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And so it’s list time again. Whoop de doo.
This was my first year of relying almost entirely on Bandcamp and Spotify to listen to new music (budget cuts, you see). So I did get to listen to a lot more music than I normally do. However, a lot of it was underwhelming, disappointing or the sort of thing that doesn’t hold up to repeated listens.
To be clear, I heard a number of good solid albums in 2019, particularly from artists I’ve been listening to for a long time – but not many of them blew me away. Even in the Top 10, after the first six, the excitement level dials itself down somewhat, although to be clear, nothing in the Top 10 or the Honorable Mentions is bad – the disappointing stuff is either in its own category or not mentioned at all.
It could be my problem – the last few years have yielded similar results, and I find myself more impressed with re-releases of older music (especially music I haven’t heard before) than anything new. And more often than not, the good “new” stuff is actually covers of old songs – it’s probably no coincidence that four of my top albums this years are covers projects (including one comp), while a fifth contains one of the best and most ambitious cover songs ever attempted.
Anyway, as Les Claypool once said, they can’t all be zingers. So here’s what I have.
TOP 10 DEF LPs OF 2019
1. Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mettavolution (Rubyworks/BMG)
The duo who made their name playing flamenco covers of Metallica songs returns with a new studio album of rock-influenced flamenco with a touch of electric effects chiefly as a mood enhancer and texture additive. It’s all brilliant, especially their ambitious take on Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”, which has to be heard to be believed. As one person I know once said about them, you’d never believe anyone could get that much sound out of two acoustic guitars. Fantastic.
2. The Budos Band, V (Daptone)
That's “V” as in “five”, not the 80s lizard aliens or the Alan Moore comic. The Budos Band are possibly the most underrated act on the Daptone label;. They started as Afro-Soul revivalists but are now leaning in more of a spacy 70s funk-rock direction – sort of like if Chicago (the band) had been led by Dennis Coffey instead of Terry Kath. Anyway, as usual, it’s all instrumentals and it’s an improvement on their previous album in terms of meaty hooks.
3. Mdou Moctar, Ilana (The Creator) (Sahel Sounds)
Mdou Moctar is a Tuareg guitarist from Niger, but unlike other Tuareg artists, he’s less about mystic desert blues and more about psychedelic hard rock, albeit with the same challenging time signatures you get with a lot of Saharan bands. I wouldn't say that harder edge is an improvement over other Tuareg acts, but it’s certainly a cool variation on the sound, and does it rock.
4. Jake Xerxes Fussell, Out Of Sight (Paradise of Bachelors)
Fussell is an interesting character – not so much a folk singer as a curator, he collects and record old folk songs in the public domain. Which is only slightly disappointing in that when I first heard him, I thought: “Wow, this guy really has a knack for writing old-style folk lyrics.” Turns out not. But Fussell’s real gift besides good song selection is creating the right musical atmosphere for each one. His first two albums were just him and a guitar – this is his first with a full backing band, though not on every track. The songs are fascinating and often captivating snippets of Americana.
5. Juliana Hatfield, Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police (American Laundromat)
Last year, Juliana Hatfield surprised everyone with an album consisting entirely of Olivia Newton-John covers. This year, she did the same thing with The Police. In theory it shouldn’t work – whatever you think of The Police, their sound was the unique product of three equally unique musicians who were more than the sum of their parts. And while Hatfield is no slouch as a musician, she’s not really in the same league. And yet this works to her advantage. The fact that the first track – “Can’t Stand Losing You” – opens with a drum machine is sort of a mission statement that Hatfield intends to tackle these songs on her own terms, not follow the notation. And so she does, with interpretations ranging from relatively faithful (Canary In A Coalmine) to relatively radical reinvention (Roxanne as stripped down Greek chorus, Murder By Numbers as aggressive punk, etc). Her choice of songs is also interesting – some hits but also some deep cuts. It doesn’t work quite as well as the ONJ album, but it works a lot better than you might think.
