New Album Releases

In the past few weeks, a lot of new albums have come out from a wide range of artists.

dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
First, one of my favorite local bands independently released their fourth album. Dredg comes from Los Gatos, CA and until recently was signed to Universal and Interscope. However, they were dropped from their label and decided to release their new album, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion on their own Ohlone Label. Like their other albums, this album is inspired by high-brow art. While El Cielo is inspired by Dali's Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion is inspired by Salman Rushdie's essay "A Letter to the Six Billionth Citizen." Additionally, bassist Drew Roulette describes the album as "a rock and roll record, filled with experimental journeys and eccentric jousts." Yeah, that sounds like dredg. Anyways, it's a damn good album, so I recommend you all go check it out.

Street Sweeper Social Club - Street Sweeper Social Club
Surely, the biggest album to come out recently was Street Sweeper Social Club's debut, self-titled effort. And it is an absolute banger, as if there was any doubt. Tom Morello and Boots Riley, 'nuff said. It's nice to hear Morello's riffs against some angry leftist, revolutionary lyrics again. And might I say that Boots Riley is a much more angry and Marxist individual than Zach de la Rocha. Morello says of the album, "Revolutionary party jams. It's got huge steamroller riffs combined with depth, charge, funk, while Boots unloads clip after clip of incendiary rhymes rich with satire and venom." Boots Riley adds, "This is a time when the working class is being fleeced left and right. More families will be homeless and more people will be jobless. They'll need something to listen to on their iPod's while storming Wall Street."

Now if only someone can make a SSSC/One Day as a Lion mashup. It's half of Rage, the best half at that. They could call it One Day as a Street Sweeper. I came up with that myself, but you can use it.

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
The third album from the Leicester-based quintet is titled West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Guitarist Sergio Pizzorno has called the 52-minute album to "the soundtrack to an imaginary movie." Also, Rosario Dawson appears on track 7 "West Ryder/Silver Bullet." Apparently, West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was a loony bin in England nears Leeds in the 19th century. And that's where the title comes from. I just wish they used the album cover from the "Vlad the Imaler" single:

Mos Def - The Ecstatic
This is the fourth solo album from Brooklyn-based rapper Mos Def. The title likely refers to the ecstasy that Obama induced in America. The first single off the album, "Life in Marvelous Times," is an Obama track. Anyways, Mos Def has been called the best lyricist alive. Esquire magazine has this to say about Mos Def and his second single, "Quiet Dog Bite Hard," "Because there is no better lyricist (or deliverer of lyrics) in music. Not hip-hop. Music." So, yeah. Well, the production is incredible, but what do you expect from J Dilla, Madlib, Oh No, and Chad Hugo. Somehow, with so many different producers, each track still sounds uniquely Mos Def. Given Mos Def is one of those crazy black guys with conspiracy theories about the government, his lyrics are incredible and his album is solid.

Other albums this week include Wale's new mixtape Back to the Feature, Incubus' greatest hits/b-sides compilation Monuments and Melodies.