7/12: Miles Kane's Colour of the Trap: Portions sound like a 60s spy movie. I dig it.
Highlight: "Happenstance"
Why? Spotify recommended it to me.
Additional Thoughts: This album presents
a problem for me. I really like it, but at the same time I don’t feel like I
have much to say about it. I think the 60s spy movie comparison is a pretty
good summation, though maybe an oversimplification. There are other sounds
going on here, such as the bouncy “Quicksand,” but, still if you’re not into
60s style stuff it might not be for you.
7/13: Phoenix's Bankrupt!: The title track is among the most noteworthy,
particularly the line "Self-entitled portrait."
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get
through; I decided to round out Phoenix.
Additional Thoughts: Honestly, I’m still
not sure how I feel about this album overall, but as I said, I think the title
track is interesting. The line “Self-entitled portrait” stuck out to me,
because it’s one of those lyrics that seems like it might have a lot to unpack
or it only wants to appear that way. I’m not sure which category it sits in
though. I need to think on it a bit more.
7/15: Jessy Lanza's Pull My Hair Back: Minimalist electronic/R&B, but that
restraint works both for and against it.
Why? Her featured performance on Caribou’s
“Second Chance” made me curious.
Additional Thoughts: Jessy’s performance
on “Second Chance” was one of the few moments I felt Caribou’s Our Love sprang to life, so the restraint
of this record came as a bit of a disappointment. The beats and atmosphere are
good, but I wish she’d push through more. Her lovely voice is allowed to just
fade into the background. I get that much of it is going for a breathy Janet/Aaliyah
sort of vibe and that’s cool, but it feels detached.
7/18: The Staple Singers' Be Altitude: Respect Yourself: "I'll Take You There" is a
classic, but "Who" should be as well.
Why? While listening to songs discusses in my
Rolling Stones course, I listened to another track of theirs and figured I’d
just give a whole album a listen as well.
Additional Thoughts: This is some
uplifting and passionate soul. It saddens me that years of commercials can make
one forget that in regard to “I’ll Take You There,” but it’s so recognizable (and
therefore useful for such things) for good reason.
7/19: Jessie Jones' Jessie Jones: "Quicksilver Screen" reminds me of the
Fiery Furnaces, especially "Here Comes the Summer."
Why? NPR featured it in First Listen.
Additional Thoughts: I want to like this
album, but I’m not feeling it, at least not right now. Many of my favorite
records so far this year have gone down a psychedelic route, so one would think
this would be up my alley. I don’t know, though, in some ways this record feels
like checking beats off a pschedelia checklist, such as in the Middle Eastern
influenced track “Lady La De Da.”
7/20: Phoenix's United: Fantastic debut, though more rock orientated than more
recent work. Highlight: "Funky Squaredance"
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get
through; I decided to round out Phoenix.
Additional Thoughts: The first Phoenix
records I listened to were Wolfgang
Amadeus Phoenix and It’s Never Been
Like That, which I guess counts as their mid period work (as of now.) Those
records are a bit more atmospheric and have a more electronic bent, so the rock
presence on United caught me by
surprise. I was also shocked by how varied the record is, while still having
underlying joy that made me love Wolfgang.
And “Funky Squaredance” is a blast! It’s this great mix of a country, old
school hip-hop, funk, and rock that on paper probably shouldn’t work, but it
does.
7/21: Wilco's Star
Wars: The dad rock label seems appropriate yet dismissive. Solid, but might
need to grow on me.
Why? 2015 release. I’ll be honest the title and
cover were what intrigued me the most.
Additional Thoughts: The first time I
heard the term “dad rock” was during a discussion about the Black Keys. I was
going through my usually thing about them not doing anything wrong, per se,
just not having much of anything there to grab onto and this person referred to
them as dad rock. It seemed a perfect fit. Dad rock, to me, evokes bands that
love 70s guitar rock, but don’t really do anything with it and as a result end
up kind of boring to anyone but dads nostalgic for that time. While parts of Star Wars do fit that description, I do
think there’s good in it, such as “You Satellite,” “Pickled Ginger,” and “King
of You.”
7/22: The Elwins' Play for Keeps: Unabashedly sunny pop/rock. Refreshing in its
seeming lack of cynicism.
Why? Spotify recommended for me.
Additional Thoughts: Some might wish for
more grit to break up the sunniness of this record and while I can certainly
understand that view, I don’t know that I agree. It’s refreshing to find a
record that isn’t bogged down in angst or too-cool-for-the-room posturing. Is
it for everyone? Probably not. But it’s good to know such a record can still
exist.
7/23: Phoenix's Alphabetical: Rides a nice groove throughout, but lacks the variety
and effervescence of other work.
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get
through; I decided to round out Phoenix.
Additional Thoughts: This seems where
they started trying to go a more atmospheric route. I don’t know that it really
works here, but they eventually do get it right and so I can’t rag on this
record too much.
7/24: Ducktails' St. Catherine: Quite a chill album that also has a sense of humor
and the ability to move ("Medieval.")
Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: Ducktails is a side
project led by Matt Mondanile, guitarist for Real Estate. I don’t know much
Real Estate, but I quite liked Atlas.
Also, the names of this project and the first track of this album (“The Disney
Afternoon”) gave me a laugh, so I figured I’d check it out. The line between
something being chill and being comatose is difficult to walk and probably a
matter of personal taste, but I liked this. It’s not totally lifeless, like
some mellow music can feel. As I tweeted, there is humor here, mainly in the previously
mentioned “The Disney Afternoon.” Also, I think “Medieval” is moving and
heartfelt. It seems to be about the fleeting thoughts one can sometimes have
post-break up, thoughts that aren’t necessarily regretful but just curious,
even after a very long time. “It’s all in the past, my feelings for you. And
once in a while it goes away, the thought of you, it fades.” But I might sit on
this one for a while and see if I can make a full post about it.
7/25: The Rolling Stones' Out of Our Heads: The UK version consists mostly of covers; the
best likely being "Cry To Me."
Why? I’m currently taking a course called The Music of the Rolling Stones, so it’s going to reflect in my album choices for a
while.
Additional Thoughts: These early Stones
records are difficult for me to judge given the amount of covers present. I’m
not knocking that in any way. Everyone does covers and the prevalence of the practice
was especially common in the 50s and 60s. The Beatles first few records
consisted mainly of covers as well and I certainly don’t look down on them at
all. It’s just difficult to gauge an artist’s identity when most of their
material is covers. Covers speak more to what they are able to play and what
they like, not the full potential they might hold. Anyhow, I also really liked
this album’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Good Times,” but my favorite track is the original
“Gotta Get Away.” Why that wasn’t included on the American release is beyond
me.
7/25: The Rolling Stones' Out of Our Heads (US): Yeah, sure, "Satisfaction" is
here, but "The Last Time," man.
Why? The UK version was a bit underwhelming, so I
figured I’d give this one a shot.
Additional Thoughts: Honestly, this is
the first of these early Stones records that I’ve actually enjoyed. And yes,
most of that might be due to “The Last Time,” which is a killer track. But this
feels much tighter than other early records, which just feel kind of like
compilations. Though, granted, back then albums were just compilations and
afterthoughts when compared to singles.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
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