy concerning the video for her Gold Panda-sampling song ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’, notably over her supposed glorification of firearms. The point that everyone seems to be missing though is the most offensive thing to do with the video, is the quality of the video itself. Ms. XCX recently stated that ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ was like “the internet spewing in your headphones” and, to be fair to her, that is probably the best way to describe the piece; web vomit. You don’t need to look further than the opening seconds of the Ryan Andrews directed video for evidence. The first shot is of a cat and the second the tight buttocks of the artist. I can imagine the two of them noting the popularity of cats and porn on the internet and deciding that, in order to make the video as relevant to the online world as possible, that they just HAD to be included. Subtlety has no place in the world of Charli XCX.
Stylistically, the video continues to follow the approach laid out in the opening seconds. Everything is layered with the sort of instagram filters that a twelve year old would find tasteless and this effect is worsened by the fake analogue static that is liberally showered over the screen every few seconds. I guess these are meant to lend Charli XCX an aesthetic that reflects the current obsession with nostalgia, but instead comes across as someone desperately trying to grasp onto every trend to give themselves a boost up the fame ladder.
The general theme of ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ is also depressingly basic. Working on the age-old contrasting technique, girls in 90s influenced clothing dance around a factory and play with guns. It’s aiming for a response along the lines of “WHAT? Women who look like that aren’t normally armed and hanging around factories, that shit cray! I can feel gender stereotypes slipping away amongst this barrage of provocative imagery”, but, honestly, it remains as hollow as everything else to do with Charli XCX.
The representation of weapons in the ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ video has caused heated arguments, which claim that it reveres violence, but this is just not the case. Simply, if the gun is viewed as a metaphor for masculine domination, which is not a hard (pun intended) leap to make, the use of them in this context is far more about females reclaiming power than any statement about how awesome violence is. End of.
Where (00:42) I feel further discussion is needed in the video revolves around the segment that involves firing guns, collecting the bullet casings and then turning them into lipstick. Is this Charli XCX comforting the viewer by displaying she has an entrepreneurial streak, so there’s no need to worry about her if the whole music career thing doesn’t’ pan out? Isn’t there an easier or safer way to get lots of bullet casings than firing off weapons haphazardly? As there are no lids on the cosmetic items, wouldn’t they just smear lipstick everywhere? These are the real issues that require addressing.
Throughout the video, Charli XCX does an admirable job of pouting at anything and everything, but she really comes into her own when demonstrating her karate skills (02:34). Not only does it scream strength and independence, but it works as a pretty perfect representation of the entire video. All that attitude and effortless cool, I could watch that clip on repeat for days.

Man vs. Video: Charli XCX – You (Ha Ha Ha)

It is always a difficult prospect to follow up a critically successful album, especially when that album is Anaïs Mitchell’s utterly sublime Hadestown. There is a sense of pressure for the artist regarding the direction to take, as the creation of the original was, more likely than not, an organic process. When one has to follow this with a new piece, questions begin to rise that they might not have asked before. This forces the artist to become more self-conscious and consider elements of their sound and style hitherto created naturally. In this case, the move from the sound of the, quite correctly, critically lauded album Hadestown to Young Man In America is less than successful.
There is little doubt that Young Man In America would be a solid release for most artists and, as incorrect as it may seem to judge it in relation to her last album, rather than in a solitary manner, it is nigh on impossible to consider the record outside the context of her previous work. While Hadestown had melodies that soared and inventive progressions, Young Man In America is listless, relying on repetition of vocal phrasing and derivative guitar work that has been heard on endless amounts of folk records. There is a lack of direction throughout the album with songs such as ‘Coming Down’ simply meandering through the mundane without any clear purpose. The songwriting is also less than impressive with choruses for ‘Young Man In America’ and ‘Dyin Day’ in particular feeling clumsy and tired.
Much of this could be forgiven if, lyrically, Anaïs Mitchell was on the top of her game. In Hadestown, she managed to make the telling of a Greek myth, which could have easily come across as trite or tacky, be both an exercise in the virtuosity of her craft and relevant to everyday experiences, which is not an easy thing to achieve. In Young Man In America though, Mitchell returns to the tropes of the folk genre. There are endless references to the pastoral, sunsets and shepherds appearing regularly, and other exhausted images from the folk canon. This is not to say that Anaïs Mitchell does not imbue her lyrics with a certain richness, simply it is that she is saying little new or inventive with the imagery she employs, drawing an analogy between a shepherd and father is not an innovative comparison.
So far you could be forgiven for believing that Young Man In America has little merit, but there are positive aspects. Anaïs Mitchell’s vocal work is strong as ever, her dynamic delivery and distinctive voice dominate the record in a favourable manner, simultaneously displaying a sense of fragility and heartfelt power throughout. Even when the melodies are stunted, she performs them with deftness and proficiency. The record does also have it’s highlights, with ‘Venus’, a short and enjoyable folk-pop romp, and ‘Tailor’, a more considered and subtle song than generally found on the album, being the crowning points. There are also hints of the virtuosity Mitchell displayed in the instrumentation and arrangements of Hadestown, but, unfortunately, these moments are few and far between.
Ultimately, Young Man In America has nowhere near the same level of quality of songwriting, inventiveness or ambition as Hadestown. This is not to say that Young Man In America is a terrible record, just that it is not a great one either. It is a solid piece of work, but undeniably a step back, rather than a progression from, Hadestown. It is disappointing for an artist of the calibre of Anaïs Mitchell to create something so unremarkable, but it is the curse of the successful songwriter that increased recognition brings with it heightened expectation, something she will have to come to terms with if she is ever going to step out of the shadow of her former record.

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