Tennis - Cured of Youth

          I have been pleased with Tennis' Small Sound EP. It is a change from Cape Dory and Young & Old, certainly. However there was also a change between those two LPs. Change isn't bad necessarily; this is the case of great change. The songs all seem less beachy and less summery, but instead carry a new energy. I had to warm up to it when I first heard it. When I finally came home for the winter, I sat down with the vinyl and loved every bit of it. Cured of Youth is a cool piece from the 5 songs that prove Tennis has found a cool direction.
          This songs starts you right off with a few chords that are in your face. No fades, nothing, just wham, right into it. I think that makes me love the entry of Alaina's vocals even more. The tune that accompanies her is so funky and clean. It doesn't feel very lo-fi till the chorus. The tune is so addicting though, honestly. I love following each instrument that trails off on its own jam. I feel like I truly get lost in each sound, and that makes for a fun time as the listener. The whole composition becomes a lot of fun and boredom isn't found anywhere. Towards the end I fall in love even more. Those "oohs" and "aahs" are absolutely angelic. Everything sounds like dreamy at that point. And then the chorus comes back in one last time, more powerful than ever. An awesome joint of the EP.

Check out the song and look into the EP. Hopefully we see an LP this year from this wonderful band.

ALBUM REVIEW: Ja$$ - Melodiesinfonie

            Melodiesinfonie makes some remarkably jazzy hip-hop. Ja$$ is a beattape that showcases his talents quite well. The sound he produces is very deep and rich. I have noticed that his beats are always possess that raw feeling. A lot of the album feels dusty and that adds to the charm in a lot of his productions. Another quality that stands out is the bass. The bass is so incredibly low in a  lot of the tracks and it really shows. This is a great album where you can jam out to the bassline itself. The bass adds to that rich and full feeling I get in my ears from listening to Ja$$.
            With not much else to explain the overall album I'll get into some of my favorite beats! I probably won't be going in any order, as I'm enjoying this beautiful and consistent album on shuffle whilst I type.

J A $ $ pt.35: This beat's samples are very relaxing to me. The sax(?) sounds wonderful. I feel it is perfectly mixed into the song and isn't too loud. It leaves room for the piano to be heard throughout. These two elements add a very mellow and rainy day feeling to the track. Definitely a track for cloudy and quiet days.

J A $ $ pt. 37: The sample is elegant and really light on the ears. With squeaky scratching in the distance, the beat has a very happy intro. The beat comes in smoothly, suddenly, and effortlessly. It doesn't feel rough at all; the percussion naturally fits despite contrasting with the lighter tones of the sample. A nice bridge approaches towards the end to change the pace.

J A $ $ pt. 40: This has a night time vibe to it. That "late night creep" as I might call it. That feeling that you are walking under the street lights. There lies a sound in the composition I can't quite describe. It goes back and forth next to the hi hats. Sounds like some kind of screeching. It has my attention. Those sounds go away as the beat is put underwater. The piano goes perfectly with whatever that sound may be, one I fail to describe. Definitely a track for walks on foggy nights.

J A $ $ pt. 44: Oh this beat is a damn favorite! Right away the piano prefaces for the beat; it lets the audience know this is going to be a fun little track. That scratch is so damn perfect, "like an owl-" or whatever he might be cut off from saying haha. The beat is vicious and I'm instantly nodding my head to it.

J A $ $ pt. 41: This track is quite funky. The horns are looped for most of the track. I love love love the hi hats. The vocals thrown in are quite a nice touch, even more so when they are scratched. At one point it all breaks down and the horn loop changes up. The track has a fast pace and carries a lot of energy.

J A $ $ pt. 50: This is a good instance of Melodiesinfonie sampling some jazz guitar. This melody is definitely one that helps me take it slow. The beat feels slower as well. I find that is the case depending on the ways the samples are arranged. Even if the beat itself isn't slower, the vibe changes entirely. I realize that is kind of apparent, it is a pattern in music. The bass on this track is incredibly rich. The snare used on this beat is incredibly interesting. What could it be? Perhaps the sound of glassware clinking together. There is also this fascinating rattle in the background as well. This is a track that possesses many interesting sounds.

J A $ $ pt. 53: This is no doubt my favorite track. The soft female vocal is wonderful. My mind can only think of "how's a kitten" and then "mile's away" as the beat comes in. It is track that is dominated by the bass line and I love it. Yet, towards the end the sample comes back in. It is so catchy and sounds beautiful over the beat.


It is a rainy Friday afternoon and the cold weather has been sweeping in, this music perfectly suits my mood. All these beats mentioned are just a handful of the 22 you can enjoy on, Ja$$, a wonderul beat tape throughout. Its consistency allows the listener to vibe for the whole 40 minutes without so much as a hiccup. The tracks all meet the requirements of a dope checklist. Banging beats, jazzy samples, and creative sounds.

