Al Bedsitter's Best Albums of 2018 (Part 2 of 3)

[bedsitter23]

 

Brian Fallon Sleepwalkers (Island)-  When it looked like the Gaslight Anthem had done everything it could, but become an arena rock band, Fallon has continued to reinvent himself through his solo records.  This album falls short of his debut disc Painkillers, but it is to Fallon’s credit that he didn’t try to mimic that record.  That likely would have failed, and instead, we get a very worthwhile set of songs here.  There’s a strong influence of 60’s soul and R&B here that differentiates it from the previous disc.  It is in the mold of classic Who and the Jam, even occasionally going to far into those Weller influences.  Still, like most of Fallon’s work, it’s Springsteen who looms the largest in the background.  Still, with Fallon’s current position, he gets away with some things in 2018 that the Boss couldn’t, and that ultimately, works to his favor.  A fine record.

 

Bryan Ferry Bitter-Sweet (BMG) – Although I have probably followed Ferry’s career more than almost anyone, I almost skipped over 2012’s The Jazz Age.  That particular album reimagined a collection of songs from Ferry(and Roxy)’s deep history as 1920’s era jazz recordings.  Re-recording old songs?  It seemed like a Rod Stewart-style cash-grab to me.  I am glad I didn’t though, as those songs were so refreshed creatively that they felt like something new.  2018 finds Ferry on Netflix playing a 1930’s Berlin cabaret singer, so a sequel of sorts seems logical.  Though like Dylan’s Sinatra records, there is no longer the thrill of hearing something for the first time, this album is well worth it.  The bonus of this record is Ferry adding vocals to some of the newly reworked songs.  It is also certainly more Weimar Republic than Duke Ellington this time, but it’s still pretty great.  It helps that some of my most favorite Roxy Music tunes show up here.  It’s quite possible that there aren’t two better albums in the last few years that are going largely unheard than The Jazz Age and this one.  

 

Franz Ferdinand  Always Ascending (Domino)- Despite generally positive reviews, let’s face it, critics have given up on this band.  The first three albums are held in a certain regard, but no one but the most diehard of fans seem to really take note.  Which is a shame as the band is still putting out good music.  There’s no great single here, but there some great songs.  It continues down the road the band has continued to travel (more groove, more dance) while Alex Kapranos veers into Jarvis Cocker territory more often than not.  I am still happy to see the band making records, and will continue to spread the word as much as I can, as long as they put out records like this.

 

Ezra Furman Transangelic Exodus (Bella Union)-  I was disappointed that outside of the AV Club (and despite positive reviews), this disc was left of year-end “Best Ofs”.  I knew Furman was talented, but this really blew me away.  Ambitious as all heck, Furman’s self described “queer outlaw saga” wants to meld together Born to Run and Nebraska Bruce Springsteen with Berlin and Street Hassle Lou Reed; (something I would probably advise not to attempt) but he pulls it off.  It all gets thrown in – country road songs, glam rock, dance/ambient and even soul, all with Furman trying to tell his On the Road or Thelma and Louise.  It would be interesting even if it only half-worked, but it succeeds.

 

Mick Harvey and Christopher Richard Barker – The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War (Mute)-  I have weird records all over my “Best of”, but this is probably the weirdest.  Longtime Bad Seed Harvey and Author/Poet Barker present an album that ostensibly is made of poems written by a long-dead WW1 soldier named Edgar Bourchier.  You have to do some deep digging, but if you look far enough, you will discover Bourchier isn’t real.  This album, though attempts to invoke the horrors of War.  It does that in various random styles- often harkening back to previous times.  In fact, it’s hard to even compare this record.  I would probably compare it to Julian Cope or Chumbawamba’s music hall ballads.  It’s hard to even find much similarity in the Birthday Party lineage (perhaps Harvey’s Serge Gainsbourg covers) or songs about War (Motorhead’s “1916” perhaps) .  Non-rock arrangements, repetitive lyrics- even many, many listens, it’s hard to know what to make of this.  Still, Harvey is such a deft arranger that it is almost impossible not to like this.  It sounds like a bit of a ridiculous concept, but it ultimately succeeds (to the point, record reviewers are carrying the Bourchier ‘long lost poet’ story.

 

The Interrupters Fight the Good Fight (Hellcat)- This band follows the Rancid template (and actually have a long history with Tim Armstrong) so it’s hard to judge them.  Clearly, there is a lot of Specials, Selector, Clash and Agnostic Front on their streaming devices.  When I first heard “Kerosene”, I could smell a hit, though it felt like the band arrived 20 years too late.  “Kerosene” did end up a hit, but the band evokes a memory of when bands like Dance Hall Crashers were the rage.  There’s (*ahem*) no doubt that they will be compared to other female fronted ska bands.  Fight is more realized than anything the band has done previously, and at the end of the day, Aimee Interrupter is such a strong frontperson, that the world should take notice.  The rest of the album lacks “Kerosene”’s power, but it still maintains a better-than-average pop-punk-ska set of songs.

 

Cody Jinks Lifers  (Rounder)- I can’t place what makes Cody Jinks so good, but he is.  There is little here (the odd Jackson Browne reference notwithstanding) to differentiate this from other country artists.  His voice has a huge Toby Keith bellow and his songs aren’t a million miles away from Tim McGraw.  Still, there is something special about him.  Probably unsurprising, Jinks started out in hardcore punk and thrash metal.  He carries that booming voice and sense of melody.  In a lot of senses, it reminds me of Steve Earle’s first record, which is also a ‘pure country’ record, but you can tell that there is a lot more than meets the eye.