Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.
3/1: The Killers' Battle Born: The title track and "Be Still" are great,
but cramming it with aspiring anthems makes it fall flat.
Why? After liking Day & Age so much I decided to charge ahead to this album. It…
didn’t work out well.
Anything else? I’m not a fan of when the Killers get their
Springsteen on, but it’s not really that aspect that tanks the record for me.
It’s a matter of pacing. The standard edition of the album has twelve songs,
only two of them don’t go into lighters-in-the-air anthem territory. After a
while they just have no punch anymore. Not every song has to be or can be “Born to Run.”
3/2: Janet
Jackson's Damita Jo: Its best moments
are the old school turns ("I Want You") or just plain fun ("Just
a Little While.")
Why? I wanted to go the opposite of the Killers’
record and have been criminally behind on Janet.
Anything else? I doubt this will
ever be among my favorite Janet records, but it has some great moments. As
something of a junkie for the genre myself, “R&B Junkie” speaks to me. I
love the old school vibe of that track and “I Want You.” Speaking of “I Want
You,” I think that track and the other Kanye West collaborations (“Strawberry
Bounce” and “My Baby”) are really good. His
verse on “My Baby” is another matter, but that’s to be expected from him. The
Babyface produced track “Thinkin’ Bout
My Ex” is another highlight and quite moving.
As for
the negatives, no matter how sexy the singing, no matter if it’s Janet Jackson
whispering it breathily, there is nothing sexy about the word “moist.” Or
“erect.” I have no problem with Janet (or any artist) exploring her sexuality,
but tracks like “Moist” and “Warmth” prove there’s a limit, at least
creatively. I wouldn’t go as far as someone from AllMusic and call it
embarrassing, just say that there are diminishing returns in that area.
3/3: Purity Ring's another eternity: In a word: dreamy. Carries you through lovely and
strange images, but not much sticks out after the fact.
Why? Tuesday release. I’ve seen the name around a
lot recently and dove in.
Anything else? No. I didn’t really
connect with this record and feel no great desire to go back.
3/4: Sparks' Whomp
That Sucker: I'm partial to the song "Funny Face" if for no other
reason than it reminds me of book "Invisible Monsters."
Why? Still working through Sparks’ discography.
Anything else? This album came
after Terminal Jive and is more rock
than that or No 1 In Heaven, but it’s
a better rock record than Big Beat or
Introducing Sparks probably due to it
sounding more early 80s new wave than generic 70s rock.
3/5: The Strokes' Is This It: Seminal works can be difficult to discuss, but alt.
rock of the 2000s owes this album a debt and for good reason.
Why? I was originally going to listen to Room On Fire, but decided on this
instead.
Anything else? As I said, it’s
difficult to talk about albums like this one, because they have been so
influential. I may not have ever heard this album in its entirety until
recently, but I’ve still heard it because so much of rock in the 2000s wouldn’t
exist without it. That sort of status can sometimes work against an album,
though since they inspired a lot of the 2000s rock that I like, I dig it. In
fact, this album is such a big deal that it landed on the Rolling Stone 500
Greatest Albums of All-Time, so while I would like to dig deeper in this, it’ll
have to wait.
3/6: Coheed & Cambria's The Afterman: Ascension/Descension: I hesitate to use this phrase,
but really, this is a return to form. Magnificent.
Why? Why not?
Anything else? I held off from this
double album for a long time, because I was not big on Year of the Black Rainbow (and parts of No World for Tomorrow, but mostly YotBR.) The band has always had a
metal edge, but those records seemed to be carrying them even further into that
direction and frankly, that just isn’t for me. However, The Afterman feels more somewhere in between Good Apollo Vol.1 and In Keeping
Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 without feeling like they regressed. It’s
eclectic, gave me chills, made me tear up, so I loved it.
3/7: Ariana Grande's My Everything: Her sweet and lovely voice saves songs that
otherwise would be just middle of the road pop/r&b.
Why? I really liked her Grammy performance last
month and have had this album in the queue, so to speak.
Anything else? Twitter’s
limitations strike again and force me into backhanded compliments. Given more
room let me put it like this: the songs themselves are not that striking or
impressive on their own, but Ariana has such a beautiful voice that I wanted to
listen to anything attached to it. I just wish the songs had more personality
and more of her. She has a writing
credit on the title track and that’s one song that feels true and not just a
character she’s donning for a song. Maybe in time she’ll become more involved
in that area. Her voice is a joy to listen to, so I want her to stick around
and hopefully grow.
3/8: fun.'s Aim
& Ignite: Reminds me of Panic! At the Disco's Pretty. Odd. in that both hit every right button to make me
ridiculously happy.
Why? Another album that’s been sitting in my
Spotify queue for ages.
Anything else? I liked Some Nights, in particular the
introduction and title track. Something I really like about them is this drama
and sense of scale that I don’t know the rest of that album lived up to. Aim
& Ignite, however, completely revels in desires of Queen’s grandeur happily
the whole way though. There have been critics who bemoan how much is going on
musically and it certainly isn’t for everyone, but I can’t help bask in the
strings and horns and harmonies. And Nate Ruess may not be Freddie Mercury, but
when he sings, damn, I believe every
word. Some current frontmen could really take a lesson from him.
