In this week’s episode, Matthew and Ricardo discuss the second and final season of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”, the TTFF ’23 entries “Doubles”, “PB and the Buck: Buck’s Astrology Centre” and “Fortune for All”, the satiric sex comedy “Bottoms”, the mystery/horror film “A Haunting in Venice” and the action film “The Expendables 4”.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE
“Shadows” is the newest album from L.A. rapper/producer and member of the DRODIANS hip-hop collective Killahronh. This project’s execution is akin to DRODIAN founding father Sneek Rothstein’s 2021 record “Menace”, where the songs themselves are influenced by themes brought up in a short narrative broken up into interludes. Though not as cinematic and over-the-top as “Menace” (except for one bit. More on that in the next paragraph), the narrative on “Shadows” is just as simple and straight-forward. Killahronh books some studio time and knocks out pretty much ALL the songs on this album, but before, during and in-between these recordings, he’s reminded of the shade and harsh criticism thrown at his artistry.
The biggest strength of “Shadows” is the use of legendary West Coast rapper Ras Kass as a narrative framing device. In the first of the album’s three skits (called ‘silhouettes” because ..…”Shadows”, that’s why), Killahronh enters the studio to find the engineer bumping one of his previous songs: a NECK-SNAPPING, boom-bap track (if only THAT made it to this album’s tracklist) featuring Ras Kass. After the RIDICULOUSLY over-exaggerated comment from the engineer’s friend (his pimp voice alone is worth the price of admission, particularly the way he says “motherfucker” at the end), another friend mentions how dudes on the street never found Killahronh’s music dope in the first place. That guy re-iterates this point in the third, final and – dare I say – BEST silhouette, and even suggests “trendy”, albeit generic, ways in which Killahronh can pivot his sound towards a mainstream audience. And while I won’t spoil how Killahronh responds to that comment, the response itself is intelligent and inspirational and a pivotal moment on the record.
Getting a couple gripes out of the way, the minor one involves the “2nd Silhouette” where Killahronh selects a few beats to rhyme over with the engineer’s assistance. Yes, it sets up the next few songs in the tracklist, one of which didn’t even make it to the album: the recently-released single “Frequencies”. But to me, I felt that it strayed away from the thematic core of the album’s narrative.
The major gripe, however, was the noticeably short verse from Ras Kass on “Listen Up”. The song opens and closes strongly with excerpts from a 2019 episode of Talib Kweli’s “People’s Party” podcast. The first deals with the praise heaped upon “Nature of the Threat”, a sprawling, hook-less history lesson on the origins of white-born racism towards black people which, despite its dense and provocative content, is regarded as one of Kass’ greatest songs. The second is an ironic look at how the high quality of an artist’s work doesn’t always equate to long-term relevancy in the music world. Killahronh, fueled by the boisterous, horn-driven production on this track, kicks things off with a passionate verse about having to go the extra, EXTRA mile to get his points across to the listener (like collaborating with Kass, as brought up on the first silhouette). On his fiery verse, Ras Kass advises Killahronh to NOT dumb down his sound at all, especially for fame and clout. He then delivers one of the album’s best lyrical moments when he spits “The claim is they want hot shit / I pour 24 karat melted gold up your anus”. As a whole, it’s still a solid track, but one where I felt Kass deserved more time on the mic.
