2024 Album-A-Day: Week 44

October 28th: Mellow Gold by Beck

I've loved Beck's Odelay, Midnite Vultures, and Sea Change for years now, so I thought it was finally time I heard his major label debut Mellow Gold. This album is pretty similar to Odelay in many ways, with his usual style of blues-folk-rap-rock-nonsense songs such as "Loser" and "Fuckin With My Head" and more traditional numbers such as "Pay No Mind." The production is endearingly rough, with "Loser" being recorded on the floor of the producer's kitchen. These songs also have great hooks, like "Soul Suckin' Jerk" and "Mutherfucker." Just like Odelay, it ends with the sound of a computer dying after a nice acoustic number, so points for consistency. My favorite track was "Truckdrivin' Neighbors Downstairs."

October 29th: Volume One by She & Him

Who's that giiiiirl? (I've seen exactly one episode of New Girl.) Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward (as seen in a previous installment) first worked together on the film The Go Getter (which I haven't seen) and decided, "Why don't we do that again sometime?" This is the first instance of them doing it again some time, with an album that really screams "We like 60s sunshine pop!" It's very reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas, with some other songs being country tunes and oldies covers. Zooey Deschanel takes the lead for most of this, and she's got a voice that fits very well in this style. M. Ward's music is equally fond of reverb and warm tones, so this is a great match. "This Is Not A Test" was my favorite.

October 30th: After the Gold Rush by Neil Young

I like Harvest and Deja Vu, so here's After the Gold Rush. This album was recorded in the wake of Deja Vu, so it sees Neil returning to his solo-acoustic roots in an early-Dylan-esque mode. Neil writes these very honest lyrics about environmentalism, relationships, civil rights, and other subjects with that rootsy wisdom that he's known for. This also appears to be Neil Young's first big hit record, which is wholly deserved. The title track was my favorite.

October 31st: Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One by the Olivia Tremor Control

My exposure to the loose menagerie of psych-folk auteurs has, in the past, been limited to Neutral Milk Hotel, and I decided to remedy this by listening to the Olivia Tremor Control. This album is clearly heavily influenced by The Beatles' Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's, which is a sentence that you can say in almost any situation, but it sets itself apart by having these instrumental interludes that are... difficult to describe. They kind of remind me of the game The Neverhood, or of Tom Waits' Bone Machine. This album really embodies the chaotic spirit of the Elephant 6 collective, and I enjoyed it a lot. "I Have Been Floated" was my favorite.

November 1st: Velocity: Design: Comfort. by Sweet Trip

What happens when you submerge Slowdive in pure liquid Aphex Twin? This album, apparently. There's long passages of glitchy, ambient synth music, but there's also twee, jangly shoegaze cuts (somebody at Pitchfork probably just had a stroke from a mile away) and they somehow don't clash with each other. It creates this sort of abstracted emotional reality where one's feelings are viewed through an electronic prism. It kind of reminds me of Fantasma, and that's a good thing "Chocolate Matter" was my favorite cut.

November 2nd: Maxinquaye by Tricky

Tricky was previously a member of Massive Attack, who were influential in the triphop scene. On this album, Tricky takes a similar stylistic approach, joined by singer Marina Topley-Bird. Similar to Massive Attack, these songs have dark, atmospheric production, Topley-Bird's vocals are evocative, and when Tricky raps, it's OVER for you. There's tracks like "Ponderosa" and "Pumpkin" which fit that mold, and moments like "Black Steel" that break that mold to great effect. Also, "Hell is Around the Corner" samples "Ike's Rap II" by Isaac Hayes, which is the same song sampled in Portishead's "Glory Box," and they came out around the same time. My favorite track is "Pumpkin."

November 3rd: El Camino by the Black Keys

Maybe I should have done Brothers first. The Black Keys have often been compared to the White Stripes, which I'm not going to deny is a somewhat apt comparison, but there's a big difference on this album in particular: Danger Mouse. Also there's usually group chants. But more importantly, this album has Danger Mouse production, and it gives these bluesy jams an extra pump of energy that makes it really fun to listen to. These guitar tones could cut through wood. The Black Keys have taken some wrong turns in recent years, such as their "America Loves Crypto" shows, but you don't get this big for no reason. My favorite track was "Run Right Back."

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