RYAN ADAMS – FM As the title implies, his third album for 2022 is a very radio-friendly affair. There are many Ryan Adamses but this one, the mostly uptempo jangly one, is my favorite. (8)
A-Z – A-Z Ray Alder and Mark Zonder (A-Z, get it?) team up in new group. Of course it has a strong Fates Warning flavor, of the “Parallels” progmetal/AOR type, and that’s fine. (8)
LEE BAINS & THE GLORY FIRES – Old-Time Folks If you’re looking for the perfect cross between Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Clash, you’ve just found it! Awesome band, awesome album, produced by David Barbe (Sugar bassist and long-time Drive-By Truckers producer). (8)
BEYONCE – Renaissance Touted as a masterclass in the history of club music and it probably is, the problem is I really fucking hate club music, and clubs. (6)
SIMON JOYNER – Songs From A Stolen Guitar Outsider Americana singer/songwriter offers a collection of stark, dark, beautiful songs. (8)
BRANKO MATAJA – Traditional And Folk Songs Of Yugoslavia An oddity from 1974 by Yugoslavian immigrant, re-released. Playing solo on his custom-made guitar, Mataja created some spookily gorgeous sounds. (8)
CASS McCOMBS – Heartmind A strange album that’s hard to categorize, somewhere between Americana, psychedelia, and pop. Contrary to most albums that have their best songs at the beginning and the end, this one has its strongest material right smack in the middle. (8)
AMANDA SHIRES – Take It Like A Man An emotionally raw, deeply personal album from Shires chronicling the ups and downs of her marriage to Jason Isbell (whose guitar playing features on several songs here), it sounds less southern rock and more Memphis soul than her previous efforts. (8)
SUN'S SIGNATURE – Sun's Signature Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser returns with a strong EP that’ll brings tears of joy to the eyes of 80’s/90’s 4AD fans. (8)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Ladies Sing The Boss: The Songs of Bruce Springsteen A collection of previously released cover versions of Bruce Springsteen songs by female artists, and sung from a female perspective. Some of them you’ve definitely heard before (e.g. Patti Smith’s “Because The Night”), some you haven’t. Features Lucy Dacus, Soccer Mommy, Cowboy Junkies, Lucinda Williams, Anna Calvi, Emmylou Harris and many others. (7)
BLACK MIDI – Hellfire A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, the third album by these weirdos is a cacophonous yet addictive mess that’ll seriously fuck with your head. (8)
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT – Spirit Of Ecstasy An extreme metal/jazz hybrid that won’t sound as revolutionary as its creators think to people familiar with John Zorn’s early 90’s projects like Painkiller and Naked City. WTF Award Of The Month goes to Kenny G.’s guest spot. (7)
LIZZO – Special An excellent feel-good party album that feels like a fresh update on the early 80’s soul-funk of Michael Jackson and the Pointer Sisters. (8)
LERA LYNN – Something More Than Love With folk/country roots but taking a more pop-friendly direction on “Something More Than Love”, Lynn’s new album comes across like a noir Kacey Musgraves. (7)
DAVID MICHAEL MOORE – Flatboat River Witch: 1994-2015 An introduction to the work of Moore, a mad scientist-type who builds his own instruments called things like the schizoid zither and the boing box, this is a delightful compilation album that defies categorization but will appeal to fans of cool outsiders like Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, and Dr. John. (8)
JOHN MORELAND – Birds In The Ceiling Moreland is a competent songwriter but by infusing his Americana with elements of electronica he muddles it up a bit this time. (6)
NINA NASTASIA – Riderless Horse This is so sad it’s like Townes Van Zandt was reincarnated into a woman whose main goal in life is to create something more suicidally depressing than Lou Reed’s “Berlin”. In other words, it’s great. (9)
OCEANS OF SLUMBER – Starlight And Ash Progressive doom/death metal band pulls an Anathema and goes full atmospheric alternative rock with electronica flourishes and a total focus on the melodic vocals. If you ask me it’s all for the best, but for a lot of the old fans I expect it’s, well, anathema. (8)
