We’re nearing the end of the school year, and this will be the final version of this column.  Even with this column ending, the idea of finding and loving new, but hidden music will always have its place in this world.  The internet will always have a place for people who want to share new music.

Boom-Bap revivalist

Your Old Droog- Packs

Your Old Droog is a rapper from New York who initially blew up when people thought he was legendary rapper Nas.  And that mistake is understandable, considering his voice has a gritty, deep sound that sounds like a mixture of Nas and The Game his knack for storytelling and his clever wordplay, not to mention his knack for storytelling and his clever wordplay. The production on this album is classic New York with an MF DOOM influence, with grimy, jazzy samples over some boom bap production.  The beats add some authenticity to Droog’s east coast delivery.

Droog alternates from conceptual story songs to fast paced bar-fest.  an example of Droog’s detailed storytelling is “GKAC,” which details a man who feels oppressed by the world, and a combination of the voices in the man’s head and the PCP he’s taking push him to go on a murderous rampage against the police.  All of this concludes with the man committing suicide, and this story is incredibly well told despite being incredibly morbid.  The song “Grandma Hips” has a bombastic horn instrumental topped with rapid flows from Droog and a high energy featured verse from Danny Brown.  Droog’s album is for someone who wants a modern take on a classic sound in hip hop.

Dark Comedy

Father John Misty- Pure Comedy

Father John Misty is an indie folk artist and the lead singer of the band Fleet Foxes.  This album is poignant lyrical experience.  Misty tackles society, human nature and the overall comedy of how our world works, and he does this over lush and extravagant instrumentation with strings, horns and acoustic guitars.

The title track of this album addresses the comedy Misty finds in the weakness of children leading to a sexist society, and the ambiguity of religious jargon contrasting with the utter devotion of religious people.  “Ballad of a Dying Man” satirizes a man whose only joy is to criticize everything around him.  Even on his death bed the man is checking his phone, and he is worried that nobody will critique the homophobes, 1% and hipsters.  “When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay” details God returning in a judgement-day-type scenario, but the character in it is quick to point out that God should have expected the world to be as evil, as it is human nature.  The whole concept of this song is hilarious and the beautiful singing and folk instrumentals complement the humor.

Over-dramatic pop punk

Creeper- Eternity, In Your Arms

This Creeper album falls in the pop punk mixed with goth realm that I usually don’t care for, but I ended up loving this project because of energetic vocal performances, catchy hooks, and
an excessive amount of melodrama.  The mix on this album is incredible; they manage to have something cleanly recorded, but the guitars aren’t sterile and show lots of melody and the bass is not an afterthought.

The high energy tracks are better than the ballads, but “Crickets” which is sung by the band’s keyboardist, Hannah Greenwood, is a strong exception.  The vocal performance is full of passion and the instrumentation swells into gorgeous crescendos as the song progresses.  The fast paced songs such as “Hiding With Boys,” “Black Rain” and “Suzanne” combine overly dramatic, sad lyrics with high energy punk instrumentals, and “I Choose To Live” is the climax of this album’s theatricality as the band roams completely over-the-top in its performance.  The overall catchiness and campy character of this band is what makes the listen so enjoyable.

Vitriolic spoken word

Sleaford Mods- English Tapas 

Sleaford Mods is a UK group that creates gritty, simplistic punk beats with rants and diatribes from vocalist Jason Williamson.  However, with this new album, Williamson dives into a lot more singing, which makes his music more palatable.  But the production stays simple, stripped-back and grimy.  Williamson’s rants tend to revolve around the band and the state of the working class in the UK.

“BHS” is an attack towards business owners who can let their business crash and profit from it through different deals, but their workers are left without a job.  “Drayton Manard” tells the story of an excessive lifestyle, and the lyrics hint at drug use and the negatives of that lifestyle.  The transition of the beat during the hook makes it very catchy.  “Just Like We Do” is a rant about fans who will hop on the hype train when a new artist comes into the underground, but as their career develops those same fans don’t like them for being established.  The raw, upfront punk personality blends perfectly with the blue-collar lyrical themes to make high-octane, but lyrical listening experience.