my week in music - may 30th 2021
Well, I guess I'm back...
My most listened to albums this week, and a little thing I wanted to say about each...
"The Man Who Died In His Boat"
by Grouper
My Rating: 8/10
This album is a gorgeous collection of outtakes and tracks that didn't quite make Liz Harris' outstanding Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill, in my opinion the strongest record Liz has released. Whilst The Man Who Died In His Boat isn't quite as strong as its big-sister album, there is no denying the strength of these tracks, nor the distinct, more haunting and dour atmosphere. Of course, there isn't a song on here that matches the standalone potential of "Invisible" or "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping", but there also doesn't need to be.
"Geek The Girl"
Lisa Germano
My Rating: 10/10
A little quick for me to be rating this album a 10, a rating I scarcely use even for albums I adore? Probably yes. Does that mean it doesn't deserve it? Uh, no. This thing is phenomenal, drenched in sadness and reverb (what's the difference?) but also boasting some of the prettiest compositions I've heard all year, which says a lot considering my persisting fondness of dream pop, though this might just take the cake.
"Trinity"
Eartheater
My Rating: 8/10
Another high rating? Let me tell you, it's been one of those weeks where I've only had the energy to listen to music I actually enjoy, albeit a LOT of energy to do so. Now, as what this album offers, I'll say this: I may have not heard much of Eartheater's discography, in fact I had no clue that Alexandra Drewchin had been making music since 2013, but I did know that the Trinity mixtape was the item with the most attention, and I was a huge fan of their album from last year, so I gave it a shot. It didn't disappoint. In fact, what it did was surprise me, the Avant-folk and ambient approach of the album I had heard before gone. This was a weird and wonderful electronic and futuristic trap experience that left me eager to check out more of Alexandra's work - maybe even next week?
Aquilo
My Rating: 9/10
I've "um"ed and "ah"ed over this for a while, but I'm finally confident in calling out the resounding success that this is. A dreampop album that leans HEAVILY into the pop side of things, watering down the sound to be accessible for a mainstream audience and full of ballads and formulaic structures? You could say that, and you wouldn't be wrong. But I think that's an ignorant take, as you'd be missing the flawless, incredibly detailed production; solid, emotive writing and the duo's incredible penchant for building their songs into these vast sweeping chambers of feels and atmosphere, and I can assure you they have both in spades. No more pretending. This is excellent.
Snow Patrol
My Rating: 7/10
I'd be willing to bet I've spent more time than most with Snow Patrol's debut album, a record that may not be the most ambitious or unique out there (from a band that quite obvious fits neither descriptor) but that's not to say it lacks worth, and at a time when the indie scene was so divided between its Britpop and North American spheres and, despite being from Northern Ireland, Snow Patrol are a band that really didn't fit either camp, at least not at this time. The sound of this thing is decidedly non-mainstream, very incohesive and messy, but with the same charm that's carried them through the many moments of mediocrity that has come to characterise much of their work. Keep in mind that this is something of a beloved band for me, but their output is far from spotless.
This album though is an outlier, a debut that barely even hints at the music they would be making a decade later, and something that is often too scrappy for its own good... but I would be lying to myself to call this even remotely bad, with the chaotic, lofi energy appealing to me, and this album standing as a curious remnant of the past that I find a whole lot of fun to revisit, from time to time.
ecco2k
My Rating: 8/10
This EP is made exponentially stronger due to one standout song, "In The Flesh", being among my favourite tracks of the year so far. Overall this is an interesting development from ecco's previous work, another artist moving away from the "bread and cheese" of the Drain Gang's pioneered cloud trap style, in this case moving into noise pop. For as much praise as ecco's first solo album e gathered, it wasn't something I would come back to as much as any of Bladee's projects, and many of the tracks just feel lacking to me. With this new sound however, I am now fully aboard the ecco2k hype train, and I'm more than eager to visit the next station.
"ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH"
SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
My Rating: 9/10
Well this has grown on me a lot. Upon first listen, Spirit of the Beehive underwhelmed me. I found the peculiar sound palette fascinating of course, although it all felt a little gimmicky, lacking staying power or anything to keep me hooked. And then I listened again. And again. And again. The more I listened, the more I found things to enjoy, tethering myself with the rhythms and percussion, consistently offering a pleasant groove regardless of how many times a song will shift and twist, threatening to lose itself but never quite doing so. It's a fascinating listening experience and not one I can easily describe, but if you do want to try it then know this is an album that requires multiple listens, and perhaps a few psychedelic records under your belt first. Try MGMT and Ariel Pink for an easier entry into the genre.
Theophilus London
My Rating: 7/10
If this wasn't just a promotional mixtape filled with previews and half-finished songs, this might just be the best thing Theophilus London has put out. Then again, I seem to be one of the only people who still cares about the Trinidadian-American rapper. I care very much, in fact, and I am extremely hyped for their imminent new single. Will I continue to revisit and cherish this forgotten mixtape? Yes, yes I think I will. There is a cover of Ace of Base's "All That She Wants" and it is better than the original. There is a 30 second teaser of a track that made it onto the full album and it still slaps. There is a track called "Leave It Alone" that basically sounds like an intro to a really great trap song played about 4 times without fully starting, and I still love that. Am I crazy?
The answer is yes, yes I am. Just in case anyone was still wondering.
Male Tears
My Rating: 8/10
At first glance there is nothing particularly special about this. Just your average synthpop indie record. In fact, that is exactly what it is. It is, however, an extremely well executed average synthpop record, with catchy, strong writing and a few standout tracks that I can already see myself listening to rather a lot over the summer, so I believe my score s here is deserved. I mean, it's certainly better than the Vandal Moon album from last year that I got it confused with at first. "Future X" is the standout for me.
desert sand feels warm at night
My Rating: 8/10
One of the best ambient vaporwave albums I've listened to in a while, desert sand's new record (translated: New World Disciples) is a chilled dreampunk masterpiece, a clear improvement over their last record and a difficult album to talk about. It's ambient and it feels nice, what more do you want me to say?
Anyway, thank you very much for reading, I apologise for such a prolonged album, I hope that this format should keep me active more regularly. I've found it harder than ever to keep this blog running with building external pressures and more and more responsibilities (most taken on willingly) that seem to be dwarfing my time, but I still like writing about music, and I didn't want to abandon it completely, particularly given how well it was just starting to do a few months ago. Thank you for everybody who has stuck with me, and thanking one person specifically for being something of a new inspiration for me (you know who you are). I couldn't, and maybe wouldn't, be doing this without you.
Until next time,
this has been Logan.
---
Comments
Post a Comment