Album Review- The Stars We Are

If you have read my reviews for awhile, you know that I am a big Marc Almond fan (and you are probably reading this review I wrote attributed to a Almond influenced Nom-de-Internet). I just think he is very unique and talented. He has a deep love for pre-rock pop music and while that’s not unusual- think Bryan Ferry, Morrissey, et al- it’s usually an affectation or intertwined into rock. It’s not just Almond loved the idea of old time crooners. He loves old time crooners. Of course, if that is all, he would be nothing more than Celine Dion. There is a certain theatrical element. His touch points are well known- Brecht and Weill, Walker Brothers, Jacques Brel. His flair for drama is something you might find in Tom Waits or a list of people Marc worked with over the years (Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, Matt Johnson, JG Thirlwell, Siouxsie, Current 93, Psychic TV). At times, Marc evokes the image of a matador, perhaps it’s sea shanties. Even, the cabaret clown image has appeared on his album covers. The last element though is the great wild card. Marc has had a run of chart success in the UK. A fairly serious run with twenty singles in the Top 40 either solo or with Soft Cell. Eight of which were Top 5. While there are some similar artists, no one really has that unique mix. Artists like Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, and Robbie Williams have added a certain mix of those elements to the pop charts while Rufus Wainwright, Stephen Merritt and Anohni have tried to make the masses come to them. Freddie Mercury, for sure had those elements throughout his career. Bowie, of course, though he had the masses. Kate Bush though not as prolific. In any case, there are few discographies like Marc’s. In recent years, his albums bounce between albums still with an eye to one last pop chart run (these albums usually pair Marc up with Sia collaborator Chris Braide) and non commercial vanity projects, with various Soft Cell callback records and standards collections. One suspects in this most difficult of times for musicians, Marc is able to make a living and make the records he wants. His run in the 80s felt like an oscillation of commercial and non commercial records. Marc says he just makes the records he wants. Perhaps he is correct. I became an Almond obsessive in the 90s. Thirsty Ear was reissuing his catalog and in the golden era of compact discs, it actually was quite easy for me to pick up nearly everything. Although I like both the ambitious and the pop sound of Almond, I tend to think his best records are where he can pull from both sides. Last month, Almond released an expanded version of 1988’s The Stars We Are. As an album, it hits that sweet spot. For me, it and 1991’s Tenement Symphony are high watermarks in that era of Almond. The latter album was produced by Trevor Horn and has some stronger songs. It’s a song cycle whose highlight is a cover of The Days of Pearly Spencer. But given time to reflect, The Stars We Are is danged near perfect. It’s also not a particularly commercial album as it could be pegged as. It opens up with the anthemic title song which is as good as anything Almond has done. Bitter Sweet and Tears Run Rings were both released as singles and are pulsing danceable tunes. The latter would be a live powerhouse. Bob Kraushaar (a protege of Horn- known for serving as engineer for Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Bowie and McCartney) is a perfect conduit for Almond’s vision here. Of course, the most compelling track is Almond’s version of the much covered Something’s Gotten Hold of my Heart. Almond’s original version was so good that Gene Pitney joined to duet and the two took it to #1 on the UK chart for four weeks, denying the spot to Mike and the Mechanics’ “The Living Years”. (As with his most famous song, Marc missed the financial opportunity to stick an original B-side with the A-side cover). The rest of the album follows in this manner- theatrical torch songs. Yet, still plenty of unusual sounds for pop music when you dig in - the exotic She Took Amy Soul in Istanbul, the Weimar Republic style CD bonus track Kept Boy (featuring German cabaret singer Agnes Bernelle and the duet with Nico (her final recording) - Your Kisses Burn. The expanded 2021 reissue doubles the size of the record, adding two fantastic B Sides (King of the Fools and Real Evil- both also on 95’s Treasure Box compilation) and a variety of remixes (also most found on Treasure Box). The Stars We Are is not a bad answer to the question ‘Where do I start with the Marc Almond discography’.

Album Review - CYR

My relationship status with the Smashing Pumpkins: complicated. There was a time in the 90s where they were in the conversation as biggest bands in the world and I didn’t share that fervor. That said, I am a fan of the band. For me, like many of the big bands of the era, they have become “of the time”. When I go to define the band, I actually think of the “Adore” album. Adore in 98 seemed to be in every friend's CD collection that I knew. After releasing a towering double album, Adore was considered a disappointment. In retrospect, it seems like a moment in time. The end of an era. Grunge was handing the baton to NuMetal. Bands like Korn and Marilyn Manson would top the album charts in 98 and Limp Bizkit and Creed would top the charts in 99. Those CD changers were also likely as much to contain discs by Jay Z, DMX, Nelly and Eminem. Heck, even CDs themselves were going to be on their way out before we knew it. I always had a soft spot for the otherwise unloved disc. Adore at 16 songs and 73 minutes is preposterously too long. That said, the influence of synth pop, electronic music and goth rock gave some moments that from a personal point of view. It also came out a year after the band had appeared on the Lost Highway soundtrack and there’s a certain Lynch-ian quality inherent in the album as well. It has been re-evaluated and re-examined (Pitchfork gave it an uncharacteristic 8.5 in 2014) but the truth is at the time - everyone bought it and few liked it. In a few years, ambitious rock would be personified by Radiohead, System of A Down and Tool. Other rock fans might look to Dave Matthews or Staind. The Lollapalooza era was dead. The Pumpkins never really ended but although I watched their every move, there doesn’t seem to be much worthwhile to discuss whether it was billed as such, or alternately billed as Zwan or Corgan solo. Although occasionally being billed as ‘return(s) to form’, none of the newer releases ever much interested me. The Corgan story is an unusual mess with Iha and Chamberlin floating in and out, cameos from the likes of Rick Rubin, Paz Lenchantin, pedal steel legend Paul Franklin (probably best known for his work with Randy Travis and Barbara Mandrell) and Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, a stint playing a few dates with New Order and nothing as particularly notable as Corgan’s new role as pro wrestling executive/on-air talent. Nothing seems to have changed in recent months. Corgan recently announced a reissue of Machina which will contain “at least 80 songs”. A bounty of Pumpkins that no one seems to be asking for. On November 27, the Pumpkins released CYR- another 72 minute-20 song opus. With a core group of Iha, Chamberlain and Schroeder (once Iha's replacement, he is now a member with 13 years in) backing, it does have the authenticity of the bands name, but once again panned by many critics. That is if you were paying attention, when I bring it up to people, I think it went mostly unnoticed. I don’t expect people to get too excited, but if they would choose to take a listen, I think they would be pleased with what they heard. While given in to Corgan’s indulgences, with some paring, there is a quality album in there - and I would think it would be hard to argue that it isn’t their best work in a long time. The band is still stuck in the synthesizer rock sound. Corgan has went in debt with his influences lately, and it’s pretty evident here. For me, I think that’s a good thing. All of the criticisms are valid, it's too long, it suffers from sounding the same throughout, but I'm fine with that- for the first time in a long time, the band is back.

