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Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

“I philosophize about glocks and Ki’s ni**as call me young back Socrates” spits Pusha T on the second track of Hell Hath no Fury by Clipse. This statement comes early defining an album that loves to live in it’s, funded by cocaine, darkness. Cocaine has affected the performing arts in a negative way since artists started using it as fuel through those long nights even killing artists such as members of the Who, famous comedians like Mitch Hedburg, and Chris Farley, and even other rappers like Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but to these Virginian brothers, Malice and Pusha T, cocaine is just product to sell to anyone looking to buy. They have desensitized their minds to the point where they have lost all empathy for the addicts whose lives they are ruining, the difference between peers like Young Jeezy and Rick Ross is that they hate themselves for it.

Sure they have usual bravado and in your face spending as rap album tend to have with tracks like the lead single “Mr. Me Too” and “Dirty Money” but they sound like day dreams of hope that maybe one day they can free themselves from the drug dealing they are forced to do after they were shelved by labels after their first album. These day dreams make songs like “Keys Open Doors” more emotional to a listener for after hearing a bit of positivity you are thrown into a dark reality of coke sales. The Neptunes produced the entire album, and they arguably the 12 greatest tracks Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo have ever made. Take the track Trill which lurches back in forth in its bass they created a song that sounds different from almost any rap song ever produced. When Pharell comes to do the chorus on trill he sounds like he has been buying free base from the brothers for years prior, further leading to darkness in Hell Hath No Fury.

Most of the time they only hint at violence, or tell young drug dealers to work together for profit, but when they finally come flying at you as physical and intimidating as coked up linebacker coming at you on “Chinese New Year” you feel the fury the Thornton brothers have hinted at the whole record. Pusha comes at you with such intensity the first time one hears it a demon possesses you into a world you don’t even want to think about living in.

Pusha and Malice have been pissed for a long time and when that monotone voice comes through your speakers it is the perfect medium to channel all the rage. Malice the whole album is stuck in his self-loathing for the selling and distribution of coke. He hates the lifestyle and the only thing he wants is some sort of home to come to where he doesn’t have to worry about drug addicted bitches turning him into the police, doesn’t have to worry about his younger brother converting to life style he is in, a life of joy and peace. That younger brother, Pusha, on the other hand is pissed off at the record companies not letting him get the success he feels he deserves. He has gotten to the point where he has lost all empathy for others claiming he is “Fuckin’ with college bitches with innocent looks like Mya
Corrupt they mind, turn ‘me to liars” while a serpentine beat slivers into your mind in “Ride around shining”.

On the final ballad of the album, Bilal appears to sing a haunting chorus channeling the brother’s paranoia into a simple chant of “I’m having nightmares”. This final piece of Hell Hath No Fury you get a direct channel of the brother’s sorrows and fears from being in the drug business. One will identify with them even if they have never sold coke or fired a weapon at another person. It ends with an introspective note leaving you knowing the brothers have lost hope for ever achieving those dreams of theirs

9.5/10 - done by Jake Richardson

compliments of @manifestdestination

S/T by Centralia

FFO: Maybeshewill, The Appleseed Cast, This Will Destroy You

Centralia is piano driven post-rock/indie band from central Illinois. This is the kind of album that is best enjoyed while laying in your bed in the dark or long drives down an empty road at night. This album has some quality to it that really makes you think about everything while thinking about nothing at the same time.

This album starts off with the instrumental track “In Principio Pt. 1” which is an all instrumental song that sets the mood fairly well. This album is calming. It is full of strong instrumentation without anything being overbearing or necessarily taking over center stage. The next track continues this intro as “In Principio Pt. 2” where piano player T.J. Syndram first begins to sing. The vocals are unique and not completely polished, but still easy to get into and enjoy. However, I’m not much of a singer (and it may just be a matter of Syndram being that solid of a singer) but it never really feels like he’s challenging his vocal ability apart from a couple spots throughout. However, what he’s doing fits the album perfectly. The lyrical content is heavily inspired by biblical subject matter, but it never feels like an album by a Christian band. It’s well thought out words that take inspiration but are made their own.

The music and instrumentation in Centralia is the real strong suit. This band can just as well play the loud, driving melodies as they can for the softer and slower parts. The first “wow moment” occurs about three quarters through the second track where a calm piano melody is supplemented by clean guitar chords until it changes on a dime into distorted progressions and a much more distinct, more intensely played piano line with “whoa-oh-oh-oh’s” and my favorite Syndram vocals throughout the whole album.

