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Grandaddy Last Place (30th Century/Columbia/Sony)- You wonder how some bands make it look so easy. Last Place doesn't sound like there has been a ten year break in albums. If it was all so easy to reform and pick right up, then why don't bands do it so easy (ummm Pixies). The only drawback is that it won't be considered the band's best work, but it is a great listen and a reminder of why you loved the band. Jason Lytle sounds great, his lyrics are still unique and the compositions work.
The Killers Wonderful Wonderful (Island)- The Killers may have cemented their legacy with this disc. As their heroes U2 and Morrissey also released new records in 2017, the Killers are no longer the bright new hopes, but are also well established rock stars who have to find a new spin on their material. In this case, they do the right thing, by not trying to venture too far from what works. They do bring a more than large influence from contemporaries Arcade Fire and Gaslight Anthem. It works though in giving them two standout singles- the embarrassingly macho (post Weinstein/Spacey/LouisCK) "The Man" and "Run for Cover". Seeing that Hot Fuss still stands up this long later, then they probably will be remembered as this generation's Duran Duran. The rest of the album falls on the right song of worthwhile, and should bring back the fans who might have left them.
Mark Lanegan Band Gargoyle (Heavenly) There were a good ten years where every record Lanegan made was essential. His solo stuff of course, but also his collaborations with Isobel Campbell, Soulsavers, Greg Dulli and lest we forget Queens of the Stone Age. There's at least seven to ten record there that are must haves. For me, the current decade is a bit of a letdown. He's still prolific- but his output is a bit more scattered- a covers album, demos record, instrumental heavy collaboration with Duke Garwood, and the polished Phantom Radio. It is good to see Lanegan get back to what is a bit more expected from him. I knew Leonard Cohen's death would weigh heavily in the mind (as does Chris Cornell's) and we always knew Lanegan was going to be my generation's successor to Cohen, and it certainly feels like it. Gargoyle isn't perfect, there's some bum tracks, and the best moments are too obvious (the driving nocturnal Barry Adamson-ish second tune is called, wait for it "Nocturne". The fantastic "The Emperor" is really a rewrite of Iggy's "Passenger"). Still, if you are going to look at it overall, this really is a great listen and proves Lanegan still has it.
Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir (Nonesuch/Warner Bros)- Stephin Merritt's masterpiece is widely considered to be 69 Love Songs. 50 Song Memoir clearly has similar ambitions and could be good or bad. It is unexpectedly really really good. One supposes Merritt looks best when he has a project. The songs here are such an unusual collection that it is true, by themselves, they might not be considered for a ten song disc. In this context though they are the stars. I was worried that the lyrics were so good in their first listen, and the impact of that first punchline, that they would not hold up for repeat listening. That is not true. I love the love(?) story of 93-Me and Fred and Dave and Ted, the early musical failures of Blizzard of 78 (the band made the Shaggs look like Yes), and the anti-Vietnam 68-They're killing Children over there. Musically, this is all over the place like no other band I can think of with the possible exception of Ween (though this being Merritt, every song sounds like the Magnetic Fields). There's a review of every trend from the half-Century- disco, new wave, glam, icy goth, even the anti-surf surf rocker 08 Surfin and the rumba 67 Come Back as a Cockroach. Plenty of anthemic singles- 76 Hustle, 84, Danceteria, 79 Rock and Roll will ruin your life and surely one day a standard- 02-Be True to Your Bar. There's really not much downtime though towards the end, it hits a few doldrums. Love Merritt and love the record.
Morrissey Low in High School (BMG)- I am not sure this should be on the list, but there it is. The Moz is my alltime favorite artist, but he is going through some lean years. I suppose this album is hurt in that it isn't much different than his last. I also suspect Moz doesn't let anyone tell him no, which is his biggest problem. There's enough here that this might actually be salvageable, On the plus side, Moz's voice is as strong as it has ever been. Also, it is musically adventurous which is a plus (No one gets Moz more than longtime cohort Boz Boorer, but none of the collabs written for him are bad here) . It's just lyrically a mess. I am a 'politics in music' guy, but here (as in his interviews), Moz is seemingly all over the place. "I Bury the Living" almost makes it as a great anti-war opus, it just falls into some cheesy traps. Which is the case with most of the album. There's plenty of potential here. "I Wish You Lonely", and "Jackys Only Happy..." are classic Moz but they are missing that killer couplet that would define his biggest hits. "All the Young People..." and "Spent the Day In Bed" surely have the right framework but inevitably lack Moz's wit to compete with the bombastic music. The other major drawback is Moz seems too reliant on ribald jokes (look at some of those titles) that make Benny Hill look subtle. It's all disappointing as the best songs would have been left on the table as B-sides in the Steve Lillywhite years.
