Quick Hits, Vol. 58 (Jesse Malin, The Game, Joanna Gruesome, D'Angelo, Ashley Monroe, Duran Duran)

Jesse Malin - New York Before the War.  Part Ryan Adams (who may be my most referenced artist of all), part 80's sound like Squeeze or TLC, part urgent Springsteen, try out "Oh Sheena."

Squeeze - that is my hard comparison there.  Or some other 80's band with an overly earnest singer.  I can't recall where I heard about this guy, for some reason I thought someone big (Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift or something) had pimped him and so he had blown up, but his Spotify count is very low.  No song on this album cracks six figures.  I like it well enough - nothing on here lights me up but after a handful of listens, I've restarted again.  Good enough to keep around for a bit.

The Game - The Documentary 2.  I've never been a big The Game guy.  I remember a couple of good songs on The Documentary ("How We Do," "Hate it or Love It"), and I remember liking a tune or two off of Jesus Piece a few years back (although they didn't affect me enough that I can remember them now), but then I haven't paid him any mind in years.  Now, looking at his Spotify page, he has a million albums.  I can't believe any of them are worth a crap, but who knows, there may be a gem in there among the 378 diss tracks aimed at 50 Cent.
But this one uses some classic samples and weaves a hell of a fun set of tracks.  The opening track, featuring Kendrick Lamar, has this Erykah Badu, soul sample feel that is tight, and then "Don't Trip" with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, alongside a killer funky beat, is solid as hell.  Man, I'm a sucker for Cube. "Circles" features Q-Tip and might as well be a Tribe Called Quest song about half way through to the end.  The most popular track on the album features (of course) Drake, and is called "100."

Not the best track on the album by any means.  But kids these days, with their overly excessive love of the Drake, probably just listen to this track all day while they practice rolling their eyes while typing 100!! emojis with their thumbs.  And I can't leave the album without noting the "Standing on Ferraris" beat, which cops one of my favorite Notorious BIG tracks of all time, the kick ass swagger and sinister vibe of the "I Put a Spell on You"-sampling "Kick in the Door."  Game's story-telling is a 2 compared to BIG's 10, but I still dig this track.  Inexplicably, I really like this album.  Maybe I don't hate all new rap?

Joanna Gruesome - Peanut Butter.  Somehow fitting 10 songs into just 21 minutes, this is a pretty fun blast of fuzzy 90's alt-rock and shoegaze time travel.  Like a lady singer version of Teenage Fanclub who had been listening to old Pixies demos.  The most listened-to track on Spotify is "Last Year," the opener of the album.

Punk start, shoegaze middle, all strangely enjoyable.  The album is seriously over before you even really get into it, but I like it well enough to keep around.

D'Angelo - Brown Sugar.  Now, I'm well aware that this album is 20 years old, but I never caught on to it (or D'Angelo) in the first place.  And after listening to the newest D'Angelo album, and thinking that I might get to go see him tape for ACL (before he cancelled that show along with his Fun Fun Fun appearance), I thought that I should go back in time and check this out.  I am no connoisseur of R&B music, I am well aware that it generally passes me by without much appeal, but this stuff right here is sweet hot magic.  The title track, which opens up the album, is like woah.

That smooth ass beat, the jingle bells, tight drums, and that voice.  Silky smooth and yet tough.  This is killer stuff. Apparently about smoking weed, although it sounds like it is about lady friends.  The rest of the album is no where near as great, although some ("Jonz in my Bonz") are significantly better than others (cheezy ass "When We Get By").  But "Brown Sugar" is just too much.  I won't keep this whole disc around, but that song must be retained.

I know I normally stop after four, but I've got two that are truly quick hits to just move on from and get out of my New Stuff list:

Ashley Monroe - The Blade.  I hear a less brassy Dolly Parton in this album, but it doesn't strike me as anything to hold on to.  I know people have been talking her up and are in love with the title track, but nothing special to me.

Duran Duran - Paper Gods.  I dig me some 80's Duran Duran, but this can be quickly forgotten as far as I'm concerned.  New-ish sounding beats and generic lyrics.