The Smile – “Cutouts” review

The Smile is an art rock trio from Oxfordshire, United Kingdom consisting of drummer Tom Skinner, guitarist/bassist Jonny Greenwood & frontman Thom Yorke. Forming in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic & signing to XL Recordings on the spot, they made their debut in the spring of 2022 with the well received A Light for Attracting Attention showing additional influences of post-punk, chamber pop, art pop, math rock, jazz-rock & krautrock. The sophomore effort Wall of Eyes at the beginning of the year primarily based itself around art rock, post-rock krautrock, neo-psychedelia & ambient pop continuing the acclaim & are looking to start the final quarter of 2024 the way they ended the first month of it for their 3rd album.

“Foreign Spies” is this ambient pop/progressive electronic opener with Thom singing about it’s a beautiful world paved with gold & people grabbing kitchen knives every time our backs are turned whereas “Instant Psalm” works in some acoustics & even these orchestral elements towards the backend of it discussing the many forms of emptiness. “0 Sum” draws inspiration from art punk, dance-punk, math rock, krautrock & mutant disco referring to overconfidence as a red flag prior to “Colours Fly” talking about how you can change your mind over art rock instrumentation.

We have The Smile passionately on the verge of completing a transformation beginning all this all over again on “Eyes & Mouth” finishing the first leg of Cutouts just before “Don’t Get Me Started” brings ambient pop, neo-psychedelia, indietronica, dub, progressive electronic & dub techno all together making it clear that your force ain’t shit. “Tiptoe” refers to themselves as baggage with no label over an ambient pop beat leading into “The Slip” blending indie rock, indietronica, post-punk, post-rock, art rock & krautrock referencing climate change, nuclear war, political disillusionment & the impact of world leaders on Earth itself.

“No Words” nears the final moments of the LP singing about joining the dots & coloring in aroad that’s paved with good intentions over a shredding guitar with a somewhat funky vibe to it while “Bodies Laughing” finishes the band’s 3rd consecutive classic unearthing a track dating all the way back to 1995 & almost made the final cut of In Rainbows, which happens to be my 3rd favorite Radiohead album behind OK Computer& Kid A personally fusing art rock with psychedelic folk & bossa nova music.

Created around the same time frame as Wall of Eyes, this is noticeably more challenging than it’s predecessor prioritizing atmosphere over conventional songwriting & it makes for interesting results a lot like just about everything The Smile has done in almost half a decade. They show more versatility than they did back in January staying rooted in their signature art rock sound additionally pulling from jazz-rock, art punk, dance-punk, math rock, mutant disco, ambient pop, dub, progressive electronic, dub techno, indie rock, indietronica, post-punk, post-rock, krautrock, neo-psychedelia, indietronica, dub, progressive electronic & dub techno psychedelic folk & bossa nova.

Score: 4.5/5

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King Krule – “SHHHHHHH!” review

Archy Marshall also known by his stage name King Krule is a 29 year old musician, singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from London, England, United Kingdom introducing himself in 2011 off the strength of an eponymous EP inspired by singer/songwriter, bedroom pop, art pop & neo-psychedelia. XL Recordings caught on to it, signing him & putting out his full-length debut 6 Feet Beneath the Moon primarily basing itself around singer/songwriter, art rock & indie rock. His 2015 sophomore effort A New Place 2 Drown released on my 19th birthday had more of an experimentally abstract hip hop vibe than his previous work, The Ooz made a lot of people including myself into fans returning, Man Alive! incorporated more neo-psychedelic post-punk influences & Space Heavy swapped the post-punk elements out in favor of slowcore. But preparation for his 6th album, Archy’s following up Hey World! by releasing his 3rd EP.

