Albums of the Week
For the duration of winter break, I’ve been chipping away at a 400-hour long playlist of new albums to listen to. Here’s what I found most favorable in a no-skips, minimal-multitasking climate, as well as a full list of the albums I got around to this week. A good number of the albums listed include tracks I’ve listened to before, but I love thoughtfully arranged albums, and there’s always something to learn from hearing every track in order.
Nathaniel Rateliff - In Memory of Loss (2010; reiss. 2017)
What stands out most plainly in Rateliff’s debut album is his artistic weaving of sound and language, delicately working organs, harmonica, and velvety vocals into his monologue to paint a life through storytelling. Each layer blends together effortlessly, while volume shifts and the introduction of new instruments ensure engagement throughout the 56-minute long deluxe release. Contemporaries in the genre, like Mandolin Orange or the later projects from The Steeldrivers, struggle to maintain such sonic consistency while varying enough between songs to keep engagement for the duration of an album. Rateliff doesn't come close to meeting this fate. The first and final tracks, “Once In A Great While” and “You Make All The Noise,” particularly demonstrate Rateliff’s understanding of balance. Subtle chimes from xylophones and cellos decorate the background for balladic piano and guitar chords, creating full sound that refrains from excess. In Memory of Loss demonstrates humanity, offering all the comfort and solace of a conversation with a friend.
The Cure - Seventeen Seconds (1980)
One of New Wave’s most melancholic bands, The Cure’s sophomore album develops their knack for methodical rhythm into an even more bleak soundscape. This album varies quite a bit in tone from their debut Three Imaginary Boys, sticking to downbeat synths, damp drumlines, and unsaturated vocals. Seventeen Seconds has three eerie instrumental numbers in the first half that are a little difficult to get though, as much of what makes The Cure’s music so intriguing is lead singer Robert Smith’s gloomy lyricism. The most melodic and poetic of these solemn songs are “A Forest,” “Play For Today,” and “M,” which are more expressive of The Cure’s more palatable and iconic groove. Despite its quicker tempo, “Play For Today” still reads as an impatiently dark pop tune. Even the concluding title track ties up the Seventeen Seconds experience in blunt and mechanical simplicity. Though the band managed to churn out curiously emotive music, this album was a strikingly reformist development from their debut.
The deluxe edition on Spotify has 15 additional singles, demos, alternate cuts, and live takes, of which I especially enjoyed “Another Journey by Train,” an instrumental often paired with their live performance of “Jumping Someone Else’s Train.” Initially sold as a 45, “I’m A Cult Hero” and “I Dig You” were released under the moniker Cult Hero, a project for Smith to test drive his partnership with bassist Simon Gallup before he joined the band. These two tracks are suspiciously upbeat, with ringing organs and electric riffs inspiring an entirely foreign spark of energy. Released between their 1979 debut and Seventeen Seconds, the singles contextualize The Cure’s progression towards ethereal minimalism as even more esoteric.
John Prine - Diamonds in the Rough (1972)
Bare and calm production style attests to Prine's strength as an artist, but also allows a little too much room for monotony. I found “Souvenirs” and “Clocks and Spoons” to be the strongest songs on the album, as they best encapsulate Prine's breezy charisma. “Souvenirs” also read as a direct inspiration to the iconic mid-70s strumming of Fleetwood Mac. However, a lot of the tracks surrounding the aforementioned either come across as variations to songs on predecessor Bob Dylan’s transformative Highway 61 Revisited, or become forgettable once sandwiched between noteworthy tracks like “Everybody,” “Yes I Guess…” and “Diamonds in the Rough.” These three songs effectively ground the beginning, middle, and end of the album and remind listeners of the album’s bluegrass roots in neat little bookends. A charming and enjoyable album despite its slight redundancy, Diamonds in the Rough is well worth a listen for a delve into the roots of classic country.
I Also Got Around To…
Bloodbath64 - Aestheticadelica (2020)
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Mirror Image (1974)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Answering Machine Music: A Brief Album in Twelve Parts (1999)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars (2001)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Twinkle Echo (2003)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Town Topic (2008)
Comethazine - Pandemic (2020)
Delicate Steve - Till I Burn Up (2019)
Dr. Dog - Abandoned Mansion (2016)
Half Waif - Caretaker (2020)
Honeyblood - In Plain Sight (2019)
Kota The Friend - FOTO (2019)
Leona Naess - Leona Naess (2003)
Leona Naess - Thirteens (2008)
Mild Orange - Foreplay (2018)
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Tearing At The Seams (2018)
Rim Kwaku Obeng - Rim Arrives (1980)
Se. - Pahaa unta? (1980)
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half the City (2014)
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Sea of Noise (2016)
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Young Sick Camellia (2018)
Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams - Aporia (2020)
U2 - Boy (1980)
– Giulia Cancro