If you’re familiar with Killahronh’s music, he’s been making songs centered on his underdog status, relentless grind, passion for hip hop and little to no fucks given to the haters for years now. But I’d make the argument that “Shadows” is the most laser-focused he’s ever been in addressing these issues. On the first song “Midnight”, he LITERALLY goes Super Saiyan and rips fellow DRODIAN rapper/producer Too Nasty’s dark, grimy beat to shreds with aggression towards his detractors and confidence to back it up! He even leaves part of the beat for its creator to do some lyrical damage to it (Points for his “I came up off the swamp water, you might think I’m Mowgli” bar, by the way). The DRODIAN tag team keep the momentum going on the following track “Bowser” where Killahronh addresses the criticism based on his lyrics ‘going over people’s heads’. And in this song, he drops one of the album’s most memorable lyrical moments: “I technically knock ‘em out/ It’s just not flashy cuz most don’t catch what I’m talking ‘bout / It’s like a Hustler magazine, not reading a thing / Rather see titties and ass so they can shoot out human beings”
There’s a couple of “diggin’ in the crates”-type tracks on the album that should please fans of sample-based hip hop. “Not a Lyricist” features this 90s boom-bap-inspired instrumental laced with a Latin-flavored flute sample that sounds, as Killahronh says at the start of his first verse, “grimy, dirty and raw”. The hook is an absolute highlight and one of the most ear-grabbing on this record (“Lyrically, I’m not a lyricist / I’m just lyrical because I used to listen to Canibus”). While I’m not the biggest Canibus fan (though, as a West Indian island ninja, I absolutely fuck with “How we Roll”), the hook adds a sardonic vibe to the track as Canibus himself, like fellow rapper Ras Kass, is also known for dropping bars and schemes that flew past listeners’ heads. By comparison, “Chili Cheese” (which is the last instrumental played in the “2nd Silhouette” interlude) sounds a bit cleaner and more melodic, with some male vocal chops leading the track’s drum and flute-based beat. And for such a short song (it’s actually the shortest on the record), Killahronh packs it with a solid amount of wit and braggadocio, with some quotables to boot (“Gone in 60 seconds, so it’s been a minute / Since you spit some shit that’s timeless, I’m talking infinite”).
But it’s not all aggression and vinyl samples on “Shadows”. There’s also moments of mellow reflection like “Tunnel Vision”, a track that I imagine will go over VERY well at a live show thanks to its catchy-ass hook and smooth, breezy beat (points for the talk box, G-funk inspired vocals on the intro and hook). Over the moody, nocturnal soundscape of the following track “BB6Wheelz”, Killahronh drops a short but incredibly witty verse with a few occasional self-aware moments I imagine were designed to ensure his listeners’ focus aren’t solely on the beat, like “Hip hop’s in jeopardy like Sagak”. And there’s the penultimate track “Mr. Nobody” where, over a bluesy, disenchanted instrumental and a male vocal sample that WILL stay with you long after the song ends, Killahronh ruminates on the frustrations he feels in his rap career and the loneliness felt in trying to accomplish his long-term goals.
But the big surprise on this record came in the inclusion of the final track off Killahronh’s 2021 project “The Implementer” to this album’s tracklist. Excluding the extended podcast excerpt which padded out the original version (called “Talent”) to 8 minutes, “Talented” is the same bittersweet and emotionally resonant song that stood out to me since I covered that record. And given the subject matter of “Shadows”, it fits PERFECTLY here, with its brutally honest look at the chances of success in the rap game from both Killahronh and legendary Long Beach rapper Crooked I still ringing true.
Of course, I couldn’t end this review without mentioning the guest features on this album. With Crooked I and Ras Kass already known and respected in the hip-hop world, “Shadows” boasts some truly talented artists well-deserving of greater attention. Take SKRILLZ DIOR, whose razor-sharp verse on “Don’t Hate” amplifies the song’s theme of appreciating the effort and passion put into the music instead of hating on it for no reason. In addition to a rare moment of singing from Killahronh via the hook, “Flea Flicker Hail Mary” delivers a solid second verse from rapper 4ize and an IMPRESSIVE final verse from rapper Digga’ Dame Lee (“I was conceived to the crackling sound of vinyl” is one of the best lines I’ve heard in a rap song all year!!). Rapper/producers Young Hak and Diar Lansky bring some lyrical introspection and sonic smoothness to the table on the track “Audible”; and on the final track “Bodies of Work”, whose classy, soulful production alone makes for a truly satisfying way to conclude this album, singer/rapper Daniel Kushnir delivers a brilliantly-written complementary verse to Killahronh’s acknowledgment of his growth as a lyricist and artist in general.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed and appreciated “Shadows”. The beat selection is great from top to bottom, the performances by Killahronh and his team of supporting spitters are superb, and its overall message of staying true to one’s artistic voice is sure to resonate with anyone who calls themselves a creative. Here’s hoping Killahronh continues to avoid the shadows that seek to loom over his life and career. In short, this album is definitely worth checking out!
