3/29: Big Giant Circles' The Glory Days: Proof that chiptunes don't need nostalgia value to
be affecting and awesome.
Why? A recommendation from LoadingReadyRun’s Best of 2014 podcast(s).
Anything else? In case you don’t
know, “chiptunes” are a form of electronic synth music. Also called 8-bit music
due to its close association with (or attempt to recreate) old school video
game soundtracks. To further drive this association home, Big Giant Circles an
album called Imposter Nostalgia,
which The Glory Days is a sort of
sequel to (the album was Kickstarted with the subtitle Imposter Nostalgia 2.)
Since I grew up with that era of video games, I do have a fondness for chiptune
scores, which might make me more receptive to this album. However, I don’t
think one necessarily needs that background to appreciate it. For one thing,
while the songs have chiptune sounds they are very full and complex. It’s a
lone melody like old game music. It’s almost orchestrating big arrangements with
chip sounds. Each track is so distinct and the album covers so many emotions
and moods. It can be very tense and exciting one track and very somber and
beautiful the next (like “A Rose in a Field”.) I definitely think it’s worth
checking out.
3/30: Sparks' Balls:
Who knew a song called "How To Get Your Ass Kicked" could be sung so
sweetly?
Why? Still plowing through Sparks in preparation
for FFS.
Anything else? One of the downsides
to the size of Sparks’ catalog is that some albums will eventually get lost in
the shuffle and not always due to any of their own shortcomings. Case in point,
this album happens to come after the one-two punch of Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins and Plagiarism and before the one-two of Lil’ Beethoven and Hello
Young Lovers. It’s almost a given
that this will be overshadowed, but it has plenty of its own charm, such as the
aforementioned “"How To Get Your Ass Kicked" and the drama of tracks
like “The Calm Before the Storm” and “Scheherazade.”
3/31: Ringo Starr's Postcards From Paradise: Feels like friends getting together and jamming
just for the fun of it.
Why? New release and it’s Ringo, so why not?
Anything else? I can’t necessarily
see this converting anyone into a fan, but it’s a solid record. Ringo has well
passed the point where he has to make
music or, well, do anything really. It’s definitely made by people who want to make music and want to do it
with each other. I can always admire
Ringo’s positive outlook, which comes through. And yet despite that (or maybe
due to it) some of the most memorable moments are the more somber ones, like
“You Bring the Party Down” and “Right Side of the Road.”
4/1: Sparks' Lil'
Beethoven: The almost Python-esque absurdity of "Suburban
Homeboy" is nothing short of magical.
Why? Still plowing through Sparks in preparation
for FFS.
Anything else? Before anything else
it must be said, this is not entry level Sparks. Even for Sparks this album is
strange and I would not suggest most people wanting to get into the band start here.
That isn’t a mark against it, it’s just not as accessible as some of their
other work. After multiple albums of techno and synthpop, Beethoven’s heavy reliance on classical sounds (though not totally unprecedented
in their work) feels like welcomed whiplash. And while the classical aspect
could be alienating to some listeners, the lyrical content is what takes the
album into avant garde territory. Much of album is built on constant repetition
of minimal lyrics; the title of “My Baby’s Taking Me Home” repeats over a
hundred times and opener “The Rhythm Thief” consists of a handful of lines that
layer over each other. In any other hands it would be tedious or lazy, yet as
AllMusic suggests “the
mantras themselves become a pulse of sorts” in place of more traditionally achieved
grooves and beats. Lyric-as-beat is quite an ambitious idea and I think it
works for them.
4/2: Sparks' Hello
Young Lovers: To call it a "rock opera" seems an
oversimplification. It's fearless genius in action.
Why? Still plowing through Sparks in preparation
for FFS.
Anything else? This album felt like Sparks
took Lil’ Beethoven and mashed it with
the glam rock of Kimono My House and Propaganda and then blew it all up as
big as it could get. Generally, I’m not a fan of when people describe a piece
of music “rewarding.” It reeks of
gatekeeping and almost makes the piece sound like a hazing or endurance test
that reflects badly on one if they failed. Though I suppose it has a more positive
connotation than calling a piece “difficult” or something similar. That said, I
would probably put Hello Young Lovers
in such a category, because it felt like getting chased by a runaway train. It’s
an album that can take a lot out of you and much of it isn’t an easy or necessarily
pleasant listen. For instance, the repetition of Lil’ Beethoven carries over onto this record, but instead of it serving
as lyrics-as-beat it makes the songs’ narrators sound increasingly unhinged as
the accompaniment builds in drama and hard rock ferocity (see “Dick Around” and
“The Very Next Fight.”) Still, amid the craziness there are moments of fun (like
“(Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country”) and beauty (such as “Waterproof”
which is one of the loveliest songs about a total asshole since John Lennon’s “Jealous
Guy.”) Sparks themselves don’t like variations on the term “rock opera” used in
regard to their work, which I empathize and agree with. Unfortunately, that’s
the only term to even begin to describe and contextualize what they’re doing,
though it can’t fully encapsulate it.
4/3: Ben Frost's Aurora: One listen doesn't feel enough to grasp all that goes on in
this tense, menacing electronica.
Anything else? I’ll confess I’m not
really sure how to write about this album. I get the chiptunes that Big Giant
Circles works in, so I have a way into the work. Along with electronica, this
album is labeled as industrial and noise, two genres that I don’t think I have
the vocabulary to do justice to at present (especially the latter.) That’s just
a shortcoming on my part, though. The album itself is interesting, intricate,
and well-constructed. When I first started hearing “noise” used as a genre I
figured it would be something that isn’t for me (given the connotations of the
word), but this album makes me rethink that stance. I’m curious and willing to
give it a shot now. Even if it takes some time for me to verbalize it properly.
