Do Make Say Think Stubborn Persistent Illusions Constellation Records While Canada has a rich and diverse history of musical expression, few genres are so indebted to our cold, northern climate as post-rock, and Montreal’s Constellation Records have been at the forefront of the often scoffed-at niche for so long that no other label even really comes close. Sure, there are other ‘big’ instrumental groups, ones that have managed to grace film scores and art installations alike, but none are so deserving of their due as Do Make Say Think, and Stubborn Persistent Illusions — the collective’s first record in eight years — isn’t so much another fitting transplant into the swell of Canada’s post-rock repertoire as it is a life-affirming appreciation of the expressive power of sound in its purest form. As though brimming with energy from their almost-decade away, Do Make Say Think open up Stubborn Persistent Illusions with “War on Torpor,” a five-and-a-half minute anthem of panicked percussion, fired off with a frenetic urgency reminiscent of the crescendoing buildups of 2000’s Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead. From there, “Horripilation” slips in as the Yin to “Torpor’s” Yang, showcasing the archetypal Do Make Say Think: sliding bass lines as addictive as any earworm, brief reposes of crystalline flittering held together by the puncture of drum-strikes, and enough turns to keep from dragging out its emotional stay, before slipping in ceaselessly to the shuddering “A Murder of Thoughts.” But the tides of Stubborn Persistent Illusions find no break on the shores of a lacklustre middle ground, instead only being amplified on “Bound” (along with its sister-track “And Boundless”) resulting in a bombastic expression of ephemera, pent-up emotion, left-field signature-switches and sheer rhythm as it rushes ahead undeterred. The first two tracks released from Stubborn Persistent Illusions, “Bound” and “And Boundless,” represent some of the strongest, most rhythmically jarring, and downright exciting sound-shifts since “Mladic,” from fellow Constellation label-mate Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Polaris-prize winning album ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! in 2012 (another track forged from extended hiatus and triumphant return). The latter half of the album finds the instrumental group honing their introspective skills, and from the placid “Her Eyes on the Horizon” through to the hopefully melancholic “Return, Return Again,” the group further explores the swelling, humming fragility found across many of the records from Constellation’s stellar roster. In their eight year absence, Do Make Say Think have managed to reinforce their sound without stagnation, returned to familiar rhythms without relying on tropes, and Stubborn Persistent Illusions strikes down the notion that instrumentalists offer nothing but lackadaisical ambiance. • Alec Warkentin 52 | APRIL <strong>2017</strong> • BEATROUTE Drake More Life Universal Music Canada Drake’s newest album, More Life, is stylized as a “playlist” by the rapper for a good reason. While the track listing is 22 songs long, it feels like he’s unable to get a coherent message across to listeners. With a few catchy tunes that are both like and unlike Drake’s usual style, the overall theme of the album seems like something we’ve heard before. Solo tracks make rare appearances on this album, with most songs including features from a variety of artists like grime dons Skepta and Giggs, to South African house mainstay Black Coffee, to a cast of many including Jorja Smith, Sampha, Quavo, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, Kanye West, and PartyNextDoor. It’s not surprising that Drake’s OVO label mate PartyNext- Door is featured on the album either, continuing a long trend of Drake hooks carrying the Toronto auto-crooner’s career. It’s these lacklustre coincidences that make the playlist less than perfect. It doesn’t help that Drake’s lyrical content covers well worn territory. Drake’s celebration of success, word of warning to the haters, and pining for women, are all themes that have been heavily overdone by him already. What’s new on this album? Its sound is disconnected, from a relatively interesting, house-influenced “Passionfruit” to what sounds like Drake’s attempt at a club hit, the Black Coffee sampling “Get It Together.” “Portland” sounds like a beat he’s used in previous albums, with added panflute. While grime features like Giggs and Skepta definitely add value to the “playlist,” their lyricism sometimes end up standing out and being simply laughable, finishing off “KMT” with the lyric, “Batman/da-na-nada-na.” Looking past what’s not working on this album, some tracks do have some saving elements. The aforementioned “Passionfruit” sounds like Drake has finally realized that making things sound less like Drake means they’re commercially successful. In the same way “One Dance” infected, or rather still infects, top 40 radio stations, so can we expect “Passionfruit” to follow a similar path. It’s no surprise that the Kanye West-featuring “Glow” is a playlist highlight. “Watch out for me/I’m bound to glow” won’t go down as one of Kanye’s most lyrically complex hooks, but it has that signature Kanye infectiousness that adds to an otherwise mediocre track. Overall, it seems like the album was a lot of tracks that Drake had nothing to do with anymore, which explains the “playlist” stylization of the album. Individually, the songs are decent to listen to, and it’s the Drake fans are used to and that’s about it. Fans of Drake don’t expect revolutionary music from the rapper, but rarely does his music feel like this much of a grab bag. • Amber McLinden Future FUTURE / HNDRXX A1/ Freebandz / Epic The king of trap and mumble rap returns to the ad-lib battle with something to prove, releasing two chart-topping albums in two consecutive weeks. Unfortunately for Future, this is now a post-Migos kingdom that is difficult to conquer without a Quavo feature. There’s no denying Future’s tireless work ethic, but it’s also his biggest downfall. Instead of creating one great album, Future took the time to create two bloated albums with practically no features or variety. FUTURE, the first of the two projects, showcases the Atlanta rapper’s shallow and generic lifestyle that comes with fame. The lines about money, drugs, and broads in Atlanta dominate every track, but they are largely forgettable and uncreative. On “Might as Well,” Future sounds particularly unconvincing despite his ad-libs suggesting otherwise: “Either way it goes/We buyin’ out the stores (for real)/We ain’t never runnin’ out of lean (never).” Future does his best to heat up the frozen dish he’s serving even though it would simply taste better if it were fresh. Although Southside dominates the production credits on this album, you wouldn’t be able to tell without looking it up. Every trap beat fulfills its purpose well enough, but only a few tracks stand out from the rest of the pack. The same could be said for Future’s rapping on this project: it just does enough to be marketable and enjoyable, but it turns stale after a few listens. While there’s no track on FUTURE that compares to “Xanny Family” off EVOL, songs like “Scrape” and “Zoom” feature varied production and elite ad-libs that will impress all connoisseurs of hip-hop. There are a few other standout tracks, but the album would really benefit from a feature. Anyone - hell, even Yo Gotti - would help break up the Future fatigue. HNDRXX, the second album, is reminiscent of Future’s R&B days. Fans of 2014’s Honest will likely prefer this album to the first, but it suffers from the exact same problems, heightened by the two main features on the album. Predictably, two of the best songs are “Coming Out Strong” featuring The Weeknd and “Selfish” featuring Rihanna. These two singers break up the Future fatigue perfectly, both for the listener and for Future himself. It seems like Future is at his best when he is riding off the energy of other artists, so it’s disappointing he didn’t borrow the talents of his peers for these two projects. Future can hold it down without help on a few tracks, but he’s not offering enough individually for two 17-track albums. Almost as to apologize for the two overly long albums, Future drops the mic with “Sorry.” This track showcases what Future can do when he’s possessed by a beat, exorcising record sales and dollar signs from his mind for over seven minutes. The keys on this track are simple, evoking Kanye’s “Runaway,” but they are memorable and expressive. Switching up his flow constantly, Future balances his showboating with refreshing bars about fame scaring him. If every solo Future track sounded this inspired, he would have no competition. Unfortunately, that won’t happen until he realizes less is more. Until then, he’s constantly sabotaged by his own ambition. • Paul McAleer
BEATROUTE • APRIL <strong>2017</strong> | 53
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