#dan album review

[zinphandel]

Danny Brown- Atrocity Exhibition

hello phannie PHUCKING nation! everyone’s favourite series is BACK BABY!

its time for another kate rates dans favourite albums! Today we are listening to Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown

Initial thoughts?

This is a funnnnn and exciting one! Danny Brown has been someone I've been wanting to get into more, I'm not totally clued up on danny brown but he feels like someone I will really enjoy bc this seems soooo up my street. Ive defo heard some songs before but this is not my area of expertise!

Is this a first time full album listen through?

NO ITS FUCKING NOT. I listened and reviewed this album last year when i was originally doing this series. I wrote a full (really good) review, scheduled it to post and tumblr just fucking DELETED IT 😭😭😭😭!!! SO. we are going a re listen :) anyway. lets get listening bitches

Listen through:

•downward spiral is a perfect introduction to the album. the soundscape is haunting and literally makes you feel like you are falling into that downward spiral. song-omatepia? (also nine inch nails reference!)

• it’s weird to me that i haven’t actually listened to much of danny brown, it feels like it would be sooo up my alley

• obsessed with the instrumentals in the second track tell me what i don’t know danny brown is a master at conveying emotions through the mixture of sounds

• danny browns voice reminds me SO much of andre 3000 (specifically like stankonia era outkast andre)

•sexy basslines make me horny and there is an abundance throughout this album

• really doe is defo the highlight of the album so far. kendrick feature always make every song 10x better and EARLLLLL!!

• this is a veryyyyy sexy album :3

• ain’t it funny is fucking FANTASTIC!!!! what a bouncy brilliant track. the beat is absolutely next level

• omg how have i literally JUST realised that ‘atrocity exhibition’ is a joy division reference!

• this album STILL feels fresh, even though it came out nearly 10 years ago. so funky!

• REALLy like really enjoying the instrumentals on these tracks. such an interesting mixture of jazzy, punky and hip hop influences. i’m such a slut for rap that doesn’t just use the same shite reused trap beat and has an interesting and unique perspective sound wise. danny brown is a fucking master at this.

• white lines sounds like ur brain on cocaine lol - the album feels and sounds like that descent into drug fueled madness, chasing that high and running from a comedown

•the ominous piano and erratic electronica of pneumonia make listening an EXPERIENCE, it’s wild but fun as fuck (feels slightly death gripsy to me!!) “lick the clit and she did the macarena” is a fucking insane bar im crying

• love the complete switch up to dance in the water!! this album keeps you on your toes and requires an immersive listening experience

• from the ground with kelela feels soupy and sludgey and sexy and sensual! what a voice she has!!

•this is absolutely my favourite type of hip hop. fun, experimental and insane

•mate the production on this album is just fantastic - it feels SO post punk inspired 🤩🤩🤩

•need to hear when it rain mixed into a sexy techno set literally as soon as possible

Favourite song(s)?

really doe, ain’t it funny, pneumonia

Least favourite song?

probably ‘today’ it’s not bad AT all. just everything else is so banging

Would i listen again?

fuck YES! i don’t remember enjoying it this much on the first listen i did a few months ago. such a fun, engaging album that truly takes you on a journey, the PRODUCTION is fabulous!!!!!

Do i recommend?

✅✅✅✅ yes! can’t wait to listen to more

What would I rank it out of 10?

9/10

guysssss ive missed doing these! i hope you've missed them too because they are coming back FULL FORCE! see u tomorrow for another one!

read my 2015 reviews here

read the rest of the my 2016 reviews here

listen to the playlist of highlights from dans favourite albums here

[sinceileftyoublog]

SILY's Top Albums of 2024

Much like 2016, last year felt like a turning point in American history, world history, and human history. The rich and powerful got more rich and powerful than ever, right-wing politics and media triumphed, and the climate crisis raged on. Increasingly, the albums that resonated with us turned out to reflect the ills of the world back at it, or, just as important, show that art and creativity can thrive in spite of them. Here are 10 of our favorites.

