Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Sep. 2020 Vol. II

THE LOUDER STUFF

EN MINOR – When The Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out
Phil Anselmo goes American Gothic and sings clean but so low he makes Leonard Cohen sound like Cyndi Lauper. RYIL Nick Cave, Mark Lanegan, slashing your wrists in a bathtub filled with warm water. (7)

EXPANDER – Neuropunk Boostergang
If you were wondering what would happen if you put Power Trip, Voivod, Jesus Lizard and Lightning Bolt in a blender then look no further. With Kurt Ballou seal of approval. (8)

ACE FREHLEY – Origins, Vol. 2
Ace covers Led Zep, Deep Purple, the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, Jimi, and others. He still plays a mean guitar, he still can’t sing to save his life. (6)

IHSAHN – Pharos
2nd EP this year by the Emperor dude, slightly better than the previous one, focusing on his mellower side and occasionally sounding like Opeth sounding like Porcupine Tree. Includes covers of A-Ha (thankfully not THAT song again) and Portishead. (8)

MARILYN MANSON – We Are Chaos
This is his Bowie album and it’s as good as the great “Pale Emperor”, certainly better than the Manson-By-Numbers of 2017’s “Heaven Upside Down”. (8)

MASTODON – Medium Rarities
A mixed bag of rare tracks, live recordings, covers and one new unreleased song. Some exciting stuff for completists in here, but the (many) instrumentals are mostly forgettable. (7)

SUMAC – May You Be Held
The two improvisational albums they recorded with Japanese avant-garde experimentalist/noisemonger Keiji Haino obviously rubbed off on them, since they’re not even pretending to be a post-metal band anymore. File Under “Uneasy Listening”. (7)


THE OTHER STUFF

SARAH DAVACHI – Cantus, Descant
80+ minutes of minimalist drone organ music. Not a party record exactly, but great for meditation. (7)

RICHARD DAWSON – Republic of Geordieland
Lockdown home recording of instrumentals, acapella vocal pieces, and outtakes by Geordie folk weirdo who released last year’s third-best album. (7)

CRAIG FINN – All These Perfect Crosses
Collection of demos, outtakes, and acoustic versions of songs from The Hold Steady frontman’s solo albums, a treat for fans. (8)

THE EMPTY HEARTS – The Second Album
Power-pop/garage rock supergroup made up of guys from The Cars, Blondie, the Romantics, and the Chesterfield Kings on second album of catchy, jangly, 60’s-influenced goodness. Ringo Starr plays on it too. (8)

THE FLAMING LIPS – American Head
A sort-of-concept album reimagining the Flaming Lips as an early 70’s druggy rock band hanging out and jamming with a pre-fame Tom Petty in Oklahoma, “American Head” sounds like a return to the mellow psychedelic orchestral pop sounds of their most commercially successful phase (1999-2002). Country star Kacey Musgraves guests. (8)

TIGRAN HAMASYAN – The Call Within
A piano-led virtuoso jazz trio that feels more like a prog-metal juggernaut. (8)

THE LEMON TWIGS – Songs For The General Public
Wildly ambitious, a bit all over the place, and filled with more hooks than a fisherman’s shoulder bag, this power-pop/glam rock pastiche sounds like the perfect tribute to 70’s American radio. (8)

RICHARD THOMPSON – Bloody Noses
Lockdown acoustic EP by legendary guitarist who still sounds like Bob Mould’s folkie dad. (7)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs Of Marc Bolan & T. Rex
When it comes to putting together multi-artist tribute albums, producer Hal Willner (RIP) was in a league of his own. Willner’s swan song is this double album featuring a wildly eclectic bunch of people (Kesha, Nick Cave, Joan Jett, Peaches, U2 feat. Elton John, Father John Misty, Perry Farrell, Marc Almond to name just a few) paying tribute to glam rock’s first superstar and sounding, for the most part, very little like glam rock. (8)