Killer Mike returns with brash solo album ‘Michael’
Thanks for reading Toronto Star’s Weekend Music Digest, a roundup of new music, concert listings and more.
This week: new music from Killer Mike, Peggy Gou, Christine and the Queens, Helena Deland and Knocked Loose.
Click here to listen to the Spotify playlist.
Killer Mike: Michael
Over the past decade, Killer Mike rose to international fame as one half of Run The Jewels, the boisterous, highly political hip-hop duo featuring producer/rapper El-P. But the often controversial rapper has been in the game for nearly a quarter of a century, as a solo artist, an early collaborator of Outkast, and a member of the Dungeon Family, an influential Southern hip-hop collective.
On “Michael,” his first solo record in 10 years, artist-born Michael Render explores his roots and formative experiences as a child growing up in Atlanta. “I wanted people to know that the character in Run the Jewels is a whole human being,” he told critic Craig Jenkins in a (wild) new interview. “I think I’ve told the best story of a young man in Atlanta.”
Flanked by a Rolodex of top talent – Ty Dolla $ign, 2 Chainz, Young Thug and of course El-P – Killer Mike sounds both excited and unflappable throughout the project, which he has already dubbed the ‘album of the year’. ”
“My teachers taught me a terrible miracle / You can lie, cheat and still kill in America / Be celebrated as Captain America,” he righteously raps during a monster verse on “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS,” a Dungeon Family reunion with André 3000 and Future. But much of “Michael” is concerned with family – on “Motherless,” featuring light-hearted vocals from Detroit R&B singer Eryn Allen Kane, Mike addresses his late mother and grandmother (“You Won’t Believe, mama / I made it, mama”), while on “Something For Junkies” he raps about his aunt’s addiction (“She said ‘Michael, you say you love me, I know you mean it / ‘Cause you still treats your junkie aunt like a human being’”).
Like Killer Mike himself, the sprawling record is combative, brash and messy, but it’s an impressive statement from an artist who, at 48, still sounds at the top of his game.
Star Tracks: Best new (and fairly new) music
Peggy Gou: (It goes like) Nanana
We’re 23 years away from the ’90s, but the sound of that decade’s dance music seems to be everywhere. Often it works brilliantly (Beyoncé and Charli XCX), and sometimes it feels like a clunky nostalgia trap (that horrible song by Bebe Rexha and David Guetta that Eiffel 65 remixes). South Korean producer and DJ Peggy Gou’s new single easily fits into the first category – built around a pulsating bass groove and fat piano chords, “(It Goes Like) Nanana” feels less like nostalgia than a revelation. “I can’t explain / I feel like I / I can’t erase,” sings Gou, searching for words to describe the rapturous euphoria of the dance floor, “I guess it goes like nanana.” Bonus points for the awesome karaoke themed music video.
Helena Deland: Spring bug
With the first day of summer fast approaching, Canadian singer-songwriter Helena Deland’s new song celebrates the precious relics of spring and the bittersweet passage of time. Wistful, gutsy guitar sets the perfect scene for introspection. On top of sweet harmonies, Deland sings of nostalgic encounters with past selves, buzzing past like “noisy flying creatures.” While her first instinct is to run, Deland explains in a release that she was inspired by Joan Didion’s essay, “On Keeping a Notebook.” As the tune ripples, Deland realizes, “We do well to keep nodding with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.” After all, as she sings: “This spring is already a memory.” — Dhriti Gupta
Christine and the Queens: Tears can be so soft
There’s a lot to explore on “PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE,” the sprawling 96-minute album from the French singer-songwriter and avant-pop author known as Christine and the Queens. There’s ‘Angels cry in my bed’, a downtempo track with an extended spoken-word outro by Madonna, ‘Full of life’, which is performed over a rendition of Pachelbel’s Canonand “Track 10”, a bizarre, meandering track that unfolds over 11 minutes – and these are all on “Disc 1”.
It’s an intimidating and somewhat unfocused project, but it contains several brilliant moments, the most important of which is the slow-burning ‘Tears can be so soft’. Produced by behind-the-scenes music guru Mike Dean, the song is built around a throbbing bassline and subdued drums that channel Portishead’s spirit, making for a moody trip-hop soundscape that Chris sneaks through and slithers like a snake lurking in shallow waters. . “Tears can be so good / Let them roll down your face, girl / Oh, diamonds on your face forever,” he sings in the song’s outro, as a luxurious swirl of strings descend into the mix.
