Album: so sad so sexy Artist: Lykke Li Release Date: June 8, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
two nights
jaguars in the air
so sad so sexy
utopia
Thoughts:
The album title sums it up perfectly as Swedish singer-songwriter sings heartbreaking tunes of romantic entanglings that ultimately end in failure. Stylistically, Li has shifted from indie rock and dream pop to contemporary R&B and electronic dance music. It’s not a shift that I think works for her, as the music doesn’t sound bad, but it loses Li’s unique style for something that sounds like a lot of other music out there today. I’m thinking that this album will be recognized more as the transition to whatever Li does next than for itself.
Album: Pink is the Color of Unconditional Love Artist: Gabriella Cohen Release Date: June 8, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
Music Machine
Baby
Miserable Baby
Thoughts:
Doo wop harmonies, psychedelic twangs, and long guitar solos are all part of the genre-bending sound of this Australian youngster’s sophomore album. A good album that should appeal to fans of music of many eras.
Album: The Future and the Past Artist: Natalie Prass Release Date: June 1, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
Hot for the Mountain
Sisters
Thoughts:
This is the second album from Richmond, VA singer-songwriter Prass. I was drawn to this album by the anthemic “Sisters” which will certainly make my end of year favorite songs list. But the rest of the album is meh, a collection of downtempo tracks in a smooth R&B style. That is not to deny it is a technically proficient recording with lyrics focused on protest and solidarity in the age of Trump, but it’s just not a style that resonates with me.
Album: Tracyanne & Danny Artist: Tracyanne & Danny Release Date: May 25, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
It Can’t Be Love Unless It Hurts
Jacqueline
O’Keefe
Thoughts:
This duo features Tracyanne Campbell, formerly of the Scottish band Camera Obscura whose album Let’s Get Out of This Country was on my list of favorite albums of all time. Her partner is Danny Coughlan, an English singer-songwriter from England, of whom I have no prior knowledge. The sound of the album reminds me of 60s pop, not necessarily what the nostalgia industry categorizes as “60s music,” but the type of pop that was popular with older listeners in the period. Nevertheless, there’s a a lot of variety from folk to lounge music to jazzy to the lushly orchestrated. The album on the whole is beautiful but melancholy, as to be expected since it is Campbell’s first album since the death of friend and bandmate Carey Lander in 2015.
This album from Tancred, the stage name for a project of Maine’s own Jess Abbott, is a collection of 90s style power pop, somewhere in-between Letters to Cleo and The Breeders. The lyrics are confessional and intimate. Abbott alternates rockers with quieter, acoustic tunes. I prefer the former, but really there’s something for everyone here.
Yes, Parliament has released their 10th studio album, and first in 38 years. But can you teach an old, uh, dogg new tricks? George Clinton and company (a mix of long-time funk veterans and contemporary r&b and hip-hop artists) have a lot to say in a 23-track album that’s almost 2 hours long and focuses thematically on the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry (in Clinton’s weird way). Hip-hop artists have been sampling from P-Funk for decades so this album returns the favor by blending hip-hop sounds seamlessly into the Parliament sound. There’s probably too much content to declare this a great album, but beggars can’t be choosers, and after such a long wait, this overdose of funk is much better than could be expected.
Album: Hell-On Artist: Neko Case Release Date: June 1, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
Hell-On
Halls of Sarah
Curse Of The I-5 Corridor
Sleep All Summer
Pitch or Honey
Thoughts:
Looking through my archive I’m surprised that I’ve never reviewed a Neko Case album before as she is one of the great voices of our times, whether on her own or with the New Pornographers and side projects like case/lang/veirs. Turns out this is Case’s first solo album in five years, and I haven’t been reviewing albums that long. Hell-On offers what you expect from Neko Case – strong singing, heartfelt and poetic lyrics, and dynamic music that surprises and pleases. This album also has a lot of guest artists including Beth Ditto, k.d. lang, AC Newman, Kelly Hogan, Doug Gillard, Laura Veirs, Joey Burns, Mark Lanegan, and Eric Bachmann (the last two each share vocals with Case on a pair of stunning duets). This isn’t Case’s best album (it’s a few notches below Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and Middle Cyclone) but a merely good Neko Case album is still a wonder to behold.
Almost Had To Start A Fight/In and Out of Patience
Tenderness
Thoughts: The Parquet Courts are an indie rock band from New York City by way of Texas. Produced by Danger Mouse, the music has a lot of elements of classic punk rock mixed with funk, psychedelia, Everley Brothers-style harmonies, dub reggae, and pub sing-a-longs. This approach could be generic but the Parquet Courts manage to make a joyful sound that’s even danceable. Despite the amalgam of retro sounds, the lyrics of this album are “woke” (ast the title implies) focusing on current issues, albeit not through specific references but via moods that are rooted in our times. Rating: ****
Album: Kiss Yr Frenemies Artist: Illuminati Hotties Release Date: May 11, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
(You’re Better) Than Ever
Shape of My Hands
Paying off the Happiness
Thoughts:
The Los Angeles-based band lead by Sarah Tudzin plays bubblegum rock songs with an edge, a style they call tenderpunk. Over the catchy melodies are lyrics with wit and whimsy of the woes of the twentysomething. My favorite track, the cheerful power pop of “Paying off Happiness” is about being in constant debt. As the young people say these days, it’s relatable.
