Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Apr 2022

THE LOUDER STUFF

DREAM WIDOW – Dream Widow
Dave Grohl goes full-on metal embracing all the beloved cliches of the genre like he’d done with Probot, but a bit thrashier this time. This rules. (8)

ENVY OF NONE – Envy Of None
Alex Lifeson moves away from Rush territory towards synth-rock, with a female vocalist fronting his new band. Not bad, as long as you don’t expect proggy acrobatics. (7)

HELLACOPTERS – Eyes Of Oblivion
I really missed these guys and their pure, no bullshit, high-energy rock ‘n’ roll. A very welcome return. (8)

MESHUGGAH – Immutable
If you want to feel stupid all you need is to try and keep up with Meshuggah’s syncopation and polymetered riff cycles. But they still make you headbang, and this is one of their stronger efforts. (8)

ALDO NOVA – The Life and Times of Eddie Gage
Played this rock opera on a whim out of cheesy 80’s nostalgia, and it’s a surprisingly good melodic hard rock album. He can’t sing anymore like he used to, but still writes a mean tune. (7)

PUP – The Unraveling Of Puptheband
One of the best punk bands around, and they make the most fun videos too. (8)
    
JACK WHITE – Fear Of The Dawn
White’s hardest RAWKing album ever is a train wreck, but a fun one. (7)


THE OTHER STUFF

RYAN ADAMS – Chris
This album is a rocker, his best in many years featuring some fantastic songs, so let’s wait and see if it gets him un-canceled now that even Louis CK won a Grammy. (8)

CALEXICO – El Mirador
Americana favorites return to the Arizona desert, close to the Mexican border, to record what is probably their strongest album since 2003’s “Feast Of Wire”. This is perfect road trip music. (8)

FATHER JOHN MISTY – Chloë And The Next 20th Century
A very different FJM record relying less on the persona and more on a Randy Newman vibe with bossa nova and Gainsbourg-like French pop-rock overtones, good but takes a while getting used to. (8)

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Unlimited Love
It’s unfashionable to like RHCP but this is a pretty good album and their funkiest in a long time. A bit too long, at 17 tracks there’s unavoidably some filler here, but overall pretty decent. (7)

DANIEL ROSSEN – You Belong There
An impressive guitarist influenced by Nick Drake and Tropicalia-era Brazilians, Grizzly Bear co-frontman moves away from his day job’s indie rock towards a more dissonant but epic sound that brings to mind Van Dyke Parks and Scott Walker. Not an easy listen but rewarding. (8)

MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY – Crooked Tree
Top-notch songwriting on this excellent, virtuoso bluegrass record featuring a bunch of guest stars like Margo Price, Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show and others. (8)

WET LEG – Wet Leg
Punky, spunky, and funny, this is a great Gen Z record, and a couple of the singles are among the best, most infectious songs I’ve heard all year. It actually reminded me of the B-52’s, which I’m certain the members of Wet Leg have never heard of. (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, March Round-up

COWBOY JUNKIES – Songs Of The Recollection
A collection of covers (Bowie, Cure, Stones, Dylan etc.) getting the beloved Junkies treatment. (8)

DEATHSPELL OMEGA – The Long Defeat
French black metal visionaries create their most Norwegian/Hungarian-sounding album, and it’s epic. (8)

DESTROYER – Labyrinthitis
I still don’t understand why a band called Destroyer is not a KISS/Twisted Sister tribute act and instead play a sort-of-danceable electro pop/rock that caters to the Pitchfork crowd. Missed opportunity and shameful misuse of a good band name, not to mention false advertising. (7)

FUCKED UP – Do All Words Can Do
If your favorite Fucked Up album is 2011’s prog-punk behemoth “David Comes To Life” (and it might as well be), you just hit the jackpot – this is essentially a collection of non-album singles from that era, fitting nicely into the David narrative. (8)

THE HANGING STARS – Hollow Heart
I really loved these guys when they were a total Byrds rip-off, now they’re trying to find their own sound and they’re still OK. (7)

ALDOUS HARDING – Warm Chris
One of those albums that creep up on you, on first listen you think “Jeez, another lo-fi bedroom pop singer-songwriter, God give me strength”, and after a couple more spins you realize the tunes have settled cozily inside your brain and won’t leave. (8)

