Editors’ Picks: Varieties of Musical Expression
At times humorous, vulnerable, and experimental, music has historically combined as well as explored a myriad of artistic impulses, all of which achieve unique experiences for listeners and performers alike. In an attempt to capture this quality of music, members of the Review’s Editorial Board compiled albums, artists, and songs that reflect the diversity of expression of which music proves capable.
Chicks on Speed — Will Save Us All! (2000)
“Will Save Us All!” provides a musical education in some of Europe’s sexiest electronic music from the late 70s up until the album’s release date of 2000. The then Munich-based multimedia collective managed to compile eclectic and irreverent covers of some underground classics, such as their phenomenal version of German experimental band Malaria!’s “Kaltes Klares Wasser” and The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette.”
The fact that Chicks on Speed’s covers are great, however, should not overshadow their own contributions to the electronic music scene. The robotic delivery and super sleazy composition on standout track “Glamour Girl” presents electroclash at its best—almost as if Aqua took a bunch of nitrous oxide and composed “Barbie Girl” specifically for the purpose of a very intoxicated slumber party. If you find the beginning too difficult to bear, feel free to skip to the final track “Euro Trash Girl,” a cover of Cracker’s (frankly obnoxious) folk song about a trashy backpacker. This is where you can truly see the group’s riot grrrl ethos, as a monotone voice recites the events of said trashy backpacker over a constant drum machine beat. It cannot be overstated how sometimes self-aware scruffy men with acoustic guitars simply cannot do what a few Chicks on Speed can.
— Sage Rhys, Music Editor
The Marías
Formed in Los Angeles in 2016, The Marías is a psychedelic-soul group that made their presence known in the music industry with their EP’s Superclean Vol. I and Superclean Vol. II released in 2017 and 2018, respectively. After a chance meeting at Laurel Canyon Music Revival series in L.A, María, an Atlanta-raised Puerto Rican, and Josh Conway, an L.A. native, took to melding their diverse backgrounds and influences into The Marías.
Like a forbidden fruit, The Marías entice. They have the ability to create soundscapes that can only be described as dreamy: throughout their discography there are hints of alluring bossa nova, smooth jazz, velvety soul, and bouncy funk, all of which provide a surreal backing for María’s lulling and hypnotic voice. With a new album on the way, CINEMA, The Marías are continuing to sculpt streams of consciousness into something unique, beautiful, and human.
— Chase Smith, Contributing Editor
Earl Sweatshirt — Some Rap Songs (2018)
Earl Sweatshirt’s evolution from teenage shock-value rap pre-Doris todepressive ennui on I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside reaches another stage with Some Rap Songs. As the title suggests, SRS is a collection of rap ideas—not all of them fully realized—but it nevertheless harnesses an experimental, lo-fi production coupled with Earl’s signature poetics. The deep monotone we’ve come to expect from Earl is there; it’s not quite as hopeless as IDLSIDGO but equally introspective. His steadiness at the mic grounds the tracks, which flow quite freely into one another but produce sharply different soundscapes. The curiously glitchy single “Nowhere2go” is followed by the chilly keys of “December 24,” which itself flows into the jazzy and upbeat “Ontheway!” Earl’s lyrics don’t necessarily reflect the production around him—“Dark face on the news/Clouds gray on the move/On the way like the truth,” the track’s closing triplet, is made even more ominous when the phrase “on the way” is repeated in the penultimate track, “Peanut.” Earl’s father, an accomplished poet in his own right and a complicated figure across the discography, died when Earl was nearly finished with the album. His death prompted the recording of the final two tracks, first “Peanut,” a formless, slurred set of bars set over an equally blurry beat, made all the more devastating by the context surrounding it. Then, in the blink of an eye, the album’s triumphant closing, “Riot!,” comes on. It’s a lucid and lush instrumental track, sampling Hugh Masekela, legend of South African jazz, and a friend of Earl’s father. It’s a fitting tribute and end to the album.
— Alexander Del Greco, Contributing Editor