Haven't Done This in Awhile: A Review of The Spill Canvas': No Really, I'm Fine...

The truth about the era of music we live in is that very little is ever different enough to make any impact on our lives. We like bands; we like songs, but how often do you stop and say “Damn, that’s a really good band?” Almost never, I’m willing to bet.

Such is the way of life in the new millennium. However, I have had the pleasure of finding a band that made me stop and say “wow.”

But, first, a bit of a story.

For those of you that don’t know, my favorite band is Taking Back Sunday. I’ve loved them since way back in the day when “Tell All Your Friends” came out. I think that Adam Lazzara’s voice lends a raw emotion to solid rock music that puts it over the top as the most influential band in my life.

I remember that TAYF was my first moment with Music in which I was able to just sit and listen to a whole album and feel like it really spoke to me, or moved me. It was an intimate experience. Without being too corny, I felt like the music was communicating to me.

I haven’t felt that way since. Even with other TBS albums, even with other great new bands, I just feel like Music has just been music.

Enter The Spill Canvas.

I first heard of this band when their song “Staple gunned” was on Punk Goes Acoustic II. The song was awesome, and I never really thought too much more about it. Recently, when combing over new CDs, I found TSC’s No Really, I’m fine.

The very first song on the CD hit me like a hammer. Reckless Abandonment is a statement of the bands idea that they don’t care about what people think of them, which is a fairly standard topic of songs of this generations rock bands. (See The Academy Is… - Black Mamba.)However, it was an acoustic part later in the song that made me love it:

We are Earthquakes/ We are Tidal Waves/ we are destruction at its Finest/ we are Lava in the Caves/ We are Irony/ We Drink Hypocrisy/ We are everything we hate to need…

That’s just good writing. It sounds more like a Rise Against song than anything else, but the band’s declaration of independent thinking is an impressive opening track.

Other key tracks on the CD arrive quickly. Every song is very solid, but Tracks 6 & 7, Hush, Hush and Low Fidelity, are the band’s masterpiece. The reason why I put them together is that they actually seem to be part of one epic rather than individual story. Hush, Hush is a story of a guy who has been noticing signs of his girlfriend cheating on him and is expressing his anger and disappointment with her. Low Fidelity is the story of a guy who realizes that he is distanced from his girl and begins wondering why he is staying true to her when it’s clear that now that he’s away, he can never go back to her. Both of these topics are key to my life, which is why these two songs both hit me so deeply.

Lastly, Appreciation and the Bomb is most original song on the album. The song starts off seeming like a suicide note that quickly turns into a threat of mass murder:

Observe This Fuse/which is connected to these explosives which I’m about to use…

In reality, after the second verse, not only does all of the symbolism make a lot more sense, but it’s apparent that the singer is talking about his martyrdom to give people hope more than him taking people down with him. It’s a bold attempt at something new, and if you can get past the seemingly disturbing first couple of lines, it’s a fantastic song.

Musically, every song is standard rock fare, done at an exceptional level. There are excellent guitar riffs and drum solos. Every song is the kind that you can belt out in the car with your windows down when driving. Although I haven’t mentioned every song here, the CD is amazingly consistent in excellence, all the way the sweet, slow last track Lullaby.

No Really, I’m Fine is the best CD put out so far in 2007. Hell, it may be the best CD put out in the last 3-5 years. In reality, my favorite CD’s list now looks like:

Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends
Jimmy Eat World – Futures
Rise Against – The Sufferer and The Witness
The Spill Canvas – No Really, I’m Fine
Atmosphere – You can’t Imagine all the Fun We’re Having

It’s that Good. Go listen to it. Now.

Final Grade – A

Key Tracks: Reckless Abandonment, Hush, Hush, Low Fidelity, Bleed, Appreciation and the Bomb

Why is No One Listening: A Review of Brother Ali's The Undisputable Truth

Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot stand the current state of Hip-Hop Music. I think it's rediculous that guys like 50 Cent even have jobs. Rap music has decended into an orgy of thinly veiled sexual references and people wanting to kill one another, and don't give me the "It's what they know" speech. I don't care. It sucks.

In 2003, A rap group from Minnesota named Atmosphere consisting of one rapper, Slug (Sean Dailey) and one DJ, Ant (Anthony Davis) released a song called "Trying to Find a Balance." It received mass airplay on MTVu and quickly became a personal favorite. I realized it was because the song was about Slug's quest for respect rather than guns and women. Then, I forgot that Atmosphere existed.

Nearly three years later, I was reading a copy of SPIN magazine and saw that Atmosphere had released a new CD called "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having." I heard it and instantly fell in love with the group all over again. "Say Hey There" is the one of the most unique songs I had ever heard and I realized something. As much as he hates the idea of it, Slug is the king of a new breed of "emo-rap." These songs are about personal strife rather than all the other stupid stuff that I mentioned. "Little Man" is about Slug's relationship with his Father and his Son. "That Night" is about a 15 year old girl who raped and killed at an Atmosphere concert in New Mexico. This is all compelling stuff. I consider "Imagine" the perfect rap CD.

So, where does all this fit into a CD review about Brother Ali? Well, Ali is signed to Rhymesayers entertainment, which is home to....Atmosphere! Also, I consider Brother Ali well on his way to being the next Slug with The Undisputable Truth.

A Few Notes about Ali:

1. Ali is frequently discussed as the World's whitest rapper. Which he is, because he is Albino.

2. Ali is Muslim as his name would suggest, and makes several references to the Koran.

3. Ali is a single father after divorcing his ex-wife.

The first thing you will notice about the CD is that is created with alot of passion. When you sit down to listen you can help but marvel at the lyrical ability of Ali, but also had the raw emotion that he conveys through his music.

Much of the CD takes it's cues from Imagine, rehashing Ali's personal events into songs that mean something. Most notably is the trio of songs at the end of the album: Walking Away, which details his divorce from his wife and how he finally decided to give up, Faheem, which is an ode to the happiness his son has brought him, and Ear to Ear, a song which celebrates his happiness with his new life and profession.

Also notable is the most politcal song on the album which is called Uncle Sam Goddamn. The song is lyrically excellent and features one of the best lines I have ever heard about the American Government. I won't tell you what it is, because I don't want people to pre-judge (This is not a poltically driven album at all.) but it's amazing.

Lastly, the other real song of note is track one, Whatcha Got, which is a classic rap I'm better than you song. However, much like Atmosphere's The Arrival, it is done in a way which does not make it seem like Ali has any real problem with anyone. It's just a song about confidence and being the best.

All together, Ali has put together a fantastic album. With a little more work on his rapping, Ali and Slug could become one of the best hip-hop duos we have seen in a long time, and just maybe launch a new style of rap into the forefront of music.

God How I hope that Happens.

Final Grade: B+

Ali is well on his way to becoming one of my favorite artists of any genre.

Key Tracks: Whatcha Got, Lookin at Me Sideways, Walking Away, Faheem, Ear to Ear