As we approach the half-way point (soonish anyway) of this project, I want some feedback. Does anyone want more of this? I know I've always said this blog is for my own entertainment above all, and I stand by that, but if at least one person is enjoying this perspective of my favourite albums, which is far more personal than most of my reviews, I'd be more than happy to do more. Top artists, songs or even more of my top albums are all options. I'm not deluded enough to think anyone will respond to this, but I can still asking, as I'm aware at least a few people are glancing at these posts (thus why this plea is at the start of the post and not the bottom, as usual). Anyway, a return to the albums.
Asa prelude to this album, I must state that this is the most recent release of all of my albums on this list. The release years of the five in order are 09, 09, 11, 10, 10. I know this sounds unrealistic, five albums that are my greatest ever being released within 3 years, but that's just my opinion. Overall, I do call 2009 the greatest year of music, but I'm sure very few will agree with me. Well, last post I called Nirvana overrated, so why stop alienating people now? My next album is the fifth and most recent album of one of my all time favourites. Although none of my top three songs by this group is on this album, it's what led me to respect them as much as I do now, as it broke them out of the genre they had been placed in by society. The album?
Future Shade by The Herd (2011)
I'm aware many will consider this the second hip-hop album on my list, and from the reputation The Herd have, I'd understand that. But one thing must be made clear: This is not just a hip-hop album. Yes, there are two or three hip-hop tracks. That's to be expected from a group containing two well-known rappers. This album defies genre. And I fucking adore it for that. I love this album for exactly the same reason I dislike parts of the Hilltop Hoods' album. This is the perfect ammunition for any argument involving the Australian hip-hop genre. MC's can't do anything but rap? All hip-hop groups are the same? Hip-hop isn't art/music? I don't like the Herd? This single album will combat all of those statements. Of course, the exact same people will just re-phrase it to exclude The Herd. This album is one word: Organic. I can't explain it in words. Everything about this album screams the artists are doing exactly what they want to do. This is a celebration of a decade of freedom, living in a world they love, living a career they adore. I've heard solo albums by Ozi Batla, Unkle Ho & Urthboy (and would kill for Jane Tyrrell to release a solo album), and this album was so very clearly an artistic collision that ended with the best possible album. Previous albums had been clearly been dominated by hip-hop with the work of Unkle Ho being pushed to a corner, being released on the album, almost as if he had been making his own tracks while everyone else was doing their thing. This album solved this.
I don't know where to start with this. I suppose the music will be the starting point, and if anything else needs to be mentioned, so be it.
Looking at the track listing for this album, there are very few songs I want to isolate and discuss, and this is a sign of a fantastic album by my standards. A good album should not be a drawn out wait for that one song you like to play. That is not an album, but more a single with too many B-sides. This album is an experience, and I do not use the term lightly. This is the only album on this list I would use such a term with, even in regards to the other two albums on this list. They are fantastic, but they are mere collections of songs. This album is a single entity, and I feel that the singles are nowhere near capable of conveying that entity, which is unfortunate.
Let's begin at the beginning. Upon my first listening to this album I was honestly rather disappointed. I was expecting a fun, anger-fueled dig at Australia's problems. I hate that that was my first impression. Then the album ended and I listened to it again, aware that this was not Summerland. I had goosebumps all over me at that stage. This album is a revelation in my musical experience. Only one artist has ever completely remade their image like this, and they will be discussed later in this series. Spin Cycle is the first track, being about the political process. polling, advertising and propaganda. There is brilliant wordplay, humor, emotion and just an overall sense of desperation. This desperation, or perhaps frustration, is present throughout the album, It doesn't feel like the usual desperation you hear in music: desperation to sell, to stand out, to be different, to be like someone else, to be someone else or even just a desperation to be finished. These are not the kinds of desperation this album conveys. This album conveys an exhaustion with attempting to make change. The Herd had been releasing politically motivated, inspiring and critical music for an entire decade upon this album's release, and they had changed. Some might say they had lost their energy, and I'd understand how you could reach that conclusion, but I would never agree with it. I think The Herd have gotten the volatile emotions out of their system. The seemingly endless rage, the noise, the impulse to scream as loud as you can until someone hears you. These are all emotions which can be artfully articulated by the hip-hop genre, and that is how The Herd conveyed their thoughts until Future Shade. In Future Shade, it is clear they have evolved. The sounds are more sophisticated, the lyrics more intelligent and less upfront about what they are saying. The Herd learnt that the best way to convey a message is not to shout until people hear, but rather to draw the people near with beautiful sounds, only to explain what they feel when these people inquire. The Herd learnt subtlety. And this subtlety is exactly what I missed upon first listening. I was expecting what the Herd had always done: easily digestible noise, with a message neatly presented to all who happen to hear so much as a single one of their lyrics. I still enjoy this music, and it certainly has a place in the world, but there is plenty of it. Not much of it as good as The Herd, but still there is plenty out there. This album was The Herd realising that they needed to be different to attract an audience that had always felt alienated by their politics, anger and even just their genre. The album was as heartfelt as any before, but just less obvious. Anyway, Spin Cycle is a fantastic song, with the haunting backing vocals of Jane Tyrrell (please release a solo album. Please!), the clever wordplay and storytelling of the MC's and all to the fantastic sounds of the remaining Herd.
The next track on the album is my favourite by far, despite my inability to find a message in it. Although the song tells a fascinating story about the lives of several members of The Herd, this song is probably the closest you can find for a parallel to "Zug Zug" on this album. putting the music before all else. How the fuck this wasn't the lead single will always mystify me. "A Thousand Lives" is the name of this track, and I'll most certainly explore it more in depth in my next post.
This part of the album list is rather short, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to post next. My apologies.
As a final piece of information, today I alphabetised my album collection, and found that I have albums by only three artists that begin with the letter "H". I challenge any reader to guess the name of the one that does not appear on this album list.
All feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
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