Eclectic Eavesdroppings

The much adored Lupe Fiasco just let loose the first single off his upcoming double-album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album and it’s pretty special folks. Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free) is a political song with some potent lyrics and features the classic horn riffs from They Reminisce Over You (TROY) by Pete Rock in 1992. This will be Lupe’s fourth album and he’s feeling good about it as he says:

“I wanted to go back to the frame of mind and essence of what made my first album so good. It’s Lupe Fiasco without the industry constraints or trying to please anyone. It’s a fucking masterpiece!”

We’ve got to wait until September 25 to judge wether it’s as good as he reckons but this smooth track will do perfectly for the time being:

I’m gonna keep this short because I can’t succinctly put my excitement into words; I’m off to Watch The Throne at the London 02 arena this Friday. Finally getting to see Kanye West and Jay-Z, my two all time favourite artists on the same night. It don’t get much better than this folks!

Having ditched the synth-pop template employed on their last couple albums, The Mystery Jets return with a rockier fourth effort called Radlands. The boys from Eel Pie Island couldn’t find the necessary inspiration in the English isles so headed to Austin, Texas: “the furthest place from everything we know.” Fear not though, whilst there are clear touches of Americana (desert references, southern twang and the occasional influence from The Eagles) the album is still drenched in their trademark British indie-rock.

Regrettably, one of their band-mates dropped out on the eve of the album, but thankfully their solid song-writing is still very much intact as can be heard on Sister Everett above; a wacky number inspired by a nun the band met on the plane over to the States. Another strong moment comes on the song Greatest Hits featured below: written about a drawn out argument with an ex-girlfriend about who gets what in their shared record collection. Bizarre but brilliant.

Their previous album, Serotonin, struck a special chord with me. And whilst I’ve only given this one a handful of spins, it’s shaping up to be a beauty.

Great album artwork from some fellow called Brandun DeShay.