Quick Hits, Vol. 345 (Sarah Jarosz, Wolves of Glendale, Hozier, Beyonce)

Sarah Jarosz - Polaroid Lovers.  I've always loved Jarosz, and although this album feels entirely out of character for her normal schtick, it is really good.  She came up as the mandolin-slinging wunderkind from Central Texas, but this eschews that style for more of a folky pop thing.  "When the Lights Go Out" has a little bit of Paul Simon's Graceland album in it.  "Runaway Train" has a little classic Kelly Willis to it.  I sniff a little Taylor Swift in the lovelorn confessional of "The Way It Is Now."  Its all damn pretty though.  "Columbus & 89th" is the top streamer with 660k.

Now that sounds more like the classic sound.  Lovely fingerpicking and a beautifully understated set of vocals.  Man, this whole aging thing is so dang weird - I've heard this song 20 times by now and then I find myself getting leaky over watching her stand on the edge of Central Park.  Such a wonderful melody.

Wolves of Glendale - Wolves of Glendale.  This is the dumbest, funniest shit I have heard in forever.  It is like a Toto cover band hired a Saturday Night Live writer to create the weirdest lyrics possible, and then they faithfully crushed those like an absolutely real band trying to make it big in 1986.  Lonely Island but with killer musicians making legit songs.  There are some other influences in here - "Free Sample" has notes of Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, and the Chili Peppers - but most of this feels like something that would have been on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, but with hysterical lyrics.  I keep finding myself singing snippets of "Vapin' in Vegas" or "The Gym" as I'm wandering through my days.  I mean, I'm listening to "The Gym" again right now, for like the tenth time, and laughing out loud in my office.  It's absurd but perfectly pitched - "even the Rock has a cheat day!" and "I passed the pasta test!" - and after the first two verses that make sense for the song, but then it just goes off the rails with the strip club and the coma and the cockfighting ring and everything else.  But still, great tune, and funny ass lyrics.  Oh, and I sing "Olivia" in my head all the time now too - mainly the "sacrifice a puppy for love" line which nails me every time.  "The Gym" is the top streamer, although the whole thing is criminally under-streamed.

See how that one launches into the song like Huey Lewis or Glen Frey are about to start singing?  But it also nails it with the details - three year membership at the gym, new clothes, and then you do seven pushups before heading to get some special food.  So perfect.  "Loud Ass Car" and "Just Give Me Cash" are also funny shit.  The whole album nails my type of humor honestly.  This whole thing rules.  I am going to be annoying about evangelizing for them.

Hozier - Unheard.  I guess this is some little B-sides collection, being that it is just four song long, but I'll be damned if it doesn't showcase some of his best stuff anyway.  The first song, "Too Sweet," sounds like he joined up with the Black Keys for some southern, soulful riffage.  "Wildflower and Barley," with Allison Russell, has a funky shuffle but otherwise is an ethereal little burner.  "Empire" builds in a really tasty way.  "Fare Well" starts out really quiet and sneaky, and then erupts into a dance party.  "Too Sweet" is crushing it though - 268.1 million streams!  Nothing else here breaks 20 mill.

I find myself just singing "I take my whiskey neaaaaaaaaaaat" at random times now.  Not sure what he means by taking his bed at three, but its a funky little tune.  Good stuff.

Beyonce - Cowboy Carter.  There are things on here that I really like.  Her covers of "Blackbird" and "Jolene" are great.  I think the "Texas Hold 'Em" track is definitely fun.  The brassy rap throwdown of "Spaghetti" is very enjoyable.  But telling me that this is her country album is really freaking weird.  Most of this is absolutely not country no matter how much I stretch my mental definition of that genre.  "Bodyguard" is like an indie rock tune sung by a soul singer.  The "Dolly P" bit makes me cringe.  "Daughter" is lovely.  But it is also too damn long - 27 tracks and an hour and eighteen minutes?  C'mon man.  "Hold 'em" crushes all of the other tracks with 338.5 million streams.

Goofy is many ways, but I'm not going to try to be the dick who can't just let go and enjoy something fun.  It's fun.  The tune with Miley Cyrus is also fun.  The "YA YA" track is really weird, because it steals bits from "Boots Are Made For Walking," but isn't that either.  I'm sure it will be a hit in live shows, but it seems out of place.  The album, overall, is just all over the place.  I think that is partly the point, to poke a finger in the eye of the genre purists who want to put her into one genre, but it also makes for a weird listening experience to get country, folk, rap, R&B, soul, and 14 other styles jammed into this one thing.  I don't love it.