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10
Now available on Spotify
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Ricardo discuss the first trailer for “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”, the “Tiny Toons” reboot series “Tiny Toons Looniversity”, the fourth season of “Harley Quinn”, the newest Nas & Hit-Boy album “Magic 3”, the new Heezy Hines album “Exit Wounds”, the horror film “Talk to Me” and the supernatural satire “El Conde”, in addition to making mention of this year’s Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, the recently-released Blackmagic iOS app and the passing of iconic filmmaker Horace Ove.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE
Previously, I covered “Look Up to the Sky”, the lead single from “The Sky”, the latest full-length album from singer/songwriter/producer Franki Love. With its spacey instrumentation, catchy songwriting and smoothly-delivered vocals, all provided by Franki, it was an effective indication of what to expect on this new project.
As I stated in that track review, I expected this album to play out like the third chapter of an unofficial series of albums – the last two being “The Sun” (2020) and “The Moon” (2022) – within the meditative and therapeutic categories of new age music. Maybe it’s the movie trilogy lover in me, but I admittedly went into “The Sky” expecting it to be this climactic culmination of the sounds and ideas presented in its two predecessors. And in a way it is, but instead, we get an album infused with the respective vocal and instrumental-centric DNA of “The Sun” and “The Moon”, but with its own identity and thematic throughline. It even hints at a possible follow-up involving another part of nature, but more on that in a bit!
Like “Look Up to the Sky” which concludes the first third of this nine-track album, the “sky” itself is represented as this celestial vessel filled with the light of love. This light envelops all of us, even in the darkest moments of our lives, and throughout the album, Franki encourages the listener through song to embrace this light, seek it for guidance in our lives and live said lives to the fullest (i.e. ‘spreading your wings and flying’). Like her previous work, Franki once again handles production duties; but this time, however, she sought out three musical icons for instrumental support: Grammy-nominated new age musicians Michael Hoppé and Steven Halpern and Grammy-winning house/trance remixer Hex Hector, the latter of whom was responsible for many memorable remixes of chart-topping songs back in the 90s (his collaboration with the production duo Soul Solution on the “Un-Break My Heart” remix from Toni Braxton instantly comes to mind).
The album opens with the chilled-out, synth-driven “Heaven Flows with You Forever”, an alternate version of the song “Heaven Flows in You” from “The Sun”, which sounds like the equivalent to waking up on a bright, sunny morning. The sunlight in this case is love, as it’s “on the rise” like a literal sunrise and “surrounding you” like sunlit air. And yet there’s this spacey, nocturnal aura hovering over the instrumentation, as if this light of love is being spotlighted onto us by a full moon. Franki’s breathy vocals sound rather heavenly across this track, to the point that even the occasional bits of percussion in the background don’t overpower her voice. Franki sticks with the heaven theme a bit longer on the short but sweet piano ballad “Walk the Line with Angels” whose radio-friendly, adult contemporary sound alone makes it an aural attention-grabber. Here, she encourages the listener to keep walking in that heavenly light with the knowledge that there will be support, whether physical or spiritual, along the way.
