After one full listen, the first four and "Murder Most Foul" (which I already loved and was the only one I'd listened to in advance of the release) are the ones that really stuck with me and landed the best. "Goodbye Jimmy Reed" was welcome too for being something relatively punchy.
I bogged down a bit between "Crossing the Rubicon" (which I started off thinking I'd love) and "Key West".
Looking forward to spending lots of time with the whole thing, though. Now on to Homegrown...
Desire is the last one I've heard that I think is truly great. I love it more and more every year and I'm 36 and have owned it for...15 years minimum? But you're missing out on some MONSTER tracks if you skip the Time Out of Mind - now run. I can't wait to dive into this one.
I would say so - it's kind of the start of, if not his later-day period, definitely his late-renaissance.
I don't love any of the later albums front to back, but they all deliver some monster songs, from acknowledged classics like "Cold Irons Bound", "Not Dark Yet", and "Thunder on the Mountain" to stuff that seems to get less love like "Workingman's Blues #2" and even the lead single off Tempest, "Duquesne Whistle".
I was disappointed by the documentary...but I would have loved to have caught a Rolling Thunder Revue show. He was a live force in the 70's between the tour with The Band that produced Before the Flood and then the Revue. The Bootleg Series edition that covered Rolling Thunder (#5) has some incredible reworked arrangements and performances of songs on it.
That's the first thing I've heard that makes me consider the possibility that seeing Dylan again might not be a waste of time and money (though I'd wanna see/hear some proof, too). Because he was wretched in 2013.
Put a mask on so you don't spread that shit, croak, and keep the mask on so we don't have to look at that stupid orange face when they broadcast your stupid funeral.
Big week for me - Dylan, Neil, and now especially now that I've seen three guest list, the Teyana Taylor albums, at least. Maybe Ayers at some point, too.
I pre-ordered it last week. It's going to be their best, most fully realized album, with more distinct, memorable songs than they've had on either previous album. Can't wait.
Well it's not the same, but do remember that On the Beach (and 2 others) was out of circulation and never released on CD until like 2003 or so. It's considered one of his major releases now, so maybe Homegrown had a shot.
I do agree that it's hard to keep up with and distinguish between all of the Griselda guys' releases. But if nothing else, that Shabazz will not be more of the same.
I fell off a bit from being laid off and thus not driving or needing stuff to listen to while I'm at a desk, but not so bad. Another thing that's hobbled my new music intake a bit has been reading Everybody Loves Our Town: A History of Grunge and constantly feeling compelled to listen to pre-Nevermind Seattle rock (because I'm still in the first half).
But I'm pretty happy with what I've listened to so far this year, all the same.
Update on that last sentence:
The Yaeji album is pretty cool, I'm looking forward to getting to know it better!
Chubby and the Gang not so much - I feel like I was swindled by Tom's blurb into thinking it would be something other than a monotonous punk album :(
This will be highly unpopular to say, and I wouldn't quite call the creator in question one of my FAVORITES, but:
I was disappointed by the new A.A.L. album (I guess I didn't care for the stylistic shift because my favorite song on the album is "If Loving You is Wrong", the only song on it that sounds like it belongs on 2012-2017, which I LOVED).
Not only that, but I try to listen to Cezinas and find absolutely nothing that engages me whatsoever.
Other disappointing albums from artists I like included the new ones from:
Chicano Batman
King Krule
Royce da 5'9"
Man Man (I think that might actually be a decent album, but something intangible just makes me never really want to listen to it, though I'd still gladly throw on Rabbit Habbits, Six Demon Bag, or Life Fantastic)
Yup! I kind of hate that they seem to have picked my least favorite song on it, "Retrograde", as the new song to focus on, but that's a small quibble. All of the rockers land and the majority of slower numbers are distinct and warm.
Whoever gave that downvote, fair enough - but I mentioned it because I was hoping to hear other takes on that specific element of that song. Can't you downvote and still tell me me "I think she sounds passionate and soulful and elevates an already great song" or something?
I hear you. I honestly didn't listen to the whole new album, but even on Carseat's best stuff (and I have liked a song here and there) I could never fully get over his constant miserable, tuneless moaning.
After it came out and became apparent that we weren't getting a tour (I had tix to 2 of the 3 nights at Atlantic City and had a big Airbnb with friends for it) I started to really regret that I hadn't really known and appreciated "Steam" when I saw them play it a year or two ago.
Oh and you know what? I could maybe throw in the Charli XCX album. I never really listened to her much before, I'm clearly not all-in on modern mega pop, and I listened to the Dua Lipa album with open ears and was really disappointed. I thought "Hell, I guess I really am just getting too old and cranky to like this kind of thing."
But how i'm feeling now is pretty good! It feels like music made for teenage girls and it's not exactly my go-to album, but I really do think it's a cool-sounding, well-made album.
Yep. I'm not a Phish album guy but Sigma Oasis is almost all good except for a ballad or two (as much as I've come around on the band, I just can't fuck with Trey ballads).
Gigaton is SO much better than Lightning Bolt and Backspacer.
It's just a shame all these great "last rock giants standing" type acts can't tour behind the new albums and the enthusiasm they've garnered.
But let's see if anyone shares this little issue with the Yves Tumor album with me that for some reason has driven me nuts:
I love "Kerosene"...BUT. The part towards the middle where the female vocalist steps up and does her thing reminds me so much of Alanis Morrisette and it takes me totally out of the song. And then at the end she's still going for it...and I just think she sounds terrible. It's an absolutely brilliant song that I still listen to, but at the same time, I can't get past that awful, atonal vocal solo.
I guess my first list upset the algorithm because it got zapped. Trying again, with minimal editorializing:
RTJ4
Sylvan Esso - With
Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist - Alfredo
Greg Dulli - Random Desire
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony
Makaya McCraven & Gil Scott-Heron - We're New Again
Chance デラソウル - Besides
RAP Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun EP
Boldy James & Alchemist - The Cost of Tea in China
Shabazz Palaces - The Don of Diamond Dreams
Peel Dream Magazine - Agitprop Alterna
Caribou - Suddenly
Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques
Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of Sorrow
Nice to see someone else rep Don of Diamond Dreams. I've always liked Shabazz, but I though after Black Up the albums became crazy watered down. For every "Forerunner Foray", "#Cake", and "Shine a Light" there were so many forgettable tracks that just...were. But here, the entire first side is fire and it keeps finding neat new ways to stretch the form like gum. It loses that consistency in the second half, but there are still a couple strong tracks.
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