Daily Album Digest: December 2015

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 I compile those tweets in a post with some extra or expanded thoughts.

12/1: Eternal Summers' Gold & Stone: Like a blissful dream punctuated with a sudden lurch of one's leg.
Why? I believe Spotify recommended it.
Additional Thoughts: According to vocalist Nicole Yun, Eternal Summers “wanted to target more lush and radiant textures, some classic rock riffs, some jazzier elements and some full-on punk snarl” on Gold & Stone and I think by and large they succeeded. The musical mix of dreamy brightness (as on the title track) and harsh reality (“Play Dead”) is practically seamless. That harshness also comes across in the lyrics, such as in “Black Diamond”; “Shame can’t be the home where you live. The beams of support will eventually give […] a bruise without pain.” It’s a great record and I need to look into more of their work. 

12/2: Britney Spears' Blackout: With “Heaven on Earth” this album isn't great “despite” 07's drama - it's simply great.
Why? In celebration of Britney’s birthday I decided to start playing catch up with her catalog.
Additional Thoughts: It’s quite remarkable that despite references to paparazzi and a couple tracks that could be construed as being about Kevin Federline (“Toy Soldier” and “Why Should I Be Sad”), Blackout doesn’t really sound like it was made during a tumultuous time in Britney’s life. She’s very much present and emotive, despite some reviews that compare her presence to a ghost or chalk up any and all good aspects of the record to her producers. I don’t mean to take anything away from the people she worked with here, but I refuse to give them all the credit. Songs live and die on arrangement and performance and Britney absolutely delivers here. As for some specific songs, “Heaven on Earth,” like I said in the tweet is great and very Depeche Mode. The metaphor of “Hot As Ice” is kinda muddled, but it’s still a bitchin’ track. As is “Break the Ice,” which is so awesome I can’t even coherently describe it. “Ooh Ooh Baby” reminds me of something but I can’t place it and the track doesn’t appear to have a sample, so I’m stumped. I have to agree with the idea that this stands as her most consistent record, though I haven’t listened to In the Zone in a while so who knows. Granted, Britney’s always been more of a single artist and that’s totally fine, but it’s good to see her come so close to a fully great album. 

12/3: Hanson's Underneath: Proof they have a remarkable gift for making pop that can plaster a smile on any face.
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through and recently chose Hanson as one of them.
Additional Thoughts: The album, of course, has its mellow and somber moments, like the Zac-led “Broken Angel” and “Believe.” But as the tweet suggests, the songs that made the biggest impact on me were the more upbeat ones, like “Crazy Beautiful,” “Lost Without Each Other,” and “Get Up & Go.” The biggest impact, though, was made by the practically perfect “Penny & Me.” It’s so good that even the rest of Underneath – hell, the rest of Hanson’s output ever – ended up terrible, it would all be worth it because “Penny & Me” exists. And while I have no problem with “MMMBop,” if there were any justice in this world “Penny & Me” would be Hanson’s biggest song instead, but here we are. 

12/4: Brothertiger's Out of Touch: Warm, enveloping synthpop, though it seems fixated on trying to be “In Your Eyes.”
Why? New release. 
Additional Thoughts: I think the “In Your Eyes” comparison especially fits for “Beyond the Infinite,” “Engulfed,” and “Jungle Floor.” Granted, neither “In Your Eyes” nor Out of Touch are bad in any way, really, but once I noticed the similarities, they were difficult to ignore. But, despite that, it is a lovely album and I think I could learn to see beyond them in time. 

12/6: Al Church's Next Summer: An album about summer nostalgia that made me unexpectedly nostalgic for smooth jazz radio.
Why? Spotify recommended it.
Additional Thoughts: I suppose I should get an explanation for the smooth jazz nostalgia out of the way first. I didn’t listen to much of it, honestly, most of my exposure came from whenever either my mom or aunt would ignore their radio alarm clocks. So imagine my surprise when the 80s-ish cover of Next Summer and use of sax in songs like “You & I” and “Next To You” triggered those memories. The album conveys a distinctly summer feel, yet it defies easy categorization. There’s the aforementioned sax and jazz element, but there’s also his Brandon Flowers-esque voice that gives things an indie feel, rockier songs like “S.a.T.J.,” and the piano ballad closer of “Next Summer.” Meanwhile on his Bandcamp it’s tagged simply as pop, which I think says a great deal about both the album and pop overall. 

