Album Reviw- Yard Act- The Overload (2022)

One of the most exciting bands of 2021 was Yard Act. As part of something music writers dubbed “The Summer of the Fall”, Yard Act didn’t necessarily remind me of the Fall, but now I can’t seem to I hear it. More accurately for me, they sounded like a band that grew up on Fall influenced bands like Franz Ferdinand (and the Arctic Monkeys and Libertines). Interestingly, the 2022 debut does not include “Dark Days” or some of the 2021 songs that put them on the map. Normally, that would be a mark against, but this is a pretty solid set of songs even without the best songs of their young career. Interestingly, the other artist that shows up the most in the reviews is quite sonically different, though born from the same fabric as Pulp. But while the band maintains their own identity, spot the similarity reigns throughout. “Pour Another” is the most Lydonesque of songs from a band that regularly uses the PiL template. And I suppose they will be featured in some inevitable “rock n roll” is back article but on opener The Overload, singer James Smith veers into Mike “The Streets” Skinner territory. Elsewhere I think of early 21st Century alt-rapper Scroobius Pip. “Rich” is almost a spoken word poem that needs to be heard, while “Land of the Blind” isn’t that much different but stands up for repeated listening. More songs lean toward that kind of experience. Which is weird for me. The last generation was into more traditional rock acts like The Clash and the Smiths. But this band like the very sonically similar Sleaford Mods draw comparisons to Half Man Half Biscuit and Ian Dury. That’s possible, anyone growing up these days can listen to a Gang of Four album or those early The Fall records, and I’m not saying they didn’t, but I also think this generation has taken all in that came before it - whether it’s classic rap or Madchester or the all of the politically charged records of the last few decades. NSFW language

What I am listening to- Welcome to Zamrock compilations

I have been spending time with 2017s Welcome to Zamrock Volumes 1 and 2. This was a discovery off of a review by Uncut magazine. That said, I know there is a recent documentary as well. There are several places to read about it in on the internet, but the most basic description is that it is Zambian rock from the 70s. As part of the nation’s birth in 1964, the country’s President Kenneth Kaunda implemented content rules that dictated 95% of the music played on the radio had to be Zambian in origin. Much of the genre’s rise and fall also coincided with the country’s success and crash tied to copper mining. The AIDS epidemic also hit the country and the artists hard as well. What interests me is the sound. As an American rock fan, the first thought of 70s African rock is Fela Kurt and Afrobeat. There have been some successful compilations in recent years capturing the best bands from Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. These East African bands have a very strong funk influence. Although there is some funk in Zamrock (the genre’s first major band Musi-o-Tunya is funky for sure), Zamrock’s sound has its own style which is more in line with late 60s/early 70s protometal. The influences here are Cream, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Hendrix. Fuzzy guitar, uptempo bass, psychedelia, blues and simple production all contributed to the sound. I’ve been listening to it alone and with the boy. It is like an alternate universe of American classic FM Rock radio. Except for hearing overplayed standards, it’s the sounds of Zambian legends WITCH (We Intend To Cause Harm) but the feeling is the same. I will leave some WITCH here for you, but check out Blackfoot (not the Southern rock band), Five Revolutions and Born Free as a start.

PJ Harvey- Let England Shake demos

PJ Harvey released one of the more interesting debuts of the 90s. Her sequel Rid of Me is a career defining masterpiece. She released several more acclaimed albums before and after 2000s Stories from the City Stories from the Sea which is a career defining masterpiece (I’m open to adding any of the others as classics. Uh Uh Her has both a terrible cover and name but is pretty great). In 2011, she released Let England Shake a career defining masterpiece. She followed it up with 2016s Hope Six Demolition Project which might be my favorite Harvey album to date. At this point, any comparisons to Patti Smith or Nick Cave should be focused less on the influence and more as a legendary peer. Let England Shake was an apex of politics and noise and pop and poetry- a callback like Iggy that you don’t have to be under 25 to raise a holy racket. It rightly found its way ok many Year end best of lists. PJ has been re-releasing her albums and unearthing the demos that were the basis of them. The Let England Shake demos are a revelation. The title track is birthed from the Four Lads 1953 hit “Istanbul (Not Constantinople), and while the correct decision was to divorce the two, but the original is no less mesmerizing. Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” works itself into “The Words that Maketh Murder” but once again the blueprint is as fascinating as the final product. Niney’s reggae classic “Blood and Fire” is the basis of “Written on the Forehead”. Elsewhere, where songs are missing that backing track, guitars are pounded and vocals are strained. These demos reveal an even rawer version of a raw album, musically and vocally. Yet while we generally listen to demos to see where an album came from (or perhaps in some cases before it started to go wrong), this album not only accomplishes that, but also serves as a kind of book end to the final album. Put together, I’m as excited about this album as if it was brand new and not a decade old.