A. Savage - The Loft Sessions (Rough Trade)

While visiting Chicago on tour in 2023, A. Savage recorded four tracks at Wilco's recording studio, The Loft, three covers and a new rendition of his “Wild, Wild, Wild Horses”. The opening track, “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You” is a cover of a Lavender Country song from his 1973 self-titled debut, a record famously regarded as the first ever queer country album. Savage’s version became my most played song of the year on Spotify, and somewhere in my year-end playlist is the original version. The Loft Sessions is a stellar EP, and something I proudly listen to seeing that I saw A. Savage play at the Empty Bottle only a few hours after he had recorded it. “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You” focuses on odd relationships that can’t seem to progress towards anything truly substantial, whereas the closing track “Wild Horses” contains depth, history, and emotional vulnerability. The four songs on The Loft Sessions are digestible, relatable, and easy to listen to while you prepare your coffee in the morning, an activity that can cover the EP's 13 minutes, depending on your hardware. - Keith Miller

Geordie Greep - The New Sound (Rough Trade)

For his debut solo album after the dissolution of a beloved band, Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep dove headfirst into the id of society's most prurient men. The New Sound is inspired by Greep's experiences out on the town, meeting drunken strangers who revealed to him their gross escapades, and it's got the coked-out, Steely Dan-esque, Latin jazz-rock fusion aesthetic to match. But Greep's also an astute observer of the toxically masculine online culture that pervades the world, finding humor, pathos, and absurdity in it alongside the necessary disgust. The narrators of his songs are far more pathetic and narcissistic than the earnest losers of MJ Lenderman's Manning Fireworks: It's not just that they're using women, but they're obsessed with their own perspective of the world, their own suffering. "You talk about yourself in the past tense," Greep smirks on album opener "Blues", giving a voice to the poet laureate of self-importance. Ever the writer himself, though, Greep's most brilliant moments are when he twists the knife, revealing that the Casanova of "Holy, Holy" is asking the sex worker he hired to make him feel taller, that the unfaithful man in a loveless marriage on "The Magician" is hiding from both his wife and his mistress. The New Sound's final track is a cover of a song made famous by Frank Sinatra, "If You Are But a Dream"; when Greep sings, "If you're a fantasy / Then I'm content to be / In love with lovely you / And pray my dreams come true," he conveys the desperate yearning that's always been a part of men in modern Western society. Greep's self-described new sound is anything but new, even if his version has more bodily fluids. - Jordan Mainzer

Jlin - Akoma (Planet Mu)

The producer from Gary, Indiana doesn't exist on the fringes of just footwork, but of genre as a whole. On Akoma, Jlin proudly wears her influences beyond collaborating with legends like Björk and Philip Glass. Her trademark skittering, journeying percussion gives way to more propulsive beats and layers. On "Summon", Jlin's strings form a gestalt beat that never actually drops, as minimalist as Steve Reich. "Challenge (To Be Continued II)"'s hand drums blanket booming hip hop bass and rolls inspired by HBCU marching bands. Kronos Quartet offer their chopped strings on "Sodalite"; when Jlin speeds them up, it almost sounds like a fiddle tune. Akoma exemplifies her uncanny ability to tell a story with varying textures of abstract music, each song its own symphony. - JM

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight b741 (p(doom))

Across its ten tracks and roughly 40-minute runtime, King Gizzard delivers an enticing album that’ll pair well with cookouts, yard work, parties at a lake house, and all around busy and sweaty times outdoors. From its harmonic vocals and borderline goofy lyrics down to the various instrumentation of clanging pianos, bumping bass beats, and uplifting guitars, my biggest complaint about Flight b741 is that it didn’t come out sooner. Grab your sunglasses and put on a pair of jorts–anyone who’s claimed to like “Dad Rock,” this album is for you.

Read the rest of our review of Flight b741 here.

MGMT - Loss Of Life (Mom + Pop)

MGMT’s fifth studio album (6th album if you count 2022’s 11​•​11​•​11) is a fantastic addition to the psychedelic duo’s sound. Each song brings something new to the table, ranging from 90’s nostalgia in “Bubblegum Dog” to Meddle-style slow burn on “People In The Streets.” Band members Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser began writing each song on an acoustic guitar, which gives the album a slight singer-songwriter feel that isn’t as present on their past albums, especially not on their previous record, 2018’s Little Dark Age. MGMT have proven once again that they are a band with staying power. - KM

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Fu##in' Up (Warner/Reprise)

