Geese – Getting Killed: Every few years, an album reminds me that rock is still alive and kicking ass. Getting Killed is one of those albums. I listened to it a lot this week, and I listened loud, and I had fun. Geese isn’t doing anything particularly new or unusual, they’re just putting the pieces together in a way that… Read more »
Sharon Van Etten – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong: Hearing this for the first time made me feel the same way The Bends made me feel 30 years ago. The anthemic choruses, the melancholy chord progressions, the glimpses of light in the darkness (or maybe they’re glimpses of shadows in the light) … it’s all here. I can’t… Read more »
Wednesday – Bleeds: I tend to listen to music before words, which maybe doesn’t serve a record like Bleeds. The lyrical themes supposedly center around the heartbreak between MJ Lenderman and Karly Hartzman, so I suspect I’d be rewarded if I dug into the words. I was so indifferent to the music, though, that I doubt I’ll ever get back… Read more »
PinkPantheress – Tiny Desk Concert: I haven’t stopped thinking about this performance all week because (A) it’s energetic and exciting, (B) PinkPantheress is both charming and funny, and (C) the band is incredibly fun to watch and hear, especially bassist Rani Adi from Poster Girl. I enjoyed this as much as I’ve enjoyed any Tiny Desk Concert, and that’s a… Read more »
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs: The songs, arrangements, and performances are wonderful. Marc Ribot’s increased presence adds beautiful color to the songs, and the instrumentation pushes the boundaries of “found sounds” even farther than Swordfishtrombones did. I’m still struggling with the lyrics, though. These characters and settings are so fantastical as to feel like caricatures. I recognize that I’m listening… Read more »
Mitski – Puberty 2: The arrangements and instrumentation are solid, but her words and delivery push this record into greatness. My biggest surprise is “Crack Baby,” a track that initially appears like an obnoxious joke but eventually reveals a depth of confused longing and pain. The more I listen, the more I understand why so many people hold this record… Read more »
Kathleen Edwards – Billionaire: The music is as interesting and the lyrics as thought-provoking as anything Edwards has done, and the musicians’ performances are consistently exciting. Edwards lyrical choices have a couple of hiccups that tripped me up, though. Words like “currency” and “compact disc” tear me out of the reverie of the music by injecting technicality and time into… Read more »
Saint Etienne – Tiger Bay (Deluxe Edition): Between buying Foxbase Alpha at Tower Records in 1992 and hearing Sound of Water in my office in 2000, Saint Etienne was on my radar throughout my 20s but never connected with me. When I read about their label’s misguided liberties with the track list for Tiger Bay, though, I was curious enough… Read more »
Ahmed Abdul-Malik – Jazz Sounds of Africa: I’ve never heard of Abdul-Malik but I found two of his CDs in the used bin on Friday and couldn’t leave them. This is the space between what guys like Coltrane and Dolphy and Mingus were doing in the early ‘60s and what Fela was doing in the ‘70s. “Communication” and “Suffering” are… Read more »
Paul Simon – Graceland: This is another record that I never made the time to listen to until now, which feels particularly egregious because Bob has told me what I’m missing for nearly 25 years. The joy and pain and loss and discovery and wonder in these songs is undeniable, and I haven’t even listened closely yet. Alice Coltrane –… Read more »