Rating: 7 brown napkins out of 10
I've not paid a ton of attention to David Bazan
(aka Pedro the Lion) lately, but I've loved the guy for years. Since college even, and I'm old! Those
first three Pedro records are permanently burned into my psyche, and I'm
always happy to lend any new material the dude releases a friendly
ear. "Blanco" might be dressed up a little different with it's synth
contortions and electronic drums, but at it's heart it still sounds like
a classic Pedro the Lion album. Bazan's deep, raspy voice, morose lyrics, and the the pacing
of his songs dominate his sound no matter what
name he records under or how much some tracks might superficially sound
like Grandaddy ("Kept Secrets"), Peter Gabriel ("Trouble with Boys"), or
Gary Numan ("With You"). I like it though, this additional layer of
artificial melody peppering his songs...a little extra texture never
hurt anybody.
Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
XL
2016
Rating: Unnecessary
There is absolutely no point in reviewing a new Radiohead
record. Unless you're a little kid just now getting into music or
you've been in a coma for twenty years, you know what you're getting
here. I will say: I like it, but it's not my favorite record by the
band. Aesthetically, feels pretty much like their last record "The King
of Limbs." Might make my favorite records of the year list, I'd say
it's a toss-up at this point. It always takes me a while to fully digest my feelings on any given Radiohead release.
I doubt Radiohead fans are gonna
be disappointed, and I doubt anyone changes their mind about the band
based on "A Moon Shaped Pool." You pretty much already know what this is and whether
you give a shit about it.
Little Scream
Cult Following
Merge
2016
Rating: 6 additional pleated fans out of 10
Based solely on most write-ups of this or any other Little Scream record, it's highly doubtful I would have paid much attention had it not been released by Merge. That label is batting about .750 or .800 for my tastes, so anything they sign off on is worth a once over.
The bad - I'm not crazy about the whole record. There is an insane amount of genre hopping from one song to the next, with Prince-like falsetto funk-pop being the most frequent comparison. There's also spacy folk pop, weirdo art rock, and god knows what else. It can almost be dizzying. I'm not often in the mood to hear all types of music all the time.
The good - there are a few songs though that are beyond fantastic. "The Kissing" features guest vocals from Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, and has guitar solos reminiscent of the Wyld Stallyns from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." Yes, I recently watched that movie again so it was fresh in my mind. "Someone Will Notice" gives me a strong Aimee Mann vibe, and both it and "Wreckage" really make me think of Wye Oak - and I mean that in the best possible way. Wye Oak is everything.
I wish I was excited about this whole record as I am about those few songs, but it's worth a listen just for those alone. And maybe I'll grow into the rest...
