Brittany Howard "What Now" (2024)

What Now

release date: Feb. 9, 2024

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]

producer: Brittany Howard, Shawn Everett

label: Island - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Earth Sign" - 2. "I Don't" - 3. "What Now" - 4. "Red Flags" - 5. "To Be Still" - 8. "Prove It to You" - 9. "Samson" - 11. "Power to Undo" - 12. "Every Color in Blue"

2nd solo album by Brittany Howard is the more than four year old follow-up to Jaime (Sep. 2019). Bassist Zac Cockrell of Alabama Shakes is credited on this, just as he featured on her solo debut, which also counts drummer Nate Smith as recurring musician. The album was generally made with only a handful of performers, which include the two keyboardists, Lloyd Buchanan and Paul Horton, and aside from these four only guitarist Brad Williams and trumpeter Rod McGaha feature on two songs each.

What Now is showcasing all the various styles Howard seems influenced by, but under her guidance it never feels as too many styles have been involved. Actually, to me, this is a bit like echoing how Prince used to arrange songs with that little detail that this is ever so much better. What Now simply appears as Brittany Howard's best release in her post-Alabama Shakes period. Now why doesn't she release music more often?! Ah well, better have a great album than one with only a few good songs, and this one is a most delightful release despite containing songs about negative aspects of life such as climate changes, global crisis, and political climate / turmoil of her home country, and then: these are appropriate subjects to address at the current time, so better deal with what's at stake. And thanks to Howard's musicality, she manages to wrap her songs up in great music and ultimately, simply hands us one of this year's best albums.

This is highly recommended and one to pay attention to.

[ allmusic.com Mojo, NME 4 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, Uncut 4,5 / 5, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Hurray for the Riff Raff "The Past Is Still Alive" (2024)

The Past Is Still Alive

release date: Feb. 23, 2024

format: vinyl (translucent orange crush) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,90]

producer: Brad Cook

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Alibi" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Buffalo" - 3. "Hawkmoon" - 4. "Colossus of Roads" - 5. "Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)" (live) - 6. "Vetiver" - 8. "Dynamo" - 9. "The World Is Dangerous"

9th studio album by Hurray for the Riff Raff following two years after the acclaimed Life on Earth (Feb. 2022) and is like that made with producer Brad Cook, who also plays bass on the album. Alynda Segarra is credited all songs.

Stylewise, the album is more folk-oriented as opposed to the indie rock feel of the 2022 album, and although the predecessor is a true gem this definitely has other strengths but most of all only establishes Segarra as one of the finest contemporary American singer /songwriters.

The Past Is Still Alive is one of this year's best albums and as such an album you should know.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Line of Best Fit 4,5 / 5, BeatsPerMinute 85 / 100, Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, Exclaim! 4 / 5 stars ]

Gossip "Real Power" (2024)

Real Power

release date: Mar. 22, 2024

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Rick Rubin

label: Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Act of God" - 2. "Real Power" - 3. "Don't Be Afraid" - 4. "Crazy Again" - 6. "Give It Up for Love" - 8. "Tell Me Something" - 9. "Light It Up"

6th studio album by Gossip following 12 years after A Joyful Noise (May 2012), which up until this year has been regarded as the band's final album after which front figure Beth Ditto pursued a solo career and concentrated on her own clothing line. Ditto released her solo debut Fake Sugar in 2017 and in 2019 the band reformed to perform a ten year anniversary concert of Music for Men (2009) but it was still under the charge of Ditto with no announcements of an official reformation. In 2023 Ditto got together with Nathan Howdeshell to write material for Ditto's second solo album and when facing producer Rubin who took part in the band's 2009 album, Ditto and Howdeshell apparently saw it as a natural opportunity to include Hannah Blilie, thus basically making it a Gossip album instead.

The trio is back, which is a wonderful thing, as they have been missed. Rubin secures a tight path on well-known soil, and Real Power comes out as something closer to the 2009 album than what was regarded their final breath in 2012. That said, time has passed, and obviously the three are somewhere else than more than a decade ago, and the album simply betters Ditto's fine solo from 2017, which in a way positioned itself in the outskirts of A Joyjul of Noise without really delivering a substantial stylistic footprint. All tracks here are credited Ditto and multi-instrumentalist Howdeshell and in that regard it's naturally something entirely different than Ditto solo working with other composers, and how could a legendary trio of this caliber come out with something new without people would compare it with their previous works?! It's a statement to call it a Gossip album, as opposed to Ditto's second solo, and it's still great news. Musically, it's original - of course, and with the band history and all in mind, I do think it's a fine accomplishment without it being absolutely great. And then: lesser will do. I think, they succeed in reproducing some of the band's original energy - the genuine garage-sound, and mixed up with a poppier mood they come up with a modernised version of Gossip. Officially, Ditto and Howdeshell are the providers of this new material but I wonder why they don't acknowledge that without Blilie they wouldn't be Gossip - it's a pity but not seldom seen practise to leave out the drummer in credits, but I just wonder how music is composed without a drummer adding his/her personal touch to the songs...