What I am listening to - Donnie and Joe Emerson

The story of the Emerson brothers sounds a bit like the Shaggs. A father with the ultimate faith in his children, to the point he built a recording studio for them. In 1979, they self-recorded and produced “Dreamin Wild” but their story took a weird course. Discovered by record collector Jack Fleischer in a Spokane antique shop, they would be covered by Ariel Pink and the record would be released by Light in the Attic. Their story has been covered everywhere- Uncut, The Guardian, Pitchfork- so I will try to keep it short. Unlike the Shaggs, Dad Emerson was right and the boys had talent. In this brave new musical world, his feeling was true and the band (like so many lost artists) has been streamed millions of times. Like so many, it captures me with its mystery. A mix of Lo-do and self-production meeting the sounds of the time -yacht rock, soul, funk, psychedelia, power pop. In its nostalgia, it unexpectedly sounds as much in line with modern backward-looking bands than contemporary peers. Of course, why do I live the post-Sub Pop, post-Spotify, post-Pitchfork post- everything feel. If the Brothers had a name producer and a big budget, would it still hit the same. Would they have been huge with the right amount of guidance. And would I still find it a similar experience. It’s a fantastic conversation to think about. Even the album cover feels like some alternate history greatest hit. As opposed to the Caveat Emptor of “Philosophy of the World”, it’s not hard to imagine this cover sitting somewhere in the racks between Pablo Cruise and David Cassidy records Like Eddie and the Cruisers, there is a sequel. The brothers did record a bunch of songs for a follow up and Light in the Attic compiled those into a disc as well. (As an aside that I don’t know where else to stick, I venture through a lot of internet music conversations and a hit spot is “outsider” music which has certain qualities and is not synonymous with music that outsiders like. I was very bummed by the “ gatekeeping” in the discussion of music that I feel should be in its very definition, open-minded and inclusive. Outside of that bad experience, I am often reminded that I am available to have some fantastic discussions in some internet spots and am very grateful for that)

Album Review- The Stranglers- Dark Matters (2021)

The Stranglers are a favorite band. I’m not sure where I rank them but I certainly continue to listen. Famously, even outcasts in the outcast world of punk -an early string of great albums was followed by a career of solid singles. When singer Hugh Cornwall left in 1990, one would assume that would have been the end, but the band continued on. The band released a largely unheralded string of albums until receiving acclaim for 2004’s Norfolk Coast album. In 2006, Baz Lahrne took over lead vocals for the Suite XVI album. The possibly now-deleted 16th album was one of my favorites or that year. It really captured the classic Stranglers sound. I think it deserved all the attention and acclaim that came with 2021s Dark Matters. The Stranglers go into 2022 a seemingly different band. Keyboardist Dave Greenfield passed near the end of the recording session. Drummer Jet Black has retired though it sounds like he generally has his eye on things. Even then, Dark Matters didn’t immediately grab me. Now “And if you Should see Dave” was a great tribute but paired with “If Something’s Going to kill me (it must be love” it seemed the album might be too nostalgic. But it was “The Last Men on the Moon” that was the hook. Resembling a mid period classic Stranglers song like “Duchess”, the song is a keyboard workout, not quite punk, but aggressive in its own way. It’s a revelation that it’s not an album to give up on. While there’s not another song quite as strong, the songs hold well together. “This Song” feels like a more (but reassuringly barely more) mature version of the band who recorded Rattus Norvegicus. Ironically, it is Warne’s vocals that feel the closest link to the Spirit of 77. The aforementioned songs leave a pretty high bar for the band, and they don’t always get there. Still, it is worth the time and stands as a worthwhile entry in the career of a legendary band.