Album Review: Michael J Sheehy - Distance is the Soul of Beauty

One of my favorite under appreciated artists of the recent years is Michael J Sheehy

Sheehy has recorded under various guises and names. His smoke and whiskey style conjures up images of musicians like Nick Cave and Tindersticks. Critics tend to focus on the latter part of ‘goth country’ and compare his voice to Chris Isaak and Howe Gelb.

I am well acquainted with two albums of his. My favorite is 2009’s With These Hands, a song cycle about a boxer named Delaney. Backed by the fabulously named Hired Mourners, the album really lets Sheehy embrace his strengths with a bit of Tom Waits eccentricities. Similarly, 01’s Ill Gotten Gains, more loose in theme, is a solid combination of late night melodrama and dramatic brooding.

As he’s been on a few labels, you will find his work streaming online but not in one place.

Distance is the Soul of Beauty released in October shows up from Covid- inspired creativity and there’s a bit of that melancholic mood throughout the album. If it was released a bit earlier, it would probably have wound up on my Year End best of.

It’s not an “immediate” album, though. It’s an album for late nights and introspection. It’s a good showcase of Sheehy’s talents though. For me, it feels like this great ‘hidden find’, a feeling I felt over a decade ago when I first heard him.

Album Review: Blue Oyster Cult- The Symbol Remains

 Blue Oyster Cult are an iconic band. A hard rock ‘metal’ band before Metallica, before Motley Crue, even before the New Wave of British Metal. Like Thin Lizzy, Rainbow and Hawkwind, even Rush, they set the roots down.

That said, they have always had the reputation for being cerebral. In part to Alan Lanier’s relationship with Patti Smith, who would make significant contributions to the band, not to mention working with Jim Carroll, Richard Meltzer, Ian Hunter and even sci-fi writers Michael Moorcock and John Shirley. Not to mention Superfan Mike Watt and followers like Royal Trux and the Hoodoo Gurus

I got into the band from three angles- friends who were fans of the band, the obvious radio singles, and most of all, seeing the band live.

I dug into them, and I dug them. It was a nice diversion as I binged their records. I even picked up their last proper album Curse of the Hidden Mirror which is now 20 years old. It’s actually a quite good album though also quite forgettable as well.

So the new album comes with some expectations. We have seen a few late career resurgences and no reason why BOC wouldn’t have one. Although they have not been in the studio for awhile, they have stayed busy and for the diehard, there are a bunch of things to pick up including three live albums released last year.

The core of the band (Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom) are intact. Allen Lanier and producer Sandy Pearlman have passed. The supporting cast here all have at least 15 years with the band. Even drummer Albert Bouchard shows up on the opening track.  John Shirley returns as lyricist for a few songs- including both of my favorites listed below. 

This album will go down as a triumph. It will undoubtedly find an audience with the bands fans as well as fans of the genre- a group that is sizable and not always accounted for in the charts.

The question might be- what does a fan of the first three albums - think of it. Well, it certainly is a good album.

That said, one can definitely tell that this particular version of the band has listened to Metallica and Iron Maiden.

The album opens with That Was Me and although at various spots in the album reference different moments in their career, it always comes back to a certain anthemic crunch.

Like their contemporary Alice Cooper, you can’t really blame them for embracing their Metal side and no doubt, that should be pleasing to most.

For me, it works best when they go a bit off from that. Nightmare Epiphany is probably closest the band gets to something ground breaking. Florida Man is a cheesy title (there are a few clunker of lyrical ideas all about, though the band generally pulls them off) but a pretty fantastic song. It’s got a lot of the same ingredients that power Burnin For You.

Overall, not a bad album at all, just a bit out of my tastes. At 14 songs, you can probably complain that it could be pared as well. Here’s to BOC though for carrying on.

For the most of diehard fans, Eric Bouchard also has a solo record out now. It’s not my cup of tea, but should be checked out for fans of the genre.

Sylvain Sylvain, RIP

These are probably words I have written before but with the passing of Sylvain Sylvain, figured worth revisiting.

The New York Dolls hit me like few others. Interesting of course, they only had about three albums of material for most of my life. I suppose that’s not rare for a band to be that influential (Joy Division, Stooges, Sex Pistols). Still, it’s a pretty limited amount of songs.