THE SADIES – Colder Streams Probably their swan song since Dallas Good recently passed away, also probably the best album ever by this great, underrated Canadian band which is supposedly alternative country but often sounds like the best psychedelic rock band you’ve never heard of. (8)
TY SEGALL – Hello, Hi Garage rocker takes a back-to-basics approach this time around – lots of acoustic guitars, staying away from the “everything but the kitchen sink” production approach of recent albums like “Freedom’s Goblin”, and it works. (8)
JACK WHITE – Entering Heaven Alive More subdued than “Fear Of The Dawn” released earlier this year but the songwriting’s actually better, this album reminds everyone that Jack White is still a rock force to be reckoned with, and will be for years to come. (8)
ALEXISONFIRE – Otherness I never really got into emo so I wasn’t into these guys when they were sort of famous 15-20 years ago and I can’t compare “Otherness” to their previous albums, but as a standalone piece of work it fucking rules: Heavy, melodic, catchy and, well, emotional. Oh, and is it just me, or anyone else thinks that “Sans Soleil” could be a Sade song? (8)
AMENRA, CAVE IN, MARISSA NADLER – Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. III Vol. III? Vol. III??? Why didn’t I know about the other two??? So, on this one, each band/artist tackles three Townes songs, and it’s on Neurot Recordings. Be forewarned though, it’s sounds more like Townes than like Amenra or Cave In. (8)
ARGENT – Hold Your Head Up: The Best Of About time people rediscover this underappreciated progressive rock band from the late 60’s/early 70’s featuring Rod Argent and Russ Ballard – sounding in places like their organ-wielding contemporaries (Procol Harum, Uriah Heep), and in others like a cross between Queen and Kansas but predating both. (8)
NICK CAVE – Seven Psalms Seven spoken-word “prayers” with Warren Ellis providing ominous ambient sonic background. Interesting, but not a must-hear addition to the Nick Cave canon. (7)
CONJURER – Pathos Brilliant musical magpies, Conjurer pick up whatever they like from different metal genres (doom, death, black, sludge, post-hardcore) and create something totally their own. (8)
ERIC HILTON – Lost Dialect For the most part, sounds like demos/ideas for the next Thievery Corporation album. (6)
RANDY HOLDEN – Population III I discovered Holden’s LOUD proto-metal electric guitar monument “Population II” years ago via Julian Cope and his fantastic record reviews and, what do you know, a sequel comes along half a century later? This one goes to (11)
TEDDY & THE ROUGH RIDERS – Teddy & The Rough Riders Produced by Margo Price, this album by a new country-folk-rock band will bring back memories of the Flying Burrito Brothers. (7)
ANDREW WEISS & FRIENDS – Sunglass & Ash Taking his cues from Paul McCartney, Badfinger, and Elvis Costello, Weiss offers a 24-track double album filled with little power pop gems. (8)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Blowing Free: Underground & Progressive Sounds of 1972 I love Cherry Red box sets! This 5-hour, 4-CD collection is a rocktastic affair featuring everyone you can think of from 1972: EL&P, Atomic Rooster, Edgar Broughton Band, Barclay James Harvest, Curved Air, Rare Bird, Family, Nektar, Hawkwind, Yes, and that’s just a partial tracklisting of CD1. (9)
Kαθώς φτάσαμε στο μέσο της χρονιάς κι επειδή μπορείς να βγάλεις τον Geek από το μέταλ αλλά δεν μπορείς να βγάλεις το μέταλ από τον Geek, είπα να φτιάξω μια ενδιάμεση λιστούλα με τους 10 καλύτερους metal και metal-friendly δίσκους του 2022 μέχρι τώρα. Η παρακάτω σειρά είναι αλφαβητική (ναι, το άκουσα το Meshuggah):
CAVE IN – Heavy Pendulum Μπάντα μοναδική, συνδυάζει τη hardcore βαρβαρότητα που χαρακτηρίζει το ευρύτερο παρεάκι τους (Converge κλπ.) με μία γνήσια αγάπη για πιο «κουλτουριάρικα» ακούσματα (Rush, Radiohead) σε ένα άλμπουμ που κανείς δεν περίμενε μετά το θάνατο του Caleb Scofield, ίσως το καλύτερό τους από την εποχή του μνημειώδους “Jupiter”.