After the serene “Look Up to the Sky”, we get “Fly like the Wonder You Are”, the second longest track on the album with its near 6-minute runtime. Like the preceding and following track, the title is simple and self-explanatory, as Franki beckons the listener to tap into the greatness inside you, “follow your heart” and….you guessed it….”fly”. This is one of a few tracks on the album where the song is mainly driven by its message and the mood of its instrumental as opposed to traditional songwriting structure (verse, hook etc.). And for a message as relevant as this, it actually works! Franki’s production is upbeat, sunny and vibrant, with a little bounce added to the melody to keep your head nodding as you listen to this track and go about your day. Lyrically, she appears at just the right time on this track to deliver some vocalizing, the hook itself or a few extra lyrics here or there.
Up next is a quartet of instrumental-based tracks, beginning with “Just Relax and Flow”. If “Heaven Flows with You Forever” is the sunny start of a new day, “Just Relax and Flow” is the brief spell of rain (the sound of rainfall is actually incorporated into the production) in-between that sunny weather. That rainy sound effect effectively brings a sense of calm to the track, with Franki’s soothing vocalizing hovering over the shimmering instrumentation like a drifting cloud. We then get the first track featuring one of the album’s three guest performers. On “Moon Maiden Tears II”, a sequel and remix to “Moon Maiden Tears” from….you guessed it….”The Moon”, Hex Hector delivers a fresh and distinct take on the original song by replacing Franki’s ethereal production with a low-key, contemporary beat, whilst maintaining her main vocal melody.
The second collaboration comes in the form of “Heidi’s Waltz Beyond”, where Michael Hoppé’s excellent piano solo and Franki’s angelic vocalizing mesh into a genuinely beautiful track that’s easily one of the best songs on this record! It’s so great, I wish it ran for at least a minute more just so I can bask in the warmth of this track even longer! But before the third and final collab, we’re treated to arguably the most downtempo song on the album “It’s Written in the Stars”. With its placement near the end of the record, it’s clear that this track is all about that titular “sky”. Franki takes the listener on what is essentially a journey through space and (most likely) time, both of which are embodied in this expansive, hypnotic instrumental laced with occasional bursts of ghostly vocalizing.
Franki saves her longest and most symbolic song for last with the album closer “Ocean of Bliss and Inner Peace”. Not only is this the climactic culmination I was looking forward to from the beginning, but it takes its thematic throughline of the light of love and applies it to the absolute perfect setting: the ocean. Visually, it’s the middle ground between the earth and sky but, as stated by Franki and her daughter (the album’s sole guest vocalist) through brief positive affirmations, it’s the place where you can finally let go of the things holding you back from living a truly fulfilling life, whether it’s fear, anger, regret or grief. Adding Steven Halpern, one of the proclaimed founding fathers of new age music, to this track is a stroke of pure genius as we’re treated to this grand, near-cinematic masterwork of an instrumental from start to finish. Combined with Franki’s singing, vocalizing and whispered messages of hope, the end result is my top favorite song on this album! And as for the follow-up I mentioned earlier in this review, I suspect this “ocean” will be the central focus of Franki’s next album. Or maybe not, but I guess I’ll see what happens in the near-future.
As a whole, I really appreciated and enjoyed “The Sky”. From a sequencing standpoint, it flows well from track to track. The production is consistent throughout, even with the contributions from Hex Hector, Michael Hoppé and Steven Halpern. And though it’s not a lyric-heavy album, it still benefits from its simple, sincere messages and superb vocals from Franki Love. In short, if you’re looking for an album designed for healing, stress relief, meditation or simple relaxation, look no further than “The Sky”.
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10
Now available on Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes
In a documentarian-like tone, the narrator states the following: “Starting off small to growing up to producing the next generation. All living things have a life cycle. Each day just as important as the last”. But it’s the next fact, which may slip past listeners’ ears, that’s crucial to understanding this album: “Different groups of organisms all have different kinds of life cycles”. Simply put, while you may not have gone through what Nord1kone went through or accomplished what he did, those same three aspects of life – birth, growth and reproduction – are just a part of his life as they are ours. But as we know, there is a fourth and final aspect of life, but more on that later.
