Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Sep 25: Giant End Of Summer Update

THE LOUDER STUFF

DEFTONES – Private Music
Their trademark sound hasn’t changed much, and you wouldn’t expect it to. But this batch of songs is one of the best in many years for that most shoegaze-y of nu-metal bands. (8)

HALESTORM – Everest
An excellent heavy rock album full of bangers and tremendous power ballads, the way this sort of album used to be. Probably their best, 16 years after the debut, which is an impressive achievement in itself. (8)

HIS LORDSHIP – Bored Animal
A couple of guys from later incarnations of The Pretenders play sleazy garage punk rock ‘n roll, and they do it extremely well. (8)

THE HIVES – The Hives Forever Forever The Hives
A garage rock juggernaut, catchier than VD and certainly more fun. (8)

ROBERT JON & THE WRECK – Heartbreaks & Last Goodbyes
Based in California but recording with producer Dave Cobb in Georgia, these guys just released the best, toughest, meatiest southern rock album of the year. (8)

RÚN – Rún
A tremendous and terrifying aural experience by three Irish artists blending pagan folk with electronica and sludge metal. It scared the shit out of me, TBH. (8)

SPINAL TAP – The End Continues
The joke’s never funnier the second time you hear it, but of course this one goes to (11).

YEAR OF THE GOAT – Trivia Goddess
Occult heavy rockers return with anther solid effort. (8) 


THE OTHER STUFF

EVE ADAMS – American Dust
A very American and quite dusty sound somewhere between folk, goth, and country. (8)

BIG THIEF – Double Infinity 
Indie folk rock darlings will certainly make a few year-end lists in a few months’ time with this one, but personally, I think they’re a bit overrated. (7)

THE BLACK KEYS – No Rain, No Flowers
The Keys try to rebound from a bad 2024 (even though last year’s album was actually pretty good) by going pop. It works, sometimes. (7)

CASE OATS – Last Missouri Exit
A nice debut for this Chicago-based alt-country band centered around a promising female vocalist and featuring Spencer Tweedy, son of the Wilco guy. (7)

TYLER CHILDERS – Snipe Hunter
As the boundaries between country and rock become blurrier each day, it was about time we got a country artist who sounds like John “Cougar” Mellencamp. Produced by Rick Rubin. (8)

RODNEY CROWELL – Airline Highway
Another strong effort from one of the best country/americana singer-songwriters of his generation. (8)

DR. FEELGOOD – Stupidity
One of the best live albums ever and a surprise hit at its time gets the remaster treatment almost 50 years after its original release. Pub rock rules! (10)

KATHLEEN EDWARDS – Billionaire
Canadian singer-songwriter returns with a solid album of country rock, Americana, call it what you like. Jason Isbell co-produces and plays guitar, brings most of his band The 400 Unit along for the ride – a good hint of what this sounds like. (8)

ETHEL CAIN – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You 
The goth Taylor Swift. (8)

FAITHLESS – Champion Sound
I’ll always have a soft spot for these guys even if the hits have dried up. (7)

TAV FALCO – Desire On Ice
This is one cool dude who has been creating an anarchic blend of surf, blues, rockabilly for decades. If you don’t know him, then this album is the perfect way to start as he revisits a bunch of songs from his back catalogue with a little help from guests including Jon Spencer, Reverend Horton Heat, Bobby Gillespie, Jim Sclavunos, and Kid Congo Powers. (8)

GUERILLA TOSS – You’re Weird Now
They’ve always been weird, it’s not just now. These experimental dance/punks actually manage to streamline their bonkers sound a bit and enlist high-profile collaborators from Pavement and Phish. It’s actually tons of fun, sort of like The Cardiacs doing LCD Soundsystem. (8)

LERA LYNN – Comic Book Cowboy
Having first discovered Lynn through her recurring gothy, torchy character on “True Detective” Season 2, I still find it hard to understand why her later albums sound sunnier than that, but if you’re into country-leaning stuff with a strong pop sensibility, you’ll enjoy this. (7)