Album Review- Cody Jinks- Mercy (2021)

I have heard Cody Jinks described as the biggest independent musician on the planet. Now, I don’t quite now what that discussion looks like, or where it starts or ends, but it seems that he is in that conversation. Which is amazing given he has a booming voice and a head for country lyrics that he hasn’t made a clearer path for himself. But here he is, trailblazing his path until signing with Rounder Records to release Lifers, as realized as an album as one could reasonably expect. Going back to independently produced and distributed route, he released two albums in 2019. Now, two albums in two weeks is the kind of thing that trips up even the Bruce Springsteens and Princes. As a critic, I would have suggested less is more but who am I to criticize (and there were some strong songs in that mix). In 2021, Jinks didn’t slow down. He recorded an acoustic version of his 2015 Adobe Sessions album and in November, new music in the Mercy album. Mercy kind of cements that previous feeling of cutting the disc down to a smaller set of songs. It at least sounds that way. Jinks’s background is metal, and his voice seems like an affectation at times- a swaggering figure that is as much Toby Keith bravado as it is Merle Haggard attitude. But can just as easily criticize Hank Williams for playing up his image. Songs like Like a Hurricane (not the Neil Young song), Hurt You and All it Cost Me was Everything are stompers. The irony of Jinks is that you hear the slower numbers (it applies to the fast ones too) like Dying Ain’t Cheap and like Steve Earle’s first two records, you can’t say where there is any difference in them and 90s radio country. Just the Rehnquist “ I know it when I see it”, there’s something magical about Jinks. Unlike the group you would call his peers, Jinks doesn’t try to sound like Merle or Waylon. He fully embraces what I would call the Mike Ness side of Country. Like Hank 3, Cody would just as soon play metal. I suppose that’s an aesthetic that comes through. But Mercy doesn’t sound like an artist who has walked away from the industry and is doing things on his own to diminishing returns (think Glenn Danzig recently), he’s just putting out Nashville quality product without anyone telling him what to do. Jinks is surely headed into the conversation of the best in Outlaw Country. He already has a strong enough catalog to prove it and enough potential that it doesn’t look like he will stop soon, which makes Mercy a hard album to categorize. For me, it’s a worthwhile addition that does what it’s supposed to do. It adds a few songs to anybody wanting to make a best of compilation. It does likely benefit from a shorter run time. But I have seen negative reviews which argue the production isn’t that good or that is trying to be too much like Radio Country. I generally disagree (the title track does seem like evidence for the latter, though). I won’t argue it’s a perfect record or even his best, but it’s a winner and another milepost for one of the more interesting musicians today.

Album Review- Brian Setzer- Gotta Have the Rumble

One of my favorite albums of 2021 was Lee Rocker’s Gather Round. As a rockabilly fan, I hold Rocker in the highest esteem- musically, vocally, lyrically, etc and is one of my favorite musicians. So, saying that I feel like I’m giving an unintentional slight to Brian Setzer. That is not my intention. For one thing, Rocker is pretty free of the critical and commercial expectations of Setzer. I also don’t intend to criticize Setzer’s career direction of the last quarter-century, but it doesn’t fit my preferences. But that’s not up to me. Setzer’s Big Band career has surely satisfied - if not artistically (and I’m not saying it wasn’t) certainly financially. There are some great moments there and even some surprises- Brian’s album of classical pieces performed as a Big Band (from 2007) is better than you might expect. Nor would I dare say Setzer wasn’t the perfect frontman for his more famous band (every bit of the iconic well-coiffed blonde as Sting and Billy Idol). In any case, Gotta Have the Rumble is Setzer going back to make a rockabilly record. You probably can guess what it is like. Like the Stray Cats reunion disc from 2019- it’s all been done before. Still, it’s a fun listen. Setzer really doesn’t push himself out of fairly traditional rockabilly - pretty much Gene Vincent or Everly Brothers kind of stuff. Not psychobilly. Not horrorbilly. Not punkbilly or trashabilly or gothabilly. But at this point, you either know Setzer or you don’t, and at the end of the day, you probably do; and while you know exactly what you are getting, when he throws in some nuance like the slow dance Drip Drop, you buy in.

