No I am NOT behind in posting these, why would you even suggest that?
As stated in my previous post, I decided to consolidate my 2024 album blasts because I did not have a lot of time in March to actually spin new music. And then, I had too much time in April. So I consolidated the two months into two posts. Make sense? No? My bad. Here’s thirteen more quick album reviews and a couple of local recs!
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut will always be one of my favorite albums, but the aura of “rich (mostly) white boys repurpose African music” aged like milk almost immediately. In the years since, the band has taken different approaches to incorporate maturity. Their fourth album, Father Of The Bride, is easily their worst, a set of adult-alternative yawners only one step above CVS radio. For their fifth album, they overcorrected, releasing what is actually their most manic and experimental set to date. Every song on this album has crafted, unpredictable elements, and many of them are absurdly high-energy. It feels like their record that builds upon their debut the most – even going so far as to sample “Mansard Roof.” The lyrics remain a mix of serious and tongue-in-cheek. Even though I really dug the singles I heard in advance, I didn’t expect something this remarkably engaged from them. One of the highlights of the year so far.
Grade: 8.5/10 Initial release date: 4/5/24
Pouty – Forgot About Me
I’m starting to slack on these reviews pretty badly, so credit to the album title because I did forget about Pouty. But I really dug this, it’s grungy guitar-pop with a youthful attitude. It’s like a less-immaculately produced version of Blondshell, which is a compliment. Catchy, emotional and equal parts noisy and smooth. Who doesn’t like their pop with some rough around the edges?
Grade: 7/10 Initial release date: 2/9/24
METZ – Up On Gravity Hill
When I heard the first METZ album, I thought two things. 1) This is insane and the exact kind of music I want to make, 2) The band has nowhere to go from here. Ever since their debut, the band has sought ways to grow their metrical, diabolically heavy post-hardcore sound so it doesn’t get repetitive, while still keeping the formula there. This album, their fifth, separates those two ideas into distinct ones. There’s brain-poundingly heavy songs, and there’s ones that aren’t so abrasive but have a midtempo denseness to them. While the band excels at both, the album definitely feels disjointed because of this dichotomy. I don’t know if there’s a way for METZ to truly escape repetition, especially at this stage. But, the album still has a bunch of quality tracks, and it’ll still knock you straight to the floor of the bar.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 4/12/24
Static-X – Project Regeneration, Vol. 2
To put it first: I don’t think this album should exist. Neither Wayne Static nor his wife are still with us to preserve his original unreleased recordings. No one is really around to properly give the thumbs-up for his old bandmates to use his name and legacy as a continuation. That said, it is also nice to see the original band decide to truck on for his legacy, especially in the face of the nu-metal revival. Also, even though half of the songs here actually feature a new singer, they’re just good. Not fantastic, this is ultimately pretty normal industrial-metal, but for a band that was always disjointed and only had one hit 25 years ago, these tracks are very well-developed. It’s a fun and heavy metal album, a welcome addition to their underrated catalog. But I also hope it’s the last one – the band seems to have depleted Wayne’s vault material anyways.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 1/26/24
GUHTS – Regeneration
Ok I feel bad here, because one of the purposes of doing these blast reviews is pitting lesser-known acts against bigger ones; I keep sleeping on writing the ones for the lesser-known acts though! I listened to this album weeks ago and it simply is not fresh in my memory, which does not speak on the quality at all. A decade removed from Deafheaven’s tectonic plate-shifting black metal album Sunbather, another band is going the pink cover route. While the book cover-judging comparison can be made, this album packs a different punch. Sludgy, unpredictable post-metal dominates this release, hitting all points between smooth and sinister. It’s abrasive, but not to the point of, say, Full Of Hell or anything. It’s one of the most well-rounded metal albums of the year so far – and one of the best of the genre in any capacity. Don’t sleep on this one, if it’s your tune.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 1/26/24
Jennifer Lopez – This Is Me … Now
This is conversely an album that demands a renewed spotlight on a former pop music queen, and an album with practically nothing to say. However, the latter fact is fine because it’s really an ode to love. As the title says, it’s just about how happy Lopez is with Ben. This is by no means a great album, but it’s never boring. The songs are all collectively interesting enough, and her voice is easily great enough, so each tune holds value. This won’t be an album that’s in the public eye very long – despite best efforts from the artist – but it’s a nice and easy listen for a somber day. And, we get a whole album about how great Ben Affleck is. He’s doing our city proud. Crushing blow to Alex Rodriguez.