ASHLEY MONROE – Tennessee Lightning
After a four-year hiatus to (successfully) battle a cancer diagnosis, Monroe is back with one of the best country music albums of the year. Also includes covers of tunes by Leonard Cohen and Jeff Lynne, showing off the diversity of her influences. If she had trimmed it down from 17 tracks to maybe 13 by throwing out a few tracks from the second half of the record, it would certainly make The List in a few months. (8) 

MARGO PRICE – Hard Headed Woman
Price returns to old-school country after her psychedelic experiments. Very nice, if you enjoy a tear in your beer at the honky-tonk. (8) 

MOLLY TUTTLE – So Long Miss Sunshine
Master guitarist, queen of bluegrass, and multiple Grammy winner Tuttle goes pop, and (unsurprisingly) it’s really good. (8) 

SHRUNKEN ELVIS – Shrunken Elvis
Interesting experimental ambient rock – across nine instrumentals, the trio gently floats above a discreet rhythmic background with airy guitars and ethereal synths. Perfect for chilling out. (8) 

WOLF ALICE – The Clearing
I really love 2021’s “Blue Weekend”, arguably the best album of that year, but this one’s a much poppier affair, closer to Fleetwood mac than to anything remotely “indie”, and doesn’t really fulfill the promise even though it has its moments. (7)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – I Wanna Be a Teen Again: American Power Pop 1980-1989
A really fun compilation. 3 CDs, 78 tracks, all the expected suspects from The Ramones to The Romantics, plus a whole bunch of stuff you didn’t know existed. (9)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Time! Gentlemen! Pub Rock Rhythm ‘N’ Grooves: Classic Cuts and Rarities 1974-1982
A really fun compilation. 3 CDs, 72 tracks, all the expected suspects from Dr. Feelgood to Elvis Costello, plus a whole bunch of stuff you didn’t know existed. (9)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Aug 25

THE LOUDER STUFF

COFFIN BREAK – Revival 
Wow, this is a name I never thought I’d hear again. Not exactly grunge, but formed in Seattle in the late 80’s and sharing rehearsal spaces (and Jack Endino) with the likes of Alice In Chains and Nirvana, these guys return with their first album in 33 years and it’s a solid slab of hook-laden punk with song titles like “Kill The President”. Cobain loved them and so will you. (8)

ENUFF Z'NUFF – Xtra Cherries
You know I love these guys and consider them criminally underrated, right? This time the album’s chock full of guests from Journey, Cheap Trick etc., they’ve even dug up Steven Adler. In a parallel universe they’re selling out arenas. (11)

LAURA JANE GRACE & THE TRAUMA TROPES – Adventure Club
One of the best punk rock records of the year was conceived and recorded in Athens, Greece, with a local pick-up band (the Trauma Tropes are basically the rhythm section from Vodka Juniors), and includes a song about espresso freddo. Sort of makes me proud of my hometown. (8) 

KAYO DOT – Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason
File Under Uneasy Listening. (6) 

DARON MALAKIAN & SCARS ON BROADWAY – Addicted To The Violence
The closest we’re going to ever get to a new SOAD album, I guess. It’s really good. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

NATALIE BERGMAN – My Home Is Not In This World
An album that sounds like a sample compilation of the best “quality” pop music of the 60’s and 70’s, from solo McCartney to Dusty Springfield. (8)

RYAN DAVIS & THE ROADHOUSE BAND – New Threats From The Soul
Think David Berman, Bill Callahan, Will Oldham, i.e. country-influenced indie rock where the lyrics are probably more important than the tunes. You'll see this on several year-end lists, probably not on mine. (7)

PATTY GRIFFIN – Crown Of Roses
I’m a sad bastard and this is top-shelf sad bastard music. With sparse instrumentation and deep lyrics about loss, you can call it Americana, I just call it great. (8) 

CORY HANSON – I Love People
If you follow this blog then you know I love this guy, and I love the left turn he’s taking with this album moving from a guitar-based to a piano-based sound, like a Harry Nilsson on edibles or a psychedelic take on the 70’s Laurel Canyon sound. (8)