Even then, it’s largely that first album, and as with seemingly every classic release, the band was unhappy with the production. They had ‘difficult second album’ syndrome though Too Much Too Soon is pretty great too- even with the covers and affectations.

The third album really only exists in the mind. It can be found on awful-quality bootlegs and bleeding into the first solo releases of Thunders, Johansen and Sylvain.

The band were legends by the time of the late 80s and early 90s. It’s biggest champions were the unlikely combo of Guns N Roses and the Smiths.

The Dolls had taken the Stones template and then doubled down on the influences from girl groups, Motown, blues and the early rock sound of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

From there it created a fork in the road which all hard rock/glam rock and punk and it’s various mutations were all knowingly and unknowingly influenced. Directly in the case of actual interactions with KISS and The Sex Pistols, directly influencing the 70s NYC scene (the Mercer Arts Center residency and the aftermath, Thunders brief group with Richard Hell) and the 70s London scene (not only McLaren, of course but the Heartbreakers tour).

It’s hard not to roll off a list of names that were directly influenced by the band from Hanoi Rocks to the Wildhearts and arguably every band that lived like they were veering off The Cliff from The Replacements to BabyShambles.

Today’s tributes tell Sylvain as the glue of the Dolls. Like Izzy Stradlin and all of Keith Richards’s foils, there would be no way not to be eclipsed by that star. My favorite Dolls moments were the guitar epics that didn’t appear on my initial Dolls purchase- Night of the Living Dolls (I would buy both albums in quick order) - songs like Jet Boy, Frankenstein and Human Being.

I have since obsessed with Johnny Thunders (we lost Walter Lure five months ago, as well) and chased down the early David Johansson albums. I never did get into the reunited Dolls records, though they were critically acclaimed. I likely owe Sylvain that.

Sylvain did re-appear on my radar in 2010 when he did a four-song EP as the Batusis with Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys and two of Joan Jett’s Blackhearts. While otherwise unremarkable, is a fun slab of music and can be found on streaming platforms, if you are so inclined.

My 20 favorite albums of 2020 - In Alphabetical Order #16-20

Old 97 s – Twelfth (ATO)-  The Old 97s were an underrated (and my favorite) band of the 90s Americana scene. They seemingly too a post-2001 break but I don’t think they ever completely broke up.

In any case, it’s getting harder to separate the two and if it continues much longer, it will be confusing to say which is ‘classic’ 97s.

In any case, bands usually run out of steam. One would think the creative burst of the Grand Theater records (25 songs in 2 years) would lead to a long break. It didn’t.

2014s Most Messed Up felt like a look back (indeed opening with “Longer than You’ve been Alive” was pretty self explanatory) a kind of end-of-career statement- not that the band was going away, but certainly a landmark.

Which made 2017’s Graveyard Whistling more notable. To me, this album felt different. A new producer and guests like Brandi Carlile and Caitlin Rose. In many ways, this album felt like a bid for more airplay, with the caveat that few radio stations would play this in the first place.

‘Which of those two albums is better?’ seems an impossible ask and comes down to preferences. In any case, two late career masterpieces seem improbable but there they are.

Any conversation about initial listening to Twelfth surely must include If an inevitable letdown has occurred. Though retaining producer Vance Powell (Raconteurs, Chris Stapleton, Jars of Clay, Buddy Guy) the album feels akin to the ‘looking back’ vibes from Most Messed Up- a feeling confirmed by the nostalgic photo of Roger Staubach used on the cover.

That said, while Most Messed Up felt like a Replacements style rollick (complete with Tommy Stinson cameo), Twelfth feels like Sunday Morning to MMU’s Saturday Night. There’s the latter day Westerberg-ian lyrical genius that comes with age and experience and yet has been there at least since 2001’s Satellite Rides.

None of these are bad things. These albums only go to cement a legacy that might have been otherwise missed. I would mark Twelfth down a slight notch from the two predecessors on initial listens, but not enough that it’s going to be that noticeable to someone who had never heard those albums. In any case, maybe I should assume that the band is going to continue to crank out one great album after another until I find evidence to the otherwise.

The Pretenders – Hate for Sale (BMG) - Like the X album from earlier this year, it feels good to say The Pretenders are back. Hate For Sale checks off all of those marks we were waiting for from a Band as iconic as the Pretenders.

I don’t quite buy the CW though. That Dan Auerbach didn’t get the band, and that Martin Chambers was a necessary part of having a good album. Yes, I do think the band benefits from Stephen Street’s (and Chambers) involvement.

But I don’t think this album came from thin air. Yes, I do consider the bands wilderness years in the 90s disappointing, the band has found their way back. While I don’t think 08’s Break Up the Concrete or 17s Alone to be better than the new disc, it’s a pretty slim margin. If you haven’t heard ‘Concrete’ in awhile, go back and listen. Also, Hydne’s Jazz- informer solo album from last year was a pretty solid platter as well.

That said, Hate For Sale does what you hope it would. There’s no killer single but songs like The Buzz come close enough to the feeling that it’s a minor complaint. Ballads served the band well in the 90s but are my least favorite part of the record. You Can’t Hurt a Fool has potential but is clunky and Crying in Public sounds like it was pulled from a Desmond Child reject list.

But those are exceptions, Maybe Love is in in New York City has the slow burn that only Chrissie can pull off. Overall, it’s a pretty solid beginning to end listen that should cement what we already know about the legendary Pretenders.

