Steve Gunn: The Unseen in Between (Matador)
Gunn's a perfect example of why I'm retiring my unpaid commitment to review all seriously acclaimed new records after 2019; his last two albums received virtually identical reviews here to any that I could conceivably write about this pleasant, totally forgettable tidbit of dad rock revenge. Y'all already know if you want to hear this. And it's the kind of thing that I never mind hearing, but also would never in a million years think to put on if I wasn't doing this.
The Twilight Sad: It Won't Be Like This All the Time (Rock Action)
The pains of being young at heart: this angsty song cycle from these old pros at feeling bad is full of Bon Iver-style song title pretensions and plenty of meaty, arena rock-sized hooks suffused with synthy MTV goth sensibility. They're Old Romantics, and this is makeout music for future senior citizens as assuredly as a McGuire Sisters 45 was for their parents.
Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar) [r]
Her voice doesn't always navigate the nuances of the slower songs enough to make them drown out even the more generic fast ones, such as the St. Vincent-like "Comeback Kid." But speaking as a longtime skeptic, I find that Van Etten's songcraft has improved immeasurably, and of course handing the production reins over to John Congleton helps; the pounding beat on "No One's Easy to Love" (which should've been the album title, paired with that mortifying LP cover) most agreeably subsumes Van Etten's guttural vocal tones. Obviously the main advantage is in the writing, how the vivid narrative of "Malibu" about a couple of dudes who don't give a fuck lays out detail and truth in spades, or how the melody on "You Shadow" effortlessly evokes the Beatles without directly referring to them; but when she thinks of the songs in terms of music, words and sounds all at once, the rewards are ample (trippy and flipped out "Memorial Day," desolate-harsh "Jupiter 4," the build to chaos on "Seventeen"). It peaks with its iris-out "Stay," a ghostly and hypnotic wail emanating from a maxed-out boom box -- clear as day in its haze and confusion.
Deerhunter: Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? (4AD) [r]
Not a guitar record, and barely a Deerhunter record by the sound of it; its oscillation between cartoon-colored emotions and doldrum dirges approximating the bouncy-and-sad dynamic of Bradford Cox's solo records as Atlas Sound... except in the sense that it lacks the overindulgence that pins Logos and such as self-edited. Much of the album, signature "Death in Midsummer" and "What Happens to People?" above all, presents as bubblegum psychedelia so strangely convincing that these could be songs left off the soundtracks to The World of Henry Orient or, I dunno, A Thousand Clowns -- they're that hippie, that rainbow-sweet. It's like if R.E.M.'s signature sound was adopted and expanded from the Lovin' Spoonful instead of the Byrds. But that R.E.M. connection is key because these are songs with subtleties, valleys and infinite secrets, plus the occasional well-placed keyboard hook that seems like a cop rather than a climax. It's telling that the Atlas-esque cuts like "Element," "Tarnung" and the glitching anticlimax "Nocturne" are as shimmery and pretty in their multidimensional headache-music excavations as stuff like "Plains" that once upon a time coulda been something like popular, or the fake video game soundtrack cut "Futurism" on which Cox buys completely into the vocal Lennon comparisons with the dry treatment he gives the melody. The weirdness sometimes is ridiculously over-the-top; there's an instrumental Depeche Mode b-side, basically, and a robovoice rant 'n' rave that puts a little too much of an angel on top of the album's slickly immersive, seductive paranoia. Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He only wants you to have some fun.
M. Ward: What a Wonderful Industry (s/r)
There's probably a very long back story here regarding the fact that Ward's first album not on a label (he was previously signed to Merge as a solo artist and to Columbia/Sony as cofounder of She & Him) is one long rant about "the biz." It's also the most passionate, coy and dedicated he's sounded in probably a full decade, and no question I'd rather put up with its litany of first-world problems than read that tell-all book by the drummer from Semisonic. Ward's guitar playing has only ever been pretty much infallible, but his singing has been erratic since the start of the She & Him period, so it's nice to hear him loosen up again, but it's less exciting that what's woken up him is a sense of overwhelming bitterness. The songs are varied enough, but the presence of word-salad overdoses like "Sit Around the House" and "A Mind Is the Worst Thing to Waste" strongly indicate that he's more interested in rambling angrily than in writing coherent or complete songs, and the last thing we want is another of those singer-songwriters. Even when Ward does combine the two impulses, as on the countrified "Miracle Man," he's still telling tales about hangin' out with A&R bros, and sometimes his lyrics are so on-the-nose it's close to unbearable, as on "Shark," the title character of which "wears a heavy coat all day so the world can't see his fins." Or on "Poor Tom": "they forgot to say the name of the record... they announced the show all wrong." Sheesh. I mean, why yell at us? Luckily, this is mostly a good time if you can tune out the words. "Motorcycle Ride" is classically toned Ward, "Kind of Human" is clasically toned Neil Young (no, really) and best of all, "Return to Neptune's Net" is... instrumental! As Louis Armstrong sang...