6. Jeff Lynne's ELO, From Out Of Nowhere (Big Trilby/Columbia)
ELO officially came back five years ago as Jeff Lynne’s ELO, but even though I was a big ELO fan in my teen years, I didn’t investigate closely – something about the “Jeff Lynne’s” part of the name bugged me, even though I knew it was basically his band, but why not do solo albums then? Anyway. I wasn’t interested in his new album until a number of people were tweeting about how surprisingly good it was. At first I was underwhelmed, but to my surprise it’s grown on me. I can’t say it holds up to ELO’s best work, but there’s a lot of detailed touches that make it at least sound like the same band (apart from the drums). Not a great ELO album, but the best one in a long time, and surprisingly satisfying.
7. Rickie Lee Jones, Kicks (The Other Side Of Desire Music /Thirty Tigers)
Rickie Lee Jones has done covers albums before. There doesn’t seem to be any thread between her selections here except they’re songs she grew up with and felt like covering – Bad Company, Elton John, Lee Hazlewood, Tin Pan Alley tunes, Steve Miller Band, and more. It’s delightfully eclectic in both song selection and mood, which veers between darkly atmospheric and playful. There’s a couple that don't really work for me – Skeeter Davis’ “The End Of The World” is too straightforward, while her version of “Mack The Knife”, is alright, I can’t help thinking, “Do we really need another cover of this song?” But she sounds like she’s enjoying herself, so I can’t begrudge her that. And her brooding take on “Bad Company” is just stunning.
8. Shonen Knife, Sweet Candy Power (Good Charamel Records)
Album number 21, and it does just what it says on the tin. This one is interesting in that it’s not just the three current members but also two former or touring band members helping out on a few songs as well. It also continues Naoko Yamano’s recent tendency to not so much expand the formula as add little songwriting touches here and there to pay homage to other musical influences besides Ramones and Buzzcocks – this one, for example, also contains musical nods to Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers. In many ways it’s more of the same, but in a world gone horribly wrong we need all the Shonen Knife we can get.
9. Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Colorado (Reprise)
Neil Young has made some great albums without Crazy Horse, but I’ve always felt that somehow their shambolic looseness tends to bring the best out of him when nothing else will. Then again, there’s such a thing as overdoing it – his previous collaboration with the band, 2012’s Psychedelic Pill, ran way too long, guaranteeing it was the kind of album I’ll only listen to once. The new album reins in their jam tendencies into something more coherent. Topic-wise it’s typical late-era Neil – a mix of political commentary and nostalgia, while musically its Crazy Horseness is reassuringly familiar.
10. Magnapop, The Circle Is Round (HHBTM)
I liked Magnapop during their 90s heyday – left-of-center power pop with Linda Hopper’s unassuming, almost conversational vocals. Their output dropped after 1996 due to label problems, after which they released two albums in 2005 and 2009, which I didn’t know about – indeed, I didn’t know they were still around. They are, and they're still sticking to the power-pop formula. Inevitably many of the new songs suffer in comparison to their classic stuff. But there’s some good stuff here, especially once you get into the middle of the record.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Richard Michael John Hall, In the Summer, The Sun Never Sets. (Bandcamp)
Full disclosure: I’ve known Rich Hall for some time now, so I’m definitely biased here, but then this whole list is biased, so why not? Anyway, this is his latest release and I’m digging it. After two instrumental records, he’s back to singing, and he’s shifted from psychedelic-influenced guitars to a more relatively straightforward rock sound, though there’s touches of psychedelia here and there. Odds are you’ve not heard it, so here’s your chance.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ghosteen (Ghosteen Ltd)
The latest from Cave/Seeds is their first double album since Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, though musically it’s quite different. Ghosteen continues the sound of their previous album The Skeleton Tree but on an even more ethereal plane, which is perhaps appropriate given the title. It’s quite beautiful, but it doesn't quite have the same impact that The Skeleton Tree did – maybe because it’s too long, and too ethereal, with not as many sonic surprises that make Cave/Seeds albums stand out.
Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock (Merge)
You generally know what you're going to get with a Bob Mould album – loud guitars and awesome harmonics. What you may not expect is more positive lyrics and a string/horn section on a few songs – the former is just fine, the latter took some getting used to. There are definitely some strong songs here, but the album overall didn’t have the impact I typically hope for with Mould.
Chai, Punk (SMEJ)
Japanese band that’s more funk than punk, at least musically – on the other hand, the all-girl band also has its own alt-kawaii manifesto that aims to redefine what counts as “kawaii” (i.e. cute) in Japanese culture, especially regarding women. Anyway, they’re basically young kids having fun making music. The album is okay, but doesn’t really convey the full effect of seeing them live, which is more fun (if their Tiny Desk concert is anything to go by).
Ladytron, Ladytron (!K7)
Ladytron are back after eight years with a new eponymous album, and for me it’s more or less a return to form – it’s not as great as 2005’s Witching Hour but better than their previous album Gravity The Seducer. Soundwise it’s what you expect from a Ladytron album – layered synths and dreamy vocals (though bringing in Sepultura's Igor Cavalera on drums was an unexpected twist).
Mavis Staples, We Get By (Anti-)
In which Mavis Staples trades collaborator Jeff Tweedy for new collaborator Ben Harper, who produced this album and wrote or co-wrote all of the songs here. The Tweedy albums were okay (the most recent, If All I Was Was Black, being the best of the bunch), but Harper’s vibrato guitar feels like a better fit for Staples’ voice. The songs themselves range from average to pretty good, but it’s definitely not a step backwards.
Mix Market, Red Lion (K.O.G.A. Records)
This is a punk-pop band from Japan that has been in service since the late 1990s, and I’ve been a fan for about that long. Where a lot of Japanese punk bands tend to pick a formula and stick to it, Mix Market has outlasted many of their peers in part by knowing when to mess with the formula just enough to bring something a little different. It also helps that they know a catchy pop tune when they hear it, and they’re pretty adept at the kind of air-punching anthems you always hear during the closing credits of anime cartoons. Also, lead singer Yutti just sounds like she’s having so much fun being in a band. Still, this new album isn’t all that different from everything else they’ve done.
BEST COMPILATION
Various Artists, Dr Demento Covered In Punk (Demented Punk)
Technically this came out last year, but I don’t have any other entries for this category, and this thing just blew me away when I discovered it, so I’m putting it here because I can. It’s essentially a canned two-hour “broadcast” with Dr Demento hosting a collection of punk/alt bands covering some of the famous novelty records he helped break (“Fish Heads”, “The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati”, “Shaving Cream”, etc) and Demento staples like William Shatner, Barnes & Barnes and Weird Al covering punk classics. Everything here was recorded specifically for this comp, and it’s just so much silly fun, with bumpers and anecdotes and Brak from Space Ghost taking over the studio so he can cover “Institutionalized”. What more do you want?
BEST RE-RELEASE
Ivor Cutler, Singing While Dead EP (Hoorgi House)
Cutler was the eccentric’s eccentric, writing and singing childlike nonsense poetry accompanied by a harmonium and little else. He died in 2006, and this EP – which came from out of nowhere with no real explanation – is presented as though he’s releasing it from beyond the grave, although it’s just four previously unreleased versions of old songs. Why these four? No idea. Why just four? Also no idea. But they’re great, and I’m a fan, so good enough.