The album continues to impress with tempo and dynamic changes as well as unique musical melodies. Just when you think you are beginning to have this band figured out, you reach the end of “Of Creation” when out of nowhere come heavy downbeats with shouted vocals over the top, creating a very intense but enjoyable effect. Only to segue into another bouncy piano line leading off the next track, “The Sound Of One Hand Clapping”.

Centralia does a lot right with this EP, and there are very few things to complain about. It really is a shame that this band recently called it quits (or decided to take an extended hiatus, whatever it happens to be) because this release is really something special. There isn’t necessarily a large scene or following around this style of music that Centralia can latch onto, but fuck, this self-titled rules.

9/10

reviewed by matt.

Recollections by Strangers Now

FFO: Ruiner, American Nightmare (Give Up The Ghost), Modern Life Is War

Strangers Now is an emotional, melodic hardcore band from St. Louis, MO. With hardcore nowadays becoming less raw emotion and more hardstyle breakdowns, it’s always refreshing to hear stuff like Strangers Now (with the name garnered from a Jawbreaker song as an added bonus).

Recollections is fast and raw to say the least. This band is at its best when vocalist Ben Teter’s voice becomes more and more desperate and powerful. The first moment that this is really showcased is in the second track, “How Joan Of Arc Felt”, when everything starts to slow down and you can’t help but nod your head as he is screaming out “I hate where I am; I fucking hate where I am; So please excuse my absense; I wasn’t truly being myself”. It’s moments like these when the band can come together and give you chills where Recollections is at its absolute finest.

However, there are weaker parts throughout this EP. The overall sound of these songs don’t differentiate too much, as many are fast songs that usually gradually slow down towards the end and it all becomes much too predictable for the listener. The overall quality of instrumentation is high, but it just feels lacking at points because of this predictability. Additionally, Strangers Now wants you to know when the big emotional parts are happening by putting in buildups or half times. This definitely can add to that effect, but once again, it becomes the same feel over and over in each song.

As a fan of this band’s prior release, Dementia, I can’t help but compare the two. Strangers Now have certainly become more matured musically between the two releases, but that may just be because it is apparent they have found their sound which they have settled into. The most striking difference to me however is the lyrical content between the two. Teter has always put together very personal and depressing words into his songs, but they make a much bigger impact throughout Recollections. Where Dementia seemed to moreso focus on the world around him, Recollections is much more based on the personal struggle he faces. That tends to make the most powerful songs.

Strangers Now have done nothing but improved over their last release, due in part to gaining more experience together and understanding what they want to be playing. However, there is still much more room to grow, beginning with structuring their songs and finding a way to bring in a more unique feel to their next release. The lyrical content is great, and the vocal delivery is usually solid but it tends to get away at certain points. Overall, this band continues to be one of my favorites in the hardcore genre.

7/10

reviewed by matt.

Another Summer Lost by Tomahawk Chop

FFO: The Story So Far, Living With Lions, Such Gold

This seems as if it has become a couple Midwest kids running a music review blog made up of mostly Long Island bands. However, there must be something in the water. I have yet to be really disappointed by anything I’ve heard out of there, and it’s a scene that’s revitalizing my love for pop-punk. However, with this EP, Tomahawk Chop may be my least favorite of what I’ve heard so far.

Another Summer Lost is the kind of EP that a band can make a whole tour around, kids will sing along, kids will have fun, kids will go home and maybe listen to it some more. However, after my first couple listens I’ve found that it’s lacking a lot of intensity or replay value. Track 1: Golden Days of Youth (Spent Under The Summer Sun) is a real jam though. I just feel like after this track it stays pretty solid, but feels a little bland. HOWEVER. I’m sure this is a band I would have a blast watching live. And this is absolutely a release that tons of kids will love and a band that could easily get a foothold in national touring based off of their abilities.

This is a release that I feel like I could get into if I listened to enough, but a release that doesn’t really give me enough to really keep coming back. There are definite high points in this album, my personal favorite being the two-step, heavy downbeat part in “Warsaw, Polaroid”, but overall it has too many forgetful tracks that don’t necessarily feel like fillers, but just don’t match the energy some of the other songs do. This is an EP that I feel like a lot of people love, and I want to love it. I know that I don’t hate it. But I’m not too crazy over it.

6/10

reviewed by matt