This narration, part of the intro track “The Business of Life”, lays the thematic groundwork for “Life Cycles”, the first collaboration between Bay Area rapper Nord1kone and the beatmaking duo of UK producer Mike Flips and Australian producer Seize. The groundwork itself was established earlier in Nord1kone’s life after learning of his wife’s pregnancy. Additionally, this album is the follow-up to Nord1kone’s collaborative record with DJ/ producer and fellow Outsiders Syndicate member LMT Break “Respect the Skills”, where their undeniable chemistry and dedication to keeping the flag of boom-bap raised resulted in one of my favorite records of 2022.
After “The Business of Life”, “Life Cycles” kicks off with “Lows and Highs”, a track I imagine will go over well at a live show thanks to its smooth, laid-back beat, lyrics centered on honing one’s craft and following your passions, and of course its engaging, crowd-moving hook. On the subject of hook, I do like how it’s framed as this daily metaphorical fight between the listeners and the external and internal forces blocking them from accomplishing their goals (“Keep your head down, G, but your eye to the sky / Knuckles up in-between the lows and highs”). Following that is the lead single “Better Days” which features this sunny, grooving-on-a-Sunday-afternoon-like beat that is easily one of this album’s best instrumentals. Though I couldn’t identify all the samples utilized on the hook, I did notice the blink-and-you-miss-it vocal from the CLASSIC rap song “Remember We” from Brooklyn rap group Da Bush Babees. With a great second verse from veteran rapper and regular collaborator El Da Sensei, Nord1kone dedicates his two verses to his gradual maturity as a man and rapper. And speaking of “Groovin’” (kids, ask your parents), the brief string section that appears during Nord1kone’s outro is GORGEOUS, adding an extra layer of warmth and nostalgia to the production.
We then get the title track which is, in my opinion, THE best song on this album! I LOVE the nocturnal, ethereal vibe of Seize and Mike Flips’ production, further heightened with a wisely-selected vocal sample of the late, great MF DOOM (from “The Finest”, one of my favorite songs off “Operation: Doomsday”) at the beginning and a brief, haunting bit of female vocalizing peppered throughout the track. Nord1kone taps into his past experiences and present situations to advise us that we must embrace the ups and downs of our life cycles as they’ll prepare us for the good and bad times that will inevitably occur. It’s interesting how he ends that track with the phrase “Sunrise and sunset” and on the first line of the first two verses (respectively) of the next track “Underdog Vibe”, he says “I stay up in-between the sunset, West” and “I close my eyes to the sunrise, East”. Over a similarly nocturnal but smoother and jazzier beat, we get what feels thematically like a continuation of “Lows and Highs”, with greater lyrical emphasis placed on the immense effort put into Nord1kone’s rhymes, fueled by his desire to prove his many doubters and detractors wrong.
After the instrumental interlude “Display a New Sound”, we get a boom-bap banger in the form of “Knock Knock”, NOT to be confused with the track of the same name from “Respect the Skills” (one of my favorite tracks off that record, by the way). In a strange way, this track feels like an aggressive remix to the ‘original’ LMT Break-produced version. Its menacing bassline, in particular, always reminds me of Cypress Hill’s “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” every time I listen to this song. And while I dug the traditional, early-90s approach to the beat’s construction and energized performance by Nord1kone, I felt we could’ve gotten a second verse from either him or another rapper, instead of the extended intro, verse, hook and outro presented on this track.
