Monthly Report: April 2021 Albums
1. Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space
Much has been made of how rewarding the reunion of Dinosaur Jr.'s original lineup, now 5 albums in, has been. But J Mascis has never made a bad record with any lineup of Dinosaur in 37 years, which is a pretty incredible run, Dinosaur's continued excellence makes me feel the way Sonic Youth did in their third decade before they finally disbanded. I think my favorite moment on Sweep It Into Space is when J says "I got excited, I got depressed" and then rips a scorching guitar lead on "I Met The Stones," it's like J Mascis in a nutshell (speaking of the Rolling Stones and longevity -- by the time the Stones had been around this long they were making weak stuff like Bridges To Babylon). "And Me" is the one on this album that I think hits the hardest, though, what a great song. Here's the 2020 albums Spotify playlist that I put everything new I've been listening to into.
2. Dawn Richard - Second Line
Dawn Richard had one of the most interesting and unpredictable career arcs in recent memory even before she signed with Merge Records, but it makes for such a perfect little twist in her path from major label R&B to DIY art pop -- she used to record for Diddy, now she records for Mac and Laura from Superchunk. Second Line feels like a continuation of her 2019's New Breed in that she salutes the musical traditions of her hometown, New Orleans, plus a lot of lyrics about her family and interludes talking to her mother, while still working in her signature futuristic electro disco sound. I think my favorite songs so far are "Boomerang" and "Perfect Storm."
3. Eric Church - Heart / Soul
I formatted the title above a little awkwardly because I haven't heard Eric Church's triple album set Heart & Soul in its entirety -- the 6-song middle volume & is only available to his fan club members on vinyl, but 2 of those songs were released on streaming services, so I'm only missing 4 tracks out of the 24-song package. In any sense, it's great to hear one of modern country's most ambitious and consistently excellent artists take a swing at a big epic record like this. I love all the twists and turns of "Heart of the Night," "Russian Roulette" is a classic slow burning Eric Church anthem, Soul has some good tracks but overall I prefer Heart.
4. Flock Of Dimes - Head Of Roses
I'm such a huge fan of pretty much everything Jenn Wasner does -- I was at one of the earliest Wye Oak shows (when they were still Monarch) and at one of her earliest solo performances as Flock Of Dimes, and both projects have grown and evolved in interesting ways, slowly expanding from the format of two people or one person doing pretty much everything. But Head Of Roses is more of Wasner with a whole backing ensemble and it really feels like she could stretch out and do some very different things very well on the same record, it feels like such a rich album from front to back. "Price Of Blue" is maybe my favorite guitar performance she's ever done, and the whole back half of the album is just sublime, especially when "No Question" transitions into "Awake For The Sunrise."
5. Fishboy - Waitsgiving
Fishboy are a band from Texas that makes these really nerdy rock operas and songs that are packed full of characters and rambling stories. They really won me over when I saw them in Baltimore in 2008, and I followed them for a few records before they fell off my radar and I missed a couple of albums, so I'm glad that I heard about this new one. Eric Michener just has this great energy where it feels like almost like he's telling you about an idea for an album and just keeps going and going, strumming and singing and going on and on until it is an album.
6. Moneybagg Yo - A Gangsta's Pain
Memphis's Moneybagg Yo has been on a great run for the last few years and I'm happy to see that building momentum finally get him his first #1 album. He's still making the same kind of disrespectful bangers he's always excelled at like "Shottas (Lala)" and "Time Today" but it definitely feels like A Gangsta's Pain is his attempt at more of a conflicted, vulnerable tough guy 2Pac kind of vibe. He's also experimenting more with shorter songs, with more tracks under 2 minutes than any of his previous projects, and weirdly that works well with the more serious vibe of some of the songs like "Change Da Subject." He gets out of his comfort zone and sings a little too much on the Jhene Aiko song, but "Certified Neptunes" is one of those surprisingly good Pharrell & Chad collaborations with a deep south rapper who usually sticks with a more regional sound than what they do.
7. Joy On Fire - Another Adventure In Red
Joy On Fire are a (mostly) instrumental band that started out under the name SuperSharpShooter, they formed in Baltimore and are currently based in New Jersey. My friend and frequent producer Mat Leffler-Schulman seems to especially love their music out of all the bands he's worked with, and I understand why, they're super talented and very much in his musical wheelhouse, so I'm always happy when I hear from him that they've got new music out. And Another Adventure In Red is great stuff, love the interplay between Anna Meadors's saxophone and John Paul Carillo's guitar and their whole 'punk-jazz' approach to putting together these big 10+ minute epics. But the ensemble they put together for this record definitely takes it up a notch, touches like David Degge's dulcimer on "After" and Tommy Hambleton's lap steel guitar on "Adventure In Green" just sound gorgeous.
8. Proper Nouns - Feel Free
Proper Nouns is a newish Baltimore band fronted by Spencer Compton that has Jon Birkholz (Soul Cannon, Adjective Animal) on bass. Their debut album reminds me of Ted Leo's early work with Chisel at times, very tightly wound, jangly stuff with wordy, thought-provoking lyrics, it's right up my alley.
9. Royal Blood - Typhoons
A good amount of British acts are well received in America now, but I wish their hard rock bands made more of an impact in the U.S. these days. Typhoons is Brighton duo Royal Blood's third consecutive #1 album in the U.K., but it only got to #48 on the U.S. album chart. And the 'disco AC/DC' sound they introduced with the lead single "Trouble's Coming" is really my favorite thing they've ever done, the whole album follows in that direction and "Oblivion" and "Limbo" kick ass too, I just love that buzzsaw guitar tone.
10. Demi Lovato - Dancing With The Devil...The Art Of Starting Over
Demi Lovato's been one of my favorite pop stars of her generation for a long time, and obviously there's been a lot of autobiography and personal catharsis and references to her public struggles and controversies, although the really on-the-nose stuff like "Skyscraper" has never been my favorite music in her catalog. But her first album since her near-fatal overdose in 2018, a soundtrack to a documentary about her life, is obviously very heavy on songs that address her life, not just in inspiring platitudes but in confessional detail, and it's uncomfortable at times but she navigates this delicate territory pretty well. I'm partial to the more uptempo stuff like "Lonely People" and "15 Minutes" but I respect how this kind of had to be a long and often slow-paced record where a lot of feelings are getting aired out.
The Worst Album of the Month: Lil Tjay - Destined 2 Win
Two years ago, Polo G and Lil Tjay's "Pop Out" auspiciously launched two rappers, one from Chicago and one from New York, into national consciousness, and they've both enjoyed platinum albums since then and just had big top 3 debuts for recent singles. But Lil Tjay's "Pop Out" verse was the weak link of that song ("my hands can do the job and I ain't talkin' masturbate" always made me cringe), and after listening to Destined 2 Win I think I'll go as far as to say he might have the single worst voice in modern mainstream rap, he just sounds like a total weenie and does nothing lyrically to redeem it.
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