A mysterious frontman made his solo debut this week, a prodigious newcomer (finally) made their major label debt, and a seasoned teen idol released her latest big album to the masses.
Along with the release of Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city and Taylor Swift’s Red, another album was quietly released by Paul Banks – his solo debut Banks.
Banks has fronted the New York City-based band Interpol since 2002.
While unknown to most of the music world, Interpol has gained a strong following in their 10 year history due to the major role they played in post-punk revival that included other New York bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio and rock gods The Strokes.
While this technically isn’t Banks first solo album (he previously released an album in 2009 as his alter ego Julian Plenti) this is the first album that Banks is calling his own.
Banks continues with the trend of using electronic instruments that he started with his Julian Plenti album, but they aren’t as prevalent as before.
With Banks, Banks releases a true indie-rock album.
While it may not be as dark and brooding as the work he’s done with Interpol, fans of his band will be sure to find something they enjoy with his solo release.
For the first time, Banks is able to stand out on his own, not behind a fake name or a full band.
Because of this, it becomes quite clear just how big of a driving force he is behind Interpol, and the musical brilliance he possesses.
After the disappointment that was Interpol’s self-titled comeback album two years ago, standout tracks like “Over My Shoulder”, “Lisbon” and “No Mistakes” have Banks sounding revitalized and ready to make great music again.
With this great album under his belt now, hopefully he can carry this momentum over to the next Interpol album and give their fans the album they deserve.
Score: 7.5/10
Kendrick Lamar may have five mix tapes and an independent album to his resume, but his major debut good kid, m.A.A.d. city has had the music world waiting on the edge of their seat for what’s set to be the resurrection of West Coast hip-hop.
Back in November, Lamar made an uncredited appearance on Drake’s instant classic Take Care during an interlude.
The guest spot couldn’t have been more fitting, seeing as Lamar’s aesthetic is similar to Drake’s emotion-fueled raps, but with a more gangster edge.
This style is the centerpiece of good kid, m.A.A.d. city, as Lamar paints a vivid picture of the tough life he has lived on the streets of Compton.
The cover art depicts an old, dated Polaroid picture of a young Lamar surrounded by family with his baby bottle and a 40 oz. in front of him on the table.
Scribbled on the border is the album title accompanied by “A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar.”
This description fits the album’s atmosphere perfectly.
Lamar’s lyrics and storytelling are so on point that you can visualize everything he’s talking.
This album strongly plays on every human emotion, as Lamar takes us on a true coming-of-age journey, chronicling his late teens and the troubles he’s faced in his personal life and his neighborhood.
What’s most astonishing about Lamar’s debut is the cohesive sound the record has despite being produced by many of today’s top producers such as Dr. Dre, Hit-Boy, Pharrell, Tha Bizness and Just Blaze – all different producers with their own distinct sound.
This in itself is an amazing feat, to get so many different personalities to focus on one sound and concept in a time when producers would rather be known for their specific sound than what they can accomplish together.
What makes Lamar such a gifted rapper is his ability to make you feel whatever he’s feeling.
Whether it’s the joys of West Coast living (“The Recipe”), or the struggles of wanting to do good when others around you aren’t (“The Art of Peer Pressure”, “Swimming Pools (Drank)”).
Lamar will make you laugh, cry, cringe and panic during the 68 minutes his album fills.
Lamar lets all of his personal side out with this album from the deeply depressed and alcohol dependence that runs in his family (“B*tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”), the playful, juvenile side that aspires to be the greatest rapper alive (“Backseat Freestyle”) and his attitude towards women (“Poetic Justice”, which features Drake returning the Take Care feature).
This tearjerker of an album culminates in the gem that is “Sing for Me; I’m Dying of Thirs”, a two-part track that has Lamar speaking from the perspective of people he grew up with explaining their reasons for being products of their environment.
With good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Lamar has set the bar high for not only West Coast rappers, but rappers in general.
The careful construction of this album and the all-out effort that put it together not only makes a strong album of the year candidate, but also an instant classic to be marvelled at for years down the road.
It can be mentioned in the upper echelon that includes The Chronic, Ready to Die and even My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy.
Score: 10/10
While Lamar released a strong contender for album of the year with his debut, Taylor Swift did not fair so well with Red.
Admittedly, it’s known I’m not T-Swift’s biggest fan.
I will, however, say that with age comes maturity, and Red is by far Swift’s most mature album to date.
On Red, she doesn’t come across as the bratty teenage girl bitter about her breakup, but rather a smarter and wiser person because of what went wrong.
The biggest improvement that Swift made between album number three and album number four is accepting what she really is – a pop star.
While there are still traces of her country roots (“Red”, “All Too Well” & “I Almost Do” for example) littered throughout the album, it’s clear that Taylor has taken more of a “MTV” approach to her latest effort.
Another surprise found here is the collaborations she’s done with male artists.
“Everything Has Changed” with Ed Sheeran and “The Last Time” with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody both play off of Swift’s classic formula for crafting sappy love songs.
Adding singers like Lightbody and Sheeran allows Swift to harmonize like she did with the Civil Wars this past summer.
These singers add the missing element to most of Swift’s songs – a male’s perspective or story.
Because of this, these tracks standout more than any other love song she’s released in the past such as “Love Story” or “You Belong with Me”
Tracks like hit singles “We are Never, Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”, as well as “22” allow Swift to breathe more and have a little fun over bubbling pop beats that her normal singer-songwriter act did not permit.
After the great tracks she put together for The Hunger Games soundtrack, this was the best move for Swift’s career.
While the dark and brooding “Safe & Sound” displayed Swift’s full talent and potential, her safe zone (and what sells her albums) is the bubbly, catchy hooks and relationship tales that she’s based her whole career off of.
While I do applaud Swift for making the bold move of moving away from her early country sound and embracing who she really is, this also happens to be my biggest problem with her new album.
While I’ll always promote artistic freedom and creativity, I believe it’s important that an artist knows what works well for them and what doesn’t.
Swift is a pop star, but she should “never, ever, ever” be associated with dubstep or dance music.
While Top 40 listeners may think this is a match made in Heaven, it’s instead something that sounds too awkward and forced for human ears.
Though it sounds good on record or on radio or, even in the potential films, television shows and commercials they may soundtrack, the question of how Swift plans to stage and perform these songs live should be asked.
Does she plan on having a drum machine or DJ backing up her band now?
Or will she simply just pull out a guitar and play an acoustic version of it?
Bottom line, I do not see T-Swift being an EDM force like Rihanna, and her dabbling with the genre put a big hole in this album for me.
All this being said, I’ll give Taylor Swift her due.
While this will never be considered a great album, it is a step in the right direction for her career.
I was thoroughly surprised by how much of this album I actually enjoyed.
Score: 6/10