Album Review- Baba Ali Memory Device

Baba Ali is one of my favorite “new” artists. Championed by Danger Mouse and Jamie Hince of the Kills, the UK-via-New Jersey artist is hard to describe. Skimming through his Last FM “Similar Artists” profile, I see a ton of legendary artists, none who do a good job of describing Ali. I suppose there is something in mentioning Amy Winehouse- a pop artist with indie sensibilities seeped with funk and R&B history. Nick Cave, Fela and Stevie Nicks pop up in Ali’s byline but that is because he mentioned them as influences. Elsewhere, it’s Prince, Alan Vega, and New Order. You might get closer to pinning a label when you realize producer Al Doyle was a member of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. If indietronica is a thing, then Ali is a great purveyor of it. If Dance Punk is a thing, then Ali is in the lineage.

Album Review: Jason Ringenberg- Rhinestoned

It wasn’t that long ago that I was talking about Jason Ringenberg (best known as lead singer of Jason and the Scorchers) but he does have a new album out. I enjoyed 2019’s Stand Tall and Rhinestoned feels like an appropriate follow-up, even if Jason attributes it to Covid downtime. I realized with Stand Tall, that he’s a bit of an acquired taste. He has a voice that you don’t really hear except on the fringes of the radio (think Jimmie Dale Gilmore). Many of his songs are stories and told in a way that generally only exists in Bluegrass or pre-WW2 country music. But if those things don’t bother you, you will be richly rewarded. Rhinestones are the prevailing theme here on two songs. As in Stand Tall (and not that far removed from his Farmer Jason kids singer persona), he digs into history- most specifically on The Freedom Rides Weren’t Free” and “I Rode With Crazy Horse”. That last song is one you might steer away most artists from attempting, but Jason takes the take of the famed Lakota’s cousin and gives it a furious build up. Elsewhere, you might have some songs that are to be expected. “Keep that Promise” sounds like a Scorchers classic. Jason records his version of the oft covered “You Win Again”. Then there’s “Christ, the Lord is Risen Again” which is kind of both. It’s a traditional hymn and it also veers a bit into Scorchers territory. Even in an environment where terms like Americana and Outlaw Country are well established, Ringenberg is still a bit of a hard to define outsider. He is still making interesting music and long May he play.

Album Review- Black Pistol Fire

When I was a teenager, we lived in the country and a main outlet for music for me was Canada’s MuchMusic. Yes, the easy explanation was Canada’s MTV but due to Canadian content laws, there was a lot of homegrown music. There were some great bands I discovered and they fill the spectrum of hitting fame in US to being nearly completely obscure here (Crash Test Dummies, Barenaked Ladies, The Pursuit of Happiness, Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Moist, Northern Pikes, Grapes of Wrath and many many more) Now over two decades later, one of my sources for new music is also Canadian- and that is the alt-rock and alt-country channels on SiriusXM. Which of course, I find hilarious since they are listed as ‘Canadian’ like it’s a genre like jazz or R&B or Country or Opera. In any case, a band that gets quite a bit of AirPlay there that has caught my ears is the Austin based (via Canada) band Black Pistol Fire. Which like the bands I mentioned above, surprise me that they aren’t huge here. (Some other artists that I have been turned on to are The Beaches and Dan Mangan). The band that immediately springs to mind is the Black Keys. It’s that same mix of garage punk and Southern rock. (Oddly though they seem perfectly post-Auerbach, besides the Black Keys you can probably draw lines to the Black Pumas, not that far away in their ability to make a noise like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and this is probably a stretch but the similar aspects of the Black Crowes is close enough for the Black superfecta.) They do seem an obvious choice for the current American alt rock scene (the Arctic Monkeys comes up repeatedly in comparison in reviews, the vocals for sure. Queens of the Stone Age as well and the Kings of Leon if more in spirit than execution). Yet they probably could easily fit in this slightly more mature folk rock/blues rock group of recent-year bands like Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats, Kaleo and the Record Company. You could probably make an argument that they’re too polished, but the talent is there. Their success in Canada is no joke, but with radio being what it is, I’m not sure what a breakthrough looks like for this band in America. But this is a pretty solid alt rock record - perfect for radio but a rewarding listen. One can only imagine that the band is on a trajectory to break American radio, but such things are never guaranteed. In any case, this is a record that should be heard if Modern Day FM Rock Radio is your thing. 2021 - Black Hill/ Round Hill

