When Odd Future crashed into the hip-hop scene in 2010, a then 16-year-old Earl Sweatshirt took the internet by storm with his advanced and potent lyrical skill. And then, out of nowhere, Earl disappears at the height of Odd Future’s popularity.

We all know the story by now. His mother sent him to a Samoan boarding school, unhappy with his delinquent behavior and declining grades. A year later, he returned seeming like a new man, and Doris is what he has to show for it.

Doris is an incredible yet easy album to listen to. It’s completely smooth from start to finish.  Earl may be best known for his precocious way around a rhyme, but Doris features instrumental interludes and expanded mid-song diversions. “Chum”, Earl’s single that’s been out for a while now, isn’t exactly the album centerpiece, but it’s the song you’ll go back and listen to over and over again purely based on the simplicity of Earl’s rhymes his personal reflections over a haunting repeated piano melody.

Doris is sprawling, weird, extremely original, yet also light and beautiful when you catch the right moments. It’s a comforting return to minimalism and musicality in hip-hop.

Tracklist

1. “Pre” f. SK La’ Flare
2. “Burgandy” f. Vince Staples
3. “20 Wave Caps” f. Domo Genesis
4. “Sunday” f. Frank Ocean
5. “Hive” f. Vince Staples & Casey Veggies
6. “Chum”
7. “Sasquatch” f. Tyler, The Creator
8. “Centurion” f. Vince Staples
9. “523”
10. “Uncle Al”
11. “Guild” f. Mac Miller
12. “Molasses” f. RZA
13. “Whoa” f. Tyler, The Creator
14. “Hoarse”
15. “Knight” f. Domo Genesis

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Trap Music  is everything you would expect from A$AP Ferg, setting the path for promising 2013.

Track Listing:

1. Let It Go
2. Shabba (ft. A$AP Rocky)
3. Lord (ft. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
4. Hood Pope
5. Fergivicious
6. 4:02
7. Dump Dump
8. Work (Remix) (ft. A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Trinidad Jame$ & ScHoolboy Q)
9. Didn’t Wanna Do That
10. Murda Something (ft. Waka Flocka Flame)
11. Make A Scene
12. Fuck Out My Face (ft. D-Real, Onyx & Aston Matthews)
13. Cocaine Castle

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The pop-rock quartet Parachute have released their new album entitled Overnight, a followup to 2011’s The Way It Was. There’s a lot of energy and dance-able hits scattered throughout the record, reminiscent of any Maroon 5 song you might hear on the radio jammed between tunes by Rihanna and Macklemore.

Parachute certainly isn’t breaking any new ground here, but that doesn’t mean that Overnight is a complete fluke. I’d much rather hear any of the album’s songs on the radio over Katy Perry telling me to roar because I’m a  California firework. Overnight is probably exactly what Parachute needs in order for them to break out and get noticed, even if it does bear some similarities to a large chunk of other pop-rock albums.

In conclusion, I predict a lot of teenage girls will be putting songs from Overnight onto playlist mixes for their friends as they exchange hair straighteners and oogle their hot American History teacher. I know it’s exactly what I would have done.

Track Listing for Overnight

1. ‘Meant to Be’
2. ‘Can’t Help’
3. ‘Drive You Home’
4. ‘Hurricane’
5. ‘Overnight’
6. ‘Didn’t See It Coming’
7. ‘The Other Side’
8. ‘Waiting for That Call’
9. ‘The Only One’
10. ‘Disappear’
11. ‘Higher’

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It’s inevitable for the Aussie rock group Pond to be compared to their older sibling Tame Impala. The bands share two members, and it’s likely for Pond to seem like a side project , despite their new album Hobo Rocket being their fifth release. Hobo Rocket is a short album, consisting of only seven tracks, but Pond stirs up something memorable in this edgy, heavier album. The album’s first single, “Xanman”, consists of full force, crashing cymbals and wailing guitars with a psyched-out overtone. “Aloneaflameaflower” shows a more metal-inclined side of Pond with much darker and heavier riffs, while “Giant Tortoise” is a psychedelic, spaced out trip with queasy vocal effects and guitar fuzz that swooshes in and out.