12/7: Britney Spears' Circus: Disappointingly safe. Even the album's attempts to shock do so rather obviously.
Why? Currently working through Britney’s discography. 
Additional Thoughts: Ehhh… I didn’t want to be too harsh. In all honesty the album doesn’t really deserve such harshness (despite my own issues with regard to being objective with Britney), because much of it is sort of par for the course with her. As previously mentioned, she’s a singles artist, by and large, and Circus fits that bill. But Blackout was so well done that a “return to form” in this instance feels very much like regression. The album starts out alright enough, but then “Unusual You” stops it all dead. Either way, some positives: ballads “Out From Under” and “My Baby” are quite beautiful and heartfelt; “Mannequin” is so weird and trippy, it feels like a holdover from Blackout; “Lace & Leather,” meanwhile, sounds like it could be a Duran Duran track, buuut… it was co-written/co-produced by Dr. Luke, so I can’t help feel icky about kinda digging it; and while the attempt to shock is silly and obvious, I absolutely love “If U Seek Amy.” 

12/9: Infinity Girl's Harm: Some great melodies and infectious drums amid the hazy vocals and piercing distortion.
Why? Spotify recommended it. 
Additional Thoughts: Infinity Girl’s Twitter account actually favorited my tweet about the album, which surprised me in large part because while they are mostly objective descriptions, I didn’t mean my comments about the vocals and distortion in a positive way. Now again, the album does have some great melodies (“Not Man,” “Liner”) and drums (“Heavy”) that feel sort of post-punk, but the album starts to lose me when it leans more into grunge/noise rock with the heavy distortion, like on “Around Me.” Distortion and noise can certainly work, however when coupled with the vocals that are at times buried in mix and at others nearly mumbled, it does not, at least for me. 

12/13: INXS' Kick: The band wanted to make an album where each song could be a single. They certainly succeeded.
Why? Spotify recommended it to me because of Tear For Fears, buuuut I was also raised by an INXS fan, so I’ve been meaning to dig more into them for a while now.
Additional Thoughts: Part of me feels like maybe that tweet was a cop out, but let’s be real: sometimes a song or album is so well-constructed, so perfectly fitted together that there’s really nothing you can say. And thing is, as great as the music is with its influences and mixture of soul, funk, rock, etc. and just plain beauty, I think it would be hard to overstate the important part Michael Hutchence and his immense charisma play in making the songs as good as they are. I mean, I’ve heard multiple covers of “Need You Tonight” by otherwise engaging performers that stay true to the sound of the original and they just can’t hold a candle to his presence. 

12/14: Britney Spears' Femme Fatale: While its faults can be glaring, its wonderful moments are also difficult to ignore.
Why? Currently working through Britney’s discography.
Additional Thoughts: Okay, I’ll be straight here, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that tweet. Listening back to the album, “Trip To Your Heart” stands as the only truly, unqualified wonderful moment on Femme Fatale. Everything else is 1) just middling and forgettable, 2) REALLY annoying, or 3) comes with a bunch of qualifiers to justify it. Case in point on that third category, “How I Roll” has some fun moments and a cute chorus (both in terms of melody and singing), but then come annoying sound effects and Brit saying “thug” and I just can’t do it. I’d probably throw “Till The World Ends” in category three as well, because while I like it, I can see its faults, like the fact that Dr. Luke was involved. As for category two examples, fuck “Big Fat Bass.” There’s absolutely nothing appealing about a sonic migraine. That goes for “Trouble for Me,” too. Yeah, I always try to not be super harsh in general and, as mentioned, really don’t like to be harsh on Britney in particular, but Femme Fatale is not good and I can’t sugarcoat that no matter how my heart may want to. 

