The past couple months I have admittedly been a little lazy with these. There are some albums that I wrote a two sentence uninspired blurb for like “the production is good” or “the songwriting is bad”. Fortunately, April has inspired me to write because of how much great music came out. Let’s get right into it.
What I Liked
SABLE, fABLE - Bon Iver (Indie Folk)
Is it too early to call something my album of the year? I am absolutely biased because Bon Iver is my favorite artist and has been for a while. I would have been excited if this was a few mediocre songs. It’s impossible for me to remove my bias, but I genuinely think that had I never heard Bon Iver before I would still have loved this album. Justin has such an amazing ability to create these worlds with his music. He brings us into this world where he isn’t good enough and things haven’t gone the way he imagined. He then looks at the same situation from a more appreciative stance, a don’t cry because it’s over smile because it happened situation. I feel like on this album more than ever his optimism for the future feels real. He didn’t just solve the problems he made the music to reconcile, he’s solved himself a little. Justin’s ability to convey his emotions through what he says and how the music sounds is still unmatched. Take a look here for a better idea of what I mean by that.
Jellywish - Florist (Indie Folk, Singer Songwriter)
Florist’s lead singer Emily Spargue’s voice has always sounded incredible to me. It’s so soft but so powerful and in control. If you need an example from another album, listen to Two Ways from their self-titled album. This album is largely about working through the emotions surrounding the death of a loved one. The subject matter makes Ms. Spargue’s voice sound all the more powerful. It sounds appropriately soft and somber, but rarely cracks and is trying its best to be strong. It makes the moments when her voice does let itself crack so powerful. The emotion is so tangible. It’s beautiful.
Face Down in the Garden - Tennis (Indie Pop)
I’m going to be honest - I listened to this one at work and never really came back to it to give it the attention it deserves. While I can’t really comment on any lyrical themes, I can say that this album has a groovy indie sound that I really enjoyed. Tight instrumentals and a good voice will get you far. I’ll definitely be coming back to this one sometime soon. If there’s anything extra I want to talk about I’ll add a PS below.
The Crux - Djo (Pop Rock)
I loved listening to this album. When the opener on the album hits its break its an immediate vibe. There is so much to this album. Every song on this album feels so jumpy. The bridges and transitions between verse and chorus often sound like they come from different songs. Everything still somehow works. I really love the old radio quality that Mr. Djo’s voice has for a lot of the album. A lot of the songs here have a similar start to the point where it becomes a little predictable, but enough is done as each song progresses to where it doesn’t really bother me. One of my favorites of the year so far. Also, this guy is the "When I'm back in Chicago" Tik Tok song guy. Didn't like that song, I'm glad this album is better.
WRONG BALLOON - Kellan Christopher Cragg (Indie)
This album came out in late March, sue me. From what I understand, this album was written, performed, and produced by a 17-year-old kid in a month. This album is an impressive effort for anyone, much less someone that young. After an instrumental first track, the second track wakes you up about a minute and a half in. Mr. Cragg’s voice has this incredible controlled raspy quality to it that is so conducive to the songs he’s making on this album. The self-harmonizing sound where a musician will layer their voice several times to create these beautiful sounds has become commonplace, but I think Mr. Cragg does an excellent job making it his own on this album. There is not much going on the lyrical side of things beyond the first few tracks. The instrumentals are bare through the whole album, some songs appropriately so but most songs feel sparse. The interludes are trying to be too deep. Overall, I really enjoy the sounds that Kellan is making on this album and I look forward to him refining some of his songwriting and production chops as he makes more music.
Malcolm Todd - Malcolm Todd (Singer Songwriter, Alternative R&B)
I didn’t realize that I already knew a song from this guy until I got to Chest Pain and heard the “I love, I love” line. If you don’t already know what I’m talking about, listen to the song and you’ll recognize it. A lot of this album is a little whiny about girl problems and his fame, but I can appreciate how blunt Mr. Todd is about those things. I also like how consistent this album sounds across its runtime. It sticks to a lot of the same instruments and Malcom stays in his lane vocally, but each song still feels like its own. I liked it.