Pond’s Hobo Rocket is definitely a cosmic journey, even though the journey is only 34 minutes long. The schizophrenic tracks are fearless, as loopy and weird as they sound. There’s a lot to discover on this album, and as usual, the discoveries are fairly odd.

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Ten years ago, Yellowcard released their 2003 classic album, Ocean Avenue. Now, in 2013, they’re releasing  Ocean Avenue Acoustic, which is exactly what you think it is; a straight-up acoustic version of the pop-punk record. Ocean Avenue Acoustic transitions well from electro to acoustic, and I wouldn’t be surprised for younger listeners to lump the songs in with the sound of newer rock bands on today’s scene. But for us, the aged and seasoned Yellowcard fans who would flock to see the Warped Tour veterans, this album is impressive in its grace and maturity, while still keeping the energy and tone of the original. Opening track “Way Away” pulls the listener right into the nostalgia-fueled album and delivers Yellowcard’s intentions for the album right off the bat. Old favorites such as “Ocean Avenue” and “Breathing” show little modifications, which is good to hear, as any slight change to the original tracks would have probably ruined their appeal completely.

Ocean Avenue Acoustic reanimates Yellowcard’s greatest album while still managing be be fresh in this celebratory album of their career. The album will be released on August 13th, 2013.

Tracklist:

1. Way Away Acoustic
2. Breathing Acoustic
3. Ocean Avenue Acoustic
4. Empty Apartment Acoustic
5. Life Of A Salesman Acoustic
6. Only One Acoustic
7. Miles Apart Acoustic
8. Twenty Three Acoustic
9. View From Heaven Acoustic
10. Inside Out Acoustic
11 Believe Acoustic
12. One Year, Six Months Acoustic
13. Back Home Acoustic

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Tech N9ne’s thirteenth album “Something Else” has finally been released, and those who consider 13 to be an unlucky number might want to rethink their superstitions after listening to this record. The standard edition boasts 21 tracks, busting through with the first track “Straight Out the Gate”, featuring the vocals by Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Other appearences on the album include Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, B.o.B, Cee Lo Green and more. Tech N9ne incorporates musical elements from all genres (I’m LOVING every orchestral bit.)

The album is spilt into three sections; Fire, Water, and Earth. The Fire tracks flawlessly marries the genres of rock and hip-hop and pairs them with vivid, dark, and sometimes terrorizing lyrical imagery. “Fragile” is sure to be a popular track, with Kendall Morgan offering soulful vocals and Kendrick Lamar spitting out some real pensive poetry. The Water section is primarily in place to break up the heaviness of the album, club bangers with lyrics that won’t bring up every emotion inside you, unlike the rest of the album. The last section, Earth, is definitely a handful of more personal tracks with the heartfelt “That’s My Kid” and the autobiographical “Meant to Happen”.

Over a complicated sounding production, Tech N9ne comes off as sharp and clean, giving the listener a number of layers to peel back as they experience Something Else. It really is something else.

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After a brief hiatus, The Civil Wars are set to release their sophomore self-titled album on August 6th, 2013.  The Civil Wars are currently no more (though hopefully not for long), and the album was actually put together in late 2012, just as the duo initiated the “hiatus” citing “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition” as the reason.

So it’s kind of understandable that their public feud carried over a bit onto the tracks on this album. There’s more of a darker, angry edge that wasn’t on their debut album, Barton Hollow, and this can be heard in the number of beautiful breakup tunes like the album’s first single “The One That Got Away,” “Eavesdrop,” and “Dust To Dust”. Each song contains the same silvery harmonies and melodies, but with a haunting overtone that wraps the album together. Extremely impressive is their heart-wrenching take on the Smashing Pumpkin’s “Disarm”, bringing a whole new level of emotions and feels to the 1994 rock song. 