12/16: Cam's Untamed: Sweet, infectious country pop with a lot of zest and heart. Highlight: “Runaway Train”
Why? 2015 release. I normally don’t listen to country music, but the title “Hungover on Heartache” intrigued me. 
Additional Thoughts: Funnily enough, I chose “Runaway Train” as a highlight in part because it wasn’t sweet or heartfelt like much of the record. It’s basically a “woman scorned” sort of tune, in the same vein as “Before He Cheats,” except the narrator wants to tie the cheater to train tracks. The rhythm and guitar work just sounds so cool and reminds me of Sons & Daughters, which is a big compliment. Another great track is “Half Broke Heart,” a song about how the end of relationships that may not have been deep or meaningful can still suck. As she says, “I wasn’t looking for a ring, doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.” For all the love songs in music, that subject doesn’t seem to come up often, relationships seem all or nothing, but that’s not always the case, in fact it’s mostly not the case. Anyhow, the album does have some overblown or overdone metaphors, like comparing failing relationships to burning houses and sinking ships, but she has enough personality, potential, and sincerity that I can forgive it. 

12/17: Britney Spears' Britney Jean: She sounds so damn happy on “Passenger” and honestly? That's all that matters to me.
Why? Currently working through Britney’s discography.
Additional Thoughts: I mean, yeah, Britney Jean certainly has flaws (will.i.am’s typical repetition and irritating noises) and things that aren’t to my taste (not big on the EDM stuff), but… I don’t think I’ve heard Britney sound so happy, so genuinely happy on record since “That’s Where You Take Me” from Britney. That, that overshadows everything. Plus, I can’t help but be proud to see her name in the writing credits for every track. She doesn’t owe the world super personal music, by any stretch, and I understand why for a long time she didn’t dig into her own thoughts very often on record, but I’ve always appreciated when she did and I don’t know, I’m glad that she changed her mind for this record. All that said, yeah, the album has some problems. For instance, “Tik Tik Boom” is one of the biggest offenders in terms of repetition, though that one isn’t will.i.am’s fault, to be fair. “Body Ache” and “Til It’s Gone” have aspects that I like, but the EDM drops and such aren’t really my thing. But still, I do think it’s an improvement over Femme Fatale, so that’s something. It certainly feels more cohesive, probably due to Britney’s (and will.i.am’s) involvement in (almost) every track. 

12/22: mewithoutYou's Pale Horses: Its intriguingly dense lyrics are a lot to digest and dissect, but steal the show.
Why? 2015 release that I think Spotify recommended to me recently, but I’ve been curious about them since Hayley Williams has talked about them a lot. 
Additional Thoughts: This album appeals to my English major mind so much. I feel compelled to write an essay on the whole thing. I don’t know what doing this would yield, but this album is so rich with Biblical and literary references that I want to pick it all apart and give it the close read treatment. Although, I don’t even really need to do that myself, because someone already went and wrote a pdf book called The Annotated Pale Horses. I have yet to read the entire thing, but suffice to say, there is a lot going here. The music takes somewhat of a backseat for me, though, I have to say, because I get so wrapped up in the poetry of it all. That’s not to say the music is unimportant or anything of the sort, it definitely helps convey the emotion, particularly the anger and frustration and hurt within the songs. It’s also quite beautiful at times, like “Magic Lantern Days.” However, I much as I like and respect it, I realize that a rock/hardcore album with nontraditional song structures (as in its lack of choruses) and dense with literary and religious references might be something of a hard sell. I don’t know that it’s completely inaccessible or impenetrable, but (as pretentious as I find the phrase) it is a rewarding listen. 

12/23: Kim Boekbinder's The Sky is Calling: Electronic-pop about the universe and science that's also personal and heartfelt.
Why? Astronomer Phil Plait mentioned it when he called in during Desert Bus for Hope 9. He also acted as an advisor for the record.
Additional Thoughts: So, as you can probably gather, this record is a bit of an odd duck, but not an inaccessible one. The music itself can be quite experimental and weird while also being quite pop and appealing. Incidentally, Kim’s voice reminds me somewhat Eleanor Friedberger (another artist who can be very weird at times but also pop at others), partically on tracks like “Hand to Mouth” and “Stellar Alchemist.” But what I think is most interesting about the album is the lyrics and how they deal with some universe size questions (such as, “How will we get there? Will we even go? Is it enough just to know?” from “The Drake Equation”) as well as some very intimate, personal thoughts (like in “Hand to Mouth” when she says. “Always finding a reason to not be here, if I'm never around I can't disappear.”) It’s just amazing that she somehow manages to talk about these things side by side without the personal in particular being (pardon the pun) dwarfed by talk of the universe and stars. She gives both proper weight and gravitas. And I think part of why that works is due to the fact that both the size and scope of the universe and the depth and intricacies of our minds can be equally daunting and honestly, make us feel small and insignificant in the grand scheme. Yet even among all that, she finds strength, “You will be fierce, you will be fragile, you will be free.” (“Planet 216”)