Bruce Springsteen- Letter to You (Columbia) - I go to Springsteen as my first ever musical purchase. Born in the USA (which was that purchase- on cassette) has suffered over the years as overplayed and slickly produced, though in the past few years, I have really been enjoying it again.

For me, Springsteen is someone who revisit a lot and can drop the needle anywhere between 75 and 93 and be happy (and often do). Even as I have heard them over and over, I often go back in particular to The River and some of the early 90s singles. Like Elvis Costello (who also has a new record), I have followed his every move but have been largely disappointed for the past 25 years.

For me, I can’t say Springsteen has made a record I love during that time (except We Shall Overcome, which I think is fantastic). There have been moments (Magic has some solid singles), but looking back, here is what I realized. As a deluge of live Springsteen performances has been released, I have come to rediscover some of these songs.

Bruce is made to be played loud. Bruce and producer Ron Aniello have an ear here for the anthem a la the previous collaboration Wrecking Ball. Recording it live in the studio with the E Street Band takes it to the needed next level. Letter to You feels like an important album. It seemed to me Bruce has always been close to that late era classic and was getting close on Western Stars, but he finally clinched it here.

It’s not perfect but Springsteen pulls it off by force of ego. “House of 1000 Guitars” is on the short list of my favorite songs of the year. But I will be honest, the lyrics are lost on me. Death? Politics? Probably both. What sells the song to me is a world weariness that is every bit as heavy as “Atlantic City”.

I would say that’s indicative of the whole album. While Bruce tends to stick to big,sweeping ideas - he has put together a string of anthemic singles. A record then, that only works when played loud.

(I don’t intend to say the lyrics are bad. They are good, just not Nebraska get-you-in-the-chest good)

Which is where I land with a lot of this album, but Springsteen plays to his strengths. Interestingly, after the Grunge musicians ignored Bruce, the next generation of indie rockers embraced him. Those early 21st Cent bands like The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus and Arcade Fire dug deep into their inner Bruce.

This puts Bruce in the category of legends like Bowie and Prince. I imagine listening to Letter to You without context, one might compare and contrast to Brian Fallon’s 2020 disc Local Honey. At this point, is Springsteen inspiring Fallon or is Fallon (and similarly minded indie rockers) inspiring Bruce.

Of course, the question is does it matter. Springsteen loomed over the early careers of some great musicians like Steve Earle and Melissa Ethridge (not to mention Joe Ely, Steve Forbert, Iron City Houserockers and others), but it’s clearly been a two way street.

Letter to You is likely better for all of this- including Springsteen on Broadway and digging into the archives for three early songs as he does here. Though he has never left and his reputation has never been in jeopardy, it’s good to have a disc like this.

Whyte Horses – Hard Times (CRC) -Whyte Horses is a "band" and Hard Times is their third album.

But Whyte Horses is really a project by Dom Thomas, who produces Whyte Horses, and is most well known for being the guy behind the Finders Keepers record label.

Allmusic and others name some of the influences in Thomas's work as French pop. folk, psychedelia, tropicalia, lounge and space rock.

It reminds me a bit of what Mark Ronson has done by bringing in vocalists and making mix tapes of a certain sound.

Hard Times is a mix of well known, more obscure and barely known. Ca Plane Pour Moi and Bang Bang (My Baby Shot me down) are here, as well as covers of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw The Light", the Bee Gees "Mr Natural", and songs by Baby Huey, British 60's Psych pop multi-instrumentalist Phil Cordell, Welsh glam band Bran and 70s soft rockers The Alessi Brothers).

Thomas has assembled a top notch group of vocalists- Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy), Elly Jackson (La Roux) Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Melanie Pain (Nouvelle Vague), John Grant (the Czars) and Chrysta Bell (frequent David Lynch collaborator)- as well as a couple of his own in-house vocalists Lucy Styles and Natalie McCool.

It's the kind of album that gets bad reviews, but I don't care. I can put this on over and over again. best track? I'm partial to Traceyanne of course. La Roux may be unrecognizable as a soul singer, but is powerful. "Seabird" lacks the big name star on vocals, but is beautiful.

I will put in a good word for Badly Drawn Boy's "Satellite of Love". It's a song that doesn't really need to be covered (Sorry U2, Morrissey, Perry Farrell and the Eurythmics). He takes it back to its Loaded-era Velvet Underground roots, and I dig it.

Heck, I didn't even know it was a VU song before it was a solo Reed song (BDB does the original lyrics too) but it works as a Velvets-style rocker. Lou would of course re-invent it as a live concert mainstay. It is an epic almost gospel powerhouse on one of its best versions on Take No Prisoners. On Live in Italy- it's a guitar heavy affair with Quine and Reed.

As Thomas probably sees his Whyte Horses as a modern day version of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, it feels just right.

X – Alphabetland (Fat Possum) What a great and underrated band X is. We tend to marginalize punk bands, but they were something special- like every American influence blended together- Chuck Berry, Elvis, Gene and Eddie, Hank, Loretta, the Doors, the Ramones.

No doubt, that energetic band who did “Los Angeles” is loved dearly. Which is better, the debut or the follow-up “Wild Gift”. Impossible to decide (and they had been packaged together in the CD age). Some might make the case, the third “Under the Big Black Sun” is then, even better- a valid enough argument. ( I guess I am a “Wild Gift” guy depending on the day).

The latter days of X don't get fond treatment these days, but for a time, they were considered among the greatest rock recordings ever. For a time, “See How We Are” was considered a classic, and now, it and “Ain't Love Grand” are casualties of ambition and 80s production.

Then, somewhere between fiery punk and reflective acclaim is “More Fun in the New World” The mid-point, and damn near perfect album.

