Sorry for being slightly late this week, everyone! I've been a little bit under the weather, but it has allowed me to listen to these albums a little more closely. There have been some pretty great ones this week, and the ones I'll be reviewing have particularly been great. There will be no Gwen Stefani review this week, seeing as her album will not be available on Spotify for a while, but until then, enjoy these reviews of some classic artists, plus a newer upcoming singer-songwriter!
Iggy Pop announced his seventeenth studio album earlier this year, along with its lead single "Gardenia". The album was basically being recorded as a supergroup, with Queens Of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on guitar, The Dead Weather's Dean Fertita on bass and keys, and the Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders on drums.
When I listened to "Gardenia", I was immediately interested. The song featured classic guitars, Iggy Pop's raspy, low vocals, and a super catchy hook ("All I wanna do is tell Gardenia what to do tonight"). Flash forward to last Friday when the album came out. I listened through it, and can honestly say I wasn't disappointed. It's great to hear an artist who has been around as long as Iggy Pop has still making great music It's proof that good rock 'n' roll isn't dead.
Better yet, it's a classic rock sound that doesn't sound dated. Iggy Pop is making an album in his signature garage rock style while still making it sound like a new album. Part of it can likely be contributed to having Homme doing production and giving it a new take on an old sound. Whatever it is, it works!
Overall: 7/10
Favorite songs: Gardenia; Sunday
When I listened to "Gardenia", I was immediately interested. The song featured classic guitars, Iggy Pop's raspy, low vocals, and a super catchy hook ("All I wanna do is tell Gardenia what to do tonight"). Flash forward to last Friday when the album came out. I listened through it, and can honestly say I wasn't disappointed. It's great to hear an artist who has been around as long as Iggy Pop has still making great music It's proof that good rock 'n' roll isn't dead.
Better yet, it's a classic rock sound that doesn't sound dated. Iggy Pop is making an album in his signature garage rock style while still making it sound like a new album. Part of it can likely be contributed to having Homme doing production and giving it a new take on an old sound. Whatever it is, it works!
Overall: 7/10
Favorite songs: Gardenia; Sunday
Third Man Records' newest signee is country singer-songwriter Margo Price, an unknown in the United States, but here in Nashville, she's a rising star. With an album like what was released last week, I would not be surprised to see her following the footsteps of Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell, headlining multiple sold-out shows at the Ryman and releasing many critically-acclaimed albums. I am not very good at making predictions, as I've stated before, but that's what things are looking like.
Despite the Isbell and Simpson comparisons earlier, this is more similar to Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline. It's classic country at its best. I've heard a lot of people talk about Chris Stapleton being "the return of classic country", but I think his style is more neo-traditional than classic country revival, the latter of which is Margo Price.
Now, when you think of "classic country", what is it you think of? Twangy guitars and vocals? Sad steel guitar slides? Violins? If any of those are what you think of when you hear that phrase, then this is the album for you. We may not get a "Tennessee Whiskey" or "Nobody to Blame" from this album, but that doesn't matter, because it holds up just as well as Stapleton's album does. They're totally different from each other, so the comparisons may not hold up, but Price's album absolutely holds up. Her songwriting is great, her voice, while not necessarily unique, stands out. The instrumentals are classy. It's everything a country fan wants.
To all country fans who say they are sick of hearing "bro-country" on the radio: Put your money where your mouth is and get this album.
Overall: 7/10
Favorite songs: Hands Of Time; About to Find Out; Since You Put Me Down; This Town Gets Around; Hurtin' (On the Bottle)
Despite the Isbell and Simpson comparisons earlier, this is more similar to Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline. It's classic country at its best. I've heard a lot of people talk about Chris Stapleton being "the return of classic country", but I think his style is more neo-traditional than classic country revival, the latter of which is Margo Price.
Now, when you think of "classic country", what is it you think of? Twangy guitars and vocals? Sad steel guitar slides? Violins? If any of those are what you think of when you hear that phrase, then this is the album for you. We may not get a "Tennessee Whiskey" or "Nobody to Blame" from this album, but that doesn't matter, because it holds up just as well as Stapleton's album does. They're totally different from each other, so the comparisons may not hold up, but Price's album absolutely holds up. Her songwriting is great, her voice, while not necessarily unique, stands out. The instrumentals are classy. It's everything a country fan wants.
