Hello, Knights! My name is Daniel Smuskiewicz, a senior here at Central. Throughout my life, music has always been a passion for me; I do most of the music electives here. Specifically, I’ve always enjoyed talking about music that I enjoy, and I thought, what other way to recommend and review new and old music to write about right here in The Knight Times? This issue, I’ve gathered three projects from different artists and discussed my feelings on them for you to enjoy.
Jessie Ware- That! Feels! Good!
Genres: Pop/R&B, Disco Revival
UK pop veteran Jessie Ware returns after her critically acclaimed 2020 album What’s Your Pleasure?. After that project became one of the most beloved pop records of the pandemic era and a rare beacon of positivity during that period, many eyes were on this new release with many wondering how she could top it, and after listening to this most recent effort, I would say she met those high expectations. To begin, the title track is a fantastic way to re-introduce the listener to Ware’s signature sound after three years, featuring a driving baseline, layered horns, and passionate vocals. This quality sound persists through lead single “Free Yourself”, which is already in the running for one of the best tracks of the year for me: a classic house/dance throwback that would fit in with any festival. The main lyrical topic of this album is love and the many ways it can be expressed, whether that be intimacy, the happiness felt by seeing a partner for the first time in a while, or self confidence- the joy that you experience getting yourself back on your feet. The sound of this record perfectly encapsulates said feelings- listening to it for the first time essentially captures the feeling of falling in love with something or someone. This album can be thoroughly enjoyed by anyone, as it has the striking ability to bring the listener out of any slump that they are in, and as Ware eloquently puts it, “shake it ‘till the pearls fall off”. True pop perfection.
Favorite tracks: “That! Feels! Good!”, “Free Yourself”, “Pearls”, “Hello Love”, “Begin Again”, “Shake The Bottle”, “These Lips”
My score: Light 9/10
Pitchfork score: 8.3/10
Teezo Touchdown- How Do You Sleep At Night?
Genre: Alternative Hip Hop/R&B
Recently, eccentric Texas singer/rapper Teezo Touchdown has captured the attention of the alternative rap scene with his enigmatic personality and unorthodox vocal performances, even getting prominent features on recent albums by big names such as Tyler, The Creator and Travis Scott. He has been making music since around 2021, but there have been rumors about his debut for around six months now, and now it’s finally here, but how does it sound? Well, to be honest, there’s a lot of room for improvement here. It’s clear that Teezo knows how to craft a good concept for a track; there are some really heartfelt and personal messages scattered throughout the album, but his inexperience shows in his songwriting; there are a lot of lines here that are awkward and borderline corny. Along with this, there are some weak instrumental moments that weaken an otherwise good track. For instance, the closing track, which builds into an electronic section that sounds like a bad Geometry Dash level. In my opinion, the biggest issue with this project is that it tries too hard to sound different and alternative to other artists that drop music today. There’s nothing inherently wrong with an album where mostly every track has a different style, but there are some occasions of tonal whiplash among the sounds of some of these tracks. Even though I didn’t enjoy this project that much, I absolutely believe that Touchdown has the vocal chops and talent to do better, not every debut will strike good.
My Score: Decent 4/10
Pitchfork: 5.3
Favorite Tracks: “UUHH”, “Impossible”, “Familiarity”, “Daddy Mama Drama”
Classic Recommendation: MF DOOM and Madlib- Madvillainy
Genre: Alternative/Experimental Hip Hop
Around the mid-2000s, the career of legendary rapper MF DOOM was still blossoming, he just needed that extra push to launch himself into stardom. This muse ended up being an upstart producer from New York who had crossed paths with DOOM before properly working with him at his record label: Madlib. The album that came out of this meeting of the minds is one of the most iconic and timeless records in the history of hip hop. Throughout this project, Madlib crafts eccentric, layered, and catchy beats for DOOM to perfectly utilize his signature style of rapping, using his extensive vocabulary to create almost tongue twisters, while still sounding effortlessly cool in the process. The light concept of this project is two supervillains trying to show everyone else in the rap scene that they’re on top, which is beautifully executed on the opening track “The Illest Villains”, a sound collage of multiple samples exclaiming the background of the two characters. Speaking of which, the samples that Madlib uses are absolutely insane on this project, there is a track that includes recordings from over fifty sources! This album is without question one of the best in the genre’s history, and will be remembered for decades to come. Just remember, all caps when you spell the man’s name. Rest in peace, MF DOOM!