I got into X in the 90s, when they tried a comeback. They had only been gone for 6 years, but it seemed like an eternity. “Hey Zeus!” is not a great album. We can probably stop there. Nothing could replicate X. John Doe's work is fairly acclaimed, but nothing really stands out. “Meet John Doe”, the 1990 debut is good enough, and 2016's The Westerner finds a sympathetic ear in producer Howe Gelb.

So Alphabetland is a bit of a revelation in that is as it as good as it is. This isn't “Wild Gift”, but it at least feels like the same band who gave us “Wild Gift”. That makes it well worth it. Come to read on it, many of these songs are from the early days, which may explain why it succeeds.

“Cyrano De Berger's Back” is a perfect example of what we love about X. From the “Los Angeles” days, it's done well in a mature “New World” style, and is easy to append to the band's best songs.

“Delta 88 Nightmare” is 97 seconds of the band replicating their “Decline of Western Civilization” days. “Water and Wine” is a bit more thought out, but recalls those glory days with Exene taking lead and John chiming in.

Those are the highest points, but it does hang well. I am tempted to compare it to the recent Damned reunion and question if this will be a disc that will get revisited. Still, there's plenty of depth -check out “I Gotta Fever” and “Good bye year Goodbye”, and really no filler. Exene does go spoken word at the final two minutes with “All the Time in the World”, but it's the kind of a song X might have added as a coda in the good old days.

A quick reaction would be this won't hang will all those great X albums, but it is a great listen and will be one of the better records of this year, so perhaps I am being hasty. I also feel compelled to mention that some people are less enamored of Exene's worldview these days. She is the rare musician who defends, even embraced Donald Trump. I have talked about this in the past, but a friend made the point that there was a certain 'don't trust anyone' logos in the punk scene, and perhaps she is not too far removed from that; and I will leave that there.

My 20 favorite albums of 2020 - In Alphabetical Order #11-15

Let It Come Down – Songs We Sang In Our Dreams (Joyful Noise / Shimmy Disc) -  Let it Come Down's Songs We Sang In Our Dreams is the first major album from Producer/Shimmy Disc honcho Mark Kramer in some time. Kramer is known for a wide list of often-offbeat artists that he worked with such as Galaxie 500,Gwar, Ween, White Zombie, Daniel Johnston, Urge Overkill, King Missile, the Boredoms, Royal Trux, Pussy Galore and Naked City to name some of the many.

As a musical artist, Kramer's biggest contribution was as part of a duo with performance artist Ann Magnuson known as Bongwater. Being active in a few social media communities, people are still discovering this band from the late 80s and early 90s.

The four albums are weird mixes of psychedelia, samples, spoken word, sex, satire, FM Rock, and various other ingredients. Although the provocatively titled Power of Pussy is their most known piece of work, the slightly more accessible The Big Sell Out is my favorite piece of work of theirs. An album that I would at times past, rave about.

In many ways, Bongwater seems a product of their time, and yet, they were such an unusual group, I often think their music perhaps aged well, since it was not beholden to usual standards.

When Magnuson and Kramer broke up romantically and musically, the latter released an ambitious triple record called The Guilt Trip which referenced George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. It was incredibly self-indulgent, but it blew us indie-heads away. It is also the type of album I expected not to hold up nearly 30 years later, but it actually is still quite good in its quirky way.

I was a big enough fan that I picked up the next two Kramer albums, though they were a bit obscure. However, they didn't stick for me. Kramer remained prolific for a time. and I do enjoy the album he did with Penn Jillete as The Captain Howdy which is at least half-brilliant.

From there, I have tried to keep an eye on Kramer, though his releases seemed to dip even obscurer in the new century, with his focus largely on the Brill Building catalog or classical music.

So Let It Come Down is a welcome return with the most conventional and advertised Kramer album in years. The band is also a duo, this time with UK Singer/Songwriter Xan Tyler, though it won't be confused with Bongwater.

Yet in many ways, it does bear a certain resemblance sonically. Closer Three Wishes with its sample would not be noticed appended to a Bongwater release.

The song Forget chosen to be a 'single' to introduce the album to the masses would fit well on The Guilt Trip and has the Beatlesque sound we associate with the Producer.

The Pitchfork review compares the band to another of Kramer's 'discoveries', the band Low; and although Let it Come Down blazes a path beyond Bongwater, "The Guilt Trip" and Low, the are probably the three closest touchpoints for this band. Each song certainly could fit into one of those three sounds.

Songs We Sang In Our Dreams doesn't quite hit the highest highs of Kramer's career, but what is surprising is how close it gets. So an instant cult classic? Sounds about right.

Lydia Loveless – Daughter (Honey, You're Gonna Be Late) -  There is a seemingly endless string of talented Americana or alt-country artists. So many in the last twenty years, I don’t get too excited, except for the ones that really move me.

I suppose it’s a genre that begs the question of authenticity, which is probably unfair, but is the artist real or are they just playing at being George and Tammy.

There are some artists in the genre who I really like and one is Lydia Loveless. She has already had a decent career at an early age, but like many, 2016s Real provided my introduction.

Her name sounds like a mix between Lydia Lunch and Patty Loveless (Apparently her first name is Lydia, so it’s probably coincidental). This otherwise seems apt- drawing from punk poetry and traditional country.

The new album Daughter feels like the result of a constant sharpening of her skills. To me, it is not only a good album, but I think it is one we will look back at fondly in a few years.

Although I alluded to it earlier, I don’t think you necessarily have to live like Steve Earle to write like him. Now, Loveless has definitely had some experience to draw upon.

