Customer Reviews

Music By Cavelight

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Blockhead is genius. I'm not even talking about "Cavelight" here - Blockhead is genius. Seminally paired with one of indie-rap's most dexterous rhymers, Aesop Rock, he's always laid down some of the most ingriguing, expansive, and mind blowing beats ever commited to vinyl. No joking. Any punduit merely needs to hear the opera voice come in on the chorus to "No Regrets", or the cello that opens "Television", or even the blues guitar that opens "Happy Pills" to get an idea of what this man is capable of.

Which brings us to the debut album of our producer at large. Nothing here is as propulsive as "No Regrets", dancable as "11:35", or direct as "Daylight" (though initial printings came with a bonus disc of 5 Aesop Rock instrumentals along with it). But that isn't what Blockhead is focusing on - if he wanted to make an album of beats you could freestyle over so you could get a Def Jux deal, then he would have, but wisely decided against it. This is a slow, medatative, sorrowful album that is multilayered, multifaceted, and highly emotional.

Yet, Blockhead can still amaze. Take "Hello Popartz" - the opening track. Over a playful keyboard and child-like guitar, he layers on samples of kids saying "Wah! / Wah! / We lost the game because of Blockhead!" It takes a minute, and then you realize what the sample is from - the animated Charlie Brown cartoons. Lucy always used to call Charlie "Blockhead" when he screwed up. The sample use is glorious - smart, self-concious, and just damn witty.

Yet the Block don't stop there. "Carnivores Unite" has an 808-powered drum beat with a strong rising and falling orchestral swell that nearly reaches catharsis (admittedly a groovy catharsis). Single "Insomniac Olympics" uses rusty trupets to conjure the song's title to glorious and haunting effect. "Triptych Part 1" part one uses the producer-trick-of-the-moment (Kanye West-style sped-up soul samples) to an actual tragic effect, as the uses of the repeating lines "There is no greater love" in a manner that remains hooky AND sad in the best possible sense. Highlight "Sunday Seance" starts with a mornful solo piano and transforms it into a synth-horn wash complete with scary girl vocal sample.

But don't think it all tragedy and sadness: "A Better Place" features a mind-bending, Hendrix-like guitar solo that astounds every time. Guitar effects, blues, rock, and otherwise, always tend to appear in the least expected places. Track "Cavelight" even uses a sitar to good effect!

This certainly isn't what the casual Blockhead fan is expecting, but fans of Four Tet, DJ Shadow, and a solemn RJD2 will find oodles of enjoyment. This may be a sad album, but it also just might be one of the best this year.

(Note: odd that two other instrumental albums, El-P's "High Water: Mark" and Broken Social Scene's rereleased "Feel Good Lost" also rank among the best so far in '04. Is instrumental music making a comeback? Hmmmm ...)

This came out about the same time as RJD2's Since We Last Spoke. They are both phenomenal albums.

This album is seperated into two halves, with Triptych breaking the two sections. The first section is moody and layered with jazz samples. It's very downtempo and vibish; very enjoyable. The standout track is A Better Place, just because the bass and Jazz guitar are utterly jaw-dropping. Carnivores Unite is also very good because of it's great horn samples.
The second half of the album is a bit more exotic and the samples are a bit bigger (not literally, they are just less melancholy). I prefer the first part of it, but both are great. Insomniac Olympics are very, very good. Blockhead's drumloops are great.
This also brings a bonus disc of his best work with Aesop Rock and frankly, the whole disc is worth it just because of Daylight.

Overall, this album is great and is recommended along with RJD2's release mentioned at the beginning. Long live Hip Hop!

Completely vocal free aside from the odd sample, the debut from relative Ninja Tune newcomer is a journey to the depths of feeling possible in Hip-Hop. Often today some positively wicked tracks are lost behind second rate vocals like P. Diddy's "Badboys For Life" and Prodigy's ill-fated single "Baby's Got A Temper" where, if provided a touch more attention, the sound alone would triple the quality of the track provided the vocals were completely eradicated. That's never a problem here. While it would be nice to imagine, say, Gift Of Gab or Buck 65 throwing some rhymes over top a track here or there, each one is a pure sound complete in it's own right. While they pretty much all follow the same formula, they sound fresh and invigorating and, at the least, make me hungry for more of the like. It'll be interesting to see what collaborations come his way in upcoming months. Keep your eye out for this one.

