Album Reviews – Page 67 – The Light Appears

Cat Power – Wanderer (2018)

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Michael

51Yu4i3coML._AA327_QL65_ The latest album for Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, is not without controversy. The Wanderer is her first album since 1996 not released on Matador Records who rejected the new album when presented. This lead to a delay of over a year but resulted in a positive when first single “Woman” with Lana Del Rey was added. The defiant track features Cat Power and Del Rey duetting on verses and blending their voices during the chorus.

This is a spare, blues and folk record. Often times Cat Power is just accompanied by a guitar, piano and other light instrumentation. The title track is almost hymn like, solemn and reflective. “Horizon” is a letter to the family and features an uplifting guitar line that feels like it’s building but never quite gets there. Second single “Stay” is a cover of a Rhianna track that Marshall heard while travelling in a cab. Self-produced, The Wanderer is the record that Marshall wanted to make. Quiet and personal, it is one that as it unfolds over the nearly 40 minutes is unfortunately hard to not have the mind start to wander as well.

7/10

Album Reviews

Paul Simon – The Paul Simon Songbook (1965)

Posted on October 23, 2018October 23, 2018 by Michael

51xz1aZGmuL._AA327_QL65_ After the commercial failure of the first Simon & Garfunkel album, Wednesday Morning, 3AM, Paul Simon retreated to England to play theatres and folk clubs. It was there with just a microphone and acoustic guitar that Simon recorded the tracks that would form The Paul Simon Songbook. The album combines tracks from the S&G debut and others that would appear on future releases.

Classic tracks that appear is the first recording of the effective young man angst “I Am a Rock”, a version of “The Sound of Silence” where Simon practically spits out the first lines and a beautiful rendition of “Kathy’s Song”. Other highlights include the Billy Bragg inspiration in “Leaves That Are Green” and vocal charm of “April She Will Come”. The unfortunate Dylan parody of “A Simple Desultory Philippic…” is dreadful but is redeemed by the lyrical wordplay of “Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall”

The sound of the album can be brittle and stark at times, a lone performer sitting on a stool with just a white spotlight upon them. There is little warmth or texture but Simon is in fine vocal form singing songs from the heart. This is an essential recording as Paul Simon finds his voice and performs tracks that would become beloved the world over in just a few short years.

8/10

Album Reviews

Tracyanne & Danny – Tracyanne & Danny (2018)

Posted on October 14, 2018October 13, 2018 by Michael

trcy Lead by Tracyanne Campbell, it’s been five years since the last release from Glasgow’s much-loved Camera Obscura. Sadly, two years after recording their last album, Desire Lines, keyboardist Carey Lander past away. After being away for so long, it is an absolute treat that this album came out earlier in 2018 on Merge records. Teaming up with Crybaby’s Danny Coughlan, the duo strikes up what is probably the best band you’d ever hear if you stumbled across them in a random pub on a cold winter’s night.

With an autumnal warmth, the album mentions the US several times, especially in the infectious single “Alabama”. A joyous, upbeat track, Campbell sings of “when I’m an old lady, I still miss you like crazy”. The duo trade verses on “Deep In The Night” before a soft Campbell vocal appears at the tail end. Subtle horns give a bit of swing to “Home & Dry” before the charming country of “It Can’t Be Love Unless It Hurts”.

The album is let down slightly in the middle where “Jacqueline” brings the mood down before a couple of forgettable tracks get trotted out. Things rebound towards the end with the Belle and Sebastian 90s indie rock of Danny’s “Cellophane Girl” complete with handclaps and closes with a Georgia O’Keefe tribute in “O’Keeffe”. The album really shines with the first four tracks which are some of the classiest indie rock moments of 2018. A winning duo that would be a joy to hear more from in the future.

8/10

Album Reviews

Mitski – Be The Cowboy (2018)

Posted on October 7, 2018October 6, 2018 by Michael

Mitski “Me and my husband/we are doing better/it’s always been just him and me together”. Mitski’s fifth album, Be the Cowboy, is the Japanese/American’s second for Dead Oceans is a dynamic effort. The lyric comes from “Me and My Husband” which like many tracks presents a mature take on love and approaches the topic from one of many different angles. 14 songs appear over 33 concise minutes with songs working like quick snapshots into a particular emotion.

Starting with just an electronic guitar, “A Pearl” ends up euphoric when the horns swell a third of the way through. Mitski’s vocals are a treat on the swooning country track “Lonesome Love” before the guitar crunch of “Remember My Name” appears. Second single “Nobody” has a 70s disco feel while singing of the loneliness that envelopes a person when on the road whereas “Pink In The Night” is all atmosphere about the confusion of being in love or at least infatuated with someone. Like others we’ve listened to this year, Mitski varies the music style throughout but the short bursts of songs never outstay their welcome.

8.5/10

Album Reviews

Interpol – Marauder (2018)

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Michael

When starting the review for the latest album from New York band Interpol, I was surprised that it was their sixth. Produced by Dave Friedmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, etc), the band will always be stuck on their fourth album in my mind. Turn On the Bright Lights released in 2002 is a perfect distillation of their sound with second album Antics an excellent follow-up. Three more albums followed with varying degrees of success.

Two dense rock songs start the disc off including first single “The Rover”. Where it starts to feel like an Interpol record is “Stay In Touch” where the guitars lock in to a familiar band sound and Sam Fogarino’s drum work on the snare/hi hat really drives the song home. The low rumble of “Mountain Child” is next followed by “Nysmaw” where Daniel Kessler’s and Paul Bank’s guitars perfectly lock-in with Fogarino. A shimmering guitar starts off third single “Number 10” that feels airlifted right of the debut before the band crashes in. Last track “It Probably Matters” starts with the lyric “I tried to be a faithful man…” with Paul Banks doing his best Kings of Leon vocal impression.

The band works best when there is air in the songs to help expand the flames but at times that gets suffocated by dense rawk songs (both of the first tracks have been released as singles). As noted elsewhere, Interpol is one of the few bands from the ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ era that has turned into a legacy act. This has the knock-on effect of needing those rawk tracks for their live show to get the early evening crowd revved up in between the classics. Interpol are in that rarified position of having perfected their sound on the first album and are stuck having to live up to that. On Marauder they do a good job of adding some different touches to their sound and proving there is still life left in those well-tailored black suits.

7.5/10