Röyksopp - Junior

Röyksopp
"Junior" (2009)
Electronica
DOWNLOAD

So I've been real busy, but here's a quick upload of the newest album by the Norwegian electronic music duo known as Röyksopp. Good catchy shit, pick it up.

Uniform Choice - Screaming For Change

Uniform Choice
"Screaming For Change" (1986)
Hardcore / Punk
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Fast mid-eighties straight edge youth crew from California. Say what you will about their other recordings, but nothing they released before or after compares to this album. I'll keep this short and simply say that if you're thinking about starting an(other) 80's sounding hardcore band, you should add this to your rotation to make sure you do it right. "We scream to say you better listen!"

Alice In Chains - Dirt

Alice In Chains
"Dirt" (1992)
Rock / Stoner
DOWNLOAD: Part 1
DOWNLOAD: Part 2

So ever since I listened to the new Alice In Chains track they put up, I've been anxiously awaiting the release of their new album "Black Gives Way To Blue" that is due to come out at the end of next month. "Dirt" is Alice In Chains' second album and their most commercially successful. Great grunge shit from Seattle, my soon to be new home. My friend Jonny brought up the similarities between Layne Staley's vocals and Axl Rose's and noted that Alice In Chains was originally Alice N' Chainz, presumably as a tribute to Guns N' Roses. You all know who Alice In Chains is unless you're like 3 years old, so I'll shut up.

Alchemist - Chemical Warfare

Alchemist
"Chemical Warfare" (2009)
Hip Hop
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It has been a while since my last Hip Hop post, so here goes: Alchemist has been putting out impressive work since the late 90s, including some work Mobb Deep (though not on The Infamous). This is his third "solo" effort. His second was a colab with Prodigy that I'll put up later. Appearances on the album include Prodigy (as expected), Snoop, KRS-One, Talib Kweli, and Twista to name a few. Track 5 is a kind of funny skit with backpackers vs. thugs, but I kind of hate skits anyways. Track 7 needs to die, it sucks. Anyways, I enjoy when producers put out albums because you get a taste of their versatility and get a buffet of MCs... So if you're not into one, you can just wait for the next song. Give it a listen.

Télépopmusik - Genetic World

Télépopmusik
"Genetic World" (2001)
Trip Hop
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Time to take another Hardcore / Metal break. Here we have some French Trip Hop. If you're weird and watch TV, you might have seen the first track, "Breathe," in some car commercial apparently, but whatever. Télépopmusik play a softer, prettier, less melancholic (and therefore more upbeat and poppy) brand of dreamy Trip Hop, even lyrically. Tracks 5-7 should be completely removed from the album, with Dance Me possibly being the most annoying track on the album and Let's Go Again the definite runner-up (the last minute of the song is enjoyable)... But that is just my opinion. The rest is good stuff though, so check it out.

Naglfar - Sheol

Naglfar
"Sheol" (2003)
Metal
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Modern, melodic, refined, Swedish Black Metal for fantasy nerds. Everyone has been posting a lot of Black Metal stuff, and I thought I'd contribute a bit to that. Seems like a lot of punk kids have been coming out with raw Black Metal projects, and this is not one of those projects. This album is well recorded, intricate, and made by some Swedish metal heads. Naglfar's first release was back in 1995 and have gone through their fair share of line-up changes (mostly in the first 5 years). This is their third release and the first one I got my hands on several years back thanks to my friend Eric. Lyrically what you might expect: Demonic dealings, humanity's putrefaction, and a little bit of self pity. "Gaia, your soil bleeds black, your womb shall be the massgrave for all of mankind!"

Gather - Total Liberation

Gather
"Total Liberation" (2004)
Hardcore / Metal
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Those of you that know me know I'm nowhere near being hardline, but I do like some over-the-top vegan straight edge music... And this is one example. For the record: I don't support the ALF, I kill mosquitos that are sucking my life juice, and I eat caffeinated chocolate from time to time. All that said, it's nice to hear some impassioned vegan straight edge kids getting pissed and writing metallic hardcore. I know I haven't said anything about the actual music, but you probably have a good idea of what you're getting into: 5 Tracks of hard, well-recorded mid nineties xVx hardcore worship with enough breakdowns to pick up hundreds of dollars worth of change. "Merely straight edge, not enough! Merely straight edge, step it up!"