Monthly Report: January 2024 Albums
1. Sarah Jarosz - Polaroid Lovers
I wasn't familiar with Sarah Jarosz when I decided to check out her new album after hearing a little on WXPN. But apparently she's won a few Grammys and is pretty well established in the alt-country/Americana world and has worked with Aoife O'Donovan, who I was also sleeping on until a couple years back. And Jarosz's voice is just beautiful, really enjoying this record, especially "Jealous Moon" and "The Way It Is Now." Here's the 2024 albums Spotify playlist where I put all the new releases I'm listening to throughout the year.
2. Craig Wedren - The Dream Dreaming
I think Shudder To Think's Craig Wedren is one of the few true originals and visionaries of alternative rock, nobody sings or writes like him, and he's really never gotten enough credit for his talent or his catalog. Over the past couple decades, he's scored a tons of TV series and films, and his "Yellowjackets" theme song with Anna Waronker is probably the highest profile thing either have done since the mid-'90s heyday of Shudder To Think and That Dog. Waronker makes an appearance on one song on The Dream Dreaming, but it's an all-over-the-place mix of styles like Wedren's best solo albums like 2011's Wand, I particularly love "W 52nd" and "Pronouns."
3. 21 Savage - American Dream
When a trailer for a 21 Savage biopic was released last month, which played more like a music video (for a new song) and a comedy skit (with Donald Glover as one of the actors playing 21), it felt pretty clear to me that it was probably an elaborate album promo prank, just like the faked media appearances Drake and 21 Savage did for Her Loss. I was right, but I guess with media literacy at an all time low, the clever stunt backfired, and even when the album dropped, people seemed to think it was just a soundtrack for a janky-looking vanity project movie, and it didn't quite do as well as I would've expected his next solo album to do. And that's a shame, because I think it's his best album to date, great beat selection and his deadpan punchlines have grown on me a lot since he was my least favorite XXL freshman of 2016. The chorus on "Pop Ur Shit" is unfortunate, though (21 Savage asked "y'all want me to change the poop bar?" on Instagram but so far it's still there).
4. Future Islands - People Who Aren't There Anymore
I've interviewed Future Islands before, and a few months ago I did a piece about the place where they've recorded their last couple records, Wright Way Studios, and talked to their producer Steve Wright and drummer Mike Lowry. Like any band who really grabbed people's attention one time, every new Future Islands album has that "their best since Singles" or "but is it as good as Singles?" kind of talk around it. But really, I think People Who Aren't There Anymore is one of their best records and they've really locked in since Lowry joined, I love the propulsion he brings to "Give Me The Ghost Back" and "Iris."
5. The Smile - Wall Of Eyes
I've always rolled my eyes at people pushing the theory that Radiohead is secretly over and will never play together again. That said, it's been almost 8 years since their last album and almost 6 years since their last concert, while Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have spent the last 3 years recording and performing heavily with their new trio The Smile. My theory is they like being able to play shows where there's no expectation that they play an hour of old tunes they wrote decades ago. In any case, it's guys from one of the best bands of their generation making similar stuff to their main gig, and it sounds great, I particularly like how "Read the Room" reminds me a little of jammy late period Sonic Youth.
6. Brittney Spencer - My Stupid Life
Brittney Spencer is from Baltimore and is among the small but growing number of Black country singers signed to a major label, so I'm really rooting for her on multiple fronts. And her debut album is really solid, great vocals and a lot of personality and a nice mix of twangy conventional country and more modern, pop-leaning songs. I like "First Car Feeling," nice piece of teenage nostalgia.
7. YG Teck - 4th Quarter (Gangsta Grillz)
It's been exciting the last couple years seeing YG Teck do things that few if any Baltimore rappers have ever done, including a Gangsta Grillz tape. And I like that he's really sticking with the sound that got him here, other than the DJ Drama ad libs and a Babyface Ray feature, this is pretty similar to his other projects, would be a good intro for new listeners. It even ends with "Bomb," a fun Baltimore club flip of Sisqo's "Thong Song" produced by Tate Kobang.
8. Hannah Ellis - That Girl
Kentucky country singer Hannah Ellis signed with Curb Records after competing on "The Voice" almost a decade ago, and after years of trickling singles and an EP, she finally got enough traction to release her debut album. The sassy uptempo singles "Wine Country" and "Country Can" don't appeal to me much, but she's got a great voice for the more emotive midtempo stuff like "Someone Else's Heartbreak" and "Plans."
9. various artists - Yesterday & Today: DC Does Dischord
The label For Love Of Records put together this cool double LP compilation to benefit We Are Family DC, with Washington artists covering songs from the Dischord Records catalog. I like that there's a wide range of artists from different generations, including some Dischord alumni, and the interpretations are all over the place, you've got The Pietasters doing a Minor Threat song with horns, and J. Robbins doing a Government Issue cover that's over 10 times longer than the original and sounding completely different, Ted Leo playing Shudder To Think. The biggest news of the comp, to me at least, was that The Dismemberment Plan got in the studio for the first time in nearly a decade to cover Circus Lupus's "Unrequited."
10. Green Day - Saviors
When I got an advance of this while working on my Spin ranking of Green Day albums, I didn't have high hopes, because the lead single "The American Dream Is Killing Me" reminded me of everything that bored me about late period Green Day. So the rest of the album pleasantly surprised me, mostly faster, less preachy, funnier, the Green Day I like best.
The Worst Album of the Month: Kid Cudi - Insano
Insano feels very much like Kid Cudi's attempt at Tyler, The Creator's Call Me If You Get Lost, a rapper who's always followed his own eccentric muse doing his version of a 'street rap' record with hard beats and fewer melodic choruses and DJ Drama shouts. But where Tyler sounded good in that context, Cudi is still the same weird amateurish MC he's been for 15 years whose music gets worse the more he tries to write straight up bar-driven hip hop, it's almost amazing how bad some of these verses are, and how wasted the production is on him.
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