Album Review- The Specials

I rate 2019’s Specials reunion album Encore highly. It got mixed reviews (the three-star review on Allmusic qualifies it for inclusion on my ‘underappreciated’ list.). While a reunion album can sometimes start off with excitement vibes (the Damned’s “Evil Spirits” for example), I think Encore really stands up as a standout record. Covid changed plans for millions, and so the Specials follow up was not what it was supposed to be. Instead, the band decided to do an album of covers with a focus on protest songs, and specifically staying away from Dylan and Lennon and Guthrie for more obscure choices. But even then, Protest Songs 1924-2012 is not an expected album. The Specials have largely been defined by their debut album and that is a sound that is absent here. After that initial shock, one realizes that the listener should move on. Terry Hall expanded his sound in Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield and artists change and grow. Secondly, the band’s core is Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter. In a world of dubious reunion lineups, no doubt this is the core of the Specials. The album’s concept recalls Chumbawamba’s English Rebel Songs 1381-1984 but that album was quite different from anything else- largely a capella or at least minimal in instrumentation and largely pre-19th Century. Most of the Specials’ selections tend to the obscure, even if the artists referenced are not- Staples Singers, Leonard Cohen, Talking Heads, Big Bill Broonzy, Frank Zappa, Rod McCuen, and Bob Marley, for example. I suppose that the criticism of lead single Freedom Highway holds for the album. A poppy sound throughout with a lack of gravitas. On Everybody Knows, the band mimics Cohen to little positive or negative effect (and from the reviews I read, no one is particularly fond of the original either, which I strongly disagree with. I love the original). Black Brown and White is strong and would have fit on Encore. It is a bit sing-songy, but like the best songs here, it sticks in the listener’s ear. It should be no surprise that the song’s biggest impact is pushing the listener to Broonzy’s original. Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us Around is one of the stronger song - bridging 60s protest and gospel and modern sensibility, though the a capella song may recall the Housemartins more than punk rock. The album has a couple of more highlights. - My Next Door Neighbor which is almost old time late 50s Jump Blues and Soldiers Who Want to Be Heroes- which is an anti-war song that could have been written in 1971 (as it was) or 2007 or 1917 for that matter and these songs are probably the closest the band gets to Chumbawamba’s agit-prop non- traditional pop. Critics don’t generally like (or at least “get”) the former, but somehow it works. The latter is perhaps more shocking 50 years later -saved by two things- released in perhaps the height of anti-war sentiment in the US and written by Rod McKuen, as strong tunessmith as anyone. The album ends with “Get Up Stand Up”. Now, I would warn most artists to avoid Marley (and Dylan and Bowie), but I doubt I will find too much criticism on this cover. The band brings it to a crawl and Golding performs the lyrics in such a way, the listener is hanging on his every word. For those who are diehard fans of that first Specials record, I would be remiss not to mention that Neville Staple has continued a solo career that is largely grounded in 2-Tone style ska for Cleopatra Records. He has a new record as well, which isn’t particularly boundary breaking but worth a listen if you fit the description of the listener above.

Album Review- Duran Duran

I could probably write a book about Duran Duran and my fandom, but perhaps I should keep it simple here.

I really dug 2007s Red Carpet Massacre- a mostly ballyhooed collaboration between the band and a group of hit artists like Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Three albums later, my first thought on Future Past is that it is Duran Duran trying to modernize their sound. Then I realized for all the highs and lows, DD has always tried to meet the times with whatever new material that they have.

Having said that, the plaudits that go with the new album are good evidence of the band nailing that connection here.

One can’t help but notice the cameos here- Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson, Tove Lo, longtime Bowie sideman Mike Garson and the Japanese rock band Chai.

Of course, guests don’t make an album like this (not that these aren’t generally inspired additions) but I think there are a couple things worth noting. British DJ/Remixer Erol Alkan seems to be credited as main producer here with the band and he undoubtedly knows what to do with them.

The other is Blur’s Graham Coxon filling in the guitarist role that had been Andy Taylor’s ( and later Warren Cuccurullo’s). I think that is a welcome addition whereas the band split out duties over multiple guitarists last album.

I think it works because it fits the band, whereas recent attempts sound like the band “trying” to sound contemporary.

I think the best place to start analyzing is “More Joy”. The song combines elements of early oughts House, Shonen Knife style punk, 80s synth, 70s glam stomp and maybe even a bit of 90s Parklife. It is at once, almost so over the top that it is preposterous, and at the other, a realization that it works. “Tonight United” follows a same pattern and is a highlight because of the simplicity - anthemic pop. It is the sound of a band that sounds like they are living in a music video- which fittingly is the sound who recorded Girls on Film and Rio.

“Anniversary” is another track that sounds like a single and would slip in unnoticed on a Duran greatest hits disc.

It’s the same formula that they use when they slow things down on Nothing Less with its repetitive effect. There’s no bum tracks here though the collaborations you expect the most of (the hit singer Tove Lo and Aladdin Sane’s keyboardist Garson aren’t bad, but I find the two songs generally unremarkable). Critics and fans tend to be harshest on the Ivorian Doll collaboration rap-infused Hammerhead but I think it fits in place nicely.

Still, to its benefit, LeBon’s vocals are strong, as is John Taylor’s bass work and it seems like you can draw a straight line from the Arcadia album 35+ years earlier. Coxon as guitarist is a difference maker as well.

Duran Duran albums at this point reminds me of Blondie- a combination of trying to catch the past while eyeing modern pop charts. The album credits filled with guests all over the musical spectrum. Like the last Blondie album (and unlike the last couple of Duran albums) there seems to be someone in control steering the ship. Then you add the fact that everyone sounds like they are having a blast.

Ironically, the reasons people might not like this record are those given for not liking the original Nagel-and-yachts Fab 5, which is mindless synth pop. But on Future Past, mindless synth pop sounds like the bands choice and fans are likely to love it.

Album Review- Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast

You know I constantly make fun of the more popular Indie Music review sites. At the end of the year, their Best Of lists nearly all match. That doesn’t happen when my friends do the same. That’s because these sites don’t want to be left out of their popularity contest. But, of course, sometimes they do get things right, and when Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast gets put on those lists this year, well, she/they will definitely deserve it. Also typical of the music industry, JB has been nominated by the Grammys as best new artist (5 years and 2 albums after their debut). In any case, I will make a case that “Paprika” is the best song of the year. While I don’t think another song on the record hits that mark (surely an impossibility anyway) it’s a good album that really hits my buttons. Think of dream pop like Alvvays mixed with Beach House and a touch of confessional rock a la Mitski with even a bit of baroque pop, similar to say, Beirut. “Be Sweet” is probably as close as a hit as one gets in the fragmented radio world of today. It’s hard not to ponder how big it really might have been in an atmosphere 15-20 years ago. If “Be Sweet” is too commercially tinged for people brought in by “Paprika”, then “ Kokomo, IN” swings the listener back, and “Slide Tackle” straddles a line between the poles While one can find room for criticism - it’s perhaps too short (under the rather standard 40 minutes) and as is often the case, front loaded with strong songs but a weak back half-it is an album that deserves the many plaudits soon headed this way, and will still be an enjoyable listen years from now when Pitchfork et al., have moved on to the next thing.