Kano – Home Sweet Home
‘Home Sweet Home’ is the debut album from London based grime artist Kano . Featuring a whole host of producers including Southern hip hop DJ, Diplo, and Bloc Party producer Paul Epworth, the album mixes garage, hip hop, cuban rhythms, and rock creating a unique slice of British hip hop with crossover appeal. The single’s ‘Remember Me’, “Typical Me” and “P’s & Q’s” are also included. Also it is featuring some of the newest and best UK emcee’s around like Demon, D Double E & Ghetto! This is not your average every day album..
The sampler to his album has been out months ago and featured the tracks “Mic Check
Love Ends Disaster! – Stories for the Dislocated EP
The E.P was produced by Warren Bassett of Bloc Party and Fall fame. Here we have 5 tracks, each one is unique and quite impressive. “TV” starts off with some epic guitar riffs that remind us of British Sea Powers more rockier moments. “Ginko Disco” one of the highlights here, this track really gets me excited. It’s got a bit of a groove to it and the vocals are very dark but not to over the top. It’s very catchy and its got a great epic feel. This song should, and will be huge. “Little Lost Causes” shows a different side to the band. It’s a much slower and more atmospheric affair. “Warning Robots” (any song called that I already like!), it’s shows a bit of their more experimental side. There are not many times when you can find this much quality on one EP.
By John Siwicki
Lyca Sleep – Closer In
Lyca Sleep have been working on their sound for the past year and a half. They really seem to have something here. “Closer In” which is very Verve, but they pull it off because they make the sound into their own. The guitars are huge swirling affairs that just intertwine so well with the vocals. It’s so well produced, that the song doesn’t really seem to be six minutes long. The B-sides here are exceptional and worth mention as well. “Falling On Cedars” slows things down a bit, it takes the sound of more Elbow at their most powerful moments. It’s an emotional and gripping song. It is impressive for a b-side. This is a fantastic look into a band that you will surely be hearing about more in the future.
By John Siwicki
N.E.R.D – Fly or Die
The Neptunes ‘ first album “In Search Of” was a brilliant merge of rhythms over live instrumentation. It was a stunning work. So naturally, “Fly or Die” is much sought after.
“Don’t Worry About it” starts off with a slick little riff. The lyrics are shit, but more on that later. The production on this song is very nice. It would be a great song if Pharell didn’t open his mouth. “Jump:” now people, be careful of this one. For some odd reason they got the boys from “Good Charlotte” to do a guest vocal. They cannot sing for their lives but to make things even worse this is what they are singing. “Hey, Dad/ Okay, Dad/ That’s what you say, Dad/ I never could obey Dad/ Punk rock tattoos/ Leather jacket. “She Wants to Move” is the first single off the album and it’s really the only highlight. The song is a smooth little R and B tune that flows very well. It’s a funny and very danceable tune. “Drill Sergeant” is another one of the album’s highlights. It’s like a throwback to the ’60s with some very lush and fluffy melodies. You almost think this isn’t NERD. “Chariot Of Fire” is the album’s closer and it starts off with “I wrote this song while I was drunk;” already I’m turned off. Pharell sounds like he is trying to imitate some soul legends.
This is simply a huge disappointment. I do have to say the production work is impressive on some songs. But just take a look at some of this album’s lyrics: “Shit happens/ just blow it off.