How Do These Bands Not Age?

Two of my favorite bands are back with new music for the first time in years. In the case of Depeche Mode, it's been six years. But I will say that this is the best album by band in a few decades. As for Everything But The Girl, it's been 24 years since Temperamental. And how amazing they sound. It's as if no time has passed. 

Depeche Mode, Memento Mori

Everything But The Girl, Fuse

 

BOYGENIUS, THE RECORD

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus first came together in 2016 when their paths crossed while each was touring. Two years later they found themselves touring together. They bonded quickly and decided to write and record a song as a trio. It was the beginning of a very special friendship and collaborative journey that lead to The Record, their first LP together. 

With Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus all well established before they came together, the moniker of 'supergroup' was slapped on the trio early on and expectations for their first albums were enormous. I think the term 'supergroup' is overused and tiresome as artists come together to collaborate and make music all the time. But Boygenius feels different. 

Artistically, Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus each have different musical reference points and approaches to song-writing and storytelling. Combined, the three, as Boygenius, meld together to create songs that are quite different from anything that they have done individually. These aren't solo songs that they donated to each other, Dacus has said in an interview. The three had to be together to make them.

I don't know that I would go so far as to call Boygenius a supergroup. Time will tell. I will say that The Record is an album that does deserve all the attention and accolades it's receiving. It is a standout album of the year so far.

MAX JURY, AVENUES

Max Jury's 2016 debut album was one of my favorites of that year. Since it's release, I've been waiting with anticipation for an album by Jury that measures up to it or at least comes close. His 2019 album, Modern World, while good, was not it. Fortunately for me, Jury's latest album, Avenues, is the follow album that I've been waiting for. 

Jury has said that Avenues is the album that he's always wanted to make. And that it's the closest that he's come to being his true self as an artist. You get that sense listening to Avenues. While you can still hear the younger artist in him...the one inspired and influenced by a number singer/songwriters and artists of the '70's...Jury finds a musical lane that feels uniquely his. And it's one that suits him well. 

Woven throughout the ten songs on Avenues is Jury's expression as an artist. It's one where there is no need to hurry to get from one point to another and raise his voice or songs to the rafters to emphasis a point. There's a calmness, a gentleness, a contemplativeness, a melancholiness, and a subtleness to these songs. They feel as if Jury has placed a warm blanket around them on a cool spring morning and said that everything is going to be OK.....or maybe that's just how they made me feel. Either way, it's a great feeling and I'm happy for the place where Jury is on his journey as an artist.