For a man who has once called John Lennon a cunt, Todd Rundgren has not written too many great songs. An excellent producer, yes, but also a man without identity. I know people who swear blind that A Wizard / A True Star is a masterpiece but personally I find it both patchy and bland. Space Force (★★½), his new album, is an odd affair that features collaborations with artists ranging from Rivers Cuomo to Steve Vai. It is a diverse collection and certainly has its moments ("Someday" with Davey Lane) - but it is still patchy. And still bland.
Speaking of cunts, I quite like this phase that Alex Turner is going through these days. The late-night crooner music of The Car (★★★½) is Turner disappearing further down the rabbit hole of the smooth, lightly orchestrated vibes of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. This time, a few majestic highlights aside, there is just not enough substance. 'I can't for the life of me remember how they go', he sings at some point, and that is also me and some of the melodies from this album.
Another album I found a little blander than necessary was Direction of the Heart (★★★) by Simple Minds. I am not saying I was expecting another "Someone Somewhere", and there are some terrific synth-pop throwbacks here (most notably "Human Traffic" with Russell Mael), but many of these hooks fall flat. Which of course does not happen on Paul Heaton's latest. N.K-Pop (★★★½) conjures up the fond memories of the best songs from The Beautiful South. Uplifting, cynical, playful - and you will not find a bouncier melody as a backdrop to someone singing about a dead mother.
Still, by far the most entertaining album of the month came from John Moore. I loved his first LP earlier this year and the second one (who does he think he is? Robert Pollard?) is pure rock and roll joy. 56 (★★★½) is lyrically and musically infectious (the story of Elvis Presley's secret visit to London is especially good), and the closing "Positive For Cocaine" is one of my songs of the year. Speaking of songs of the year, Peter Astor had a couple this month ("Time On Earth" and "English Weather" both qualify), but while the man's taste is impeccable and Time On Earth (★★★½) is another fine addition to his catalogue, there was something missing in some of these songs. Something timeless, something you could once hear in songs like "Almost Falling In Love" and "Tiny Town". I still believe Songbox is his masterpiece.
Some more fine English gentlemen have released their albums this October. Among them Robyn Hitchcock, whose self-titled 2017 album was supposed to be his last. Then, however, the lockdown happened, and he was in mood to write another LP. Shufflemania! (★★★★) is your classic Robyn Hitchcock album, timeless ("One Day (It's Being Scheduled)") and deliciously silly (title song). Mostly both. Finally, I was happy to listen to David Westlake's My Beautiful England (★★★½) album. 14 short songs filled with numerous reference points and that sharp and insidious melodicism that has not changed much since the times of The Servants. Ultimately, a beautiful paean to his country. I would like to use this opportunity and recommend his unjustly forgotten Play Dusty For Me from 2010 as a subtle, transcendental experience.
When I think of transcendental, Alela Diane always comes to mind. Alela is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary folk music. Actually, if it were not for the sheer brilliance of Luke Haines's latest, Looking Glass (★★★★) would be my album of the month. She is special. With that rich voice, that knack of writing a striking, haunting melody, Alela Diane has no peers. "Dream a River" will leave you speechless. Another folk album I liked this month was Sorrows Away (★★★½) by The Unthanks. This is a more traditional take on folk music and few do it better than them. A very consistent LP that builds up and fades away with an absolutely gorgeous harmonious chant during the second half of the closing title song.
Gorgeous harmonies were not something I was expecting from Dry Cleaning, the latest critical darlings of British music press. I was not a big fan of their debut, and Stumpwork (★★★) is little better. It is slightly more coherent and melodic, but this sparse, spoken word take on post-punk is more 'interesting' than 'good'. I am afraid that they have charisma but they do not have the songs. If you want both, I would point you in the direction of Benjamin Clementine. Benjamin's debut album At Least For Now won the Mercury Prize in 2015 and has not buried Benjamin under its weight. His impressionistic pop music is as soulful and imaginative as ever. And I Have Been (★★★★) is uncharacteristically short but it still finds time for a six-minute piano instrumental inspired by Erik Satie. Stylish music. The only downside is that this LP (in fact, the first part of a two-album project) might be his last.
Sadly, I wish Archers of Loaf had not decided to write a follow-up to their brilliant White Trash Heroes (1998) that was supposed to be their final statement. Reason In Decline (★★★) is a decent comeback, and it has some powerful guitar-rock urgency but much of it still sounds a little generic and underwhelming. Very much like the title of Will Sheff's debut album. Nothing Special (★★★★) sounds humble to a fault. However, ever since I first heard "John Allyn Smith Sails" (Christ what a song, down to its inspired "Sloop John B." ending) I have never missed a new Okkervil River album. Most of them have been disappointing - but Nothing Special is different. Like Yawn in 2018, like Serpentine Prison in 2020, Nothing Special is moody and strangely cathartic. A very special autumnal album, an album to live with.