Randy Newman Dark Matter (Nonesuch)- If you must write political songs, then this is how you do it. I first learned to love Newman around 1999 which coincidentally was about the last time he had an album that was buzzworthy. Undoubtedly, Newman is the most likely commentator to put together songs like "Putin" or "The Great Debate" and make political and social discussion into a snappy five minute song. Still, the reason this album stands up to other of Newman's masterpieces (and it does) isn't just a couple of great political songs. It also has some classic sentimental Newman tunes that are aces like "She Chose Me". It's all appropriately held together but what would normally would seem like a tack on- the Monk theme "It's a Jungle Out There". It is a great song, of course, and does a good job of tying in the whole album which resonates on the political and personal side of things.
Old 97s Graveyard Whistling (ATO) I wasn't sure what to think of this coming as it did off of a perfect record of four great albums since the band reunited in 2008 (not to mention three great Rhett Miller solo records in that same time frame). Whistling is a slightly different record. Unlike the previous record produced by longtime producer Salim Nourallah which celebrated the 97s in their most ragged Replacement-ish (even with Tommy Stinson guesting) glory, this record is clearly a bid for prime time. Produced by Vance Powell, who has had chart success as engineer and mixed with similar artists like Chris Stapleton, the Revivalists, Elle King and Jack White, this is a slickly produced affair, complete with a lead single that is a duet with Brandi Carlile, and put together in such a way where each song could stand alone as a radiobound single. 2014's Most Messed Up was not going to be easy to follow, but the band manages to pull it off. It's more anthemic and yet also more lyrically complex. Each song does succeed as a single, and the album hangs together with its own personality. Improbable as it can be, they did it again.
Martin Rev Demolition 9 (Atlas Realisations) While the punk legend rightfully mourns the loss of Alan Vega, the other member of the Suicide duo resurfaces with his first new record in 7 years. This is an unorthodox album- 34 pieces of music- some fully realized at three minutes, yet many are 30 second snippets. The music is all over the board throughout the album, sometimes even on the same song- at times, neoclassical, at others industrial noise, no wave jazz, funk, new age, bossa nova, even nods to 50s and 60s pop. Mostly but not completely all instrumental. it might be frustrating for some, but I really appreciate Rev's ear here. I am not usually a fan of instrumental music, but the interesting mix makes this a keeper.
U2 Songs of Experience (Island/Interscope)- The inevitable rock question is whether you break up like REM or go on forever like the Rolling Stones or the Grateful Dead. At album 14, The '2 are lifers. U2 has reinvented themselves at least four times over, so they likely have no new tricks in the pipeline. 2014's Songs of Innocence showed they had some life left. This album doesn't do much to change the recent formula. Credit to the band for trying to stay fresh. As with the last record with Lykke Li and Danger Mouse, this record has Kendrick Lamar, Haim and Lady Gaga. Rock is indeed a young man's game, and though certainly we have seen late career masterpieces from Cohen, Dylan and Newman to name a few, you don't see a lot of middle aged men trying to make the energetic "I love Rock n Roll" anthems that are U2s stock in trade (and seem intent on producing). It all results in a mixed bag. It's not a bad record by any means, though at this point, it sounds like U2 is influenced by Coldplay and not vice versa. Ryan Tedder's production surely doesn't help. Like much of the band's recent work, this likely will be ditched by fans once the next record is made, but it will help with a pretty decent later-years Greatest Hits disc.
Xordox Neospection (Editions Mego) Another side project for JG Thirlwell as he readies the next Foetus album. This is an interesting disc which mixed the freeform electronica of his Manorexia project and his action-oriented Steroid Maximus (and Venture bros soundtrack) work. This album is clearly influenced by John Carpenter's soundtrack work and space themes, with a little bit of noir themes. It sounds to me like 80s electronic music if 80s electronic music was made with today's technology. Most instrumental, because it is Thirlwell, it's completely captivating, and though restricted by the lack of lyrics, it is never boring.
