18. Headache - The Head Hurts but the Heart Knows the Truth (2023)




A Stoph rec from the previous page.  I can't seem to find an answer to whether the lyrics generated by AI, or merely spoken by AI.  There's plenty of stuff like this online:

with all lyrics written by Francis Hornsby Clark, and then performed by AI.

...which sounded self explanatory at first, but then I started to wonder if Francis Hornsby Clark is the name of an AI programme, or someone in Headache.  FHC is the sort of name someone might give to an AI programme, right?  I'd like to know, because the shtick changes slightly depending on the answer, but the internet isn't being helpful. They've either been written by a person called Francis to appear like they could be AI poetry, or it's actual AI poetry.  I think I'd prefer the latter, but the former has merit too because most of it is great and I bet real Francis (if they exist!) had a whale of a time writing it all.  Either way I really liked this, despite assuming I'd hate it going in.  The profound banality of the lyrics is hilarious at times and the whole thing sounds like Susan Horace catching a bus into town at 10.30am and sitting on the back seat (with sunscreen on, watching the streets go by).  There's a Ninja Tune chillout album vibe underneath it all, which is a perfect match.  Good stuff.

Bless. Permission to skip ahead. Do transmissions, or keyboard fantasies or the last album. I've only done the first album once. It's all about the later stuff.

20. Bonnie Montgomery - River (2023)



Sifting through some best of 2023 country/Americana lists, saw this mentioned twice and thought 'never heard of her, I wonder if it's a pseudonym based on Bonnie Raitt's cover of Angel From Montgomery'.  After listening I used the forum search just in case I'd done a brain fog again, and it turns out 1) I had heard of her, and 2) I wondered the exact same thing in 2020 (she also had an amusing Twitter exchange with Cocko here).

This was my first time listening though, and it's a quality album.  Her voice is massive and I Was Fine sounded like a belting cover of a genre classic.  It's her own composition though, rather than a standard, and it's gold.  The whole record is strong and I'll give it another go soon.  Her voice sounds a bit like Laura Cantrell with deeper lungs to me.  A big thumbs up. 

21. Margo Cilker - Valley of Heart's Delight (2023)



Another artist we've discussed briefly in the country thread.  I missed this album though, and much like Bonnie's River it was included on a few of the lists I read this morning.  If anything this album's even better, with I Remember Carolina striking me as particularly superb.  With the Middle managed to remind me of Angel From Montgomery too, in terms of subject matter this time.  Terrific album, if I did ratings for first listens it'd get the full 5.

Either one of both of these albums would appeal to @poprock imo.

regmcfly wrote:

Anyone recommend me some 2023 indie pop?

Heard a song the other day by a group called FIZZ which I thought you might like.

Was that Dancer single I posted any good for you, Reg?

regmcfly wrote:

Anyone recommend me some 2023 indie pop?

Angel Numbers - Hamish Hawk.  If he'd been kicking stuff out in the 90s he would have been huge.  I've seen Hawk described as "like Morissey if he'd grown up" which is kind of true, but also suggests a narrower range than he offers.  The singles - "Money", "Think of us Kissing" and "Angel Numbers" jump out at first listen, but in reality it's some of the others that really worked their way under my skin after a few more goes round. Bill - a song in which he recounts dreaming of his hero, Bill Callahan, is a delight.

Milk For Flowers - H Hawkline. Superficially similar in name and sound, this is actually a rather lovely mediation on grief, rendered through an indie pop filter.  It's lyrically both touching and surreal.  Also responsible for me spending roughly 6 months quietly singing "Old women, young children... Can teach you everything you need to know about living" to myself whenever I was bored.

Rare Birds: Hour of Song - The Bug Club. Look, you've probably heard Bug Club by now, and as such you know whether you like their particular type of fuzzy pop or not but...  Yeah, they're great. This album also has weird poems interspersing songs which you'll either enjoy or not.  As someone who always used to put random spoken word bits into mix tapes, I approve.

My Big Day - Bombay Bicycle Club   Olimite's right, this is really good - to my ears at least it's their best record in a while.

Mushroom Cloud - A.S. Fanning - Very indie, not so much pop.  I absolutely loved this, but appreciate it's not for everyone.  Sometimes offering complex orchestral soundscapes, other times settling for not much more than a Casio drumbeat, these are songs of loneliness, sadness, paranoia and also, ultimately, hope.

