Pearl Jam - Gigaton. If I'm being honest, when I first heard the initial single off of this new album - "Dance of the Clairvoyants" - I was a little put out. Was that a drum machine? Is this late model Talking Heads? But the more I played it, the more I bought in to the groove and jammed it. Then "Superblood Wolfmoon" was the next single, and I felt more comforted by the regular rock-iness of that track. Now, I think the album is great. I have to admit that I have played it an absolute shitton while being locked down in the house, but still, I think it works well. Also, I'm a massive homer for this band, so more than likely, it was going to scratch my itch. Here is "Superblood Wolfmoon," that has an indeterminate number of streams on Spotify, because working from home makes my life more difficult.
I was listening to a radio thing a few weeks ago where the DJ was dogging on the section in the middle where they just chug for thirty seconds or so - right after the guitar solo, at about 2:50. He said it sounded like the generic music they get to put behind promo spots. WHATEVER, JERKFACE! It's a band reloading for the final attack! Up yours, Jason! "Quick Escape" has soaring singing and a searing guitar solo ready made to add to a good rock groove. "Never Destination" cranks up the classic rock. "Seven O'Clock" has a weird talking quality to the verse, where it seems like Eddie has more words to say than he can fit into the beat, but then the chorus has this really nice, pastoral quality to it that is comforting. "Comes Then Goes" has a southern bluesy guitar thing going on. "Retrograde" is another low-key burner that sounds like some classic soft-touch PJ. I'm in! Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud. Another good album by Katie Crutchfield and her buds, although this one drops back from some of the harder edges she has played with in the past, in favor of a more Americana sound. "Can't Do Much" stands out for that - sounds like a Jayhawks tune with her vocals used in an excellent cover. It's a warm album - very welcoming and right for the current weird times of sitting at home all the time - and it feels very comfortable to just keep it spinning all day. It never kicks it up a notch, just stays in that chilled out gear the whole time, and it kind of rules for that. "Hell" steps it up a little, but not so much that you couldn't still imagine that tune on an Indigo Girls album. Here's "Can't Do Much," which has a stream count that I would know if my Spotify wasn't blocked by my dumb employer.
A friend just tweeted something out about how this album sounds like the Jayhawks and now I'm all geeked up that I recognized that too. Also, just for your enjoyment, here is an "At Home Tiny Desk" concert with her and a dude named Kevin Morby. I laughed out loud when she started singing, because its so damn loud in that tiny little room. Old Kevin is going to have trouble hearing out of his left ear for a while.
I wish the acoustics were better in there - I mean, whaa whaaaaa, right? Getting a free concert at home and I'm complaining about the lack of good baffling. I've gotten off base here. I like this album. Margaret Glaspy - Devotion. Loved her last album - Emotions and Math - so I popped this one into my new music queue when I spotted it. She leaves behind some of the alt rock arrangements in favor of a more electronic-based sound. Almost a Maggie Rogers vibe, but less soulful. I'm actually kind of bummed out by the change - I'm sure this angles her to a better place with a poppier crowd, but I'd rather hear that raw rock angle than this. Also, sometimes it exits even that normal pop zone - "Consequences" starts to sound like Trent Reznor remixed Bjork. The title track is almost R&B. What is going on here? This track, which may or may not be the most popular, but at least has a real video, starts out with some vocoder junk, and then that keeps coming in to sing her harmonies, like they have Daft Punk acting as the devil on her shoulder trying to keep up with the melody. The track as a whole is kind of nice, a little memory of the folky alt rock from before (except with electronics in charge). "Killing What Keeps Us Alive." Dunno how many streams on Spotify.
Her voice is still the best part of this - she's got a great voice with a hint of a growl to keep it less clean. Too bad. Really liked the other one, but this one can go on. Ol' Burger Beats - Out of Sight, Out of Mind. This is the part where you think I've gone insane, but no, there really is an artist out there who goes by Ol' Burger Beats. One of my co-workers texted me a link to one of these tracks one night recently - if I had to guess, I would guess that he was exceedingly stoned when he sent me that link and was vibing out to these tunes. And while I was not stoned, I can absolutely dig what this guy is throwing down. The second track on the album is the killer - this is "Set It."
Smoooooooooth jazz stuff turned into a killer groove - when its fast, I need to jam, when it slows down, it just takes your mind with it and woozes you into a stupor. The question is - who is this guy who makes classic jazzy beats under a very weird moniker? To make the story even more strange, dude is from Norway and his real name is Ole-Birger Neergard. If the dude could talk Ghostface or Action Bronson into rapping over these beats - world domination. The actual track that my friend sent me has a rapper on top of it - a remix at the end of this album with a guy named Jeremiah Jae - just for fun, check out "It's Black - Remix."
Again, how smooth is that? I dig this weird Norwegian crate digger mastermind.
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