JUNE 2021 ALBUM REVIEWS
Well, we’ve reached the halfway point of the year and I’ve stuck with this. At any given moment I may get bored and throw in the towel though! Fourteen records listened to in full this month, a mix of indie pop, hip hop, acoustic, electronica, alternative and of course metal in it’s myriad forms…death, black, power, thrash and progressive. I had intended to listen to the new Fear Factory but after a few songs I was too bored to bother. Throw two stars at it and be done. Onwards then!
Nineteenth album by Norwegian black metal legends Darkthrone sees them continue the trend of recent records, slow, slithering riffs which burst into occasional bouts of speed with more than a nod to Celtic Frost. The album has a very loose and primal sound to it, deliberately retro and old school. Nowadays they seem content to homage the 80s underground metal scene rather than forge any new ground and this is another perfectly pleasant, if unremarkable addition to their discography, with a suitably lo-fi production. 3.5/5
Long running thrash metal act Flotsam and Jetsam have spent most of their career being famous for an outstanding debut album featuring Jason Newsted, who of course himself went on to become famous for his fifteen year spell in Metallica. Although the follow up record was also excellent they subsequently floundered for a good twenty + years in a sea of mediocrity, putting out sub standard, mid paced groove albums which barely raised any attention in the metal scene. Then, from out of the blue, a back to basics barn stormer of an record followed in 2016, returning to their thrash roots. Another similarly superb opus followed a couple of years later and here we are in 2021 with the third excellent release in a row. I’m not sure any band has ever risen so spectacularly from death’s door before, this is some of the best thrash I’ve heard in ages, laden with catchy, melodic riffs with Knutson’s vocals displaying as wide a range now as they did thirty years ago. The song writing is exemplary, the band know when to slow down and where to inject a bit of pace, the choruses are anthemic and the album never outstays its welcome. I’m not sure what these guys put in their water five years ago but whatever it was, I hope they keep on drinking it! 4.5/5
I can’t pretend to have followed Garbage’s career into the 21st century but am fond of their 90s records. All being well I’ll be catching them live later in the year so thought I’d check out this latest release and very glad I did, will be catching up on some of the stuff I’ve overlooked too on the strength of this. Quite a politically charged and lyrically angry album, No Gods No Masters sees Garbage cover similar ground musically to what I remember but it never sounds dated. It’s that electronic indie rock that was so big a couple of decades back, with strong hooks and plenty of stompy beats. Manson still has a great voice and the album sounds vibrant, alternating between rousing anthems and introspective cynicism. The CD comes with a bonus disc packed full of enough songs to make a second album, a solid package for a really enjoyable record. 4/5
One of the biggest metal releases of the year is finally upon us, delayed for a year due to the pandemic, the first album by German power metal legends Helloween to feature original guitarist Kai Hansen since 1988 and the first to be graced with the remarkable vocal talents of Michael Kiske since 1993. Reformed as ‘Pumpkins United’ for a world tour, they had so much fun they decided to record a seven piece album together, one that could so easily have ended up over stuffed and overblown. So it’s with great relief that it ended up as neither, this is the sound of a band re-energised and on fire, over an hour of grandiose heavy and speed metal which encompasses sounds from throughout their career. Both Kiske and long time singer Deris are in fine form and there’s surprisingly little fat to be found amongst the twelve songs (fourteen with the CD release). Stylistically it’s not a million miles away from what the band have been doing since Kiske’s departure, most of the album has been written by founding member Michael Weikath, although the twelve minute album closer by Hansen reeks of Helloween’s early stuff with more than a healthy dose of Gamma Ray, the band he went on to form. This is just a really fun album, bursting with energy, riffs and melody, an absolute joy for long term fans and hopefully the first of more collaborations between them. It’s also given them their first number one album in their native country and their first chart succes in the UK since 1991. 4.5/5
