It’s been a rough go lately for a range of reasons, so I figured since it’s time to celebrate our birthday — both of our country and our website — that I’d change things up a little to see if we could get on a better roll. To do so I decided to do something drastic — move the site from its home for nearly a decade and overhaul the format, which is sort of the cyber equivalent of chopping off one’s hair and getting a tattoo after a big breakup. You’ll still see me posting my scribblings on various topics as time/interest permits, but we’ll also throw in some content from other places that I find interesting (or think you will). And as was the original intent of this site, it’s supposed to be a place where multiple voices are heard — so if you’re game to step up and want to be a regular author, you know where to find me — just let me know.
So we’ll see how it goes — wifey (reader 1 of 7) has been on me for a while to take things up a notch here, in part to make it easier to link to social media and whatnot, so you’ll see handy jumps to all your favorites below, as well as some other bells and whistles going forward as I see what this puppy can do. You can still link to the old site here while I transition things over, reminiscing about all the good music (and times!) we’ve shared. So please bear with me as I tweak things here or there, and please blast away on the Twittergrams if you like what you see — maybe 2017 will be the year we break to double digits on readers. Now onto the important stuff…
For the inaugural post for the new digs, I wanted to throw out some recommendations for female artists I’ve been listening to of late, since they’ve been taking it on the chin this week thanks to the tweets and comments of some in hallowed halls. So I’m going to hurl three over the plate in an effort to strike out that type of nonsense — I think you’ll agree the only “crazy” or “dumb as a rock” thing about these ladies is to say that type of shit about them in the first place.
First up is the latest from Hurray for the Riff Raff, the band of folkies from New Orleans with their sixth album overall and first in three years, The Navigator. It’s a bit of a departure from their previous work as they ditch the campfire for a concept album loosely charting the life of lead singer Alynda Lee Segarra. As such it starts in the big city (ostensibly the New York of Segarra’s youth) and the opening tracks talk of the sadness, loss, and bustle of those early years. She sings, “I’ve been a lonely girl, but I’m ready for the world” on “Hungry Ghost,” “lost my good daddy, best friend I ever had” on the beautiful and uplifting “Life to Save,” and “I was raised by the streets, do you know what that really means” on the title track.
It’s on that latter track that the album finds Segarra starting to embrace her Latin roots more, from the audio of the Spanish appliance hawker at the beginning to the hand drums and flamenco-style guitar that follow. It sets the album down a different path, one arguably of Segarra’s later years where her heritage is a stronger part of her identity. You can hear it in several songs after that — sonically you can hear it in “Rican Beach” and “Finale” (whose break just over two minutes in reminds you why Latin music is so primally satisfying at times — TRY not to move…), while you can hear it lyrically in songs like “Fourteen Floors” and the slightly belabored “Pa’lante.” (“My father said it took a million years, well he said that it felt like a million years…just to get here,” from the former tune.)
It’s a satisfying ride. There’s enough of the simple pleasures of old to satisfy previous fans — those just looking for Segarra’s stellar voice to fill their ears with little more than an acoustic to adorn it (“Nothing’s Gonna Change that Girl” and “Halfway There” do so nicely) — while bringing in a range of new sounds and colors to broaden the sound and win over new listeners. A solid effort by Segarra and company — check out some of the highlights below (that’s right, I created playlists people. The future is HERE!):
Next up are a few tracks from Waxahatchee (otherwise known as Katie Crutchfield, who I’ve been listening to a lot lately in anticipation of her upcoming fourth album. (Due out in a couple of weeks.) I’d stumbled on her last year when she covered my beloved Elliott (an ok, grungy version of his classic “Angeles”) and then again this year when she covered Everclear with another fave, Kevin Morby. I dug her voice so started listening to her older stuff and liked what I found — her debut album American Weekend was written after a reportedly devastating breakup, and you can hear every bit of that in the music. It’s a raw, spare record — just Crutchfield, her acoustic, and her audibly damaged heart — but has some lovely melodies as well. Tracks like “Catfish,” “Grass Stain,” “Be Good,” and “Bathtub” are all standouts.
Her next album, Cerulean Salt, finds Crutchfield back on her feet again, trying to put the pieces together with a band this time and the fuller sound (in part fueled by a healthy dose of anger and bitterness) works well. She’s plugged in and pissed off here and calls to mind PJ Harvey or jaggedlittlepill-era Alanis with the venomous force she occasionally wields. Tracks like “Dixie Cups and Jars,” “Lips and Limbs,” and “Brother Bryan” stand out, as do deeper cuts like “Swan Dive” and “Peace and Quiet.”
By her third album, Ivy Tripp, Crutchfield seems to be in a better place, showing some swagger on straight-ahead rockers like “Under a Rock,” “Poison,” and “The Dirt,” while balancing them with softer, more melodic songs like “Grey Hair” and “Summer of Love.” She even throws in a dancy little number like “La Loose,” which wins you over with its Casio-style beat and catchy “hoo hoo hoos” sprinkled throughout. It’s a winning progression since the debut, both in emotions covered and musical range, so it will be interesting to see what the new album holds. Check out a couple highlights from the above albums here:
We’ll close with one of the queens, the ever-enchanting Feist who’s back with her fourth album overall and first in six years, Pleasures. Similar to her last album it’s an interesting mix of her trademark soft, romantic moments and dissonant breaks and flourishes. Take “Any Party” or the album’s second single “Century.” The former starts simple enough, just an acoustic guitar and Feist’s lovely coo telling an anonymous listener she’d leave any party for them, for no party beats their party of two — a sweet, slightly saccharine sentiment that’s nonetheless charming when it comes from her. The song quickly crashes into an electric squall and crashing cymbals, like she’s lashing out after having shown a flash of vulnerability, before settling back down into confessing her love. It follows this push-pull pattern a few more times before ultimately breaking into an odd bit at the end where the listener leaves and drives off (ostensibly to return to the other half of their party of two?)
Similarly, “Century” ebbs and flows with less sentiment and more sonic dissonance than the former before another odd break at the end, this time a spoken word section by former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker before the song crashes to a close. They’re strange, but not off-putting aberrations that are rather reminiscent of those from occasional collaborator and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, who is notorious for taking otherwise beautiful tracks and shattering them with jagged, jarring juxtapositions of noise. (“Misunderstood,” “Via Chicago,” and “Poor Places” being just three of many examples.)
And similar to Tweedy, Feist gets away with it because her voice (and lyrics) are so good — honest lyrics, winning melodies, and a knockout voice. We saw her recently in town and she played this album in its entirety before playing a second concert’s worth of older material and it holds up well live. Tracks like “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and “The Wind” shine, as do “Baby Be Simple” and the aforementioned tracks. In addition to an angelic voice, Feist is also a sneakily good guitar player, as demonstrated on the title track and “I’m Not Running Away” (and even moreso live). All in all, it’s another winning package from the lovely Leslie — check out a few of the tracks here: