Author: Michael

Posted in Album Reviews

Gorillaz – Cracker Island (2023)

Posted on by Michael

In 2021 Damon Albarn released a very good solo album, blur has recently announced live shows so a new Gorillaz album was next on the to do list. Working with all star producer Greg Kurstin, the clubby synth stabs of the title track announce the beginning of the journey along with Thundercat. This is quickly followed up with one of the album highlights, the Stevie Nicks collaboration of “Oil”.  Albarn’s treated vocals are underpinned with the deeper Nicks.  A strident beat delivers the line, “individual actions change the world/fill them up with love”.  

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker along with Bootie Brown bring a classic Gorillaz sound to “New Gold” before Albarn takes over on the underwater dreaminess of “Tarantula”.  Where Cracker Island lags is on a couple midtempo tracks.  An acoustic introduction is teased on “Skinny Ape” before it gets replaced by blips and bloops. An acoustic track would have been a welcome respite from the processed beats.  Cracker Island leaves the listener with a few good tracks and other missed opportunities.

7/10

Posted in Album Reviews

David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72

Posted on by Michael

David Bowie Live Santa Monica ’72 was originally broadcast on Los Angeles FM radio station KMET before becoming a widely circulated bootleg.  The radio introduction give an air of formality before “Hang Onto Yourself” explodes out of the gates. Mick Ronson’s guitar is a highlight of the 17 track disc including the iconic riff from “Ziggy Stardust”.  Trevor Bolder’s bass also standouts on several tracks including on the slower “Five Years”

One of the loudest cheers from the audience comes for “Space Oddity”.  Ronson adds excellent harmonies on a track where Bowie makes the noises for a spaceship taking off.  One of two cover songs, the band wring the grime out of the Velvet Underground’s “Waiting For The Man” with Ronson’s chiming guitar.  The show then starts to close on a raucous note with the glam stomp of “Jean Genie” and a snarling “Suffragette City”.  Bowie fans and critics love the sound from this radio broadcast and more casual fans will find a solid run through of early greatest hits with more than a few highlights.

7.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World (2023)

Posted on by Michael

The ongoing joke with Yo La Tengo is that bassist James McNew is still the new guy, 30 years later.  It’s a funny joke.  Here, he handles the recording of the new This Stupid World album and takes over the vocals while delivering an excellent bass groove on “Tonight’s Episode”. First single “Fallout” delivers an excellent YLT performance – a fuzzy pop song where Ira Kaplan sings “I want to fall out of time”.  The other Kaplan highlight is on the slower “Apology Letter”.  A soothing repeating guitar line lays the bed while he delivers the deadpan lyrics – “And then I got mad because you got mad/Another one of my delightful quirks”.

Possibly on the other end of that apology is wife Georgia Hubley who sings the somber acoustic track “Aselestine”.  Waves of noise gather on the title track, where the vocals are buried at sea before the electronic beat of “Miles Away” where Hubley returns to vocals on the icy atmospheric closer.  “Burdens rise/Avert your eyes/The pain creeps in anyhow”.  On their 17th album, the trio of Yo La Tengo deliver a late period classic that keeps their distinct sound while adding rivers of other sounds.

8.5/10