Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All goes bananas at SXSW

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All was one of the most anticipated acts atSXSW, and from what I hear, they didn’t disappoint. 

The California collective, especially standout Tyler, the Creator -- also took the time to spazz the fuck out.

Tyler demanded that someone, “man the fuck up” after he was hit in the nose by a Mountain Dew bottle during one set (first video). Predictably, the offender refrained from manning the fuck up, with the foresight that his confession would lead to a swift beat down that would be recorded and go viral soon after.  It’s a sad world we live in where you can’t even get your ass beat discretely without the incident spreading across Youtube the next day.

Even though he got popped in the face, Tyler also dealt out some pain to the audience when he reportedly broke a fan’s nose on accident after diving into the crowd from atop a speaker (second video).

To top things off, OFWGKTA stormed off the stage during one performance because of frustrations over technical difficulties (third video).

I guess boys will be boys?

Music Review: Nostalgia, ULTRA

Frank Ocean

Nostalgia, ULTRA

Self released

February 16

4.5/5

Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, ULTRA is refreshing, but still holds familiar elements of popular R&B, as the singer blends prodigious lyricism, polished vocals and infectious beats to great effect.

       

Relatively speaking, Ocean is an oddball compared to the other young debauchees in Odd Future Wolfgang Kill Them All. The 23-year-old crooner is happily hedonistic much like other members of the upstart hip-hop collective; but his subject matter is much less grotesque.

Ocean’s superior songwriting skills are his debut album’s most striking strength.

Nostalgia, ULTRA is written with a high degree of lyrical intent and depth, regardless of if Ocean is wailing that people must “believe in something” on the doleful, soulful, “We All Try,” or if he’s singing playfully about leveraging his musical talents to woo women on the brashly comical “Songs For Women.”

Another standout track is the bouncy “Novacane,” a song about Ocean’s indulgences in drugs and sex — and about how he “can’t feel nothing” despite these pleasures.

Ocean offers more intriguing wordplay on 808-laced tracks “Dust,” “Love Crimes” and gives a stirring, passionate effort on the heavy-hearted “There will Be Tears,” his rendition of British star Mr. Hudson’s 2008 song by the same name. Keeping with his borrowing ways, Ocean samples the Eagles, “Hotel California” for one of the album’s biggest attractions, “American Wedding,” a sobering, downbeat take on love and matrimony. 

Nostalgia, Ultra is packed with R&B tracks you can nod your head to, while soaking in silky smooth vocals and dissecting insightful lyrics with minimal sonic distractions. The album isn’t overproduced and Ocean appears to have a great ear for beats that compliment his voice. As a bonus, he rarely auto-tunes himself, which is, of course, the next best thing to no auto-tune.

While the album features Ocean singing over a typical mixture of electro, soft rock, hip-hop, dance and soul beats, the content of his music is far more creative and diverse than most artists on the R&B landscape. Ocean is open and passionate, and doesn’t shy from taking listeners through every twist and turn of his existential crisis.