One of the most ass-ripping recordings of last year came from when a classic rocker with a likely net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars played at a birthday party for one of the richest men in Canada. A cynic could call this a prescient glimpse into a future ruled by technocrats, but I choose to marvel at how Neil Young & Crazy Horse can just up and transform some of their most beloved material into something even grungier and more distorted, and not care what billionaire Dani Reiss or his friends think. Fu##in' Up is, essentially, a live version of their classic 1990 record Ragged Glory, each track newly titled from a lyric from its respective track, save for the cover of Don and Dewey's "Farmer John". ("Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)", Ragged Glory's final track, is also absent.) Young presents it warts and all, his shaky voice and the ramshackle band stumbling through "City Life" as if they gave their instruments to the members of Pavement. Nonetheless, Nils Lofgren's guitars shriek with impunity, and Young's riffs clang throughout "Broken Circle". The band adds some new features to the Ragged Glory originals, namely Micah Nelson banging away on piano on "Feels Like a Railroad (River of Pride)" and "Walkin' in my Place (Road of Tears)". Above it all, though, Young remains in control, leading the band through a 50% longer "A Chance on Love" and a particularly patient "Valley of Hearts", Ralph Molina's crisp snares thwacking with might, sounding like the only thing dragging the rest of the players through a river of molasses. Without much crowd noise or stage banter on the record, you can easily listen to Fu##in' Up and picture the band jamming in the practice room. - JM

Pa Salieu - Afrikan Alien (Warner UK)

"I been gone for a while, but I still make it back to you," British rapper Pa Salieu sings on "Belly", the first single he released after serving 21 months in prison. He's talking to music listeners, fans, even the world, but most importantly, he's talking to his family, paying tribute to the loving act of helping provide. The song's Afropop grooves are subdued, but confident, subtleties that remarkably pervade Afrikan Alien, his second mixtape. Whether it's the cool shuffle of "Soda", cooing vocals, scraping guitars, and dexterous hand drums of "Round & Round", or the string, horn, and chorus-laden "YGF"--standing for "young, great, and free"--the highlights of Afrikan Alien forego bombast in favor of quiet boldness. "Afrikan di alien, moving like he's nomadic," Salieu raps on the title track, referring to the past two years of his life when he was moving from jail to jail. It contextualizes the release, and what he now appreciates: that home is precious and irreplaceable. - JM

Porridge Radio - Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me (Secretly Canadian)

Dana Margolin has come out the other side of exhausting touring, a breakup, and a debilitating sense of “What now?” with Porridge Radio’s best record yet. For the Brighton quartet’s fourth studio album Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me, Margolin returned to her roots as a writer and performer to alleviate burnout, embracing poetry and workshopping the songs solo like she used to do at open mic nights. She dove headfirst into not-yet fully formed material via the rawness of her emotions. It allowed her, the band (keyboardist/backing vocalist Georgie Stott, drummer/keyboardist Sam Yardley, bassist Dan Hutchins) and indie rock producer du jour Dom Monks to foster a live recording environment that allowed for intimacy and intense vulnerability.

Read the rest of our review of Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me here.

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood (Anti-)

More than ever, Waxahatchee’s songs are easy to sing along to; despite complex turns of phrase, Katie Crutchfield keeps her words metaphorical enough to stand out, abstract enough to be relatable, direct enough to be iconic. The qualities, in conjunction with her and her backing band’s performance, lead to some breathtaking moments. “You drive like you’re wanted in four states / In a busted truck in Opelika,” she sings over Spencer Tweedy’s drum roll on the rolling “3 Sisters”, right before the song’s forbearing beat drops. On “Bored”, she belts the song’s chorus–“I can get along / My spine’s a rotted two by four / Barely hanging on / My benevolence just hits the floor / I get bored”–alongside MJ Lenderman’s sharp riffs, Tweedy’s pummeling drums, and Nick Bockrath’s wincing pedal steel. In context of the song’s inspiration–a friendship that ended badly–Crutchfield’s admissions hit harder.

Read the rest of our review of Tigers Blood here.

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us (Columbia)

When I was in high school, I became a die hard Titus Andronicus fan. I still am, in fact: That's a band I can’t shut up about. I remember in the summer of 2014, Titus frontperson Patrick Stickles held a live stream press conference in which he announced his 7x7 series where he released seven 7-inch records each 7 weeks apart from one another. (I never got the second installment in the mail and had to buy it at a concert--thanks, Pat.) During this press conference Stickles showed us his collection of 7-inch records, one of which was a B-side of “Diane Young”, a single from Vampire Weekend’s third record, Modern Vampires of the City. Stickles, after briefly mentioning “Diane Young”, apologized slightly, as if he didn’t want people to know that he had it. Ever since then, I’ve wondered what the dynamic of Vampire Weekend's music is among music nerds. For the record, I love it, but I always forget about them a few months after they release a new album. Not Only God Was Above Us. It's incredible; it might be their best record in their discography. It feels like a more tight knit version of Modern Vampires of the City. I started writing out all of the standout songs, but the list was getting too long. - KM

[vinyl-connection]

