I hope you’re all doing alright out there, all things considered. I’m 2 weeks behind right now, but, let’s just pretend I posted this on March 25th… This week we had not one, but TWO surprise albums from some big names. (Just wait, the next week has even more surprises.)
Picks of the Week
RnB / SOUL
Childish Gambino – 3.15.20 — 9.8
METAL
Old Man Gloom – Seminar IX: Darkness of Being — 8.9
ELECTRONIC
Lucy Gooch – Rushing – EP — 9
RnB / SOUL
Childish Gambino – 3.15.20 Fans of Donald Glover (stage name: Childish Gambino) have probably learned by now to expect the unexpected. Before even getting to the music, his new album is titled for the date that it appeared as a single, streaming track on donaldgloverpresents.com, but was taken down hours later, and then officially released (with a completely white cover, and white text that says Donald Glover Presents) a week later- on a Sunday (not the usual day for new releases.) The majority of the track titles on this are now time stamps for the album’s total run-time. Elusiveness aside, Glover continues to grow as an artist in unique ways, adding new elements to his sound with every release. Here, he delivers his most abstract album to date. But that doesn’t at all mean that it isn’t catchy as hell.
Music styles shift from pulsing industrial beats, to heart-bearing RnB/Soul, to Prince-like electro funk pop, to left-field rap, to laid back grooves, and back again. Meanwhile, Glover’s vocals morph with the music, from doing his best Prince impression, to sounding like Frank Ocean, to saturating his voice in distortion or auto-tune harmonizer.
“Algorhythm” starts with ominous electronics, and machine-like vocals spouting lyrics like, “Made us the guinea pig and did it with no permission.” But the chorus is a quote from Zhané’s early 90’s RnB hit “Hey Mr. D.J.,” and the following track is bright, sunny, and features a gospel choir. It’s just one example of how brilliant and relevant Doland Glover is as an artist today. — 9.8/10
METAL
Old Man Gloom – Seminar IX: Darkness of Being Old Man Gloom is a special band. They were a long-time, occasional side-project featuring Aaron Turner (lead visionary of Isis and Sumac), Nate Newton (bassist of Converge, on guitar here), Caleb Scofield (bassist of Cave In), and Santos Montano (drummer in Zozobra, another band with Scofield). Their collective catalogs, experience, and influence on metal and hardcore from the mid-90’s onward was perhaps rivaled by no other band, and their triple vocal attack was perfect. Tragically, Scofield died in an auto accident in 2018. The band agreed they must continue in Scofield’s honor, and enlisted Stephen Brodsky (singer/guitarist of Cave In) to take his fallen bandmate’s place. So this new album carries extra weight.
[Side note: Another thing I love about this band is how they mess with their fans and press alike in clever ways. Promotion had already started for Seminar VIII, due in May, but this album is a surprise release. And in 2014 they released two albums called The Ape of God when the fans and press were expecting just one–yes, they have two different albums with the same name.]
History lesson over.
Old Man Gloom mix crushing sludge riffs, doom metal, metallic hardcore, and psychedelic noise experiments, creating a sound that is clearly related to the member’s main bands, but heavier and more avant-garde (save for Sumac) than them all. Brodsky’s addition to the band is heard in the pentatonic, bluesy, stoner metal riffs, as well as some of the guitar harmonies, and, of course, his voice, when it pops up. He doesn’t sing or scream as much as Turner and Newton, but his presence is often felt. I’m a huge Cave In fan, and it’s cool to hear Brodsky’s flavor added to the already rich ingredients.
The original spirit of the band is still their guiding force, and it’s what sets them apart from most other bands in the sludge, doom, and metalcore genres. It’s their experimentalism of having long noise segments interspersed among metal/hardcore songs, and those “song” parts being both short, fragmented bursts, as well as long, building epics. Really strong and dynamic vocals also make a huge difference in the metal and hardcore world. There are tons of great bands with vocalists who get the job done, but are rarely the highlight of the music. So when you have three musicians, with different vocal ranges, who have all fronted their own bands (Newton fronts Doomriders), the vocals are bound to have depth. (I’m thankful to have seen the band in 2012, and their stage presence was incredibly powerful.)