The trick of course is to make the confessional into the listenable. Loveless really nails it here. You are probably not going to put much thought into songs like Love is Not Enough if you’re not in a downbeat mood, but the content is certainly there.

That is the kind of reaction that you will get when you listen to Dead Writer or Daughter. It’s a bummer, but the song is so good, the listener won’t mind. Daughter feels like an open window to a doomed relationship but it’s also an ear worm.

As producer, Loveless with Tom Schlick (Wilco, Ryan Adams) nail a sound that would absolutely fit radio if anyone was daring these days. Schlick has worked extensively with the Thompson family and the Wainwright/McGarrigle family and there certainly is an element of that folk and intimate storytelling here too. Though musically more in tune with the alt country scene circa 1999-2005. There’s a bit of Stevie Nicks too (Wringer in particular, pulls out that influence, but it’s always there in the background). Plus there are inevitable compare and contrast thoughts always present with the likes of Lucinda Williams and Neko Case.

This one is pretty solid though. I think she could have pared it from 10 songs to 8 and really created a masterpiece, but that’s just trivial. Worth a listen

Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets – Walkabout (Yep Roc) - Nick Lowe has certainly had more twists and turns in his career than most artists. In the mid to late 90s, he pivoted into a bit of a country soul performer. His most recent change is a weird one (an alliance with Los Straitjackets) maybe not musically (we find out that they do complement each other quite well) but at least visually (the 71 year old singer fronting a band known for playing surf rock and wearing Mexican pro wrestling masks).

As I consider the Best Albums of the Year, I am thinking about giving a spot to Walkabout, the 2020 offering from these collaborators. It is a bit of a patchwork featuring songs from Lowe’s last three years worth of EPs backed by the Straitjackets and then padded to full album length by a selection of songs throughout Lowe’s career that have been turned into surf rock instrumentals.

If they not immediately grab you, give the original Lowe songs some time. They are very enjoyable short pop tunes - mostly fitting the current mold of Lowe with a definite nod to his power pop roots on Tokyo Bay and Crying Inside.

The Bee Gees “Heartbreaker” is an unusual cover selection, but would have fit well on Lowe's albbum 2001’s The Convincer and Lowe makes it work.

Los Straitjackets rip through a cover of The Easybeats 60s classic “Friday on my mind” furthering the Aussie/Pacific theme of the record, and the last track is a live version of “Heart of the City” from Lowe’s classic 1978 solo debut.

Overall, Walkabout is an enjoyable beginning to end listen. The new songs continue a winning streak for Lowe. While the output has slowed, Lowe continues to produce good week and stands firmly as one of my favorite artists continuing to record worthwhile material.

The Magnetic Fields -Quickies (Nonesuch) - This spring, David Sedaris released a Kindle-only essay called Themes and Variations. Having released the acclaimed Calypso in 2018 and doing it all and seeing it all, and proving he's the funniest guy in the room, it seemed an obvious transition.

So, in many ways does Quickies by The Magnetic Fields feels like a novella. Why not? Sedaris is probably the artist that is closest to Merritt in terms of what he is trying to accomplish. Think about it? Who were you going to say? Morrissey? Lou Barlow?

Quickies is a logical step after 2017's 50 Song Memoir, but most importantly, the listener won't think of such things, as Merritt just picks up business as usual. Yes, there is a song as short as 17 seconds, but again that's for the reviewers. Most songs are around the two minute mark. Enough to hit its punchline and move on to the next.

In fact, a fan might not think twice about the concept since it isn't that far away from Merritt's modus operandi. This being Merritt (like Sedaris) thing take turns for the dark, provocative and adult. Even the name itself is clearly a nod to something adult. Which of course means, titles like "The Biggest T*ts in History", "I wish I were a Prostitute Again" and "The Day the Politicians Died".

While not as good as "50 song" (nor pretending to be as ambitious), this makes a fine next entry in the Merritt discography.

Marilyn Manson -We Are Chaos (Loma Vista) - You might not picture me as a Manson fan but I am.

I saw him as a live opening act early on and I am still not a huge fan of his early work. He started out as a pretty generic shock rocker with n-th generation Iggy Pop influences.

Yet something happened. While Manson was play-acting being ‘America’s Enemy #1’, he actually became America’s villain. Because of that, he ended up with a wealth of experience to draw from.

His late 90s albums show a Bowie influence, at least assuredly on the album cover.

To me, his masterpiece is 2000’s Holy Wood- a culmination of everything before, surely not hurt anyway at all by collaborating with Dave Sardy. Bowie never made a heavy metal album but it isn’t a stretch to think it would have sounded like this.

I think many who knew Manson in the 90s assumed he had a sell by date, either through trends or possible Axl Rose-style self-indulgence. That isn’t what happened though. Although I don’t rate that many of his recent albums highly, it certainly isn’t anything to scoff at. He has released a new album every 2-3 years and they have consistently kept him in the limelight.

For me, my favorite of these is 2009’s The High End of Low. Manson considers it his most personal albums and armchair critics would probably see it as a chronicle of his divorce with Dita Von Teese and subsequent romance/break up with Evan Rachel Wood. The album also reunited him with some of those earlier collaborators- bassist Twiggy Ramirez, NIN keyboardist Chris Vrenna and producer Sean Beaven that has been responsible for his late 90s hits.

So WE ARE CHAOS would seem to be business as usual, but it’s not.

Manson’s most recent collaborator is Shooter Jennings. Jennings didn’t need to do anything more than being born to have rock star bonafides. He is the son of outlaw country legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. Of course, he has done more than that- having a respected music career of his own and as a major tastemaker as a DJ for SiriusXM.