THE NATURE OF DAN

It was no secret. Steely Dan fans knew the 1980 LP Gaucho was the last offering from studio perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. They’d reached a pinnacle of consummate musicianship with their penultimate album Aja and were done with Dan. In fact, they were done with each other. So the buzz of excitement around a mid-90s Steely Dan tour was intense. When the inevitable live album came…

[greensparty]

Album Review: Mudhoney “Plastic Eternity”

Seattle’s Mudhoney are now like elder statesmen of alt-rock! The band formed in 1988 and their sound was highly influential on what came to be known as Grunge. The band’s song “Touch Me I’m Sick” was referenced in Cameron Crowe’s Seattle-set film Singles, with the fictional band Citizen Dick’s song “Touch Me I’m Dick”. The band members intersect with several other WA bands of that era: Singer/guitarist Mark Arm and guitarist Steve Turner had previously been in Green River (read my album review of their 2019 reissue here) with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, later of Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam. Longtime drummer Dan Peters was briefly in Nirvana in 1990. The band’s contribution to Singles “Overblown” was a crazy surf rock punk stomper of their response to Seattle’s popularity. Unlike many of Mudhoney’s peers, the band never had a big huge hit on radio or MTV, but they got serious respect from musicians and from critics. I never got heavy into Mudhoney, but I always dug their stuff. The fact that they are named after Russ Meyer’s 1965 cult film Mudhoney got my attention. The band’s song “Acetone” is one of my favorites of the 90s after it was featured in the 1996 college comedy Glory Daze. The band had some pop culture moments like when they appeared in the Chris Farley / David Spade movie Black Sheep! After some time on a major label in the 90s, they returned to Sub Pop and are still on the label today. In Oct. 2019, I saw them in concert at Brighton Music Hall and they rocked (read my review here). This week Sub Pop is releasing the band’s eleventh studio album Plastic Eternity.

album cover

Much of this album is about trying to make sense of a world gone crazy. It’s not just the Pandemic, even though the band had some time to prep these songs during lockdown. It’s Mark Arm’s sharp and funny lyrics about the craziness he’s observing. Case in point, “Cry Me an Atmospheric River” about climate change and asking what it would be like if the climate could play like Hendrix.

Mudhoney live at Brighton Music Hall on 10/5/2019

I can’t say this album blew me away in the way that, say, Pearl Jam’s Gigaton truly felt like their best album in over 1.5 decades. But it is a fun album. The more you listen, the more the album gets better. Dan Peters is someone I’ve always had deep respect for, going back to his brief time in Nirvana in 1990 just before Dave Grohl joined. “Sliver” is definitely one of the 25 Best Nirvana Songs Ever and his playing in Mudhoney has always been an anchoring point. While there might not be a “Touch Me I’m Sick” or “Suck You Dry” level of a banger here, there are some fun tracks.

For info on Mudhoney: https://mudhoney.org/collections/music/products/mudhoney_plastic-eternity

3 out of 5 stars

[thisworldisablackhole]

Obverse. Obverse

🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

FFO: INTRUMENTAL PROGRESSIVE HARP ROCK! / LISTEN

Do you know the Muffin Man? How about Harp Lady, the internet's busiest harpist and effect pedal aficionado? Emily Hopkins (aka Harp Lady aka emilyharpist aka emilyharpist2) has teamed up for a surprise collaborative EP with Chris Allison, most notably recognized for his work with jazz-fusion outfit Plini, and Dan Briggs, the low-end groove technician of Between the Buried and Me fame. Together, this harp, bass, and drum trio offers up a fresh and ethereal take on instrumental progressive-ambient-harp-jazz... metal? Yeah.

Obverse certainly does not aim to overwhelm with distortion or speed. In fact, I often found myself pining for a bit more growl in Briggs' bass tone, but the rhythms in which Obverse (the entity) create still exhibit a knotty sense of technicality that seems obvious considering two-thirds of the members' progressive metal backgrounds. Fingers are swift and precise; time signatures tend to leave you holding on a second longer than you expect, but it's all so chillllll. Playful really is the key word here. Briggs' and Allison's rhythm work is astute in its virtuosity, no doubt, but they are here first and foremost to set the stage and provoke reactions from Hopkins' electric harp, and they don't make it easy for her. Briggs and Allison collapse entire suns for Hopkins to dance around like a butterfly with wings made of cosmos. She does so with grace and fluidity.