RAY WYLIE HUBBARD – Co-Starring Too
Veteran Texan outlaw country artist on second album of collaborations kicks serious ass once again, rocking harder than most rockers one-third his age. Stellar performances from many aging A-List guest stars (Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Ringo Starr, Steve Lukather, Ann Wilson…) but it’s actually Lzzy Hale who steals the show. Oh, and he deserves extra credit for rhyming “reckless” with “redneckness”.  (8)

SHOOTER JENNINGS & YELAWOLF – Sometimes Y
Unlikely pairing of Americana star with a rapper who decides to actually sing ends up in an 80’s-flavored rock album that’s all over the place, but in a good way – sort of like a Cars/G’n’R/Don Henley/latter-day Floyd (Pink, not Pretty Boy) mash-up, except the final song which I think was aiming for a “Kill ‘Em All” vibe but ends up sounding like a lost NWOBHM classic. Which is what “Kill ‘Em All” wanted to sound like anyway, but that’s a whole different story. (7)

MIDLAKE – For The Sake Of Bethel Woods
If the idea of a crossover between early 70’s American folk rock and early 70’s English prog rock gives you wet dreams, you’ve just found your Album Of The Year. (8)

MAREN MORRIS –    Humble Quest
Where country and pop meet. (7)

SOUL GLO – Diaspora Problems
This year’s Turnstile, taking hardcore to extraordinary new places. (8)

TANYA TAGAQ – Tongues
A true mindfuck of an album, with Tagaq at her most political relentlessly attacking white Canada’s past colonialism and current complacency in her otherworldly voice over industrial beats and trip-hop noise. (7)

THE WEATHER STATION – How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars
A lot of people loved last year’s “Ignorance” but there’s a chance they’ll be disappointed with this companion album recorded at the same time – it’s totally bare/acoustic, with no discernible hooks, and more reminiscent of “Blue”-era Joni Mitchell than “Mirage”-era Fleetwood Mac. (7)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews - METAL SPECIAL

BORTS MINORTS & HUG VICTIM – Brut!
Do you miss Mr. Bungle? (8)

CROWBAR – Zero And Below
You know what you’re getting with a Crowbar album: heavy, sludgy, doomy metal. It’s like the Ramones or AC/DC, all their albums sound the same to the untrained ear, but I’m a professional so trust me when I say this is one of the better Crowbar albums. (8)

FEVER DOG – Alpha Waves
Totally missed out on this one when it came out a few months ago, just discovered it thanks to Vassilis Zacharopoulos at Metal Hammer Greece. An excellent slice of keyboard-soaked glam/AOR/hard rock late-70’s Midwest style, in other words it's striktly for konnoiseurs. (8)

GHOST – Impera
Look. They just keep getting better and better and this album is a masterpiece, OK? (9.5)

HO99O9 – Skin
Hailed as the next big thing this is a rap/punk/industrial aural assault, to be frank not that different from what Death Grips did in the 10’s, or what Atari Teenage Riot did in the 90’s for that matter. (7)

HOT WATER MUSIC – Feel the Void
Continuing their perfect streak of top-grade melodic punk rock. (8)

VEIN.FM – This World Is Going To Ruin You
If you ever wondered what Slipknot would sound like if they grew out of the hardcore scene rather than the metal scene, well, here’s your answer. (8)

ERIC WAGNER – In The Lonely Light Of Mourning
A fitting farewell from the doom metal legend, this posthumous solo album has a certain mid-90’s Trouble vibe to it. (7)

WARRIOR SOUL – Out On Bail
Another slice of competent punk rock ‘n’ roll like all his post-2008 releases. Of course he can never replicate the kick-ass awesomeness of the first three albums, but then again nobody can. (7)

CHIP Z’NUFF – Perfectly Imperfect
I’d say this is Enuff Z’Nuff leader’s love letter to The Beatles, but everything he’s ever done is a love letter to The Beatles anyway. And stop calling them "hair metal" already, you’ve been wrong about this for 30+ years! (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews - Mar 2022

ERIC CHENAUX – Say Laura
A strange little record, very hard to describe and even harder to enjoy, it’s like Chet Baker singing the most bonkers Bjork stuff. (6)

ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM – Two Piece Puzzle
Everything about Cunningham – her songwriting/chord change choices, her arrangements, even her clothes – are spot-on evoking a very specific niche vintage Englishness, a mythical world where Freddie Mercury stars in the BBC TV adaptation of a Lewis Carroll novel after raiding Julie Driscoll’s wardrobe. This is fabulous, darling! (8)

