t.A.T.u. - 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002/2012) [iTunes Plus]

(*Russian art cover)

(t.A.T.u. – 200 KM/H In the Wrong Lane (10th Anniversary Edition)

t.A.T.u. – 200 km/h in the wrong Lane. NAS NE DAGONIAT!! Russian duo consisting of Julia Volkova & Lena Katina, gained astonishing world success with the release of their sophomore album, 200km/h in the wrong Lane. With an also prosperous Russian debut album, t.A.T.u. where now on a difficult mission to chase the gold worldwide, manufacturing an English album after their following accomplishments with their 1^st release, 200 po Vstrechnoy. 200 km/h in the wrong lane, calls attention to such topics as love, desire, disobedience etc. and also dismantled many conflictful barriers that society has in terms of sexuality. Since mostly all of the tracks were translated into English from their previous album, the production on this album I feel was a huge upgrade comparing it to their past album. This one is topped off with more energetic rock, synth-pop and even some electronic elements. Like in Russia, “All the Things She Said” was a huge success in the US. With a catchy chorus like that, it damn well deserves to be my next ringtone for my cellular device. The release of the video gained heavy attention around the globe when both members exchanged lips on national television. This hadn’t been done and was mimicked by legendary pop artist, Madonna years later. “Not Gonna Get Us”, is the second track on this album.The song clarifies an undeniable love not comprehended by peers and foreigners. The track also has a euro-dance feel blended with dark guitar bass lines. “Show Me Love”, is again another hypnotic banger with a nice memorable chorus and very emotional vocals that were conveyed by both Julia & Lena. Around the middle of the record, a familiar track called “How Soon Is Now”, makes its way and stands out from the rest of the glossy tracks. It appears to be a cover of The Smiths – How soon Is Now, and is certainly not bad as I expected it to be with all of the covers that the song has. Malchik Gay, translated to “Gay Boy”, is a dope track about a girl who shows affections towards a sweet, tender gay boy who is unfortunately to their luck is already committed to another boy. This version is refined and is a little more pop and slower sounded while the Russian version from the previous album I enjoy better since it's produced with a more uplifting feel and way faster beat. Coming to an end, this album sadly was t.A.T.u’s only important record out of their homeland. Julia later became pregnant which lead fans to heavily question if the pop duo were really lesbians or not. Turns out it was all marketing strategies organized by their record label to boost sales. Nonetheless, this duo will never be duplicated for the heavy impact they contributed in terms of pop, image, and of course rebellion. Give this record a spin plz! I promise you it'll be worth it!! 

Purchase: iTunes / Amazon

The Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters (2003)

This is my 2nd favorite album of all time. Just sayin'. Alright, lets get into it. The Radio Dept. is a pretty special dream pop band hailing from Sweden. And trust me when I say that the Swedes definitely are ahead of the music game. These guys specifically. Lesser Matters is their debut album that they released back in '03 to pretty good acclaim. It found it's way in a couple of top 10 lists and shit. I barely discovered this in late 2015 and it instantly grew on me. I can honestly say that it's one of the best contructed albums that exists tbh. I honestly have this on repeat way more than I should have. It's the perfect mixture of dream pop and shoegaze. Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson are really talented musicians/songwriters. In my opinion, they belong on the same list as Lennon/McCartney and Morrissey/Marr. Sonically, Lesser Matters is a wonderful mesh of distorted guitars & synths with a hybrid of live and programmed drums. Like most shoegaze songs, they can get pretty loud but there are a good amount that are mellow & relaxing. Almost every song is wrapped in a very warm and inviting fuzz with splashes of reverb here & there. Lyrically, it also shines and shows you how much of a top-tier album this truly is. Everything from depression, failed relationships, intimacy issues, nostalgia, happiness, and gay experiences is covered beautifully on here. Like if I wanted to, I can actually do a track-by-track analysis but that would take too much space haha. Just trust me when I say this album is the bee's-knees. Whether it's for a long drive at any hour of the day, something to lay on the floor and listen to, or just to have as nice background music, this album is pretty much perfect for any occasion. That being said, this album has definitely left its mark on me and I truly believe everyone else can benefit from it.

Standout Tracks: The whole album.

