Quick Hits, Vol. 285 (St. Vincent, J. Cole, Olivia Rodrigo, Lord Huron)

St. Vincent - Daddy's Home.  I was kind of excited about this disc, as my interest in her has built over the years, but I don't love anything about it.  It's almost a lounge act album.  The stream count agrees with my dismissal, as multiple tunes on here just barely crack a million streams.  Pitchfork gave it 6.7 stars, which is just barely better than they gave the Peppa Pig album, which will always be the measuring stick for me now that I know about it.  I especially do not like "My Baby Wants a Baby," which rips off that Sheena Eaton song about her baby taking the morning train.  Pitchfork calls that track the standout, which tells you why they are dumb.  The only interesting thing about the album is that it delves into the fact that her dad was arrested for a stock manipulation scheme and he got freaking 12 years.  That's a legit sentence.  Like, the asshole rapist swimmer kid in California got like 20 minutes in jail but this dude got a short lifetime.  Top streamer is the first song - hallmark of a less than great album by a top artist - so I'll give you #2 - "The Melting of the Sun."  4.8 million.

Definitely has the funky organ from the 70's whipping it up, and then her goofy wig powering through the video.  You get the scene she's going for.  Don't love it.  And that opening track isn't terrible, just kind of melty, weird classic rock.  I wanted to try to see her show at ACL this year, despite not loving this album, but didn't get to make that happen.  Oh well.  I definitely won't be retaining this album for more future listens.

J. Cole - The Off-Season.  I've never really given Cole a good chance.  I blame Shea Serrano for that, although its likely not really his fault.  But every time Shea talks about J. Cole he disses him.  He writes whole articles about it.  And because I think Shea Serrano is an amazing dude and funny writer, I bought into that propaganda.  But this album is genuinely really good.  I don't know if this is different rap than what he did in the past, so that I can accommodate both a "Shea is right that Cole was bad in 2015" and "Cole got better and now is good" viewpoint, but either way, I think the flow on this album is really good, along with positive messaging and good beats.  And in the intro he drops a line about "look how everybody clapping when you 30 song album does a measly 30-thou."  That shade is delicious - I hope that Drake was sad when he heard that.  But he also drops a line shouting out Eric Clapton and then says his pockets will ever fatten.  Here and there, he drops a clunker (the one where he raps about people being so "Kane" they started singing like "Danity" makes me cringe each time).  Regardless, I think this thing is very good overall.  His 21 Savage track is legit enjoyable, with a great sample-based beat and a laid back vibe, and that one just barely beats out the Lil Baby track for streaming dominance (128 million versus 125 million), but I think you should peep one that doesn't have a top collaborator.  "the . climb . back" is third place at 99 million streams. (and yes, they are all given annoying names like that).

That video is obviously home made, as none of the lyrics match his mouth...  But the song is solid rapping and a good beat.  An introspective sounding track, that still blasts out some brags and disses to other rappers.  Its a very full song - he goes through all sorts of topics.  I like it.  The Lil Baby one has a good beat and flow as well, and I like the story-telling about the time Cole had a gun pulled on him (although Baby's verse is uninteresting and kind of hard to parse).  I also really like the second verse of "let . go . my . hand" where he talks about his son growing up and how he struggled to do the same back in the day, and then admits to loving Puffy when he was a kid.  Good immersive flow right there.  I'll hold this album.

Olivia Rodrigo - Sour.  I know that I am very late to this review, but her star was rising in the pop circles before I was paying attention and then the ACL lineup got released.  When the lineup gets released I get sucked into listening to that stuff and can't make time to hear regular releases for a while.  But, I will admit to this album having a special place in my heart for a few reasons.  First, my middle kid came to me and proactively asked if I would like to hear it after she realized that I didn't know about it.  Which was deeply cool - to have her come to me with something that she liked and actively seek a connection on music.  And I dug her comments about it too, as she was like, "oh yeah, she gets rocking here, like she's mad, but I don't think she's really mad."  Anyway, now I'm forced to forever remember this album because of that one thirty minute moment in time.  Second, in a highly entertaining moment for me, the DJ warming up the crowd for AG Club at ACL Weekend One used a track from this album to hype the crowd before that show started.  Which, at first, seemed entirely out-of-place, until I noticed that all of the girls around me where yelling the lyrics in each other faces and the crowd was jumping up and down and jamming out to it the same way that they were doing to Kendrick and Future and the other hype tracks being used.  I came home from that day and just started yelling "GOOD FOR YOUUUUUU" in my daughters' faces to further connect with them.  Dad of the year stuff right there.  Here, you need this song right now to feel the pleasures of it too.  "good 4 u," with 977.5 million streams (holy hell!  That is a LOT!):

Great kiss off song.  Pure pop rock nugget of teenage angst and power chords.  Feels like something Avril Lavigne would have tried to put out 20 years ago.  But like with all of her songs, the lyrics are on point.  I also deeply dig the little pause right before the "aaahhhhhhhh" part around 1:50.  "traitor" is a freaking great song.  Like, if I was 15 and all up in my feelings about a girl, I would tattoo that thing on my heart.  "deja vu" is likewise great.  "drivers license" is the biggest hit of all of them, with more than 1.1 billion streams.  That is kind of amazing.  That song is when I'm feeling the Taylor Swift vibes from her - again, lyrically, its a great one.  She also puts off some Billie Eilish vibes on some of these tunes.  Superficially, I feel like I am not supposed to like this stuff, and yet it strikes a real chord in me each time I work through it again.  The album closer is a sad one with her hoping that some kids are okay despite their shit parents.  It's a really good album that I'll keep up with.

Lord Huron - Long Lost.  I'm a sucker for the Lord Huron experience.  When they last came to ACL I made a point to go back to the second weekend's show because the first weekend was so striking.  It's beautiful music that straddles a line between indie and Americana and country.  This one is beautiful again.  I thought "Mine Forever" was going to be the top performer (because I think it is so damn pretty), but it ends up being third, behind second-place "I Lied," which stars ACL performer Allison Ponthier, and first place "Not Dead Yet."  13.7 million streams.

The driving beat in that one is great.  "You look like hell and you smell like death" is a money shot diss.  I also like the little asides in this one, like the dude who comes in and asks if the lady who had just been speaking was talking in "French or sumpin?"  In addition to Americana-ey stuff, its got a dreamy 50's kitsch to it that is kind of fun.  Some Dude tripping to "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds" vibes.  And then the final song is a 14 minute trip into oblivion (that I could actually do without).  But still, the album is another good one that I'll keep.