ALBUM REVIEWS: Frank Turner Returns With Full Spirited Effort; Hardcore Veterans La Armada Make A Statement While Cousin Stizz Misses His Mark
I hope this week’s new releases offers something a little new and different for your music library – including the latest from experimental electronic act Kill Alters, hardcore punks La Armada, and of course the return of Frank Turner and Cousin Stizz.
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Watch the full collection of reviews here, or read through the picks in the transcript just past:
Kill Alters – Armed to the Teeth L.M.O.M.M.
New York experimental trio Kill Alters have been releasing a handful of singles and mini-albums over the last few years, but the group have officially put out their first full-length album Armed to the Teeth L.M.O.M.M. (Love Me Or Murder Me).
Regardless, the new album is a wild collage of electronic, hardcore, horror, and tape samples. This isn’t normally a genre or style that I’m particularly drawn to, but Kill Alters manage to balance melody and chaos. There’s a lot of unpredictability with their choice of screams, synthesizers, effects, and musical debauchery – but at the same time, most of the songs on Armed to the Teeth are grounded by a source of melody, either from underground experimental drones or off-centre vocal melodies.
If you’ve seen the Netflix series Archive 81, Armed To the Teeth embodies the sci-fi mysteriousness while merging reality with a fever dream of old tapes and nightmarish psychedelics. All of Kill Alters’ works feature bandleader Bonnie Baxter’s mother’s voice from the tapes in her personal archives. It helps to sculpt this ongoing narrative of emotional memory and trauma-triggered catharsis, as sounds and textures clash for attention.
The half hour record plays fluidly, as if it was one stream of staccato’d consciousness. Fans of Death Grips, Grimes, and more estranged creators of electronic music will easily get lost in the sound of Armed to the Teeth.
Because of its well-executed artistry and experimentation, I’m going to give this record a 7.5 out of 10.
(No spoilers, but this also had a way better ending than Archive 81)
Frank Turner – FTHC
The amount of music that Frank Turner has spilled out over his career is quite admirable. He’s now onto his ninth solo album – which doesn’t include a few side projects – and he has returned to his punk roots (somewhat) for FTHC. But it’s not punk in the traditional sense – it still leans into his anti-folk, pub-rock fare that he’s established so well as a solo artist.
Standing for Frank Turner Hardcore, an ancroynm he’s kept closeby throughout his career, this new collection comes across as being very close to his heart and soul.
Topics of mental health, addiction, childhood trauma, heartbreak and mending relationships make up the extensive track list. It’s a heavy record, when you get down to the bones of it. There’s a heartfelt tribute to the late vocalist of Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchinson; an ode to repairing his relationship with his father who transitioned into “Miranda”, and “Fatherless”.
But as an artist who has used music as a therapeutic outlet, he is able to flesh all of these difficult topics into visceral riffs and commanding energy. There’s a lot of fiery emotions packed into his roaring sing-along choruses and a handful of tracks had me going back for more – especially “Punches”.
With an extremely loyal following behind him, and having established himself as a notable songwriter over the years, Frank Turner doesn’t veer too of course from his usual sound on his latest album. Longtime fans are certainly going to want to get a piece of this, and will probably fall more in love with him as an artist, while newcomers this late in the game may find some catchy hooks and raw energy to enjoy.
I’m going to give this a 7 out of 10.
La Armada – Anti-Colonial Vol 2.
Chicago-based, Dominican-bred hardcore five-piece La Armada have released their new album Anti-Colonial Vol 2. , the follow-up to 2018’s first chapter. Originally formed in Dominican Republic back in 2001, the group made the move to Chicago in 2008 and have had a fairly consistent line-up since, however they brought in a new vocalist for this album which has shifted their sound ever so slightly.
Switching between English and Spanish, Anti-Colonial Vol. 2 is a ferocious effort regardless of language. The searing screams of vocalist Casper Torres makes way for the album melodic and groovy guitar riffs, teetering between ‘90s hardcore and djent metalcore.
There’s a ton of influence from the likes of Refused and At The Drive-In in their sound, happily keeping the unfiltered days of post-hardcore at their heels as they navigate politics and society with a fiery spirit.
The main difference separating La Armada from their pioneers is their restlessness and high-speed pacing of the album. The 11-track effort speeds by in the best way possible, leaving few opportunities for the momentum to slow down.
Personally, I feel that La Armada are a highly underrated band, especially now with Torres at the helm.
I’m going to give this record a 8.5 out of 10.
Cousin Stizz – Just For You
Boston rapper Cousin Stizz has returned following a two-year hiatus. His latest effort Just For You is a decent collection of contemporary hip-hop, focusing heavily on production and playful rhythms. On the 13-track collection, Cousin quickly establishes a strong pace and presence, using his deep bravado to orchestrate industry standard hip-hop that almost breaches the threshold of a mainstream sound with its generic execution.
A quick 35 minutes, Just For You doesn’t really contribute much to the genre; the majority of the tracklist gets lost in the massive pool of generic hip-hop of today, with steady trap beats and seemingly ad-lib lyrics. To paint a picture for you, Just For You is the type of music you would hear at a trendy dive bar while the night slowly starts to pick up and you can’t get a drink because the bartender is too busy flirting with some girls at the other end.
While Cousin Stizz is good at what he does, this new album falls comfortably into the category of pre-drink hip-hop.
I’m going to give this one a 5.5 out of 10.
Related posts:
Frank Turner Returns To His Hardcore Roots On New Single “Non Serviam” From Upcoming Full-Length
Hardcore Act La Armada Share New Single “Checkmate Humanity” From Upcoming Full-Length
Frank Turner – Mittens (Official Music Video)
Chicago-Based Hardcore Punk Group La Armada Release New Single “Death On Replay”