12/27: Women's Women: “Group Transport Hall” is a great piece of psychedelia. It's a shame the track is so short.
Why? Spotify recommended it to me based on No Joy.
Additional Thoughts: I’m not sure how to sum up this album. Women’s Bandcamp describes the album as “a lo-fi masterpiece cloaked in layers of vibrato and guitar wash. Noisy and claustrophobic songs smash through junkyard trash brawls while others lift and soar across the landscape of 50’s-informed pop; a contradiction and an enigma.” It’s an accurate description, but just barely touches on why the album gave me problems. The record’s certainly an enigma in that it baffled me, because many of the tracks and the album overall lack cohesion and direction. There’s nothing holding it together, whether individually or as a whole. As pointed out in Pitchfork’s review, “Women do spend a tad too much time flexing their way through their instrumentals-- a shame since, when they bother with songcraft, they rarely miss: concise, nuanced statements with idiosyncratic arrangements.” And it really is a shame, because as mentioned in my original tweet, there are moments of greatness, they’re just buried among a lot of aimlessness. 

12/28: Hanson's The Walk: From another act “Been There Before” might be laughable, but the trio's so sincere it works.
Why? Currently working through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: So, yeah, “Been There Before” is one of those “isn’t old rock’n’roll great?” type song, like well, “Old Time Rock & Old” by Bob Seger or “It’s Only Rock’n’Roll (But I Like It)” by the Stones. I tend to dislike songs on the topic, because they come off, frankly, masturbatory given who tends to sing them. However, Hanson grew up loving the music they’re singing about and a love evident in the work they’ve done and, as I mentioned in the tweet, they have the right sincerity to make it work because of that. As for the rest of the record, it’s pretty solid overall. And while Taylor’s voice is what I think of when I think of Hanson, between “Tearing It Down” and the blue-eyed soul of “Running Man,” this album makes me think Zac might be my favorite vocalist of the three. Isaac doesn’t get lead duty very often this time around (no pun intended), but he makes the best of the tracks he gets, such as the heartfelt “Watch Over Me” and the fun “Something Going Around” wherein he shares lead with Taylor. None of that’s to rip on Taylor, by the way, he does a good job, I just wanted to give the others a little shine this time. 

12/29: Laura Stevenson's Cocksure: As someone who has difficulty being assertive, “Jellyfish” might be my new anthem.
Why? 2015 release.
Additional Thoughts: Laura’s site and her label's Bandcamp both cite Liz Phair as an influence on this album and while I hear that, the 90s alternative singer it reminds me of most is Lisa Loeb. Although she is more indirect with her lyrics than Loeb generally is, to my knowledge anyway. Either way, the album has a definite 90s sound and that seems intentional. Also noteworthy is that fact that much of the album was recorded live after a sort of stream of conscious way of writing the music in order to maintain spontaneity. And the final product manages to retain that flow and certain looseness while also maintaining a core identity and purpose that anchor it all such that it doesn’t wander off or fall apart. Incidentally, a lack of core identity probably explains why previously mentioned Women record doesn’t really work. Although, in fairness, Cocksure is Steveson’s fourth record, so she had much more time to develop in that area than Women did on their faulty debut. 

12/30: The Superweaks' Bad Year: A fun rock record with many layers and shades of Offspring and Weezer.
Why? It was likely a Spotify recommendation. 
Additional Thoughts: I quite like this record, it’s fun and relatable. As I said in the tweet, it does remind me a lot of Weezer and Offspring. I hear Offspring most notably in the vocals, particularly songs such as “Bad Year” and “Nevermind.” As far as Weezer, it’s most in their melodies and overall sound (which sounds power pop to me, though they call it “heavy pop”), as well as their sorta self-deprecating, angsty lyrics. And for the record, I’m not describing the Superweaks as angsty in a derogatory way, it just feels like the best word to describe their certainly-not-happy-but-not-majorly-depressed themes. I think many of the lyrics are quite clever, such as “Sinusoidal confidence will tow my mind beneath the river flow.” (“Kick It”) and “Who's gonna pull your weight if I leave you behind?” (“Frances Quinlan Will Have Her Revenge On Philadelphia”) However, a major flaw with the record is its overall lack of strong choruses and hooks as well as song titles that don’t seem to relate to their respective lyrics. Granted, the title thing isn’t Fall Out Boy level of unrelated, but I could still see it causing issues with regard to remembering specific songs. But still, it’s a good, solid record and I definitely want to check out their other stuff. 

