Born Under Punches

It's always a great experience when you're able to follow a musician or band from their beginnings. When you do that you have that personal connection with an artist that is irreplaceable. They understand you and you understand them.

But I'll be damned if it isn't just as great, if not better, when an artist comes out of nowhere with an album that leaves your jaw dragging on the floor for the rest of the day. That's a rare thing, for me at least as I try my best to stay on top of music, but it has managed to happen this week. Twice.

The first album is by Bat For Lashes, the stage name of Natasha Khan, who I knew nothing about other than she sang on a Twilight soundtrack that had a surprisingly good amount of artists on it that I like, such as The Dead Weather, The Black Keys, and Beck, the latter of whom Bat For Lashes actually had a duet with on said soundtrack.

Somehow this weekend I came across the stark piano ballad, with a hint of quiet whirring synth, "Laura", off her new album The Haunted Man. It'sone of the most heartbreaking songs I've heard in a while, telling the tale of a depressed party queen named Laura. The song is full of striking imagery, exemplified by a line where it is told Laura has her name tattooed on the skin of every boy in town. The song convinced me to sit down and listen to The Haunted Man in full and it turned out to be nothing like I expected it to be.

The first few songs on the album are a full on sonic lullaby. Instruments and voices are layered upon themselves without much restraint, creating pop songs with a beautiful wall of sound that is so warm and well done that it feels more like a blanket than a wall. But after these songs the album takes a bold left turn.

Following these songs is "Laura", which is stark in comparison to the other songs with its production. It makes the emotions of the song hit even harder after the up-tempo pop that preceded it. The rest of the album fluctuates between other ballads and pop songs, but it never regains the power that leads up to the emotional sucker punch that is "Laura". Still it's a great album and an even better surprise.

But The Haunted Man is a slight album though compared to the other album that surprised me. Kendrick Lamar has been on my radar for the last few months, but I never made much of him for whatever reason. I enjoyed his single "Swimming Pools (Drank)" but didn't think anymore of it or him after I listened to it a few times. I never gave him a chance to sink in as an artist.

But after hearing Lamar on A$AP Rocky's latest single I figured I should give him another shot. So when I noticed a few days later his album good kid, mA.A.d City had dropped, I decided to throw it on. I promptly lost it from the first track on.

Kendrick Lamar, in case you don't know, is Dr. Dre's new protégé, and I hate to say this about a legend, but the master may need to learn something from his protégé. Lamar's album, his latest after his debut independent album Section.80, is everything you want on an album from an artist that is looking to make his mark on the world.

It's strong, inventive, and ambitious from the second you press play to the second Lamar's voice fades out on a final cut scene. It's hard to pinpoint the best songs on the album, but if I was held at gunpoint and forced to pick I'd say "B****, Don't Kill My Vibe", "Money Trees" and "Real". But this doesn't work as a singles album. "Swimming Pool (Drank)" didn't do a lot for me on its own as I said before, but within the album it's perfect.

The high points of the album are hard to find as well. The point that sticks out the most for me is when Lamar is rapping about how he hopes people won't forget him after he gets shot on the twelve minute long "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" and then in the middle of one of his lines gunshots ring out. Lamar stops rapping and there's a few seconds where the beat rides on alone, seemingly confused about what has happened, and then it heads into the chorus to cover over Lamar's death. He comes back right after to keep going, but the point is made.

By the end of the album Lamar is claiming, on a track with one of the kings of West Coast hip-hop and his mentor, Dr. Dre (if Tupac was still around though he'd be the true king), that he is the new king of the West Coast hip-hop scene. Bold words from Lamar, but after this album where he blends together older hip-hop styles with newer techniques flawlessly and in an innovative style that is all his own, it's a statement that if he hadn't made, reviewers would have made without hesitation.

The funny thing about bringing up Tupac is that Lamar reminds me of the late West Coast rapper. He also reminds me of Eminem in "Backseat Freestyle" when he roughens up his voice and raps faster than usual. But the thing that is most impressive is that for most of the album he sounds like no one but Kendrick Lamar. His influences are apparent but everything on this album is his own. He has created his own style and is confident in his abilities and himself, and you can hear it on this album.

good kid M.A.A.D city, though, isn't a classic, yet it's as close as you can get to being one without hitting the mark. The only complaint you can throw at it is that it runs a bit long at an hour and ten minutes. With a little editing that tiny problem could have been solved. It's not hard too to see where some things could have been sliced. As mentioned one song is twelve minutes, and by the end of it you're feeling all of them. Shave off a few minutes and it'd be a tighter album and better for it.

Despite that, have no doubt that we have a new king of the West Coast hip-hop scene. Lamar is a scarily talented rapper. If anything good kid M.A.A.D city makes me anxious for what's next as Lamar grows as an artist. He can only get better and I can't wait to see how he plans to follow this album up.

These two albums are the things that make it exciting to be a fan of music. Sure, waiting to download an album at midnight, or if you're an even more dedicated fan, heading to a music store to grab a CD or vinyl of the band you love is a great feeling, but it's the out of nowhere shocks that make it all worthwhile.

Those albums are the ones that hit you the hardest. All of your preconceived notions are out the window and you take the music in only for what it is and you gain another band or musician to follow and love. And that's how it should be.