To all country fans who say they are sick of hearing "bro-country" on the radio: Put your money where your mouth is and get this album.
Overall: 7/10
Favorite songs: Hands Of Time; About to Find Out; Since You Put Me Down; This Town Gets Around; Hurtin' (On the Bottle)
Primal Scream, like Iggy Pop, have been around quite a while, though nowhere near as long. Formed by Bobby Gillespie in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982, they released their first album after Gillespie left as a drummer for another classic Scottish group: The Jesus and Mary Chain.
To be honest, despite the many chances I've had to listen to them, I've never really done it. So I decided to do it just this time, and also because I felt I needed to review more albums by older artists. So I decided to give this album a spin, and was interested after seeing it would have appearances by the Haim sisters as well as Sky Ferreira.
While this album's psychedelic-dance-rock fusion can get a little stale as the album goes on, there are many shining moments on this album, not the least of which is the one-minute 49-second industrial rocker "When the Blackout Meets the Fallout", a sound that comes back on "Golden Rope". This album starts out very well with the Haim sisters providing backup vocals, and peaks around "Blackout..." and the Ferreira feature "Where the Light Gets In". Afterwards it just seems to kind of... end. The last few tracks are good still, but they feel kind of boring as well, like the band ran out of ideas towards the end and just decided to repeat what was done on the other seven songs.
Still, the album has a danceable beat to it, and some of these songs would be great showstoppers when played live.
Overall: 6/10
Favorite tracks: 100% Or Nothing; Where the Light Gets In; When the Blackout Meets the Fallout
To be honest, despite the many chances I've had to listen to them, I've never really done it. So I decided to do it just this time, and also because I felt I needed to review more albums by older artists. So I decided to give this album a spin, and was interested after seeing it would have appearances by the Haim sisters as well as Sky Ferreira.
While this album's psychedelic-dance-rock fusion can get a little stale as the album goes on, there are many shining moments on this album, not the least of which is the one-minute 49-second industrial rocker "When the Blackout Meets the Fallout", a sound that comes back on "Golden Rope". This album starts out very well with the Haim sisters providing backup vocals, and peaks around "Blackout..." and the Ferreira feature "Where the Light Gets In". Afterwards it just seems to kind of... end. The last few tracks are good still, but they feel kind of boring as well, like the band ran out of ideas towards the end and just decided to repeat what was done on the other seven songs.
Still, the album has a danceable beat to it, and some of these songs would be great showstoppers when played live.
Overall: 6/10
Favorite tracks: 100% Or Nothing; Where the Light Gets In; When the Blackout Meets the Fallout
Most probably know of British dance group Underworld thanks to the movie Trainspotting and the song "Born Slippy", as well as the song's remix. The song, now 21 years old, is almost always referred to when talking about the band.
Now, in 2016, the band is back with their first new album in six years, along with a tour that includes two dates at Coachella. With their return as well as Jack U's popularity and Major Lazer being the first band to play Cuba in over 50 years, it's really an exciting time for dance music.
Indeed, this album makes things a little more exciting. They could've made seven "Born Slippy" remakes, but they kept each track sounding different, delving into ambient, house, trip-hop, and drum & bass. Karl Hyde's vocal delivery ranges from singing to disjointed monotone speaking. It's just an incredibly diverse album from beginning to end, and while the songs are long, they are still engaging, so you don't really notice how long the songs are until they're over. It's an album that works well as both background music and as music you can consciously enjoy.
Overall: 9/10
Favorite tracks: I Exhale; Low Burn; Santiago Cuatro; Ova Nova
Now, in 2016, the band is back with their first new album in six years, along with a tour that includes two dates at Coachella. With their return as well as Jack U's popularity and Major Lazer being the first band to play Cuba in over 50 years, it's really an exciting time for dance music.
Indeed, this album makes things a little more exciting. They could've made seven "Born Slippy" remakes, but they kept each track sounding different, delving into ambient, house, trip-hop, and drum & bass. Karl Hyde's vocal delivery ranges from singing to disjointed monotone speaking. It's just an incredibly diverse album from beginning to end, and while the songs are long, they are still engaging, so you don't really notice how long the songs are until they're over. It's an album that works well as both background music and as music you can consciously enjoy.
Overall: 9/10
Favorite tracks: I Exhale; Low Burn; Santiago Cuatro; Ova Nova