It is free so you have no reason not to treat yourself to this album. Take advantage of this album with the cold weather we have, it enhances the vibe greatly.
Melodiesinfonie - Ja$$

ella - dil withers

          This beat is one that helps you drift off. The piano is warm, the vocals the same but also. When I say eery I mean that in the best possible way. The hum of this woman is unexplainable but its rhythm is never the less soothing. The beat is choppy and it lifts me higher. Everything about this track settles me down.
            I think one effective part of this instrumental is the fact that everything is simple at first. The song creeps in at a steady rate, not too fast, not too slow, just right. As the beat comes in my head doesn't even nod. My mind just slows down and I continue to enjoy the humming and the perfectly placed keys. The birds come in to the picture and it doesn't throw the groove off one bit. Mr. Withers put me in a trance and introducing the disorder of nature didn't disrupt that whatsoever. This dusty tune established isn't getting touched by anything.
           The dialogue comes through at the halfway point, and again fits perfectly. In the same way all the elements of the beat are trippy and unclear so are the vocals. "what we was trying to..." is all I can place. And the conversation comes in.

"Ah sure seems like a long time ago. Funny how time just dance by"

And through other indistinguishable sentences I am only made curious. Part of me is frustrated and wants to know what is it those men are saying? What life experiences could they be reminiscing on? And the other part of me takes over to relax, to sink back into the music, just as the volume starts to sink.

The track fades and so does my consciousness, as a perfect tune to fall asleep to plays along with the afternoon light of a Summer day.

Luna - Breezewax

           This is one of the most beautiful instrumentals I have had the pleasure of listening to. In fact I have known about this song for months, maybe since the beginning of the year. I think it is finally time to write about it. It is a track that lifts me higher and also brings me down. Maybe one way or the other I'm just better after listening to it. It is truly a journey for me. It is funny to think I have only owned the track for a month now. I enjoyed it a great deal in my last week home. It is another piece of music that I cherish and play with reserve. It is the longest track on the album, and it is definitely the sweetest to me.
           Right away the dialogue captures magic. I'll even type it out just because the words make me so happy.

"Where did you get your ideas from?"

"The ideas? Oh man I got a million dreams, that's all I do is dream, all the time"

"I thought you played piano?"

"No! This is not piano, this is dreaming"

Prefacing "Luna" with that was the absolute right thing to do. The mind is instantly on the topic of dreaming. You equate piano to dreaming through the man's words, and so as the piano comes...you dream. 

Beautiful.

         And it'd be right for a beautiful song to come in slowing. The piano followed by Astrud's vocals from her famous "Corcovado". Quiet nights of quiet stars, floating on the silence that surrounds us. That is again another beautiful idea put into our head. Breezewax masterfully picked not only relaxing and thought provoking vocals but the words to match the music. Luna is a track for thinking, dreaming, quiet nights of quiet stars. Luna is a track to float on with the silence that surrounds us.

         The percussion is great too. The beat is there but not too overpowering, boom bip, but not something that takes full control. The piano is the strongest element I feel. Although the bass line is incredible too. I remember how lovely it is. Dah doo doo dah doo doo. Back at home (where the bass could be played loudly) I would sometimes be tranced by just that simple loop.

         This track is really something for dreaming though. As I mentioned above it blessed me that last week in August I had home. This was bumped through several drives in the wee hours of summer nights. I also remember I played this with friends at different times. I'd sit on the floor of my room and dream, just dream, reminisce, hell thinking in any form. What is important is that the music presented my mind for a beautiful canvas with which I could paint my thoughts; my thoughts were all positive because of that. The song makes me incredibly light and happy. It even takes me back to another night, I sat with a girl I love and I layed on the floor; she on the bed. I turned off the lights and let the song play. I was again tranced by the bassline and taken away by the piano and drums, Astrud, all of it! I am still so happy that was one of the last beautiful moments we shared before we left each other for school, the last night.

          I suppose that is something else that comes up. Love. Dreaming involves a lot of thoughts on love for me. It is something I am always gonna want and have. It simply depends on what forms of love I may lack; dreams are shaped by what I lack. After all, a dream is the idea of want, no matter how realistic.

          Thank you Breezewax. I have played this track through all the evening. And I know I'll be happy to enjoy it as I return home, whether in the Winter, or when I am driving around aimlessly in the Berkshires once again, home for the Summer.

Meant for Eachother - P.SUS

            I have had P.SUS on my radar for awhile. That means I saw his music, played his music, loved his music, but never got around to purchasing it. A couple weeks ago I picked up a handful of his albums off his bandcamp and man!! Awesome stuff.
           This is the opening beat to his tape "Heart Beats". Meant for Eachother. It has a soulful boom bap feel with plenty of synths that add to that dreamy hip-hop vibe. It blends the choppy sampled feel with progressing chords and rhythms. The whole track has a nice build to it. It is already something addicting. What sounds like guitar being chopped up and contrasted is absolutely gorgeous. Then the vocals come in, which I am just in love with. Vocals samples in beats just make for something amazing. They are so soulful and as the drums come in the composition is complete.
           I love the bridge and build. That is where P.SUS adds a lot more heart to the track. It builds and builds with this spacey dreamy chord. It is an incredibly uplifting vibe. This is a beat I would enjoy sunsets too, sunrises, anything that is beautiful in nature really. It is also themed around love of course, not just indicated by the title of the beat, but also the album. It is a warm track about love I feel. Not a track you come back to after a relationship and become sad to. It makes me happy, it warms my ears, and so thus my heart as well.

A beautiful little tune, highly recommend you check his stuff out!