The Meltdown 2.79

Billy Power, host of Urban Achiever joins the show to talk about podcasting and music. Plus new music from Children 18:3 and KB.

Josh Garrels - Home

Josh Garrels isn't an artist I've ever loved. I enjoyed a bunch of aspects about Love & War & The Sea Between, but the album just didn't have staying power with me. In fact, my favorite thing Garrels has ever done is his hook on Beautiful Eulogy's Anchor.

But none of that stopped me from picking up Garrels' new album on release day and spinning it immediately. And spinning it again. And again. And according to iTunes, I've listened to Home 18 times.

Let me state this now: Go download Home right now!

If you're old enough to remember a time when listening to music was an activity, like you'd just go and listen to a record and do nothing else, this is the type of record you want to just listen to. To sit and explore and dive deep into and enjoy. Home is a record is soak your soul in to. Soulful, bluesy, expressive.

The strings that give way to a soul filled Born Again open up the album on an absolutely beautiful note. It could be Marvin Gaye, Ottis Redding, or Al Green singing over the track. Garrels has a flare for musical proficiency or quirks, which is probably why he find a hard punctuating a melody between the chorus and verse 2. The hook is infectious, but underrated in the way those great soul singers could deliver a love song. The way the music sways and interplays, between guitar sweeps, giant string sections and a harp, it's an orchestrated piece of genius.

Colors keeps the soulful vibe, while throwing in more of an Isley Brothers "rock" vibe. A Long Ways feels almost as if a ghost is haunting you. Like an emotional, painful past ghost. But only on the verses. The choruses feel like Garrels is breaking through the hurt. Which carries into the second verse, which builds to a triumphant closing. Leviathan is groove heavy and verse driven. Garrels falsetto carrying each and every tune. With each track, the styling and sound of the record has slowly been shifting and moving forward, punctuated by the bluesy rock and roll sound of The Arrow.

Heavens Light brings things down and showcases Garrels as the singer/songwriter he is. Simple and beautiful.The country, folksy influence find their way into Morning Light. It's a vast departure from the almost Motown esque sounds of Born Again, but the way the album moves and flows, it's not a shock to the ears and doesn't feel  out of place. It's just an artist showcasing their craft. Always Be is light and fun. The vocals and lyrics ebb and flow effortlessly in the background. Home At Last is another simple singer/songwriter song, but the instrumentation that is present creates a beautiful texture that keeps Garrels from ever being boring.

Benediction is the most stripped down track on the record and is a beautiful closer.

Home is a masterpiece. I don't feel like that's an overstatement. It's a record worth your time. Even if it doesn't sound like your style of music, the record is good enough to warrant a listen. You won't be disappointed. 5 out of 5 Stars!

The Meltdown 2.78

It's our 5th Anniversary show!!! It's an extended party edition of the Meltdown!

The Meltdown 2.77

New music from Josh Garrels, Britt Nicole, Sufjan Stevens, and The Frozen Ocean.

Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi

There was a minor indie kid freakout when Chris Walla announced he was leaving Death Cab. What did it mean for the future of the band? How was this going to affect the sound and style of everyone's favorite indie rockers? Settle down kids. It;s not like Death Cab hasn't changed their sound in the past (Plans, Codes and Keys) and survived to still be one of your favorites. Sure, a stylistic change is bound to happen, but there's no need to panic.

The guitar work on Kintsugi's opener, No Room For Frame, is some of the most intricate and interesting I think I've ever heard from DCFC. The song is light and fun, an almost Pet Sounds influenced track. Gibbard's guitar work quickly shines and continues to showcase a simple take on intricate sound lines in Black Sun. It's as if the band thought they might start to be losing fans by placing The Ghost Of Beverly Drive up next. The song is a jangly pop throwback that sounds like some of the band's classic work from The Photo Album or We Have The Facts.

Songs like Little Wanderer, which have a slightly dark undertone, are kept upbeat and poppy. It seems as though there's an infused new life and creative freedom for Death Cab.

Things do get dicey after that. You've Haunted Me All Your Life and Hold No Guns just kind of sit on the record. No bad songs, but coming off the fun pop vibes, they just sit there, like sad sacks, You've Haunted eventually picks up but following that with Hold No Guns is like a dead weight in your gut. It's not that the songs are bad, it's just that there's no subtle signs that a change is coming and instead you go from upbeat indie pop songs, to these pretty sad stripped down songs. This is why track order matters!

The band tries to infuse more energy with Everything's A Ceiling, a song that reminds you the band is now into electronics. (And you were trying to forget about Codes & Keys) It's a double whammy if you hated Plans because the melody reminds me of those songs. (FWIW, I loved Plans) Good Help Is Hard to Find is a disco/Marron 5 type of guitar riff. It's completely different from anything Death Cab has done before. From there we get El Dorado, with its open chord , heavy reverb guitar riff before busting into an electronic dance number. It's a reminder that indie guys like new wave. Ingenue is another throwback style song. Guitar heavy with enough space to make sure the track isn't over saturated and drowning in sound. Binary Sea is a little more upbeat than your usual Death Cab piano ballads, but Death Cab has also never been one to close a record out on a sad note. It feels like the song needed some extra layer. An epic instrumental build or something to give it that over the top punch to really close the album out strong.

Kintsuigi might not be overly ambitious, but at times it feels like it's too much. Maybe that was Walla's primary function in the band. To take all the ideas and make sure there was a singular direction and flow to the album. Kintsugi feels complete and well thought out through flur songs before changing directions and the band is on to the next thing. I appreciate the creativity, but it's not cohesive. 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

The Meltdown 2.76

New music from Sareem Poems, Eshon Burgundy, White Lighter, Mat Kearney, and more.

Eshon Burgundy - The Fear of God

I have been waiting for Eshon Burgundy's official Humble Beast Records debut. I liked Blood Rushing To My Head and I thought his For God's Sake mixtape was on point. And his verse on Jackie Hill Perry's The Solution was on fire! I just knew when Humble Beast announced his signing that his record was going to be special. I just had that gut feeling. And thankfully my gut was right!

The Fear of God is a blistering hip-hop record! The production teams (Beautiful Eulogy, Daniel Stelle, Wit, Swoop, and Street Orchestra) worked well, creating unique soundtrack that feels cohesive. It's not like you have a bunch of tracks from producers that you can point to and say they did this one. It helps keep you focused on Burgundy's lyrics and message, all the while appreciating the beats, but not being distracted by them.

The opening line of the record, "One time for the realist who shows us love even though he could kill us" isn't holding anything back. It sets a strong tone for the record. Blood Money is a reminder that as believers it's not money but the blood of Christ that paid for our freedom from sin. Higher Learning addresses hood life and the fact that it is by Jesus that people will be redeemed. Education and programs to get kids off the streets and out of gangs is good but real transformation only comes through Jesus. Control Issues, quite obviously, takes on the things people do in life to show that they are in control and how that doesn't compare to a life of serving Jesus. Certified Gold, again, talks about those things we want that distract us from God and doing the Father's work. Retro Sunday features a verse from Braille that just makes my head spin. It sounds like pre-Beautiful Eulogy Braille and I love it!

The Fear Of God is straight forward, gospel centered hip-hop. Where Eshon tackles social or persoanl issues, everything points back to the hope and love of God! Don't read that and think this is watered down, second rate hip-hop. The production is top notch and Burgundy spits fire on each rhyme! You can tell that the craft of hip-hop is not slacking for the message but both the message and his craft matter! It's art!

Just a fantastic hip-hop record start to finish. I've listened to this album almost two dozen times according to iTunes. 5 out of 5 Stars!