Quick Hits, Vol. 219 (Todd Snider, Low Cut Connie, Gary Clark, Jr., Foals)

Todd Snider - Live-The Storyteller.  My buddy Joseph had suggested this guy a few times, and I'm damn glad I finally dug into this one a few times.  Guy is hysterical.  Doesn't have a great voice, isn't a flashy guitar player, but lyrically and in the asides and stories he tells in the midst of songs, the guy is top shelf.  Now, this album is freaking two hours long, so you're gonna have to commit yourself to the game, but I heartily suggest that you do it.  If you don't at least grin at some of the stories and asides, then you have no soul.  None of the songs on this disc make his top ten on Spotify, so I'll go with the one with the most streams, at 286k, "Just Like Old Times," which just barely beats out the mouthful of "Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males."

A touching story of hanging out with a hooker, who also happens to be an old high school friend, and just chilling and avoiding trouble with the cops.  Funny, and many of the other anecdotes are likewise good stuff.  You should really listen to the album - its not great as background music because you want to stop and listen to the long story about him writing "Todd Snider Rulez!" in a tunnel, or the story about Bill Elliott, and the tunes themselves are pretty plain.  Go to it.

Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 2).  This is some good times rock and roll.  Sloppy, sweaty, fun times out of Philly.  The album opener, "All These Kids Are Way Too High" is piano-tinged, driving rock that is kind of funny as well.  And it especially makes me laugh because two minutes ago I had a conversation with someone complimenting me on the fact that my son looked him in the eye when they talked, which is apparently rare in this age of cell phone stoop.  But the top track right now is called "Beverly."

647k streams.  More boozy barroom rock heavy on the piano and guitar.  Definitely classic rock vibe, and I guess because of the piano it pops over into the area of guys like Billy Joel and Elton John.  I like the song a lot more than I like that video, which gets on my nerves.  The album keeps that same feel though, banging out sing-along tunes and making fun noise.  I liked it.

Getting pumped up for the new Vampire Weekend, the singles they have been releasing are freaking good.

Gary Clark Jr. - The Land.  The lead single and title track of this album is a stone cold killer.  A burning indictment of America right now, apparently based on an interaction that Clark had with a neighbor of his newly acquired ranch outside of Austin (who refused to believe that Clark was the owner of the ranch next door), with a killer chorus that includes him spitting out the line "fuck you, I'm America's son, this is where I came from."  I can't even believe that Clark is still having to deal with shit like that today, but I guess that's easy for me to think.  I love the anger and power of the song.  Video is killer too.

Sadly though, the rest of the album doesn't have that same power.  The songs seem to be unfocused, stuck in this limbo of the Austin-centric bluesy-guitar-slinger soft-rock but legit guitar sound (except for the freaky weird things like the reggae swagger of "Feelin' Like a Million").  Not that these other tunes are bad, I like the unhinged energy of "Gotta Get Into Something" or the Stones-ey swagger of "The Governor."
But after the power, both of lyrics and licks, in "This Land," many of these other songs feel like a slog.  The boring Marvin Gaye/Curtis Mayfield-ish soul track "Feed the Babies," all about mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters coming together to help the babies and teaching them to love.  Or the falsetto love fest of "Pearl Cadillac," like a Prince b-side that he wrote the lyrics to on the fly.  Or the usual tropes like "standing on the corner with my heart in my hand" and "I can't do it without youuuuu!" from "Guitar Man."
I think my biggest issue with this album, and this is a constant problem for me with many styles of music, is that there is zero bottom to these tunes.  The bass is quiet as a kitten, the drums stay up at snare level, and so there's no heft to any of it, just the shrillness of his guitar fireworks and the high side of a tenor voice.  I need some lows in there to balance the highs.  So, despite really liking that first track, I can't say that this album as a whole is that great.  What I wish he would do is go join up with some stud band or producer (or both) and get some help to shine his gifts and support his weaknesses.  (that being said, I want to see him play live again immediately).

Foals - Part 1 Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost.  I've liked the other albums from this band - I guess they came to ACL in the past, because I remember jamming their old albums and digging into some of the tunes like "Mountain at my Gates."  This one is a little more pop-forward than what I remembered, but I've been enjoying it for a while.  And then I see that Rolling Stone only gave it two stars, which is the lowest thing I've seen those glad-handers give out in a long time, and I was worried that I was missing something wrong with the disc.  But nah, I just think it sounds good to me - danceable rock can have a place in my wheelhouse anytime.  I figured that "White Onions" was going to be the hit, with its frenetic drum work and chugging guitars putting in work below a light and bouncy synth line, but it only has 2 million streams.  Instead, "Exits" wins by far with over 6.4 million streams.

Gonna have future dystopia nightmares now...  I don't know, I like it.  The YouTube comments are very split, with some calling it trash and others talking about replaying it until they die.  Whatevs.  I'm gonna save this album, I need more good times music in my life.