CHARLIE GABRIEL & PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND – Eighty Nine
89-year-old leads a classic jazz trio consisting of PHJB members through a bunch of standards and a couple of originals. Touching. (8)

GANG OF YOUTHS – Angel In Realtime.
If you like big-sounding indie rock (Arcade Fire, The National) you’ll probably love this. (7)

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF – Life On Earth
The departure from folk rock started with her previous album which explored her Puerto Rican cultural background and on “Life On Earth” she moves further towards indie pop, big choruses and all. (7)

CARSON McHONE – Still Life
Austin, TX born and raised singer/songwriter on solid Americana effort, RIYL Gillian Welch. (7)

MATT PIKE – Pike Vs The Automaton
Pike’s solo album sits somewhere in the middle between Sleep’s marijuana haze and High On Fire’s Motorhead-like wall of sound, but some songs drag on and on and on overstaying their welcome. (6)

SASAMI – Squeeze
An album can only be described as bipolar when almost half the songs sound like System Of A Down, almost half the songs sound like Sheryl Crow, and the rest sound like Trent Reznor producing/remixing a Sheryl Crow-fronted System Of A Down. (8)  

SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS – Nightroamer
I’ve previously compared Sarah Shook & The Disarmers country punk to early Lydia Loveless, and I’ll stand by that this time around as well despite the indie rock leanings of the excellent new album. (8)

TEARS FOR FEARS – The Tipping Point
The vocals are surprisingly youthful for 60-year-olds and the production sounds like it cost a million bucks. If you miss 80’s (sm)art-pop bands like Talk Talk you’ll certainly enjoy this one. (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews - Feb 2022, Vol. II

THE LOUDER STUFF

AUTHOR & PUNISHER – Krüller
Industrial metal made with instruments he created himself, sort of like a DYI Godflesh. Includes a Portishead cover and guest appearances by Tool’s rhythm section which make it a bit more accessible (ha!) than his previous albums. (7)

GUNS N’ ROSES – Hard Skool EP
The two new tracks remind you they once were the most dangerous band in the world, in a good way. Axl’s voice on the two live recordings remind you they once were the most dangerous band in the world, in a bad way. (7)

KORN – Requiem
I never got into nu metal but the older I (we) get the more I like Korn, and this is actually a great album. Some fantastic, bouncy riffs and the catchiest choruses they’ve come up with in the 21st century. (8)

NAPALM DEATH – Resentment Is Always Seismic: A Final Throw Of Throes
I don’t know how they do it, but 35 years after their debut they remain as relevant and unpredictable as ever, and this EP proves (again) that Napalm Death are still the world’s best extreme metal band. (9)

SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS – 4
Not bad but a few songs are just excuses for flashy solos and this is Slash, not Vinnie Vincent, so we expect more. He also blatantly rips himself off, one song here is essentially “Sweet Child O’ Mine” played backwards. (7)

ZEAL & ARDOR – Zeal & Ardor
Taking his black-metal-meets-gospel thing one step further and throwing more electronica and shoegaze elements into the mix this guy has crafted the most original piece of extreme art since, well, his previous album. This rules, seriously. (9)


THE OTHER STUFF

BIG THIEF – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Missed opportunity to release what could have been the best album of the year by a wide margin as more than half of the 20 songs on this folk-rock behemoth are tremendous, but even as a double album with the occasional weaker moment you’ll see this topping many year-end lists come December. (8)

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD – Ants From Up There
Strong sophomore album from one of the UK’s hottest NWOBEPP (New Wave Of British Experimental Post Punk) bands will probably end up being their swan song after the frontman’s departure. (8)

ABIODUN OYEWOLE – Gratitude
Septuagenarian Last Poet on excellent solo album of spoken word over sweet soul beats. RIYL Gil Scott-Heron, who actually came after the Last Poets BTW. (8)

ERIN RAE – Lighten Up
Reminiscent of Rosali’s “No Medium” from last year in the way it blends its country heart with a Neil Young influence – the main difference between the two being that Rosali prefers Crazy Horse distortion Young, whereas Rae goes for “Harvest”-era SoCal folk-pop Young. (7)

FRANK TURNER – FTHC
It’s the most punk rock Turner album (the title stands for “Frank Turner Hardcore” after all), with songs like “The Gathering” and “The Resurrectionists” it’s also the best Hold Steady album since “Boys And Girls In America”, and overall it’s simply the best Turner album since 2013’s “Tape Deck Heart”, or better. I totally love this. (9)