DEATHSPELL OMEGA – The Long Defeat Παρόλο που είμαι πλέον πολύ μακριά από τη «σκηνή» για να παρακολουθώ εξελίξεις, συζητήσεις, κόντρες, θεωρίες κλπ., γνωρίζω ότι οι απόψεις διίστανται γύρω από τις πολιτικές πεποιθήσεις των Deathspell Omega και ότι το νέο τους άλμπουμ δίχασε μουσικά. Προσωπικά πάντως είμαι πεπεισμένος ότι το συγκρότημα δεν αποτελεί όχημα έκφρασης ακραίων πολιτικών θέσεων, και ότι το νέο τους άλμπουμ είναι με διαφορά ο καλύτερος black metal δίσκος του πρώτου εξαμήνου του ‘22.
DREAM WIDOW – Dream Widow Το νέο metal project του Dave Grohl έχει περισσότερη πλάκα από τους Probot αλλά είναι εξίσου πορωτικό, και σε καμία περίπτωση δεν είναι παρωδία – αν δεν έχεις ψυχή και αυτιά αληθινού μεταλλά, ΔΕΝ ΜΠΟΡΕΙΣ να παίξεις έτσι. Και καθώς ο Grohl είναι καλύτερος συνθέτης και πιο ευφυής άνθρωπος από το 99% των «true» μέταλ μουσικών, το άλμπουμ χτυπάει λίστα.
GHOST – Impera Και τώρα θα απαντήσουμε επιτέλους οριστικά στο αιώνιο ερώτημα: Είναι ή δεν είναι μέταλ οι Ghost; … … … … … … … … … … … … Στα παπάρια μας, ο δίσκος γαμάει.
HELLACOPTERS – Eyes Of Oblivion Οι Hellacopters είναι η «διανοούμενη» μπάντα του Nicke: Οι επιρροές τους είναι το Detroit hard rock των MC5 και του Alice Cooper, η αλήτικη ποίηση του Phil Lynott, οι Damned, οι Radio Birdman, πράγματα δηλαδή που συνήθως αποτελούν τα σκληρότερα ακούσματα όσων δεν ακούνε μέταλ. Επειδή όμως ο ίδιος και οι φίλοι του προέρχοναι από τη πιο βρωμερή γωνία των σπλάχνων του metal, κανείς δεν τολμά να αμφισβητήσει τα μεταλλικά τους διαπιστευτήρια – σε αντίθεση με τις περισσότερες μπάντες αυτής της λίστας, τώρα που το σκέφτομαι.
KORN – Requiem Μου πήρε σχεδόν 30 χρόνια αλλά είμαι πλέον αρκετά ακομπλεξάριστος ώστε να παραδεχθώ ότι οι Korn είναι καλή, και κυρίως σημαντική, μπάντα. Βασικά πήραν 3 δίσκους του 1992 (“Angel Dust”, “Meantime”, “A Vulgar Display Of Power”) και σα νέοι Δρ. Φρανκενστάιν έκοψαν/έραψαν ένα τέρας απόλυτα δικό τους δημιουργώντας ολόκληρη σχολή. Το “Requiem” μένει πιστό στην παραπάνω φόρμουλα και εξακολουθεί να ακούγεται φρέσκο τρεις δεκαετίες αργότερα – πόσοι άλλοι μπορούν να παινευτούν για κάτι αντίστοιχο;
RAMMSTEIN – Zeit Οι Γερμανοί προβοκάτορες επέστρεψαν με ένα άλμπουμ επικά γκροτέσκο, γκροτέσκα επικό, και τόσο τούμπανο από χιτ-άρες όσο οι κυρίες στο βίντεο του “Dicke Titten”. Ίσως είναι καλύτερα πάντως που το 99% των οπαδών τους δεν καταλαβαίνει γρι από τους στίχους τους, οι οποίοι έχουν συνήθως πολύ περισσότερο βάθος από όσο θα περίμενε κανείς βασιζόμενος στους βλαμμένους και τρομερά πιασάρικους ινταστριαλοντισκομέταλ ρυθμούς τους.
