July 2024 – Page 2 – The Light Appears

The Kaiser Chiefs make it easy to remind you how many albums they have recorded on The Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Albums. Easy it is with barely a moment that is not sugary to consume like cotton candy. “Beautiful Girl” has a light guitar riff on a track whose chorus sounds ripped from a One Direction outtake. The legendary Nile Rodgers co-writes first single “Feeling Alright” that rides a bass groove as Ricky Wilson sings, “No one you love is ever dead/they’re always in your head/in your heart dancing”.

“Burning in Flames” sounds ready to be sampled as an EDM anthem while “How 2 Dance” sounds spot on like the band Black Kids circa 2008. Towards the end, the album starts to drift with several unmemorable songs before rebounding with “The Lads”. Now well into their forties, the group sounds like a band half their age. Whether that’s a positive or negative depends on how much you enjoy fluffy indie dance rock.

6/10

On her seventh studio album, All Born Screaming, St. Vincent (Annie Clark) takes on full production duties for the first time. Several notable guests on the album include Dave Grohl who adds a pummeling quality to “Flea” and Cate le Bon on the title track that has touch of Vampire Weekend for the first half, breaks free with a sped up heartbeat beat in the middle before ending in electronic abyss.

The album begins with the distant beats of “Hell is Near” that mixes live instrumentation with electronics. Also featuring the drums of Grohl, “Broken Man” has a strut made for the industrial dancefloor. Clark brings the vibe down a notch with the James Bond like “Violent Times” that has a great vocal plus the laid back reggae vibe of “So Many Planets” about searching for a place to belong. As an album, All Born Screaming far more often than not brings the substance along with the impeccable style.

8/10

Month: July 2024

Kaiser Chiefs – Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album (2024)

St. Vincent – All Born Screaming (2024)