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: Miri (Out Here) [hr]If hard-earned, transcendent pleasure is what you're looking for from a new record in 2019, this is where you go. So impossibly gorgeous it almost hurts, this phenomenal outing from one of the best bands in the world is as singular and effective as their best to date Jama Ko but with a completely different mood and mindset. Slow but not relaxed, collected but deeply intense, it is sensuous and vital in the best way; and if you as a listener of Western music have any taste at all for a great interlocking jam, then the record is your homework assignment, and if you haven't the time, just try "Deli." Sweeping, lilting voices your thing? The sweet, addictive opener "Kanougnon" is the music of heaven tself. You dig arm-waving anthems? "Wele Cuba" is an even stronger dip into such territory than those that populated the crossover bid I Speak Fula. You want jazz? "Nyame" is as mournful and complex as a Coltrane ballad. You want something to fall headfirst into? "Tabital Pulaaku" shows that there is nothing Kouyate and his gaggle of family musicians can't do -- really and truly, to my mind it's as heavy and deep as music gets. Ngoni Ba is currently touring the States and I wish I could go; if you can, do so.
Michael Chapman: True North (Paradise of Bachelors)
British singer-songwriter with jazz and folk roots, recording since 1969. His latest album is not recommended for drowsy Monday morning commutes, unless listening to someone growl about waking up with a bottle full of "something strong and cheap" turns you on. Once you're accustomed to the stark, monochromatic Grandpa sensibility, the weird duets, the dirgey Buffalo Springfield homages, and the scattered nonverbal meanderings, this isn't bad, though I never want to hear another 78 year-old tell me that "youth is wasted on the young."
Jessica Pratt: Quiet Signs (Mexican Summer) [r]
Scored on mood alone, this is magnificent and slightly eerie, approached as lost early '60s baroque with maxed-out distortion causing a distant, ghostly sound that at its most generous allows a thin, Tweety-like voice to conjure up Dusty Springfield and Vera Lynn; and in general lets this otherwise lightweight record attain a lilting, lovely, almost indescribable quality of enigma, the disembodied sound of the past haunting us. The only problem is that the songs are basically identical, which isn't so offensive since the whole shebang runs under a half-hour, but you may end up taking your favorite and running with it then forgetting the rest; they all have extracts of the sublime lurking in their melodies. I like "Poly Blue" best.
Bob Mould: Sunshine Rock (Merge) [r]
The cover of this blistering, classicist alt-rock album evokes not anything from Mould's active era as a musician but something from his childhood: the Capitol swirl logo used on that label's famous Beach Boys, Beatles, Human Beinz and Dick Dale singles. Aside from the fine cover of the Shocking Blue's psychedelic totem "Send Me a Postcard," though, this relates to the 1960s only insofar as it's comprised of easy-on-the-ear, digestible yet deceptively thorny rock anthems one right after the other. "Sunny Love Song" does sound like a radio hit, albeit from the '90s, but it's just quirky enough to be wonderful, and "Western Sunset" is the best kind of fragmented pop, but only their titles tell a story of freewheeling youth and abandon. Mould's actual heart is more closely aligned with the sad but forceful "Lost Faith" and the beefed-up keyboard trill and huge sound of "The Final Years," a mournful mystery whose nuances you want to pause long enough to slip away and contemplate. The ironies are less important than the sheer power of the singing and playing; despite its economy, the record drags a bit into sameness in the midsection, but at its best this is rousing and intense in a sharp, intelligent manner rarely heard from new guitar music by an artist of Mould's experience.
Nivhek: After Its Own Death / Walking in a spiral towards the house (Yellow Electric) [r]
The D'ni are an ancient race who used a special skill to create magical books which serve as portals to the worlds they describe, known as Ages. The D'ni build a great city and thriving civilization in underground caverns. A young geologist from the surface, Anna, stumbles upon the D'ni civilization. Learning the D'ni language, Anna becomes known as Ti'ana and marries a D'ni named Aitrus; the couple have a son named Gehn. Soon after, D'ni is ravaged by a plague created by a man named A'Gaeris. Aitrus sacrifices himself to save his wife and child, killing A'Gaeris while Ti'ana and Gehn escape to the surface as the D'ni civilization falls. Ti'ana raises Gehn until he runs away as a teenager, learning the D'ni Art of writing descriptive books. Ti'ana also cares for Gehn's son, Atrus, until Gehn arrives to teach Atrus the Art. Atrus realizes that his father is reckless and power-hungry, and with the help of Ti'ana and a young woman, Catherine, Atrus traps Gehn on his Age of Riven with no linking books. Atrus and Catherine marry and have two children, Sirrus and Achenar. The brothers grow greedy and after plundering their father's Ages they trap Catherine on Riven. When Atrus returns to investigate, the brothers strand him in a D'ni cavern before they themselves are trapped by special "prison" books. Through the help of a Stranger, Atrus is freed and sends his benefactor to Riven to retrieve Catherine from the clutches of Gehn. Sirrus and Achenar are punished for their crimes by being imprisoned in separate Ages until they reform. Atrus writes a new Age called Releeshahn for the D'ni survivors to rebuild their civilization as he and Catherine settle back on Earth, raising a daughter named Yeesha. As Atrus prepares to take the Stranger to Releeshahn, a mysterious man named Saavedro appears and steals the Releeshahn Descriptive Book. The Stranger follows Saavedro through several Ages (which were used to train Sirrus and Achenar in the art of writing Ages), before finally recovering the book. Ten years later, Atrus asks for the Stranger's help in determining if his sons have repented after their lengthy imprisonment; the Stranger saves Yeesha from Sirrus' machinations, but Sirrus and a repentant Achenar are killed. D'ni is not fully restored until the creatures the D'ni enslaved, known as the Bahro, are freed.
