Wow, 2021, what a year. Never in my life would I imagine being given the gift of salvation and then shin kicking it, but here we are, still having to wear masks, vaxxed, boosted, and barely living a life of freedom because 40% of the country is like, You don’t control me! Cool bro. Cool. Stop paying your car insurance, stop wearing a seat belt, don’t get any vaccines for your kids, allow you dogs to become rabid...don’t just pick and choose because a Cheeto’s minions made this an us verse them issue. *sigh* At least we have music. Right?
So, let’s get into it…
I have amazing friends that love great music. Craig
tipped me off to Morgan Wade, and I am certainly glad he did. The production
value of the CD is excellent. The guitar tones, layers, and placement of instruments
is expertly done. I was excited to learn that it was Sadler Vaden, of the 400
Unit, behind the console. The album is polished and flows nicely between tracks
which have a center, a string that ties them all together. Musically, everything
makes sense. But, when you strip away the layers and just focus on the voice
and lyrics, the true gift of Reckless emerges. Wade tells stories that
are real, honest, and accessible. It is a great record and deserves all the
praise it has received.
I have mad respect for Baker. Three albums in, and she
continues to push herself. She could just roll up into a studio with her guitar
and a few pedals and record another Sprained Ankle and people would love
it, but she wouldn’t be content. She needs to grow, and I am enjoying watching her
growth. Despite the fuller, more electropop, driven sound, the intimacy of her
lyrics is not lost. She still has a lot to say and can weave together excellent
phrases. Baker is an earnest writer, and I love her for it.
I mean, it is Son Volt, the creators of one of my favorite genres of music, one of the reasons I formed Whiskey Daydream after EKe broke up. As you would expect, Farrar’s lyrics are honest, poetic, political, and timely. He has his pen on the pulse of our generation, and he isn’t afraid of losing fame or fans, he’s gonna call it like it is. The recording is great. The instrumentation is great. The players are great. It is just a great album. Period.
Coming off the heels of Old Country, That Spell
was a highly anticipated release for me. A few Eps and a full length into it,
and von Kampen hasn’t abandoned what makes her special. Her songs can
absolutely stand on their own with just the strength of her clear and breathy
vocals, the six strings of her guitar, and the authenticity of the stories she
is sharing. That being said, she made some excellent choices on this recording,
bringing in strings, piano, and other organic instruments to help fill space
and alter the mood track to track. The church organ on “The Wait” is everything
I could hope for on a recording. The restraint that her supporting cast played
with is incredible. I wish every musician could listen to That Spell, if
only to understand that sometimes less is more.
Y’all, you can take the boy out of the 90’s, but you can’t fully remove the 90’s from the boy. I spend the vast majority of my time listening to very thoughtful, chill, singer/songwriter, Americana, and Alt-Country music, but every now and again, I need to throw up the \m/ and just let loose. I became a huge fan of Quicksand with the release of Manic Compression in 1995, and I was elated when, out of nowhere, they seemed to re-emerge in 2017 to release Interiors. So, when they dropped Distant Population this year, I had to get it, and I am glad I did. I recently joined a gym to keep moving and get myself healthy, and this CD gets me going before every workout. What I love about Quicksand is each piece of the puzzle has equal value. Schreifels vocals are great. The lyrics are solid. Vega is one of my favorite bassists. Cage if a beast behind the kit. Capone has excellent chops and tone without being too thirsty. Individually they are great. Together they are better.
I have 1a’d and 1b’d before, but never given two albums the same position, but with these two, it is impossible for me to separate them. They are the same album. I know. I know. Two different artists. They don’t even sound the same. But all the elements are the same.
·
Crisp production? Check
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Solid, emotive vocals? Check
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Excellent earworm melodies? Check
· Good, angsty, scorned lover, songwriting? Check
Hell, both albums have tracks that sound like they are in
¾ and have the rise and fall of a proper waltz, and they both offer songs that
feature incredible bass lines. Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” has the grimiest bass line
on the first two verses. Every time I hear it, my hips begin to gyrate like I
am Elvis or some shit. Eilish is more consistent, allowing the bass line to
drive the entirety of “Lost Cause.” Same effect; I am just grinding for longer
when that one comes on.
