Quick Hits, Vol. 216 (Swearin', Kurt Vile, Maggie Rogers, Big K.R.I.T.)

Before full albums, I have a handful of singles that I keep hearing when I restart my queue, so I thought I'd mention them as well:

• Catfish & the Bottlemen - Longshot.  Freaking great pop rock tune.  I like these guys anyway, but every time this one comes back on, I can't help but jam it.  Swaggering, tuneful, just right.
• The Lumineers - Walls.  Tom Petty cover song and its amazing.
• Lizzo - Juice.  Oh how I love Lizzo.  her live shows a few years back at ACL were an amazing sight to behold, and this joyful slice of braggadocio is the shizzz.
• Noname - Song 31.  OK, not great, in line with the tunes from Room 25 album, super chilled jazzy beat and her conversational rap.
• 5 Seconds of Summer - Lie To Me.  Kind of sad little tune, they have nice voices, but the song isn't that special. (and then I spent all weekend singing it anyway - the brain is a weird thing).
• Sam Smith - Fire on Fire (from Watership Down).  Didn't know there was a new Watership Down movie, that was my absolute favorite book as a child.  I don't especially care for this song in particular, but my God Sam Smith's voice is one of the greatest things ever.  He absolutely crushes this song, packing emotional heft and a lightness into every syllable.
• Raconteurs - Sunday Driver.  New Raconteurs?  Hell yes, sign me up for some new Raconteurs.  Their old albums were top notch bluesy rock, and so I'm all in for this stuff.
• Logic - Keanu Reeves.  Pretty cool sounding song - Logic's ability to go 2x the speed of anyone else currently making tracks is very impressive.  This one is pretty smooth and quick, but not a full on boat race.  OK song.
• Yungblud - LONER.  Meh.  I liked his live show and enjoyed some of his tracks from the last album, but this one doesn't do much for me.
• FONTAINES D.C. - Too Real.  Pretty solid blast of punk rock energy with a disinterested sort of vocal.  Like a new slice of Fugazi.

Swearin' - Fall Into the Sun.  This one came out last year, but I've been sticking with it for months now.  This is the sister of Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield, Allison, as the lead singer for most of the songs (although a dude takes over here and there) and its got a fuzzed out, DIY kind of jam to it.  Kind of a new take on Dinosaur Jr. or something, lots of chugging guitar and fuzz.  My favorite tune on the album is sadly not the most popular, so I'm obviously very unpopular and should go buy some Air Force Ones and Guess jeans to try to fit into the in crowd.  Those are still cool, right?  I'm not sure if I've told this story before, but back in the day all the cool kids had those black and white Banana Republic t-shirts with like a drawing of an elephant or jaguar on the back, and on the front they had a little pocket with, I'm gonna say a star and some bananas?  Memory fades over time.  Anyway, I wanted one of those shirts SO HARD.  And my mom ignored those pleas until, in typical fashion for my fashion, I got a significantly lamer BR t-shirt about 2 years after everyone else had stopped wearing those shirts.  Maybe this is why I wear uncool shit still today...  
Anyway, "Dogpile" rules.  But its only got 65k streams, so obviously my tastes are sad and depressed.  "Grow into a Ghost" ends up being the most streamed, at 236k streams.

Great tune as well - much more fast paced and jangly than "Dogpile," but still good in its own way.  "Untitled (LA)" kicks off like an old R.E.M. song and then sounds like The Breeders, then the middle kicks it up more like Courtney Barnett.  Good stuff.  I don't know enough about actually playing the guitar to know the actual facts behind this, but their notes almost sound flat, like on "Margaret," where the guitar tone sounds slightly down, sour, flat, like they're intentionally keeping it from being as bright as that tune otherwise could be with that tempo and jangle.  Anyway, highly tasty album.

Kurt Vile - Bottle It In.  This one appeared on a few year end lists, and I have to say that I was pretty non-impressed by it on the first glance.  But after letting it percolate with me and streaming it a bunch over the past two months, I've actually really come to enjoy it.  Extremely low key, chilled out, a grooving vibe kind of album.  Nothing on here jumps up and yells for attention, instead it all seems to absorb energy and just snuggle with it.  He came to ACL a few years back, and I remember really enjoying that album with "Pretty Pimpin" on it.  That tune is much more party-time than these ones.  "Bassackwards" is a 10 minute cool ride on a wave of guitar and groove.  "One Trick Ponies" is slightly more energetic, but still totally chill.  But the album opener, "Loading Zones," is the top streamer at just over 5 million streams.

I PARK FOR FREE!  With some tasty warbling and fuzz - good tune.  This whole album is very tasty.

Maggie Rogers - Heard It In a Past Life.  This gal kind of rules.  I saw her at SXSW a few years back, some YouTube or Red Bull sponsored thing, and thought she was pretty good.  Nothing overpowering or ridiculous, just a nice voice and some good lyrics.  Fine.  And then "Light On" was released a few months ago and it shot right up into the pantheon of greatest tunes of all time.  That may be hyperbole, but I cannot deny that I wake up still singing that song and loving it for the lyrics and the powerful sense of feeling that it lays down every time I hear it again.

More than once, that damn thing has brought me to tears.  Hell, just starting it over again with that YouTube video made goose bumps pop up all up and down my arms.  Yeah, here we go again - when she sings "you should be so happy now" and strains at the wheel of her car with tears running down her face, I'm done.  Damn.  The rest of the album is also good - has a HAIM vibe, that kind of dance-able indie pop music and strong vocals.  "Give a Little" is also a good tune, "Overnight" is solid, and I like "Burning" as well.  But nothing on here lives up to the power of "Light On."  Good, not great, album.

Big K.R.I.T. - TDT.  This guy is good.  Mississippi rapper who has made some good tracks and albums.  "Energy" has a bunch, just a bouncy fun track.  "Pick Yourself Up" is a classic slice of Bay Area Too $hort-homage beat with a smooth ass flow slinking in between the hand claps.  Love it.  "Learned from Texas" is a UGK homage that is also dope.  In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, does the album title stand for Throw Back Thursday?  Are these all intended to pay homage to someone else's style?  Ah, no, these are a compilation of three short EPs, Thrice X, Double Down, and Trifecta (thus TDT).  The top track is "Glorious," at 1.7 million streams.

Pretty basic trap beat and uninspiring lyrics though.  I like the song well enough, but nothing in there is that exciting or interesting.  Almost sounds like a Migos track or something, with lyrics that are pretty blah but a tough feel.  And the "1 Oh Oh" is more like an R&B track instead of rap, so I'm not so sure I like it that much.  Overall, I like the album, even if some of the tracks feel a little uninspired in comparison to his last full album.