Old Man Gloom has honored Caleb Scofield’s memory with passion, artistry, and immense power. Seminar IX might not be the band’s best album, but it stands strong alongside their previous albums, and I’m very much looking forward to hearing Seminar VIII next month. — 8.9/10
Wardaemonic – Acts of Repentance Blazingly furious black/death metal. Badass riffs, well-written structures, and impressive, sustained intensity. Evil and grimace-inducing. Not much more needs to be said. This rules. — 8.8/10
ELECTRONIC
Lucy Gooch – Rushing – EP Another early February release worth mentioning that just passed across my radar this month. Lucy Gooch is sort of like an ambient Kate Bush. She loops her soft, beautiful voice in hypnotic patterns that float atop clouds of warm, swelling keyboards. The chord changes and ascending bass line in “Rushing” have the meditative, uplifting feeling of old Sigur Ros, and that mood is prevalent throughout. This debut, 5 song, 19 minute EP is a very promising start, and I look forward to hearing more from her. — 9/10
Fatgyver – Small Songs That My Samplers Sing Lo-fi, RnB/Hip-Hop beats, like Kiefer, but with more J Dilla influence. There’s not much that sets it apart from similar artists and records, but I love this stuff. — 8/10
Roger Eno and Brian Eno – Mixing Colours I’m a huge Brian Eno fan, and have been keeping up with every new release of his for about 10 years. This album, a collaboration with his younger brother (on keyboard), is a little more direct, melodically, and a little less interesting than most of his ambient work. It doesn’t make it into my top 5 ambient Eno albums, but it’s still a welcome addition to his catalog, nonetheless. — 7/10
EUROPEAN FOLK
Myrkur – Folkesange Usually, when Scandanavian black metal bands turn acoustic for one album of folk songs, the results are pretty good. Case in point, this new Myrkur is fantastic. It’s majestic, dark, and powerful. Distant, pounding frame drums, traditional folk instruments, piano, and some string arrangements reminiscent of Bjork’s Homogenic lay the scenic backdrop for Amalie Bruun’s voice that is both soft and commanding. It really does feel like she is singing from a mountain top. If you like this kind of thing at all, or if “majestic Nordic folk music with modern, spacious production” sounds interesting, you won’t be disappointed with Folkesange. — 9/10
INDIE
Lee Ranaldo & Raül Refree – Names of North End Women This February 21 release somehow didn’t show up in Apple Music’s listed new releases until a month later, but better late than never! I always liked Lee Ranaldo’s occasional vocals in Sonic Youth, and this record got me interested pretty quickly. Raül Refree (with whom I wasn’t previously familiar) is a producer/musician/composer from Barcelona, and he and Ranaldo make a great creative team. This album is moody as hell, arty, dark, hypnotic, and poetic. Coming from someone else, I may roll my eyes a bit at times, but from an OG like Ranaldo, it feels authentic.
Ranaldo and Refree cover a lot of textural ground in 45 minutes; from pulsing synths, subtle electronic layers, and drum loops, to acoustic guitar, singing bowls, mallet instruments, tribal and metallic percussion, strings, and a buzzy psychedelic guitar solo. Ranaldo speaks his lyrics in a serious tone just as much as he sings with emotion, contributing to the overall “artiness” of the album. While listening, I was able to articulate what I’ve always liked about Ranaldo’s vocal melodies: They are often dark, somber, and/or somewhat mournful, while also managing to have a content and slightly hopeful resolution. — 8/10
Ian William Craig – Red Sun Through Smoke Ian William Craig sets a stark, hauntingly beautiful atmosphere on Red Sun Through Smoke. Sounds range from intimate piano ballads, to fuzzy, lo-fi effects, pulsing noise experiments, tape loops, and layers of vocals that display formal training and raw talent. Even though the textures change dramatically, his emotive, skilled voice is arresting no matter the setting. This is a great headphone album to sink into. — 8/10
Låpsley – Through Water Låpsley’s soulful voice is equally adept at expressing somber, reflective moods, as it is in more hopeful, uplifting settings. The production is modern and spacious, hovering between spacey electronics and alt-RnB grooves, with warm keyboards and beats that bubble and flicker. The album veers closer to electro-pop than most music that I listen to, but it’s growing on me with each listen. — 8/10
Rustin Man – Clockdust Rustin Man is Paul Webb, bassist for English art rock/new wave band Talk Talk. Webb’s first release as Rustin Man was his 2002 collaboration with Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Out of Season. I liked that album, but hadn’t heard anything from him since. The most immediately noticeable thing is that his voice sounds a lot like late-era David Bowie. It’s got that sort of dramatic quiver, but as the record plays on, I get a little bored of his voice, as he doesn’t have nearly the power or range of Bowie, and the vocal melodies sometimes sound a bit aimless. Despite Webb’s vocal limitations, the overall songwriting, reminiscent of pre-1950s classic pop and showtunes, is pleasantly unexpected. The vibe is cool, a little dark and moody at times, (hints of Tom Waits and Portishead, sans electronics) and the arrangements are very thoughtful and dynamic. A few unexpected turns do pop up to keep things interesting, but in the end I’d say the album is good, but not great. — 7.5/10
Phantom Posse – Forever Underground Phantom Posse makes breezy indie pop with electronic beats. There are also a handful of instrumental interludes that lean more to the electronic side, and maintain the laid back, spacey, slightly psychedelic vibe. Upon closer listen, Forever Underground is not particularly exciting, but for pleasant background music, it does the job. — 6.8/10
JAZZ
Jocelyn Gould – Elegant Traveler Jocelyn Gould’s deft finger-work is what kept me listening to this very traditional guitar jazz album. Amid all the boundary pushing jazz artists lately, I’m not usually particularly drawn to music like this, but the playing here is pretty picture perfect and the production is crisp. It also just happened to be the perfect album to put on while grilling dinner one recent evening. — 8/10