Quick Hits, Vol. 284 (Blue Stones, Billie Eilish, Sarah Jarosz, Black Keys)

You must immediately go watch this video right now.  Kim Jong Un's face, as he drums, is killing me.

Blue Stones - Hidden Gems.  This is a disc that I found before the ACL lineup was announced, so it was shunted back into the new music queue to be dealt with only after I heard all of the ACL stuff.  But, I love a few of these songs, so I have used them as motivational jams during that period as well.  "Shakin' Off the Rust" is the hit on the album, and I like it too, but "Spirit" is the unhinged jam that I never knew I needed.  I think this album came to me because I listen to Royal Blood and cleopatrick and their ilk, but it works really well.  This is "Spirit," with 2.4 million streams. 

That combination of fast/loud, followed by quiet/building, resulting in the kind of song that should make you want to buy a glass greenhouse, build it in your backyard, fill it full of speakers, blast this song, and then spin in circles with sledgehammers in each hand and see what happens.  And the little bridge turns it a little bouncy and danceable, before the last killer quiet section erupts.  Loving it.  I especially love the little jump starts just before each of the chorus launches.  It's right up there with that "Some Mutts (Can't Be Muzzled)" track from Amyl and the Sniffers as a motivational jam.  The disc is full of more of this, very good rock and roll based on just a guitar and a drum set.  Some are more poppy, some are almost funky enough for dancing, but mostly they just blast you with the power. "Grim" has a second where it sounds like Kendrick Lamar stops by the studio.  Every once in a while, they stray from that recipe, like the less enjoyable "L.A. Afterlife" that is a little cheesy, or some of the effects on "Careless," but otherwise this album makes me happy.

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever.  I heard from several people who saw her ACL show these last few weeks and thought it was amazing.  I am personally very glad that I skipped it.  Her show two years ago was very underwhelming to me, and this new album is likewise pretty weak.  When you are listening to something for the first time and you pause what you are doing to whisper "what in the hell is this crap?" then that is not a great sign.  Musically, most of this is deeply uninteresting.  So spare as to feel tossed off.  And when combined with her whisper-tone voice, it's just too easy for it all to fade into the background as something my mind can just cut off from the consciousness stream.  "Happier Than Ever" certainly flips that script by making unenjoyable noises instead.  But like, the opening track is just a very basic synth note, played repeatedly, with barely anything else involved other than her mumbling over the top.  I think I'm just the wrong demographic here.  I might like the Bassa Nova song the most out of any of them because its finally a little interesting?  Of course the album has a zillion streams because she's huge, but bleh...  Top track is "Therefore I Am" at 492.2 million.

Oh yeah, that is probably the best song on the album, the masses are right.  But its because it sounds like the old Billie, and she looks like the old Billie, and its playful and harsh and bouncy in a way most of this album is just woozy and blah.  I do like when the subtitles just start saying entirely different words than what she is singing.  That is entertaining.  But for the album as a whole?  Nope.

Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite.  I'm a sucker for Jarosz.  Every new album that comes out is another chapter in an enjoyable book that I hope will continue until I am old.  The combination of deftly played Americana and bluegrass, salved by her lovely voice and timeless lyrics, it always hits right on me.  I've mentioned this before, but my favorite Pandora station for home, one that will almost always make the wife happy, still tickle my fancy, and get compliments from guests, was initially based on her.  Just so damn good.  This album is a little odd because it is full of interludes and call-backs to earlier songs, instead of just being a linear album it feels more like a meditation.  It almost feels weird to pick a certain song to paly, as it removes that track from the cohesive mesh of the whole album, but "Morning" is the top streamer at 1.3 million streams.

The imagery of her being there on the shoreline, holding out her hand is so nice.  Makes me wish I would have made my kids walk the beach with me in the mornings when we go to the beach.  I also love in "Blue Heron," when she sings the words "blue heron," because her voice soars right then in a wonderful way.  Another great little album.

Black Keys - Delta Kream.  I want to go to the little drive-in joint on the cover so bad.  Sadly, it no longer exists, that picture was from the 70's.  This is an album of blues covers, and it works really well.  Even when these guys are playing their own tracks, they pretty much sound like old blues covers anyway.  That's what makes them awesome.  "Crawling Kingsnake" was the initial single and the power tune - 6 minutes of slinky, swaggering guitar hero action.  That is the top track, with just over six million streams.

I personally dig that they made the video go along with the full-length track, instead of the little radio edit they made at the end of the album.  The whole album, and that video, feel like they are paying proper homage to the influences that have made them insanely rich over the course of their career.  They've obviously turned those influences into something new and great, but instead of trying to act like they hit a home run, they're showing here how they started on third base and owe some forebearers a debt.  I dig that.  Definitely an enjoyable album.