URGE OVERKILL – Oui
Look. I’m a fan, “Saturation” is a Desert Island Disc, but this new album doesn’t really cut it, not even the gimmicky power pop cover of George Michael’s “Freedom”. (6)

EDDIE VEDDER – Earthling
Pearl Jam frontman invites several of his high-profile buddies (a couple of Chili Peppers, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Stevie Wonder etc.) and mostly steers clear of his day job’s trademark sound opting for polished, radio-friendly, well-written Dad Rock with occasional punk outbursts. A very pleasant surprise. (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews - Feb 2022

ROB ALDRIDGE & THE PROPONENTS – Mind Over Manners
A very good, soulful “southern rock” album by an exciting relatively new band loosely associated with the wider Drive-By Truckers/Jason Isbell universe. (8)

BEIRUT – Artifacts: The Collected EP’s, Early Works & B-Sides
A double album of odds and sods, also serving as a career snapshot for a guy who started out playing exciting Balkan-influenced indie pop and ended up in somewhat generic electronica doodling. (7)

BRENT COBB –And Now, Let’s Turn To Page…
Country singer goes Gospel, which is where country music’s rooted anyway. (7)

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL - Good And Green Again
Folkie’s fourth album offers some magical acoustic moments. (8)

IMARHAN – Aboogi
Twareg desert rockers take the baton from Tinariwen and run with it. (8)

ANAÏS MITCHELL – Anaïs Mitchell
“Young Man In America” is a 21st century desert island disc and it’s hard to compete against that, but folk singer/songwriter’s new album comes close. (8)

SPITFIRE – Denial To Fall
Greek metal veterans still at it and solid. (7)

RILEY WALKER – So Certain EP
The guy’s unstoppable, this is like his 37th release in the past 12 months or something, and it’s a proggy EP in the style of last year’s excellent early Genesis rip-off “Course In Fable”. (8)

THE WHITMORE SISTERS – Ghost Stories
Americana sibling duo offer some great tunes and even better vocal harmonies. Not to be confused with the Secret Sisters, although you’d be forgiven for falling into that trap. (8)

YARD ACT – The Overload
Riding 2021’s wave of excellent British post-punk/talk-singing bands and throwing in a health dose of Sleaford Mods wit and Arctic Monkeys hooks, Yard Act have created a winner debut that you’ll see on many year-end lists come December. (9)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews - 2021 Leftovers Plus A Few New From '22

EVE ADAMS – Metal Bird
I missed it the first time around when it came out a year ago, but now it’s out on vinyl again and it’s excellent – a dark and smoky folk/americana/dream-pop hybrid that’s been on repeat on my stereo for several days now. (8)

ALL HAIL THE YETI – Within The Hollow Earth
Southern fried metal a-la Down, band name’s better than the songs. (7)

THOMAS ANDERSON – Ladies And Germs
Idiosyncratic singer/songwriter sings weird and wonderful tales of meth dealers, oil rig workers, ancient volcano explosions, and Hitler’s sister. (8)

JERRY CANTRELL – Brighten
It sounds like Alice In Chains gone classic rock. (7)

COLDCUT - @0 (Ahead Of Our Time)
Electronica pioneers and Ninja Tune bosses do excellent ambient mixtape. (8)

PISTOL ANNIES – Hell Of A Holiday
Country supergroup does originals and covers. One of few holiday records that’s actually listenable, you can get it now and play it next Christmas. (8)

EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON – American Siren
Country-folk singer/songwriter and an interesting storyteller, on her third album she proves to be a good fit on the roster of the late John Prine’s record label. (7)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Highway Butterfly: The Songs Of Neil Casal
I never really paid attention to this guy while he was alive and I haven’t heard the originals, but apparently he has left his mark on Americana if it takes a 3-CD set filled with people like Aaron Lee Tasjan, Hiss Golden Messenger, Shooter Jennings, J Mascis, Warren Haynes, Steve Earle etc. to pay tribute. (8)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Late Night Tales Presents Version Excursion: Selected by Don Letts
I love the Late Night Tales mixtape series and this is an interesting addition – all dub cover versions and remixes of hits from different eras (White Rabbit, Love Will Take Us Apart, Ain’t No Sunshine…). Excellent late night listening that goes a long way towards shooting down the old adage that Hell’s radio station plays only reggae versions of all your favorite songs. (8)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Sacred Soul Of North Carolina
Great collection of unknown gospel artists, almost made me go to church. (8)