The Week That Was, 1-17-2020
Halsey, Trail of Dead, Little Big Town, Marcus King, Marshall Crenshaw
Albums released on 1/17/2020 that I enjoyed:
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead—X: The Godless Void and Other Stories
All the time AYWKUBTOD took between records can be felt on X: The Godless Void And Other Stories, their first album in over half a decade. It's not that the band seems slower, it's that they seem settled in their skin, accepting how they's sliding into middle age but insisting on reconnecting with the surging, sinewy sprawl that fueled their earliest records. They've trimmed away their excesses without losing their majestic thrust.
Little Big Town—Nightfall
Ever since my first run through Nightfall a couple of months ago, I've had the Mexicali-flavored stomp "Wine, Beer & Whiskey" stuck in my head. Usually, this caused some measure of irritation because the drinking anthem is filled with lyrics that make me cringe ("My friend the Captain/We call him Morgan/He likes to anchor down and hang over til mornin'"), but since the hooks dug deep into my brain, it's hard to argue that the song doesn't work and it's also a needed bit of frivolity on an album that is subtle and measured. The subdued nature of Nightfall is often beguiling, offering a sense of comfort when there's an undercurrent of disquiet flowing through these impeccable ballads and breezy pop. Blending heartbreak with beauty has been Little Big Town's specialty for a while now and if Nightfall doesn't break new ground, it still satisfies.
Marcus King—El Dorado
Stepping away from the band bearing his name, Marcus King set up shop at Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound and let the Black Key do his thing. This is hardly a bad thing. Auerbach's house crew create deeper grooves than the Marcus King Band and, as a producer, he encourages King to trade his blues bluster for hooky neo-soul and writing that's tight and forceful in a way he's rarely been in the past.
Della Mae—Headlight
The bluegrass trio opens up their sound on their first full-length album in a half decade, working with producer Dan Knobler to blend in electric guitars, keyboards, rhythm sections. Far from coming across as a compromise, the album seems strong and assured, a feeling underscored how Della Mae finds room on Headlight for an anthem of solidarity for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford ("Headlight") and a jubilant cajun rave-up ("I Like It When You're Home").
Halsey—Manic
Confession: the refrain on "Clementine"—the second song on Manic and its second single—drives me batty, its whiny double-tracking forcing me to smash the fast forward button. I think this irritation is intentional but Halsey isn't quite a provocateur. Rather, she happily leans into affectations and tics with an impishness that could be called playful if she wasn't so intent on spilling her emotions onto the page. Whenever Manic isn't bustling digital twitches--or isn't too concerned with conforming with the nonconformist contours of Spotifycore--it serves up insistent, melodic modern pop that hooks into the subconscious.
Further Study:
Bill Fay—Countless Branches
The proper album on Countless Branches is dedicated to ten songs so spartan they seem in danger of breaking from a breeze. It's accompanied by seven bonus tracks--enough to effectively be a bonus complementary albums--that boast a fuller, richer production. The bonus tracks are naturally more immediate, so they caught my ear first but I suspect the riches lie within the fragile first part of Countless Branches but I haven't given the record enough plays for it to sink in properly.
Algiers—There Is No Year
I've given There Is No Year a couple of spins, enough to know that I find its blend of urgent post-punk and funk gripping but not enough to form a considered opinion.
Of Montreal—UR Fun
Can't remember the last time I checked in on Of Montreal—it's been years, possibly as long as a decade—but I enjoyed the over-saturated indie-glam of UR Fun, even if I felt like it ran about twenty minutes longer than it actually did.
Pass:
Dustin Lynch—Tullahoma
He's likable enough, I suppose, which is good since Dustin Lynch has built his career upon the idea that he's a likable dude. He certainly has a friendlier persona than Jason Aldean, whose style he continues to bite on Tullahoma, his fourth album. The lack of an audible scowl helps Tullahoma seem bright and shiny but over the course of a well-polished half-hour, the cheer curdles and seems callow.
It's Fine:
Bombay Bicycle Club—Everything Else Has Gone Wrong
A (very) casual observer of this band, I spent some time enjoying the cod-sophistication of the album until I realized I could feel the songs leaving my memory before they finished playing.
Reissues:
Marshall Crenshaw—Miracle Of Science
I am fairly certain I heard and liked Miracle Of Science when it came out on Razor & Tie in 1996—Marshall Crenshaw has always been firmly within my wheelhouse—but I have no strong memory of the record. Revisiting it via this expanded reissue from Shiny-Tone—an imprint started by Crenshaw, who now owns all of his Razor & Tie masters—I'm struck by how enjoyable the record is, how it feels like the fading echo of 1980s college rock while retaining its timeless pop classicism. Crenshaw played the lion's share of the instruments here—at times, production is ever so slightly stiff but not enough to be a detriment—but the album isn't egocentric; he spent nearly as much time advocating for other writers, creating a place where Grant Hart can sit comfortably next to Dobie Gray's "The 'In' Crowd." If it's not a patch on Crenshaw's '80s LPs in terms of original tunes, that's a mighty high bar to clear, and the passing years have helped underscore the craft at the album's core, letting it stand as a sturdy, slightly roughhewn collection of guitar-pop.
Notable Digital Debuts, 1-17-2020:
Shel Silverstein—Boy Named Sue [1969, RCA/Victor]
Smokestack Lightnin'—Off the Wall [1969, Bell]
Jolliver Arkansaw—Home [1969, Bell]
Chad Mitchell—Chad [Bell, 1969]
Rob Base—The Incredible Base [1989, Profile]
The Moog Machine—Switched-On Rock [1969, Columbia]
Note: starting next week, the New Release Roundup will move to a paid tier.