The music biz survived the holidays, weathered the post-holiday hangovers, and is back on track releasing a significant number of new albums weekly again. Back to business as usual for 2022. There was a lot to listen to over the weekend, including a few real standouts. Let’s round them up, shall we? Three of these I’d give a strong recommendation if they sound like your cup of joe. Two I’m including as new release updates for long-time fans, even though I’m not in love with them.
New & notable:
Hurray for the Riff Raff, Life on Earth (2.18.22) – My favorite rock record of 2022, so far, and it just might hang tough for the rest of the year. Trading the Americana tuff-grrrl sound of her excellent previous record The Navigator for a more expansive and sophisticated production approach, Alynda Segarra delivers the real deal. On The Navigator Ms. Segarra took a kind of me-against-the-world viewpoint, believable for a woman who grew up in a low-income Puerto Rican family in the Bronx, determined to make it in the music biz. I’m thinking she’s seen some shit. She broadens her viewpoint and her musical palette on Life on Earth to a startling degree, everything sounds bigger, more cinematic, more satisfying, yet still retains a brashness that reminds me of early Patti Smith records. “WOLVES” (capitalizations are hers) opens the album by tumbling out of the speakers with a tribal drum beat that never lets up, even when some tasty, lush synth-pop is layered over it. The amazing “PRECIOUS CARGO” is a softly sung-spoken tale of ICE detainees and “ROSEMARY TEARS” is a starkly affecting breakup song set to oddly horn-sounding synths, making it sound like off-kilter New Orleans marching music. “SAGA,” a jangly, rocking song near the end of the record reminds me of something Lou Reed would have written in his younger days, and unflinchingly confronts Alynda’s past history of sexual abuse. When she sings “I don’t want this to be / the saga of my life” in a way that sounds defiantly hopeful, it feels empowering rather than angry. The album ends with “KiN,” a vocal-less ambient soundscape with peaceful, nautical-sounding bells and chimes, like she’s taking a moment to reflect and catch her breath after everything that came before.
I honestly don’t know if Hurray for the Riff Raff is an actual band or just what Alynda calls herself on her records. I'm sure I could look it up, but it doesn’t matter, either way the record is obviously a one-woman show. Her songs are memorable and hooky, while also being rich, highly detailed, and lyrically honest, and her slightly dusky singing voice is a delight from start to finish. In a perfect world Life on Earth would be her breakout album, it’s her first for a major record label the size and promotion power of Nonesuch. But in this world, I’m guessing it’ll have trouble finding a popular foothold. My local record store didn’t even order a copy of last Friday’s vinyl release for shelves.
EARWORM: “WOLVES” – A fine example of her exploratory approach combining perfectly with her ear for a great melody.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Backhand Deals (2.25.22) – It’s accepted wisdom that the Beatles invented the power pop genre. The history of popular music is never that tidy, though, there are always a lot of disparate cooks stirring every rock and roll pot, but they certainly popularized hook-filled, guitar-heavy songs with tight vocal harmonies like no other band. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard certainly follows in the power pop tradition, not as ambitious sounding as Sweet, not as high-school romance-y as the Raspberries, and not as depressed as Big Star. Glossy, glammy rock ‘n’ roll with a seemingly endless supply of catchy hooks and guitar riffs. Seamless vocal harmonies, too, just what the genre calls for. If “driving around in the summer with the windows down” loud power pop was still a commercially viable genre, this quartet from Wales would rule the world. A hell of a debut.
EARWORM: “Break Right In” – A joyful ode to the “smash and grab” approach to shopping.
Charlie Gabriel, 89 (2.25.22) – A wonderful album with a sad story behind it. The title refers to Mr. Gabriel’s age and, believe it or not, this is his first solo album. He’s been in the music biz for more than 70 years, primarily as a saxophonist for New Orleans’ beloved Preservation Hall Jazz Band. When his brother died from covid, Mr. Gabriel left music behind for a while and spent a lot of time playing chess with PHJB’s bassist. Eventually, the two of them started throwing around ideas for some songs and things fell into place for this record. 89 is an incredible gift for jazz fans, a beautiful throwback to the glory days of small-combo melodic jazz recordings. The band’s musical interplay is precise and romantic, the artist’s vocals on a few of the tunes are sweet and sly. Ruminations on love songs, with a little touch of Latin rhythm here and there, 89 goes down like a mellow, but full-bodied, aged wine.
EARWORM: “I’m Confessin’” – The point where Mr. Gabriel comes in with his sax after a brief strummed guitar intro is an exquisite example of his mastery. The delicate, yet assured vocals are stunning, too.
For those with a pre-existing fandom condition:
Avril Lavigne, Love Sux (2.25.22) – Loudly announced on social media as a return to her pop-punk beginnings, which I took to mean an attempt to see if returning to the sound of her early hits would be more commercially successful than her recent exercises in emotive balladry. I gotta say, the songs are pretty sugar-rush hooky and satisfyingly propulsive. Two things keep me from actually liking this record though – her grating helium-sounding vocals and the impossibly compressed digital sound of the whole thing. Maybe it's my age showing, but drums shouldn’t sound like electronic, percussive gas-passing. I’m including this one in the roundup because I think there’s a really good record here, buried under the digital excesses of 2020s-era music production and I may end up revisiting it. If there’s a generation gap in my musical tastes, here’s where it lives. My ears just don’t hear this record with any kind of pleasure, despite the overall fine songs.
EARWORM: “Bite Me” – Kinda sums up all of the album’s plusses and minuses. Decent songwriting and a good hook, undermined by thin, jittery production and squeaky vocals.
Tears for Fears, The Tipping Point (2.25.22) – Oh yeah, it’s got the booming wide landscape sound of the hits you remember, probably even more so. Glossy and hooky, Roland and Curt sing in the same non-descript way they always did, if a touch mellower. Not one I’ll go back to, but they had a boatload of fans back in the day. If you’re one and you liked them then, I’m sure you’ll like them now.
EARWORM: “The Tipping Point” – The title song will convince you they sound just like you remember.
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