With an opening line of ‘We’re all going to die, that’s the truth’ it’s easy to think you’re going to be in for a miserable ride on this, James’ 16th album. That initial track goes on to be more hopeful though, promoting living life to the max and sets the tone for the album, which has a largely hopeful and vibrant sound throughout, despite dealing with some dour subject matter. Musically James are still very much singing from the same hymn book as their 90s hey day, guitar driven, mid paced indie rock that dabbles with electronics and dance beats with strong melodies. The hooks aren’t instantly memorable here and it takes a few listens for the songs to really sink in but it’s another fine effort from a band who prove they’ve still plenty to offer at this late stage of their career. 3.5/5
Autobiographical album from American singer songwriter John Grant which sees him return to a more conventional style. His previous record, Love is Magic, was absolutely barmy, like the soundtrack to an acid house gay disco, but with this he’s back to what he does best, a more restrained, balladic approach. Although most of the backing instrumentation remains electronic, he does break out the piano on occasion and uses both to great effect. Grant has an incredible voice, deep and soothing, morose at times but also able to hit some high notes and he’s always been a fantastic song writer and lyricist, both witty and emotional. This album sees him look back on his life, loves and regrets, his relationships and the barriers he faced coming out, whilst also finding time to get political. He’s very much laying himself bare on this record, most of it is quite laid back although at times it ups the ante and on a couple of tracks does hark back to the crazy stuff he was doing on the previous album. At 75 minutes it does initially feel like a lot to take on in one sitting, but repeat listens get under the skin and I can only see my love for it increasing as I spend more time with it. Probably his best album since the sophomore back in 2013. 4/5
Second album of 2021 from these ridiculously prolific Australian rockers sees yet another shift in sound and style. It’s hard to recommend King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to anyone not prepared to sift through their entire eighteen album discography (in just eleven short years!) as it’s so eclectic. Ostensibly best described as psychedelic garage rock, they’ve also tried their hands at surf pop, boogie, thrash metal, jazz, soul, infused some of their albums with eastern influences and written a soundtrack to a pretend Western. On Butterfly 3000 they’ve written a breezy slice of indie pop, in the vein of Tame Impala, something cheery, up beat…summer time open top car music. I don’t like it. But it doesn’t really matter if this band put out an album I don’t like as the wait between albums is so incredibly short, I’ll barely have time to get over my disappointment before they throw something completely new at me a few months down the line. 2.5/5
Lucy Dacus’ third album doesn’t see her stray far from the style employed on her earlier work, the music is sullen and emotionally charged, Dacus’ voice soothing as she recounts her life up to this point, her Christian upbringing, early relationships, coming out and how she marries the three today as a different person. The lyrics are poignant and pull no punches, at one point she rages against a friend’s absent father in one of the albums’ highlights, a song she used to perform live and had never originally intended recording. Dacus was once part of all girl trio boygenius, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, all of whom have forged succesful solo careers since, the former receiving several grammy nominations. They reform here for one track and clearly still have a great relationship with each other. I do have reservations about the one song with auto tuned vocals (apparently recorded as an experiment when she was suffering with a sore throat) but otherwise this is an excellent collection of morose indie pop. 4/5
Dutch death metal act Pestilence bang out another solid if workmanlike album. After a brief intro this album bursts into life with an urgent, energetic riff that teeters on the edge, an energetic and exciting song that bodes well. But sadly the record never really lives up to this promising opening, despite a few tasty, dirty riffs and Mameli’s always reliable vocals. Even at just 38 minutes it manages to outstay its welcome, there’s little here that’s particularly memorable, mid paced, middle of the road death metal. It struggles to hold the attention beyond the halfway mark and whilst never unpleasant I can’t ever see myself revisiting it in favour of the band’s classic late eighties/early nineties work. In fairness this is a genre I struggle with nowadays so others who still crave this sort of thing may take more from it than me. 3/5