The second half of “Life Cycles” truly showcases the record’s excellent track sequencing, as the rowdy sound of “Knock Knock” dissipates to an irresistibly wavy, horn-assisted instrumental courtesy of “Max with the Illest”. Nord1kone goes into “Respect the Skills” mode on this track, delivering a MASTERCLASS on how to flow over a boom-bap beat of such a high caliber without losing a step! The head-nodding vibe switches to that of subtle psychedelia on the following track “Throw Em Further” (the guitars and bongos, in particular, sound like they were lifted from some late-60s folk rock song). Even Nord1kone takes note of the ‘mood-inducing’ nature of Mike Flips and Seize’s beat, expressed through his opening line “All power to the Swishas, greens and Jim Beams that saved a wretch like me”. While the track itself is not about getting stimulated, it gives us a glimpse into Nord1kone’s current mind state, preferably the things he regularly ruminates on like the support from his wife and the rest of the Outsiders Syndicate and, mentioned for the first time on this album, the death of his brother. These emotional and mental facets continue to fuel him through his life and rap career.
Speaking of career, Nord1kone examines his current path towards rap immortality on the penultimate track “Path of the Poet”, yet another fantastic song on this album. Its jazzy, hazy production flows in your brain from start to end and the vocal chop serving as the song’s hook is guaranteed to stay with you long after the song ends. If “Throw Em Further” gave us a glimpse into the man Nord1kone is, this track gives us a glimpse into the artist he is, from his humble beginnings as a kid who rapped for fun to a man who takes the craft of rap seriously. The third verse showcases a significant change in Nord1kone at this point on the record. Now older, wiser and a father, he has a clearer idea of who he is as a rapper and a man. His rhymes are more thoughtful, he’s using his art to provide for his family and even his battle-rap approach to rhyming has changed to that of motivating his rivals to step their pen game up to help move the culture forward, as suggested by the following line: “Like help a homie up even after I knock him down”. In addition, he drops what just might be the perfect summary of his character growth on this album: “But the majority will never know the Nord1kone / And that’s alright because I write through day and night to overcome”.
Saving their most emotional song for last, Nord1kone, Seize, Mike Flips and sole guest Outsiders Syndicate emcee The I.M.F. close the album off with “Flow State”. Over the appropriately disenchanted drums and horns of Mike and Seize’s production, Nord1kone and The I.M.F. trade bars over a conversation turned therapy session, with the former expressing how overpowered he feels by the stresses of life, especially the difficult task of moving forward from his brother’s death. The most sincere characteristic of this track is The I.M.F’s role as the confidant in this scenario, continually and REALISTICALLY assuring him that things won’t get better overnight, but they will get better over time. The first half of the second verse, performed by The I.M.F. himself, is just as sincere as he reminisces on his childhood and how, even as a kid, he was aware of the rift between his parents’ marriage. Yes, it’s a cathartic and oftentimes uncomfortable moment on the album, but it’s a necessary one, as this is where the album shows that even with the knowledge that we will experience lows in our lives, we do need some sort of support through them.
The outro “All Over Again” brilliantly emphasizes how the world around us changes while we go through our individual life cycles. While the intro presented the album’s themes in a collage of fake radio and TV snippets (Points for the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”-esque one that appears before the narrator starts talking), this outro delivers its messages through online media content. The majority of this track involves what sounds like one of those animated YouTube videos with stock sound effects and an enthusiastic narrator re-iterating the ‘life cycle’ concept. And not only is this is the first non-song to touch on death (the fourth and final aspect of life), but it includes a fact that’s also crucial to understanding this album and yet will slip past some listeners’ ears: “Somewhere along the line, some of them have offspring…..or they just make copies of themselves before they pass on…..before they die”. That is a great reminder that even if you don’t become a parent, you can still leave behind something of value that’ll inspire the next generation, whether it be – in the case of the artists who made this record – a well-written and performed song or a well-produced beat. We then get this pitch-shifted vocal snippet where this person (most likely the narrator from the YouTube video) says “It’s the cycle of life. Things are born, they grow, reproduce and die. Then it starts all over again”. Obviously, it’s way more complex than that, but at its simplest, most basic form, it’s as perfect of a summary on what life is as any!
