It's one of the two: either I'm getting too hard to please when it comes to new music or this year has just been very poor.
Back when I was 25 or so, I was writing reviews for Oxford Music Magazine, and one of the first pieces I ever did was on Lambchop's Mr. M. It had this odd but stylish black and white cover and the songs were slight but very haunting. Punching The Clown, Kurt Wagner's latest, is very similar but this country-tinged indie music just feels toothless and brittle. There is no real bite, just monotonous pleasantness. 5/10
Westside Cowboy is this hot new British band critics are falling in love with. The guys have good, confident sound but the songwriting is just not there yet. The opener of It Goes On rides quite beautifully on a Velvets inspired groove (think "Rock and Roll" and "What Goes On") but the rest doesn't leave much of an impression. Still, a decent debut, all things considered, and it will be interesting to see where they go from here. 6/10
I had been really looking forward to the Afghan Whigs' new album, and while Self Control is not quite as punchy as their three comeback albums (or, for that matter, Greg Dulli's underrated solo album from 2020), the quality control is still there. The album is very even with no filler and few standouts. Sort of grungy pop with an edge. 7/10
The new Jayhawks album, Sanctuary Park, felt different: the highs were high and the lows were mediocre. The opening "Keeping Our Heads Above Water" is the sort of memorable, anthemic alt-country they used to be so good at (think "Waiting For The Sun") and "Familiar Strangers" is a knockout pop tune that sounds like a cross between Crosby, Stills and Nash and late-period (but good!) Teenage Fanclub. The remaining songs are drenched in vocal harmonies and overall goodness but just don't feel too inspired to me. 6/10
Also, I keep not caring about Interpol. I will grant them the debut which showed some dreamy post-punk promise - but that was almost 25 years ago now. Outside the catchy single "See Out Loud", The Mirror Weighs A Ton is severely lacking in the songwriting department. Plus, the whole thing is way too long. 5/10
Thank God for Kiwi Jr. Blowin' Up, their latest, is yet another masterful set of tuneful, jangly indie rock. Jeremy Gaudet is a fantastic songwriter who sings in vocal hooks. Plus, Brian Murphy keeps adding these wonderful keyboard runs all over the place. They are playful, too, and not just lyrically. They do some clever tricks with time signatures on "Hard Drive, Ontario" and they provide pure power pop sugar rush on "New Jade Rabbit". An album of the year. 8/10
Thrasher by Brandon Flowers. I almost made the mistake of turning this thing off after the first two songs - thankfully, they are easily the worst songs on the album (well, add "Paradise" to that list). Straight up country with little to no imagination. When he stretches himself a little and challenges his inner Springsteen, the man comes up with near-classics like "Tiger's Blood" and "Angel". Overall not as good as Pressure Machine but it does scratch the itch. 7/10
Finally, Dinosaur Jr. are back with what many fans and critics claim to be their best album since Farm - if not their late 80s heyday. Perhaps. There Near is a really strong collection of beautifully noisy rockers and ballads filled with J Mascis's familiar slacker vocals and amazing guitar work. The album starts strongly, loses me a little in the middle and picks it up in the third act with the melodic "Walk Me Back" and Lou Barlow-sung toe-tapping "No One's Ready" that closes the album. 7/10
Songs of the month:
"Landscape With Limousine" - Kiwi Jr.
"Familiar Strangers" - The Jayhawks
"Angel" by Brandon Flowers
"Heavy Weather" - Peter Hammill
"No Friends" - Dinosaur Jr.
"Looking For The Happy" - Peter Gabriel
"Memphis, Texas" - The Afghan Whigs
"Kick Stones (The Boys)" - Westside Cowboy
"Marianne" - Fontaines D.C.