There are some definite differences. Happier Than Ever
has a moodier and somber vibe. It is sultry and earnest. Sour, has a pop
sensibility that feels younger. Some of this can be attributed to regional
differences. Eilish is a LA born and bread. Everyone from LA is jaded. It is
part of the package. Whereas Rodrigo comes from Temecula, about an hour East of
San Diego, sunny, dry, gorgeous, but it’s got a very Stepfordy vibe.
Still, I am pretty sure both Rodrigo and Eilish will burn
down your house if you fuck them over, they’ll just do it differently. Billie’s
gonna pour the gas and leave trails of gunpowder, then sit back and watch as
you start the fire when you flick out your cigarette butt, smirking as it goes
up all Halloween orange and chimney red. Olivia, on the other hand, is throwing
a molotov cocktail through your window and then flipping you off through your
door camera before she walks away. Pick your poison. As long, as you stay on
their good side, I highly recommend both albums.
It feels like I am always writing about Lucy Dacus and
for good reason. She is brilliant, and her band is incredible. They make consistently
excellent music while continuing to evolve. Dacus serves up pure and
unflinching lyrics, inviting the listener into her world while sparing nothing.
They are raw and real. She is giving you everything she has to offer. Don’t
listen if you are trying to avoid feeling. When talking about Lucy Dacus I feel
compelled to mention her band. Hayden Cotcher is one of my favorite drummers, extremely
tasteful with quick wrists and excellent dynamics. Christine Moad is a fantastic
pocket bassist. He has all the chops and knows when to use them, ensuring the
integrity of the track is never jeopardized. Jacob Blizard is a damn genius. I
am not sure who is responsible for what when they are in the studio, but his
playing adds so much to each track. Having seen them live multiple times, they
are all amazing to watch work, and this gift of a CD can be listened to from start
to finish with no regret of time wasted on any track.
From the outside looking in, hell even from the inside looking in, this was the year of Watchhouse for me. I listened to this CD and all the back catalog of Mandolin Orange (their former name) more than anything this year. My first and only concert I have been to since the pandemic began was to see them (plus Son Volt and the Sleepy Rubies) at the Open Highway Music Festival. I absolutely adore when couples sing together. There is something magical when there is real love behind the melody lines and lyrics. I love Marlin’s mandolin and Frantz’s fiddle. Fuck, I love that their names and primary instruments make alliterations. I love everything about a band singing about being kind. The album is crisp. The instruments are perfectly distanced, allowing the recording to breathe like it would on stage. I can, and have, listen to it on repeat for days at a time. It is a worthy purchase.
You can thank Austin City Limits for this one. I hadn’t
heard anything about this recording, but Ingram, Lambert, and Randal did a
supporting session on ACL, and it made me go buy the CD. I love Miranda
Lambert, have all of her recordings, including the Pistol Annie’s stuff, so
when I saw her pop up on my DVR, I had to stop and watch. As a singer/songwriter,
the Mafia Tapes is everything I love. Three friends, sharing their
tunes, adding harmonies to each other’s tracks, and filling out the instrumentation
with some complimentary guitar parts here and there. When I was in college I
tried to make a similar recording, rolled up to the barn that was on the
property of the house I was staying in with a couple PZM microphones and a four
track recorder. I wanted to hear everything. I wanted the vocals to get lost in
the rafters. I wanted the creak of the old wood floors, the sound of the wind
rattling the battered tin roof. I wanted the environment to be part of the
recording. That is absolutely what they captured here, three incredible singer/songwriters
holed up in a house somewhere in West Texas and they recorded everything
allowing the listener to feel like they were actually there. It is perfect in
its simplicity, and the songwriting is fantastic to boot. I went weeks with it
in constant rotation and never got tired.
Well, there you have it, my Top 10 for 2021. Per usual, I
only ranked albums that I purchased, and there were many that didn’t make the
list. One, in particular, was The Off Season by J Cole. For a portion of
the year, I thought it was going to be my #1. The beats are excellent. The
production is crisp, and Cole’s lyrics are intelligent and thought provoking.
What eventually caused it to fall was they are also misogynistic AF. The more I
rolled around bumping it with the kids in the car, the more I thought I hope my
son never speaks this way about a woman, and I pray that no one ever treats my
daughter like she is an object. Ultimately, I decided if I continued to play
the album and others with similar themes, I was part of the problem. I was
giving artists a pass that they don’t deserve, so I stopped playing it and
removed it from it’s place on my list. So here is a reminder for all that we
need to be the change we want to see.