THE ALBUM I’M TRYING HARD TO LIKE
Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won't Hold (Mom+Pop)
Four years after their “comeback” album No Cities To Love, S-K return with a new album in which they finally decide to openly embrace their (apparent) love for Duran Duran. Musically it’s such a radical departure – with cheesy synths, drum machines and solo pianos – that if not for Corin Tucker’s recognizable voice you’d be forgiven for not knowing it’s the same band. It’s jarring, and yet it’s characteristic of S-K to decide at this point in their career to deliver something that sounds almost nothing like their previous back catalog, even if it’s the sort of thing Franz Ferdinand was doing ten years ago. Lyrically of course it’s as on-brand as ever. It’s not a bad album and there are some solid songs here – single “Hurry On Home” ranks with some of their best songs – but it’s just so different from everything else they’ve done that I still struggle to be fair to it. Still, points for being daring. I think it may grow on me over time.
UNINTENTIONALLY SILLIEST ALBUM OF 2019
Twink, Moths & Locusts, Think Pink IV: Return To Deep Space (NoiseAgonyMayhem Records
Twink was part of the psychedelic music scene in London in the 60s, playing drums in bands like Tomorrow, Pretty Things and Pink Fairies. His 1970 debut solo album Think Pink was regarded as one of the better latter-day psychedelic albums to emerge from the scene. Starting in 2015, he started releasing “sequels” to that album – this is the third and latest sequel, in which he teams up with Canadian space-rock band Moths & Locusts and other musicians. I haven’t heard the others so I can’t compare them, but this album would be a lot better if it were instrumental. Which is to say, one of the downsides of 60s psychedelia was that while the music was usually pretty cool, more often than not, the lyrics were equal parts awful and pretentious. That’s definitely the case here.
THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM I DIDN'T KNOW I WANTED (AND I’M STILL NOT SURE THAT I DO)
Rob Halford and Family and Friends, Celestial (Sony)
I don’t think anyone was expecting a Christmas album from Rob Halford, but only because it’s been ten years since the last time he did this (2009’s Winter Songs), so it’s not like he hasn't done this before. The band is different this time – “Family and Friends” means just what it says – but the approach is still the same: traditional carols and a few new songs done more or less Judas Priest style, with a few exceptions that are okay but aren't nearly as fun as the loud metal-ish tracks.
Ho ho ho,
This is dF
This was my first year of relying almost entirely on Bandcamp and Spotify to listen to new music (budget cuts, you see). So I did get to listen to a lot more music than I normally do. However, a lot of it was underwhelming, disappointing or the sort of thing that doesn’t hold up to repeated listens.
To be clear, I heard a number of good solid albums in 2019, particularly from artists I’ve been listening to for a long time – but not many of them blew me away. Even in the Top 10, after the first six, the excitement level dials itself down somewhat, although to be clear, nothing in the Top 10 or the Honorable Mentions is bad – the disappointing stuff is either in its own category or not mentioned at all.
It could be my problem – the last few years have yielded similar results, and I find myself more impressed with re-releases of older music (especially music I haven’t heard before) than anything new. And more often than not, the good “new” stuff is actually covers of old songs – it’s probably no coincidence that four of my top albums this years are covers projects (including one comp), while a fifth contains one of the best and most ambitious cover songs ever attempted.
Anyway, as Les Claypool once said, they can’t all be zingers. So here’s what I have.
TOP 10 DEF LPs OF 2019
1. Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mettavolution (Rubyworks/BMG)
The duo who made their name playing flamenco covers of Metallica songs returns with a new studio album of rock-influenced flamenco with a touch of electric effects chiefly as a mood enhancer and texture additive. It’s all brilliant, especially their ambitious take on Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”, which has to be heard to be believed. As one person I know once said about them, you’d never believe anyone could get that much sound out of two acoustic guitars. Fantastic.
2. The Budos Band, V (Daptone)
That's “V” as in “five”, not the 80s lizard aliens or the Alan Moore comic. The Budos Band are possibly the most underrated act on the Daptone label;. They started as Afro-Soul revivalists but are now leaning in more of a spacy 70s funk-rock direction – sort of like if Chicago (the band) had been led by Dennis Coffey instead of Terry Kath. Anyway, as usual, it’s all instrumentals and it’s an improvement on their previous album in terms of meaty hooks.