MF TOMLINSON – Die To Wake Up From A Dream
London-based Australian art rocker attempts to find the Venn diagram between 70s prog and 80s Talk Talk, or something. (7) 

FRANK TURNER – Show 3000
The title is self-explanatory, he is unstoppable. Sort of a live “greatest hits” setlist and some solid performances, both on the full-band and the solo-performed tracks. (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, July 25

THE LOUDER STUFF

CRYPTOPSY – An Insatiable Violence
If you like technical virtuosity and a bit of melody thrown into your brutal death metal, you can do worse than this album. (8)  

DEADGUY – Near-Death Travel Services
Cult hardcore band returns with a 30-year delay with a sophomore effort even more ferocious than their debut which influenced the likes of Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan. These guys will still fuck you up in their 50’s. (8)

DROPKICK MURPHYS – For The People
The beloved Celtic folk-punks have demonstrated an AC/DC-like stylistic consistency throughout their career but just like AC/DC the fans just know if a Murphys album is one of the better ones, and this one is! (8)

FISHBONE – Stockholm Syndrome 
35 years since they first shocked and delighted us with their ska/funk/punk/metal thing, they’re still firing on all cylinders. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

BC CAMPLIGHT – A Sober Conversation
Quirky, melodic indie rock with some unsettling lyrical themes from Manchester UK-based American expat singer-songwriter. (8)

BONNIE DOBSON & THE HANGING STARS – Dreams 
84-year-old Canadian folk singer joins forces with English cosmic Americana revivalists in an unlikely but charming combination. (7)

FRIENDSHIP – Caveman Wakes Up
If you’re think David Berman is God and you like his latter-day saints like MJ Lenderman, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this. (8)

CHARIF MEGARBANE – Hawalat
Retrofuturistic, cosmopolitan Arabic disco/lounge, like the soundtrack to an imaginary spy adventure/comedy shot in Beirut in the 70’s. (8)

POOR CREATURE – All Smiles Tonight
Members of Lankum and Landless join forces for something that sounds like an Irish folk version of The Cocteau Twins. (8)

ROBERT RANDOLPH – Preacher Kids
Elements of blues, funk, gospel, and southern rock and hooks galore, with Randolph’s blistering pedal steel front and center. Guitar afficionados should dig this. (8)

WET LEG – Moisturizer 
They pass the “difficult second album” test with flying colors and prove they’re not a one-hit wonder, British indie-pop-punk at its best. (8) 

Back To The Beginning: Some Quick Thoughts / Comments

Not in the mood to write a proper, full concert review, really. Not now, anyway. Too soon for so much to process, and I'm sure you can read that sort of thing on a million websites today. But I did make it to Villa Park and I've got a couple of hours to kill on a train now, so I might as well jolt down what comes to mind:

