Sorry, there — my acapella metal group had a series of performances that kept me busy the past few weeks so I couldn’t post like I’d planned. Rest assured I was still keeping tabs on things, ready to jump in the minute I had a free spell. Each of these mark a return from folks I used to listen to a ton, but haven’t heard from in a while (some in a loooooooooong while!) so it’s nice to see some old friends.
First up out of the gate are a couple new tracks from the National’s new album, Sleep Well Beast (due out next Friday). Thankfully there seems to be no major changes to their sound in store for us — no 80s leaning album lousy with synthesizers like virtually every other group is inexplicably releasing now — so we can rejoice in that small victory. Both sport little Edge-inspired riffs, all bright and jangly, which lighten the band’s customary gloom. Check out the tunes here — the first one’s a live performance Pitchfork posted, the second one’s a studio version off the album:
Then comes a surprise release from the legendary Wu, which catches you off guard in part because the clan’s been pretty quiet since we lost ODB (outside their strange connection to pharmaphuck Martin Shkreli), and in part because it’s so good. (What we had heard from them had been a mixed bag at best.) This one’s a solid return, though, even sporting a Redman cameo (speaking of “where the fuck ya been, yo?”) to hail back to the Red/Meth days. Give it a listen here:
Next up are a couple of tracks from trip hop vet Tricky whose classic debut (and the scene that spawned it) is unbelievably close to turning 15. (Sweet geezus I’m fucking old…) The tracks hearken back to that old glory, though, with their slow, sultry groove, Trick’s crackly whisper, and some of the same vocalists from Maxinquaye. One of the latter shows up on the first track, Martina Topley-Bird, whose voice remains a bright counterpoint to Tricky’s murky croak, while the second song is a spartan solo effort, just Trick, a little acoustic riff, and not much else. Both sound great and make me curious how the rest of the album, Ununiform, will sound when it comes out this fall. Enjoy these in the meantime:
And we’ll close with a truly back from the dead stunner, not from some long-forgotten supergroup, but from a duo that seemed certain for world domination that just suddenly disappeared. It’s the hometown tandem The Cool Kids, whose first album The Bake Sale was a surefire hit, setting the pair on the cusp of becoming hip hop’s Next Big Thing. That album is still a classic — old school hip hop beats with smart, fun verses from Chuck and Mike riding along on the pegs — and it was set to blow up. It was everywhere back home — I must have seen those two half a dozen times that summer, at festivals, book signings, bar mitzvahs — and it was great. It meant whatever dead time I had walking around with those songs coming out of my headphones was likely to be filled by their stuff coming out of the next window or doorway.
But then, for some reason, it stopped. They never blew up, the pair went dark, and the surefire smash never happened. Which is a shame (and still inexplicable to me), but thankfully the boys are back and it looks like they might get their coronation nearly a decade late. Stereogum has a nice interview with the pair where they discuss the down time and the recording of the new album, which is slated to drop in the next couple weeks and has everyone from A-Trak and Jeremih to Hannibal Buress on it. The article also has the first four singles embedded within and each of em is worth a listen. “Chop” is a big banger, but my early favorite is this post’s title track, “Connect 4.” It’s got a chill, Dre Day-style beat and strong verses from the lads — give it a listen here (and bring on the album!):