Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women): “Here is Someone” feels like it ends too soon. There’s more to this song and more to this story. To be clear, that’s a compliment. They left me wanting more.
Maya Delilah – The Long Way Round | Lucy Dacus – Forever Is a Feeling: I made it through three songs of each before I got too bored to continue. I heard positive qualities in both so I might revisit them, but boredom is the very worst reaction that music can inspire.
Kendrick Lamar – GNX: I’m finally getting around to this and it’s far better than I hoped, particularly since I love Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and all I’ve read is that GNX is very much not Mr. Morale. The production and underlying compositions hit me hard. I’m looking forward to listening more.
Lorez Alexandria – Alexandria the Great: I get both excited and humbled when I find an artist I’ve never heard of. Her voice is huge and her growl is fierce. The bad news is her subsequent album (More of the Great Lorez Alexandria) was in the sleeve, but the good news is that means I get to hear her lovely version of “It Might as Well Be Spring.”
Queen – A Night at the Opera: I listened for the first time in probably 30 years and I get it in ways I didn’t in my 20s. Songs I wrote off as novelties have energy, and “Love of My Life” has a kind of magic (see what I did there?) that I couldn’t hear during the ‘90s. With all that said, there are moments here that walk the fine line between clever and stupid, and I’m curious to see how I feel about it next time I listen.
Led Zeppelin – IV: Even though this was one of my most important early musical influences, I don’t think I’ve ever owned this album. Somehow, I still know every note and hearing it truly is like catching up with an old friend.
Grateful Dead –Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City NJ, 8/6/1974: It’s clearly an inspired performance but it hasn’t moved me yet. I’ll give it a few more listens.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Hania Rani: Ghosts; Led Zeppelin: IV.
Record store finds this week: The Lorez Alexandria record I mentioned above is the big find this week, and the “well-loved” bin where I found it also gave me Zeppelin IV and The Who Quadrophenia for dirt cheap. I also ran across Jessie Ware’s That! Feels Good.