I have a lot of records that I keep in the possibles category that is basically a backlog to listen to but which has built up a bit over time as my daily listening surpasses my circle back and listen more listening time. So here are some changes:
Andrew Cedermark: Home Life (Underwater Peoples, 2013). I think the guitar work and the guitar sounds are pretty top shelf but I wished I liked Cedermark’s voice more. It’s too slack and low energy for me. He sounds a lot like the lead singer of the Meat Puppets but the Puppets have a much higher energy level as a band so it works better for them. Maybe you will dig it, so I give his record a shout.
Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure: Sahara Spirit (Abdoul Records, 2012). I’m friends with a musician who loves Toure and who doesn’t want to support self-released African records. There are sections where he’s playing some really tricked out guitar and singing along with the melody he’s playing and that’s deep. I didn’t love the guitar tone and overall I wanted his music to be presented a bit differently.
Cryptopsy: Cryptopsy (Earhertz, 2012). I haven’t had a chance to circle back on this extreme metal band out of Canada. The star here, for me, is the drummer. Spraying unexpected beats, sick with the double kick, turning on a dime — it’s just nuts the precision and energy level. The singer sounds like a pig getting its throat cut — they’re an extreme band and the vocalist is extreme. I can’t really get with this singing style, I wince when I hear it. But the musical acrobatics are sick.
Brother Ali: Mourning in America (Rhymesayers, 2012) I love concious hip hop and Ali is extremely concious and political. I actually googled around to see what other peole had to say about Ali and the word corny came up. I wouldn’t put it that way, but there’s just a little too much uplifting and not enough edge to his politics. Part of it’s the tone of his voice, part of it’s the arrangements which I wanted to hit harder.
Deep In the Music 