Crybaby: Album Review

My blog has solely become album reviews and Coachella previews, but I’m kind of okay with it. Even though I might not keep up with this as much as I used to, I’m still writing posts 8 years later. I like writing occasionally, so its nice. This album review is very overdue though as Tegan and Sara’s tenth studio album, Crybaby, was released almost 2 months ago. I’ve been meaning to write it sooner, but life, friends, fun, and the rare work day have taken over and that’s not to mention other album releases that needed to be reviewed too. Several singles from this new album were released throughout 2022 culminating in the October 21st album release.

Tegan and Sara have been around for almost the last 25 years and in that time their indie pop sound has carried through the decades. They’ve had huge successes with albums like The Con and Heartthrob, but their latest is definitely on a similar level musically to The Con. I have a feeling this new album won’t reach the hype it deserves so I’ll just have to hype it up as much as I can. One of my favorite songs from the album is “Yellow”. The melody is ultimately so catchy. There’s several other indie pop bops as well like “Fucking Up What Matters,” “I Can’t Grow Up,” and “Smoking Weed Alone.” There’s also a few ballads on the album like “Faded Like a Feeling,” “Sometimes I See Stars,” and “Whatever That Was.”

The twin sister duo has also said they weren’t even sure if they would be releasing another album, which makes Crybaby special in its own right. I think this isn’t an album that hits as a whole right away. It’s one you have to keep listening to for it to stick, but once it does you realize just how good it is. Tegan and Sara embarked on a fall tour in support of the album and I was lucky enough to be able to catch the first show. It was great to see them perform again. They’re such fun live performers. If you’re looking for a new album to get into this winter, I would definitely recommend Crybaby. It’s a quality record from this well established Canadian indie pop twin sister group.

The Car: Album Review

It’s been a big fall for new album releases and a comeback of sorts for several artists, including the Arctic Monkeys, who released their seventh studio album, The Car on October 21st. The last Monkeys release came in 2018 with Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Throughout the last 9 years, since the release of their most successful album to date, AM, their sound faded from alternative/indie rock to lounge music.

Alex Turner’s voice has always been that of a crooner, but earlier Arctic Monkeys music feels like a full band experience from Turner’s vocals to Matt Helders’ drum beats to Nick O’Malley’s bass lines and especially to the unique and edgy riffs from Jamie Cook and Turner, himself. The Arctic Monkeys had such an established alternative/indie rock sound that has depleted over the last several years. According to Turner, it isn’t changing either. That being said for someone like me who found a great enjoyment in the Arctic Monkeys’ earlier records, this album is tough to get into.

I think you have to be in a certain type of chill space to take in so many of these lounge pop tracks that sound straight out of a 1960’s speakeasy. The music has such a dark, dreamy, and nostalgic feel, which isn’t something that hits for me. If there was any stand out song on this record I really like, it’s “Body Paint,” from the lyrical references of deception to the faint remnants of old Arctic Monkeys songs.

The Arctic Monkeys are currently playing some international fall dates and festivals in support of The Car with worldwide dates planned for 2023. Thankfully with seven studio albums, their set lists span across the last 20 years of their existence so we’ll likely be hearing all the hits, both new and old. And yes I do plan on seeing them play a full set this time around, compared to my brief Arctic Monkeys experience while working their show at Forest Hills in 2018. As for this new record, unfortunately, this is an album you might want to skip unless you’re a big Monkeys fan or prefer the style of music they’ve grown into.

Being Funny in a Foreign Language: Album Review

About a week ago I returned from a 6 week run of festivals. It was one of my longest and most challenging runs since I started working in the industry. I’m pleased to say it went so well and I’m so grateful for all of the experiences I had this fall. Alternatively, about a week and a half ago, the 1975 released their newest record Being Funny in a Foreign Language. It’s their fifth full length album since 2013’s self-titled debut album and their latest since 2020’s Notes on a Conditional Form. Unlike some bands, the 1975 never toured in support of their 2020 release, but instead went back in the studio to produce an entirely new catalog of music.

Being Funny in a Foreign Language is the perfect fall/early winter album, with a few songs referencing winter or Christmas (“Wintering” and “When We Are Together”). The first song titled “The 1975”, like every first song on every album they’ve ever released, even gives LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” vibes. The album as a whole is so focused on love in such a happy way. It’s unique to other 1975 albums in this regard. The band partnered with famed producer Jack Antonoff on the album. I feel like when artists work with Jack their albums could be hit or miss for me. Lorde was a hard miss, whereas Lana Del Rey was a hit. The 1975 is definitely a hit as well. Despite the cliché love focused lyricism, the album is filled with a mix of indie pop ballads and bops, reminiscent of other 1975 records. That being said the album has a more pop feel than other records as well, but still stays true to the band’s sound that can be heard on their earliest hits like “Chocolate”, “Girls”, and “Heart Out”.

