GNR8R- Full Circle

Artist:GNR8R

Album: Full Circle

Year:2014

Stand-Out Tracks: Pulse, Eye No Ur Boyfriend H8s Me, Remember.

Rating: ⅘

Where to Buy:  https://gnr8r.bandcamp.com/album/full-circle , https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/full-circle/id911103299

A follow up to last year’s ACTIVATE(released under old name Beatraxx) Full Circle delivers a pleasurable listen and will most likely be stuck in your head for days. And with a new name, comes an even more refined sound and an even tighter sense of direction. This sophomore release has a great medley of heavy dance tracks like Pulse, Trancy Sci-Fi soundtracks like 227 and The Forgotten Journey, Techno Classics like Eye No Ur Boyfriend H8s Me and It’s My Funk and I’ll Do What I Want, and he even includes a beautiful ballad Remember.

One of my favorites of the album is Pulse. This hard hitting Electro-House track hits hard with a synth line that would make even Skrillex jealous, and only builds from there as the melody kicks in. With a standard Four-On-The-Floor drum beat, the artist takes full advantage of the open spaces left by the drum pattern. Layering his signature vocoded vocal lines over the before mentioned synth, with a catchy bass line to match, and a stabbing string section entering to break the monotony, Pulse an easy favorite,particularly if you are a DJ looking for new tracks to mix.

227 is another standout track, as it starts out in a very ambient state than gradually lifts into what can be the perfect sci-fi mystery theme. I really enjoyed this track for that reason. It harks back to the early days of electronic music, when it was seen as futuristic and robotic, and even scary in the more dramatic areas. Even in today’s music world, this song provides us with a “sound of the future.” Using a wobbly bass line usually favored by UK Garage and early Dub music doesn't hurt either, as it brings it back to the present. Overall, I’d say if you were looking for a Sci-Fi influenced Dub-Trance track, look no further.

Lastly, I have to mention a completely different track from anything  else on the album, Remember. I had no expectation of finding a ballad on this hard dance album but here it is, a glorious piano chord progression rolls through the song underneath a plucked guitar riff. All I can say for this song is to hear it for yourself.  

I give this whole album ⅘ stars, another hit from an awesome artist who knows what he can do and does it well. I look forward to hearing more, but after hearing what he can do with a ballad I’m now anticipating some piano-heavy tracks on the next album.

Courtney Love-You Know My Name/Wedding Day!

Artist:Courtney Love
Album: You Know My Name/Wedding Day SINGLE
Year: 2014
Rating: 4/5
Where To Buy: ON ITUNES

              It's been a while since we've heard new music form Ms. Love. Since 2010's Nobody's Daughter, she shifted between promising new music, and being on hiatus. Rumors of her reuniting the Celebrity Skin-era Hole lineup, signs of pursuing a solo career, and her "book" have kept her in the public eye of course, but deprived fans of the new music they so desperately craved. That being said, she released You Know My Name/Wedding Day, a double A-Side single on May 4th. I, as a fan and music listener, have to say that she has successfully come back to her heavy rock roots. To describe the lead single, You Know My Name, it sounds like everything America's Sweetheart should have been. Taught lyrical writing, aggressive yet catchy instrumental, and of course, Courtney's signature guttural vocals. A video is waiting for release at the time of this review, with mini sneak peaks via her social networks, it looks to be along the same lines, visually, as Mono( the lead single off her first 2004 solo album, America's Sweetheart) which, I could live without, but it'll be interesting nonetheless.
                                  Wedding Day, the second song, is a beautiful throwback "Alt-Rock" classic, sounding like it came right off of Live Through This. She uses more groove based guitar riffs in this song which is odd for her but enjoyable, her lyrical content is amazing and the structure is beautiful. The vocal performance, however, is slightly lacking. It sounds as though she had strained her voice after her power house performance in YKMN and just said, "Fuck it, put it in." Which is fine, but I would like to hear a cleaned up acoustic version of this song over the original. Overall, I give this "album" 4/5 stars because the music, lyrics, and over all presentation of the record is phenomenal, it's just that Wedding day could have been better.

My Apologies

Hey there readers! I sincerely apologize for the lack of a review for April. A lot went on with my family this month and I couldn't find time to write. However, there WILL be a review in May on the 6th so look forward to that! Thanks for reading !! 

Kid Ink-My Own Lane

Artist: Kid Ink
Album: My Own Lane
Year Released:2014
Rating: 2/5 

                 In short, I could have lived without this album. I had never heard of Kid Ink before so when I saw it in the New Releases section in my local FYE, I thought I'd give him a try. If there were an argument for how stale HipHop has gotten in the past ten years, this album is it. Chock full of cliche hooks and tired lines, this album and artist is a flash in the pan. There was one whole song on the album that I enjoyed, the opening track predictably titled "Hello World." It is a very catchy and upbeat introduction to the album, but everything after that is just terrible. If you're a fan of modern HipHop, I highly recomend you look past this artist. Some better recommendations would be TyMcFly, Lil Wayne's album I Am Not A Human Being 2, and Jay-Z's album Holy Grail. 

GNR8R-Activate!

Album:Activate

Year Released:2013

Rating:⅘

Where to Buy?http://beartraxx.bandcamp.com/album/activate or https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/activate/id642537073

This month I am bringing a review of an independent EDM artist that goes by the names BearTraxx and GNR8R(real name being Clif.) I discovered this truly one of a kind artist purely by accident on Tumblr one day and was instantly intrigued. After a quick preview on itunes I decided that this would be my next music purchase. Well, I bought it last week and instantly decided that this would be my next review. I have listened to nothing else, lived with this album in the car, at home, at the gym, even when I’m in the bath. Very rarely does EDM make me go to a place this brings me. What is that place? Pure Si-Fi, futuristic peacefulness. Clif(GNR8R) uses old school techniques with new synths mixed with retro si-fi sound fxs to create a new type of EDM. With songs like Primordial and Malestorm, I am transported into a late 1980s Star Trek episode. He also adds something new to the Dubstep world. With the song Step Side Down, he melds familiar dubstep qualities(syncopated drum hits, wobble synths,) with some unique synth patches and layers in some nice melody, a nice break away from the typical dubstep of transformer type bass over a rigid drum beat. Another favorite for me is the use of vocal effects. In the songs Who’s Got The Funk(Titled Bryan’s Got The Funk on Soundcloud.), Anonymous, and Forced Entry, Vocoded Vocals are used to help tell the story of the song instead of just being a mere vocal effect. When you listen to this album, it is obvious that this is not an ordinary EDM album of our time. Rather, this is the work of a true musician who happens to use a computer to make music, instead of an engineer who happens to make music. I give this album ⅘ because of it’s truly unique sense of sound and energy. You can buy this album at the links above, as well as follow the artist on all the social media by searching BearTraxx, or GNR8R.