2024 Album-A-Day: Week 31

I think we're past the point where anyone's actually going to recommend albums for me to write about in this series, so just click here for the playlist.

July 29th: I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty

Another dip into the well of Josh Tillman, this time with a concept album about his wife. This is largely very similar to Fear Fun, as shown by the title track, but it has added electronic elements such as on "True Affection." The most stereotypically Misty song on the album is "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.," in which Misty rants about all of the things he hates about one girl and then breaks into her home. The combination of irony and orchestration really strikes a chord with me. My favorite is "Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)

July 30th: The Everglow by mae

This album was on Crash Thompson's wall for a long time, so I listened to it and was impressed. mae (stylized all lowercase, even though it's an acronym for "multisensory aesthetic experience," which is not usually how acronyms work) is a band that isn't a Christian band, but they share a label with many Christian bands and this album was reviewed positively by Christian music magazines, which I guess kinda makes sense, but this isn't a Christian album. This is a concept album about a man and woman falling in love and.... then... some other stuff happens? I couldn't really tell. The first track says that everything is explained in the CD booklet, which I don't have, so I'll have to seek that out at a later date. As it is, this is pretty good dramatic emo rock with great, clean production and bombastic hooks. My favorite was "The Ocean."

July 31st: Crack-up by Fleet Foxes

After I finally listened to Helplessness Blues in this project, I decided to add Crack-Up to this list. This album is somewhat of a progression on their sound, with songs being longer and more layered. The harmonies are as sharp as ever, and it has that warmth that Fleet Foxes always has. It feels like it might take a few more listens to fully appreciate. It's been compared to 22, A Million, and I don't really hear that, but I'm looking forward to seeing what MicTheSnare meant when he said that. My favorite track was "Third of May/Odaigahara."

August 1st: Leviathan by Mastodon

After knowing opening track "Blood and Thunder" for years, I thought I'd educate myself on Mastodon. This is thrash/stoner metal based loosely on Moby Dick, and it definitely sounds like those riffs are fighting a white whale. I don't listen to nearly enough thrash metal, because when I do, it kicks ass. My favorite track was "Iron Tusk."

August 2nd: Vaudeville Villain by Viktor Vaughn

This was yet another MF DOOM project that I'd been putting off for a while. Why exactly it took me so long to listen to Venomous Villain, I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that this album sees DOOM as fun as ever, this time inhabiting the character of Viktor Vaughn, a time travelling drug dealer