Reviews

The end of 2017 is almost on the horizon, which means one thing: Christmas is officially here. I always get happy around this time of year because there’s the opportunity to spend at least one day with your family. One of the reasons why everyone should fully embrace this wonderful holiday is that it gives you the excuse to scroll through your music collection and play some of the best Christmas songs ever.
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I have to confess, I’m not the biggest Oasis fan. I like their first two albums Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? for what they are, but I’ve always found Oasis the least inspired of the Britpop big four. Despite this, I do enjoy Noel Gallagher’s solo work under the High Flying Birds moniker.
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It’s no secret I have a love/hate relationship with progressive rock. My most negative posts on The Rockhaq Community have targeted prog rock, such as my review of Yes’ bloated 1973 double album Tales From Topographic Oceans. Despite this, some of my all-time favourite music is prog. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Yes’ Close to the Edge, for example, are both incredible progressive albums.
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I’ve written in some length about the many career paths of Donald Glover. To sum up, it seems like no matter what creative project he turns his hand to he’s consistently great at it, which is as infuriating as it is spellbinding. Under his alter ego Childish Gambino, Glover has enjoyed some success as a rapper with seven mixtapes, 2 EPs and a trio of studio albums under his belt. It’s on his third full-length album Awaken, My Love that Gambino reinvents himself.
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Pink Floyd are the beating heart of ’70s progressive rock. Easily the genre’s strongest songwriters and sincerest lyricists, Pink Floyd dialled down prog’s more pretentious tendencies to huge success. Iconic albums such as The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall secured the band a place in rock history rivalling The Beatles. This review, however, is set a little earlier. The year is 1967, long-time frontman David Gilmour won’t join the band until 1968 and experimental guitarist Syd Barrett – alongside bassist Roger Waters, keyboardist Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason – is revolutionising rock music.
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In 2014, American lo-fi musician Ariel Pink released pom pom, his first album without the ‘Haunted Graffiti’ moniker. The 21st Century’s answer to Todd Rundgren’s 1973 gem A Wizard, a True Star, pom pom was sprawling, inventive and very very weird. Pink’s follow-up, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, reins in the scatterbrained madness. In its place, however, is something more consistent, sincere and refined.
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I went into Arcade Fire’s fifth studio album not expecting much. Despite liking the singles, most reviews I read suggested this was an underwhelming effort from the Canadian art rock band. Admittedly, their 2013 release Reflektor received similarly mixed reviews and I love that album, but I was still lowering my expectations. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised. Everything Now may not be Arcade Fire’s best work, but it is still an undoubtedly excellent record.
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By this point, we’re all acquainted with the Melbourne psychedelic rock septet King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. With two albums preceding Sketches of Brunswick East this year alone, their name graces new release pages frequently (and let’s face it, no one’s forgetting it in a hurry). Mild High Club, Gizz’s partner in crime on this record, is a less familiar name. The solo project of Los Angeles musician Alex Brettin, Mild High Club sounds like Mac DeMarco started writing for Steely Dan, with Todd Rundgren on production.
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Legendary Italian film composer Ennio Morricone is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of our generation. He’s composed over 500 film scores within his lifetime. His compositions have been in famous films such as The Thing and The Hateful Eight. However his most recognised pieces are from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars.
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I often ask myself; why do famous people keep working? Once I earned a certain amount, I’d stop and become a private citizen and enjoy a stress-free life. Californian rapper/clothing line designer/tv star Tyler, the Creator seems to have had the opposite reaction to his abundance of success. Following the release of Wolf, the final album in a pre-planned trilogy that was six years in the making, Tyler hinted he was done with music.
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