3. Mdou Moctar, Ilana (The Creator) (Sahel Sounds)
Mdou Moctar is a Tuareg guitarist from Niger, but unlike other Tuareg artists, he’s less about mystic desert blues and more about psychedelic hard rock, albeit with the same challenging time signatures you get with a lot of Saharan bands. I wouldn't say that harder edge is an improvement over other Tuareg acts, but it’s certainly a cool variation on the sound, and does it rock.
4. Jake Xerxes Fussell, Out Of Sight (Paradise of Bachelors)
Fussell is an interesting character – not so much a folk singer as a curator, he collects and record old folk songs in the public domain. Which is only slightly disappointing in that when I first heard him, I thought: “Wow, this guy really has a knack for writing old-style folk lyrics.” Turns out not. But Fussell’s real gift besides good song selection is creating the right musical atmosphere for each one. His first two albums were just him and a guitar – this is his first with a full backing band, though not on every track. The songs are fascinating and often captivating snippets of Americana.
5. Juliana Hatfield, Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police (American Laundromat)
Last year, Juliana Hatfield surprised everyone with an album consisting entirely of Olivia Newton-John covers. This year, she did the same thing with The Police. In theory it shouldn’t work – whatever you think of The Police, their sound was the unique product of three equally unique musicians who were more than the sum of their parts. And while Hatfield is no slouch as a musician, she’s not really in the same league. And yet this works to her advantage. The fact that the first track – “Can’t Stand Losing You” – opens with a drum machine is sort of a mission statement that Hatfield intends to tackle these songs on her own terms, not follow the notation. And so she does, with interpretations ranging from relatively faithful (Canary In A Coalmine) to relatively radical reinvention (Roxanne as stripped down Greek chorus, Murder By Numbers as aggressive punk, etc). Her choice of songs is also interesting – some hits but also some deep cuts. It doesn’t work quite as well as the ONJ album, but it works a lot better than you might think.
6. Jeff Lynne's ELO, From Out Of Nowhere (Big Trilby/Columbia)
ELO officially came back five years ago as Jeff Lynne’s ELO, but even though I was a big ELO fan in my teen years, I didn’t investigate closely – something about the “Jeff Lynne’s” part of the name bugged me, even though I knew it was basically his band, but why not do solo albums then? Anyway. I wasn’t interested in his new album until a number of people were tweeting about how surprisingly good it was. At first I was underwhelmed, but to my surprise it’s grown on me. I can’t say it holds up to ELO’s best work, but there’s a lot of detailed touches that make it at least sound like the same band (apart from the drums). Not a great ELO album, but the best one in a long time, and surprisingly satisfying.
7. Rickie Lee Jones, Kicks (The Other Side Of Desire Music /Thirty Tigers)
Rickie Lee Jones has done covers albums before. There doesn’t seem to be any thread between her selections here except they’re songs she grew up with and felt like covering – Bad Company, Elton John, Lee Hazlewood, Tin Pan Alley tunes, Steve Miller Band, and more. It’s delightfully eclectic in both song selection and mood, which veers between darkly atmospheric and playful. There’s a couple that don't really work for me – Skeeter Davis’ “The End Of The World” is too straightforward, while her version of “Mack The Knife”, is alright, I can’t help thinking, “Do we really need another cover of this song?” But she sounds like she’s enjoying herself, so I can’t begrudge her that. And her brooding take on “Bad Company” is just stunning.
8. Shonen Knife, Sweet Candy Power (Good Charamel Records)
Album number 21, and it does just what it says on the tin. This one is interesting in that it’s not just the three current members but also two former or touring band members helping out on a few songs as well. It also continues Naoko Yamano’s recent tendency to not so much expand the formula as add little songwriting touches here and there to pay homage to other musical influences besides Ramones and Buzzcocks – this one, for example, also contains musical nods to Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers. In many ways it’s more of the same, but in a world gone horribly wrong we need all the Shonen Knife we can get.
9. Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Colorado (Reprise)
Neil Young has made some great albums without Crazy Horse, but I’ve always felt that somehow their shambolic looseness tends to bring the best out of him when nothing else will. Then again, there’s such a thing as overdoing it – his previous collaboration with the band, 2012’s Psychedelic Pill, ran way too long, guaranteeing it was the kind of album I’ll only listen to once. The new album reins in their jam tendencies into something more coherent. Topic-wise it’s typical late-era Neil – a mix of political commentary and nostalgia, while musically its Crazy Horseness is reassuringly familiar.
10. Magnapop, The Circle Is Round (HHBTM)
I liked Magnapop during their 90s heyday – left-of-center power pop with Linda Hopper’s unassuming, almost conversational vocals. Their output dropped after 1996 due to label problems, after which they released two albums in 2005 and 2009, which I didn’t know about – indeed, I didn’t know they were still around. They are, and they're still sticking to the power-pop formula. Inevitably many of the new songs suffer in comparison to their classic stuff. But there’s some good stuff here, especially once you get into the middle of the record.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Richard Michael John Hall, In the Summer, The Sun Never Sets. (Bandcamp)
Full disclosure: I’ve known Rich Hall for some time now, so I’m definitely biased here, but then this whole list is biased, so why not? Anyway, this is his latest release and I’m digging it. After two instrumental records, he’s back to singing, and he’s shifted from psychedelic-influenced guitars to a more relatively straightforward rock sound, though there’s touches of psychedelia here and there. Odds are you’ve not heard it, so here’s your chance.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ghosteen (Ghosteen Ltd)
The latest from Cave/Seeds is their first double album since Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, though musically it’s quite different. Ghosteen continues the sound of their previous album The Skeleton Tree but on an even more ethereal plane, which is perhaps appropriate given the title. It’s quite beautiful, but it doesn't quite have the same impact that The Skeleton Tree did – maybe because it’s too long, and too ethereal, with not as many sonic surprises that make Cave/Seeds albums stand out.
Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock (Merge)
You generally know what you're going to get with a Bob Mould album – loud guitars and awesome harmonics. What you may not expect is more positive lyrics and a string/horn section on a few songs – the former is just fine, the latter took some getting used to. There are definitely some strong songs here, but the album overall didn’t have the impact I typically hope for with Mould.
Chai, Punk (SMEJ)
Japanese band that’s more funk than punk, at least musically – on the other hand, the all-girl band also has its own alt-kawaii manifesto that aims to redefine what counts as “kawaii” (i.e. cute) in Japanese culture, especially regarding women. Anyway, they’re basically young kids having fun making music. The album is okay, but doesn’t really convey the full effect of seeing them live, which is more fun (if their Tiny Desk concert is anything to go by).
Ladytron, Ladytron (!K7)
Ladytron are back after eight years with a new eponymous album, and for me it’s more or less a return to form – it’s not as great as 2005’s Witching Hour but better than their previous album Gravity The Seducer. Soundwise it’s what you expect from a Ladytron album – layered synths and dreamy vocals (though bringing in Sepultura's Igor Cavalera on drums was an unexpected twist).
Mavis Staples, We Get By (Anti-)
In which Mavis Staples trades collaborator Jeff Tweedy for new collaborator Ben Harper, who produced this album and wrote or co-wrote all of the songs here. The Tweedy albums were okay (the most recent, If All I Was Was Black, being the best of the bunch), but Harper’s vibrato guitar feels like a better fit for Staples’ voice. The songs themselves range from average to pretty good, but it’s definitely not a step backwards.