Grade: 6/10 Initial release date: 2/16/24
Prize Horse – Under Sound
I listened to this one a while back and it didn’t really leave much of an impression on me, so this is quick – this is pleasant if not template midtempo indie. I’ve mentioned in a few other reviews that midtempo indie hasn’t been grabbing me lately, and this record doesn’t completely fall victim to it, but it still didn’t resonate much with me unfortunately. The tunes are pleasant, and some of them have some cool shoegaze influence. This album will find a good home, and these tracks probably sound great live. It just didn’t do enough to retain my love, unfortunately.
Grade: 6/10 Initial release date: 2/16/24
St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
St. Vincent’s now ten-year-old self-titled will always be my favorite release of hers; it’s a top 10 favorite of mine in general. For me, she’ll never top it – but this comes damn close. I was really not into her last album, Daddy’s Home, a set of mostly tepid ballads centered around a tone-deaf concept, and her trajectory into duller rock was a familiar one across the indie landscape. So shocking, then, when she dropped a record of heavy, industrial-inspired tunes instead. While the album fluctuates between crushing songs like “Flea” and softer ones like “Reckless,” the influence of heavier, offbeat alternative is clear throughout. Cate Le Bon steps in for a crucial assistance on the lengthy, flowing final track, and it’s a fitting welcome. I could write and probably will write something about how Jack Antonoff is ruining pop music – this record proves that artists can shake the stink of him off and still be alright.
Grade: 8.5/10 Initial release date: 4/26/24
ScHoolboy Q – Blue Lips
2024 has been a year for form-returning albums. St. Vincent and Vampire Weekend improved on their respective weakest releases, and the same goes for ScHoolboy. His previous album, 2019’s Crash Talk, was a change of pace, as the rapper opted for much shorter tracks. Rather than his normal 5+ minute journeys, the album was full of 2-minute bursts. It was also a change of pace in quality, as everything felt incomplete or off-hand. Blue Lips is a welcome return, technically “more of the same” for a rapper who always wears his heart on his sleeve, but the formula still pays dividends. Emotional, funny, raw and absolute banging: this is what you want from a ScHoolboy album. And there aren’t even any 5+ minute songs – there’s just a lot more energy and effort put in here.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 3/1/24
GRRL – Side By Side
Dance and electronic music is not really my thing just in the sense that I never really seek it out – when something like GRRL falls into my lap, I usually enjoy it. I saw GRRL open for dance-adjacent indie group Sylvan Esso last year, spinning a 30-minute opening jam. This new release is just plain old, hyped-up dance music, and I’m really into it. While I’m usually in the mood for offbeat indie or dismal metal, something like this strikes my fancy sometimes. I don’t know how to write about dance music, so I’ll just say – if you like it, you’ll like this.
Grade: 7.5/10 Initial release date: 2/16/24
Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way
I’ve been hearing lead single “Train Full Of Gasoline” on the radio pretty regularly, a rollicking, fun guitar tune. But with all guitar indie, I approached the album with a little apprehension, as singles are often livelier than the album. Not so! I know next to nothing of this duo, but this is a collection of fast-paced, clean indie-punk. At only 27 minutes, it doesn’t overstay the welcome, honestly could use a little more. While “Train” is one of the more rambunctious tunes, the whole release is just unfiltered fun. Think the song “Money” by The Drums – born of the surf-punk movement of the 2010s, but distinctly indie. Wide appeal on this one I think.