Revengeseekerz - Jane Remover (Digicore, Experimental Hip Hop)
Ms. Remover’s last full length album was a pretty enjoyable shoegaze album. When the singles from this album started to release, it became clear that shoegaze was not what we were getting with this project. Jane wrote, recorded, and produced this ridiculous hyperpop album. The production is NUTS. There are samples from every video game I played as a kid from the Mario Kart finish sound to Palkia’s cry to the fencing announcer saying “allez” in Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Instrumental motifs return throughout the album without getting tired. Beyond the sound of the album, Jane’s songwriting is pretty good. Ms. Remover is talented at shifting her songwriting approach based on the style of music she’s making. On this album, she takes the cutesy approach to love that is commonplace in hyperpop music and makes it her own. Really great listen.
Bloodless - Samia (Indie Folk, Singer Songwriter)
I found out about Ms. Samia from her Tiny Desk about a year and a half ago (which happened to be Bob Boilen’s last Tiny Desk as the primary producer). I loved her Tiny Desk for the group aspect. The variety of instrumentation and voices really made it what it was. When I went to listen to Samia after the Tiny Desk I was greatly disappointed. Her music was so stripped back both instrumentally and vocally. Thankfully that changed on this project. While it’s primarily still just her voice, the songs feel so much more full and alive with the added instrumentation. I’ll definitely come back to this one.
Forever Howlong - Black Country, New Road (Progressive Pop, Art Rock)
After a fun live album, we finally have a “this is what we sound like without Isaac” album. I like it. These are six of the most talented classical instrumentalists on the planet, it’s hard for them to make a bad product. While I wasn’t sold on the relationships theme from the singles, listening to the whole album ties up the thematic bow well.
Ginkgo - Pachinko (Indie Rock, Neo-Psych)
I’m surprised that this album isn’t listed as shoegaze. Also Billy Woods jumpscared me. I liked this one but honestly have not given it too close of a listen yet. I like the sound. I will definitley return to it to give it the time it deserves.
The Meh
Star - 2holis (Electopop)
I didn’t know this album was dropping, but I was excited to listen to it. While I really only knew two of Mr. holis’s songs before this, the Tik Tok hit Jeans and his recent single afraid that made my January playlist, I was excited to hear his emoish hyperpopish sound over a whole album. I was immediately disappointed when all of the fun production that I had come to expect from his music was nowhere to be found on the album. I think it’s very hard for the emoish glitchy vocals to sound good over a bare bones instrumental. I’m also getting tired of bare bones production being a “stylistic choice”, you’re just being lazy. Can it work? Sure, but it doesn’t here. It’s not all bad but I was definitely expecting more.
Withered - d4vd (Bedroom Pop)
Send A Prayer My Way - Julien Baker & TORRES (Americana)
Why Not More - Coco Jones (Contemporary R&B)
d4vd, Julien Baker & TORRES, and Coco Jones all made albums in April that I feel so meh about that I don't even feel like I can write about them at length. So I'm not going to. You may like them though, give them a try!
The Ugly
You Can’t Say That - Dave Blunts
Ok, it couldn’t all be good. The first two songs both feature a lyric about Mr. Blunts being squirted on. We get all of the major slurs out of the way by the third song. The first song starts with Dave whining about not being able to find true love then turns into a full-blown Christmas song, jingle bells and all, asking Santa for a woman who won’t cheat or leave. This is the kind of stuff that only middle school boys can find entertaining.
Albums I’m Looking Forward To Next Month
GOLLIWOG - billy woods (Experimental Hip Hop)
Billy is on a years-long heater right now. Based on the singles that have dropped so far, I expect that to continue.
My April Favorites
Under Construction
That's it and that's all! We'll see if I keep up with this whole weekly baseball article thing. Only time will tell. See you in June!
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