my favorites out of detroit
Child Rebel Soldier - chase usa
audio stars 2 - Tommy Fleece
butterflies - jareix and whiterosemoxie
Land of Pine - Sugar Cherry
What chase usa's HONEY BABY: I LOVE WHEN YOU CALL ME THAT ! did for rap, Child Rebel Soldier did for punk rock. It's a highly modern genre-browsing album, with a sound that chase usa describes as "if Pharell produced a Title Fight album," and one of my must-listens for the year. "ICE CREAM MAN" is just one instance of his self-acclaimed story. It starts with a boisterous guitar riff backing into chase usa screaming "You a fuckboy I don't want to hear it we already make enough noise" just to completely switch into a Toro y Moi-esque bridge singing softly about the ice cream man. These whiplash moments persist, consistently leaving the listener to what's going to come next.
I first saw Tommy Fleece open a show at the Blind Pig, and, while just the opener, he was the most captivating performance of the night. He often works in a high, energy absurb electro-pop sound and on audiostars 2, he continues this with songs like "i like the way your teeth sit" and "Katie Vaughn." The latter is about a Spencer's employee with a repetition of minimal linked ideas like in the verse with a buildup chanting "Dubstep, sex toys, edibles, Hello Kitty bong" into the song's drop. His combination of maximalist production and scattered lyrical content constantly keeps the listener on their toes, often wondering "did I hear that right?" A true audiostar.
butterflies's cover really confuses me but so does the album. I think that's what I like about it. Throughout the project, I don't really know what's going on, but I can't put it down. As far as vocals, it stays in a rap lane, but instrumentally it bounces between breakbeats, electropop and electronic. Take "my pleasure, my heart," the songs start with sing songy melodic rap as the instrumental uses a dubstep-sounding build to pay off to a club-dance instrumental, filled with insane sound effects and little sonic moments to match. The entire album is like this, you truly never know what's to come next, and that's exactly why you can't stop listening.
New Detroit - Lelo
New Detroit, along with much of Lelo's discography, is the epitome of Detroit rap. It's a stand out album while throwing all the rules of traditional rap. The lyrics roll over the beat; Lelo is always on his own time. The beats are sinister, bass-heavy, and grimy, yet do a lot of work to keep the album lively. "Forever In A Day" just has a drum kit and a piano loop, its simple, but allows Lelo to glide over it, allowing Lelo to pack his lyrics into every moment. Out of his discography so far, New Detroit is by far the most complete. Its range of production, flows and cadences create an album that grew on me with each listen.
Detroit's music scene is so captivating to watch, and albums like Sugar Cherry's Land of Pine are why. There are real comparisons for this album, and that's established by the jig-like fiddle in opening song. The album invokes melancholy, building off of various string instruments and distortions to make the listener feel isolated, but at peace. The full instrumentation makes the loneliness feel bearable, because at least they'll always be with you while listening. The juxtaposition in the noisy rock track "Heroin" and the following quiet, sorrow-filled "Somehow A Part Of Me Still Thinks You're Coming Home Because in My Dreams I get To Kiss You Goodbye." encapsulates the album's heart-wrenching nature. The final track, "Ten Thousands Pines" leaves you in the Land of Pine, exhausted and alone at the end sorrow-filled 51 minutes.