Hopkins' harp is a technicolor joy that takes on many forms throughout these four movements. Of course, such a wide array of frequencies combined with the ability to run specific note ranges through separate effect chains would create such a diverse and shimmering show of lights. This is where Hopkins' extensive pedal collection absolutely comes in clutch. The tones on this EP are just dripping in boutique reverbs, fluttering echos, and sunburst fuzz. Special shout-out to those ASMR popping sounds near the middle of "Obverse II” that sound like the rippled implosions of tiny stars; you'll know when you hear them. Hopkins' harp lays atop the rhythm like a living, breathing organism, exhaling atoms into the breeze, and Briggs, who sounds equally opportunistic in his shapeshifting, must have also shared in the plunder of Hopkins' pedal stash. Allison's drumming speaks for itself, of course; his dance is intricate and plays a vital role in linking the pieces of Obverse together, but sometimes a perfectly timed and warbled string pluck over a cymbal hit does give the impression of mutual metamorphosis.

Obverse does have a large improvisational component to it, but you would hardly know it. These four songs are set up with a series of well-defined crux points to give them each a sense of shape and direction, some of which are just too dang clever and smooth to not be planned. Like the many catch-and-release moments where the trio gets hung up and flung in unison, coalescing into an organic mass of noise and refracted light before a sudden rhythm shift sends them skittering back to their respective corners of the galaxy. Chris Allison, Dan Briggs, and Emily Hopkins have created a wonderful proof of concept here that shows just how well they can play off of each other, and I sincerely hope they don't stop here. There is so much more that could be done with this formula.

[thewordisbond]

The Fundamental Sound - 'Seconds' [Album Review]

Posted on https://www.thewordisbond.com/the-fundamental-sound-seconds-album-review/

The Fundamental Sound - 'Seconds' [Album Review]

The Fundamental Sound is a 1-man band spearheaded by instrumentalist/producer Dan Klug. The latest project titled Seconds is an 8 track body of work that uses live instrumentation with layered arrangements.   “Daydreamer” is a blissful modern jazz piece made up of pulsating bass lines, a

[dougwallen]

Dan Kelly review for The Weekend Australian

[musicftmisfits]

Album: Dan Miraldi - Ulysses

A powerful collection of alternative rock track was released by Dan Miraldi in the form of his latest album 'Ulysses'. Ten tracks thunder on introducing the musical talent Miraldi posesses.

A powerful collection of alternative rock track was released by Dan Miraldi in the form of his latest album ‘Ulysses’. Ten tracks thunder on introducing the musical talent Miraldi posesses. This thirty minute tour de force Dan Miraldi just released upon us does what he does best; delivering an unbridled love of rock and roll, unapologetically. Its title track is also the perfect opener of this…

[theindyreview]

Album Review: Jon Muq - Flying Away

#AlbumReview: @JonMuq - Flying Away #Ugandan #singersongwriter mines classic #pop for a collection of sweet and swooning tracks @BigFeatPR @danauerbach @EasyEyeSound #newmusic #review #folk #JonMuq #classicpop #Uganda #Afropop @TheBlackKeys #soul #rock

Ugandan guitarist and singer/songwriter Jon Muq has already lived more in his life than some would do in ten. His story is one for a future memoir; growing up in Uganda, obsessively learning “We are the World”, busking for homeless children, playing on a cruise ship, making his way to Austin, TX, opening for The Black Keys, Billy Joel, Norah Jones and a number of other noteworthy artists, and…

[piqueconcentration]

(Some) Albums I Currently Adore

Originally posted January 1, 2023

The title to this post was originally "Albums You May Enjoy," but I remembered after writing a bit under that phrase that I kind of hate it when the title of a piece addresses me directly like: "Things You Didn't Know About ___" or "If You Like ____, You Should Check Out ____" or "Four Things You Absolutely Need if You Don't Want to Look Like a Troglodyte to your Houseguests" -for whatever reason it feels manipulative. Like, chill- you don't know me and don't assume that your opinion has any bearing on me as a human being at all.

Whatever, here are albums I like right now, whether or not you choose to check them out, and if you disagree with me, that's great! Genuinely! Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts, if you like.

Also! I fucking despise numerical album ratings, if you're looking for those, you won't find any here.

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New Music and Big Pop - Another Michael

Genres Indie Folk, Folk, Indie Pop

Time 35:01

Recommended Songs "New Music" "Big Pop" "What Gives?"