I like to randomly check out a debut album from time to time and this indie pop / punk act have a bit of hype surrounding them. Despite describing itself as ‘the guitar-based world of the record meets the cinematic 50s/60s inspired world’, Death of a Cheerleader is not quite so grandiose. Musically I found it a bit all over the place, bouncing between ballads, punk pop, indie and garage rock. Some bands can make this work and I often enjoy a bit of variety but here I never got the sense of what the band are trying to do. I preferred the noisier stuff, which reminded me of some up tempo 90s indie stuff, No Doubt sprang to mind at one point, whereas at other times the more introspective tunes reminded me of a less inventive Mitski. The band are largely a solo project of 23 year old Mia Berrin and whilst they show promise in places it’s very much a work in progress at the moment. 2.5/5
Sometimes it can be obvious from the off who a band’s main influences are and that’s very much the case here. I’d eat my proverbial hat if Silver Talon aren’t big fans of Nevermore, they play the same brand of progressive heavy metal and singer Wyatt Howell sounds uncannily similar to the much missed Warrel Dane. The music is dark, moody and dramatic, full of heavy, melancholic riffing and some impressively technical playing from a triple guitar attack. There are also similarities to draw between Silver Talon and Communic, another band who are probably bored of being compared to Nevermore, alongside a doff of the cap to Queensrÿche. Which isn’t to suggest they’ve nothing new to say, despite these heavy influences Silver Talon have shown enough on this, their sophomore album, to suggest they can forge their own path, the song writing is good with memorable hooks, infectious riffing and myriad time changes, each track has a load going on without ever sounding over stuffed. And really, I miss Nevermore so much that I’m more than happy to have another band pick up the baton! 4/5
Much lauded, award winning rapper Tyler, The Creator’s sixth album has been released to a slew of five star reviews and acclaim. I won’t for one moment pretend that hip hop is my bag, or that I even really understand its appeal, but I’m prepared to give anything a go. This album plays like a stream of consciousness, each song gliding into the next effortlessly and it’s varied; funky breakbeats merging into soul, jazz and multi instrumentation, some of which are quite surprising, with a lot of hard hitting lyrics. There’s quite a lot to unpack here, an impressive degree of depth and range with lots going on, but if I’m honest I’m not likely to ever revisit it to do so, which is not a criticism, just me being honest, this is never going to be my go-to genre. 3.5/5
Released to great critical acclaim and taking a UK number one slot in the charts, Wolf Alice’s third album belies media accusations that the public are more interested in solo artists rather than bands nowadays. Blue Weekend is their most accomplished and mature album yet, covering a wide range of styles, nominally a guitar driven alternative sound with diversions into pop, folk, shoegaze, balladry and raucous rock. Despite this mash of genres the record flows beautifully and nothing feels out of place or beyond the band’s capabilities. Understated guitars and dreamy, whispered vocals often explode into riffs, allowing vocalist Ellie Roswell to display her range as she sings about relationships, disappointments and fractured friendships. This is easily one of the best albums I’ve heard this year and gets better with repeat listens, it didn’t instantly wow me on the back of the first couple of spins but the more you sit with it the more hidden depths it reveals. A band on the verge of very big things. 5/5
An entirely acoustic instrumental album, Urban Driftwood is absolutely delightful, the soundtrack to skipping through dew laden fields on an early spring morning. Williams is described as a fingerstyle guitarist, who sits with the instrument placed across her lap whilst dancing fitfully across the fretboard. I’ve no idea how common or well known this style of playing is but it’s quite entrancing watching her play (plenty of youtube videos about!) and the sound she produces is fantastic, with pleasant lilting melodies that almost demand you sit back, put your feet up and chill. I’m always willing to oblige there :) 4/5
…and because we’re halfway there (apologies if you’ve just burst into Bon Jovi here), my favourite twenty albums of the year so far, in alphabetical order, are Anna B Savage, Black Country New Road, Black Midi, Blaze Bayley, Death from Above 1979, Demoniac, Flotsam & Jetsam, Garbage, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Helloween, John Grant, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (first album!), Lana Del Rey, Mogwai, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Panopticon, The Ruins of Beverast, St.Vincent, Tribulation, Wolf Alice.