4/4: ABC's The
Lexicon of Love: The band succeeds in their desire to be "danceable,
memorable, intelligent."
Why? A blog I follow put this on a recent list of
recommendations.
Anything else? What stunned me most
about this was how many Greatest of the 80s/All-Time lists it’s been included
in. Not because the album is bad by any means (it’s damn good), but because I
don’t recall ever noticing this album on such lists before. Of course that’s probably
due to most “All-Time” lists I’ve seen being US based and 60s heavy. Or it got
lost in the shuffle because I didn’t recognize the name. Either way, I’m glad
it eventually found me, because it positively sparkles.
4/5: Sparks' Exotic Creatures of the Deep: Maybe more accessible than the previous two albums, but doesn't click fully.
4/5: Sparks' Exotic Creatures of the Deep: Maybe more accessible than the previous two albums, but doesn't click fully.
Why? Still plowing through Sparks in
preparation for FFS.
Anything else? I’m not
thrilled with the tweet for this album. “Accessible” was the wrong word to use.
As strange as they can be, Sparks have a pop sensibility that makes them
immediate and their ambition not alienating (with the perhaps exception
of Lil’ Beethoven.) And they’ve
explored so many genres, I do think most people could find a way into them. I
think this album was easier, in a way, to take in because it didn’t have
whiplash gear change of Lil’ Beethoven
or the hard rock-classical explosion of Hello
Young Lovers. Exotic Creatures occupies
a similar vein, so the previous albums prepared me well enough. I feel like Exotic Creatures is to Hello Young Lovers what Propaganda was to Kimono My House in expanding and refining some of what preceded it.
Also like those two albums, which one you like more may depend largely on which
you heard first. There’s a lot of great stuff on this record; the humor of “Good
Morning” (“I hope it's just your laugh that is infectious”), the swagger and
stomp of “I Can't Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song”
and “(She Got Me) Pregnant,” and the divine harmonies of “Likeable” and “The Director
Never Yelled ‘Cut.’”
4/6: Foxes' Glorious: Some solid tracks like "White Coats" and "Echo." Great voice, but her enunciation can be muddled.
Why? This album’s been sitting in my Spotify
queue since her feature on Fall Out Boy’s “Just One Yesterday” intrigued me.
Anything else? Though I stand by my
tweet, I’m willing to give Foxes the benefit of the doubt and put some of the enunciation issue on lyric
transcriptions possibly being messed up. Still. It was distracting at times.
4/7: All Time Low's Future Hearts: I don't really see the story said to be here, but
it's some sincere pop-punk.
Why? New release and I don’t think I’ve ever
heard their work before, so I thought I’d give it a go.
Anything else? According to ATL’s
lead singer there’s a story being told on this record, but I didn’t pick up on
it at all. If it does indeed contain a story, it’s not very overt about it,
which can work. It’s often considered a strength for a work to unfold more with
repetition. The songs themselves are fine overall. “Kids in the Dark” and
“Dancing with a Wolf,” in particular, are quite good. I don’t mean this as any
sort of knock against them, but it’s also quite apparent how much these guys
have listened to Plain White T’s and Fall Out Boy. “Kids in the Dark” seems
like it might be right at home on Save
Rock & Roll.
4/8: Sparks' The
Seduction of Ingmar Bergman: Gripping and moving. Some moments stand out,
but it's definitely full piece.
Why? Still plowing through Sparks in preparation
for FFS.
Anything else? The album is very
much a musical that needs and deserves one’s full attention when listening. It’s
funny; through a portion of it I didn’t think it was really grabbing me, until
a Spotify commercial made me groan in frustration. I was also surprised by how “Oh My God” and
“Garbo Sings” gave me goosebumps. I wanted to enjoy this, but I still somehow
ended up being surprised by how much it got to me.
4/9: Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair: The songs have been so enduring a true
"first impression" is difficult.
Why? It was in the queue.
Anything else? I realize I pretty
much bailed when it came to that tweet, but I really didn’t anticipate literally
half the album containing songs I already knew well. (Hopefully the rest of
their discography will yield more genuine first impressions.) That said, in
spots it felt jazzier than I expected and I love the trio of “Broken” and “Head
Over Heels / Broken (Live).”
4/10: Phoenix' It's
Never Been Like That: Exudes a joyful feeling that can only be described in
silly spring metaphors.
Why? I’ve been meaning to check out their other
albums since I really liked Wolfgang
Amadeus Phoenix and this was in my queue.
Anything else? Yeah, the best way I
can describe this album is that it sounds the way breathing in cool spring
evening air feels. It’s a subtle joy, not the take-off-down-the-street-“Dog
Days Are Over” style of happy, but a subtle joy that stop you in your tracks if
you let it.
4/11: The Strokes' Room On Fire: Disappointing. The vocals mostly sound bored or like
he's singing through a sore throat.
Why? In the queue and I wanted to get through
more of their material.
Anything else? I remember really
digging Is This It, so I was
disappointed by this one. Although, I’m not too surprised, since I have read
critics say the Strokes are an example in diminishing returns. I’m not ready to
count them out, though, or even this record. It could very well be that I just wasn’t
in the right frame of mind to get into it. Musically I can dig a lot of it, but
the vocals often kill any affection I could possibly muster. I don’t know if
there’s some kind of effect on Casablancas’ voice or what, I just know that
whatever is going on doesn’t work for me. But “Reptilia” still kicks ass.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