The collaboration is as inspired as it seems unusual. Easily his best work in years. It feels like a classic ‘dark wave’ record, not entirely different from the new Clan of Xymox album or any recent KMFDM recording.

We are still talking Manson so it’s doubtful that it will win any new converts, but if as a listener, you at any time were drawn to him, this album is likely to draw you back in. 

My 20 favorite albums of 2020 - In Alphabetical Order #6-10

 

Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia)- What is there to say about the new Dylan album that hasn’t been said? Surely nothing.

But If I am going to try and write about what I am listening to,I owe it a few words. It is the first album of original Dylan material in eight years, so there was no way that it would be treated in the same manner of albums in the late 80s/early 90s that came out every year or two.

That said, even with high expectations, I find this to be a success.

The sixteen minute Murder Most Foul largely overshadowed the release. It’s a monster epic.

For me, given enough time from release, I think I can give it an appraisal.

Murder Most Foul is still a monster. That said, I am less beholden to its spell. The album, particularly opener ‘I Contain Multitudes’ suffers in comparison. Both seem to be drawn from the same place- a stream of consciousness word association.

Multitudes doesn’t have the same level of seriousness, but it adds Dylan’s humor which makes me (blasphemously) prefer it some days.

When Dylan compares himself to Anne Frank, you aren’t sure how to take it. The Dylan of the infamous 1965 San Francisco press conference never really left. He’s always been hard to read and hellbound on doing his own thing.

But if he means that he will be taught in the history book, he’s not wrong. At this point, it is long into the National lexicon that any promising songwriter is called a “new Dylan”

The album surely draws a bit from his Sinatra era, and towards the back half, the Blues. He is at once, an elder statesmen of American music and the guy who led the Rolling Thunder Revue.

He is why we are sad when our artists like Bowie, Prince and Lou Reed pass before attaining a century of life. Who can say what gems our classic writers can create in their Autumn years.

This is a strong set of songs that really leave an impact.

I suspect though Dylan would think I am being too serious. Does this album give me enjoyment when I listen? My lands, yes.

Steve Earle – Ghosts of West Virginia (New West)-  If you know me, you know that I will take any chance I get to talk about Steve Earle.

His first and third albums of his “Nashville” career are essential. I prefer Copperhead Road to Guitar Town, but both are essential records. The second album “Exit 0” is in the shadows of the two landmarks. It is probably the most obvious bid for airplay, but it is also a very strong album- just perhaps too slick for most.

The two albums from his comeback are also genre defining- “I Feel Alright” and “El Corazon”. “Train A Comin” was released a year before the “comeback” on a small label and so didn't get a lot of notice. These three records make a shortlist of required listening.

Earle kept that momentum going. If I have five albums in the top tier, then the next record “The Mountain” immediately goes on the second tier list. It is a collaboration with the Del McCoury Band- a bluegrass album, and a pattern emerges that Earle's best albums have themes (if not, all his albums).

I won't review every album since there are so many good ones, and there is an inevitable trend downward. I am partial to 2004 “The Revolution Starts Now”. Released a couple of months after Micheal Moore's “Fahrenheit 911”, it is a soundtrack for a certain time, and certainly defined that point in Earle's career. There were a couple of songs that got a great deal of attention, though in retrospect, it's the songs like “Home to Houston” and “Rich Man's War” that stand with Earle's best work.

In recent years, Earle seems to be getting his mojo back- the Blues-based Terraplane from 2015, a duet album with Shawn Colvin in 2016, and So You Wannabe an Outlaw from 2017 show a steady upward tick. “Outlaw” wasn't perfect but it did feel like his best album in years.

The new record “Ghosts of West Virginia” hits hard on first listening. It checks off all the marks for a great Earle record. It harkens back to “The Mountain” where the theme is coal mining. Of note, it should be a song cycle since it was written for a play about a 2010 mine disaster.

A couple of things that stand out is that it's a well constructed set of songs. Interestingly, the album wouldn't sound bad on country radio, especially a song like “Union God and Country”. There's no chance of that, of course, but it talks to Earle's strengths as a songwriter. There's nothing overtly subversive about that song – it's just we live in a political environment. “The Mine” is another song that might fit on an early Earle record when he was getting airplay.

The songs “Black Lung” and “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground”) are cut from the same cloth of the Steve Earle who might hang out with the Supersuckers. There is a fury that Earle doesn't always bring to the fore, but he can and certainly will, when needed. They sound like cousins to his earlier “Oxycontin Blues” (and of course, its father “Copperhead Road”) with a Banjo playing the part of say, Johnny Ramone's guitar.

Another facet of a great Earle albums is a mix of songs- there's “Heaven Ain't Goin' Nowhere” (spiritual or gospel), “Fastest Man Alive” (country boogie or rockabilly), and “If I could see your face again” ( a sweet folky ballad sang by fiddler Eleanor Whitmore which recalls Emmylou Harris). “It's About Blood” draws from the same AOR territory (Seger, Springsteen, Mellencamp) that Earle was embraced by back in 1986. It is also a song that lists the name of the deceased miners- a fact I heard before I heard the song. I suspected that would make it resistant to repeated listening. I was wrong.

This album is another highlight in a career of highlights, likely to fall into that second tier of albums to recommend for the new listener. If you know me, you know I think Earle's the best songwriter alive. Objectively, I will at least say he's caught Springsteen and is going after Dylan.

Fun Fact: Allmusic lists of Similar Albums include the Rocky Horror Show by Richard O'Brien. While, I am indeed also a Rocky Horror fan, someone will have to explain how they arrived at that. I suppose “Hot Patootie” might fit if you worked it up with fiddle.

