Category: Album Reviews

Posted in Album Reviews

The Hold Steady – The Price of Progress (2023)

Posted on by Michael

It all starts with a guitar riff then 80s styled synths pop into the mix on “Grand Junction”. A song about a couple driving out west where the girl is scared then amazed by the size of the sky. Singer Craig Finn tackles other relationships on The Hold Steady’s ninth studio album, The Price of Progress. “Perdido” captures a break up while on vacations.  “Says she’s got a couple lovers, yeah, you’re not the only one/You’re just the only one that wants to spend the week with me.”

The boys are having a crisis after softball on “Carlos is Crying” where Carlos has not told his girlfriend he has not worked in weeks. “Flyover Halftime” has a significant pregaming session before one of the boys runs on the field. At times, the stories and songs are not that significant, “City at Eleven” doesn’t leave much of an impression.  But on The Price of Progress, the band cranks out several middle aged delights that a lot of us can relate to.

7/10

Posted in Album Reviews

The National – Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers (2003)

Posted on by Michael

Nearly 20 years ago The National released their second album, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers.  It was their first time working with co-producer Peter Katis who would produce their next two discs and the first to include Bryce Dessner as a full member. The band grows their sound from the first release with chiming guitars on “Slipping Husband” and halfway through “90-Mile Water Wall” where the song changes direction with an extended instrumental passage.

Matt Berninger is still trying to find his voice on many wordy songs.  “Available” has an anthemic feel that Berninger struggles to keep up with. Better are the tracks where he takes a more minimalist approach such as the guitar driven “Murder Me Rachael” and the lyrically simpler “Sugar Wife”.  The album closes with the country tinged “Lucky You”.  Like the first album, this has the sound of the city’s best bar band who would have been blinding to have stumbled across across one night.

7/10

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