Loose: deep in the willow
“Unhinged, mother f – eh.” That’s what vocalist Bryan Garris shouts in the final moments of “Deep in the Willow” before you’re hit by a machine gun barrage of a disturbance so severe you might need to catch your breath. The hardcore outfit from Kentucky, hot with their spectacular – and for some unexpected – performances at Coachellahave released some killer new tracks with new producer Drew Fulk (aka WZRD BLD), and they are without a doubt heavy as hell.
In keeping with the dark themes of their 2021 EP ‘A Tear in the Fabric of Life’, the new songs tick all the boxes for fans of Knocked Loose – dirty tones, dirty riffs and annoying breakdowns – and it’s great to have a . band as they skyrocket to the forefront of heavy music. While hardcore/metalcore/beat down might not be everyone’s cup of tea, may I suggest ‘Deep in the Willow’ the next time you think you need some pure musical fury to get through a rough day at work.
Just make sure you don’t accidentally punch a hole through your desk. — Justin Smiley
More new releases
- Sigur rose released “Átta” on Friday, the Icelandic post-rock band’s first album in a decade. In a statement, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jónsi said the band “wanted to have minimal drums and the music would be very sparse, floaty and beautiful. We’re getting older and more cynical, so I just wanted to move ourselves so we felt something!
- Queens of the Stone Age new album “In Times New Roman…” is out now. The release comes amid a tumultuous time for frontman Josh Homme, who recently faced a public custody dispute, a cancer diagnosis and the deaths of his friends Mark Lanegan and Taylor Hawkins.
- Afro pop singer Asake released his second album ‘Work of Art’.
Various from all over the music world
- As you’ve probably heard, Joni Mitchell returned to the stage this past weekend for a “breathtaking, three-hour spectacle” at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre, where she was joined by a host of musical guests including Brandi Carlile, Wendy & Lisa , Lucius, Blake Mills and others. I highly recommend you check out Nice review from Jenn Pelly from the “Joni Jam”:
Mitchell has adapted throughout her life: as a child who survived polio; as a songwriter, creating her own open-tuned “research chords” to allow her to sound in-between; later team up with agile jazz musicians and become one. Her new mastery of her deeper voice, eight years after a brain aneurysm, is the latest iteration. She bent and glided around her low register, occasionally dropping her voice to a baritone rumble or higher, and there was poetry at her fingertips. Sitting on her throne, she bounced and swung her cane, which was decorated with a wolf emblem, to the music. She smiled after singing, “I’d still be on my feet.” In the 1970s, Joni said her fans “needed to know who they adored,” leading her to put more and more personal revelations into her music. Today she seems just as committed to showcasing her reality.
- Not specifically music related, but I enjoyed it piece by Harriet Gibsone about how the internet has become an alienating place for Millennials.
“If TikTok is too young, Facebook too geriatric and Twitter a cesspool, where do the digital natives – who practically invented the ways we use the modern internet – go?”
Newly announced concerts
- Toronto/Oshawa R&B star Daniel Caesar plays at Scotiabank Arena on October 13 with support from the (incredibly talented) Moses Sumney, plus Charlotte Day Wilson supported by BADBADNOTGOOD. Tickets on sale now.
Concert schedule Toronto: a selection of upcoming shows in the city
Friday June 16
The post-hardcore legends of St Catherines will headline a huge show at Bud Stage with support from fellow local bands PUP and METZ.
The veteran indie rock band will play in Phoenix on Friday in support of their latest album, “This Stupid World.” If you’re on the fence, let me push you – this band is awesome live.
Saturday June 17
This section of the music summary is a ‘no judgement’ zone. If you want to see Ed strumming that guitar, do it. This is actually one of three shows in Toronto – he’s playing History on Friday, June 16 and Rogers Center again on Sunday, June 18. Support from Khalid and Rosa Linn.
Tuesday June 20
The 75-year-old singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac, will visit Toronto on Tuesday.
Wednesday June 21
The indie rock supergroup, consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, play Bud Stage with support from Toronto’s own Broken Social Scene.
Thursday June 22
The in-demand singer/rapper will perform on the beach with support from hip-hop producer Pi’erre Bourne.
