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.

Lankum, False Lankum

With one half of them rooted in traditional Irish folk music and the other in experimentation, introducing elements from different musical genres and creating dissonance and some consonance within their songs, Lankum have been an interesting band to explore. Though I will say that I have not always enjoyed their music. It can be dark and feel menacing with tension being created for which there is no relief or release. It can become too much for me to handle. This is not the case with False Lankum, the band's latest album. Not at all. 

'If modern folk music needs its own OK Computer, its own The Dark Side Of The Moon, or indeed its own F#A#∞, this may well be it.' Mojo

With False Lankum, the band's ambitions have never been greater. And yet, they have finally found the perfect balance between tradition and the something else that they have been playing with for so many years. Listening to the album, I truly felt like I was hearing something new, something different, something for the first time. In this regarding, Mojo's putting this album in the company of such singular albums such as OK Computer, while lofty, is just about right. What Lankum have achieved with their album False Lankum is truly breathtaking. 

RPWL, Crime Scene

I first heard RPWL when I stumbled upon their 2019 album Tales From Outer Space. I was quickly drawn to the German progressive rock band and their extensive twenty year catalog of albums and Tales quickly rose to be one of my favorites of that year.  

As I wrote back in 2019, the band started as a Pink Floyd cover band, and while it is probably not fair to still be talking about their origins 20+ years later, you can still hear Floyd influences, especially the band's later work (think The Division Bell). With this said, RPWL are truly an original band, especially on their concept oriented albums, such as their latest Crime Scene. On it, the band writes that it 'directs its attention to the morbid, the perverse, the evil in good, the abysses of the human behavior spectrum in all its unpredictable diversity, which sometimes comes across as bizarrely disturbing and conclusive, if one tries to fathom it.' Certainly not topics for the faint of heart, but in the hands of RPWL, they are explored in a way that will keep you coming back for another listen. So glad that RPWL are back.

Gorillaz, Cracker Island

When Blur's Damon Albarn and comic book creator Jamie Hewlett came together back in 1998 to form the virtual band Gorillaz, I don't know that they thought that they would still be at it twenty-five years later. I know that I did not think that this would be the case. While I liked their debut album, Gorillaz, and LOVED their follow up, Demon Days, I figured that as the novelty of a virtual band faded away and their music became less fresh and exciting, the band would quietly exit stage left. Yet here they are in 2023 with their eight album Cracker Island. And what an album. 

Not since Damon Days has Albarn and the band's music sounded this fresh and exciting. Collaborations with Stevie Nicks, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Beck, and others only add to the strength of their songs and music. Perhaps this is where they do exit stage left. Perhaps not. But if it is the case, it would be a fitting way to go out.

 

Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

I remember the first time I heard Caroline Polachek's voice. It was on Chairlift's 2012 sophomore album Something. As one half of the pop rock duo, Polachek, her voice, and vocal choices took Chairlift's songs in interesting directions and to great heights. Fast forward thirteen years and Polachek's voice, vocal choices, and pop art sensibilities take her sophomore album, Desire, I want to Turn Into You, and its songs to new heights once more. Desire is pop art gold and by far her best album as an artist to date.