Scratch Vinyl

  Illinois Sufjan Stevens is an artist that I have heard nothing but positive things about. I was only ever familiar with his song Fourth Of July. With that, I knew the first full album I listened to by him was going to be very good. Illinois was released on July 4, 2005. He claimed that this was one album of about fifty he planned on making about every state but this was later revealed to be a joke to promote the album. He covers a wide variety of genres ranging from pop, jazz, indie, and folk rock. Much of the orchestral arrangements in the album was played by himself, recorded through multi-track recording. The album features several instrumental interludes that break up the album nicely. I found it interesting that Stevens briefly considered quitting music altogether after the release of this album. He views music in such a technical way that it has become difficult to listen to music for pleasure. This is a perspective that I never really considered from artists. Being so invo...

  A City Dressed In Dynamite  That Handsome Devil released its debut album, A City Dressed In Dynamite in 2008. The band has such a uniquely bizarre charm that always manages to draw me in. I loved quite a few songs on this album already so I decided to give the rest of it a listen. Almost every track includes little segments at the beginning or end that sound like they’re from classic 60s television or radio shows. After looking into it more, these samples originate from the 1967 education video Narcotics: Pit of Despair. This makes the primary themes of many of these songs blatantly obvious, being a more conceptual album covering the many struggles of drug addiction. The wide variety of instrumentation has always been something I’ve admired about the band. While it might not be for everyone, That Handsome Devil touches on multiple genres such as: jazz, rock, and experimental hip hop, which makes this album especially unique.  Wintergreen is by far my favorite of th...

  In Between Dreams  The third studio album by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams was released in 2005. Johnson started playing guitar at 8 and began writing songs when he was 12, which shows his passion towards music. I was only ever familiar with his song Upside Down , which was a staple from my childhood. I was excited to listen to this one as I have been really enjoying calmer, more acoustic-focused music lately. The mellowness of this acoustic rock album was a major highlight, it felt distinctly nostalgic. I found myself completely relaxed listening to it in its entirety. I can’t help but praise the album for its sincerity, I really disagree with the critics who didn’t like this one. I think it accomplished everything it set out to do.  The opening track Better Together is a beautifully sweet song to start on. He reflects on how fleeting time is but he chooses to spend it with his love. The song contains many uplifting lyrics that make me feel emotio...

  CHROMAKOPIA  I have a list of albums to write about that I have been following for each week but with the release of Tyler, The Creator’s new album happening today, I decided to cover this one instead. Tyler has entered a new stage of his life and is beginning to question himself and his choices. This feels far more personal than his previous albums. CHROMAKOPIA is a great high-concept album with many layers. Here he introduced a new persona to add to his many alter egos that make up his discography and identity. This is something that I’ve always admired about his music, how he attaches himself to his art in a way I haven’t seen other rappers do.  The persona for this era is presumably referred to as St. Chroma which is also the name of the opening track. A military motif can be heard in the form of chants as well as the military uniform featured on the album cover. This character is inspired by Chroma the Great, a character from the children’s novel The Phantom Tollb...

    How to Be a Human Being  Glass Animals released How to Be a Human Being in 2016. This is an album I’m very familiar with, however I will not waste the chance to write about one of the most interesting concept albums I’ve listened to. I was also fortunate enough to see them in concert a few years back so I have a personal connection to this album. How to Be a Human Being has a total of eleven songs, each representing one person on the cover art. I’d like to focus more on the meanings of these songs as they are inspired by the stories of real everyday people they encountered during their travels.  Life Itself is a lovely album opener and sets the tone for the rest of the album well. The instrumental in the beginning seems to contain a transition from the sounds of their previous album Zaba , into their new sound. The song has a lot of energy despite the dark contrasting lyrics about a person struggling to fit into society. The narrator is arrogant, the lyrics s...

  Disappear Here Bad Suns released their sophomore indie rock album, Disappear Here in 2016. This is another band that I have no knowledge of so I was pretty excited to give it a try. I enjoy getting to listen to something entirely new, leaving it up to me to form my own opinions without any preconceived notions or expectations of the band. Bad Suns is clearly influenced by ‘70s and ‘80s music as those elements are present in many of their songs. Disappear Here has a certain level of polish, making it a well refined album about the varying degrees of how love and heartbreak can impact you.  The title track, Disappear Here is a great opening that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The strong vocals and dynamic instrumental made me excited for what’s to come. The song explores themes of longing and the uncertainty of relationships. He entertains the conflicting feelings regarding if he should give their love another chance or let them ‘disappear here’. He wants to escape...