Prolix - starring Jurassic 5, Opeth, Beats by Dre, psychedelic hip-hop, and beefs getting squashed!

Welcome to Prolix - short news for short attention spans. In this semi-regular series I will be rounding up music news, reviews, opinions, rumours, and much more in bite-sized chunks of 100 words or less. Because, let's face it, sometimes you need information fast! 

J5 are back in the house!

Back in 2007 many hip-hop fans gave a minute's silence for California legends Jurassic 5 when they declared they were going their separate ways over creative differences. Things looked up last year when they pulled it back together for an international tour. But now they have given us something much more precious and that is a new song called 'The Way We Do It'. Produced by the late Heavy D and featuring an inspired White Stripes sample, this marks the group's first single in eight years. Whether this leads to more new music is currently unknown but dreams are free.

 

The Cusp of Eternity is here

Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. Just weeks after their new album had been delayed until August, somebody out there has let leak the new Opeth single a month ahead of schedule. 'Cusp of Eternity' has been uploaded onto and cut from Youtube multiple times since the writing of this article so hopefully this link is still working by the time you come to click on it. If this track is much to go by, Pale Communion will build upon what the band did on their divisive album Heritage. Bring on the naysayers, says I.

 

Power to the people ... and the Beats

It's being called one of the biggest purchases in music history and the ink hasn't barely dried on the dotted line. After months of speculation Apple has announced that they have bought the Beats headphone and music streaming service for a cool $3 billion. It seems like a smart move considering that Beats hauled in over a half a billion dollars in 2012 alone, making them the top headphone manufacturers in the world. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre have also been awarded unspecified jobs at Apple as part of the deal. Godspeed, gentlemen.

FDR: Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction

Emerging from the primordial ooze like evolution's very own blooper reel comes FDR, a new project from the very talented Godforbid (That Handsome Devil) and MC Thirtyseven. They are joined by the eccentric talents of DJs Dr Quandry and Louis Mackey. Well, they've gone well beyond a tease and have dropped an EP on us with the fetching title of Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction. You can purchase this fine document from here if you are so inclined. Expect a review of some sort in the future (or don't, it's a free country).

Pat Carney, in 'Beef-Squash VII: This time it's personal'

Patrick Carney of the Black Keys sure has a knack for getting into trouble. Whether its with Jack White, Justin Beiber, Gaga fans, or the specter of Michael Jackson, he loves a good beef. On the back of some high profile bitch sessions, Carney has now struck out at the mastermind behind it all: gossip cesspit TMZ. “Honestly, they should be fucking ashamed of themselves, that they make a living dragging poor souls that have nothing, that aren't famous, into this world” (source Rolling Stone). Why fight the bees when you can just set the hive on fire?

That's it for another exciting installment of Prolix - short music for short attention spans. As always, watch out for new music and condescending opinions on said music at Eclectik Electrik. Until next time, keep it eclectic true believers.

- Professor Ricardo

Album review: Mushroomhead - The Righteous & The Butterfly

When you look at the history of nu-metal it is a wonder that Ohio's Mushroomhead aren't more popular than they are. At the turn of the millennium the wider spectrum of metal was experimenting with pop, punk, funk, hip-hop, dance, industrial, goth, and glam. Considering the octet touched and all of these and more (sometimes within the confines of the same song!) they seemed like the perfect poster children for a new era of weird heaviness. Unfortunately things never quite clicked for them, and comparisons to certain genre heavyweights held them back from the superstardom they perhaps deserved. 2014 represents a reboot of sorts for the band with their new album The Righteous and the Butterfly. Original vocalist Jason “J Mann” Popson returns to the fold for the first time in a decade, as well as the inclusion of new members Church (guitar), Dr F (bass), and Roberto Diablo (drums).

The Righteous and the Butterfly takes everything that made Mushroomhead unique in the crowded shark tank that was the nu-metal era and rebuilds it from the ground up. It is reboot and celebration of the past all in one. The album's strength is in the interplay between Jeffrey Nothing and the returning J Mann. Their 'beautiful beast vs beastly beast' double act was one of the band's foundations and, as a long time fan, it is great to hear that interplay return after two less than stellar albums without it. What is strange is that the other vocalist in the mix, Waylon Reavis, is still around which expands their already intimidating line-up to an auspicious nine members.

Default single 'Qwerty' is flat out ridiculous. It is a great song that carries the ludicrous slogan “Fuck you / I had a bad day” like a badge of honor. The danger here is that a causal observer might take a message like that seriously. And that doesn't even touch on the ironic 'bass drops'. But for the first time in the album 'Qwerty' shows us what having three distinct vocalists can mean for Mushroomhead. Faux heavy metal posturing aside, they still find time for some genuinely affecting tracks. The double-headed 'Portraits of People' / 'Childlike' are an honest and moving palette cleanser that opens the door for more punishment that lies in wait just around the corner.

