Shit why did I sleep on Gayngs so long?

I'm way late on this but I'm really diggin' 2010's Relayted. One might expect a 25 member supergroup to be all over the map, but somehow the seemingly inevitable eclecticism is unpredictably reined in under the umbrella of soft-rock. I mean, at some points, one might imagine the sexy sax man making his appearance, while at others the album dips into experimental, prog, or even blues territory. So maybe there's a little something for everyone? It's mostly colored in shades that fans of Air or James Blake would like, but there are some surprises like "Faded High", or "False Bottom".

In the ultra-fast world of the internet music reviews, it is of the utmost importance to be timely and ahead of the new hotness. Us BZNZmen being an obvious exception, clearly I slept on this album for over a year, and only got around to checking it out when the dudes at My Other Computer Is A Sunset posted about it back in April. Maybe the internet isn't fast so much as it is regurgitative, but don't sleep on Gayngs.

Speaking of regurgitation, keep an eye out for a new feature 'round SRS BZNZ. We're gonna ask our BZNZmen to drop some negocios in the form of their favorite albums by genre. All the oldies but goodies, the albums we believe belong firmly in the canon. Check it out this week, maybe while you bayng some Gayngs.

Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town by rslblog.com

Gayngs - Cry by albums

Gayngs - Faded High by sxeseis

SRS TRAX: "Daylight" - Thundercat

Life plan: Move to Los Angeles. Feed my brain.


Thundercat - Daylight by Hypetrak

Thundercat - "Daylight" (8.5)

ANDY: BRAINFEEDER GETS IT SO WET. The Golden Age of the Apocalypse, The highly anticipated debut LP from Thundercat (who contributed to Flying Lotus's excellent Cosmogramma last year), features FlyLo's production, and jams like "Daylight". It's electronica that is oh-so-jazzy. My mind is open, hombre. Let the daylight shine in. I wonder when Brainfeeder will stop killin' the game? (8.5)

SRS TRAX: "Break Inside" - Ford & Lopatin

Take hits from the Eighties (yeah yeah) Do it sound so crazy (yeah yeah)

Ford & Lopatin - "Break Inside" (6.75)

ANDY: Back when SRS BZNZ started up last October, one of the first reviews was hyping up the Games EP That We Can Play, and by now, the group has changed their name and their sound. Channel Pressure, the debut LP from the newly renamed Ford & Lopatin, is still steeped in that 80s new wave synthyness, at times playing the Mr. Mister card heavily, and at times rocking rhythms you swear you heard New Order do better. Hell the cover is straight out of Weird Science. Overall it's a smooth listen though, with some unexpected high points. "Break Inside" makes for a smooth, shimmering, R&B-inspired jam nestled in the 80s nostalgia, that suggests Ford & Lopatin can also hang with the James Blakes of today. (7.5)

RAJ: On the one hand, it's pretty well-made chillwave. On the other hand, it's chillwave. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and continue being nostalgic about Roy Orbison. (6)

June Mudmix

hello from santa monica.

download

fLako - Shake it Harder
Samiyam - Cushion
Bardo Pond - Just Once
Tokimonsta - Moving Forward
Pavement - Box Elder
Thundercat - For Love I Come
Silver Jews - Black And Brown Blues
Long Arm - Double Bass In Love
Flying Burrito Brothers - Dark End Of The Street
John Coltrane - Say It (Over and Over Again)
Paul McCartney - Ram On
(39:06)

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron

One of my true heroes of music has passed away. Glad I was able to see him perform live a couple years ago. Wherever you are now, Gil, I hope you're doing well.

Gil Scott-Heron - Back Home


Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey on the Moon


Gil Scott-Heron - Lady Day and John Coltrane

SRS TRAX: "Knuckle Down" - Man Man

Honus Honus's songwriting often is serious and emotional, which contrasts with the whimsical musical stylings of bandmates Pow Pow, Chang Wang, Turkey Moth, and Jefferson.


Man Man - Knuckle Down by antirecords

(7)

ANDY: In all my excitement about taking a trip to the east coast this weekend, I forgot I am going to see MAN MAN tomorrow! MAN MAN FUCKING RULES. I haven't copped the new LP yet, just heard a couple tracks, and I hope the live show will be as zany as I hope/remember. Anyways, "Knuckle Down" is kind of like a "Banana Ghost" on steroids, with crunchy video game sounds complimented by xylophones, and Honus Honus's throaty exaltations about love, loss, and downward spirals complimented by silly backup vocals. Seriously this dude is always regretting his sexcapades, with lines like "What the hell can I do, when you whisper 'punish me'? Snapping like a tiger trap, I lost all my honey". Sounds like the theme song to a hairy circus brothel. (8.5)

RAJ: Man Man is undoubtedly one of the best live bands in the world. This single kind of seems like a retread of their best work, but screaming, face-painted men running around firing cap guns at each other and playing bottles with spoons engender a lot of residual goodwill. (7)

PAT: I always suspected Crash Bandicoot and the Wumpa mask were in this band. Why don't you people understand this reference??? (7)

JESSE: All I want to be is a shovely-bubbly-gobbly-gook, and to be listening to anything from Six Demon Bag rather than this song. It's got all the elements, but comes across as lackluster. It would probably be much better if chicken feathers were being tossed around whilst spoons are being thrown into a metal bowl. (5.5)

SRS TRAX: Zomby ft. Panda Bear - Things Fall Apart

Is this why Zomby bailed on AnCo at ATP?




(3.75)

JESSE: The beginning of this track is great. A gunshot, the warning siren, nice drum machine, a solid ascending synth groove. Then Panda Bear comes in. What happened? Nothing changes for the rest of the track. Just a lot of reverb on Panda's vocals, which repeat, repeat, repeat. This beat could have been interesting if it had just stayed as an instrumental and changed up throughout the song, but the addition of Lennox hinders any legitimate exploration. (5)

RAJ: I feel kind of bad for Zomby here. Dude clearly went all out to create a banger that's begging for a grime rapper to drop a double-time verse on it - what he gets is a bored Panda Bear half asleep on the couch after chugging too much Nyquil. Also: this never bugged me too much on Tomboy because the actual music is good enough to make it irrelevant, but why can't Panda Bear just go all Sigur Ros and sing beautiful nonsense? What he does instead is sing incredibly obvious/dumb lyrics as if they're some earth-shattering cosmic epiphany. "Things fall apart that are meant to last - no one knows why"? Look up entropy and pass the Funyuns, bro. (2)

ANDY: Definitely better in theory than in practice, this song ends up mostly repetitive, where it could have been intriguing. Thom Yorke would have knocked it out of the park. (4)

PAT: Andy, I kinda have to agree with you on that one -- at least Thomboy can legitimately change up his vocal rhythm and delivery. Lennox would benefit from some quality time learning how to spit real bubblegum with Scatman John... or maybe Zomby should just include Scatman John on his next collaboration. (4)