2024 Album-A-Day: Week 38

It's week 38 and I feel Special.

That was a Hivemind Unlimited opening, damn.

Why do I feel the need to write intros? Nobody reads them.

Click here for the playlist, recommend albums you want me to hear.

September 16th: What's Your Pleasure by Jessie Ware

2020 was the year of a lot of disco-inspired pop music, I presume in an attempt to compensate for the pandemic leading all social situations to be virtually impossible. That was the year of Dua Lipa's breakthrough, Lady Gaga's comeback, and this album, which is of a similar stylistic palette. Every track has that slick, spotless production, and these fun syncopated hooks that really stick with you. I can see why this was so acclaimed during the pandemic; it's when we most needed escapist pop music so we could dance in our kitchens while wearing pajamas and wondering whether we had COVID or just allergies. As we all did at some point. My favorite track is "Soul Control."

September 17th: Nickel Creek by Nickel Creek

Yet another Chris Thile project, and not the last. This band, featuring siblings Sean and Sara Watkins, is far more harmony-heavy than Thile's Punch Brothers, and all three members have angelic voices. It should be noted that Chris' brother Scott was also a member, but he left during the recording, so he's not on all of the album, or on the cover, featuring Chris with frosted tips, absurdly (this is a BLUEGRASS ALBUM). This album has beautiful, yet dark stories such as "The Fox" and "The Lighthouse's Tale," and instrumental jams such as "In The House of Tom Bombadil," which gets some serious nerd points. It also needn't be said that I'm always in the mood for Chris Thile's mandolin playing. "When You Come Back Down" was my favorite.

September 18th: The Score by the Fugees

I was already familiar with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, so here's her breakthrough album as part of the Fugees. This album is a lot of fun, with all three MCs being engaging and entertaining in their own way, with the obvious standout being Lauryn. There's also the random quotes of famous songs, which... they're a little out of nowhere at times, but they're fun. The production is consistently hard hitting, and the only real gripe I have with it is the skits. Seriously, 90s hip hop skits just don't do it for me. My favorite tack was the title track.

September 19th: City of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold

I've know a few A7X songs, and am familiar enough to abbreviate them to A7X, but this was my first time with a full album from M. Shadows and company. This is a kind of metal that isn't quite power metal but definitely isn't death metal, and is very melodic and riff-centric. "Bat Country" references Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, which I'm reading right now, and that's cool. The album is full of vaguely pretentious dark imagery, the kind that kicks ass if you're 12 but seems a bit cheesy at most other ages, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's not my favorite thing, but I like it. "The Wicked End" was my favorite.

September 20th: Workingman's Dead by the Grateful Dead

It's time. I've skirted around this long enough. I can't run anymore. I need to get into the Grateful Dead. For a long time, I've known and liked two songs by the Dead: "Scarlet Begonias" and "Friend of the Devil," but where I grew up, there was a pretty big contingent of Deadheads. Friends of mine liked them, they had the stickers on their cars, the local college station would play live Dead tracks late at night, and there was a tree on my street that had a Deadhead bear painted on it. Workingman's Dead is my first time with a Grateful Dead record, and I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I fully get it yet. It's folksy and country tinged, and they're pretty solid songwriters, as shown on "Cumberland Blues" and "Casey Jones" and it reminds me of CSNY. My favorite is "Dire Wolf" but that might change as I listen to more of the Dead.

September 21st: Hidden History of the Human Race by Blood Incantation

Every time I listen to metal like this, I appreciate it a little more than I enjoy it, and I feel like I'm listening wrong. With Blood Incantation, I get that there's a lot of thought put into these songs, especially that last track, but I don't really feel like I'm getting what they intended to say. Also, given the title of the album and the general theme, I worry that these guys are on some Spirit Science shit. Y'know, that pseudoscience crank YouTube channel run by a weird cult that rips off the format of Extra Credits and made a really long video about the "secret history of humanity?" My favorite track was "Inner Paths (To Outer Space)"

September 22nd: Brushfire Fairytales by Jack Johnson

I think that whenever someone says they don't like Jack Johnson, they're actually thinking of Jason Mraz. Also, it turns out I quite like Jack Johnson. Jack's style of folksy quasi-reggae-influenced acoustic guitar pop rock is very easy on the ears, but it belies a sharp lyrical edge, as evidenced on "Posters" and "Inaudible Melodies." He's not soft, he's just a pleasant person pleasantly delivering genuine insight. My favorite track is "Flake."

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