CURRENT ROTATION QUICK TAKESJANUARY 2025
INTRO:
January seemed to just shoot by, but it did include some interesting (& widely varied) new releases - including two stand-out early contenders for my year-end TOP TEN list. Check out my thoughts on these albums and give them a listen if your interest is piqued. As always, consider sharing or letting me know your thoughts. Cheers!
January seemed to just shoot by, but it did include some interesting (& widely varied) new releases - including two stand-out early contenders for my year-end TOP TEN list. Check out my thoughts on these albums and give them a listen if your interest is piqued. As always, consider sharing or letting me know your thoughts. Cheers!
Ethel Cain / Perverts
Ethel Cain is another artist I was originally exposed to through my daughter, June. Unlike many of June’s favorites, Cain stood-out as a songwriter much more interested in the darker, artistic corners of modern music. And WOW - is her new album an oddball revelation! Is it just me or does it sound like on Cain’s first album since ‘22’s breakout, Preacher’s Daughter, is committed to challenging her “American Teenager” hipster fans? Let me rephrase - Cain has leaned-in hard to a murky work of art that seems as equally focused on confidently following her shadowy muse as it does insisting that listeners buckle-in. Surrendering to dense and deeply concentrated listening is a necessity with this collection. Need evidence? The majority of the 90-minute album is instrumental, non-traditional-song structures that mostly consist of menacing & hypnotic experimental passages (think Trent Reznor’s soundtrack work or Sigur Ros’ darker acoustic piano forays and you’ll get the idea). Minimal vocalizing is employed. It plays out as perfect atmospheric music for an artsy black & white horror film (not unlike the imagery of the album cover). This one will take most listeners real effort to get through, but those persistent enough are rewarded with an intimate look at a consummate artist working through an emotional abyss of sound. Standout Tracks: “Vacillator” & “Etienne” - Thumbs Up and a Grade of a well-earned A.
Ethel Cain is another artist I was originally exposed to through my daughter, June. Unlike many of June’s favorites, Cain stood-out as a songwriter much more interested in the darker, artistic corners of modern music. And WOW - is her new album an oddball revelation! Is it just me or does it sound like on Cain’s first album since ‘22’s breakout, Preacher’s Daughter, is committed to challenging her “American Teenager” hipster fans? Let me rephrase - Cain has leaned-in hard to a murky work of art that seems as equally focused on confidently following her shadowy muse as it does insisting that listeners buckle-in. Surrendering to dense and deeply concentrated listening is a necessity with this collection. Need evidence? The majority of the 90-minute album is instrumental, non-traditional-song structures that mostly consist of menacing & hypnotic experimental passages (think Trent Reznor’s soundtrack work or Sigur Ros’ darker acoustic piano forays and you’ll get the idea). Minimal vocalizing is employed. It plays out as perfect atmospheric music for an artsy black & white horror film (not unlike the imagery of the album cover). This one will take most listeners real effort to get through, but those persistent enough are rewarded with an intimate look at a consummate artist working through an emotional abyss of sound. Standout Tracks: “Vacillator” & “Etienne” - Thumbs Up and a Grade of a well-earned A.
Ringo Starr / Look Up
All Beatles aren’t created equally - Ringo taught me that. As a young teenager going through a deep-dive love of all things Beatles, I learned the hard way that parting with limited available cash to buy just any solo album released by a former Beatle would not necessarily return highly favorable results. The culprit? The highly uneven ‘81 Starr release, Stop And Smell The Roses. This wasn’t Beatle quality. This wasn’t even bad solo George Harrison quality. Despite my love for the Ringo Starr ‘character’ and what would become a real respect for his incredibly unique drumming accompaniment - especially to The Beatles’ more orchestrated baroque-pop tracks - barely mediocre output just wasn’t going to cut it. Jump to 2025 and Ringo’s first solo release in six years - a collection of notably county-flavored musings with master-arranger/producer T Bone Burnett in his corner. The country music swing is no surprise. Ringo has shined through that lens many times since his first memorable Beatles vocal work on Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” from the Help soundtrack. What is a little surprising is that despite his undeniable charms, Burnett doing his thing, and some stellar guests, the album still ends up barely enticing me to listen more than once. It was worth the (one) listen, but not much more. I’ll stick with “Don’t Pass Me By” if I need a little country Ringo in my life. Standout Tracks: “Time On My Hands” & “Thankful” (featuring Alison Krauss) - Thumbs Down and a Grade of C-.