The album may not come with absolute stunning singles but the energy, the crafty output - and that voice on top of these simple, yet powerful arrangements!! And then there's still a certain quality lurking there all over, which lifts it above normality - 'cause what is that exactly?! Ditto belongs in front of Howdeshell and Blilie, and that constellation is all we need. It's like a living torch for humanity. Stay together, you three (PLZ), and the next album will be magic!

[ 👍allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Pitchfork 7,1 / 10, NME, DIY 4 / 5, 👎The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

Adrianne Lenker "Bright Future" (2024)

Bright Future

release date: Mar. 22, 2024

format: vinyl / digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Philip Weinrobe

label: 4AD - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Real House" (4 / 5) - 2. "Sadness as a Gift" (live from Greenwich Village with Nick Hakim) - 4. "No Machine" - 5. "Free Treasure" (live on The Tonight Show)- 6. "Vampire Empire" - 8. "Candleflame" - 9. "Already Lost" - 10. "Cell Phone Says" - 11. "Donut Seam" - 12. "Ruined" (live from Greenwich Village with Nick Hakim)

Studio album by Adrianne Lenker in between albums with Big Thief, and most recently the band released the acclaimed Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Feb. 2022). Lenker's most recent solo album was Songs & Instrumentals (Oct. 2020), and this new collection is more like her other solo efforts, more naked, more clean folk and singer / songwriter-oriented. That said, Bright Future contains other performers than Lenker's vocal on top of a lonesome strumming guitar as was the case on her quiet 2020 album. It's still not in the same fully-bodied arrangements as you'll find on albums by Big Thief - only "Vampire Empire" sounds like a song written with the band in mind as the instrumentation appear to be similar with violin, piano, percussion, banjo, guitar, and harmony vocals, but generally, the songs here are played in a much more subtle fashion, as only to turn focus on Lenker's narratives.

Bright Future is so far easily this year's best album and highly recommended.

[ Mojo 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,4 / 10, Exclaim! 9 / 10 stars ]

[ bandcamp ]

Chelsea Wolfe "She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She" (2024)

She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

release date: Feb. 9, 2024

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,95]

producer: Dave Sitek

label: Loma Vista - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Whispers in the Echo Chamber" - 3. "Everything Turns Blue" - 5. "The Liminal" - 6. "Eyes Like Nightshade" - 8. "Unseen World"

7th studio album by Chelsea Wolfe following Birth of Violence (Sep. 2019) is her first album on Loma Vista and it also introduces a certain change in producer-collaboration as most of her former releases were mostle made with co-composer Ben Chisholm, who remains as one her stable collaborators (since 2012) together with drummer Jess Gowrie and mastering engineer Heba Kadry (both since 2017).

A new producer and a new label doesn't mean much new, though. And despite the fact that Wolfe has been influenced by various styles, this new collection of songs still stand with feets buried in a darkwave arena. That said, Wolfe has often sought to colour her songs from new perspectives - with twists of electronica, stronger influnced by / or with the absense of industrial rock, and in that sense her new album doesn't appear as something entirely different. Wolfe belongs to the dark - no doubt about that, and she usually makes her songs with Chisholm - here credited as co-composer, keyboardist and for drum programming. And especially the drum aspect is what basically makes this a different breed than her (brighter) 2019-album. Drums are up-front, energetic pulsating, and attract attention on an album that takes Wolfe back on an industrial, electronic path of dark colours.

The album has mostly been met by acclaim as an original output from an innovative artist, who never seem to walk on already known paths. To me, it doesn't quite invite me in, and I think my reluctant stance has to do with the incoherency I find on the album. It's both strongly electronic with synths and programming providing a new side-step to her darkwave tones, and at the same time it bonds with industrial rock - it wants to be 'hard', and then Wolfe has makes attempts pop-imagery, nicely placed hooks of sweetness, which makes it difficult to digest. It's like, she tries too hard to make her music grandiose and by that she unfortunately also loses contact with authenticity. Is it a spicy treat, or, just a light dessert? I dunno!! And the different flavours do not meet one another that well, I think. And ultimately, Wolfe has been better.