Though it may be a relaxing, acoustic listen, New Music and Big Pop has a quality to it that makes me stop what I'm doing in favor of experiencing the music on a deeper level. Comforting melodies, complex structures, and beautifully layered vocals, these songs give the impression of being produced to perfection- no aspect of them sticks out jarringly or feels out of place, the composition feels wonderfully aligned to a steady vision of the completed work. To me, the songs give a feeling of pensive calm but with a stylistic spin that is somehow evocative of garage rock or even punk. Also- listen to the whole thing.

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Growl Pop - Dan & Drum

Genres Alternative, Indie, Experimental

Time 41:48

Recommended Songs "Wanna Ride" "Interlude, Pt. 2" "Mona Lisa"

This one I was confused by when I found it. Dan & Drum make music that, while entirely entertaining and often melodically masterful, could really belong to a genre of its own just called 'Confusing.' Generally acoustically supported with some digital effects and various production quirks, the songs on Growl Pop can vary melodically so far within each song that it can be genuinely difficult to pin down what the main carrying melody may be, if there is one at all. The odd vocals and really cool harmonies also give each tune a very variable feeling.

Some of my favorite lyrics:

"I know better, it's mind over matter, yeah, it's mind if it's matter, it's a matter of time" - "Wanna Ride"

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Decide - Djo

Genres Synth, Synth-Pop, Pop, Alternative, Hypnotic, Aggressive, Dance

Time 36:03

Recommended Songs "End of Beginning" "On and On" "Slither"

This is one of those albums where the "Recommended Songs" section above is pretty much irrelevant. I think the entirety of this one absolutely rocks. Reminiscent of Daft Punk, reminding me of STRFKR and Video Age and Hall & Oates and even David Bowie or the Talking Heads, it feels like Djo has listened to all of my favorite music and taken all of that as influence, and then confidently produced the most powerful possible usage of elements from all of the above. This album is appealing to me to the greatest degree- sometimes dark, sometimes passionate, sometimes bouncy, sometimes explosive, I absolutely love it. Honestly it's so appealing that it makes me wish Djo kind of went a little weirder with the songs here- the potential for something groundbreaking is present, but for now it's just rad in all the right, if familiar ways.

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Digital Spool - Jazz Emu

Genres Comedy, Funk, Synth-Funk, Lyrical

Time 38:20

Recommended Songs "Still Waiting" "You Would Never" "Tonally Inconsistent?"

Comedy music can be a difficult genre for many to enjoy, especially when the current musical consumption climate makes each individual's music taste a point of scrutiny and something to base one's ego around- when any song you listen to has its main value in someone else hearing you listening to it and thinking highly of you, you tend not to want your sense of humor dissected as well. If you can't relate to that, congratulations and I'm happy for you. In any case, Jazz Emu has blessed us with a treasure trove of songs absolutely spine-tinglily funktastic, with lyrics that get me smiling every time. Emu has this way of weaving the comedy into the music as well as the lyrics, which is more than most others braving the genre are able to do, and I commend him heavily for that, as well as how this album deftly and ridiculously satirizes modern internet culture, even delving into issues of contemporary masculinity, insecurity, and the odd state of being a "content creator." The rare moment of sincerity is made even more powerful after you've heard the song that has a whole section of fart noises.

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From 2 to 3 - Peach Pit

Genres Alternative, Indie Rock, Acoustic, Indie Folk

Time 37:54

Recommended Songs "Up Granville" "Look Out!" "Everything About You"

Peach Pit returns, in this album, with a pretty folk-y feel, much more than previous albums. It feels like if the songs from 2018's Being So Normal were teenagers, the songs from From 2 to 3 are adults. That parallel may just be me projecting, as the former album came out and had a great impact on me when I was, in fact, a teenager, and the latter arrives with similar importance in my burgeoning adulthood, but It's not totally without base. The songwriting in question has much less garage-rock angst (not that angst is a bad thing), the metaphors are much more refined, it really feels like Peach Pit's style has settled into a very comfortable era where nothing feels forced and the style is solid without being monotonous. An album like this could, in a very personal way, frame my decade.

Let it be known- almost every review of this album that I have seen has described it as Peach Pit's most "mature."

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Color Theory - Soccer Mommy

Genres Alternative, Indie, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Rock, Dark

Time 44:13

Recommended Songs "lucy" "circle the drain" "royal screw up"

Dark and brooding, powerful and brooding, heartfelt and brooding, you get the idea- Color Theory falls in line with the movement in modern music of seemingly very sad, wonderful women, singing their hearts out in gut-wrenching rock and roll irreverence. Artistically, Soccer Mommy very regularly knocks it out of the park for me, I envy the raw ability that she has to convey feeling directly through the medium of sound, and this album is no exception. Many of the hits here were previously released as singles, but when put together in an arrangement like this, they are made all the more powerful.