SOUL GLO – Diaspora Problems Είμαι αναγκασμένος να τους συγκρίνω με τους Bad Brains, όχι όμως επειδή είναι (κατά κύριο λόγο) μαύροι και πολιτικοποιημένοι αλλά επειδή παίρνουν το hardcore punk και του αλλάζουν τα φώτα με επιρροές από άλλα μουσικά ιδιώματα, πετώντας ταυτόχρονα τη σοβαροφάνεια του ιδιώματος στα σκουπίδια με το σουρεαλιστικό τους χιούμορ. Όσο για τις φωνητικές ερμηνείες του Pierce Jordan, ο τύπος απλά δεν παίζεται.
VEIN.FM – This World Is Going To Ruin You Αν οι Slipknot είχαν ξεπηδήσει από τη hardcore σκηνή και όχι από death metal ρίζες, πιθανότατα θα ακούγονταν σαν τους Vein.fm σε αυτό, το δεύτερο άλμπουμ τους. Έχει την ίδια ένταση, όλα στο κόκκινο, και είναι εξίσου τρομακτικό με το “Iowa”, δίνοντας σου την εντύπωση πως έχυσαν (κυριολεκτικό, όχι μεταφορικό) αίμα στην ηχογράφησή του. Κάποιοι παίζουν πιο γρήγορα, κάποιοι πιο χαμηλοκουρδισμένα, κάποιοι με πιο δύσκολες αλλαγές τέμπο ή με πιο πολλές τσιρίδες, αλλά όσον αφορά την ψυχή ΑΥΤΟ είναι το πιο ακραίο άλμπουμ της χρονιάς μέχρι στιγμής.
ZEAL & ARDOR – Zeal & Ardor Κι ενώ στις ΗΠΑ διαφαίνεται πλέον η ολοκληρωτική Trump-ική επικράτηση των δυνάμεων του SCOTUS επί των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων, ο Αμερικανοελβετός Manuel Gagneux συνεχίζει να χτίζει τη μυθολογία των Zeal & Ardor γύρω από μία εναλλακτική πραγματικότητα όπου οι σκλάβοι στην Αμερική του 19ου αιώνα αγκαλιάζουν τον Σατανά αντί για τον Ιησού, παντρεύοντας το black metal με την Αφροαμερικανική μουσική παράδοση – ένα gimmick που αρκούσε για να μας τραβήξει την προσοχή πίσω στο 2016, αλλά θα είχε ξεφτίσει στον τρίτο δίσκο αν τα ΤΡΑΓΟΥΔΙΑ δεν ήταν τόσο γαμηστερά.
