Posted in Album Reviews

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (2024)

Posted on by Michael

Remarkably, Bright Future is Adrianne Lenker’s sixth studio album even with the success she has had as the lead singer in Big Thief.  The spare album was released in the spring 2024 and is enriched with many emotions.  The way she sings “don’t know what I’d do without you” on the chorus of “No Machine” makes it heartbreaking or the dusty piano that plays beneath “Real House” where she sings, “Now 31 and I don’t feel strong”.

“Vampire Empire” is a bit more rough and ready while “Feel Treasure” has a sort of epicness that Simon and Garfunkel could ring out of their minimal arrangements.  Bright Future ends with two terrific songs. She is joined on the chorus by Nick Hakim on “Donut Seam” that makes it sound a bit like Bon Iver on a track that sings to the human condition of swimming and kissing while the world burns.  “Ruined” has her best vocal on the album on a track that is a bit more pop in nature, though one with plenty of emotion. Adrianne Lenker is one of those rare artists whose solo work is just as intriguing as her main gig.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Simple Minds – Real To Real Cacophony (1979)

Posted on by Michael

In 1979, Simple Minds were keen to quickly follow-up their debut album that they were not happy with a mere seven months later. Once again working with producer John Leckie, the Glaswegians decamped to Rockfield Studios in Wales to record what would become Real To Real Cacophony.  The first track, “Real To Real” sees synths firing out signals for a disco in another world. “Carnival (Shelter in a Suitcase)” has a circus keyboard with a solid rhythm section behind it on a song that fits in well with the post punk movement. “Calling Your Name” has a similar sound but adds dancefloor moves.

The only single released from the album was “Changeling” that has a more straightforward guitar riff.  Better is “Premonition” that has elements of the band’s sound that they would take to stadiums in the mid 80s, not to mention a sound that U2 would also further develop. Along with these tracks, several instrumentals appear including the ominous “Cacophony”.  On Real To Real Cacophony, the band does what it wanted to do by moving their sound in a more art pop direction that takes in heroes like Roxy Music and Bowie but also creates their own world.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

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

Posted on by Michael

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

Posted in Album Reviews

St. Vincent – All Born Screaming (2024)

Posted on by Michael

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

Posted in Paper Chase

Steven Pressfield – The War of Art

Posted on by Michael

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the ways in which resistance keeps us from achieving our goals. Resistance comes in many forms such as procrastination, fear, and self doubt. While the book’s main focus is on writing, the same concept can be applied to self-improvement, house projects, office work, painting, etc.   Overcoming this resistance and putting in the work is the difference between an amateur and a pro.

Like his other non-fiction books, The War of Art is an easy to read book with chapters being just 1-2 pages long.  It’s easily relatable as Pressfield touches on many topics that stop the average person from doing what they set out to do and ways to overcome this.  There is a reason this book keeps getting recommended by so many people/websites – it’s an inspiring bit of quick reading to help refocus on the task at hand whether it’s writing, painting, learning, or working.

8.5/10