Computed Beats

     Today, I will be reviewing the album Mordechai by Khruangbin. First thing's first, I wanted to ensure that everyone knows how to pronounce the group's name since I have had trouble figuring it out. According to IndiShuffle.com : It is : "Pronounced “Kroongbin,” the name is meant to symbolize the band’s quest to include as many different international influences into their sound as possible, drawing from Thai, Spanish and middle-eastern influences, giving the band their instantly-recognizable and hauntingly psychedelic sound." The band itself Khruangbin is a Houston, Texas based trio that is known for their ecclectic sound. Mordechai is their third studio album to date and it was released under the Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories Label. Without further ado, let's jump into the tracks.      The album starts off with 'First Class' and the song is just that. It's creative use of wavy guitar, heavy bass, drums, bongo, xylophone, and soundscapes as inst...

    Happy Juneteenth everyone! Today I will be reviewing Curren$y and Fuse's latest mixtape - Spring Clean. For those of you unaware, Fuse is a producer with 808 Mafia . Curren$y has always consistently produced with big name producers, and it is no surprise that his versatility and poise have enabled him to join forces with yet another big producer to create Spring Clean.     This 10-track tape by the New Orleans heavy hitter comes at a much needed time and without much notice as we are accustomed. Without further ado, let's jump into the tracks!     'Coast 2 Coast' sets us off with the infamous Curren$y steez dripping with his flows, 'my hotel room got a basketball court in it, it's easy to tell who's making money and who isnt'. Topped with his signature 'la da da da's, immaculate alliteration and powerful wordplay, it makes for a great intro song. We then move on to 'The Game' featuring Fendi P , an artist on his label. The beat is r...

    Today, I will be reviewing Iann Dior 's third album I'm Gone. The 21-year-old Puerto Rican born, Texas-raised rapper is on the come up and he dropped this album a week before its release date. It's only 21 minutes long and honestly I think it was 20 minutes too long, but let's get into the songs.     The album starts off with 'Paradise', a summertime hit that you would play in your convertible produced by the main producers on this album Andrew Luce and Omer Fedi . It then quickly moves into 'Pretty Girls', a song that interpolates Gives You Hell by The All-American Rejects  as a first sign of his pop punk / rap sound that he is trying to go for. The song itself has a really catchy rhythm produced by Kinderr but it is really just a mindless 'lit' song about pretty girls having fun and offers no depth.     We then move on to 'Sickness' that begins with a cool guitar melody that serves as the foundation of the beat produced by Jason Sc...

    Welcome to another edition of Album Review Friday. Today, I will be reviewing Run The Jewels 4, the fourth studio album by Run The Jewels , their first since 2016. This album was supposed to drop today, but the rap duo decided to release it early and for free after Killer Mike's impassioned speech to Atlanta following the death of George Floyd. The album is a peculiar breath of fresh air, one of my friends so eloquently described it as "a long freestyle on top of a post apocalyptic broadway musical score". I could not agree more. Without further ado, let's dig in to some of the songs.     The album starts off with "yankee and the brave (ep.4)". The title describes the new name the rap duo gave to themselves as vigilantes fighting back the police. Yankee and the Brave namely refer to the baseball teams of each rappers respective city. Clever and catchy. The song starts with a 16 bar build then drops over Kanye-esque drum patterns. After which the duo tak...

     Today I will be reviewing Freddie Gibbs  and Alchemist 's 2nd album together - Alfredo. From the album title you can already tell that this is a synergistic project, the name being a play on both their names 'Al-Fredo'. The name is further represented in the album cover depicting a puppeteer playing with some pasta with what I am hoping will be Alfredo sauce. So without further ado, let's get into the meat of this, all puns intended.     The album starts off with the single '1985'. The single that dropped two days before the album dropped. Sneaky sneaky :). It's starts off with a soundbite from legendary comedian Bernie Mac . RIP. A theme with soundbites that will be used masterfully throughout the album. In the song itself, Alchemist bravely uses a looping guitar riff as the melody base of the whole song. One of my favorite features of his production is his ability to find these pockets of loopable sound that serve a...

It has been two years exactly since the last time I sat down and wrote anything about music. I was fortunate enough to have a friend in my life that sent me an album worth writing about again. The album that really inspired me to come back is called  Just Got Back from the Discomfort ---- we're Alright by The Brave Little Abacus . This is the band's final and only full-length album that was self-released in 2010. The album name is kind of poignant to me since it's been this long for me, and it is kind of ironic that I also just got back from a long time away. As I will discuss further in this article, the album title is a perfect description of what the album is about. The first aspect of this album that commanded my attention throughout was the eclectic use of instrumentation, the mastery of said instruments and the overall musicality of it. I stress music and instruments because the vocals of the lead singer are not something to die for. He sings passionately and you...

Today, I have the privilege of interviewing my friend and fellow music aficionado Connor Small aka "Husks". Connor is an artist whose life is engulfed by music. He works in the music industry by day and uses his afternoons, nights and weekends to create and produce his original work. He has been involved in music for as long as he can remember, starting off with cherub choir as a kid to being involved in bands and A Capella groups through high school and college. Nowadays, he is working under the name Husks and has two singles out entitled "Corrode" and "Design Me" which you can check out below Connor took some time out of his busy day to speak with Computed Beats. CB: Welcome to Computed Beats CS: Thank you. Thanks for having me. CB: First off, tell me how long have you been involved in music? CS: Pretty much my whole life. I got started in the cherub church choir as a kid when my parents threw me into it. Both my parents have always be...