Kendrick Lamar: New Album First Listen

Here is the track-listing. Exciting, huh?

untitled unmastered.:

01 untitled 01 | 08.19.2014.
02 untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.
03 untitled 03 | 05.28.2013.
04 untitled 04 | 08.14.2014.
05 untitled 05 | 09.21.2014.
06 untitled 06 | 06.30.2014.
07 untitled 07 | 2014 – 2016
08 untitled 08 | 09.06.2014.

Here is the link to the Pitckfork story about the new Kendrick Lamar album. Exciting, huh?
Kendrick Lamar Releases New Album untitled unmastered.

Here is a link to an Independent story about the new Kendrick Lamar album containing some “scattered, excited thoughts”.

Kendrick Lamar surprise new album ‘untitled unmastered.’: First listen and impressions

Here is a quote from the Independent story about the new Kendrick Lamar album:

Kendrick takes the whole free jazz thing he had going on with TPAB and pushes it even further. Saxophones trill as though falling down a flight of stairs, bass lines wander and piano riffs glow. Drums are, again, (mostly) more acoustic in feel than the whole ‘shut-tut-tut-tut-tut’ artificial hi-hats thing most rappers have going on right now.

Wow. Let me repeat that cliché for you. Saxophones trill as though falling down a flight of stairs. You do not need to hear the new Kendrick Lamar album to write that, trust me. Nor do you need to hear it to write bass lines wander and piano riffs glow.

Here is another quote from the same story, which goes to underpin how folk like Kendrick dropping shit like this on us from out of nowhere undermines many trad music critics’ sense of security. I mean, these track titles make this read like nonsense.

If some of these tracks sound familiar, it’s because ‘untitled 03’ is the song Kendrick performed on Colbert, ‘untitled 04’ the one from Fallon. Part of Kendrick’s “untitled 08” verse was also used for remixes of Funkadelic’s “Ain’t That Funkin Kinda Hard on You.”

Here is a comment I left on Facebook after hearing the news of the new Kendrick Lamar release, about the effect such manouevring has upon the critic’s ability to criticise within online environments – i.e. it has no effect at all, not if they admit their new function. No one will pay attention to me though, not for years yet. So I removed the comment again.

at least now you are freed of the encumberance of having to describe the music (something which was always music criticism’s major failing). at least now you are free to spread your wings and write what the hell you like.

Fly free, little birdies! Fly free.

Anyway. Here is my review.

01 untitled 01 | 08.19.2014.

Sounds great. Have not had time to fully assimilate.

02 untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.

Sounds great. Have not had time to fully assimilate.

03 untitled 03 | 05.28.2013.

Have not had a chance to listen to yet beyond the opening minute, far less fully assimilate, but my editor is screaming at me down the phone.

04 untitled 04 | 08.14.2014.

Have not had a chance to listen to yet, far less fully assimilate, but my editor is screaming at me down the phone.

05 untitled 05 | 09.21.2014.

Have not had a chance to listen to yet, far less fully assimilate, but my editor is screaming at me down the phone.

06 untitled 06 | 06.30.2014.

Have not had a chance to listen to yet, far less fully assimilate, but my editor is screaming at me down the phone.

07 untitled 07 | 2014 – 2016

Have not had a chance to listen to yet, far less fully assimilate, but my editor is screaming at me down the phone.

08 untitled 08 | 09.06.2014.

Eight tracks? Jesus.