My Personal Favorites: Too Soon, Where Damage Isn't Already Done, Keen On Boys, It's Been Eight Years, 1995

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings (1954)

Get ready to cry, cause this album will hit you in the honey nut feelios. I was a little late discovering what is now my favorite male jazz vocalist, but better late than never. And yeah, I know what I said is pretty controversial cause goddamned Ol' Blue Eyes (Frank Sinatra) is supposed to be the best, but oh well. Frank Sinatra is still pretty good, but Chet's 10x better. Anyways, Chet Baker's voice is really heavenly & soothing to the ears. It's super smooth, like really expensive satin bedsheets you feel me? A little higher pitched than most male jazz vocalists, he was sorta received with mixed reviews at first, then people realized that he was fucking great. Like many other jazz albums, every song on here is actually a famous jazz standard. All the songs are just done in Chet Baker's "Cool Jazz" style. "Cool Jazz" is basically really mellow & laid back. Imagine the kind of music you'd listen to while sitting on a luxurious recliner, located in a study, while slowly sipping on aged whiskey. Or maybe you just want to lay in bed and have a quick lil cry to some beautiful-ass music. Drums are very soft & usually piano and bass are more prominent. Chet's also an accomplished trumpeter, so you'll also hear his smooth buttery trumpet glaze over some songs here and there. Most of the songs are about love. Either the loss of love, or a blossoming love. I'might sure most of you are familiar with the '30s - '50s obsession with love songs haha. When all is said and done though, this truly is a fantastic album that is a great starting point for those who aren't into jazz. Let Chet grace you with his dreamy voice.

Standout Tracks: My Ideal, I Get Along Without You Very Well, It's Always You, Like Someone In Love, I Fall In Love Too Easily

IC3PEAK - SUBSTANCES EP (2014) [320 kbps]

IC3PEAK, hailing from the cold luscious lands of Moscow Russia, have caught my attention a full year ago. 2 young individuals (Nick & Nastya) have created and established distinctive sounds that should have already guaranteed them a spot in terms of recognition, art & talent. Well at least here in the u.s. people are still sleeping lol. Anyways, Substances EP, landed on my radar when I was heavily in search of Russian witch house. Witch house, is something that is no longer alive here in the states. Russia however, is keeping the torch lit and creating a great scene for past previous years (example: VV17CHØU7) Not knowing much of the prosperous artists/groups residing from Russia, I went along with a humble mind to check out the powerful collective duo and was rewarded with much more than I generally expected. The small EP contains only 5 tracks sadly. However, these tracks are buried with hard hitting trap flavored instrumentals, delicious vibrant vocals, and even some raver influenced production. Despite the record being short, almost all tracks stand out and have much to dialogue about and consume on. The way the track, “ETHER” builds up and drops almost leaves you shook and surprised in a whirlwind of emotions. Furthermore, Nastya adds delicate vocals to create a flawless masterpiece. “Quartz”, adds a mix of empathy and grief with those mighty horns that place way around the middle of the track. “I’ll be Found”, is the longest track from the EP. This track is more coordinated to a mild raver sound and a very comforting track to bop around and dance to. “Gummy”, is the concluding track of the ep and is heavily more referenced on nastya’s vocals and has much more of a slower warm feel to it. To wrap it up, Substances EP is a banger record that I’d say is very rough and frail but also very elegant and exquisite in terms of craft.

Side note: if you liked the EP and you're into fast pasced tracks or gabber, plz check out their release,  “より多くの愛".Most of their notable work was well remixed for the skotoboynya party and for the scene. This stuff will get you moving real fast!!1

Purchase: Bandcamp / iTunes

Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms (2009)

There's honestly too much to say about this classic. I accidentally discovered one of the songs on this album on youtube a little after the album dropped & instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become one of my favorite albums of all time. Like, I remember constantly listening to it all the time throughout the last 2 years of high school (along with Toro Y Moi). It's also one of the very few albums where I thouroughly enjoy every song on there. Alright, enough history. On to the album. This is a huge homage to the synth heavy/psychadelic sounds of the 80's. Alan Palomo (Neon Indian) himself has even said that he has always felt trapped in that era. That being said, it's mainly an electronic sounding album, but its pretty mellow at the same time. Or one can say, chill. That's why it was lumped into a genre known as CHILLWAVE haha. Vocals are dreamy/lazy/hazy/filtered and just have some sort of calming effect on you. Lyrics cover a lot of topics like a missed acid date, being bored & lazy, anxiety/uncertainty, & just CHILLING. Even the warped-out analog synths CHILL you out. Samples are pretty prevalent on this record too. You got everything from italo disco to 70's art rock in this gem. He even sampled one of his dad's songs. (His dad, Jorge Palomo, was a sorta famous pop musician in Mexico.) Long story short, this album is fanfuckingtastic from start to finish. It's perfect for long drives on hot summer days or times when you wanna spark a little somethin somethin.
*I used to have the release with the alternate cover & remixes, but I let one of my exes borrow it & I never got it back (Yana, I'm looking at you...).
**Theres a little paragraph he wrote in the liner notes and one line has always stuck with me. It said, "And with much finality, thank you to the women who've broken my heart, I couldn't have done this without you." Looks like heartbreak can be useful after all haha.

