Childish Gambino – "Awaken, My Love!"
Label: Glassnote (Neo Soul) (48:57)
Highlights: "Me and Your Momma," "Redbone," "Have Some Love," "Terrified"
As much as I yearned for Gambino to come back this year with some swiggity rhymes over some swooty beats, I can't really complain with what we got. Let's dispel this notion once and for all that Childish Gambino doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing!
This is a complete 180-degree stylistic change from the dude, which would be cause for alarm if he didn't know how to do, just, so many things. As the album art can attest, this whole record is essentially Funkadelic.
Gambino is channeling his inner George Clinton, and it turns out he's pretty good at it. There's only one track, “California," that I really just can't stand. It's the equivalent to singing with a mouthful of peanut butter.
Everything else is an electric dance party that evokes the lost art of funk. It's good to see Glover still partnering up with long-time collaborator Ludwig Gorannson, and it's surprising to see how far both have come since meeting on "Community" many moons ago.
Things Donald Glover has proven he can do:
- Act
- Sing
- Rap
- Write
- Stand Up Comedy
- Direct/Produce Television
- Be funky
Joe Hawley – "Joe Hawley, Joe Hawley"
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Label: Independent Release (Experimental Pop) (44:47)
Highlights: "Black People White People," "Crazy F*****," "Your Mother is a Basketball," "Hoodz 'n the Woodz"
A neurotic, mind-melting concert of pseudo-randomness comprised of whatever sick thought came into Joe Hawley's mind during recording. It's an absurdist's fever dream, and tackles subjects previously assumed to be untackle-able. Or even, really, subjects.
"Joe Hawley, Joe Hawley" is a playful beast that heaves up colors and harmony until you realize, honestly, it's a really great time to listen through - but don't try to comprehend it. This is Zappa-level chaos. It's a surrealist nightmare of a thousand ideas jammed into a box of 45 minutes.
Hawley was the guitarist and songwriter of the now-defunct Tally Hall, a 5-piece from Ann Arbor that popularized “Wonky/Fabloo rock” (their words, not mine). I'm glad he's kept with this style, because there's nothing else like this record in existence.
It's a duct taped-together Sgt. Pepper innoculated with “Fez” chiptune and baked at 300 degrees with a pinch of hip-hop and rap. I'd like to quote track three, which I can only comprehend to be about lapsing reality at a farmer's market:
“Collard greens butter beans vanilla pomegrantate pineapple sasparilla rambutan dragonfruit tapioca atemoya akebia rose mocha celery sesame yam anise zenia kolas granolas marconas gardenias lentil cabbage vital wheat gluten wiener ghost pepper muenster gewurtztraminer.”
Hear me out: it's fire. Hawley rips through his lyrics so fast and nonsensically, it's breathtaking. About food too? Are some of those even real food? I hope you can smell what I'm cooking here.
This album is a nonsensical nightmare of everything amazing music can be if the artists start losing their minds. There's a rap battle about insulting each others mothers, comparing them to, earnestly, basketballs. And it's two and a half minutes long.
“Hoodz 'n the Woodz” is a fantastical tale of Joe and his homies doing quests in ye olden days. Both tracks are big highlights off the record.
He's taking a lesson from David Byrne here. There's no time, nor need to make sense. The only bad thing about this record is that it's only available on PledgeMusic for the time being – which is good, because listening it to there directly supports Joe Hawley to make more music.
However if/when available on streaming service, I'll show this album to everyone I've ever met in my entire life.
Gabriel Gundacker – "I Wanna Meet Richard Dreyfuss"
Label: Independent Release (Comedy)
Highlights: "I Wanna Meet Richard Dreyfuss," "I Need to Meet Richard Dreyfuss," "I'm Moving On, Richard Dreyfuss Pt. 2"
Gabriel Gundacker really wants to meet early '80s film actor Richard Dreyfuss – the same one who starred in “Jaws," “Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and “Whose Life is it Anyway?” Movies I am only aware of now because a random 25-year-old white dude sang them to me.
Gundacker croons, in detail, just to make it clear that his intention is to, earnestly, just meet Richard Dreyfuss. Can you help him do that? If so these songs are for you too.
By covering a wide range of genres in the span of 10, Gundacker tearfully paints a vivid picture of himself, and his odd desire to meet Richard Dreyfuss. It's a project that not only adequately expresses his lively desire to meet the actor, but also his musical prowess in disco, funk, hip-hop, soul and, I suppose, spoken word.