For an album centered on such a fascinating and meaningful subject, I admire how concise and compact of a package “Life Cycles” is. The track sequencing is outstanding across the board, thanks to the tonal ebbs and flows of Mike Flips and Seize’s instrumentals from song to song. But what impressed me the most about this record is how relatable and easily digestible it is. It doesn’t beat you over the head with its existential themes and messages, you don’t come out of it feeling overly depressed or burdened by the fleeting nature of life and if you’re part of the audience this album is catered to, you should leave this record with your neck feeling a bit sore from the constant head-nodding you’ll most likely be doing throughout its entire run! In short, this is Nord1kone’s most thoughtful and heartfelt project to date and easily one of his best records. It’s also a brilliant showcase of the beatmaking talents of Mike Flips and Seize and yet another great collaborative project between Nord1kone and other like-minded, boom-bap loving producers and emcees! An absolute must-listen!
OVERALL RATING: 8.5 out of 10
Streaming is available on all platforms and Vinyl can be ordered worldwide
For my latest track review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Look Up to the Sky”, the first single off the upcoming fifth full-length album from Los Angeles-residing singer/songwriter/producer Franki Love entitled “The Sky”. The album itself is a follow-up to both her Kickstarter-funded album “The Sun”, self-produced and released during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, and her 2022 new age, piano-based instrumental album “The Moon”.
Both records, and Franki’s music in general, center on relaxed, atmospheric soundscapes mostly tuned to 432hz (a calm-inducing frequency) built around moody piano and keyboard chords and soothing lead vocals. On the subject of vocals, even on a majority of the instrumental tracks on “The Moon”, Franki adds a layer of emotional depth to them with some gorgeous vocalizing. A true highlight on that album, for me, was its penultimate track “Mother Love” where Franki’s daughter collaborated alongside her on the vocalizing aspect of that song.
With “The Sun” and “The Moon” serving as my official, two-album introduction to Franki’s work, I get the sense that “The Sky” will play out sonically and emotionally as this overarching third chapter in this series of therapeutic, meditative, life-affirming records. And with a few Grammy-nominated and winning musical artists already added to the guest list (Steven Halpern, Hex Hector and Michael Hoppe), it’s already shaping up to be something truly special. As for this single, “Look Up to the Sky” gives us a solid idea of the themes and sounds Franki will explore on her new album.
Throughout the track’s near 3-minute runtime, Franki constantly switches between micro and macro focus on the world she lives in, the people who inhabit it and the universe in which our world is a part of. The theme of this song is love, symbolized as the air around us and to a larger extent, the sky that illuminates us during the day (“The Sun”) and night (“The Moon”). Of course, we need air to breathe, and that’s where we get a line each in both of the song’s verses where Franki briefly examines the inner psychological workings of the human inhabitants of this world (“Souls inside a costume where we choose our fate” / “Hearts inside bodies of a thousand traits”).
On the chorus, she encourages us to look externally towards this bright light called love for guidance in our lives instead of blinding ourselves by our own misguided selfishness. And in the process of expanding our focus, we’ll find that strength to become better people and help change the world for the better.
For such a poetic and admittedly existential view on love, Franki wisely keeps her lyrics simple and straightforward and her vocals gentle and heartfelt. The song’s instrumentation creates this fitting backdrop for Franki’s lyrics, delivery and overall message, with its pleasant keyboard chord progressions, supplementary drum pattern and ethereal, spacey ambience. I will confess that upon first listen, I did find fault with the use of vocalizing in the fourth bar of each quatrain of the song’s two verses. But with the more listens I gave the track, the more I appreciated those moments of vocalizing for three simple reasons: they’re expanded upon on the tail end of the chorus, they add a great deal to the track’s accessibility and, obviously, they’re catchy!
As a whole, I really appreciated and enjoyed “Look Up to the Sky”! Not only does it work as a perfect introductory track to those unfamiliar with Franki Love’s music, but it also gives fans and non-fans alike a taste of what to expect with “The Sky”. Whether it exceeds the limits (better now than never to drop a sky pun in this review) of her last two previous records or not remains to be seen, but for now, “Look Up to the Sky” is as effective of a lead single as any!
