Bilal - Airtight's Revenge

i'm still not over this album (love surreal) even a little bit... any ilx rnb-ists have any recommendations that might scratch the same itch?

i feel like i love a lot of records in this vein but none are coming to mind right now. first van hunt record?

Did you check the Jose James record from last year? No Beginning No End is the name.

xp ha, that's funny, my friend showed me some van hunt after i showed him this bilal, but it was a later record. i'll check out the first one.

haven't heard jose james either, will do. thanks guys!

Also Black Radio 1 (and 2) by Robert Glasper.

Anthony Hamilton with Robert Glasper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq1Nti0LuEM

check out some Anthony Hamilton too

ALSO the latest albums from Amel Larrieux (Ice Cream Everyday) and Goapele (Break of Dawn).

Pretty much EVERYTHING Glasper is gold

you guyyyyyyyys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGKs6U8xdWM

new album with adrian younge apparently, which could be good, or could be too period-focused...

yeah that's a crap shoot, but there's high upside there

airtights revenge is really underrated - ive been listening to it a lot lately. its much better than a love surreal which seemed like him doing whats expected, more or less (though maybe its time for a revisit).

love airtights revenge
hate adrian younge

i listened to airtights and a love surreal today and they both fuckin rule

Couldn't get into Love Surreal apart from West Side Girl. Agree that Airtight's Revenge is really underrated.

the like 2 second sample of "when the levee breaks" in "move on" is hilarious

I just out Airtight on at an afterparty the other night! I never really did get into A Love Surreal tho. Hate Adrian Younge too.

just put on

just started playing this and it's definitely a bilal record

it's also really good? obv

Both of the above posts OTM.

new one sounded great while making dinner last night . i want to dig in more but it sounds like his most reined in, concise album yet?

Definitely

A Love Surreal already felt fairly concise to me (if not "reined in" per se). I feel like this album applies that album's discipline to Airtight Revenge's sonic template, though I haven't yet gone back to AR to confirm whether this is even remotely close to correct.

this tweet made me download this album lol

https://twitter.com/alshipley/status/617116418518028288

:)

Finally cracked into this yesterday. Exciting record. First half sounded great to me; second half was a little harsh but I was listening on bad speakers. I run hot and cold on Adrian Younge (sometimes his retro-ness scans as schticky to me) but his work here sound good

Yeah, this is the first Adrian Younge production I've really had any use for because he's finally working with an artist who pushes against his staid-ness.

who's Adrian Younge

the live drumming on this record is pretty appallingly bad, like the worst drumming i've heard on a 'name' record that wasn't shambolic indie rock shit

did you not like the Ghostface album xp?

the live drumming on this record is pretty appallingly bad, like the worst drumming i've heard on a 'name' record that wasn't shambolic indie rock shit

lol yeah this is such a weird choice

I thought the Ghostface record was a blast, but campiness flatters Ghostface. Haven't gotten around to the sequel yet though

who's Adrian Younge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Younge

And yeah, some of his fake-vintage stuff comes across as plastic to me, esp the drums

the live drumming on this record is pretty appallingly bad, like the worst drumming i've heard on a 'name' record that wasn't shambolic indie rock shit

track examples? i still haven't gotten a chance to listen to the first half, but there were parts in the first half that just seemed like intentionally janky loops.

if this album is as good as sirens (Which was amazing, if a bit short and bitty), i think it might be bilals best album in a while. i think airtights might be his best, followed by the first one, and then love for sale.

many songs on the record are as good as "sirens" which yeah is incredddible

Been listening to a lot of Adrian Younge's productions lately and was looking forward to In Another Life. Those drums sure are hard to get past tho. :(

i would call the drums a little basic sounding maybe, but i don't think i would have noticed so much if not for the convo in this thread. after one listen today i think it's pretty great, "it's definitely a bilal record" otm

production feels less than stellar but the songwriting is lovely

only heard this once, on the train, so not ideal conditions, but the album seems underwritten. i wish he would get someone to write for/with him. nice to hear him screaming a bit though, i miss that side of him.

and the drums - though a bit shoehorned in - are better than some of the drums on his other productions. at least these have some thwack to them, most of the time they sound flattened, or like theyre stuck on a certain preset.

First half is pretty good but I think it gets a little aimless near the end. The song I keep coming back to is "Star Now"

album gets better the more i hear it, though it does still seem a bit underdeveloped in places, like they could have done more with the songs. the repetitiousness of the drum sound is dissappointing after a while but the last song kind of slays me. and sirens is still amazing. i love bilal to death, but while i like that he just keeps making albums, unlike dangelo, i still think he has yet to make an album deserving of his talent. having one producer is one good idea, but a strong writer would help loads i think.

saw him live this evening in london. the relentlessness of younges non-grooves becomes more apparent live, where you just want the drummer to STFU with the breakbeats after a while. i didnt realise how sparse the new album actually is, and not always for the better. his current band are good, though it got samey quite fast to hear virtually every song end in a big rock blow out, like a rock shortcut. i wish bilal took rock's propulsion, speed, and catchiness, rather than just grand 70s heaviosity. airtights revenge worked rock/pop influences in much more subtly. hes still a brilliant performer, and singer, though oddly, he doesnt really give himself much time to relax or stretch out vocally these days, which is a shame.

Lemme tell ya that starting the year hearing Bilal do an extended live jam on "Sometimes" is as good a way to get going as you're likely to get.

what a record

so fucked up on prescription pills
she'll never trust a man again

my ears weren't ready for this album when it came out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epfE8rjLeTs

^^^ really wonderful song