Gorillaz -- Gorillaz

This, the self titled debut from the virtual band Gorillaz started by Blur front man Damon Albarn and comic book writer Jamie Hewlett, is a rock, electronica and hip hop hybrid that has grown very popular. This cd though not as popular as the second album did produce a couple of huge singles including "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock The House", the later being my favorite song on the album. This album feels a bit more like a Blur album then the Gorillaz but they do get their own sound by the second album. With that said if you like either Blur or the second album of the Gorillaz you will like this album. For the experimentalist in you, this is a good album to pick up, it has a lot of songs which try new things, such as the song 5/4 which is in 5/4 time also there are a lot of sounds that you won't find on any other album. Though there are some cool songs on the album and cool things the album doesn't have much staying power, I find myself drifting a lot during the album, and I never really think of listneing to the album. It has some memorable stuff but not much that makes me want to come back for more, with one exception being "Rock The House" which I listen to on a regular basis.

This one is worth picking up for the most part, especially if you already like Blur or The Gorillaz. This is a good album overall, but does lack in some areas. It doesn't have a high replay factor. 3 out of 4 stars.

The Pillows -- Happy Bivouac

This album by the Japanese rock band The Pillows features some songs that were used in the anime FLCL. This album came just two years after Mr. Lostman and they still rock it out like they do on that one. This is a staple for any Pillows fan and is also a good one to start on as well. My favorite Pillows song ever is on this album entitled "Advice", it's a a quick 2 minutes and 15 seconds of heart pumping rock. This album also has some good lighter and fancy tunes such as "Kim deal" and "Beautiful morning with you", songs which resemble The Pixies in many ways.

Overall this is a good album, much the same caliber as Mr. Lostman. I think many people would like this one and recommend it to anyone willing to try it out. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Lateef & The Chief -- Maroons: Ambush

I thought since it's getting late but I'm not done with what I want to do that I'll do a shorter album. For those that haven't gotten the intro about Quannum, they're a rap group comprising four rappers, well they like mixing it up for different cds, and for each combination they have a different name, well this cd is the pairing of Lateef and Chief Xcel. Now what happens when you mix these two together the background really takes the background to the lyrics, these two are all about the lyrics. Basically this is a good complimentary album. It's a good rap album but really becomes the best when you've already become a fan of other Quannum cds. This is a good cd in the fact that there aren't any bad songs, but also there isn't anything truely exceptional, it's just overall a good rap album. It's better as an album then for single songs.

Check out something else by someone in Quannum before checking this one out, and if you find you do like the stuff they do then pick this one up to. 3.5 out of 4 stars for this one. Good album.

DJ Shadow -- The Outsider

DJ Shadow is much the same type of music as Cut Chemist, in fact DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist have put out albums together. This is DJ Shadow's fourth solo album. Now this cd is an interesting one for me, as a big fan of this kind of music and having gotten this album at the same time as Cut Chemist's cd I was expecting to really like it and the beginning blew me away. The Outsider Intro kicks off the cd with a really cool introduction and then the cd goes into the incredibly jazzy "I'm Gonna Try It My Way" which is by far the best song on the album. But then Shadow completely abandons the styles he was going for and goes into playing sidekick to a bunch of to a bunch of nasaly rappers. See he does the opposite that Cut Chemist does, he makes it into a cd by a bunch of rappers that features DJ Shadow. However, luckily this trend dies off after seven songs and suddenly goes back into what it started as, an interesting and explorative cd. It gets really good by the time it makes it to the song "What Have I Done" featuring Christina Carter. The addition of Chris James on both "Erase You" and especially "You Made It" make the cd much more enjoyable. And right when you think he wouldn't go back for the last two songs he goes back to the rap that doesn't work. The only rap song on this album that I liked was a song called "Enuff" with Q-Tip and Lateef. This cd has gotten such mixed reviews and I can see why, he basically tries to take two very different cds and mix them into one and it feels very alienating. I think all of the songs could have worked if he had put out two albums or maybe made this as a double album and added more songs of each flavor then it may have worked but in it's current state it doesn't flow.

This album could work for specific people but not everyone. The stuff that he does that isn't rap is some of his best stuff and could appeal to almost everyone I know, but the rap songs may only appeal to one or two people I know, so this one is hard to recommend to anyone. This one is getting 2 1/2 stars. This cd really has some of his best and also some of his worst stuff. At least there isn't really any mediocrity on the album.

Cut Chemist -- The Audience Is Listening

Sorry for the lapse in reviews, this was mostly due to finals, and you can expect lags like these each time finals comes around. Now first off is the first solo cd of Cut Chemist, he's a turntablist DJ whom I saw live and then shortly afterwards got his album. He's my favorite DJ around and I really want to be able to make music like him. For those that are wondering where they've heard of him before he was a member of Jurassic 5 for a while before going solo and he was Ozomatli's first album. DJ's like Cut Chemist often are different from techno DJs and are more associated with the rap scene. They'll often incorporate more elements of dance and funk then most techno DJs, as well as their standard record scratching type sounds. The thing that works on this album of Cut Chemist's is he's able to have a nice mix of all different styles and is able to easily make them meld together. The other big thing which some DJs can fall into the trap of is beomceing the guest star to their guests. With this album, it's Cut Chemist's album and when rapper Hymnal joins for the song "What's The Altitude", it's Cut Chemist's song with Hymnal guest starring instead of the other way around.

Cut Chemist may be a bit hard to get into if you aren't used to the style of music, but if you do try and get into it might I recommend first listening to the songs "(My 1st) Big Break", "The Garden" and "What's The Altitude" off of this album or check out "Swing Set" on Jurassic 5's album "Quality Control" and "Lesson 6: The Lecture" off of Jurassic 5's first EP. I obviously am completely in love with this cd, but do think that it's still good not just because I love it so. I do think other's could like ti quite a bit as well. I'm giving it a resounding 4 out of 4 stars.