The Killers Wonderful Wonderful (Island)- The Killers may have cemented their legacy with this disc. As their heroes U2 and Morrissey also released new records in 2017, the Killers are no longer the bright new hopes, but are also well established rock stars who have to find a new spin on their material. In this case, they do the right thing, by not trying to venture too far from what works. They do bring a more than large influence from contemporaries Arcade Fire and Gaslight Anthem. It works though in giving them two standout singles- the embarrassingly macho (post Weinstein/Spacey/LouisCK) "The Man" and "Run for Cover". Seeing that Hot Fuss still stands up this long later, then they probably will be remembered as this generation's Duran Duran. The rest of the album falls on the right song of worthwhile, and should bring back the fans who might have left them.
Mark Lanegan Band Gargoyle (Heavenly) There were a good ten years where every record Lanegan made was essential. His solo stuff of course, but also his collaborations with Isobel Campbell, Soulsavers, Greg Dulli and lest we forget Queens of the Stone Age. There's at least seven to ten record there that are must haves. For me, the current decade is a bit of a letdown. He's still prolific- but his output is a bit more scattered- a covers album, demos record, instrumental heavy collaboration with Duke Garwood, and the polished Phantom Radio. It is good to see Lanegan get back to what is a bit more expected from him. I knew Leonard Cohen's death would weigh heavily in the mind (as does Chris Cornell's) and we always knew Lanegan was going to be my generation's successor to Cohen, and it certainly feels like it. Gargoyle isn't perfect, there's some bum tracks, and the best moments are too obvious (the driving nocturnal Barry Adamson-ish second tune is called, wait for it "Nocturne". The fantastic "The Emperor" is really a rewrite of Iggy's "Passenger"). Still, if you are going to look at it overall, this really is a great listen and proves Lanegan still has it.
Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir (Nonesuch/Warner Bros)- Stephin Merritt's masterpiece is widely considered to be 69 Love Songs. 50 Song Memoir clearly has similar ambitions and could be good or bad. It is unexpectedly really really good. One supposes Merritt looks best when he has a project. The songs here are such an unusual collection that it is true, by themselves, they might not be considered for a ten song disc. In this context though they are the stars. I was worried that the lyrics were so good in their first listen, and the impact of that first punchline, that they would not hold up for repeat listening. That is not true. I love the love(?) story of 93-Me and Fred and Dave and Ted, the early musical failures of Blizzard of 78 (the band made the Shaggs look like Yes), and the anti-Vietnam 68-They're killing Children over there. Musically, this is all over the place like no other band I can think of with the possible exception of Ween (though this being Merritt, every song sounds like the Magnetic Fields). There's a review of every trend from the half-Century- disco, new wave, glam, icy goth, even the anti-surf surf rocker 08 Surfin and the rumba 67 Come Back as a Cockroach. Plenty of anthemic singles- 76 Hustle, 84, Danceteria, 79 Rock and Roll will ruin your life and surely one day a standard- 02-Be True to Your Bar. There's really not much downtime though towards the end, it hits a few doldrums. Love Merritt and love the record.
Morrissey Low in High School (BMG)- I am not sure this should be on the list, but there it is. The Moz is my alltime favorite artist, but he is going through some lean years. I suppose this album is hurt in that it isn't much different than his last. I also suspect Moz doesn't let anyone tell him no, which is his biggest problem. There's enough here that this might actually be salvageable, On the plus side, Moz's voice is as strong as it has ever been. Also, it is musically adventurous which is a plus (No one gets Moz more than longtime cohort Boz Boorer, but none of the collabs written for him are bad here) . It's just lyrically a mess. I am a 'politics in music' guy, but here (as in his interviews), Moz is seemingly all over the place. "I Bury the Living" almost makes it as a great anti-war opus, it just falls into some cheesy traps. Which is the case with most of the album. There's plenty of potential here. "I Wish You Lonely", and "Jackys Only Happy..." are classic Moz but they are missing that killer couplet that would define his biggest hits. "All the Young People..." and "Spent the Day In Bed" surely have the right framework but inevitably lack Moz's wit to compete with the bombastic music. The other major drawback is Moz seems too reliant on ribald jokes (look at some of those titles) that make Benny Hill look subtle. It's all disappointing as the best songs would have been left on the table as B-sides in the Steve Lillywhite years.