All albums available to stream on Spotify. 

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry, tweet me, or ask on Tumblr.

Daily Album Digest: November 2015

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.

11/5: Chvrches' The Bones of What You Believe: The build and climax of “Tether” gave me genuine shivers.
Why? After enjoying Every Open Eye I decided to finally check this out.
Additional Thoughts: I’m actually really glad that I decided to wait on checking them out until their sophomore, because I don’t think this really lives up to the hype. To be clear, in parts it does, but as whole it does not. Or maybe this is one of those instances where whichever one you hear first you’ll love more, because it’s not a bad album (“Lungs”, in particular, is lovely), it just doesn’t light a fire in me like their follow-up. And while I could take or leave the male vocal track on EOE, here they just drag things down.

11/6: Sara Bareilles' What's Inside: Songs from Waitress: I hope this is just the first of many musicals by Sara.
Why? New release and this will also round out Sara’s discography for now.
Additional Thoughts: I recall reading Sara describe this record as more her “covering” the musical’s songs, but I think the theatrical quality still comes through. It’s really a lovely album; quite jaunty and cute in places (“Opening Up”), but heartfelt when it needs to be (“She Used to be Mine” and “Everything Changes.”) Both of which are to be expected from Sara and places she excels.

11/10: Gabrielle Aplin's Light Up the Dark: Gospel-tinged “Shallow Love” exemplifies the album's thoughtful lyrics.
Why? 2015 release that’s been sitting in my Spotify “queue,” but I’m not sure how it got there.
Additional Thoughts: The opening moments of this album gave me instant Beatles vibes, as do the melodies in “Sweet Nothing” and a bit of “What Did I Do?” Incidentally, when I searched for Gabrielle and Beatles the first result is her doing a cover of “There’s a Place,” which as Beatle tracks go is a deep cut. That said, lyrically and thematically the album reminds a lot of Franz Ferdinand’s “Swallow, Smile,” because there’s a lot about emotional distance or coldness in a relationship, like in “Heavy Heart” or even wanting to fight just to feel something like in “Fool’s Love” when she says “I even miss the fighting.” I have yet to listen to her debut, but I really enjoyed this album. I dig her voice and her sound is an interesting mix of different influences, like the aforementioned gospel and soul.

11/11: Julia Holter's Loud City Song: I appreciate the slow burns and organized chaos, but it feels over my head lyrically.
Why? It was mentioned on the Needle Drop.
Additional Thoughts: When I first heard The Family Jewels I said it was the musical baby of Fiona Apple and Sparks. This album feels like that album’s sister, but not as immediate or as poppy, though it does have accents and weird vocal stuff similar to Marina. I still feel like I’m not quite getting it and maybe this was a difficult place to jump into her work, but with songs like the beautiful “Hello Stranger” I’m definitely willing to keep trying.

11/12: Hanson's Middle of Nowhere: There's a fine line between precocious and pretentious, and they walk it well.
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through and chose them.
Additional Thoughts: Like with Backstreet Boys’ early albums a while back, I didn’t go into this record completely blind. Granted, my relationship with Hanson is nowhere near as complicated as my relationship with BSB. I never disliked Hanson, but I never exactly liked them either. In 1997 my brain was all about the Beatles, the Monkees, Spice Girls, and Fiona Apple, there just wasn’t much room for them. But my cousin was suuuuper into them, so I didn’t miss the train entirely. As I alluded to in the tweet, it’s surprisingly sophisticated and mature. I don’t know how much of the sophistication you can attribute to the adult writers and producers who helped, because so many teen acts carried entirely by adults behind the scenes don’t sound as mature. Probably because they sound like what adults think teens sound like, because they either forget or look down on teenagers. Plus, having now listened to their whole discography and seeing that they’ve (SPOILERS) remained fairly consistent throughout, I think maybe it’s like the Beatles/George Martin and Hanson had collaborators who respected them enough to not give them fluff and really listen to their ideas. I think the Jackson 5 comparison made here is very appropriate and most applicable in the outro of “Look At You” and the adorable “Lucy.” But then amongst all that, you have fucking “Yearbook,” man. It caught me completely off guard with its darkness and heavy implications. Though I have to admit that the biggest spot in my heart goes to “I Will Come To You,” it’s damn anthemic and honestly deserves a better place in the 90s classics canon.

