I mentioned Xzibit last week, and Classified is ripping him off in so many wonderful ways in Hard To Be Hip Hop. Feeling Fine is just screaming vintage hip hop, complete with a great jazz-influenced lead vocal break that simply tears up the song.

Even when the album is a little more hardcore and taking influence from gangster rap, like with Cheap Talk and Eminem-influenced Put It All In Perspective, Classified is still having a lot of fun. Hip hop is one of those genre’s that should always be fun, but it drowns in in its own seriousness so often that the genre often just loses its appeal. But Classified is just having fun, and when I listen to Hitch Hikin’ Music, so am I.

Every single song on Hitch Hikin’ Music has an awesome beat and a great flow. This is what an underground rapper sounds like when he’s at his prime. The only issue I have with long hip hop records like this is that they’re usually filled with skits or fluff. In Classified’s case, this record doesn’t have either. There is one skit, but it’s also a song. Classified managed to make a skit all about writing a great song, and going through the process. It sounds stupid, but it’s amazing. Give Beatin It a listen. This is good stuff.

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Listen to Malleable Beings. If you want to be taken to another place, one far away from the world of work and responsibilities, and one where you can just be, I dare you to find a song better than this. This whole album is like a dream.

Some of the songs are reminiscent of great bands. Listen to A Lesson From Mr. Gray — the song reminds me so much of vintage U2 that it’s uncanny. I’m absolutely in love with the whole thing. Young is also a fantastic song with a really catchy chorus. It reminds me a bit of Simon And Garfunkel, as far as its dynamics go. When Christina, the female singer, is given the lead on songs like Cold Kind Hand, the album takes on a whole different twist.

Despite its laid back nature, States is filled with variety. Personally, in the later half of the album, I’m a sucker for Tenenbaum. This group is really enjoyable. States is the first record from The Paper Kites, and I can’t wait to see what else they come up with.

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Listen to Everything Is Everything — its opening lines immediately set the tone for what’s by far the most surprising Phoenix song you’ve ever heard if you’ve only heard their recent work (anything from and since It’s Never Been Like That):

Things are gonna change,
And not for better.
Don’t know what it means to me,
But it’s hopeless, hopeless.

The song is really well-written from a musical standpoint, and utterly refreshing to hear Phoenix doing something like this after getting used to their electronic pop. (Even long-time listeners will appreciate this trip down memory lane.) The whole album just flies by.

Run Run Run is great, and reminds me of some off-the-wall post–2000s alternative rock we used to always hear. I’m An Actor is seriously influenced, believe it or not, by Green Day (and you’ll know exactly what I mean when you hear it).

(You Can’t Blame It On) Anybody hints at what was to come from Phoenix later, as does Holdin’ On Together. And considering it’s the titular track, Alphabetical is surprisingly slow and introspective.

When you’re done listening to the whole album, you’re going to want to listen again. My advice? Just start at the beginning and hit the Repeat All button. Save yourself the trouble in advance.

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Great. Now that you’re back, let me ask you a question. Why haven’t you heard of The Submarines before? I already know your answer: you don’t know. And neither do I.

If you think that The Submarines might only have one good song, I challenge you to listen to Fire, which is only the second track on the album after Shoelaces, and tell me it’s not good. That’s pretty much how this record goes. The whole thing, from top to bottom, is a joy.

I’d love to write about every track on this album, but that would be unspeakably cruel to you as a reader. You’ve got to hear a few of these though. The Sun Shines at Night has one of those catchy choruses where everybody shouts instead of singing, and it works really well. It’s a great song about falling in love. I don’t mean that in a cheesy, overly-sentimental way. It’s just fun. But my favourite track comes right after that.

Listen to Birds. This song is so catchy that I could fall asleep and wake up to it without a problem. When they sing, “What if everything’s alright?”, I feel like I’m being pick up off the ground. It is alright. That’s everything I ever want to hear. If you want to listen to one track from this one and then move on, make it that one.

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The real complaint a lot of people have about Magipie and the Dandelion is that it sounds overproduced, or more like the Avetts are buried in the production. I can hear that, but I think people are wrong. This is The Avett Brothers at both their most energetic and their most melancholic. When they’re energetic, they’re on top of their game.

Open Ended Life is such a beautiful opener and filled with the sort of energy I’ve come to expect from these guys when they really let loose. It also sounds like traditional ho-down country at occasion, which some will find nauseating. I think it’s refreshing. Another Is Waiting is one of those fast-paced rockers that I swear I’ve heard the Avetts do before. But at the same time, it’s fresh. It’s youthful. And youthful is definitely the vibe these boys are going for with this record. Skin And Bones fits the Avett Brothers quite well.

When they slow down, despite a slow start with some earlier slow tracks, the Avetts still really know how to perform. Vanity is just perfect. Bring Your Love To Me is just a sweet, calm song (and it sounds great live). The Clearness Is Gone is just sad, but its organ sound reminds me of the older Avett Brothers stuff in the best way possible. But I think the saddest song, the one that might induce some actual tears from a couple listeners, could be Part From Me.

Some people talk about how The Avett Brothers feel like they’re not breaking any new ground with this record. Other people, like me, aren’t tired of them yet. I don’t need them to break new ground. I just need them to keep being awesome. This is well worth the listen.

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