With the exception of last year, when Bill Ryder-Jones released the masterful Iechyd Da, January is mostly dull, dry and uneventful. Which is, regrettably, more or less exactly what could be said about the latest Franz Ferdinand album. The Human Fear starts well, with the frankly rather enthusiastic "Audacious" single that could stand up to their early work. It is all donwhill after that, however. I still think there is a decent songwriter in there somewhere, but a few flashes aside (the riff of "The Birds", "Night or Day") - this is like their first three albums castrated and diluted with water.
If a career can contain only one masterpiece, then Tunng have already made it. It was 2020's Tunng Presents... Dead Club, their richest and most tuneful set of songs ever, and an album which managed to soundtrack that awful year for me. This year's Love You All Over Again is things going back to normal: lovely electronic folk pop with melodies that float around you rather than knock you down. Still, the one-two punch that opens this album is brilliant; and even despite some blatant filler ("Sixes"), I still find myself going back to this time and time again. For comfort, yes, but also for the melodies.
Ethel Cain has made quite a name for herself with her long-winded Christian slowcore that frankly just bores me to death. Perverts, her new EP (that runs for nearly 90 minutes, I'm obliged to say), deals with all kinds of human perversions that she sets to a bunch of dreamy, vaguely menacing ambient drones that go absolutely nowhere.
I honestly do believe that even at this late point in their career Mogwai can still come up with engaging music. The Bad Fire has some pleasantly dreamy grooves ("Pale Vegan Hip Pain") and intense crescendos ("If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some Of The Others") to keep me interested. A good album. One, though, that won't make a fan out of you. Also, the closing "Fact Boy" sounds just like Sigur Rós.
Finally, I have never cared for Ringo Starr's solo career, and the cursory listen to Look Up did not provide any interesting revelations. Decent, well-produced country music whose edge is so thin it is barely worth talking about. "Don't Pass Me By" would be a highlight on this collection, and "Don't Pass Me By" is not even a very good song (by far the weakest piece on The White Album, and that album features "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill").
Songs of the month:
Tunng - "Everything Else"
Franz Ferdinand - "Audacious"
Mogwai - "Lion Rumpus"
Black Country, New Road - "Besties"
Viagra Boys - "Man Made Of Meat"