Album: Tell Me How You Really Feel Artist: Courtney Barnett Release Date: May 18, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
“Hopefulessness”
“Charity”
“Need a Little Time”
“Nameless, Faceless”
“I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch”
“Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence”
Thoughts:
Australian singer-songwriter Barnett’s second album contains crunching guitars and strong punk melodies over which Barnett’s world-weary voice sings quotidian lyrics of frustration and self-doubt, anger and tenderness, confrontation and ambivalence. The 90s indie rock sound is aided by the guest appearance of Kim and Kelley Deal on “Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence.” But this is not retro music, it’s fully-engaged in the cultural issues of our times, just not in an anthemic, speaking for everyone manner. If I’d gotten around to making a best albums of 2015 list, Barnett’s debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit would’ve been a shoe-in, and Tell Me How You Really Feel builds and improves on that. I’m grateful to be alive at a time when I can hear an artist like Courtney Barnett coming into her own.
Have you ever wanted find all of my music posts in one place? I’ve created a new music page which you can find in the menu at the top of this blogs homepage. The music has three sub-pages.
Album: Roza Cruz Artist: La Mecánica Popular Release Date: April 13, 2018 Thoughts:
It’s hard to describe the music on La Mecánica Popular’s album Roza Cruz. I think it sounds like psychedelic Latin jazz, NPR describes it as “Radical Afro-Latin Futurism,” and the band’s own website says they are a “Brooklyn-based Afro-Latin group” and that “their sound is steeped in 1970s’-era Salsa Dura, yet incorporates a heavy dose of modern gadgets – a unique blend of processed Peruvian-style guitar licks & experimental sounds, synths, and textures.” However one describes it, the five instrumental tracks on this album are a treat for the ears.
Album: Last Man Standing Artist: Willie Nelson Release Date: April 27, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
“Last Man Standing”
“Don’t Tell Noah”
“Something You Get Through”
“Heaven Is Closed”
“I’ll Try to Do Better Next Time”
Thoughts:
At 85 years old, Willie Nelson is cognizant that many of the people he loved and worked with have died and that he doesn’t have much time left. Nelson’s new album explores that sense of mortality with tenderness and a sense of humor. Musically, Nelson sounds as good as ever, and the display of musical styles is a retrospective on his musical career as much as the lyrics. May we all age as gracefully as Willie Nelson.
Frankie Cosmos – the stage name of Greta Kline (a perfectly fine popstar name but I suppose she’s trying to distance herself from her famous parents, Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) – sings in a sweet voice over power pop arrangements, sounding kind of like Kimya Dawson crossed with 90s bands like Velocity Girl and Belly. The songs are short and the 18 tracks combined total just over 30 minutes so the album feels over before it really gets started. The music is pleasant but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression on me. Maybe I’ve just gotten too old to relate?
Album: Dirty Computer Artist: Janelle Monáe Release Date: April 28, 2018 Favorite Tracks: It would be easier to list my least favorite tracks, but really there are no duds on this album.
Thoughts:
It’s hard to believe that this is only Janelle Monáe’s third studio album as she has made such a huge contribution to musical pop culture in the past decade. Monáe’s film work put this album on the back burner, but it was worth the wait. This is the first album where Monáe steps out from behind her Cindi Mayweather character, and thus it is the personal music she’s released. Similarly, stepping out of the metaphors of the Metropolis narrative, Monáe directly addresses political topics of the day while celebrating women, Blackness, sexuality, gender identity and being American (““It’s gonna be my America before it’s all over”).
Monáe picks up the mantle from David Bowie and Prince as the icon of redefining norms for gender identity and sexuality. In fact, Prince worked with Monáe on defining the sound of the music early on and it shows. Make no mistake though, this is Monáe’s album and guest artists from Grimes to Brian Wilson to Zoe Kravitz to Stevie Wonder move fluidly to her beat. This is the first great album of 2018, and the song “Americans” should be the song of the summer.
If you want to read more of my dumb thoughts on Monáe’s earlier body of work, check out my Music Discoveries post. For a more thoughtful career evaluation, read this article by Charles Pulliam-Moore.
Album: The Deconstruction Artist: Eels Release Date: April 6, 2018 Favorite Tracks: “The Deconstruction” and “Bone Dry” Thoughts:
I’ve liked Eels (a one-man band of Mark Oliver Everett) for some time going back to 1996’s “Novocaine for the Soul.” There’s something about lush orchestration behind a gravelly voice singing songs of self-incriminating introspection. The thing is, what worked in 1996 doesn’t work for 2018. While Everett attempts some more upbeat music and optimistic lyrics, the overall sound hasn’t changed much, and he’d be better off releasing a greatest hits compilation. That said, the first two tracks, “The Deconstruction” and “Bone Dry,” are pretty spectacular. If only Eels released a single instead, because the rest of the album is meh.
I’ve been busy Blogging A to Z all April, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had time to listen to some new music. Here are some of my favorite new songs released in the past month or so.
Album: I’ll Be Your Girl Artist: The Decemberists Release Date: March 16, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
Once In My Life
Severed
Everything is Awful
Thoughts:
Of the two albums by bands I really like released this week, I didn’t expect to like The Decemberists more than Yo La Tengo, but I do. Sometimes a band goes for a new sound, and in this case The Decemberists go for several sounds from 80s synthpop to a Laurel Canyon, but overall there’s a much more electric sizzle compared with the acoustic folk sound of previous albums. Like any album of 2018, the lyrics have more of a political bent as well.
Album: All Nerve Artist:The Breeders Release Date: March 2, 2018 Favorite Tracks:
Nervous Mary
Spacewoman
Dawn: Making an Effort
Thoughts:
The Breeders’ Last Splash is a masterpiece of 1990s rock music. All Nerve is the first album with the same personnel that made Last Splash, and sounds very much like a follow-up if you ignore the 25 years and 2 albums with different lineups in the interim. I find the album hit or miss, but The Breeders definitely have an energy and talent on display that show they’re still a vital band, especially compared with the blah Pixies album released a few years back.