11/15: The Both's The Both: Consistent to a fault. It has that catchy power pop bounce, but doesn't really grab me.
Why? Spotify recommended it.
Additional Thoughts: The Both is a collaboration (and album) between Aimee Mann and Todd Leo. It’s the kind of album that while it isn’t so bad or boring that I’d immediately change the station if I heard it on the radio, I wouldn’t seek it out either or tell anyone, “You totally have to listen to this!” Basically, the kind of album critics fawn over upon release, but forget about completely almost immediately. I can certainly see how it’d be a big crowd pleaser, if you’re of the crowd into its sort of music. Generally I am part of that crowd, but for me, it just leaves me meh and wishing I was listening to the stuff it often reminds me of or artists whose vocals I enjoy. That latter bit is particularly important, because Todd Leo’s faux-Dylan affectation is very unpleasant and something even Dylan can barely pull off.

11/16: Hanson's This Time Around: Bright pop with an occasionally harder, bluesy edge, such as ballad “Hand In Hand.”
Why? Currently working through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: Some critics made a thing about the ways Hanson differed from their teen pop contemporaries and sure, they do in certain ways, but it’s also interesting to listen to this record and among the Journey homages, John Popper harmonica, and Jonny Lang guitar hear shades of hip hop and late 90s/early 2000s pop, like in “Can’t Stop.” Plus, they have an undeniable gift for melody and pop craftsmanship, just like other major architects of the teen pop boom (Max Martin being probably the most notable.) And that gift served them well on their debut and continues do so here with tracks like “If Only.” It’s unfortunate that it didn’t see a similar commercial success.

11/17: Alessia Cara's Know-It-All: Her lyrics and performances show such potential, it's a shame bland music backs them.
Why? 2015 release.
Additional Thoughts: Earlier I mentioned Hanson’s ability to walk the line between precocious and pretentious and Alessia Cara walks the same line, though maybe not as well. The worst offender in this regard being her biggest single “Scars to Your Beautiful” and maybe “Here,” which I can’t decide if I like or find the “too good for the room” attitude is too irritating. Ironically, one of the highlights is “Wild Things” which is similar thematically to “Here” (complete with the line “They’re not cool like we are”) and yet I can’t help but like it. Probably because the music of “Wild Things” is uplifting, unlike “Here” which borders on dreary. Another noteworthy song is the vulnerable ballad “Stars.” As I said, she clearly has potential and I really hope she reaches it.

11/30: Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi: The laid back groove of “Say Somethin’” is an absolute highlight.
Why? One Week One Band featured Mariah and it inspired me to get back to finishing out her catalog
Additional Thoughts: What sticks out to me about this record is how fun it is. Mariah has plenty of fun songs, but her albums overall probably couldn’t be described as fun. That’s especially true of Mimi’s predecessor Charmbracelet with songs like “Through the Rain” and “Sunflowers for Alfred Roy” that make a bit more somber and introspective. And while I enjoyed Charmbracelet, it’s easy to see why this record resulted in Mariah’s so-called comeback, because the freedom and joy within it is infectious. Of course the album does have its share of ballads, which are great (as pretty much always with Mariah) like the gorgeous and happy “Joy Ride.” If I have any complaint at all about the album it’s that I really wish Jermaine Dupri wouldn’t babble so much nonsense, like on “Shake It Off,” but that’s apparently a thing with him and man, does it bug me. Either way, yes, great record and mandatory for Mariah fans of all sorts.

All albums available to stream on Spotify.

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry, tweet me, or ask on Tumblr.