“Achtung!” starts by mixing gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, dream pop & post-punk refusing to turn back whereas “Time for Slurp” leans heavier towards post-punk with additional elements of goth rock & deathrock apologizing for his bad communication. “Whaleshark” crosses over bedroom pop, singer/songwriter, bossa nova, lounge & jazz-rock singing about waiting for his lover all day & all night that is until “It’s All Soup Now” ends the EP pulling from a slacker rock, slowcore, jazz-rock & post-punk reflecting on the complexities & absurdities of life. The bonus track “Flimsier” fuses neo-psychedelia, slowcore, slacker rocker & post-rock overwhelmed by the weight of the world on our shoulders.

SHHHHHHH! is pretty much an official collection of all the exclusive singles that Archy had put out 15 months ago when he was on tour, so for him to actually make an entire EP out of it & give these songs more exposure for any of his fans who have yet to hear them is amazing when you think about the consistency of his discography in the last dozen years or so. He has constantly proven himself as a man of many talents further exemplified by the collection of post-punk, neo-psychedelia, art rock, jazz-rock, singer/songwriter, slacker rock, slowcore, lounge, bossa nova, bedroom pop, goth rock, deathrock & dream pop tracks to start the summer.

Score: 4/5

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BADBADNOTGOOD – “Mid Spiral 3: Growth” review

This is the 4th EP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada instrumental band & production team BADBADNOTGOOD. Consisting of drummer/vibraphonist Alex Sowinski as well as bassist/keyboardist Chester Hansen & multi-instrumentalist Leland Whitty, they formed in 2010 over their shared appreciation for the late MF DOOM & of course Odd Future. Their first 2 full-lengths BBNG & BBNG2 further gained traction for blending original material & covers until III fully won me over near the end of my junior year of high school after Tyler, The Creator introduced me to them through shouting the band out on “Lone” off his sophomore effort Wolf. The Odd Trio also produced what I consider to be Ghostface Killah’s most underrated album Sour Soul approximately 9 months later & Leland was promoted from touring member to official member the next summer on IV. Matthew Tavares departed in 2019 & their XL Recordings debut Talk Memory subsequently came out couple years later. However, BADBADNOTGOOD are looking to close the Mid Spiral trilogy on Growth.

“First Love” is this colorful intro to the 3rd & final final installment of the Mid Spiral saga bringing back the jazz-funk influences that were throughout Chaos a couple weeks ago whereas the next track “Audacia” moves on there working in some funky bass licks, horns, saxophones & even an organ to near closer to the halfway point. “Celestial Hands” bridges the EP with a jazzy composition that feels reminiscent of “I’d Rather Go Blind” by the late Etta James at some points & “Ways of Seeing” pulls inspiration from the Houston psychedelic rock trio Khruangbin a bit prior to the final song “White Light” ending Mid Spiral with a smooth jazz instrumental for you to light a blunt to. The bonus track “Best Left Unsolved” last but not least cooks up a groovier jazz flare for 5 & a half minutes.

What we’re seeing in the world today is truly heartbreaking when taking in consideration of everything going on in Rafah & across the world really, but I’m faithful about the trilogy of new EPs from BADBADNOTGOOD here will achieve Easy Feelings Unlimited’s goal of giving hope & momentary joy to those in a dark time who so happen to need it. All 3 chapters Chaos, Order & Growth when you combine them as a whole displays the odd trio expanding their signature jazz fusion sound by pulling from jazz-funk, jazz-rock, easy listening, samba-jazz, post bop & smooth jazz.

Score: 4/5

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BADBADNOTGOOD – “Mid Spiral 2: Order” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada instrumental band & production team BADBADNOTGOOD consisting of drummer/vibraphonist Alex Sowinski, bassist/keyboardist Chester Hansen & multi-instrumentalist Leland Whitty following up Mid Spiral: Chaos from last Wednesday by releasing their 3rd EP. Forming in 2010 over their shared appreciation for the late MF DOOM & of course Odd Future, their first 2 full-lengths BBNG & BBNG2 further gained traction for blending original material & covers until III fully won me over near the end of my junior year of high school after Tyler, The Creator introduced me to them through shouting the band out on “Lone” off his sophomore effort Wolf. They also produced what I consider to be Ghostface Killah’s most underrated album Sour Soul approximately 9 months later & Leland was promoted from touring member to official member the next summer on IV. Matthew Tavares departed in 2019 & their XL Recordings debut Talk Memory subsequently came out couple years later. However, the odd trio are looking to continue the Mid Spiral trilogy on Order.