Mix Market, Red Lion (K.O.G.A. Records)
This is a punk-pop band from Japan that has been in service since the late 1990s, and I’ve been a fan for about that long. Where a lot of Japanese punk bands tend to pick a formula and stick to it, Mix Market has outlasted many of their peers in part by knowing when to mess with the formula just enough to bring something a little different. It also helps that they know a catchy pop tune when they hear it, and they’re pretty adept at the kind of air-punching anthems you always hear during the closing credits of anime cartoons. Also, lead singer Yutti just sounds like she’s having so much fun being in a band. Still, this new album isn’t all that different from everything else they’ve done.
BEST COMPILATION
Various Artists, Dr Demento Covered In Punk (Demented Punk)
Technically this came out last year, but I don’t have any other entries for this category, and this thing just blew me away when I discovered it, so I’m putting it here because I can. It’s essentially a canned two-hour “broadcast” with Dr Demento hosting a collection of punk/alt bands covering some of the famous novelty records he helped break (“Fish Heads”, “The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati”, “Shaving Cream”, etc) and Demento staples like William Shatner, Barnes & Barnes and Weird Al covering punk classics. Everything here was recorded specifically for this comp, and it’s just so much silly fun, with bumpers and anecdotes and Brak from Space Ghost taking over the studio so he can cover “Institutionalized”. What more do you want?
BEST RE-RELEASE
Ivor Cutler, Singing While Dead EP (Hoorgi House)
Cutler was the eccentric’s eccentric, writing and singing childlike nonsense poetry accompanied by a harmonium and little else. He died in 2006, and this EP – which came from out of nowhere with no real explanation – is presented as though he’s releasing it from beyond the grave, although it’s just four previously unreleased versions of old songs. Why these four? No idea. Why just four? Also no idea. But they’re great, and I’m a fan, so good enough.
THE ALBUM I’M TRYING HARD TO LIKE
Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won't Hold (Mom+Pop)
Four years after their “comeback” album No Cities To Love, S-K return with a new album in which they finally decide to openly embrace their (apparent) love for Duran Duran. Musically it’s such a radical departure – with cheesy synths, drum machines and solo pianos – that if not for Corin Tucker’s recognizable voice you’d be forgiven for not knowing it’s the same band. It’s jarring, and yet it’s characteristic of S-K to decide at this point in their career to deliver something that sounds almost nothing like their previous back catalog, even if it’s the sort of thing Franz Ferdinand was doing ten years ago. Lyrically of course it’s as on-brand as ever. It’s not a bad album and there are some solid songs here – single “Hurry On Home” ranks with some of their best songs – but it’s just so different from everything else they’ve done that I still struggle to be fair to it. Still, points for being daring. I think it may grow on me over time.
UNINTENTIONALLY SILLIEST ALBUM OF 2019
Twink, Moths & Locusts, Think Pink IV: Return To Deep Space (NoiseAgonyMayhem Records
Twink was part of the psychedelic music scene in London in the 60s, playing drums in bands like Tomorrow, Pretty Things and Pink Fairies. His 1970 debut solo album Think Pink was regarded as one of the better latter-day psychedelic albums to emerge from the scene. Starting in 2015, he started releasing “sequels” to that album – this is the third and latest sequel, in which he teams up with Canadian space-rock band Moths & Locusts and other musicians. I haven’t heard the others so I can’t compare them, but this album would be a lot better if it were instrumental. Which is to say, one of the downsides of 60s psychedelia was that while the music was usually pretty cool, more often than not, the lyrics were equal parts awful and pretentious. That’s definitely the case here.
THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM I DIDN'T KNOW I WANTED (AND I’M STILL NOT SURE THAT I DO)
Rob Halford and Family and Friends, Celestial (Sony)
I don’t think anyone was expecting a Christmas album from Rob Halford, but only because it’s been ten years since the last time he did this (2009’s Winter Songs), so it’s not like he hasn't done this before. The band is different this time – “Family and Friends” means just what it says – but the approach is still the same: traditional carols and a few new songs done more or less Judas Priest style, with a few exceptions that are okay but aren't nearly as fun as the loud metal-ish tracks.
Ho ho ho,
This is dF