• Birmingham is not as ugly as I expected it to be, as a matter of fact I found it quite pleasant. But of course I was there for a limited amount of time so I only saw downtown and Villa Park, I'm sure there are dodgy neighborhoods as well. But aren't there in every city?
• I've never been to a better organized major concert in my life. Everything was perfect, the schedule was kept like clockwork (except the last band to appear, but more on that later), decent toilets without long waiting times, no lines for food and drink either. Kudos.
• Live Aid-style, everyone played 15-30 minute sets with 10 minute breaks (possible through the use of a rotating stage - one band playing on side A, next band's road crew setting up on side B).
• Best proper band appearance of the day, Ozzy/Sabbath excluded: Metallica. Literally in a league of their own.
• Worst proper band appearance of the day: Guns 'N' Roses. The good thing is Axl can still hit the notes, the bad thing is that he hit all of them in the wrong places. Throughout the set he was 5 seconds ahead or behind the rest of the band, and he totally ruined three Sabbath covers and his own band's two greatest hits.
• Most indifferent band appearance of the day: Rival Sons. I mean, their poor man's Zeppelin-style hard rock is pretty decent, but I can think of a million other bands that would have fitted the bill better.
• Best proper band appearance of the day, Metallica/Ozzy/Sabbath excluded: A three-way tie between Mastodon, Gojira, and Tool. Mastodon had the difficult job of opening the festivities and did a great job, Brett Hinds will not be missed. They also threw us the first surprise of the day by having the drummers from Tool, Gojira and Slipknot on stage with them playing percussion on a blistering version of "Supernaut". Gojira proved once again that they are world-class. Tool was impressive and made "Hand Of Doom" their own.
• Did I mention Slipknot? One of them was DJ-ing between band sets in an Aston Villa shirt. Did a decent job.
• Tom Morello's kid can also shred.
• Jason Momoa started as the MC of the evening, but we lost him sometime around Pantera's set as he simply joined the fans in the pit and never came back up.
• The supergroups with rotating singers and musicians? A great experience to watch, despite the ups and downs. The downs - Sammy Hagar who was sort of a momentum ruiner, and that guy from Disturbed who seemed bored singing "Shot In the Dark" and "Sweet Leaf". He also got booed, probably not for his performance but most likely for his public pro-Israeli stance. The ups? Definitely the fun silliness of Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins doing "Breakin' The Law" with KK Downing, Tom Morello, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Rudy Sarzo. Also Ron fuckin' Wood from the Rolling fuckin' Stones jumping on stage to do "Train Kept A Rollin'" with Steven Tyler. Papa Perpetua on "Bark At The Moon". Surprisingly, a non-metal guy called Youngblud I wasn't familiar with doing "Changes" and winning over the whole stadium - if we compare this event with the Freddie Mercury tribute concert, he was this year's George Michael doing "Somebody To Love". And Nuno Bettencourt as the anchor of the rotating supergroup line-ups - he was perfect.
• Ozzy: What can I say. Ozzy had to sing sitting down (BTW the picture above is not mine, it's by the great Ross Halfin, I stole it off the internet, I hope he doesn't mind). His voice started breaking during "Mr. Crowley" and kept getting worse, but he never gave up, not for a second. And the crowd stepped up taking lead vocals and singing all the words. Zakk Wylde, while playing his brains out, kept walking over to Ozzy's chair to make sure he's OK. And there was a video of Randy Rhoads showing behind him, synced to Zakk's playing. Thousands of people (myself and my mate included) were literally crying - tears of joy for being there, tears of sadness because it's obvious Ozzy's saying goodbye to more than just the stage, tears of general fuckin' emotional overload.
• Sabbath: The only delay between bands of the evening, obviously because the doctors backstage were trying to get Ozzy back in shape to do a few more songs. Most people actually started getting worried if he would make it back out there after his solo set or if the concert would have to close with Iommi/Geezer/Ward fronted by someone else from the day's line-up (my money's on Steven Tyler being the contingency plan, but I'm glad we'll never find out). But he made it to the stage and managed to sing four songs from the first two albums, and it was triumphant. Iommi is timeless, Geezer was a monster, and Ward received the warmest welcome and even took his shirt off to play better (at 77! Not even Iggy Pop can pull off that shirtless thing anymore!). 
• As I said, still too much to process but if I had to sum it up, I'd say that this was one for the ages, the perfect send-off, and a day I'll remember forever. Thank you Sabbath, for everything.

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, June 25

THE LOUDER STUFF

GHAALS WYRD – Braiding The Stories
Ex-Gorgoroth frontman tries to pull an Ihsahn and to a large extent he succeeds. (8)

THE HAUNTED – Songs Of Last Resort
Thrash with melodeath tendencies, no experiments. This is The Haunted most people love. (7)

KATATONIA – Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
Anders Nystrom’s departure does not affect the vibe, which is still aligned with the prog of Katatonia albums from 2006’s “The Great Cold Distance” onwards. But there is something missing, or maybe that’s just me. (7)

RIVERS OF NIHIL – Rivers Of Nihil
Progressive death metal, not as adventurous as, say, Blood Incantation, but expertly written and executed. This one will appeal to people outside the metal ghetto too. (8)