To get us started, “Playgroup” is this warm 7-minute composition crossing over jazz & funk from the EP they gave us only the previous week whereas “Juan’s World” experiments with samba jazz in a way I find to be as essential as Stan Getz & João Gilberto’s eponymous collaborative album Getz/Gilberto that turned 60 earlier this spring. “Taco Taco” speaks about walking around Los Angeles stoned on top of a Latin jazz instrumental prior to “Sétima Regra” showing more of a Arthur Verocaiinfluence bringing an MPM flare to the table. “Sunday Afternoon’s Dream” is a vibe perfect for the concluding weekend with it’s horns & saxophones, but then “Rewind Your Mind” concludes Mid Spiral 2: Order with a meditative 5-minute piece.

I have to be honest with myself & admit I was the impression that Mid Spiral: Chaos being a teaser to BADBADNOTGOOD’s upcoming 6th album only 7 days ago when we first got it. Now it’s been made clear as day Mid Spiral will span out as a whole trilogy of EPs similarly to how the EARTHGANG is splitting EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm into 3 separate EPs beginning with R.I.P. Human Art last fall & Robophobia few months ago, it’s certainly matches the bar set by the predecessor last week. The jazz fusion & jazz-funk sounds very much so carry themselves over except they’re replacing the jazz-rock undertones with samba-jazz as well as Latin jazz.

Score: 4/5

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BADBADNOTGOOD – “Mid Spiral: Chaos” review

BADBADNOTGOOD is an instrumental band & production team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada consisting of drummer/vibraphonist Alex Sowinski, bassist/keyboardist Chester Hansen & multi-instrumentalist Leland Whitty. Forming in 2010 over their shared appreciation for the late MF DOOM & of course Odd Future, their first 2 full-lengths BBNG & BBNG2 further gained traction for blending original compositions & covers until III fully won me over near the end of my junior year of high school after Tyler, The Creatorintroduced me to them through shouting the band out on “Lone” off his sophomore effort Wolf. They also produced what I consider to be Ghostface Killah’s most underrated album Sour Soul approximately 9 months later & Leland was promoted from touring member to official member the next summer on IV. Matthew Tavares departed in 2019 & their XL Recordings debut Talk Memory subsequently came out couple years later. In preparation for a 6th LP, they’ve decided to give fans a taste of what’s to come by releasing a 2nd EP & the first in a new trilogy.

“Eyes on Me” officially gets the EP started by crossing over elements of jazz & funk music for nearly 5 minutes whereas “Take Me With You” picks up from there to give off more of a rhythmic jazz-rock vibe generally. “Weird & Wonderful” brings some funkier grooves back in the mix colliding them with BADBADNOTGOOD’s signature jazz sound to finish the 1st half that is until “Mid Spiral” begins the 2nd leg of the EP going straight up electric jazz fusing both funk & rock this time around. “Last Laugh” happens to be another jazz fusion composition turning the rock influences down although you still have some guitars popping up occasionally & the funk influences up while “Your Soul & Mine” closes Mid Spiral: Chaos giving us 1 more jazz-funk joint.

These guys’ potential was always shown best through the original compositions on their first couple LPs in my opinion since tracks like “Improvised Jam” or “UWM” stood out to me the most during my adolescence & even now all this time later are some of my favorite songs that’ve pieced together in the last 14 & a half years they’ve been actively making music. BADBADNOTGOOD however has been giving us 1 consistent body of work after another over the last decade in III, IV, Talk Memory & now you can add this newest EP of theirs onto the ever-growing pile. It predominantly stays within the band’s jazz fusion wheelhouse in terms of overall sound with additional jazz-funk & jazz-rock undertones sprinkled in.

Score: 4/5

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