The 1975 kicks off the tour for their new record on November 3rd. I’ve seen the 1975 play 4 times. Each time I’ve seen them at a festival I worked. This is the first time I’ll be catching them on tour and actually paying for a ticket. I cannot wait! I’ve slowly developed a love for these guys that didn’t exist when my friends saw them play a show in 2014 at a small venue about an hour away from here. I didn’t quite get it then, but sometimes that stuff takes time. Now I’m a fan and ready to see Matty Healy and company tear through this excellent new record while playing all their hits from past albums especially the ones we all missed in 2020. If you’re a fan of the 1975, you’re likely going to like Being Funny in a Foreign Language just as much as you’ve liked past records. It’s definitely something different from the British indie rockers, but never strays too far from what you’re used to.

The Last Goodbye: Album Review

Last month, electronic duo, Odesza, released their latest album The Last Goodbye. Their last album came 5 years prior with 2017’s A Moment Apart. It was during that time that I got into Odesza and ended up seeing them 4 times between 2017-2019. I was excited in the spring when they announced their latest album, and much like others was wondering if the title hinted at the end of Odesza? After listening though, I can say the title has much more to do with the meaning behind the album than the band.

Each of Odesza’s albums have a solid foundation in their dreamy, indietronica sound but vary slightly. The Last Goodbye is no different. It has that well-known Odesza feel, but with a slightly funkier, edgier sound. I think it’s a bit heavier on the future bass as well. A few of the songs, like “The Last Goodbye,” “Equal,” and “Behind the Sun,” give me Flume vibes, which I’m kind of a huge fan of.

I have to say the album didn’t quite “hit” at first for me, but took a couple replays before I found a song or two that I really liked. “Forgive Me” is my favorite on the new album. It’s an elctropop banger. “Better Now” is another favorite. It feels like it could have fit on A Moment Apart but ended up landing on their new record instead.

Odesza’s comeback this year was highly anticipated. The group recently embarked on a tour in support of the album with drumline in tow. I was able to catch a show last week and was dancing almost the entire time. They’re so fun live and their production was even better than I remembered. I feel as though fans are really digging this album as much as any past Odesza album, so I think it’s worth a listen. You’ll definitely find a song you enjoy, as there are plenty of different sounding songs and energies on the record. As Odesza said in a recent interview, this album definitely isn’t “The Last Goodbye.” It’s “about stepping back in, returning to each other in celebration,” which is exactly the effect it’s having.

Palaces: Album Review

It’s been about two months since I last updated, which was not my intention. Life has been busy and at times I’ve been distracted. I have some long overdue album reviews to do though. One of the albums dropped on May 20th. It’s Flume’s third full length, Palaces.

Palaces is Flume’s first album in 6 years. His last record came in 2016 with Skin. His latest brings more of electronic/future bass sound filled with collaborations and original mixes. For me, there isn’t a stand out track on this album, but there’s a few solid tracks that I think we’ll hear during live sets in the future. One of those songs is “Say Nothing” featuring MAY-A. I would add “Highest Building” featuring Oklou to the list as well. There’s several solo Flume tracks that are similar to past hits like “Wall Fuck”, “Helix”, “Holdin’ On”, or “Ezra,” but in general I don’t think any of these will quite hit as strongly. I do enjoy “DHLC” and “Love Light” though.

Overall I don’t think this is Flume’s best album, but a decent comeback after 6 years of nothing but a mixtape and a few stand alone singles that have become staples on the Flume set list. None the less, Flume is out promoting this album by playing the festival circuit while mixing in some shows in between. He has a fall tour lined up with select cities in the U.S. followed by a European tour. I was lucky enough to catch him both weekends of Coachella and part of his set at Bonnaroo just last month. He still puts on a great set with a mix of new tunes and old favorites. Though I do recommend listening to this new record, I wouldn’t spend a ton of time on it. Give it a listen or two, pick out some favorites, save them or add them to a playlist for the future, and move on, or better yet, listen to all the old Flume bangers while you’re at it. “Holdin’ On” still hits as hard as it did 10 years ago, but “Sirens” just isn’t there.

The Dream: Album Review

When I was in the midst of previewing Coachella and almost ready to head out for the second leg of my Mexico adventure in February, alt-J dropped their fourth full length album The Dream. The band also recently embarked on a North American tour with Portugal. The Man in support of their latest with more dates planned for this year worldwide. The Dream is their first album in five years since 2017’s Relaxer. Overall, alt-j’s latest album maintains their unique indie rock style of sound that is prevalent throughout their first three records with a slightly more Americanized rock sound.