Standout Tracks: Deadbeat Summer, Terminally Chill, Should Have Taken Acid With You, Psychic Chasms, THE WHOLE FUCKING ALBUM

Sounds Like: Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Animal Collective

Charli XCX - True Romance (2013) [iTunes Plus Deluxe Edition]

Oh jeez, where do I start with this album? Umm… True Romance really helped me pave the road for my sudden interest towards the pop genre. With one full spin of this album on the first try, I steadily gave this record a listen almost every single day afterwards. I was never stuck with 1 favorite track. I always had different tracks on different days on repeat a vast majority of the time (well except for the song you’re the one, lol). One excellent quality I noticed about xcx is her production taste. Before I dove into the misty environment, I had to analyze the productions credits to see if I knew about anyone and I did. I jaw dropped when I viewed Paul White (produced some of Danny Brown’s, XXX & Atrocity Exhibition), BloodPop (produced for Grimes, Madonna, Tinashe, Gaga, Beibz etc.) Gold Panda and many more producers that have earned recognition. Production contains ethereal elements, sprinkles of synthpop & to my surprise some tracks even have a witch house vibe. “Stay Away”, carries a dark-light sensational feel along with a memorable chorus that will leave you frozen. “Grins”, has an energetic beat that switches up a gear once charli sings about the uncertainty about her partner. The fun track “Cloud Auroa” stands out from the other tracks since it features charli delivering baby comical bars along with Brooke Candy. “How can I” is the track hinting a witch house influence from the start to the finish. Generally speaking, you can hear the different emotions and flavors all diverted from one another to create a magical album. In conclusion, a successful debut album that brings many variations to the pop genre. If you’re into this album I highly suggest you pick up her previous mixtapes, Super Ultra & Heartbreaks and Earthquakes since it helped lay the framework down for True Romance. 

Purchase @ (iTunes or Amazon)

LIL UGLY MANE - MISTA THUG ISOLATION (2012)

AIGHT PLAYAS IT'S TIME TO HIT Y'ALL WITH SOME OF THAT PHONK. I first discovered this rap gem on tumblr around 2013 when this underground album was blowing up. What first caught my eye was the cheesy-90's-photoshop-looking album that wouldn't look out of place if you were to lump it in with old dirty south rap albums like Three Six Mafia's 1995 EP: Live By Yo Rep. The album sounds like it belongs in that era too. Surpisingly, Lil Ugly Mane is a white dude who pitched his voice down for this album. He also produced all of the tracks under his Shawn Kemp alias. Production on here is bass heavy with little bits of grit here and there. Its also full of dope samples, ranging from Alexander O'Neal to a 911 call about a dead body that was found in an alley (TWISTIN). Braggadocio and menacing as fuck, Ugly Mane raps about how many hoes he has (LOOKIN 4 THA SUCKIN), how high his stacks of cash are (BITCH I'M LUGUBRIOUS), and how he'll pull out his 9 & leave you crying like a bitch (HOEISH ASS BITCH). His delivery is pretty damn flawless too, especially since his flow is A1. All of the tracks on here are bangers, save for the 1st one. The 1st track is a mix of harsh noise/power electronics that will pretty much destroy your ears unless you're into that shit. (I personally kinda am into some harsh noise acts, but i didnt feel that track tbh.) So turn up that bass & blow out your speakers to this instant underground classic.
P.S. - Expect more of his work on here, since he's one of my favorite rappers of all time.

Standout Tracks: NO SLACK IN MY MACK, TWISTIN, BITCH I'M LUGUBRIOUS, SERIOUS SHIT, RADIATION (LUNG POLLUTION)

Sounds Like: Three Six Mafia, Xavier Wulf, DJ Smokey

Support Him Here: https://liluglymane.bandcamp.com/album/mista-thug-isolation