Tame Impala - Slow Rush. 2020. I'm not sure if any band (and I'm using that term very expansively) has ever changed quite so drastically over the course of their albums. Long gone is the Beatle-esque psych rock. Long gone is the alternative rock crunch of Lonerism. And here to stay is the loopy, synth-laden, beat-driven, dance party that Tame Impala has become. I loved the last album - Currents - and in fact think it is my favorite album of the entire last decade. So, to say that I was excited for this album to come out would be a massive understatement. I've been jamming the lose singles that were released prior to the actual album release date, and by now I have a good handle on "Borderline," "Posthumous Forgiveness," "It Might Be Time," and the surprisingly missing from this album "Patience." And while I'm not yet sure that I love it as much as Currents, I can easily say that I really like it. The bouncy, 90's pop dance groove of "Breathe Deeper," including the totally different beat that kicks in about 5 minutes in. The 70's blaxploitation groove in "Tomorrow's Dust." The Paul Simon Graceland bassline nimbly bopping around in "Lost in Yesterday." The Supertramp organ stabbing in "It Might Be Time." The acid disco trance house bop that pops up throughout - the opening track comes on like some classic house techno stuff from tho 90's. The "Posthumous Forgiveness" stolen guitar line echos the flute from Isaac Hayes' "The Look of Love." Every song feels like it has layers, sounds that are familiar, or new, or strangely configured, or surprising, but in the end, I feel like just about all of them get me moving, which is a highly fun attribute of an album.
The amazing thing here is that he apparently played every single thing on the album - every synth line, drum beat, guitar scronk, knob twist, and fader wipe all came from the brain of this insanely talented dude. Like the last album, its almost like he took his psych rock album, but then tried to turn it into a hip hop album because he couldn't find anyone to join him in the studio, so he needed beats and basslines instead of other humans. I love it - give me more groove and rap sense in a rock song all day - makes for very smooth tracks that wink at me in the mirror and hold their hand out to ask me to dance. While "It Might be Time" has the streaming crown right now, I think that is mainly because it was an early single. Not that I don't like it, but I think "Lost in Yesterday" is the actual hit single as of now. 18.3 million streams.
Green Day - Father of all Motherfuckers. 2020. Interesting choice for the title, when they're not even getting all that angry on this one. Instead, this one has almost a throwback vibe - the first four songs employ handclaps and an almost surf-rock, doo-wop, swing rock vibe. It's not bad, but it also isn't what I expected from the purported "comeback" album from these dudes. Their weird career has gone from sneering pop punk, jamming about bored masturbation, to indignant rock opera, pointing fingers and holding George Bush (and others) accountable), to this weirdly lighthearted bop of relatively pretty pop rock songs that don't appear to be about anything in particular. Here is the title track.
The album suffers the fate of many disappointing albums by well-loved bands, with a play count like this: Song 1 - 14.2 million; Song 2 - 7.2 million; Song 3 - 6 million; Song 4 - 2.7 million; the rest of the songs, about 1.3 million. SO, lots of people tried the first song, half of those tried the second tune, a few made it to the third tune, half of those committed to the fourth, and then everyone but the actual fans bailed. I mean, "I Was a Teenage Teenager" sounds like a cover of a fifties rock track, except that they probably wouldn't have said "freak you out" back then, or maybe talked about holding drugs. "Stab You in the Heart" has the hippie hippie shake going on in there. This is just such a weird album. And at only 26 minute long, its done before you even have time to consider how weird things have gotten. My favorite track is "Sugar Youth," which is more of a straight-forward blast of pop-punk energy, without any of the handclap/doo-wop detours. "Junkies on a High" also has less of the incongruous effects. After firing through this one five times in rapid succession, I'm on board. Quick, clean, joyfully sneering, I'm in for the ride.
Drive-By Truckers - The Unraveling. 2020. Good goddamn. You just need to listen to "Thoughts and Prayers" right now.
When my children's eyes look at me and they ask me to explain
It hurts me that I have to look away
The powers that be are in for shame and comeuppance
When Generation Lockdown has their day
They'll throw the bums all out and drain the swamp for real
Perp walk them down the Capitol steps and show them how it feels
Tramp the dirt down, Jesus, you can pray the rod they'll spare
Stick it up your ass with your useless thoughts and prayers
Stick it up your ass with your useless thoughts and prayers
"Generation Lockdown," man. What a killer song. Also, "gravity called out to close the deal" is a dope line.
The Truckers have mellowed a lot in their music - the one time I saw them play live, it was a legit rock and roll blast of a show. Ther first few songs on this album are harder - pushing more to real rock, and then the indignant folkie stuff kicks in. Most of these tunes now are purely concentrated on the excellent lyrics, and the music kind of stays out of the way and just bops along. "21st Century USA" is another hell of a biting song that purely skewers the pain of living in today's America. Fucking bleak, but also a great song. Then I'll give you one guess what "Babies in Cages" is about. These guys bring the righteous thunder on these tracks.
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