Blockhead has long been teamed up with Aesop Rock and responsible for Aesop's dark beats in "Float". When i got word Block was dropping his own album i went to the record store and picked it up. At first I hated it, it seemed to slow and the beats just didnt cut it for me. After a few more listins though, i realized how good the album actually was and i regretted sleeping on it for awhile. Though it may take a few lstins for it to grow on you, "Music by Cvelight" is a good ivvestment all around

this album definitely grows on you. the more i listen to it, the more i like it. unlike most hot shot producers of today, blockhead clearly is from the true school of hip hop and understands that to make a bangin' beat you don't need expensive records to sample or a million dollar studio, all you need are crisp well programmed drums, slick & groovalicious basslines and well placed, tweaked samples. this is for sure not the album to put on to get the party goin, this is head music through and through, perfect night time car music, or absorb it into your brain with headphones. big props to blockhead for the dusty boom bap drums used on this joint along with some very slick basslines, really feelin the tracks with the guitar work by his homey (name escapes me at the moment). i could of done without a few of the vocal samples, especially in the last track, insomniac olympics. the sped up vocal thing is getting a little played out, and frankly slightly annoying. some of the samples are a little dusty as well, pops and hisses are apparent, could be cleaned up a lil better. i would love to see blockhead get some top notch mcs to work with on his next album (please, no aesoprock, i really can't stand that cats flow/voice). check out fat jon, madlib & dj shadow if you're feeling this. expect big things from blockhead in the future, taking hip hop back to its roots.

this has got to be one of the most mind-expandin' collection of good beats ever. It puts deadringer to shame; please pick this up if you like aesop's deeper beats, you won't by any means be disappointed. repeat, please pick this up. The reviews put it to shame, so hear it for yourself.

What can I say about Blockhead? He's your typical Ninja Tune alumni. Keep in mind that this is a good thing. Blockhead is another offering from the predominantly acid jazz and downbeat label, Ninja Tune. Reminiscent of other members of the label (namely Blockhead), he perpetuates the idea that you can never have too much of the acid jazz/downbeat combination by creating a wonderful rainy day (or even every day) album perfect for anyone who knows what to expect from his label.

The album starts out with "Insomniac Olympics" - a track saturated with horns, thick drum beats, and vocalization that sounds exotic in origin. Once the pianos get added to the song, it becomes perfect. It manages to be both melancholy and radiant at the same time. Other tracks like "Sunday Seance", while also more morose in tone, stand apart from "Insomniac Olympics" in its own way. Once again, the vocalization on the track helps to fashion it into something magnificent. As you listen to it, it reminds you of something that you've heard on the soundtrack to a film. Given how much focus and cohesion there is to be found both in this track and many of the others, this sentiment isn't surprising. It fits an image so well that it takes little ease to fashion a movie scene to tie the song to.

"Music By Cavelight" is the type of album that you'll know whether you like or dislike after you listen to one of its tracks. Many of the tracks, while sounding different in construction, have a similar theme and feel throughout the recording. Blockhead's "Downtown Science" LP is different in this regard, yet manages to not live up to the expectations of quality that "Music by Cavelight" establishes for its listeners. "Music by Cavelight" most likely won't brighten your day. Nor is it malleable enough to accompany a wide spectrum of moods. But what it does do well is accompany one or two moods and intensify them to the point that the album becomes cathartic to listen to.

A long time producer whose credits include Aesop Rock and SLug of Atmosphere fame, Blockhead delivers his moody yet basse tale of music by cavelight.I loved this record it comes through with some of the most sublime yet understated hiphop you're likely to hear this year.
...No kinding this was the best 'cure' for my recent breakup...

Blockhead makes decent hip-hop inflected instrumental beats which are a tad more creative than your standard productions, but do not rise to the level of production interest inherent in say a Prefuse 73. Many of the tracks simply work best in their pleasant head-bobbing background context, though a few tracks make apparent Blockhead's abilities to issue more engaging work.

blockhead first came to my attention with his nasty beats collaborating with aesop rock. i decided that maybe i should give his album a try and i bought it online. it may have just been one of the best instrumentals ever produced. all i have to say is that on this entire album, every track makes my heart want to burst. if you can understand that feeling when listening to music, you'll definitely appreciate blockhead's mellow bittersweet style.