“Around My Way” - Lupe Fiasco

After a disappointing last album, Lupe is finally back with some new music. The Pete Rock sampled tune is being labeled as the first single for the highly anticipated Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1,which is tentatively set to be released on September 25th.

Album Review: Love Is A Four Letter Word - Jason Mraz

Sometimes it takes a little while for an artist to really break out on the music scene. Jason Mraz is a testament to this thought. He showed up in 2002 with a solid debut album in Waiting For My Rocket to Come, but didn’t gain heavy notoriety until 2008 with his third album; We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. (This may be attributed to the slightly disappointing, yet cleverly titled, Mr. A-Z) The album featured his first number one hit in “I’m Yours” and earned him five Grammy nominations and two wins. Personally, I really enjoyed the album. It’s a good sign when the most popular song on an album is maybe the 4th or 5th best song. So when I saw Mraz released his fourth album, Love Is A Four Letter Word, I was curious to see where he went with it.

For lack of a better phrase, Mraz seems to move “positively laterally”. Love doesn’t have a chart topper like his previous efforts, but takes a step forward musically. The tracks feature more instruments, including strings, horns, and organ/ piano, and just have a musically deeper feel to them. Based on the lyrics and title, this album could be considered a concept album, with every song dealing with some form of love. The tracks with the best chance at radio air play are probably “The Freedom Song” or “Living In The Moment”, two catchy, up beat song. But the album’s best song is “In Your Hands”, a song about missing someone which is both well written and well produced. 

Overall, the album is very consistent. No song really stands out in a good or bad way. It’s a feel good album that is a good listen when you just need to sit back and relax. It’s like a Jack Johnson album, but features the clever lyrics and rhyme schemes that Mraz is known for.

GRADE: C

Download Love is a Four Letter Word here: http://smarturl.it/IWontGiveUp

By Kurtis Klay

Follow Kurtis on Twitter @RunMizzou11

ALBUM REVIEW: ONE OF MY KIND - CONOR OBERST & MYSTIC VALLEY BAND

I am an unapologetic and unabashed Conor Oberst fan.  He is the best songwriter of our generation and it really isn’t a close race.  Whenever he releases new music, whether under the heading of Bright Eyes or his work with the Mystic Valley Band, I become a little kid on Christmas.  This latest effort started off with the makings of a great album but fizzled out halfway through. 

The first two songs, “One of My Kind” and “Gentleman’s Pact”, are two of the better songs I have ever heard from Conor Oberst.  Those two songs are followed up with two solid efforts and a classic Conor Oberst song, “Breezy”, and things were setting up for a pretty amazing album.  Then we hit the lull.  It starts with track 6, “Central City”, which is a decent enough song but it features Taylor Hollingsworth on lead vocals.  Whenever Conor Oberst is not handling the lead vocal duties I tend to lose interest and that happens too often on this album.  Also, the length of the album does not do it any favors.  The 11 tracks coming in just under 44 minutes makes the weaker songs stand out even more.  With the strength shown in the first five tracks it is a shame that the rest of the album could not carry the weight the rest of the way.  It is important to point out that I pre-ordered this album on February 1^st and it included a feature-length documentary, One of My Kind, directed by Phillip Schaffart, which I was able to purchase for $15.70. In the day and age when albums are overpriced, people download music legally or illegally, and Ticketmaster slaps ridiculous ‘service charges’ on you when you buy concert tickets, it was refreshing to order an album for $12.00 and only get charged $3.70 for shipping.

GRADE: C

By Craig Brenner

Follow Craig on Twitter @Craig_a_brenner

“Unnecessary”- Childish Gambino

ALBUM REVIEW: BLUNDERBUSS - JACK WHITE

With the four albums between The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, we have heard what Jack White music sounds like when it is out from under the umbrella of The White Stripes.  But Jack White’s first solo album had a different feel to it than those other projects.  When White made those other albums he was still one major half of The White Stripes.  They were still making albums, playing shows, and being the band that all other musicians loved.  Blunderbuss has a different vibe because there is no more White Stripes for Jack White to go back to after this latest musical endeavor.  This is now who Jack White is and what Jack White music will be like as long as he is making music. 

Blunderbuss is exactly what I expected it to be.  I had an idea in my head of what a Jack White solo album would sound like and this met those expectations.  To be honest, it underwhelmed after the first listen because in the back of my head I was hoping to hear some White Stripes influence in this album.  Sadly, I have to understand that Jack White’s career moving forward is going to be a direct reflection of who he is as a person and a musician – not one half of The White Stripes.  Who Jack White is as a person and musician is someone who has a love for the blues.  In the excellent documentary It Might Get Loud, Jack White said that for him, playing guitar and making music is just an excuse to play the blues.  He continued to say he would always look for any excuse to play the blues.  That mindset is felt throughout the 13 songs on this album.  White shows range in creating an album that borrows from the blues, rockabilly, and has a very southern country feel to it.  There is a laid back and subtle feel to this album that White had given us glimpses of in his work with the Raconteurs.  There are moments in which White reminds everyone that he is one of the greatest guitar players walking the Earth but he does it in a way that never detracts from the flow of the album.

This album makes me anticipate Jack White’s next album even more.  This is the first chapter of something bigger down the road.  I know Jack White will not disappoint us.  Just like he did not disappoint with this album.

GRADE: B+

Purchase Blunderbuss here: http://tinyurl.com/886ocyb

By Craig Brenner

“45” - The Gaslight Anthem

The New Jersey based rock band have just released their first single from their upcoming album, Handwritten, due out July 24th. The track sounds like a combination of their last two, but distinctly different, albums American Slang and The 59’ Sound.

“I Got This” - Big K.R.I.T.

Just this morning, Big K.R.I.T. dropped the video for the first single off his debut album, Live From The Underground, which is set to be released June 5th. ”I Got This” shows once again why K.R.I.T. is one of the best hip-hop artists out right now. Oh, and if you are wondering what in the hell those numbers in the video stand for, here’s your answer.

http://bigkrit.com/2012/05/inside-the-numbers-big-k-r-i-t-i-got-this-video/

Chris Martin and Coldplay pay tribute to the late Adam “MCA” Yauch.