Mushroomhead are at their best when they put the tough guy schtick aside and set about confusing the hell of its audience. The groovy trip-hop strut of 'We Are the Truth' is completely out of left field. Tracks like this certainly do better than the straight-forward, but technically proficient thrashers ('Son of Seven' is a prominent culprit). They're not bad per se but tend to come across as uninspired. Never forget, this is a band that had the balls to make angry carnival dance music, worship Mike Patton before it was cool, and cover an obscure Pink Floyd track on their major label debut. Needless to say they are creatively fearless. In what might as well be a callback to XIII the album closes out with a startling pop cover. This time instead of Seal's ubiquitous 'Crazy' we are treated to a grimy, tongue-in-cheek rendition of Adele's 'Rumor Has It'. If we ever needed a clear sign that this band has no problem having fun with their tough guy image, here you go!

The Righteous and the Butterfly is a departure from the polished muscularity of their last few albums. If anything it recalls the loose, unhinged vibe that XX created so effortlessly in 2001. In true retrospective fashion, that polish has not eroded entirely but it is certainly better contained and implemented than it has been. Like the best of their previous work, The Righteous and the Butterfly is a complicated album – far more complex than the band's appearance would suggest. It is harsh, quirky, and unfocused in equal measure.

Rating: A-
Recommended tracks: Qwerty, We Are The Truth, How Many Times

Album review: Rodrigo y Gabriela - 9 Dead Alive

Let there be no doubt that Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are wizards when it comes to playing the guitar. The core directive of their band, Rodrigo y Gabriela, has always been that every sound on their records comes directly from the acoustic guitar – not just the strumming and plucking of the stings but also the percussion played directly on the body of the instrument. It was this musical philosophy that has helped to take them from low-tier heavy metal bands in Mexico to being a world beating acoustic duo. To some, the intensity of their performance and lack of vocals has been a bridge too far to cross while others are (rightly) floored by the musical mastery. 9 Dead Alive is their third full-length studio album and it reminds us what we love about them while still opening up new possibilities at every turn.

While their self-titled debut adhered strictly to that strict doctrine regarding guitar sounds, 11:11 allowed hints of other instruments to creep in around the fringes: piano, violins, and a searing electric solo on Atman courtesy of Alex Skolnik from Testament. As it turned out, none of these extra touches diminished their prowess or watered down their ethos one iota. 9 Dead Alive pulls an even more audacious trick by inclusion of (gasp) voices on 'Sunday Neurosis'. Before anybody brandishes a pitchfork it is worth pointing out that the voices come from a sample of Richard Dawkins and other modern philosophers discussing the perennial conundrum of God. The voices seem alien at first but they play beautifully off the David Gilmour motifs and muted organ of the bridge. Then there is the hushed studio chatter that bookends album closer 'La Salle Des Pas Perdas'. Their bi-lingual banter is very cute and it gives the piece a loose, off-the-cuff feel – like we are peering behind the curtain to steal a peek of The Great and Powerful. For such a simple addition to their sonic palette the sound of the human voice has completely altered the mood of these compositions.

Every track on 9 Dead Alive is a tribute to somebody (or something) from history that has had a profound impact on the 21^st century. They range from authors and poets, to philosophers and luthiers, social revolutionaries, and even nature itself. You don't ever need to know the inspiration behind a song to appreciate it fully but some of the subjects are interesting to ponder in relation to the music. The fact that 'The Soundmaker' was inspired by master guitar craftsman Antonio Torres Jurado makes sense as you're listening to it. 'The Russian Messenger' is dextrous, surprisingly heavy, and cast in the shadow of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's weighty prose (he's the guy who wrote 'Crime & Punishment' - a book as cheerful as it sounds).

Even with all these additional elements and concepts the focus of the album is still firmly on the duo's unabashed worship of the six-string. Whether they are playing gently or exploding into furors of intensity it is absolutely spell-binding to behold. What is surprising is that the quieter, more thoughtful compositions are more striking than the dextrous outbursts and stick with you longer. On tracks like 'Sunday Neurosis' and 'Megalopolis' they force you to lean in a little closer as you can no longer rely on loudness to tell the story. These subtleties show a maturation in their approach to the craft and speaks of boundless future possibilities.

Quintero shines just as much from her rhythm guitar position as Sanchez does in lead. Her percussive touch helps them stand out from any old wistful string ticklers. She has a palpable energy and attitude that makes her style thrilling and instantly identifiable. Technically they are as flawless as always but they are never forced to rely on their talent as a crutch. They can evoke such emotion and narrative without ever needing to say a word. 9 Dead Alive is another impressive record in Rodrigo y Gabriela's already stellar catalogue. It pushes the duo to explore new areas in their existing range. The album and the audience alike are better off for it. 

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: The Soundmaker, Sunday Neurosis, The Russian Messenger