“The Sky” will be released on September 15th.
Listen to “Look Up to the Sky” here:
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Ricardo review the premiere episode of the fourteenth and final season of FX’s “Archer”, the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Disenchantment”, the first season of “My Adventures with Superman” (which includes spoilers), the direct-to-video feature “Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar”, the critically-acclaimed romantic drama “Past Lives”, the highly-anticipated live-action adaptation of the beloved anime “One Piece” and the action thriller “The Equalizer 3”.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE
For my latest track review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Hello Kitty Bitches”, the new single from hyper-pop / EDM musician Heartdestroyer. At this time, Heartdestroyer’s identity remains a secret, save for the cover art for this track and their recently-released single “toxic”, a glitchy remix of the 2004 Britney Spears smash hit. But while that song – the original, that is – plays like the sultry theme song to a secret agent’s plan to take down her untrustworthy boyfriend (see Joseph Kahn’s music video for more clarity), “Hello Kitty Bitches” plays like a series of sexual escapades occurring between hours of online forum chats, video game live streams and streaming service viewership.
Described as a “hyper-pop ode to Internet culture and unforgettable encounters”, “Hello Kitty Bitches” is a 2 minute and 9 second barrage of gleefully sleazy, braggadocious bars and heart-pounding, head-banging production. Similar to hip hop artists like clipping and JPEGMAFIA (the latter of whom successfully created his own critically-acclaimed brand of experimental, Internet culture-inspired music), Heartdestroyer adds bits of accessible, mainstream elements to this track, whether it’s the playful, sing-songy vibe to their lyrics or the 90s house-like melody of the instrumentation (Vengaboys’ “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!” instantly comes to mind).
But like those artists, Heartdestroyer tests the listener’s limits by amplifying the production, songwriting and vocals to an unforeseen level. Like the “toxic” remix, their vocals are modulated to match the track’s compressed, digitally distorted soundscape. The beat itself sounds like an amalgamation of the music you’d hear in a platform game or Dance Dance Revolution level, punctuated by random video game sound effects. The most prominent of these effects is this first-person shooter-lifted gunshot which, when paired with Heartdestroyer’s “Boom, boom, boom, boom” vocals on the hook, makes for a clever, self-aware reference to the abovementioned Vengaboys song.
But where the track truly shines – and lives up to its title – is in Heartdestroyer’s hedonistic, sexually-charged and ridiculously humorous lyrics. Framing themselves as this admittedly nerdy individual who somehow managed to tap into their inner lothario, they deliver one cocky brag after another centered on their successful one-night stands. Ever so often, their insecurity creeps to the surface (“But don’t ask me ‘bout my heartbreak / Or you won’t see me in your bed when I wake / ‘Cuz too many tried to rob me”) but for the most part, they keep things simple, straight-forward and salacious. Littered throughout the song’s duration are these rewind-worthy lines like “Skinny little frame, Spring Breakers kinda girl” (a smart, if-you-know-you-know reference to the cover art of this single and “toxic”), “Got more bitches like the founder of MySpace” and a couplet involving two metric units that’ll go down as one of the most jaw-dropping things you’ll hear in MUSIC all year!
Overall, I had an absolute blast listening and re-listening to “Hello Kitty Bitches”! I couldn’t help but see it as a metatextual take on the shallow, sexually-suggestive club songs of the 90s (again, “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!” instantly comes to mind) but through the lens of the boundaryless, anything-goes abyss of the Internet. Thankfully, the song itself doesn’t take itself too seriously, so there’s really no need to read TOO MUCH into its commentaries on hyperactivity or hypersexuality. It’s a wild, horny, fun and catchy AF song that mightn’t fit the vibe of your average bedroom playlist, but certainly deserves to be in many gaming mixes going forward!
LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE:
BBB RADIO 