Skeletons at the Feast - Al Joshua.  An odd one this.  Al Joshua was responsible for the Orphans & Vandals album "I Am Alive and You Are Dead" which I adore, and no-one else seems to have even heard of.  A while ago, after listening to that record yet again,  I found myself wondering what had happened to the brains behind the outfit - Al Joshua.  Turns out he'd just released a solo album, to precisely no fanfare whatsoever, and this is it.  The record lacks Orphans & Vandals' swagger (and budget) and in truth I'm not sure how much my enjoyment is based on past glories but...  I like it a fair bit.  His sense of humour remains, as does his anger, and fascination with the less attractive elements of human nature.  Some songs are actively arch and theatrical, but others are gentler, sweeter confections. As a whole, the record's like waking up in a gutter, but looking up at the sunrise.   You may well bounce off this hard, but give it a whirl...

So...

No links because just quick on my phone, but after quite enjoying the second album, I finally listened to the first black pumas album, and then followed that up with the expanded edition which has a truck load of extra tracks and live stuff, and they're just fucking great on all fronts.

First album is just consistently awesome. Lead vocalist has a subtly fantastic voice.

Basically no dud tracks on the first album.

Some great covers on the extended version.

In particular, they do a killer cover of fast car.

Anyhoo, if you haven't tried them, dive in, if you're into americana/retro soul etc.

22. Hamish Hawk - Angel Numbers (2023)



Picked one from Tin's list.  Unfortunately I picked the wrong one for my tastes as I struggled to find anything to love here.  I didn't hate any of it and a couple of tracks had stick-me-on-a-playlist energy (Desperately was good, and he successfully goes a wee bit Purple Mountains on Rest & Veneers), but overall this didn't click.  Plus any time I'm reminded that Bill Callahan exists I start sulking, because he's right near the top of my 'artists I should like but can't seem to get on with no matter how hard I try' list.  

I can hear the Morrissey thing ofc, but he also sounds a bit like someone told John Grant to stop moping.  Plenty of nice lines throughout, unfortunately it's not quite my cup of tea (it sort of is, but someone added sugar and I struggled to drink it despite the fact that I used to love sweet tea).

I posted the brilliant Carolina Chocolate Drops version of Hit ’Em Up Style in the Greatest Hit thread, and it made me realise I’ve never listened to that album in full. So I gave it a spin.

Tl;dr - it was a disappointment.



Genuine Negro Jig - Carolina Chocolate Drops

Great cover art. Great album name. But there’s disappointment lurking around the corner.

I suspect Carolina Chocolate Drops might have been one of those bands you really had to see play live. I’m sure I would have loved them in concert. But on record their schtick feels affected - and crucially a whole album feels too much. Chalk them up as a novelty, or a singles band, maybe.

They had a lot of line-up changes over the years, but on this record it’s the core trio of Dom Flemons, Justin Robinson and Rhiannon Giddens. They switch roles and instruments from song to song, but it’s generally fiddle, banjo, vocals and some form of basic percussion. Later incarnations of the band saw a beatboxer as a permanent member. 

The vibe is Deep South traditional. Black string music. Chain gang vibes. You can imagine them slotting into the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Not quite the blues and not quite bluegrass. The fiddle takes it somewhere else. 

When it works, it works. But it doesn’t work often enough. There’s a run of excellent tunes in the middle of the album. I’d kind of filtered the record out into background music until a lazy, languorous version of Your Baby Ain’t Sweet Like Mine dropped in and changed the vibe. Suddenly we’re getting a torch song at the back of a speakeasy and I’m enjoying it. That’s followed by the cover of Hit ’Em Up Style that the band are probably most famous for. That’s where it all comes together, for me - Giddens’ voice lifts it immensely. It’s an all-timer. That segues into Cornbread & Butterbeans, a solid take on the old traditional. And Snowden’s Jig completes the run of good stuff, again standing out from the rest of the album because of the way it allows the fiddle to lead. but then things drop right off again. And four great songs out of 14 just ain’t enough. Why Don’t You Do Right? is a lacklustre cover, bringing nothing new to the song, and I actually had to skip Memphis Shakedown - the kazoo was a step too far for me. Couldn’t bear it.

Overall I dunno. I think I love the band, but in smaller doses. I won’t be listening to a whole album again.