“It's been a lengthy process for nothing,
where you at? Say hello.”
“I Need to Meet Richard Dreyfuss” is a soul ballad about how Gundacker thinks it would be really awesome if he got to hang out with Richard Dreyfuss. “Disco Dreyfuss” is a '70s throwback dance tune regarding Gundacker desperately longs to meet Richard Dreyfuss. I've overstayed my visit to this section of the list, just go listen to it.
Local Natives – "Sunlit Youth"
Label: Loma Vista (Indie Pop) (45:26)
Highlights: "Past Lives," "Dark Days," "Jellyfish," "Coins," "Masters"
Colorful, sentimental, somewhat cheesy love-drenched indie relationship anthems to start your year off right. Nothing wrong with a little cheese; it's good for you sometimes.
Local Natives pour their hearts throughout these 45 minutes, but fortunately these are the kind of somber songs you can also dance to. Because nothing embellishes the unbridled sadness like dancy beats to frolic upon. In all fairness, it holds up to their previous album "Hummingbird" (2013) - a decision that took me a long time to I come to terms with. Fountain of Youth's chorus really hasn't grown on me though; quite the opposite in fact.
Honestly, just read the title of this album and you'll get what Local Natives are going for. The album was recorded on various islands in southeast Asia, and I only researched this after noticing the pan drums on “Mother Emmanuel."
Listening to this album feels like being on a beach for 45 minutes, going through all the motions of remembering to pondering past and current relationships. They change up the pace a few times on Sunlit Youth but still utilize the same style throughout.
There's a blanket of sunshine that ties the record together and it's great fun getting caught up in it. Lastly, the production is all good and well, but I'm gonna nitpick and saythis: it's not as crisp as Aaron Dessner's production style on Hummingbird.
Anderson Paak – "Malibu"
Label: Empire (Neo Soul, Pop) (61:02)
Highlights: "The Waters," "Am I Wrong," "Without You," "Celebrate," "The Dreamer"
Mr. Paak is a chef and his kitchen of rhythm and blues is a 5-star dining locale that perfects the art of crooning on smooth piano and slick drum. Appetizers consist of tracks like “The Bird” and “Heart Don't Stand a Chance," the latter being a bob-your-head-acknowledge-heartbreak-and-move-on kind of jam, and I'm like 80 percent sure it samples Yoshi of Nintendo fame.
The former is a salad of mixed-green grooves, setting the table right for the main course. I really enjoy how his pitch alters when changing from singing to rapping; higher when he's rhyming fast but slower songs offer a more heavy, dense timbre.
The lyrics are solid; Paak knows how to make stories interesting and embellished through funk. His narratives provoke thought with a lot more depth than the usual run of the mill pop record.
Word-for-word, this smacks Sunlit Youth in the face and it's a good lecture on how to craft your words into sentences into meaningful, expressive affection. Also the weird bird noise on track four...let's get more of that happening forever.
Dinner's served, ladies and gents: tracks like “Am I Wrong” and “Without You” will groove you out of the restaurant, down the street to the souvenir shop and convince you to buy a Malibu fridge magnet. Schoolboy Q goes in on the track, and I'm not normally a fan of his style, but he fits the song oddly enough - his style here isn't featured on "Oxymoron" (2014).
This part of the record is packed with a punchy horn section, some delicious strings thrown in, group sing-a-long vocals and a general feel-good attitude that encapsulates what this album is about. The Hiatus Kaiyote sample in “Without You” fits so well, like a bumpin' sequel to the original song's meaning.
Paak high voice is so good at finding words to rhyme with, it gets infuriating at times just to hear how on point he is. Seriously, does anyone know where he came from? Apparently he's been around since 2009 but at least now he's made a name for himself.
I think what I'm trying to say is that this whole album is dessert. It's rich, sweet and delicious, and you're probably gonna come back when you run out. Paak's voice is unique and if you haven't already, you'll be hearing him around on Tribe's and Dre's most recent albums.
With how abundant and recognizable his vocals have become, it seems appropriate to recognize him as the 2016 mascot that we truly need. One that reflects on the hard times, but keeps his chin up and continues a long with a piano on one hand and a microphone in the other.
Audrin Baghaie is the music editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at dailylobomusic@gmail.com or on Twitter @AudrinTheOdd.
