Thanks to some unforeseen complications this Daily Album Digest is a) a week late and b) much shorter than usual. I apologize for that. I will try to make up for the lost time (and albums) in the coming weeks.
5/13: Arca's Xen:
Quite interesting. I wish some tracks were longer, but brevity is in keeping
with its minimalism
Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.
Additional Thoughts: Apparently this is a
concept album, of sorts, based around Arca’s female alter ego Xen. I’m not sure
how that idea plays into or relates to the music itself (except for maybe some
of the titles), but it’s an interesting idea. Arca also works very closely with
visual artists, so perhaps the concept would be clearer with the aid of a
visual. Regardless, the music is abstract and strange enough on its own and I
mean that in a good way – it doesn’t need a concept to be intriguing.
5/15: The Weather Station's Loyalty: Like great singer/songwriters it focuses on stories and
intimacy, not big arrangement.
Why? Recent release.
Additional Thoughts: The arrangements and
melodies used in the album are beautiful, but they are there to highlight the
stories, not overpower them. The songs also don’t really follow a traditional
verse-chorus structure or contain hooks. There are a few refrains, but again,
that isn’t the focus. The focus is on telling stories and evocative, emotional
detail, such as the song “Like Sisters.”
5/16: Aphex Twin's Syro: I'm torn. It's well-crafted and quite melodic, but mostly
fades into the background.
Additional Thoughts: As I’ve said before,
I’ve had difficulty getting into full-blown electronica. I feel like part of
that is because my earliest exposure to it was mid to late nineties stuff like
Prodigy or Aphex Twin (and those inspired by him) that comes off fairly cold. When
I say it fades into the background I mean that it doesn’t make its presence
known or felt. Of course plenty of electronica can express a variety of emotions
and move, but I can’t find a way into this album.
5/17: Japandroids' Celebration Rock: Like the fireworks that bookend it, loud and
explosive but predictable and fleeting.
Why? Saw it on the Needle Drop and it was also recently
on Spin’s list of the 300 best albums of the last 30 years.
Additional Thoughts: I don’t know how
this ended up on Spin’s list. I really don’t. There’s nothing much wrong with
it, sure, but there isn’t much right or special about it either. It has great
energy, but raucous and in-your-face energy can’t mask the emotion it lacks. Clearly
I’m in the minority on that opinion, though.
5/17: Brandon Flowers' Flamingo: Should've heeded his own words, "You're not ready,
slow down and take the time to evolve."
Why? I wanted to give it a spin before The Desired Effect.
Additional Thoughts: One of my big issues
with the Killers’ Battle Born was
that there was no concept of pacing. All the emotion was turned all the way up and
the album couldn’t sustain it. This album has the opposite problem – it’s
dreadfully boring. Things pick up around the midpoint, but it never truly
recovers.
5/18: Mariah Carey's Music Box: Classics like "Dreamlover" and
"Hero" overshadow the rest and make it feel like filler.
Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some
gaping holes in my knowledge of her work.
Additional Thoughts: Yet another case of
my tweet being harsher than I’d like. Still, the singles do stand out the most,
which is why they were singles in the first place, of course. “Now That I Know”
is a pretty fun early 90s r&b/dance track; I don’t know if it will ever be
a favorite among deep cuts from Butterfly
or Rainbow, but it’s good.
5/19: Brandon Flowers' The Desired Effect: Doesn't quite stick the landing for me, but
comes damn close. I dig it.
Why? New release I’d been looking forward to
since I heard “Can’t Deny My Love.”
Additional Thoughts: Mr. Flowers and the
Killers are often hit or miss, but “Can’t Deny My Love” is definitely a hit, at
least for me. It’s one of my favorite songs of the year so far, so going into
this album I desperately hoped that it would live up to the single. I got even
more excited when I saw a review which said the record is Flowers’ best since Hot Fuss. For all its faults, I’m not
ready to give up Hot Fuss’ spot in my
heart to another album quite yet, but
I will say The Desired Effect feels
like Flowers finally coming into his own and not letting his ambition be
hampered by pretention. Where Sam’s Town
and Battle Born often felt like lame
attempts to imitate Springsteen level sincerity, this album has the genuinely
effecting and honest “Between Me and You.” It all works wonderfully well. I
hope he keeps down this path.
5/19: Patrick's Stump's Soul Punk: This dude... if anyone ever doubts this man's talent
this album should quiet them.
Why? I kept putting off this record, but since I
also did another frontman’s solo effort, I figured I’d carry on with that
theme.
Additional Thoughts: Despite its title
this album definitely favors soul over punk, which isn’t a bad thing by any
means. I mean, one of my favorite Fall Out Boy tracks is the Chicago-esque “I've
Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers,” so I’m all about Mr.
Stump getting his soul on. Now, I love his voice so much I’d probably listen
Patrick sing the phone book, but the album impressed me, especially when I find
out he also played every instrument on it. A big highlight is the funky “Cryptozoology,”
which is hidden in “Run Dry (X Heart X Fingers)”; in other hands that trick
would come off smug and overly impressed in one’s own cleverness (as Fall Out
Boy often does), but Patrick makes it work. But, of course, as already
established, I’m severely biased in Patrick’s favor. I make no apologies for
it.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me.
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