Hi, everyone! Hope you guys had a happy new year and I am excited to jump into year two of bazzreviews! Here is a recap of the albums I listened to in December, and my opinions on each.
Dogrel- Fontaines D.C.
Post-punk is one of my favorite subgenres of music, and I’ve been hearing some awesome stuff about these Irish rockers’ debut going into this listen. I was actually pretty impressed with what these guys did on their first go-around. Compared to punk contemporaries, the sound on this record is pretty clean. From top to bottom, the production and songwriting are very forward thinking. Their main focus was writing about more progressive social constructs, almost like Slowthai did on Nothing Great About Britain; not only did they work with typical songwriting, but they also threw in some free-verse poetry, seen on tracks like “Hurricane Laughter”. All of the band members met in college over a common love of poetry, so it’s no surprise that it would have made an appearance somewhere on this record. To me, Grian Chatten’s vocals closely resemble those of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, and there’s even a little hint of Jeff Magnum from Neutral Milk Hotel. Songs like “Too Real”, “Television Screens”, “Roy’s Tune” really bring out his abilities, and they were some of my favorites off of the album. There weren’t really many tracks I’d consider uninteresting, maybe “Sha Sha Sha” if I had to single out one as the weakest. I think my only big criticism was ending the record with a slower jam in “Dublin City Sky”. I could have seen it towards the 3/4ths mark of the record, maybe swapping places with “Chequeless Reckless” or “Liberty Belle” and finding a more powerful ending to finish with. All in all, Dogrel provided a new lens to the genre of post-punk, one that has become increasingly popular at the latter end of this decade. 8.5/10
Better Oblivion Community Center- Better Oblivion Community Center
Though this duo between folk legends Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and Phoebe Bridgers released very early this year, it was one that I missed and wanted to check out. Going into the project, I want to warn you: I’ve heard very little of Conor’s music, and nothing from Phoebe Bridgers, so take this review with a grain of salt. Yes, it was great to see two very respected folk musicians team up, but this record was honestly a mixed bag at best. Based on what I’ve heard from Conor Oberst with his band Bright Eyes, I was expecting something very soft, and maybe— even slightly depressing. You definitely got a decent dose of that on here; both artists did a great job bringing that home on tracks like “Didn’t Know What I Was In For”, “Dylan Thomas” and “Forest Lawn”. Unfortunately, some of those great tracks got overshadowed by many confusing production choices. I wasn’t a fan of drone soundscape they put on “Sleepwalkin’”, the bizarre synths that were mashed into “Exception to the Rule”, and even the Mac DeMarco-type “My City” fell flat for me. It seems like both artists really couldn’t find a happy medium between the production style they wanted, so what resulted was a melting pot of flavors that were desultory and unsatisfying. As I said earlier, take this review for what it’s worth, but BOCC‘s debut leaves me with questions for possible future releases. 6/10
Norman Fucking Rockwell!- Lana del Rey
Although I have expressed my distaste with LDR before, I felt like she, too, deserved a chance at redemption before year’s end. I haven’t been a fan of the middle of her discography, as a lot of it has been vapid, over-reverberated pop songs that have lost their touch as the years go on. However, on NFR!, del Rey offers a more modern twist to her older style. It’s so amazing to see how she’s progressed as a musician over the decade, and I hope this is the style she keeps alive for the next few releases. I was really into the dream pop soundscapes she chose to work with, as they do a great job bringing out the best of her vocal range. I’m a huge fan of production value, and I’d go as far as saying they’re some of the best I’ve heard in 2019. I’d also say that her songwriting is much stronger than it’s been in a while, so props to her on that end. There are a lot of slow burners on here, but the romantic ballads on here are really some of the standouts, “Fuck it I love you”, “Love song”, “Cinnamon Girl” and “California” being some of my favorites. The only song that I wasn’t really into was “Doin’ Time”, but other than that each song was so beautifully crafted. Overall, LDR really took me by surprise me with this album, and this has been her best release since Born to Die. NFR! has some of the most meticulously crafted tracks I’ve heard all year, and will be a surefire choice for consideration in the top-10 list. 9.5/10
Magdalene-FKA Twigs
FKA Twigs is known for creating such vivid soundscapes, and Magdalene was no exception. Upon first impression, some of the tracks on here definitely remind me of Bjork in her late-nineties, early- 2000s prime. There are a lot of trip hop/glitch/dream pop elements on here that reminisce of her work. Additionally, Twigs got some amazing producers to help work on this project, including some of my personal favorites, Nic Jaar, Kenny Beats, Arca, and many others. They helped bring out some real interstellar, cinematic tracks that were well worth the five-year wait for a new full-length LP. The depth and sadness in her lyrics and vocals get me every time, and that is really what I love about her music. Not only that, but I’m amazed at how she can go from being incredibly chilling on the lead off thousand eyes”, then could completely switch up styles that are seen on the insanely beautiful, yet melancholy closer “cellophane” (voted by Pitchfork as the best song of the year). Hell, even the fact that she can dabble in trap, as seen on “holy terrain” with Future is crazy, too. Not a lot of artists have the ability to do that, which, again, begs the question of Twigs’ ability to make a song. Other songs that I got into were “Fallen Alien”, “Daybed” and “Mirrored Heart”, as they really put her amazing vocal range in the spotlight. I wouldn’t say there were many duds, but the only two holes I felt in this record were “Sad Day” “Mary magdelene” around the middle of the record. All in all, MAGDALENE really blew me away, and makes a strong case for being a late addition to the year end list. 9/10.
SONGS OF THE MONTH:
Jetfuel- Jelani Aryeh
Cellophane- FKA Twigs
Ransom- Lil Tecca
Home Again- Michael Kiwanuka
Orange Soda- Baby Keem
Ballin’- Roddy Ricch
So Many Details- Toro y Moi
Money Machine- 100 gecs
10%- KAYTRANADA
Standing on the Shore- Empire of the Sun
I hope you guys are able to find something on this list that you can enjoy, and I'll see you guys soon with some bazzreviews content!
Comments