alright, i’m trying to get things back into the right gear and, since this has always been a music site, that includes music… and the music of the day is plentyful and diverse… the following albums all released today and this is what i think of them all…

Now Playing: Stories – Addison Road

i feel like i’m not supposed to like Addison Road… i suppose i’m not exactly in their target demographic and that’s fine… but, as something of a more upbeat alternative to BarlowGirl and Superchick, i’m strangely drawn to them… that, and i still remember checking out their early work, Breaking Beautifully almost exclusively because it was produced by Barry Blair, who was a founding member of Audio Adrenaline and, more impressively, discovered Bleach… i wasn’t disappointed then, and i’m not now… i specifically enjoy the quirkiness of their pop beats that refuse to conform to standard pop constructs but remain persistently catchy… Stories is no exception and i’m not a bit ashamed to say that i’ve enjoyed the album quite a bit…

Now Playing: Between Two Worlds – Trip Lee

“i’m a snitch man, ain’t ashamed of that”… i haven’t exactly been a fan of Trip Lee and his Reach Records cohorts in the past… in fact, I kind of had him written into the genre corner of the big booty bass, thuggish, southern-crunktafied rap despite not having heard too, too much of his stuff… and sure there’s a brashness and heavier tact to his rap style, but having now listened to Between Two Worlds (as well as LeCrae’s Rebel), my eyes (and ears) have been opened to a lot of freshness that’s left me digging back in my crates for 20/20… don’t get me wrong, it’s not going to be my favorite release of the year or anything, but with bangers like Snitch (the beat is bananas, as the kids say), fun tracks like I Love Music and the light, soulful Yours to Own featuring Jimmy Needham, Between Two Worlds has certainly shifted my perspective a bit…

Now Playing: Blink – Revive

i “sort of liked” the debut from Revive because it was fun, light hearted and the group didn’t seem to take themselves too seriously… i had my doubts about their staying power, however, given Mac Powell’s track record of championing up-and-comers… (we’ll leave it at that)… surprise though it may be, Revive has indeed returned for a second round and, somewhat like the song that never ends, the second verse is the same as the first… once again, there’s a pop-rock tinge to the music that holds a certain appeal, but i suppose what bothers me about the album is that it lacks the clear consistency necessary to offer the band a fully definied identity… at times reminiscent of Nate Sallie, Starfield, and a number of bands from pop-rock-worship-grandness past, Blink is fun, but a little on the random side…

Now Playing: My Life’s Lyric – DeWayne Woods

i’m just going to come right out and say it… DeWayne Woods looks like Busta Rhymes… come on, not even a little?… okay, well, he doesn’t sound at all like Bus-a-Bus… (not surprisingly)… in fact, My Life’s Lyric is actually pretty standard fare for the Gospel genre… a good deal of energy spread throughout as well plenty of touching, inspirational ballads… i don’t know all that much about Woods, but i have enjoyed his melodies, harmonies, and occassion touches of full-on choir moments that sprinkle the landscape of My Life’s Lyric…

Now Playing: Humble Beginnings – Humble Beast

i’m pretty excited about this album if for no other reason than for what it represents… a new outlet for artists like Braille, Othello, Sareem Poems, and Odd Thomas (from whom i hadn’t heard in forever up this point)… Humble Beast is looking to carve out their own niche within the hip-hop community and, judging by this compilation, they’re already off to a good start… also featured on the album are Foreknown Apostolic, with a hot track that has a retro, boom bap feel to it, Theory Hazit and Citizen Aim, who both appear a few times throughout, and Propaganda, another voice that’s been far too quiet lately… yes, it’s only ten tracks, but it’s all good and it’s the promise of plenty more to come… that’s what’s really special about Humble Beginnings… and that’s what makes it worth talking about and picking up…

the last two i’ll mention, i haven’t gotten, but would love (hint, hint)… and they are We Walk This Road by Robert Randolph & the Family Band, which, based on clips, sounds like a real nice mix of r&b, funk, and free jamming, and David Crowder*Band’s Summer Happiness, which fulfills their apparent obligation to release an EP in between each full album… perhaps that means we can expect another full album next year? I haven’t heard clips or anything of this EP yet, but there’s no reason to doubt that it will be a spectacular four-track outing…

and that’s the music of the day…

peace… love… bdg…