6/15: The Libertines' Up The Bracket: An enthusiastic and infectious debut, though
perhaps a bit bittersweet in hindsight.
Why? Apparently though I’ve listened to their
self-titled I missed this somehow, so it was time to rectify that.
Additional Thoughts: I wish my view of
the Libertines (and the connected band, Dirty Pretty Things) wasn’t so colored
by all the drama and drugs. I wish that, but I suppose that can’t be avoided
sometimes. In this instance it mostly makes me sad, because this album sounds
so enthusiastic and… man, I can’t help but wish for some alternate universe
where it hadn’t gone to hell.
6/16: Nate Ruess' Grand Romantic: Restraint doesn't seem Ruess' forte and I, for one, am very glad for that.
6/16: Nate Ruess' Grand Romantic: Restraint doesn't seem Ruess' forte and I, for one, am very glad for that.
Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: I saw some compare this record to Some Nights and while he does quote the title track, for me, this feels closer to the bombast of Aim & Ignite. I love the bombast and I love his intensity. He has such a powerful voice, both in terms of technical range/ability and his sincerity. Also, there’s this lyric from “Moment”: "And when I think about the ways / That you never waste your breath to say you love me / How you always held your lost loves above me / As you kept your other hand on the door,” ooof, too close to home, Nate. Too. Close.
6/17: Leon Bridges' Coming Home: A debut as impeccably crafted and timeless as the classic soul that inspires Bridges.
Additional Thoughts: I saw some compare this record to Some Nights and while he does quote the title track, for me, this feels closer to the bombast of Aim & Ignite. I love the bombast and I love his intensity. He has such a powerful voice, both in terms of technical range/ability and his sincerity. Also, there’s this lyric from “Moment”: "And when I think about the ways / That you never waste your breath to say you love me / How you always held your lost loves above me / As you kept your other hand on the door,” ooof, too close to home, Nate. Too. Close.
6/17: Leon Bridges' Coming Home: A debut as impeccably crafted and timeless as the classic soul that inspires Bridges.
Why? NPR First Listen. I read their description
and windmill slammed listen: “A young singer who works in the mode of classic
soul, Leon Bridges' songs are made with deep respect and bottomless affection,
and his studied appropriations are so detailed that they come alive.”
Additional Thoughts: I get the feeling
Bridges might be a divisive artist - among music writers anyway. Some critics
don’t take too kindly to artists who so prominently wear on their sleeve how
indebted they are to the past; others eat it up (including me, in this case.) I
touched on this idea a little when I discussed Alabama Shakes back in April. While
I do think some people maybe revere the past too much and hold it on too high a
pedestal, I also think there is value in preservation and reinvention of the
past. There are always going to be artists who try to push for completely new
things and of course that has value, but being new doesn’t automatically make
it good just as being old school doesn’t automatically make something good.
Anyway. This is all just rambling speculation on my part so that I have
something to talk about here, because really Coming Home is impeccable. Like I’ve said before, some albums and
songs are so good you simply can’t break them apart and analyze them.
6/18: Jack White's Lazaretto: "That Black Bat Licorice" makes me feel like I
just got into a fight.
Why? I suddenly remembered I had yet to check
this out.
Additional Thoughts: And speaking of
artists with great affinity for the past, my main man, Jack White. Now, I loved
his first solo album, Blunderbuss,
but this album, frankly, knocked me on my ass. I described Sparks’ Hello Young
Lovers as being chased by a runaway train and while that might also be fitting
here, the fight analogy works, too. The album mercilessly yanks you back and
forth, musically and lyrically. He’s a musical madman and even in individual
songs there’s no predicting where they’ll end.
6/19: Active Child's Mercy: Beautifully crafted and delicate, but I feel like the latter
often works against it.
Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: This album
immediately reminded me of Caribou’s Our
Love, which I discussed some weeks ago. Both have similar willowy falsetto
vocals and central themes (love and loss.) I didn’t really connect with Our Love, but it did have some grooves
that one could hold onto; Mercy, as I
said, is very delicate and that often causes songs to disappear in the ether
once they’re over. It’s a nice listen when it’s happening, but doesn’t stick,
at least not for me.
6/20: Dr. Feelgood's Malpractice: While "pub rock" might be more suited to a live setting this is still bluesy and fun.
6/20: Dr. Feelgood's Malpractice: While "pub rock" might be more suited to a live setting this is still bluesy and fun.
Why? It had been sitting in my Spotify “queue”
for a while.
Additional Thoughts: I can’t lie; a big
reason for this album being in my queue is the influence Dr. Feelgood had on
Franz Ferdinand, which becomes more apparent when looking at bands’ live shows than
listening to this. Honestly, I’m not really feeling this album and I think that’s
due to the fact that they are so obviously a live band. I just get the sense that the show would be miles away
from this and no recording could truly capture it. Incidentally, that’s a
problem Franz run into as well. Go figure, eh?