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Modern Johnny Sings (Songs in the Age of Live) - Theo Katzman

Genres Rock, Indie Rock, Pop Rock, Funk, Indie Funk, Jazz

Time 1hr 25min

Recommended Songs "My Heart is Dead (Live)" "The Death of Us (Live)" "Lily of Casablanca (Live)"

Modern Johnny Sings: Songs in the Age of Vibe, the 2020 studio album, is a masterpiece in its own right. In fact, I do even like some of the songs on it more than their versions in this Live album, but the reason that the latter is featured here is that to miss the back and forth of Katzman and the audience, the absolutely incredible keyboard solos, the times where the vocals match up perfectly to what would otherwise be called instrumental improvisation if it hadn't been immaculately practiced, and the absolutely vivid joy of performing would be a disservice to no one but yourself. A Live album like this, that makes the listener feel as though they can see the action in front of them, is a gift. There are a few too many vocal embellishments for my taste, but regardless this work is one you shouldn't pass up.

Not sure if anyone's still reading, but here's hoping I keep writing.

[musiccatalogue]

Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By

This album by boasts some pretty big names, Dan The Automator and Mike Patton are joined by (the criminally underrated) Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields. There's even a little spoken cameo from Damon Albarn in the intermission track: "Lovage - Love that Lovage, Baby", except, rather strangely, he's credited under the pseudonym of Sir Damien Thorn VII Of The Cockfoster's Clan.

These artists from wildly different genres come together to create a cohesive and sexy downtempo album that'll leave you begging for more. Unfortunately though, you won't be getting any more. 'Lovage' was just a one-off collaboration. Sad!

This album certainly delivers on its title. On the nose sex-fuelled lyrics, a cover of "Sex (I'm a...)" by Berlin, awkward moaning, Jennifer Charles' sultry contralto vocals contrasted with Mike Patton's gruff crooning, the commitment to the bit is definitely there. I'm not sure if this would be a good replacement for "CBAT" though.

Some of the songs sound like a soundtrack to a bad porno, so it's nice that instrumental versions have been provided so you can still listen to some well-produced downtempo in god-fearing households.

Eventually, these songs do seem to merge into one - crooning, moaning, similar instrumentals. It doesn't detract from the quality of the songs themselves - but it can make the album feel a little more like "background music". But, considering the title, maybe that's the point!

[zinphandel]

word on the street is everyone’s favourite tumblr series by kate zinphandel (kate reviews dan howells album of the year recs) is making a come back,,,,…….. keep an eye out…….

[sinceileftyoublog]

Olivia Rodrigo Album Review: GUTS

(Geffen)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Olivia Rodrigo had wanted to title her second album "GUTS" since she was making her debut, SOUR, because she was interested in the various colloquial contexts in which we use the word. No, you're not going to find the singer-songwriter's second album on the shelf next to Exhumed's back catalog--referring to entrails is about the only meaning Rodrigo doesn't conjure from the word. She mentions "spill your guts," and the album certainly has the same diaristic quality as her first record. She also brings up the phrase "hate your guts;" lo and behold, at times on GUTS, Rodrigo foregoes the sarcasm and facetiousness of SOUR for full-on diatribes and revenge fantasies. But the connotation that stands out most to me, listening to the record for months after it's now come out, is one of courage. Simply, it takes a lot of guts to make an album like this.

From the start, Rodrigo sets up the unrealistic expectations she's under, physical and behavioral, both as a young woman and as a celebrity. On the Joan Didion-inspired, dynamic and choral "all-american bitch", she sings "I'm grateful all the time / I'm sexy, and I'm kind / I'm pretty when I cry," fully aware that she's encapsulating a caricature more than a real character. Appropriately, she spends the rest of the album contradicting the idea of the ideal feminine. Knowingly regretful, she hooks up with an ex on the stuttering power pop jam "bad idea right?" She's jealous of a "dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate" on the layered and ghostly "lacy", her vocals and producer Dan Nigro's synthesizer skyward before they come crashing to a painful, realized whisper. On piano and strings ballad "the grudge", she posits that while "It takes strength to forgive...I don't feel strong." Rodrigo swims in imperfection.