SWANS – Birthing  
In the same vein as all their post-2010 crescendocore releases, this is meant to be played at tinnitus-inducing levels and at two hours long it will test your patience, but if you have the attention span to stick around you’ll be richly rewarded. (8)

TURNSTILE – Never Enough
If this is modern hardcore, I have to say that in places it sounds a lot like a cross between imperial era Chili Peppers and The Police. This is meant as a compliment. (8)

VOLBEAT – God Of Angels Trust
Nothing unexpected or surprising here, just the usual entertaining Metallica-meets-rockabilly shtick. (7)


THE OTHER STUFF

MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER – Personal History
Intimate and autobiographical country folk songs from a singer-songwriter who’s been excelling at this sort of thing for decades. Produced by Josh Kaufman at Peter Gabriel’s studio. (8)

S.G. GOODMAN – Planting By The Signs
Americana’s rising star explores her inner Lucinda Williams on strong third album. (8)

ELIJAH JOHNSTON – Stupid Soul
Somewhere between modern-day Americana and 90’s-style indie rock you’ll find Johnston, writing tunes about everyday life and all that makes it sad and beautiful. (8)

JAMES McMURTRY – The Black Dog And The Wandering Boy
This is supposed to be folk/americana, but it sounds more like Jason Isbell’s harder rockin’ uncle. (8)

WILLIE NILE – The Great Yellow Light
A true rock ‘n’ roll lifer, as much a dedicated New Yorker as Lou Reed and musically sitting within the Dylan/Springsteen Venn diagram, Nile continues to release excellent albums at the age of 77. If you like him, you love him. (8)

TY SEGALL – Possession
A return to the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach of 2018’s magnificent “Freedom’s Goblin”, Segall’s new album is what most fans will see as a return to form: Power pop, glam rock, psychedelia, it’s all here. (8) 

METAL: Halftime

OK, so I don't normally do this, but since we're halfway through the year here's a list of the year's 20 best metal and metal-friendly albums to date. The list is alphabetical, if you think I missed something I really don't care:

BEHEMOTH – The Shit Ov God
A grandiose black/death metal statement, and probably their best since career-high “The Satanist”.
CRYPTOSIS – Celestial Death
An interesting combination of prog, blackened death metal, and thrash, with keyboards. People will make comparisons to Vektor and Blood Incantation but I’m old enough to remember Nocturnus.
DEAFHEAVEN – Lonely People With Power
They bring the metal back and it’s a triumph – you still have shoegaze-y guitars pop up here and there but this is their heaviest record in at least a decade, reminiscent in places of second-wave Norwegian black metal like Emperor and Enslaved.
DREAM THEATER – Parasomnia 
Portnoy’s return to the line-up coincides with a strong album that will thrill prog metal fans, but whether this sound can still be described as “progressive” after 35 years of it is debatable.
GHAALS WYRD – Braiding The Stories
Ex-Gorgoroth frontman tries to pull an Ihsahn and to a large extent he succeeds.
GHOST – Skeleta 
Even though it’s still one of the better heavy rock releases of the year, shows the first signs of tiredness? Certainly not as catchy and fun as “Impera".
HANDGEMENG – Satanic Panic Attack
The stoner bastard child of Turbonegro and Kvelertak.
HELLACOPTERS – Overdriver
A very welcome return for these guys and their brand of infectious, high-energy rock ‘n’ roll. Now, where’s Gluecifer so they can tour together?
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT – Goldstar
Masked technical death metal virtuosos on their most accomplished album to date, their avant-garde-leaning compositions finally resembling songs rather than just aiming to impress.
MACHINE HEAD – Unatoned 
This album will certainly make the haters say that they’re just trying to align their sound with what’s going on today, but it’s really a solid late-career album that kicks the ass of what most younger thrash/metalcore bands are capable of.
MELVINS – Thunderball
They throw another curveball at us with a revised line-up, bringing back the original drummer from 1983 and adding a couple of electronic/noise artists into the mix. It sounds exactly like the Melvins without sounding much like the last 25 Melvins albums.
PENTAGRAM – Lightning In A Bottle
How’s it possible that this guy's still around? In any case even with a new line-up backing him Liebling can still kick the ass of any young doomster, and this new album is groovier – not exactly Clutch, but think Trouble’s “Manic Frustration”.
PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS – Death Hilarious
Doom/sludge metal band Pigs x7 instill a bit of Helmet into their formula and bring home the bacon.
PROPAGANDHI – No Longer Young
Canadian punk/metal heroes return with another excellent slab of technical, thrashy social commentary.
RIVERS OF NIHIL – Rivers Of Nihil
Progressive death metal, not as adventurous as, say, Blood Incantation, but expertly written and executed. This one will appeal to people outside the metal ghetto too.
SANHEDRIN – Heat Lightning
A lady you wouldn’t mess with on vocals and bass backed by a couple of hooligans on guitar and drums, this is traditional heavy metal in its purest form channeling early 80’s Riot and Maiden and all sorts of good stuff.
SPIDERS – Sharp Objects
Nordic rockers return and this time they pump up their Detroit/Australia-style garage punk rock with some late-70’s NYC vibes – I can hear traces of Blondie, The Ramones, even Richard Hell/Stiv Bators/Johnny Thunders in here.
TURNSTILE – Never Enough
If this is modern hardcore, I have to say that in places it sounds a lot like a cross between imperial era Chili Peppers and The Police. This is meant as a compliment.
VENAMORIS – To Cross Or To Burn
Mrs. Lombardo releases strong goth/trip hop album featuring her husband and his friends (Alex Skolnick, Gary Holt) like you've never heard them before.
WITCHCRAFT – Idag
It’s much better than “Black Metal” and “Nucleus”, probably better than “Legend” too, and as fuzzy and riff-tastic as their first three albums on Rise Above.
 

