Sting, The Bridge

Sting needs no introduction so none will be given here. I will also make this my shortest album review of the year. I am a huge Sting and The Police fan. And while I think that he can do no wrong, I have not exactly loved most of his works(s) over the past decade or so. I will admit that 44/876 with Shaggy was and continues to be a guilty pleasure of mine. So what do I think of The Bridge? In my humble opinion, it's Sting's best album since Ten Summoner's Tales. 

Webbed Wing, What's So Fucking Funny

As someone who loves all things music and has a music blog, I'm usually in search of something new and different. But sometimes, I'm nostalgic for something familiar....especially something that fits squarely into the early nineties. Enter Webbed Wing. 

Over the past four years, Taylor Madison and his band, Webbed Wing, have been doing their part to keep that early 90's guitar-driven, indie pop-rock sound alive and relevant. Thank goodness! On their sophomore album, What's So fucking Funny, the band has elevated their game, tightening up and refining their sound while Madison hits a new level of songwriting, opening up and sharing his personal struggles over the past few years. In the hands of someone else, this topic might understandably weigh down an album and its songs. In the hands of Madison, this is not the case as he and the band wrap them up with uplifting melodies, great riffs, and a sound of hope.

The Lathums, How Beautiful Life Can Be

Earlier this year, The Lathums released a short EP. At the time, I wrote how great it was to hear some new songs from this exciting and up-incoming British Band. My only gripe was that they kept teasing us with a few new songs here and there, but nothing more. Never a proper album. But, it was a small gripe. I would take what I could get. Five months later, the band finally released their first proper album. And it is a charmer.

Drawing on great British guitar bands such as The Smiths, The Arctic Monkeys, and even The Housemartins, The Lathums know how to build bright, catchy, and anthem driven songs around jangly guitars and bouncing rhythms. What I really like and appreciate about the band is their kind hearted nature and positive messaging both which seem to be missing these days in so much mainstream music (see their mini-documentary below). And finally, who doesn't like a bunch of songs that you can sing along to whether in the car or at home! Entering the UK charts at number one, I guess a few others felt as I do....this is one great album.

Darkside, Spiral

Back in 2011, Chilean electronic musician & vocalist Nicolás Jaar was introduced to American multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington. Their meeting led to touring together in support of Jaar's debut album. When they returned to the states, they wrote together and ultimately released the album Psychic, under the name Darkside. It was a special collaboration that produced a unique musical space that was something to behold. 

In 2018, the two came together to 'jam' and collaborate once more. They would spend the next year and a half developing what would become their second album, Spiral. And once again, they created a musical space that is fantastic and something to behold. 

As Sputnik wrote about Spiral, It's "an album overflowing with the sort of aesthetic crowd-pleasers that make it nearly impossible not to enjoy. The whole thing bubbles, glimmers, and echos thanks to a potent blend of electronic/indie/psychedelic influences. Composer Nicolas Jaar and multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington thrive upon creating a mini universe where the laws of music feel elastic: guitars bend and wrap themselves around lush aqueous beats, while acoustic notes trickle in subtly to a serenade of bells/chimes. The overarching aura on Spiral is one of cool submersion - whether it's into nature, a dream, or the depths of the outer space."

Greenleaf, Echoes From A Mass

Greenleaf, hailing from Borlänge Sweden, have been doing their thing for twenty plus years....crafting dark, hard hitting, and at times smoldering stoner and hard rock albums. While not all of them have done it for me, their latest, Echoes From A Mass does and then some. Echoes brings together all of the best aspects of the band and their music including great '90's sludge and grunge vibes from their early days, which is just up my alley.

With so many standout songs, it was hard to pick just one to feature. In the end, I went with Needle in My Eye. As Distorted Sound wrote about it, there's a little more tension and restraint on this one and mostly holds itself back, giving hints of something darker and more urgent lurking just beneath the surface. It's a killer song and Echoes From A Mass a killer album.

Finneas, Optimist

Back in 2019, Finneas Baird O'ConnellI released the wonderful EP, Blood Harmony. It went mostly unnoticed, which was not surprising, as it came out on the heals of his sister Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? which he produced. Since then, Finneas has gone on to write and produce for many well known artists and has collected eight Grammys. Now, two years later, Finneas has once again written and produced for himself and has released his first proper album.

As the title suggest, Finneas is feeling rather optimistic these days, though as he shared in a recent NME interview, it does not come easy. “Maybe some people are really naturally optimistic, but to me, it’s a choice that you can make. The most pessimistic version of me works the least hard and is the least hopeful and helpful because I think things are going to fail. The version of me that I wish I always was is the optimistic, helpful, positive me, which is aspirational for me. There’s a lot of reason to be pessimistic in the world but you can still choose to be like, ‘We shouldn’t really give up on this.'" And Finneas is not giving up. He is doubling down on the opposite. 

There seems to be two clear camps of music reviews for Optimist. Those who think it's great and those that think that it is mediocre. I for one think that it is great. Optimist is modern pop at its best and Finneas an amazing artist and producer that understands that sometimes less is more in this age of over-hyped and over-produced music.