DAN REED NETWORK – Let’s Hear It For The King Reed’s white-boy funk rock (Bon Jovi meets Prince?) gave us a couple of solid albums back in the day, but three decades later it sounds a bit dated. (6)
THE DREAM SYNDICATE – Ultraviolet Battle Hymns And True Confessions I love these guys, especially when they go into a hypnotic Velvets/kraut groove like they do quite often on this album. (8)
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD – Follow Your Heart I loved the Beatnigs (late 80’s) and the Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (early 90’s) and the first Spearhead album (mid 90’s) so much when they came out that, decades later, I still loyally check out every Franti release, but this pop-soul-EDM light stuff he’s doing nowadays doesn’t do much for me, unfortunately. (6)
S.G. GOODMAN – Teeth Marks Kentuckian artist goes beyond country ballads and incorporates grungy rock elements in her sound, resulting in one of this month’s more exciting releases. (8)
MJ LENDERMAN – Boat Songs It starts off with the best Weezer song in decades and continues with a decent southern rock ditty, the third track is alt-country, the fourth is in Dinosaur Jr. territory, and so it goes. (7)
NOVA TWINS – Supernova Lots of hype around this one, mainly from UK-based publications who are always thirsty for something homegrown that’s newsworthy, but the truth is they’re not the new RATM, or the new Clash, or the new Prodigy, or the new anything significant, they’re just loud and look good and got some promising hooks and apparently that’s enough nowadays. Go ahead, call me a boomer. (7)
GREG PUCIATO – Mirrorcell Ex-Dillinger Escape Planner shows off his diversity, moving with ease between Ozzy-esque mid-tempo rockers, Soundgarden time signatures, Massachusetts post-hardcore sludge, and electrogoth atmospherics. (7)
PORCUPINE TREE – Closure/Continuation Prog-rock giants return after a 12-year hiatus with a slightly underwhelming effort – the long songs tick all the prog boxes, but they're somewhat lacking in the hooks department which is what made Porcupine Tree so great back in the 90’s and 00’s. (7)
RUBBER OH – Strange Craft Pigs X7 guitarist in space rock experiment and I’m tempted to say “PIGS… IN… SPACE!!!” here, but really it sounds nothing like his day job, it’s more like Spiritualized jamming with XTC which is sort of awesome. (8)
JOAN SHELLEY – The Spur Much revered folkie releases acoustic album of songs written during COVID lockdown on a farm with a baby on the way, performed with her husband on guitar. Some will find all this bucolically romantic and beautiful, others will cut off their ears with a rusty nail clipper out of sheer boredom. (7)
BARTEES STRANGE – Farm to Table This is a nice record. “Nice” is the strongest word I can come up with to describe this indie rock/r&b hybrid, but that’s maybe because I’m 25 years older than your average music journalist who worships this. (7)
P.S. Stay tuned. Since we're halfway through the year I'm hoping to put together a special "halftime report" within the next few days, so check for updates.
ANDREW BIRD – Inside Problems A true artist defying categorization, multi-instrumentalist and renaissance man Bird jumps from chamber pop to jazz rock to indie with ease, sometimes within the same song. (8)
THE BLACK CROWES – 1972 A covers EP to test out the new line-up before the tour. Obviously all songs are from 1972 (Stones, Bolan, Rod Stewart, Little Feat, Bowie, and a fantastic version of The Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”) and fit the Crowes template well. (8)
CAVE IN – Heavy Pendulum Recruiting Converge’s Nate Newton as the late Caleb Scofield’s replacement, Cave In release what is probably their finest work since 2000’s “Jupiter” – a beast of an album where fierce metal riffage meets prog atmospherics that wouldn’t be out of place on a Radiohead tribute recorded by Rush. (8)
CURRENT 93 – If A City Is Set Upon A Hill I don’t have anything against post-industrial goth neofolk or whatever you call this kind of thing but I can’t stand this guy’s croaking voice, it doesn’t help control my overwhelming urge to suckerpunch any religious mystic I come across. (5)
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – Welcome 2 Club XIII More personal and less political than their previous three albums, this is another excellent effort from DBT who still sound their best when they’re trying to emulate a southern rock version of Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Despite being a Hood fan, I have to admit that this time around it’s Cooley’s songs that steal the show. (8)
FANTASTIC NEGRITO – White Jesus Black Problems Award-winning blues artist releases concept album that includes very little blues, based on his family history. There’s funk, rock, and lots of experimentation here and it’s probably his best, certainly his most intriguing, work to date. (8)