Daily Album Digest: May 31 - June 13, 2015

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.

5/31: The Unicorns' Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?: Very rough, lo-fi, silly, a bit morbid, and so charming.

Why? It was in my Spotify recommendations. I wish I knew how it got there.

Additional Thoughts: Much of this album feels like it came from an alternate universe where the Beatles were never under the tutelage of George Martin. Definitely not something for everyone, but I find it charming.

6/1: FFS' FFS: Unless I misheard, this album contains the line "Carrying a Hello Kitty oozie." How could I not love it?

Why? NPR streamed it a week prior to release and I just couldn’t help myself.

Additional Thoughts: I’m going to go deeper into this album in its own post, but for now I’ll say this: Just as Tonight put into relief all Franz did wrong on You Could Have It So Much Better, FFS shows just how much they were coasting on Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action.

6/1: Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish: Could've used some edits, but a definite improvement from their debut, nonetheless.

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; after The Magic Whip I’ve decided to go through Blur.

Additional Thoughts: I feel like that tweet just about said it all. Maybe I just need to spend more time this album and/or Blur, but I’m not grooving with them as much as I thought I might. I do really like “Star Shaped,” though, so there’s that.

6/2: Zella Day's Kicker: A bit of a slow start, perhaps, but promising. "Jameson," in particular, is quite moving.

Why? New release. I read about her on witchsong and quite like “1965,” so I figured I’d give this a shot.

Additional Thoughts: Zella’s been compared to Lana Del Ray and I don’t know enough about Lana to agree or disagree. I do know that the vocalist she reminds me of is Stevie Nicks. I can’t put my finger on it exactly; it’s something about her lower register, like on “Jerome.” Does she have the exact same weight and bewitching quality that Stevie exhibits? Not quite, but this is only her debut, she may get there in time.

6/3: Mount Eerie's Clear Moon: Romantic (in the literary sense), atmospheric and challenging. Highlight: "Over Dark Water"

Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.

Additional Thoughts: I’ve said before that I hesitate when music is described as “challenging,” but I really know no better way to describe this album. It’s a hard listen. One reason for that is, as I tweeted, the lyrics are very Romantic as they are very focused on nature and the way one interacts with it, which might seem obtuse or strange to some. It’s also challenging because the obtuse lyrics are delivered with vocals that are often quite meek and get buried in the mix.

6/4: Mariah Carey's Emotions: Impressive vocally, as always, but how is "The Wind" not more well-known?

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: The tweet was mostly rhetorical, by the way. I know why “The Wind” doesn’t get much attention. It’s a jazz influenced tune about death/possible suicide – not really a good topic for the pop charts, even (or especially) if you’re Mariah Carey.  

6/5: Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Multi-Love: Some fantastic and funky psychedelia that is really a joy to listen to.

Why? Recent release; I dug the title track when I first heard it, so I figured I’d give it a listen.

Additional Thoughts: There’s been a lot of psychedelia influenced work coming out this year that I just love. I don’t why that is, but I’m going to ride the wave. This album also reminds me a lot of Stevie Wonder, such as tracks “Like Acid Rain” and “Ur Life One Night,” which are also pretty damn awesome. I feel like I should dig into the album on its own. We’ll see.

6/6: Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas: Wasn't going to mention it, but "O Holy Night" gave me too many goosebumps not to.

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: Yeah, you could probably put Christmas albums in the same “difficult for me to discuss” category as live albums and greatest hits compilations. Christmas albums have the added difficulty of overcoming the possibility of blending together in a mush of sleigh bells. Of course, any album can run into same-song-over-and-over territory, but since Christmas albums have to stick to one theme/subject it’s especially easy for it to happen to them. Does this album fall into that? A bit. For example, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and the arrangement of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” are very similar. Is that on purpose or an oversight? I don’t know. That said, man, I still love “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and I’m a sucker for a good “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / In Excelsis Deo.” Plus, Mariah made me briefly forget my I-don’t-ever-need-to-hear-this-again twitch in regard to “O Holy Night,” so I consider the album a success.

6/7: Jacaszek's Glimmer: A beautifully melancholy experimental mix of classical and electronic music.

Why? I saw it reviewed on the Needle Drop.