The album much like it’s title is very dreamy. It’s very chill and sometimes somber indie rock with minimal bops. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a long scenic drive in my opinion. “Hard Drive Gold” is the “Left Hand Free”, “Breezeblocks”, or “In Cold Blood” of The Dream. I feel like each alt-j album so far has one of those and “Hard Drive Gold”, the song about crypto, is that hit of their latest release. “U&Me”, “Get Better”, & “Happier When You’re Gone” are solid tracks reminiscent of that classic alt-J sound as well. The main difference from this album compared to their first three is that alt-j’s sound has steered from the Middle Eastern sounds found in their earlier music. It’s more rock heavy yet the vocals are still smooth and distinguishable as alt-J tracks.

I don’t think this is alt-J’s best work, but the album does have a good handful of quality tracks that will stick around on set lists in the future. I feel like any time a band slightly strays from their original sound this tends to happen. It’s worth listening to as an alt-J fan though and is probably worth adding to your music collection too. I added it to mine on vinyl yesterday and I’m stoked to listen to it on this rainy spring weekend. If you haven’t already, check it out on a chill day or when you need a good soundtrack for a long drive. It’s quality new alt-J ∆.

Give Me the Future: Album Review

In February, while I was solely focused on writing Coachella Band Previews, several of my favorite bands dropped some new albums and I neglected to review them. The first of those was Bastille. On February 4th, Bastille released Give Me the Future. They dropped several tracks during 2021 in anticipation of the new album. Give Me the Future is Bastille’s fourth full length album and their latest since 2019.

Bastille is a band that has such a defining sound from Dan Smith’s smooth vocals. Their sound has always been a welcome consistency for me. That consistency lacks for a handful of artists so it’s nice when it exists. I will say the sound on the new album incorporates this modern, tech-y, futuristic style sound that is unique to other Bastille records, but it’s just enough to make their album sound different without making them sound different. A perfect example of this is “Plug In…” or “Back to the Future.” The theme of the album has such a deep, meaningful nature with the lyrical content too. The band credits that to the wild turn the world took in 2020 with the pandemic and what came from it.

As much as I always enjoy the music Bastille puts out, I have to say this album as a whole didn’t really do much for me. There’s a few songs I enjoy like “Shut Off the Lights” and “No Bad Days,” but overall as a whole it hasn’t really stuck out. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for the new tunes, many of which I heard over the last year before the whole album came out! Maybe that’s part of the reason why I haven’t felt as hype about it. Many of the songs I like came out before the album release. The ones I hadn’t heard yet didn’t really stick out. That could be it. I feel like I’m being picky about it. As a fan of Bastille and indie pop though, I still say it’s worth listening to and something you should decide on for yourself.

Loving in Stereo: Album Review

Despite the past year with artists being unable to tour or play live music for quite some time, many have released new music. There were plenty of new albums I was stoked for and enjoyed last year. This year was much of the same when we didn’t know the status of events (but even still, as concerts and festivals returned). Lorde recently released her much anticipated third album. girl in red dropped her debut album in the spring. Then of course there’s still Adele’s new album which I’ve been anticipating for 2 years now. Will we ever get it? Time will tell.

Another album that recently dropped was British indie funk band Jungle’s third album, Loving in Stereo. From the moment Jungle released the first single from the album, “Keep Moving”, back in March, I knew their latest album would be another great one. Loving in Stereo was released on August 13th and it has everything you already loved about Jungle plus more.

The new album brings the same funk focused music of Jungle while bridging the gap into other genres as well. There are certain instances when I don’t like when a band or artist’s sound evolves because it completely strays from their original sound. In this case though, the evolution of Jungle’s sound is perfect. The album crosses into rap, reggae, and indie pop music while still bringing that funk sound that makes Jungle so unique. It also features collabs with rapper Bas and musician Priya Ragu. Much like Jungle’s first two albums, Loving in Stereo will keep you dancing from start to finish with bops like “Keep Moving”, “Talk About It”, “Truth”, and “All of the Time”. If you’re looking for more of that classic Jungle vibey funk sound though, you’ll want to listen to “Lifting You”, “Bonnie Hill”, or “Can’t Stop the Stars”. The album has already been charting on various album lists across the world including Billboard, OCC (UK), and ARIA (Australia) among others.

Jungle will be embarking on a tour across Europe and North America this fall in support of the album. The tour includes several U.S. dates this October. Some of the dates have already sold out. Unfortunately due to work obligations, I won’t be able to catch any of Jungle’s tour dates this fall so I’m hoping they’ll play the festival circuit next year and I’ll get to see them perform once again. This new album is so far an unexpected favorite of 2021 for me and I think the group’s best to date. I’m expecting good things for Jungle in the near future so check out Loving in Stereo as soon as possible.