Randy Newman Dark Matter (Nonesuch)- If you must write political songs, then this is how you do it. I first learned to love Newman around 1999 which coincidentally was about the last time he had an album that was buzzworthy. Undoubtedly, Newman is the most likely commentator to put together songs like "Putin" or "The Great Debate" and make political and social discussion into a snappy five minute song. Still, the reason this album stands up to other of Newman's masterpieces (and it does) isn't just a couple of great political songs. It also has some classic sentimental Newman tunes that are aces like "She Chose Me". It's all appropriately held together but what would normally would seem like a tack on- the Monk theme "It's a Jungle Out There". It is a great song, of course, and does a good job of tying in the whole album which resonates on the political and personal side of things.
Old 97s Graveyard Whistling (ATO) I wasn't sure what to think of this coming as it did off of a perfect record of four great albums since the band reunited in 2008 (not to mention three great Rhett Miller solo records in that same time frame). Whistling is a slightly different record. Unlike the previous record produced by longtime producer Salim Nourallah which celebrated the 97s in their most ragged Replacement-ish (even with Tommy Stinson guesting) glory, this record is clearly a bid for prime time. Produced by Vance Powell, who has had chart success as engineer and mixed with similar artists like Chris Stapleton, the Revivalists, Elle King and Jack White, this is a slickly produced affair, complete with a lead single that is a duet with Brandi Carlile, and put together in such a way where each song could stand alone as a radiobound single. 2014's Most Messed Up was not going to be easy to follow, but the band manages to pull it off. It's more anthemic and yet also more lyrically complex. Each song does succeed as a single, and the album hangs together with its own personality. Improbable as it can be, they did it again.
Martin Rev Demolition 9 (Atlas Realisations) While the punk legend rightfully mourns the loss of Alan Vega, the other member of the Suicide duo resurfaces with his first new record in 7 years. This is an unorthodox album- 34 pieces of music- some fully realized at three minutes, yet many are 30 second snippets. The music is all over the board throughout the album, sometimes even on the same song- at times, neoclassical, at others industrial noise, no wave jazz, funk, new age, bossa nova, even nods to 50s and 60s pop. Mostly but not completely all instrumental. it might be frustrating for some, but I really appreciate Rev's ear here. I am not usually a fan of instrumental music, but the interesting mix makes this a keeper.
U2 Songs of Experience (Island/Interscope)- The inevitable rock question is whether you break up like REM or go on forever like the Rolling Stones or the Grateful Dead. At album 14, The '2 are lifers. U2 has reinvented themselves at least four times over, so they likely have no new tricks in the pipeline. 2014's Songs of Innocence showed they had some life left. This album doesn't do much to change the recent formula. Credit to the band for trying to stay fresh. As with the last record with Lykke Li and Danger Mouse, this record has Kendrick Lamar, Haim and Lady Gaga. Rock is indeed a young man's game, and though certainly we have seen late career masterpieces from Cohen, Dylan and Newman to name a few, you don't see a lot of middle aged men trying to make the energetic "I love Rock n Roll" anthems that are U2s stock in trade (and seem intent on producing). It all results in a mixed bag. It's not a bad record by any means, though at this point, it sounds like U2 is influenced by Coldplay and not vice versa. Ryan Tedder's production surely doesn't help. Like much of the band's recent work, this likely will be ditched by fans once the next record is made, but it will help with a pretty decent later-years Greatest Hits disc.
Xordox Neospection (Editions Mego) Another side project for JG Thirlwell as he readies the next Foetus album. This is an interesting disc which mixed the freeform electronica of his Manorexia project and his action-oriented Steroid Maximus (and Venture bros soundtrack) work. This album is clearly influenced by John Carpenter's soundtrack work and space themes, with a little bit of noir themes. It sounds to me like 80s electronic music if 80s electronic music was made with today's technology. Most instrumental, because it is Thirlwell, it's completely captivating, and though restricted by the lack of lyrics, it is never boring.