Additional Thoughts: It’s very reminiscent of Danny Elfman scores or Wind In The Wires era Patrick Wolf, so it’s right up my alley. One thing that does bother me, though, is that sometimes the use of distortion doesn’t seem to add anything interesting to it and seems like just noise. I suppose that’s part of the point in mixing seemingly opposed things such as electronica and classical, to also mix beauty and melody with sometimes dreadful noise. Still, I enjoy it.

6/8: Mariah Carey's Mariah Carey: Her rap(-ish) verse in "Prisoner" makes me wonder why 97's Butterfly shocked anyone.

Why? I’ve always loved Mariah, but there are some gaping holes in my knowledge of her work. I’m going about rectifying that.

Additional Thoughts: I will say one thing (besides the seemingly random rap verse) did shock me about this album - how poppy and upbeat much of it was. Music Box and Emotions are quite heavy on the soft rock and ballads, so I expected move of that here. “Prisoner” also ended up taking precedence over the track I thought I’d highlight through most of the album, “Vanishing.” I could be wrong, but I seem to recall Mariah once listing it as a favorite and I can see why.

6/9: Tove Styrke's Kiddo: Ironic the voice of this strong personality often feels buried in the mix. Highlight: "Decay"

Why? New release; I didn’t want to crack into Muse’s Drones yet and I already listened to FFS, so I decided to go with someone I’d never heard of before.

Additional Thoughts: Apparently buried vocals are a theme among this grouping of albums. No idea how that happened. Anyway. A good example of Tove’s strong personality is “Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You,” which contains the line, “I know you feel that pop doesn’t really have a clue.” 

6/10: Alpine's Yuck: The sweet, sometimes breathy harmonies remind me a lot of Janet Jackson. Highlight: "Come On"

Why? NPR featured it as a “First Listen.” I figured why not?

Additional Thoughts: While Alpine is described as “indie-pop” much of this album feels more like R&B. As I said, vocally it recalls Janet Jackson’s sweet and breathy moment, but musically it also feels like her track “Empty”; minimal yet full. 

6/10: Frog Eyes' Tears of the Valedictorian: Some see it as a toning down of their "manic" style and I doubt I can agree.

Why? It was in my Spotify recommendations based on the Unicorns.

Additional Thoughts: When I said “some” I was mainly referring to this review. Admittedly, this is my first exposure to Frog Eyes, so I could be wrong. However, given what the album sounds like, it feels like nitpicking. To my ears, this album is crazed and frenzied. It’s also frustrating, because (like Mount Eerie) the lyrics are quite wordy and involved yet buried under the instruments or the often incomprehensible singing. I can see how it relates to the Unicorns (manic, lo-fi, Canadian band, experimental, etc.), but it lacks any of the charm that made me like their record.

6/11: Alpine's A Is For Alpine: Bit repetitive lyrically, but the sweet harmonies and disco vibes make a pleasant listen.

Why? I really dug Yuck, so I wanted to give their first album a listen.

Additional Thoughts: I realize given what I’ve said about Sparks’ Lil’ Beethoven and Hello Young Lovers that me criticizing an artist for being repetitive lyrically might seem inconsistent or some such. But, as with anything, it depends on how it’s done and why. In a track like Sparks’ “The Rhythm Thief” the repetition builds rhythm for the track the way a beat would. While other times repetition just feels lazy or like an artist didn’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t categorize A Is For Alpine as lazy, but while perhaps they might have been going for something minimalist in the writing, it does sometimes feel like they just ran out of words.

6/13: Zhala's Zhala: She describes her music as "cosmic pop" and that's especially true of the gorgeous "Right Way's Wrong."

Why? Recent release I’ve been meaning to get to for a couple weeks (I think), because she’s the only other artist signed to Robyn’s label and that intrigued me.

Additional Thoughts: Something I found interesting about this record is that, overall, the first half feels very high energy that kinda climaxes with “Prophet”, while the second half is mellower (by comparison) and feels like a good comedown. At present, I think I like the second half better than the first, but that could change. As noted, “Right Way’s Wrong” is great, but another track I found noteworthy is “Prince in the Jungle.”

All albums available to stream on Spotify. Except Yuck, which can be streamed at NPR.

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

Daily Album Digest: May 10 - 30, 2015

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 (ideally) compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

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.

Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast.

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.