A$AP Rocky – Don’t Be Dumb
Right off the bat, the songs seem mediocre, but the production and arrangements seem fantastic. The lyrics to “PLAYA” aren’t stupid, but they are weak from a rhyme perspective. Over the course of the album, I waffle on the lyrics, find the music to be mundane, and the production very good.
Listen: Maybe just a few songs
Buy: No
Langhorne Slim – The Dreamin’ Kind
I never paid much attention to his previous records which are kind of folky and pleasant, but the new record is more of a garage rock record that I like more and that helped me to dig in to the lyrics which are often quite good. I should go back and listen to the earlier records, but The Dremin’ Kind is a really solid record in an age when rock is harder to come by in popular music.
Listen: Yes!
Buy: I’m leaning toward yes
Jana Horn – Jana Horn
This is a pretty sparse record. It’s mellow and ambling, but that belies its intensity. Horn’s voice is a perfect match to her music: peculiar, good, but not obviously so. Her breathy vocals have subdued emotion. Bass is way out front in the mix with guitar barely noticeable. “Without” is maybe the peak that the album is driving toward the whole time, but the time spent getting there has a meditative quality. There is something that reminds me of the King Creosote/Jon Hopkins album Diamond Mine.
Listen: Yes, but it might take a few tries
Buy: Maybe
Nat and Alex Wolf – Nat and Alex Wolf
Yeah, the production is slick and it all sounds good, but it sure would be nice if their low-key pop songs occasionally had a hook that took a surprising turn. At least this was true of the first three songs. I was too bored to continue.
Listen: No
Buy: No
Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine
In a kind of cool way, this album is like Joni Mitchell as a country artist. Her voice itself reminds me a bit of Mitchell, but mostly, it is her phrasing. There are some kind of oddball parts like the bouncy bass line on “Little Picture of a Butterfly,” but it mostly sticks to solid songs and a subtly very good performance (with really nice vocal harmonies).
Listen: Yes
Buy: Maybe
Jana Horn also made it on my “maybe buy” list, but I didn’t make the connection to Jon Hopkins and King Creosote. I’ll listen to their record again, it never clicked for me but I also never listened properly.
As for Courtney Marie Andrews, I immediately heard Joni Mitchell but I didn’t hear the things I associate with Mitchell, like her vibrato or her chord progressions. I also didn’t want to let my dislike of Mitchell be an unfair strike against Andrews. At the end of the day, though, Valentine is definitely not an album I’ll buy even though it has a lot of strengths.