Quick Hits, Vol. 162 (Justin Townes Earle, Iron & Wine, The Lone Bellow, St. Vincent)

I just have to note that all of the U2 singles released so far on Spotify for the upcoming new album are freaking great.

Justin Townes Earle - Kids in the Street.  I feel like using your middle name to evoke one of the greatest songwriters of all time is kind of improper.  I know it is really his name, and Steve just wanted to pay homage to the man, but now every time I think of this guy he gets the benefit of both his dad's fame and Townes'.  Seems unfair.  I'm gonna change my daughter's middle name to AdeleSwiftBey and she's going to be rich as shit and buy me a replacement floor mat for my 4Runner.  These tunes are vaguely pleasant, the kind that just disappear into the ether of time if you don't take a hard listen to them to get to the lyrics.  Another album where the opening track is the most popular, by quite a bit, but I'll give you "Maybe a Moment," because it has a video, for your listening pleasure.

Good one.  "Maybe only a moment, maybe the time of your lives."  The lyrics are why you'd stick with this album, although it is generally kind of sleepy Americana/lite rock.  I like it, but honestly not enough to keep it around.

Iron & Wine - Beast Epic.  I&W has a great thing going, with this easily recognizable brand of lovely, quiet soft rock, where each song sounds like it should be on the soundtrack of an indie film.  Sam Beam, the apparent entirety of this band, just has a feathered, whispered way about his vocals that is soothing as all get out.  Hard not to enjoy the comfort of this one.  The top track on here is on the radio here and there in Austin, and its a nice one.  This is "Call It Dreaming," with 9.2 million streams.

I wanna ride in the back of ghost truck with that good doggie!  Very Jose Gonzales sound, gentle, soothing, lovely, nostalgic (if that is a term that can be used for a sound).  Freaking beautiful song.  "say its here where our pieces fall in place, we can fear because a feelings fine to betray, where our water isn’t hidden, we can burn and be forgiven, where our hands hurt from healing, we can laugh without a reason."  Now, some of these tunes can just wash on by without much to distinguish them, as you listen to the entire album.  But if you spend some time with these tracks and listen to both the lyrics and the music at the same time, it really is a great one.

The Lone Bellow - Walk Into a Storm.  The Lone Bellow do a very good brand of large Americana music with good harmonies and a lot of soul.  One of the tracks from this album is the most instantly familiar to me ("Is It Ever Gonna Be Easy") which makes me think it must be getting radio play, but at only 200k streams, it sure doesn't seem like it is out there much.  Maybe its just so very like much of their old music that I'm conflating the two.  Probably the most beautiful song on the album is "Come Break My Heart Again," which is truly lovely.  But the track with the most streams from this one so far is "Time's Always Leaving," with 733k streams.  Surprisingly low number for a band I thought was popular.

More upbeat, kind of a Nathaniel Rateliff thing.  Oh no, wait, I've seen that video before!  I know that guy!  If you watched the Netflix show Ozark, then you've seen him before as well, that guy is Mark Menchaca, and we worked at the same youth camp a million years ago.  Fun song.  Totally forgot that I had seen him post something about being in this video, on Facebook, and that I had watched this video several months ago.  Well there you have it.  Terrifying the Olds with his dance moves even 20 year later...  Most of the album is a lighter touch, which gets a little forgettable at times, so while I've enjoyed it I probably won't keep it.

St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION.  Or, as I'll call it, the one where every time I look at the album cover I feel dirty and like I shouldn't be listening to this.  I've generally enjoyed St. Vincent when I've tried her out in the past, but beyond a few tracks, this one isn't doing much for me.  The hit, that I keep hearing in bleeped out form on the radio, is "New York."

Very pretty at times, and has a nice sense of melancholy, but also has that jarring repeat use of MF in the midst of that pretty thought.  But this is definitely better than the stressfully bad "Sugarboy" or the title track.  This album straddles some line between tech sounds and real music, while keeping the lyrics as witty and winkingly smart as possible, and its just not for me.  I won't keep the album around.