2024 Album-A-Day: Week 34

Oops, this one's a day late. Then again, nobody reads these, so I think I'm in the clear. Here's the playlist link, and recommend albums you want me to hear.

August 19th: Sunbather by Deafheaven

Black metal + shoegaze = An album I like but don't love. I don't listen to a lot of shoegaze, or any black metal, and the combination of the two is a really cool and unexpected idea.... that I don't really know what to do with in practice. I like the dreamy glide riffs with those pop chord progressions, and that has a nice contrast with the growled vocals, but I don't really know how I feel about this beyond "Oh, that's a cool sound." I'm calling "Dream House" my favorite song for now.

August 20th: Los Angeles by X

To me, X sounds like if Blondie were a lot less polished, and I mean that in a good way. You have an unshakably confident female lead singer, and those classic sloppy punk riffs. All of these songs have great hooks, as well. This band was apparently very influential on other punk bands in the California scene, and I can see how the lineage can be drawn. My favorite was "Sex and Dying in High Society."

August 21st: The Globe Sessions by Sheryl Crow

This was one that I'd been meaning to check out ever since an episode of the podcast Song vs Song (it was the episode about "If It Makes You Happy" vs "Who Will Save Your Soul") where Lina Morgan insisted upon the greatness of this album. I knew a few Sheryl Crow songs, and none of them were on this album, so it seemed perfect for this project. Sheryl Crow is so much more talented than I gave her credit for. This style of country-tinged rock combined with Crow's unstoppable voice lead to a great listen, with an eye for production detail that wouldn't usually be seen in an album like this. My favorite song was "Maybe That's Something."

August 22nd: Mr Money with the Vibe by Asake

Amapiano is a genre I admittedly only recently became aware of (Thanks Bandsplaining!), and much of this album is in a language I don't speak, and when it's in English he's using a lot of Nigerian slang I don't know, so I can mostly comment on the sound. Fortunately, that sound is amazing. Amapiano is known for its bass sound, called the log drum, which weaves in and out of these beats seamlessly, throwing in fills whenever they feel. It plays off the percussive beats with such ease, and Asake, even if I don't know what he's talking about, has such charisma in his performance and rides the beats effortlessly. "Terminator" was my favorite.

August 23rd: Aquemini by Outkast

It's embarrassing how long it took me to listen to a full Outkast record. I am so glad that I finally did. Andre and Big Boi are, needless to say, untouchable. Big Boi is a steamroller on the mic, and Andre 3000 does things never thought possible. Listen to the title track, and there are times where you wonder, "How did he even think to put those words in that order?" Not only does it have kickass singles like "Rosa Parks" and "Da Art of Storytelling," but it also has deep-cut jams like the aforementioned title track and "SpottieOttieDopalicious," and don't even get me started on "Chonkyfire." There's also great guests, like George Clinton, Cee-Lo Green, and Raekwon. There is exactly one song that I don't like as much as the others, and it's "Mamacita." It's just a little too long and repetitive, but then "SpottieOttieDopalicious" happens and all is forgiven. My favorite song is the title track.

August 24th: Suede by Suede (also known as The London Suede)

Another previously neglected Britpop band on my part, Suede are more similar to Blur and Pulp than Oasis, though they similarly love a big riff. I mention Pulp because they clearly have a love for the glam side of popular music, on songs such as "She's Not Dead," and the lead singer Brett Anderson has a powerful voice. Not all of these songs really stuck with me after listening, but then again, it took me a bit to click with pre-"Song 2" Blur (although that was long before this year) and now I like them a lot, so there's a chance I'll come to know Suede a lot better. Maybe after at least one Trash Theory video. My favorite was "Pantomime Horse."

August 25th: Exodus by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Remember when I said that taking this long to listen to an Outkast album was embarrassing? This is about 10 times more embarrassing. Anyway, Exodus is really good. I don't need to tell you that "Three Little Birds" and "Jammin'" are great songs. What interests me more about this album is that the full album is a lot more entrenched in Rastafarianism and the politics of Jamaica than those songs would suggest, such as on the title track and the opener "Natural Mystic." I don't really know about the politics of 70's Jamaica, but my point is that there's so much more depth to Marley's music than most people know, since Marley has become less of a political figure and more of a bedroom poster figure, though I'm not the one to speak on that. My favorite song that I hadn't heard was "Waiting in Vain."