Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Dec 19 - KAYTRANADA / Free Nationals

There are two albums that came out last week that I did not realize were on their way, but both of which made me very happy. The first one is Bubba, the new album from KAYTRANADA. He's been releasing singles, so I knew something was coming from him, but I didn't realize it was just going to drop. I had read nothing about an album, just heard singles, and I guess just didn't expect it. Anyway, he saved the best single for last (well, last before the actual album), and that is 10%, with Kali Uchis on vocals. Great track.





Overall, I like the general sound and feel of the album, but what I really don't like about it is that it feels like one giant mix tape. The tracks don't feel like individual songs, they just sort of blend one right into the next. I'm sure that was intentional, and it's fine, but I'm just not crazy about it. But having said that, you can't deny the wonderful beats that this man produces. Another case in point, Go DJ, this time with SiR on the vocals.





I've always loved the beats that KAYTRANADA produces, and there are some fantastic instrumental tracks on the album, with pretty wonderful beats. But again, they just act as sort of interludes, and are very short. There's a lot of very short songs on the album actually. But that doesn't make them any less good. One of my favorite beats on the album is Puff Lah, which isn't even 2 minutes, but just so great.





Then the other album that came out was the debut by the Free Nationals. This one was totally off my radar. The Free Nationals are Anderson .Paak's band, and I knew they were making their own music because when I saw Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals back in January, he had them play one of their own songs. But that was all I ever heard. They never showed up anywhere after that, until all of a sudden an album came out. It wasn't really all of a sudden, there were plenty of singles, I just never heard them. I think my favorite track on the album is On Sight. It kind of reminds me of a classic Snoop Dogg-style hip-hop track. But what I kind of really love about it is Kadhja Bonet. She's pretty fantastic, and her vocals on this track are excellent.





It's a great album, and exactly what you'd expect if you're a fan of Anderson .Paak already. More on the soulful side of his music rather the the more hip-hoppy side. I'm pretty sure the song they sang back in January was Beauty & Essex, so I'll just throw that in here as well.




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