2024 Album-A-Day: Week 37

Yes, I reblogged the "9/11sonas" post this week. Yes, I'll be doing that again next year. Click here for the playlist, and recommend other albums if you'd like to hear my thoughts on them.

September 9th: Music Has The Right To Children by Boards of Canada

After liking but not really getting Geogaddi, I liked and didn't really get Music Has The Right To Children. With this album, I noticed more of a lean on the atmosphere than on Geogaddi, although this album has a similar creeping, unsettling side that comes through on "The Color of Fire" or "Roygbiv" or any of the shorter interlude tracks. Although I haven't really landed on what exactly Boards of Canada makes me feel, I can't deny that they found something that few before had tapped into. My favorite track was "Turquoise Hexagon Sun."

September 10th: Hopeless Romantic by the Bouncing Souls

I first became aware of the Bouncing Souls embarassingly recently, with their 2023 single "True Believer Radio," which was played on my local college station a lot for a few weeks. I LOVE that song, so I knew I had to listen to more Bouncing Souls. This is a really good punk band in the grand tradition of really good punk bands from my home state, with a lot of pump-up energy on songs like "Fight to Live" or the title track, or the interpolation of a traditional sporting chant "Olé." I also love the he-said-she-said on "Wish Me Well (You Can Go To Hell)" and my favorite track was "Fight to Live."

September 11th: Z by My Morning Jacket

I knew "Wordless Chorus" for some time, and it still holds up in the context of this album, which it turns out I really really like. This band reminds me somewhat of the Flaming Lips, especially with Jim James' voice, but with more of a roots-y jam-band sense of psychedelia rather than the Lips' mad-scientist chaotic psychedelia. There's rockers like "Gideon," dreamy songs like the aforementioned "Wordless Chorus," and even reggae in "Off the Record." I get the feeling seeing this band live would be great. My favorite track was "Gideon."

September 12th: Post-War by M. Ward

My history with M. Ward is that I knew a few of his solo songs, and a few of his songs with his supergroup with Zooey Deschanelle, She and Him, in particular their Beach Boys covers. M. Ward's style feels like a combination of traditional folk singer-songwriter material with a kind of surf-rock reverb, and it's a really warm style, as shown on "To Go Home" and "Chinese Translation," the latter being the one song on this album I knew beforehand. Ward is a very talented guitarist, and his raspy voice with all that reverb is unbelievably evocative. My favorite was "Neptune's Net."

September 13rd: Funhouse by the Stooges

Iggy Pop is someone I know a few songs from, so here's his breakout as the leader of the Stooges. This album is all over the place, and I love it. The one-two punch of "Down on the Street" and "Loose" introduce you to Ron Asheton's sloppy riffs and Iggy Pop's unchained vocals, and it doesn't let up from there. It's chaotic, cacophanous, and so much fun. My favorite was "T.V. Eye."

September 14th: Magnolia Electric Co by Songs: Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co/Jason Molina

As I have learned, while this album is credited to Songs: Ohia, frontman Jason Molina says that he considers this album the debut of the band of the same name, but the record label was still committed to the name of Songs: Ohia. (Sort of like a Mount Eerie situation, with slightly more red tape.) I do not yet know what to do with this information, because this was my first experience with the late Jason Molina by any name, and I suppose a Molina by any other name would write just as great songs. This is sort of alt-country-rock with a lot of blues elements, and it's very dark and depressive, and it's heartbreakingly beautiful. I don't really have the words to describe the individual songs at the moment, so I'll just leave the opener "Farewell Transmission" as my favorite song.

September 15th: The OOZ by King Krule

Hear me out, because this will sound a little strange: The OOZ is to 6 Feet Beneath the Moon as Blond is to Channel Orange. Think about it: both Channel Orange and 6 Feet Beneath the Moon were strong debut albums that established a clear style, and both Blond and this album, The OOZ, work to subvert that style, creating both a challenging and rewarding listen. There's still Archy's style of reverb-heavy jazz-influenced psychedelia, and catchy songs like "Dum Surfer" and "Half Man Half Shark," but there's also more experimental moments like "Bermondsey Bosom (Left)" and "Bermondsey Bosom (Right)" or "Sublunary." This might strike some as padding out the runtime, but I see it more as an exploration of the atmosphere, and keeping with the album's themes of isolation. I'll admit, I did laugh a little when "Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Cover)" sampled the theme from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. My favorite track is "Emergency Blimp."