6/22: Soap&Skin's Narrow: A bit short, but so raw and dark it packs more of an emotional punch than albums twice its length.
6/22: Soap&Skin's Narrow: A bit short, but so raw and dark it packs more of an emotional punch than albums twice its length.
Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.
Additional Thoughts: According to Wikipedia, this album is “sadcore,” which seems a bit reductive and insulting (as genre labels often are). It’s also described as “neoclassical dark wave,” which seems a better fit from what I read about it. Genre talk aside, this album is intense and heavy and given that it was created after the death of Soap&Skin’s father, I suppose it’s appropriate. Even though the music itself isn’t always loud or heavy, lyrically the album is always dealing with some deep pain and dark imagery and metaphors (“Vacuum of God / Gobbets of me / Wrapped in tissue through the side blow”). “Deathmental” and “Big Hand Nails Down” are two tracks where the music is heavy, foreboding, and plain terrifying. I don’t know if I like it, per se, but the album certainly makes an impression.
6/24: Adele's 21: Break-ups inspire a lot of righteous anger; luckily this also contains introspection and self-awareness.
Additional Thoughts: According to Wikipedia, this album is “sadcore,” which seems a bit reductive and insulting (as genre labels often are). It’s also described as “neoclassical dark wave,” which seems a better fit from what I read about it. Genre talk aside, this album is intense and heavy and given that it was created after the death of Soap&Skin’s father, I suppose it’s appropriate. Even though the music itself isn’t always loud or heavy, lyrically the album is always dealing with some deep pain and dark imagery and metaphors (“Vacuum of God / Gobbets of me / Wrapped in tissue through the side blow”). “Deathmental” and “Big Hand Nails Down” are two tracks where the music is heavy, foreboding, and plain terrifying. I don’t know if I like it, per se, but the album certainly makes an impression.
6/24: Adele's 21: Break-ups inspire a lot of righteous anger; luckily this also contains introspection and self-awareness.
Why? I listened to 19 a long time ago and somehow forgot to get to this one until now.
Additional Thoughts: “Rolling in the Deep”
is quite misleading as an opener, because most of the album is softer and not
as vengeful as this song would suggest. I’m glad for that; a full album of
my-ex-is-total-asshole would get tiring. Like break-ups themselves, break-up songs
and albums are going to include a lot of anger, no matter whose “fault” the
break may be, but in reality, it’s rarely just one person’s fault. 21 does a great job admitting and examining
the flaws and mistakes on Adele’s part that contributed to the relationship’s
downfall. There aren’t any cartoon-y villains out to “break me down” or what-have-you
here, just the reality that people screw up, accidentally and purposefully.
6/25: Wolf Alice's My Love is Cool: "Silk" is great, but I just can't get on the hype train behind this right now.
6/25: Wolf Alice's My Love is Cool: "Silk" is great, but I just can't get on the hype train behind this right now.
Why? New release, this week; I saw DIY call it an
instant classic and I couldn’t help but be curious.
Additional Thoughts: Honestly, that whole
“instant classic” thing should’ve made me run screaming. Let me clear, I don’t think
this album is bad by any means - and if you like the idea of grunge with bits
of Britpop with a prettier voice then Wolf Alice is for you - I just don’t get
all these proclamations of it as the best debut of the year/decade or the album
of decade or band of a generation. Like, man, cool it. I get it – no one wants
to be lumped in with past maroons who besmirched the likes of Paul’s Boutique and Pinkerton, but is the solution to overly praise things just. in. case? I don’t know. I feel a
bit cheated. I’d prefer to just talk about the album itself and I want to like
this much more than I do, but sometimes the hype train derails something that
could’ve been awesome if people had just let it be instead forcing a legacy
upon it before it’s barely out the door.
6/27: Joy Williams' Venus: A tweet isn't any near enough space to express how much I *love* "Woman (Oh Mama)".
6/27: Joy Williams' Venus: A tweet isn't any near enough space to express how much I *love* "Woman (Oh Mama)".
Why? Joy did a duet with Paramore and Hayley
Williams mentions her frequently, so I wanted to check her out and NPR streamed
the album early.
Additional Thoughts: I wonder if I could
make full entry of “Woman (Oh Mama)”, because it is magnificent. As for the
album as a whole, I don’t know what I was really expecting from it, but I dig
it. I like her voice, though I can’t quite place who her voice reminds me of.
The Tori Amos comparison is apt, but I don’t think Tori is where my mind went
when I first heard Joy. Anyhow, the album also has an underlying drama and
heaviness to it that I really like.
All albums available to stream on Spotify. Except for Venus which can be streamed at NPR.
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