Em Beihold – Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter: Every once in a while, I imagine doing record reviews in the spirit of Jessica Hagy’s Indexed Venn diagrams, but I’ve tried and it’s way harder than it looks. Not for Shapeshifter, though. This is where Lily Allen and Regina Spektor intersect with a good bit of Queen and a little slice of Lady Gaga. “Lottery” is a successful version of what my old band tried (and mostly failed) to do. I doubt I’ll listen to this much, but I’m a more complete music fan for having heard it.
The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein: I was in a rough emotional space early in the week and these beautiful vignettes of things falling apart hit me hard. The opening line in “New Order T-Shirt”—How you tapped on a box of blue American Spirits / At Anyway Café, a little under a month before the ashes / And management capital files filled the streets—took me back to NYC in 2001 and nearly broke me on a day when I was already nearly broken.
Mclusky – The World Is Still Here and So Are We: In 1986, a friend played Public Image Ltd.’s Album (actually, it was Cassette, but whatever) and I loved it and never listened to it again. In 2008, I heard Mclusky’s The Difference Between You and Me Is that I’m Not on Fire and loved it and never listened to it again. Now I’m listening to The World is Still Here and I love it, and it reminds me of how PiL made me feel 40 years ago. Maybe I need to listen to these guys more than once every 20 years.
Ohyung – Iowa: “Memorial” is, by far, the standout on Iowa, and it is exceptional by any standard. The rest is hit or miss, with compelling explorations of mood and emotion competing with cliched b-movie scores. What I really like about this record, though, is the fact that Lia Ouyang Rusli opens her musical palette to include sounds that are both dark and bright, something that few of her experimental peers are willing to do.
Bill Callahan – My Days of 58: I suspect that Callahan is one of those performers who fills his entire set—songs and breaks alike—with stories, stories that make you laugh and make you sad and make you feel more human for an hour or two. I love those kinds of performers, but I’m not sure that Callahan’s stories—especially the ones that make you laugh, like “Pathol O.G.”—translate well to the studio. As a whole, though, My Days of 58 is a thoughtful reflection by a man who is leaving middle age behind.
Jeff Buckley – Live at Sin-é: I finally picked up the full extended release and I can’t count how many times I’ve stopped what I’m doing and sat in awe at Buckley’s talent. Until listening to these solo performances, I never explicitly connected his brilliance as a guitarist to his brilliance as a singer. He was an amazing musician in every sense, and I’m grateful to finally have this collection.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Jay Som: Belong
Record store finds this week: I finally found Khruangbin’s Texas Moon in a local shop after looking for a year, and I picked up both Baby and Absolutely by Dijon.