With the temperature finally cooling off and giving us a brief preview of fall, thought it was appropriate to pop in and heat things up a little with some recent finds. First comes the latest single from Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard’s upcoming solo debut, Jaime. I had a chance to see her perform the album in its entirety a week or so ago and despite the undeniable presence (and skill) Howard has on stage, it still left me a little underwhelmed. Hewing more towards the R&B side of things that the last Shakes album sported (which landed at #2 on that year’s 2015 list) instead of the more vintage soul sounds of their debut, the songs just didn’t resonate as strongly despite Howard’s energy and effort. Which is not to say the songs are bad — if R&B is your thing I think you’ll actually quite like them as they’re honest, well-crafted tunes — it just doesn’t grab me the same way those Stax style songs do. It’s the equivalent of Michael Jordan’s baseball era — you know he’s talented enough to not embarrass himself, hope he’s happy and succeeds, but simultaneously wish he’d just hurry up and go back to playing basketball because he’s so singularly talented at that. Same goes for Brittany — her titanic, emotive voice is just so well suited for those crackling, retro soul sounds it’s a shame to see it dedicated to anything else. Regardless, I’m glad musicians like her are out there — we’re better off for it. Until she rejoins with the Shakes, here’s one of those vintage sounding gems from her upcoming debut, “Stay High:”
We’ll follow with another retro sounding song, this one from a fellow frontman on hiatus from his former group (probably permanently in this case, sadly), Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame. Gallagher is priming the release of his second solo album, Why Me? Why Not. (due 20 Sept) and has released several singles to this point (I posted one of them here a few weeks back). So far they’ve been solid, in line with the songs from his debut, which landed at #11 on the 2017 list here. This one’s got a bit of a gospel vibe with the backup singers sounding like Sunday service at the end. (It also allegedly has Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner on it, but you’d never know if they didn’t tell you — gone like Oasis is the fiery, noisy guitarist I fell in love with in that band’s early years, apparently.) It’s a good follow on to Brittany’s feel good vibe — give “One of Us” a whirl here:
Next we’ll changes gears, but just slightly — we’ll shift from the sunny Sunday vibe to a more melancholic tone, but stay with the theme of singularly voiced singers on solo missions, this time from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke. Having already released his soundtrack to the movie Anima earlier this year, Thom keeps up his cinematic sprint offering a song for Ed Norton’s upcoming Motherless Brooklyn. As with most that he records there’s a somber sadness to it (if Brittany’s voice is synonymous with the sun, Thom’s is definitely the rain), but also an aching beauty that draws you in. It’s a powerful spell, just that voice and a piano. (Chili Peppers bassist Flea also allegedly plays on the track, but either someone turned his amp off or he’s playing the trumpet.) Similar to Brittany we’ve thankfully got no indications Thom is not planning on returning to his primary gig soon, this being one of the many side projects he nips off to in between that legendary band’s outings, so enjoy this in the meantime. Check out “Daily Battles” here:
We’ll veer into more aggressive territory now (us sadly being on the cusp of another rewarding work week), first with a track from Pusha T. This one was allegedly recorded at the same time as his Daytona album in that flurry of five EPs in five weeks that he, Kanye, Nas, and others made last summer in Wyoming. The stark beat is reminiscent of “Numbers on the Board” (never a bad thing) with Pusha extolling the virtues of his lady as only he can. (It also sports a couple grin inducing moments regarding charcuterie and his impression of the beat.) He may not burn quite as bright as he once did (the cocaine and Chanel raps have grown a little tired for me), but he’s still got some fire in him — give “Sociopath” a ride here:
Next we’ll meander over to the UK again and the gritty sounding IDLES, who I posted about a couple weeks ago here. On the heels of their nomination for the 2019 Mercury Prize I went back to their album to see if maybe I’d missed the bus, but I still don’t think it merits all the praise. There are a couple of good tracks, similar to their debut, but other times they veer towards typical punky excess — noise and yelling at the expense of melody. When everything’s in sync, though, these guys can pack a wallop. None moreso than on the aptly titled “Colossus,” which is the sonic equivalent of that titular entity pounding you into paste. This is the band channeling my beloved Jesus Lizard and absolutely nailing it — menacing bass and guitar building to a furious explosion, with frontman Joe Talbot loudly shouting lyrics that don’t make a ton of sense on the surface but nonetheless satisfy (“fuuuull ooooooof PIIIIIIIIIINS!”) It’s even got a creepy video to boot — what’s not to love! Turn it up (way up) and see what’s in store:
We’ll close with the return that broke the internet this week — first just for appearing and then for not meeting what seem to be the insanely high standards of its fans — the return of Tool and their album Fear Inoculum. It’s the band’s first in 13 years, and despite being close to 90 minutes long folks seem really unhappy with the results. Sure, of the 10 tracks there’s only six actual songs (the remainder are ambient instrumentals and a five minute drum solo — not kidding), but each of those stretches on for over ten minutes (“7empest” is barking on 16′ long). And while frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics undeniably veer towards cliched metal tropes at times (there’s talk of warriors and spirits and similar nonsense sprinkled throughout), the band itself — bassist Justin Chancellor, guitarist Adam Jones, and thundering drum god Danny Carey — sound amazing here. Do the songs meander, perhaps longer than they should? Maybe. Do they sound more Perfect Circle-y and restrained at times than the fiery roar I prefer from their early years? Sure. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of really good moments on those six songs — riffs from Jones or Chancellor that make you nod and grin or rhythms from Carey that just decimate your brain. It’s a little like Lord of the Rings (aside from the warrior/spirit talk) — yes, there’s a shitton of travel and scenes with Sam and Frodo endlessly blathering — but there’s also some reaaaaaally badass battle scenes (and the Balrog!), so on balance comes out ahead. All in all, a pretty strong album — check out the opening title track (which actually would be a pretty rad soundtrack to a LOTR style battle) here:
That’s all for now — until next time, amici… –BS