Shore: Album Review

There’s something about fall that makes me want to listen to indie music. Maybe it’s the way that nature boasts its most colorful season in the Northeast. Maybe it’s the cool crisp air that’s much welcomed after a hot summer. Maybe it’s the flannel, beanies, sweaters, and boots that bring out the hipster in all of us. Maybe it’s simply all those long drives across the state in mid-October I used to take while listening to Matt Pond PA, The Smiths, Good Old War, Bon Iver and other indie acts. It’s probably a combo of all these things, but for the last 10 years or so fall has felt like indie music season, which is why when Fleet Foxes released their most recent full length Shore on the fall solstice, I knew I had to give it a listen. What surprised me is just how into it I was.

I’ve always been a casual fan of Fleet Foxes. Despite their indie folk style that fits my ideal fall tunes, I usually associate them with winter. Cue “White Winter Hymnal”. Shore is the perfect end of summer fall album to change my mind though. In fact I’m ready to listen to it on a long drive while admiring some foliage.

Shore is Fleet Foxes fourth full length album. It was recorded over the last year including in the midst of the pandemic. Actually, the frontman Robin Pecknold recorded the album himself without the other members of the band. So yes, it does feature other collaborators. I don’t think their sound has changed much throughout their four albums, but who knows, maybe I’m just bad at distinguishing indie folk music. Still, I feel the same vibes from Shore as I do from Helplessness Blues and their debut self-titled. If anything this album feels more bright. “Can I Believe You” is an early front runner for my favorite song on the album so far. It has an uplifting feel to it and is also pretty catchy. Plenty of other songs fit that mood as well though creating that brightness you get from this album.

It’s really unfortunate that tours and festivals have ceased for the time being because this album deserves a tour in its support. I’m sure we’ll get there though. While touring in support of their last album, Crack-Up, they played Coachella in 2018 and I wrote this about them. I did get to see part of their set that year and it was the perfect night time indie Coachella set. Can’t wait til I can say the same again. In the mean time, take in the beauty of fall if you live in an area where it can be appreciated while wearing your beanie and checkered flannel and give this album a listen. Tell me it’s not perfect for the setting.

Notes On A Conditional Form: Album Review

In a time where there’s not much in the immediate future to look forward to, we thankfully still have music. New albums and songs are still being released. Some releases may have been delayed, but they’re still happening this year. For an industry that’s been crushed by this world wide crisis, it offers a glimmer of hope and an abundance of jams.

Today, The 1975 dropped their highly anticipated fourth album, Notes On A Conditional Form. The album release was twice delayed already this year, but every few weeks a new single from the album was released in the lead up to this weekend’s official release. To me, this feels like The 1975’s most ambitious album to date. Stylistically, it crosses genres, yet still maintains the indie/synth pop sound well associated with The 1975.

An inkling of this genre breach happened when the band dropped one of the new album’s first songs, “People.” The track sounds more like a punk rock/hardcore anthem than anything you’ve ever heard from The 1975 in the past. I remember being pleasantly surprised with the vibe of the new song as someone who grew up listening to punk and hardcore music, but I still questioned where the band was going with it. As more songs were released, I was assured that their new album would be full of stylistic surprises.

In early April, The 1975 released the song “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America,” which features indie folk rock artist, Phoebe Bridgers, who was supposed to join the band on their 2020 tour until it was inevitably postponed. The song is a testament to Bridgers’ folk rock style. The only thing that gives it away is Matty Healy’s vocals, but even Healy’s sound succumbs to the song style. “Playing on My Mind” also has that indie folk feel.

“Roadkill,” which wasn’t released prior to the full album, sounds like it could’ve come off a Sam Hunt record. It’s got an unmistakable country twang. Despite the country vibe, it still feels like a 1975 indie pop song. I kind of love it. There’s also a few interlude tracks on the record that bridge into another genre as well. These songs take the standard synth pop sound of the band into a more electronic sound. “Shiny Collarbone” and about halfway through “Having No Head” are those dance tracks.

The album is full of songs that sound like what you would expect from The 1975 too. There’s several bangers like “Me & You Together Song”, “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”, and “Frail State of Mind” and smooth rock ballads like “Guys”, “The Birthday Party”, “Don’t Worry”, and “Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied.” It’s honestly such a great mix of music.

Like I said, this album feels different than what we’re used to from The 1975, but it blends genres remarkably well and still gives us the sound that we’re looking for. It may have taken me an album to actually get into The 1975 (I really got into them after “The Sound” from I like it when you sleep…), but I’ve been a fan ever since. I’ve always really been into their hits. “The Sound” (obviously), “Sex”, “Heart Out”, “Chocolate”, and “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” are a few of my favorites. This new album feels different in a good way though and even the songs I don’t typically fall for, I love. I think if you’re an indie music fan or a music fan in general, you can find something on this record that you’ll like. It’s got something for everyone. But really, you might just love it all, it’s that good. So give it a shot. If you don’t find it appealing, my solution is that maybe you would like it better if you took off your clothes. (Of course, that one is my favorite!)