[ 😮allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Exclaim! 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,6 / 10, Uncut 3,5 / 5, 👉PopMatters 3 / 5 stars ]

The Smile "Wall of Eyes" (2024)

Wall of Eyes

release date: Jan. 26, 2024

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70

producer: Sam Petts-Davies

label: XL Recordings - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Wall of Eyes" (4 / 5) - 2. "Teleharmonic" - 3. "Read the Room" - 4. "Under Our Pillows" - 7. "Bending Hectic"

2nd studio album by The Smile following nearly two years after A Light for Attracting Attention (May 2022) with Petts-Davis as producer - he previously produced Thom Yorke's solo soundtrack Suspiria (2018) for Luca Guadagnino's remake of a Dario Argento horror classic.

Although, the album has been made with a new producer, it really doesn't fall far from the trio's first album and you could also argue that the project here doesn't expose a tone that essentially differs from that of Radiohead, perhaps because that band's musical centre is constituted by Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood who are 2/3 of The Smile. And although, many compositions were nearly finished by Greenwood and Yorke in the Summer of '23, all songs and music here is credited the band only.

The now two studio albums by The Smile are so much alike that it's tempting to regard them as two chapters of the same book, or two sides of the same coin, and that's the only snag to a otherwise fine follow-up. On the positive side, you could add that it's really nice to have renowned artists like Yorke, Greenwood, and Skinner, who choose to make an album with focus on musical experimentation instead of going mainstream pop, and in that regard, the trio still offers a refreshing and challenging side-step to the Grammy Awards' self-centrered spotlight of make-believe where everything is about performance.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 😮Pitchfork 8,5 / 10, 👎Exclaim! 3 / 5 stars ]

Blur "The Ballad of Darren" (2023)

The Ballad of Darren

release date: Jul. 21, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: James Ford

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 3. "Barbaric" - 2. "St. Charles Square" - 4. "Russian Strings" - 6. "The Narcissist" - 7. "Goodbye Alert" - 10. "The Heights"

9th studio album by Blur marks a long-awaited reunion following more than eight years after The Magic Whip (Apr. 2015), which then was another reunion album following 12 years after Think Tank (May 2003). The Ballad... is produced by James Ford, who has made a name for his work with e.g. Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets, and in this context: for his work on albums by Gorillaz. The band remains intact and all tracks are credited the band of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree. Together with Gorillaz, Albarn released Cracker Island (Feb. 2023), and basically, Blur now appears as just another brain-child of Albarn's. Blur is still something else, and markedly different from albums by Gorillaz, but there are apparent similarities with the music by the Albarn-led project The Good, The Bad & The Queen (e.g. "Goodbye Alert" and "Far Away Island"), who most recently - as of Nov. 2018 released Merrie Land.

The album was met by positive reviews - I didn't immediately embrace it as an improvement, and frankly thought of it as on par with the band's 2015 album, but one year down road, I consider it better than my initial verdict. It's not up there among the best by Blur but it surely has its moments, and Coxon is a most treasured guarantee in delivering classic Blur guitar-riffs, which securely puts it somewhere in the middle on the Blur shelf.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, 👍Pitchfork 7,2 / 10 stars ]

Caroline Polachek "Desire, I Want to Turn Into You" (2023)

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

release date: Feb. 14, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,86]

producer: Caroline Polachek & Danny L Harle

label: Perpetual Novice - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Welcome to My Island" - 4. "Sunset" - 6. "I Believe"

4th studio album by Caroline (Elizabeth) Polachek and her second album under her given name. After releasing three albums with synthpop band Chairlift from 2008 to 2016, Polachek focussed on her solo career, which she had already initiated while being in Chairlift, and she released her solo debut Arcadia (Apr. 2014) under the name of Ramona Lisa. Her second solo Drawing the Target Around the Arrow (Jan. 2017) under the name CEP (abbreviation of her name), and preceeding her 2023 album she released Pang in Oct. 2019.

Both the albums by Chairlift and her solo releases have generally been met by quite positive reviews, and also gained public acclaim. Polachek's newest album is by some regarded as one the best albums of 2023, but I'm not really a huge fan. Yes, the production is state of the art top-notch, and there's much positive energy in most of her songs - it's just... all heard before, isn't it!? I guess I'm not part of her target fan base and all but still, I simply cannot come to terms with much of the new synthpop and indie pop artists, who spit out new songs that showcase the same arrangements, the same instrumentation, the same song structures, and similar soundscapes! I know Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift, etc. all make different kinds of music, but to me, they nevertheless showcase a common strategy of producing music that loans heavily on pre-made music - whether it's music by themselves or others making some of the same 'generic' pop. It leaves me indifferent - at best! But mostly, it only makes me change radio channel or give me an urge to hear something... substantial. Something worthwhile. I don't care how many copies they sell or how many awards they are awarded. I currently don't know anything about Chairlift, or Polachek's earlier albums, and frankly, this album doesn't make me one bit curious. And that's regardless the good reviews their albums received.

Not recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com, Clash 4,5 / 5, 🙉PopMatters 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, 👍NME 3 / 5 stars ]