Matt Elliott- Farewell to All We Know (Ici d'ailleurs) - One of the artists that I have watched closely over the last 15 years is Matt Elliott. Pushed to describe him, I would say he certainly falls in a category of Nick Cave and Tom Waits in dramatic music, though perhaps closer to the Tinderstsicks, Piano Magic, and others who dabble in baroque pop, as well as more esoteric fare like Swans and Current 93. The atmosphere of the music comes first, and lyrics second.

Of course, Elliott has been around longer than that. He was a member of Flying Saucer Attack on their first album, before making many records as the Third Eye Foundation. 3EF was active in the 90s, and I am not knowledgeable enough to speak on them, but Elliott's run in the 21st Century as a “solo” artist is worthwhile. His best starting spot is perhaps the albums that have a theme (04's Drinking Songs, 06's Failing Songs, and 08's Howling Songs). Plus somewhere in here, I want to work in that he has an album with the fantastic title “Only Myocardial Infarcation Can Break Your Heart” (2013).

2020's Farewell to All We Know may be his best. Coincidentally, it's hard to listen to without thinking of last year's Leonard Cohen album Thanks for the Dance. Smoky, husky vocals, Spanish guitar, cello and apocalyptic folk minimalism. Of course, Elliott has charted this course long ago. In any case, this appears to be worthwhile

Jim Bob- Pop Up Jim Bob (Cherry Red) - I was recently reminded by a new social media friend how much I enjoyed Carter USM.

In fact, 1992:The Love Album is a record that I liked as much as any of its day.

But for whatever reason, Carter USM has faded from memory. Surely the product of a goofy name (the Unstoppable Sex Machine) and a genre that incorporated dance music into traditional rock.

I suspect the fact that they never had American success means they aren’t looked at with as much reverence as similar (and similarly named) bands of the day like Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Jesus Jones and the Happy Mondays.

In 2014, the Guardian (upon the band’s dissolution) wondered why the band has been written out of 90s UK indie history) but was the same publication that in 2007 posited that no one will ever cite Carter USM as an influence.

If you can get passed the ridiculous name, ridiculous hair and the duo’s ridiculous sobriquets (JimBob and FruitBat), they were a clever band- very satirical and very informed.

One can’t help but think of things would have been different if they had arrived post-Radiohead. Would JimBob have fronted a four piece and maybe been a Guy Garvey kind of character? Would he have been characterized as an esoteric songwriter like Damon Gough? Or a lo-fi band in the golden era of ‘circa 2005’.

In any case, this one slowly snuck on my radar, but in 2020, the ‘return of JimBob’ is going to hardly be on the list of most surprising things to happen.

I am struck by two things. First, this is very much in line with what a Carter USM album should sound like. It is a worthy successor to the Love Album. Secondly, is how contemporary it is. JimBob hits 2020 and it’s all there (just look at the song titles for a start)- a 30 second blast called ‘2020 WTF!’, “You’re Cancelled and We’re Done”, “Ted Talks” and “#thoughtsandprayers”.

I hesitate to think if any songwriter tried to capture these most unusual of times, that they would err somehow - too cloying, perhaps or tone deaf or clunky. Which isn’t to say JimBob is perfect, but this is actually a pretty solid record. Which makes me think he might be the artist we didn’t know we needed, but I am glad he is here for us.

The Killers – Imploding the Mirage (Island) -  Wonderful Wonderful was on my Best of 2018 but to be honest, I had started to count the Killers out. The band had went five years between records when WW came out, each member had a solo record or project, bassist Mark Stoermer had retired from touring and Guitarist/cofounder Dave Keuning is on an indefinite hiatus that at least looks like he may never return. Moreover, the album’s best song Run For Cover originated from the 2008 Day and Age sessions.

To be honest, my early impression of Imploding the Mirage wasn’t particularly favorable. I am not a fan of early single Fire in Bone. Still, I saw rave reviews for the album and glad I sought it out.

While the specter of U2 has always loomed over the Killers, it feels it is here in a different way. By now, the band has done well to forge their own unique style. However, this album feels like they are striving for the Big Record. It is like something we would expect from a band like U2.

Without Keuning, producer Jonathan Rado and Stoermer pick up the guitar duties. Rado is best known as the multi-instrumentalist from the duo Foxygen and seems an inspired choice.

Lending to the Big Album feel also is that it is an All-Star affair. Guest performers include Lindsay Buckingham, kd lang, Weyes Blood, Lucius, Roger Manning of Jellyfish, Blake Mills, and members of the Lemon Twigs and the War on Drugs.

Like latter day U2, the band isn’t afraid to experiment and bring in people like Alex Cameron (who has helped co-write some of the band’s best recent songs), and heavy hitting engineers/mixers like Flood, Alan Moulder and Emily Lazar ( Beck, Foo Fighters, Sia, Vampire Weekend). The album writing credits also include Can, Neu! and Frankie Knuckles as the band uses some samples from 80s Chicago House music and early 70s Krautrock.

Now, what does this mean in a post- CD, post- Album, post-seemingly everything rock music environment? It’s hard to say. But they do present us with a fully realized often sonic record that sounds like the direction the band wants to move in and it’s the type of record that improves on subsequent listening.

Yes, with Lindsay Buckingham on board (the secret weapon on the soaring single Caution) it’s hard not to think of them as the Fleetwood Mac of today or any of the huge 70s monster pop bands, eyes pointed to Heaven (or at least the arena stage). Does that world still exist? I doubt it matters much if it only exists in Brandon Flowers’s mind and those of his fans when you have an album like this.