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Arts

 

Just try to turn off ‘Both Lights’

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)
= Sa SS SE Se

he latest release by AU

| came out on April 2 and

is entitled Both Lights. The
experimental group of ever-
changing artists surrounding
lead man Luke Wyland has once
again created something absurd,
adventurous, and beautiful all at
the same time.

Tracks that feature vocals

are largely sung by Wyland,
occasionally featuring an
accompanying female voice.
However, the album also has its
fair share of instrumental tracks;
the experimentation on the album
though is lively, keeping the
listener ever alert. Rather than find
the switch of styles off-putting,

 

Orange you glad the ship didn’t self-destruct?

AU has gotten the hang of things
over the years to find balance
between every type of track—and
each track truly is its own.

Both Lights starts off with a
bang, as the opening instrumental
track “Epic” features rapid drums
and guitar aggressively meshed
together amidst an excited piano
and many other parts. While not
nearly as thrash-worthy, other fun
pieces include “Get Alive” and
“Why I must.” Things eventually
slow down on tracks like “Crazy
Idol, “The Veil,” and “Go Slow,”
which feature gentle, melodic
cooing by Wyland and long,
drawn out piano compositions.

A stunning piece of work that
perhaps plays things a bit too safe
in the end, Both Lights makes for a
wonderful listen.

 

   

By Zach Roubos, Contributor

(@)\(@)(@\(@)
Se ee

dd-2 is a rapper that’s been
Aten on the Chicago

scene for the past couple
years, having remained largely
unknown outside of his regional
scene. However, that should all
change with the free release of
Add-2’s mixtape, Save.Our. Souls
(March 27), which arrives with co-
signs from Common and producer
9t Wonder, with the latter having
a production credit for the track

“Going Going Gone” on the project.

Aside from the 9" Wonder’s
beats and “Keep Walkin,” which
is produced by Khrysis, most of
the beats are handled by relatively
unknown producers, but this in no
way detracts from the quality. The

the beats coming

 

Fibble: Flick ‘n’ Roll review

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

EX FAFA

ou may be surprised to learn
Yuu Crytek, the company

behind Far Cry (2004) and
the Crysis series, has recently tried
their hand at iOS games. Even more
surprising is that their first game is
a colourful, family-friendly puzzle
called Fibble: Flick ‘n’ Roll (released
March 29).

In Fibble, you take on the role
of the bouncy, orange titular alien.
Fibble and his four pals have crash-
landed into someone’s house, and
now it’s up to the supremely little
guy to reunite the gang and get
out of there. Through a series of
30 levels, dispersed between four
chapters, you charge up and zoom
through obstacle courses with the
help of your space-age buds.

The graphics in this game
are absolutely gorgeous, with the

 

beginning of each chapter featuring
an animated cut scene up to console
standards. As you progress, each
puzzle gets more intricate, from
simply launching in straight lines
to maneuvering through multi-
layered mazes. Points are either
spared or lost as you place your
talented group on the game board
to move you along. Each character
has a special ability (e.g. “Docto”
can switch your direction, “Byte”
operates as a spring), and certain
levels will be designed so that you
can either go without using them or
are highly dependent on them.

While a great deal of time has
clearly been spent on the design
and presentation, Fibble is a very
quick game to beat, even by iOS
standards, clocking in at roughly an
hour of play time. Fibble is definitely
one to own, but wait for the $1.99
price tag to go on sale (especially if
you own an iPad, in which case it’s
$4.99—ouch!).

-

%

sound is largely smooth and soulful
samples based beats with some live
instrumentation sprinkled in. Rest
assured that there are no synths or
808s to be found. This all meshes
nicely with the content, which,
along with the braggadocio that is
typical of hip hop, includes a lot of
socially conscious lyrics. This blend
combines into a perfect storm on
the track “All of the Kings,” when
Add-2 spits about the plights of the
African-American community over
a Charles Bradley sample that is
dripping with soul.

Add-2 is not just a “conscious
rapper” though; he can really spit,
and to prove this, he destroys a
bonus freestyle over Common’s
“Ghetto Dreams.” If you like your
hip hop with substance over swag,
or if you just like hip hop, Save.
Our.Souls is more than worth the

download.