It’s a lovely spring day here in my beloved city by the lake (the linden trees finally bloomed so the neighborhood is redolent with the sweet scent of their blossoms) so figured it was a good time for a post from the porch. Today’s batch of boomers are a motley mix, blending hip hop, legendary punks, and pleasant pop, so should serve something to everyone before we’re done.
We’ll start with the oldest on the list — in terms of how long it’s been sitting open on my iPad, not the longevity (or absence) of its creator (both of those distinctions are held by another outfit, as we shall soon see — though both call the same town home…) This one’s from Detroit’s Danny Brown and his sixth album Quaranta, which came out late last year (his second of the year, alongside his collaboration with JPEGMafia). It’s unfortunately another hit or miss affair, continuing the trend of his last few albums — gone are the deliriously energetic and unhinged cuts of his early outings, replaced by a spacier, more subdued tone. This seems likely a reflection of recent life events (Brown recorded it after spending time in rehab to get his drug and alcohol abuse under control), but there are still moments of that frenetic, insane cadence of old. This one’s a good example, finding Brown partnering up with label/posse mate Bruiser Wolf (of Brown’s Bruiser Brigade) — check out “YBP” here:
We’ll stay in the cut and grab another entry from the support group (heep…heep hop…heep hop anonymous…), this time from another pair of old salts, legendary producer Pete Rock and hometown spitter Common. The two have worked together on tracks here and there before, but recorded an entire album recently and despite not having an official release date it’s already presaging a possible sequel. For starters it’s titled The Auditorium Vol. 1, but Common has also said it’s his third best album behind 2000’s Like Water for Chocolate and 2005’s Be, so the bar has been set. Judging by the first single, we’re off to a good start to those claims proving true — it’s got a classic Pete Rock beat (sampling MC Shan’s “The Bridge”) and some amped up verses from Common who sounds sharper than ever here. Really curious to see what else they dish out — enjoy “Wise Up” while we wait for the album:
We’ll close the hippity hop section with a somewhat surprising entry, both in terms of content and purveyor. The song itself is about the Palestinian crisis and the pounding its civilian population is taking at the hands of the Israeli military in its hunt for Hamas. (Death toll currently around 35k and counting…) That any song takes on as sensitive a subject as this — let alone anyone in modern hip hop, which almost exclusively doles out meaningless materialistic nonsense these days (outside acts like Run the Jewels, for example) — is something. That the person doing so is Seattle’s Macklemore, known primarily for his overly earnest (and occasionally ham-handed) lyrics, is another. That he does such a good job here, keeping his anger mostly in check and focused on the real issues (people’s reaction to the protests and not why they’re there, the weak (or absent) condemnations from US politicians and artists, etc) is even more impressive. It’s worth a listen — solid beat, sharp lyrics (“What you willin’ to risk? What you willin’ to give?”), and a topic that should be talked about more. Check it out here:
We’ll shift to less sensitive subjects and another somewhat surprising return, this time from Portishead frontwoman Beth Gibbons and her long-awaited solo debut, Lives Outgrown. It’s somehow been over 15 years since her last turn with that iconic outfit (their last, 2008’s aptly named Third, appropriately landed in said spot on my year end list) and it’s been well over 20 since she recorded any original material without them. (2002’s partnership with Rustin Man, Out of Season.) Unfortunately I can’t say it’s been worth the wait — while Gibbons’ voice remains an ethereal, otherworldly vessel for vulnerability, there’s something missing here that largely squanders that tremendous gift. Portishead always juxtaposed that voice against somewhat foreboding, moody backdrops, ones whose mystery and danger heightened the peril and fragility of Gibbons’ delivery. The terrain here is much safer and more sanitized, which strips that much needed tension from the proceedings. There are a couple anomalies — the sinister smoldering on the opening “Tell Me Who You Are Today” or the Indian-inspired freakouts on “Rewind” — and the killer “Floating on a Moment” could have been the capstone on an excellent album if there were a few more like it. Enjoy it in all its brilliance here:
We’ll step into the light now and bask in some much needed sunlight with a track from Oklahoma’s Wilderado who recently released another track off their upcoming sophomore outing. The album, Talker, isn’t due out until September, but the band have already released a third of its tracks, including this lovely little gem. Judging by the four we’ve heard thus far it doesn’t sound like they’re making any drastic changes (thankfully — their self-titled debut landed at #7 on my year end list in 2022 and has some irresistible ear worms on it), so hopefully we’ve got 8 more winners to look forward to in a few months. In the meantime enjoy this little slice of heaven, “Sometimes:”
We’ll close with a punky pair of surprising returns, the first from the aforementioned owners of both the longest absence and the longest tenure on the list, both of which clock in at over FIFTY YEARS(?!?) The resurrected ghosts are the legendary Motor City Five — better known as MC5, who are set to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a few months. It will be a bittersweet induction as their sole remaining members — frontman Wayne Kramer and drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson — passed away earlier this year. Rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that not only will they miss that accolade, but also the release of their new album — just the third in the band’s five decade career and their first since 1971’s High Time — which Kramer in particular has been teasing (and ostensibly toiling on) for years. They just dropped the first single from it and it’s pretty good — definitely not the “phone it in” flimsiness you might expect from a “vintage” rock band this late into their career. There’s the swinging swagger, the fiery guitar, even some of Thompson’s trademark snare blasts — let’s hope the rest is as good as this. Give it a glimpse here:
Last but definitely not least is the return of the beloved Lizard — the Jesus Lizard! — back with their own surprise announcement of an upcoming new album, Rack. The Lizard haven’t released anything in two and a half decades — 1998’s Blue was their last — and while there have been a handful of reunion tours since then, the band had been pretty consistent about the low likelihood of there ever being new music. Front/wildman David Yow had thrown himself into his side projects, be they his acting, art, guest vocals for a number of bands, or his solo album. Guitarist Duane Denison kept busy as part of Tomahawk, who last released an album (their fifth) right before the pandemic shut the world down in 2021. Meanwhile drummer Mac McNeilly and bassist David William Sims seem to have been content to slip into civilian life, bowing out of the spotlight by and large. I’m not sure what changed, but maaaaaaaan am I glad it did — and more importantly that as with the previous band what they’re coming back with doesn’t sound like some watered down memory of their ferocious former selves. The lead single straddles the line between echo and advancement, giving just enough sonic reminders of their old stuff while sprinkling in some fun new tricks to keep it from being a boring retread. Denison’s guitar work is vintage, as are Sims’ chugging bass line, McNeilly’s gunshot crisp drums, and Yow’s deranged yowls, and the stop-start bits at the end give it a nice, menacing lurch (or drunken wobble, depending on your mood). They announced a tour to accompany the album (though somehow are NOT playing any hometown gigs?!?), so am looking forward to seeing both in the near future. The album’s due out in September, but in the meantime crank this bad boy up and get ready to thrash:
That’s all for now — until next time, amici…
–BS