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, May 25 Vol. II

EZRA FURMAN – Goodbye Small Head
Defiant and vulnerable, Ezra’s new album finds the artist expand the sound palette by re-introducing strings and electronica elements to the beloved “trans/gay Springsteen” formula. (8)

GANAVYA – Nilam
If you appreciate Arooj Aftab’s work then you should definitely check out Ganavya, and “Nilam” is an excellent starting point. (8)

GRAILS – Miracle Music
Cinematic post-rock from the masters of the genre. If you haven’t yet discovered the ultimate chill-out band, now’s the time to do so. (8)

TOM HICKOX – The Orchestra Of Stories
I have no idea who this guy is and what else he’s done so far in his career, but discovering this album has been a great gift: Excellent character-based storytelling reminiscent of Richard Dawson, sung in a beautiful rich baritone and supported by a full orchestra. It sounds like absolutely nothing else. (8)

THE MAYFLIES USA – Kickless Kids
I love jangly power pop, and these guys are really good at it. An unexpected but welcome return. (8)

PELICAN – Flickering Resonance
Instrumental post-metal from the masters of the genre. If you haven’t yet discovered, etc. (8)

MARC RIBOT – Map Of A Blue City
One of the great, unique guitarists of the last fifty years explores singer-songwriter territory that reminds me of his sometime boss, Tom Waits – not so much in sound or subject matter, but definitely in originality and out-of-the box-approach to making music. (8)

SLOW MOTION COWBOYS – Wolf Of St Elmo
A new take on cosmic country/americana by a really talented songwriter. If you’re into Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price etc. you should definitely give this one a spin. (8)

STEVE VON TILL – Alone In A World Of Wounds
Neurosis guy goes back to gothic Americana after 2024’s three dub albums as Harvestman. It’s a beautiful, dark, haunting piece of work. (8)

WITCHCRAFT – Idag
It’s much better than “Black Metal” and “Nucleus”, probably better than “Legend” too, and as fuzzy and riff-tastic as their first three albums on Rise Above. (8)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Magic Forest: More Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975
Another one of those really fun Cherry Red compilations – three CDs chock-full of what the title implies, featuring a few recognizable names (Sandy Denny, Family, Pentangle, Roy Harper…) and a whole bunch of people you’ve never heard of unless you’re a 70-year-old crate-digging hippie from the East Midlands or something. (9)