Anyway, good stuff.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION TO COME:
* Ray BLK: Empress
* Miya Folick: Premonitions
* Sneaks: Highway Hypnosis
* Dawn Richard: New Breed
* Beirut: Gallipoli
Mick Jenkins: Pieces of a Man
Eli Keszler: Stadium
Makaya McCraven: Universal Beings
Ty Segall: Fudge Sandwich
David Crosby: Here If You Listen
Kelly Moran: Ultraviolet
Bill Ryder-Jones: Yawn
Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox: The Essentials 2
Objekt: Cocoon Crush
Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore: Ghost Forests
Rita Ora: Phoenix
Bryan Ferry: Bitter-Sweet
Meek Mill: Champions
Lubomyr Melnyk: Fallen Trees
21 Savage: I Am > I Was
Lorelle Meets the Obsolete: De Facto
Buke and Gase: Scholars
Swindle: No More Normal
TOY: Happy in the Hollow
Julia Kent: Temporal
William Tyler: Goes West
Swervedriver: Future Ruins
Blood Red Shoes: Get Tragic
AJ Tracey
Ladytron
The Long Ryders: Psychedelic Country Soul
Czarface / Ghostface Killah: Czarface Meets Ghostface
REJECTS:
Daughters: You Won't Get What You Want
The Struts: Young & Dangerous
Doug Paisley: Starter Home [NYIM]
Marianne Faithfull: Negative Capability [NYIM]
Lil Peep: Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2
Muse: Simulation Theory
J Masics: Elastic Days
Mariah Carey: Caution
The Good, the Bad & the Queen: Merrie Land
Ryley Walker: The Lillywhite Sessions
Laibach: The Sound of Music
Alessia Cara: The Pains of Growing
Laura Gibson: Goners
Vera Sola: Shades [NYIM]
Angelo de Augustine: Tomb [NYIM]
Bad Bunny: X100 PRE
You Tell Me
The Delines: The Imperial [NYIM]
Joe Jackson: Fool
Steve Mason: About the Light
Lost Under Heaven: Love Hates What You Become
Pedro the Lion: Phoenix
Maggie Rogers: Heard It in a Past Life
Better Oblivion Community Center
Sarah Louise: Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars [NYIM]
Rival Sons: Feral Roots
White Lies: Five
Tiny Ruins: Olympic Girls [NYIM]
Rustin Man: Drift Code
Cherry Glazerr: Stuffed & Ready
Girlpool: What Chaos Is Imaginary
Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Smells Funny
Skinny Girl Diet: Ideal Woman
Yak: Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
HEALTH: Vol. 4- Slaves of Fear
Ariana Grande: thank u, next [NYIM]
Panda Bear: Buoys
Cass McCombs: Tip of the Sphere
Robert Ellis: Texas Piano Man
Perfect Son: Cast
Tedeschi Trucks Band: Signs
Piroshka: Brickbat
Hayes Carll: What It Is [NYIM]
Ry X: Unfurl
Yann Tiersen: ALL [NYIM]
ORPHAN TUNES
Piroshka "Village of the Damned" [Brickbat]
OLD RECORDS RATED (NOT REVIEWED) THIS MONTH
Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul (Philips 1967) [r]
Nina Simone Sings the Blues (RCA 1967) [hr]
Albert Ayler: Love Cry (Impulse! 1968) [hr]
Alice Coltrane: A Monastic Trio (Impulse! 1968) [r]
Big Brother & the Holding Company: Cheap Thrills (Columbia 1968) [-]
ARCHIVAL GRADE CHANGES
The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed (London 1969) [hr] -> [A+]
Please note that my Beach Boys discography has been updated to include the new releases from late last year. I skipped the collection of Beach Boys classics with new orchestral overdubs because I think it's just about the most idiotic thing I can imagine.
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