ABBA – Voyage
There’s lots of people in their 70’s making music today and they don’t sound like their whole audience should be in their 70’s too like this new ABBA album does. (5)
ADELE – 30
She got a fantastic voice, she’s got class, and she’s good at doing pop music for adults addressing adult themes. She deserves the superstardom. (7)
CONVERGE FT. CHELSEA WOLFE – Bloodmoon: I
Sounds unlike any previous Converge album, this was essentially created by an enhanced line-up featuring not only Chelsea Wolfe who goths things up, but also Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky who piles on the hooks. A masterpiece of heavy music. (10)
ENDLESS BOOGIE – Admonitions
It’s boogie, and it’s endless. (7)
ENUFF Z’NUFF – Enuff Z'Νuff's Hardrock Nite
There’s a strong Beatles influence on their sound anyway (after all, they’ve always been a power pop band masquerading as a hair metal band), but they’re taking this to its logical end with a full album of Beatles covers. And you’ll actually love it if you always wished that The Beatles would play these great songs just a little bit harder. (8)
CURTIS HARDING – If Words Were Flowers
Atlanta-based soul man is mates with Mastodon and the Black Lips and it shows here, as he infuses his Curtis Mayfield/Parliament old-school funk with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. (8)
KHEMMIS – Deceiver
Closer to traditional metal than to doom metal this time around. Cool riffs but the tunes could be a bit more memorable. (7)
SETH LAKEMAN – Make Your Mark
His previous album “A Pilgirm’s Tale” was the biggest surprise of 2020, an ambitious outlier that came seemingly out of nowhere to land high on the Music Geek’s year-end List. His new album is more low-key, but another excellent take on English folk played with rock intensity. (8)
LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS – Cockadoodledeux
Starting the album with a faithful version of “Rawhide” and including a song titled “Punk Rock Retirement Plan” (“Well it’s Johnny Cash for Johnny Rotten / Johnny Horton for Johnny Ramone / He’s swapping out his records / For something more down home”) is a clear statement of intent, they’ve gone full country. They’re still funny as hell. (7)
WILLIE NELSON – The Willie Nelson Family
Country music’s legendary stoner is 88 and just won’t stop releasing new music. This one’s together with his sons, daughters, and sister, and it’s a solid combination of reinterpretations of Nelson classics and covers (George Harrison, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson etc.). (7)
ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS – Raise The Roof
A sequel to 2007’s “Raising Sand”, which actually paved the way for everything Plant has done since, this collaboration with Bluegrass superstar Krauss focuses on innovative covers of folk, blues, and country deep cuts and is, of course, excellent. (8)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E-STREET BAND – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts
The E-Street Band in all its glory, the energy on this live album is just insane. (10)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Cuba: Music and Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana Cuba: Experiments in Latin Music 1973-85 Vol. 2
Going beyond the Buena Vista Social Club, another great collection of mostly unknown Cuban artists from the next generation. (8)
No comments:
Post a Comment