3/9: Janet Jackson's 20 Y.O. : Many blame this album's failings on Jermaine Dupri.
That's unfair. The Jam/Lewis tracks don't fare well either.
Why? Playing catch-up with Janet.
Anything else? For anyone else this
might be a decent or good album - not for Janet. I can cut her slack though.
She has made some of the greatest dance/pop/r&b albums of all-time and
frankly, not every album an artist makes is going to be great. It’s just not
possible. That said, 20 Y.O. is still
a letdown, because it’s the first Janet album that I disliked. “Call On Me” is
sweet and breezy, but there’s not much here I feel the need to revisit. Even Damita Jo, which I was mostly lukewarm
on, has more to offer. The Dupri-produced tracks feel messy and jumbled, while
the Jam/Lewis-produced tracks wear out their welcome quick. Time could soften
me this album, but as I said, I don’t feel a desire to go back to it anytime
soon.
3/10: Laura Welsh's Soft Control: There's an edge to her captivating voice that recalls
Annie Lennox. Highlights: "Ghosts" & "Break the Fall"
Why? The new releases that week were made up
mainly of singles and Madonna’s Rebel
Heart and I really didn’t want to touch that one.
Anything else? Along with having
tones like Annie Lennox, the way she sings the word “cynical” in “Break the
Fall” also reminds me of Fiona Apple. Anyone who can remind me of those two
women possesses a voice that I can’t help but love. Unfortunately, though the
album starts quite strong it starts to peter out about halfway through. The
lyrics stay interesting throughout, but musically it blends together. Still, as
I said about Ariana Grande, I enjoy her voice so much that I’ll take what I can
get. I want to root for her and since this is only her debut I’m quite
comfortable in doing so.
3/11: Janet Jackson’s Discipline: Tracks like opener “Feedback” and the evocative “Rock
With U” make this the dance record 20
Y.O. wanted to be.
Why? I wanted to finish catching up with Janet.
Anything else? Apparently Jermaine
Dupri made statements about 20 Y.O.
being the most dance record Janet had done in a while. I don’t believe that to
be the case. If you define a dance record as one that makes you dance, well, it
didn’t make me want to dance. Discipline,
however, does make me want to dance. The record also manages to give Janet a
modern sound (such as on “Rock With U”), unlike 20 Y.O.’s clumsy attempts at contemporary r&b.
And
yet, for all the goodwill Discipline
builds with its dance tracks, the title track nearly throws it all out the
window. Of course, Janet discussing sex is not new nor does the track represent
her first foray into BDSM themes (see The
Velvet Rope’s “Rope Burn”), but I find the track disturbing. Maybe I’m
naïve or overreacting, but lyrics such as “Make me cry” and “Take out your
frustrations on me” really, really rub me the wrong way. If nothing else,
hundreds of thinkpieces on Fifty Shades
of Grey prove the handling of BDSM in media is a murky area indeed.
3/12: Dirty Pretty Things' Waterloo to Anywhere: With dark themes and rough but catchy sound
("Bang Bang You're Dead"), they were aptly named.
Why? It’s been sitting on my backburner for a
long time.
Anything else? I’ve loved “Bang
Bang You’re Dead” for a long time and was concerned that the rest might not
live up to it. That concern was mostly unfounded. “Bang” still stands out the
most sonically (mainly due to the inclusion of horns), but lyrically I was
really struck by “Blood Thirsty Bastards” and “The Enemy.” The album’s not as
rough as I recall (frontman Carl Barat’s previous band) the Libertines being,
which works for me and makes it a more pleasant listen than they could
sometimes be.
3/13: Box Codax' Hellabuster: How do I process an album full of grooves, that one
minute reminds me of Oingo Boingo and 60s girl groups the next?
Why? Another that’s been on a backburner.
Anything else? That tweet was a
play on recurring lyric, “How do I get your bullet out of my head” and also
very much the truth. I’m still so flabbergasted by this record that I might end
up writing a full post for it. But to be brief (for now): I know of this band
because one of the members is Franz Ferdinand guitarist/keyboardist Nick
McCarthy. As with much of Franz,
McCarthy composes the music of Box Codax and what really struck me initially is how
funky it gets at times. Trying to describe it is difficult for me, because
something that vaguely reminds me Oingo Boingo and then throws out Motown
strings by all accounts shouldn’t work. But it has so many great grooves that
anchor it and it commits so hard to every seemingly mad musical idea that I can’t
help but be on board. ...Even if it did break my brain.
3/14: Franz
Ferdinand's Live at Roundhouse London:
I likely won't discuss many live albums, but this "jolly bit of desolation"
is the exception.
Why? Needed a break, so I cheated a bit.
Anything else? I try to steer clear
of live albums or compilations for this daily album stuff. It feels a bit like
cheating, because a greatest hits compilation doesn’t have the same purpose as
a legit album. But, of course, if I’m going to make an exception for anyone it’ll
be Franz Ferdinand. If nothing else Franz is a great live band and I really
think anyone who doesn’t get a chance to see them should at least give this a
listen. They have tremendous energy and when they hit their stride (“The Fallen”
through “Auf Achse,” for instance) everything flows almost seamlessly.
All
albums available to stream on Spotify. Except for Franz Ferdinand’s Live at Roundhouse London which is available
here.
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