Rodrigo's deep dive into her own humanity, though, sets her up for longer lasting strength. For every lambast of "bloodsucker" and "fame fucker," iconic as they are, there's a line like on "logical" where she sings, "I know I'm half responsible / And that makes me feel horrible." Synth rock standout "love is embarrassing" is especially impressive, as Rodrigo collates all the cringiest things she's ever done--the type that would keep most people up at night--and turns them into a singular anthem of teenage awkwardness. On "making the bed", she realizes that as much as she's resentful of certain aspects of her life, from the toxicity of the music industry to her penchant for social errors due to homeschooling, she has the ultimate agency to change things. She's stated the song was the hardest on the album to write, and the delicate balance between blame and acceptance is palpable. There are even multiple layers to "get him back!" Sure, Rodrigo wants "to meet his mom and tell her her son sucks," but she also wants to reconnect. Otherwise, why would she care?

Ultimately, GUTS has proved to be one of the most rewarding pop records of the year due to its sheer humanism. You can find solidarity in a song like "pretty isn't pretty", a shimmering dream pop standout instrumentally wedged between "1979" and Alvvays, one that decries the extent to which capitalism promotes unrealistic standards, beauty or otherwise. But it's closer "teenage dream" that ensures the album ends not on a bang, but on a relatable wince. Small moments, like the pseudo "you're not from around here" record scratch after the first chorus, build up the unease to emphasize Rodrigo's final moment of self doubt: "They say it gets better / But what if I don't?" Kudos to Rodrigo for putting to words and music what we're all thinking all the time.

[vinyl-connection]

ON A MISSION FROM GOD

When they first wrote and performed comedy sketches on the US television show Saturday Night Live, it is unlikely that John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had any inkling their alter egos—“Juliet” Jake Blues and his brother Elwood—would take on a life of their own. With crumpled thrift-store suits, ever-present sunglasses and a briefcase of harmonicas handcuffed to Elwood’s wrist, The Blues Brothers…

[citizenhullabaloo]

Smash, Pass, Trash: SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo

Disclaimer: Completely subjective opinion! Remember that before you bully me 😦

Pros?

A great great debut by a teenager with honest feelings and a good collaboration with Dan Nigro. Love how it resonated with the younger folk and a rejuvenation of rock amongst my younger family members! If she came out when I was in middle school, I would be a fan of her just like I was with all the other Disney stars back in the late 2000s. (My age reveal? When? ._.). The singles are strong, and the deep cuts still stand out in some way, albeit all ballads.

Cons?

A bit too repetitive regarding the heartbreak and love tropes throughout the entire album. How much damage did this ONE guy did? Goddamn! There’s really nothing bad else besides the ballads being too much if you’re not in the mood for them. This is one of those records that require you to be in a state of mind before choosing to listen. Only the singles stand out as stuff to listen to whenever.

Afterthoughts?

Singles are strong, ballads are strong… Olivia mentioned having Alanis Morissette as an influence, who I love as well, and can hear it in the lyricism.

Rating Scale: Smash, Pass, or Trash

Rating: (A light) Smash!

Great debut! 😀

4 / 5 (Based off my The Music Checklist)

[midnight-star-world]

#CountryMusic

Dan + Shay - Bigger Houses

So today on the MSR (Midnight Star Review), I would like to talk about the latest album from Country Music Duo Dan + Shay. The new album is titled "Bigger Houses" and was released on Friday September 15th, 2023. But before we dive into the new project, let's talk about the careers of Dan + Shay first.

Dan + Shay have released such hits like "10,000 hours" with Justin Bieber, "Glad you exist", & "From the ground up". And other hits include "Speechless", "Tequila", & "All to myself". Dan + Shay have earned number ones and even a spot on my year-end Artist of the year list in the past. But before we dive too far off track, we need to talk about the 12 track CD.

Dan + Shay's current single is called "Save me the trouble", and I believe their tour will be called "Heartbreak on the map". Some songs you should check out are "Then again", "Missing someone", & "Neon cowgirl". The title track is "Bigger houses", and the stand out singles in my opinion are "Always gonna be", & "For the both of us". Dan + Shay had a hand in co-writting 11 out of the 12 tracks. Here is the rest of the track list now.

Track list.

Breakin' up with a broken heart.

Save me the trouble.

Heartbreak on the map.

Always gonna be.

For the both of us.

Then again.

Heaven + back.

What took you so long.

Missing someone.

We should get married.

Neon cowgirl.

Bigger houses.

And that's a wrap for the track list. And on the MSR (Midnight Star Review), I would give this album a 4 out of 5 stars. I am a fan of more songs on albums. So it is a good well-rounded cd. But overall I felt like it was a good album, and if you are a fan of Dan + Shay. You would probably already got this album anyway. Thanks for taking the time to read this review. See ya all next time