Hopefully The Civil Wars can set aside their differences and keep making music together. The album is proof that even during some problematic times, they can put together a pretty amazing piece of work.

The Civil Wars Track List:

1. “The One That Got Away”
2. “I Had Me a Girl”
3. “Same Old Same Old”
4. “Dust to Dust”
5. “Eavesdrop”
6. “Devil’s Backbone”
7. “From This Valley”
8. “Tell Mama”
9. “Oh Henry”
10. “Disarm”
11. “Sacred Heart”
12. D’Arline

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Earlier this summer, the Britain-based Editors released their fourth studio album, The Weight of Your Love. The departure of lead guitarist, Chris Urbanowicz, meant a shift in sound, and the end result is more atmospheric, new-wave romanticism and less synth-heavy electronic. This works especially well on a number of the album’s ballads, such as “What Is This Thing Called Love” and angsty “Honesty”, shifting into the melancholic “Formaldehyde”.

The Weight of Your Love is definitely a step in a different direction for Editors, but it’s also a sign of musical artistic maturity as they develop a sound that is very much their own, instead of being lumped into a group of similar bands. While Tom Smith’s distinct, dark vocals carry the emotional power of the album, some fans may still be put off by the decrease in edge the The Weight of Your Love has to offer. But still, the Editors have produced a genuine album that contains musical depth and a nod towards some new ideas that may or may not stick with them in the future.

Track Listing:

1.The Weight

2.Sugar

3.A Ton Of Love

4.What Is This Thing Called Love

5.Honesty

6.Nothing

7.Formaldehyde

8.Hyena

9.Two Hearted Spider

10.The Phone Book

11.Bird Of Prey

Bonus Tracks: The Sting, Comrade Spill My Blood

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Canadian indie rockers Half Moon Run serve up their definition of melodic and mellow with their debut album Dark Eyes. While the trio has only been together for three years, Dark Eyes gives the impression that they’ve been hovering around the industry for much longer.

The opening track and single “Full Circle” quickly draws in the listener with smooth vocals and lyrics that are reminiscent of Alt-J. Other tracks like “Give Up” and “Drug You” sound similar to Radiohead, but Half Moon Run are still able to hold their own. The juxtaposition of each song on the album give it full feeling. “Fire Escape” offers atmospheric guitar triplets paired with haunting vocals and harmonica., and the closing track “21 Gun Salute” seems to engulf the entire sound of Half Moon Run and Dark Eyes, completely captivating and leaving you wanting more of Half Moon Run.

They are clearly a band to watch and listen for as they continue to hit the airwaves and create more music. If Dark Eyes is what Half Moon Run is able to produce after only three years as a band, then their progression in the music industry will be wondrous.

Track Listing for Dark Eyes

1. Full Circle

2. Call Me In The Afternoon

3. No More Losing The War

4. She Wants To Know

5. Need It

6. Give Up

7. Judgement

8. Unofferable

9. Drug You

10. Nerve

11. Fire Escape

12.. 21 Gun Salute

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In 2009, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros had immense success with their single “Home”. During the past four years, they stayed hovering over the success of that one song. Not even their entire followup album Here in 2012 could seem to match what “Home” brought them. Under the direction of frontman Alex Ebert, the ten piece band has released their new self titled album, and this time it stands up to the initial imprint Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros gave us four years earlier.

The songs themselves are breezy and psychedelically fun. The band sounds like a more put-together and cohesive ensemble, with each song distinctive from the last. Alex Ebert’s vocal personalities change fairly often, but they’re fitting for the seperate song. Of course, there’s no shortage of claps and stomps to keep the album rolling along, and nearly every song has a catchy chorus for an audience to sing along to. We all know that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have a knack for live performances after touring extensively for six years, but their new album really solidifies them as a quintessential festival band. Key tracks include “They Were Wrong”, “This Life”, and “When You’re Young”.

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