Wonderful Misery - Miss Li

I’m a huge fan of Miss Li. She’s just my type of retro-tinted Scandinavian pop star, with a string of incredible albums from 2005-ish to 2014. Vintage dresses, big band backing, and absolutely massive choruses. Songs like Dancing The Whole Way Home, You Could Have It So Much Better Without Me, and I Finally Found It are permanent fixtures on my playlists. I used to end one of my regular club nights with Dancing The Whole Way Home, every month.

But Miss Li (real name Linda Karlsson) apparently had a breakdown in 2014 and disappeared from the spotlight. When she returned in 2017 she was writing for Rihanna and releasing straightforward pop records that didn’t really interest me. I thought I’d check out her latest, just out of curiosity.

Wonderful Misery is an English language remake of her latest Swedish album, Underbart i all Misär.

And, erm … it’s adequate. From beginning to end, Wonderful Misery is identikit female-fronted pop. Musically it’s bland. There’s nothing memorable here. It could be a bunch of Steps B-sides. But somehow, it’s still Miss Li. Every now and then, her world-weary voice breaks through in the verses, before she sings like every too-polished contestant on a reality show for the choruses. Those verses are hiding some nuggets of pure gold. 

“I don’t know how I got so wasted on the shots I barely tasted, The band is playin’ Creedence and I’m all up in my feelings …”

So there are glimmers of the songwriter I love, but she seems lost in this glossy pop production. When I want glossy girl-pop there’s so much better out there. I wouldn’t listen to this over Taylor Swift. 

Turns out that smoothing off Miss Li’s sharp edges was a bad idea. It’s her sharp edges I liked. I’m not enjoying hearing her autotuned, I used to love the way her voice broke on the difficult notes. The way some of her lyrics had that second-language awkwardness. She had character.

I like the idea of a must listen. Will pinch.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I like the idea of a must listen. Will pinch.

Awesome! In my OP, there’s a Spotify playlist including one track from each album I listen to. I know you don’t have it but maybe you could do a YouTube one

Just listened to that Justice album for a bit (was fine), but I seem to have accidentally switched to the self titled one now.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Just listened to that Justice album for a bit (was fine), but I seem to have accidentally switched to the self titled one now.

Cross is a masterpiece. I think @afgavinstan is a big fan, too.

A few to catch up on:

24. Florry - The Holey Bible (2023)



A weird one because I can't stop listening to it, but it still all kind of blends into one at the moment.  I've heard it about 6 times now and absolutely love the sound, despite the fact that I haven't really managed to latch onto any lyrics or tracks in particular yet.  It's ramshackle, fuzzy, demo-ish sounding country rock with pop leanings, and I'm pretty sure I really really like it.


25. Dylan Earl - I Saw the Arkansas (2024)



Another one I spotted on a decent looking Americana list I was jotting stuff down from recently.  Look at him sitting there - it's definitely an album that could go either way.  Cards on the table: I only made it two tracks in because I noped out immediately after the following lines:

We're gonna kick up some dirt
Pop a top or two, ah, I guess it couldn't hurt
I'm gonna burn a spliff in the middle of the road
In the mornin' sun
This is how we'll have our fun

The rest of the album might be banging but I wasn't in the mood for such pish.

Must not listen: White Painted Trees


26. Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band - Dancing on the Edge (2024)



This is genuinely good, it's just not quite for me.  I'd read a review in Uncut (9/10, album of the month iirc) that made it sound like something I might love, and I was aware that I wouldn't be getting an actual roadhouse sounding band here, but the length of the tracks pushes it a bit for me.  Instead of 7 long-ass songs I would have preferred 12 short-ass ones with the same sound (I had similar grievance with Last of the Country Gentlemen, a Josh T Pearson album from 2011 that the critics all seemed to love).  I'll listen again, there are some great lines in here, but as it stands it's probably something I'd recommend without being too keen on it myself.  Possibly one for @tin_Robot.

Must Listen: Junk Drawer Heart  


27. Sleater-Kinney - Little Rope (2024)



The best thing about S-K is that their albums are invariably somewhere between solid and great to me, and this is no exception - I don't think they're capable of putting out a duff record.  They've never been absolute favourites of mine but I always make time to listen to their stuff.  They're a bit tidier than they used to be but this still sounds great.  Very good.

Must listen: Hell