CRAIG FINN – A Legacy Of Rentals The Hold Steady frontman’s latest solo album shifts the sonic palette by adding a rich string section on several tracks, but once again the key element on this collection of songs is Finn’s superb storytelling and his ability to create fully formed characters within the format of a 4-minute song – and if you’ve ever fucked up in your life, you can’t help loving Finn’s losers and outcasts. (8)
MINA GAJIC & ZACHARY CARRETTIN – Confluence: Balkan Dances & Tango Nuevo Married classical musician couple (Serbian pianist, American violinist/violist with Latin roots) brings together Marko Tajčević’s “Seven Balkan Dances” with Ray Granlund’s modern tango with extraordinary results. (8)
SASS JORDAN – Bitches Blues Sexagenarian Canadian hard rocker (and first employer, back in the 90’s, of an unknown 22-year-old drummer called Taylor Hawkins) explores her blues side with a mix of covers and originals on this enjoyable album. (7)
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND – Dirt Does Dylan You simply can’t go wrong with a Bob Dylan tribute – the songs are so amazing that you just can’t ruin them even if you try, and his voice on the originals is so annoying that you’re probably going to sing them better than him anyway. But NGDB do a solid job, especially on their epic versions of “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (featuring special guests Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle and the War & Treaty) and “I Shall Be Released” (featuring special guests Larkin Poe). (8)
ANGEL OLSEN – Big Time It’s unfair to compare Olsen to her peers, but this really sounds like a hybrid of Sharon Van Etten and Lana Del Rey gone full country and you’ll see it on many year-end lists in six months’ time. Probably not on mine, since I appreciate the vibe but was hoping for more hooks. (7)
FRANK SINATRA – Watertown A Sinatra album unlike any other, this 1970 oddity sold poorly, almost killed his career, and remained forgotten for decades – it’s a totally depressing concept album about the loss and desperation of one man, created in collaboration with members of rock band The Four Seasons, and this new remaster should set the record straight: It’s actually really good! (8)
WILCO – Cruel Country Their most “country” record in 25 years but it’s not particularly cruel, as a matter of fact it’s gentle and beautiful. Including the two saddest songs of all time, “The Universe” and “Many Worlds”. (8)
THE AMERICANS – Stand True Never before has a band name been more in line with what that band actually sounds like – The Americans combine psychedelia, folk, and meat & potatoes heartland rock into one very neat package that is 100% American. (8)
THE BLACK KEYS – Dropout Boogie Sticks to their tried and tested blues-based arena rock formula. (7)
HALESTORM – Back From The Dead The songwriting’s OK but not spectacular, sort of like a poor man’s Disturbed. But damn, this girl’s voice is so powerful it should’ve been banned by the Geneva Convention. (7)
IBEYI – Spell 31 Afro-Cuban/French twin sisters live up to expectations of their multicultural background on new album, a mesmerizing, globetrotting collection of minimalistic soul/electronica/hip-hop/trip-hop tunes (plus a Black Flag cover!) featuring their unique close harmony singing. (8)
KENDRICK LAMAR – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers A divisive album by the world’s best rapper, it focuses on trauma and recovery from a very personal perspective. I think it’s great. (8)
LYLE LOVETT – 12th Of June There’s very little resembling country here, if you always thought of Lovett as a country artist but hadn’t actually listened to any of his stuff. This is more of a big band jazz/swing thing, and a highly enjoyable one at that too. (8)
KEVIN MORBY – This Is A Photograph Why haven’t I heard this guy’s work earlier? What have I been missing out on? This is a fantastic album of Dylan-esque (both in sound and in quality) songs, epic in scope and vision, that I just can’t stop listening to. (9)
MOTOR SISTER – Get Off Supergroup featuring Scott Ian, Joey Vera and John Tempesta but the real stars here are the two lesser-known band members, co-vocalists Jim Wilson (from the excellent, criminally underrated Mother Superior) and Pearl Aday (Ian’s wife, Meat Loaf’s daughter), singing their balls/ovaries off some really great no bullshit hard rockin’ stuff. (8)
JO QUAIL – The Cartographer Roadburn Festival-commissioned composition in 5 movements by electric cellist finds the perfect balance between Igor Stravinsky and Sunn O))). (8)
THE SMILE – A Light for Attracting Attention Honestly, I don’t understand why this is not a Radiohead album – Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood are 2/3’s of the band and it sounds just like Radiohead too. Not “The Bends”/”OK Computer” Radiohead unfortunately, more “Hail To the Thief”/”In Rainbows” Radiohead, but still. (8)
SHARON VAN ETTEN – We've Been Going About This All Wrong A truly beautiful album by Van Etten – smart pop songs that are personal and at the same universal, with an epic production. (8)
