Albums I’m Excited About, May 25th
Amyl and the Sniffers — Amyl and the Sniffers
Every once in a while, a band comes along that seems a perfect summary of the musical zeitgeist in a given genre. Right now, Amyl and the Sniffers is everything that is happening in punk rock.
This is a fantastically executed punk rock album. It knows where it came from and is not inventing anything musically — however Amyl’s sing-shout lead vocals and grating Aussie accent set it apart from the straight up punk sound and send it off kilter into an addictively good and surprisingly fresh noise.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/amyl-and-the-sniffers/1458148463
https://open.spotify.com/album/7nhDk3RQWJxF4MPsWZ2ONJ?si=IRMuuIWKTTmpHMifXla-4A
Atlanta Millionaires Club — Faye Webster
Faye Webster is a prolific musician and photographer from Atlanta who released her debut in 2017 and got a lot of folks’ attention for being kind of a prototypical white girl with an outsized dose of talent. She appears to be surrounded by trap stars and a bit too cool for the brooding persona she puts out, but perhaps it’s the fact that it’s easy to be skeptical about her authenticity that makes her so interesting.
This album is a continuation, maybe a sharpening, of her prior effort. It commits to a pedal steel, saxophone and electric piano in a way that pop indie rarely does. It teems with talent, her lazy layer of vocals almost taunts you — an effect that I suspect will only polarize her audience even more. I count myself among the skeptics, but can’t deny that this record deserves a few spins on some sunny afternoons before I jump to any conclusions.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/atlanta-millionaires-club/1452886606
https://open.spotify.com/album/4vt0V1SmkaK1Y440P5Nsb4?si=VAA2YtkyQiWer0sCEaFSyQ
Full upon Her Burning Lips — Earth
Earth is a pioneering instrumental drone metal band that has evolved a lot over its storied existence, likely due to lead guitarists Dylan Carlson’s struggles with heroin. Many attribute today’s modern doom/drone music directly to their second album, and so any output from them commands some respect.
This album follows a recent solo work by Dylan Carlson, and like it, is a bit less distorted and semitonal than the majority of his work with Earth. I believe Carlson is in a discovery cycle, as this album is a nod to Iommi-style riffs and structure — suitable given that Black Sabbath was briefly also named “Earth” — and while I would have loved a deepening of the sonic surfing sound that Earth is known for, I will gladly accept this patient, swaying record.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/full-upon-her-burning-lips/1454445408
https://open.spotify.com/album/1j7J0uxGR6NSxVDwCeWuy1?si=2uuKp_rsSjq1yosuFqKFIg
We Get By — Mavis Staples
Historically, I have never figured out quite what it is I like about Mavis Staples — it’s tempting to think of her as a Bobby Womack level talent, or maybe a Charles Bradley style under-appreciated-until-now powerhouse — but the molds never fit, and her music seems to be just outside of the grasp of any specific genre, while feeling like maybe it should be in one.
We Get By feels a lot more understandable from a listening point of view, not because it fits in a genre, but because I think it does a fantastic job not sounding like it should. It is a masterclass in simple and powerful songwriting, and for me at least, shapes not just her current album but helps me understand the vision of her prior work. It would be selling the album short to call it blues or soul, although fans of those genres will be happy — instead, I recommend listening to this first, then diving in to Mavis’ deep and diverse library, and hear her vision coming through better than ever before.
https://open.spotify.com/album/162ZDwMcg8NGzp6BPKy58G?si=wlWnWm-TSaCsolQpNspl5Q