Grade: 8/10 Initial release date: 2/9/24
Judas Priest – Invincible Shield
Okay first off it’s so funny that Judas Priest have adopted full power metal aesthetics – even taking Sabaton on tour with them – without actually being power metal. And thank god because I do not like power metal. Anyways, these guys are old enough to be put in a home and do not need to be making albums this great. This won’t go down as one of the metal albums of the year or anything, but it’s genuinely very good. I’ve talked about not giving brownie points to legacy bands on this blog – they earn the grade here. The band rips through a couple heaters before taking on a number of midtempo but very heavy cuts. Rob Halford sounds as good as he always has. And, most importantly, there’s something interesting going on in every song. These aren’t cut-and-paste Judas Priest songs, even if they do follow familiar structures. This album isn’t a reminder of existence or a contract fulfillment – it’s a statement from a band that’s still got a lot to say. Rock on, kings.
Grade: 7/10 Initial release date: 3/8/24
The Black Keys – Ohio Players
This album isn’t bad, but it is just kind of sad. When the Black Keys broke through all those years ago, they were already beginning their creative decline. Brothers was a great album, but it was arguably the last great BK album. Since then they’ve mostly spiraled down into the land of diminishing returns. On this release, they’ve retooled, opting for a poppier, broader style of songwriting than their normal alt-blues-rock. Optimistically, it shows a band in their later years not afraid to try new things. Pessimistically, and more realistically, it’s a former-arena band desperately trying to secure more radio hits. There’s some good songs here, but the ones really being pushed by the band are all big swings and misses. Two songs feature guest verses by rappers – Lil Noid and Juicy J (!) respectively – and neither song knows how to work. Both guest verses are tacked on to the end of the song, at different tempos from what came before it. They’re Frankenstein pop songs, designed for crossover appeal but destined to be forgotten. The album’s highlight – “Beautiful People (Stay High)” – is a miserable example of sanitized Kohls-core rock geared towards the radio, any radio.
And yet, the album really isn’t bad, overall. The album tracks bolster it. “Don’t Let Me Go” is fun. So is “Read Em And Weep.” The album’s best song is the penultimate track, “Fever Tree,” an unassuming tune that’s just the old style of blues-rock circa 2008 Black Keys. It’s odd, and almost fun, that it takes an album of misses to appreciate what a throwback can bring. I appreciate what the band went for here, cynicism included, but it’s a very mixed bag.
Grade: 6.5/10 Initial release date: 4/5/24
LOCAL NOOK: If you’ve just stumbled on this and have for some self-flagellating reason decided to read the whole post, then you should know that I am born and bred Boston and am heavily involved in the New England music scene. It feels a little weird to me to include local bands in these posts, because I often know them or know people who do. But it would be contradictory to not include them in posts highlighting international underground artists, too! So here’s a couple local records I’ve loved lately.
Wooll – Unwind. I was lucky enough to get to cover this wonderful debut over at my primary home, Allston Pudding. This is an indie record that takes hearty inspiration from shoegaze, resulting in something that sounds like Beach House by way of The Beths. I really, really dug this one and I think you will too.
bark, dog – i’ll eat you, i love you. I know nothing of this artist, it was a random stumble on Bandcamp. Again, it’s a pleasant and fuzz-inspired indie record, authentic from start to finish. This artist has a wide catalog already, something I’ll be digging into soon. Very fun and original stuff here.
Edward Glen – Loss, Angeles. This is a quick indie 4-track and, given that the band has released a few singles since, I might be jumping the gun on a review. But! these songs are great and each pulls inspiration from something vastly different. It gets a thumbs-up from me.
And with that, this giant block is done. I am already growing tired of this project, I can’t guarantee I’ll keep it up all year. My list of new albums that I *have not* listened to yet sits at 155 entries, and still includes names like Waxahatchee, Kacey Musgraves, and (sigh) Justin Timberlake. I can already tell you that the next month’s post will include Knocked Loose, Middle Kids, Dua Lipa, Salt Cathedral and Jlin. What else will it cover? Who knows! I pick my listens on a whim. See you next month!
Post-Grad Music Reviews 