Sault / Acts Of Faith
This debut album of the ensemble that is Sault apparently caught me at an especially good time. Not only was I immediately pulled in by the jazzy soul-leanings, but I was so convincingly won-over that the album stayed on a top-priority listen level for more than a week. I just wanted to play it over and over!! There is certainly a back-in-time vibe to the proceedings, as the songs skirt very definite 1970s soul terrain - but this is counterbalanced with the modern cool one might associate with Lauren Hill or Erykah Badu. What I found most alluring was the vibe. More than solid individual tracks (which totally exist) is the thoroughly winning way this collection builds such a defined identity. The economical 32-minutes of music floats by like a parade of calming clouds. I don’t want to overdo my praise, but the album intentionally (& effectively) hits upon notes that co-exist in the same universe as the Mt Everest of this particular styling - Marvin Gaye’s masterpiece What’s Going On?. Standout Tracks: “Someone To Love You” & “Signs” - Huge Thumbs Up and a Grade of an incredibly solid A.
Dwight Yoakam / Brighter Days
I love Dwight Yoakam - always have. Though not a bonafide/true across-the-board country fan, I have found great joy in artists that zero-in on specific country targets. To me, Yoakam is the direct descendant of the great ‘50s twang delivered by the likes of Buck Owens. And though it has been over ten years since his last release, he completely maintains the swaying (& winning) combo of unique hillbilly outsider that made his earlier albums so appealing. There is a confident lightness and joy to the album - each track bringing dusty sunshine and open road wonder. Now, I get it if this isn’t your cup of tea - this is definitely all-or-nothing music styling (my wife & daughter were NOT fans!), but it hit a sweet spot for me and was such a staunch reminder of how much I dig Yoakam that I will be going back to re-listen to his classic releases soon. Standout Tracks: “Brighter Days”, “Can’t Be Wrong” & “California Skies” - Thumbs Up and a Grade of a strong C+.
Franz Ferdinand / The Human Fear
I am a big fan of this Scottish band’s first two releases, but I have to admit, they dropped off my radar a bit over their past three albums. So when I heard they had released a new one I was interested to check it out. Not much has changed - and, unfortunately, I don’t mean that in a wholly positive way. The general vibe of the band remains in-tact, but the bite and attitude that really drove their earlier efforts seems to have been replaced by an automatic-pilot sense of direction. They bring neither life-earned wisdom (which, given the album’s title, I was hopeful to see revealed) or interesting musical growth to the table. Worse, a sameness in sound takes over by the fifth or sixth track - making the whole collection blur together, failing to leave behind anything memorable. I'll stick with the early stuff. Standout Track: “Tell Me I Should Stay” - Thumbs Down and a Grade of C-.
American Aquarium / The Fear Of Standing Still
Do you like The BoDeans or The Jayhawks or Son Volt? Americana rock hinged with just a touch of country-nuance, driven by earnest delivery. If so, I’m guessing you are already familiar with American Aquarium. Somehow, I had missed out before now - but as a fan of those other bands, I fell into place fairly quickly. I found the entirety of this album to work pretty well. It isn’t groundbreaking or wholly unique, but it hits its intended pocket with confident plumb. There is a relative ‘sameness’ to the flow of the collection and the second half feels a tad less committed to, but it manages to not wear too thin. The songs are well-built and sturdy enough to withstand any necessary cliches (whether performance or lyrical). Standout Track: “Crier” - Thumbs Up and a Grade of C.
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