June 2016 Review

June saw a lot of releases I wanted to get my teeth into. There were some I couldn't get round to, which is a shame. I would have like to have listened to the new Swans record, the new Melvins record and some others, but my morning commute is only so long. I'd rather do 10 albums well than 15 sparingly. One big disappointment was the new Chili Peppers album. I don't wanna do a full review about it, but they're clearly missing John Frusciante. Without his contribution, there a large hole in their music. It's a shame, but at least they're trying. Anyway. My top 2 from this month were so close I agonised over the ranking for days. I feel like I've made the right choice though. Dig in.


The Rest:

Gojira - Magma - B

Metal


The Kills - Ash And Ice - C

Indie/Alternative Rock/Garage Rock

The Kills were at the sharper edge of the 00's Garage guitar revival in terms of creativity. Their 2-piece set up never threatened to impede the songwriting talent offered by Alison Mosshart, whose lyrics and voice are genuinely unique in a scene where it's easy to filter into the background and become Just Another Indie Band.

There's been half a decade since their last album, and I was excited at the prospect of a follow-up to what was by all accounts, a superb record. Unfortunately, Ash And Ice is a step back. There's no development in terms of sound, songwriting or style.

It would be unfair to dismiss the album purely on that basis - The Kills, after all, have carved out their own sound, they have their own niche, and for that you have to give them props. But if you're gonna listen to Ash And Ice, you might as well not bother, and dust off that old copy of Blood Pressures. Satellite still bangs hard, doesn't it?


Ladyhawke - Wild Things - B

Pop


Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway - C

Alternative Rock


The Best:


01: Laura Mvula - The Dreaming Room - A

Experimental Pop/Art Pop


In a month of safe releases from established guitar acts, it was a welcome reprieve to listen to something completely different. It's difficult to pigeonhole Mvula's musical style. In the 36 minutes that The Dreaming Room lasts, it covers all kinds of musical styles, lyrical themes and emotional states.

Mvula's talent and sheer depth of musicality seems largely untapped, even with the kaleidoscopic breadth of The Dreaming Room. Only on her 2nd release, Mvula is already showing herself to be a highly accomplished artist, and the prospect of further work from her is exciting. She worked with several established figures on The Dreaming Room; Nile Rodgers, Wretch 32 and Troy Miller. They all put in a good shift, but these merely garnish the ocean of creativity poured out by Mvula.

Overcome, Let Me Fall, Show Me Love and Phenomenal Woman are all excellent pieces, all different, and all worthy. Mvula has perfected a brand of music that is regal, powerful, and dominant, but also humble, understated and graceful. Sometimes all these qualities reside within the same song. The symphonic work on The Dreaming Room is a specific highlight, the orchestral trills slip and slide to form a naturally beautiful layer to an already delightful listening experience. The best album in June was something I took a chance on, and I'm so glad that I did.

02: Band Of Horses - Why Are You OK? - A

Indie/Folk/Alternative Rock


I think it's hard to be in a guitar band these days and release music without being accused of being uncreative, (see The Dud below.) Rock music is as old as the hills and there are some people who like to say that there's no new guitar music out there. I think there is a new scene emerging, and Band Of Horses are one of the leading voices in that. Why Are You OK? is their latest, and it's thoroughly delightful.

The first half of OK is far more interesting than the second. Lyrical themes throughout explore life and love and the confusion of strong emotions, of travelling wide and meeting new people. The album is front-loaded; each one of the first run of songs could be a single, the catchiness speeds you through the tracklist on a smooth ride of styles and moods.

From the epic dual-movemented opener Dull Times/The Moon, to the prime cut, certified indie banger Casual Party right to the back of the record, OK flows steadily through rock, country, folk and indie themes, never settling on one level for too long. By the end, there is maybe too much "Aw, Shucks" tweeness, (Country Teen is a stinker) but OK has enough in the first half to tip the balance and keep it in a positive light.

I don't usually like to list influences, because it's mightily subjective, but I think it's clear that the boys REALLY like Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. There are also some Weezer chord changes on OK that could be lifted straight from the Blue Album. It's nice to see that the natural evolution from these soft indie bands of the 90's is an album as expansive and satisfying as OK. There's lots to explore on this album, and most of it is highly enjoyable.

03: Kayo Dot - Plastic House On Base Of Sky - B

Experimental/Progressive/Electronic Rock

04: DJ Shadow - The Mountain Will Fall - B

Hip-hop/Electronic/Dance


DJ Shadow is responsible for one of my favourite records of all time, his much-lauded debut ...Endtroducing, which set the Hip-hop world alight with layers of structure on an ethereal base of distant guitar samples and orchestral stabs, like a film soundtrack without a visual. Rightly or wrongly, all of Shadow's work since has been measured against that impossibly high benchmark. The Mountain Will Fall has not surpassed that standard.

Mountain is exactly what you would expect from a DJ Shadow record in 2016. With elements of Hip-hop, electronic and dance music, Shadow pulls the strings together to form an amorphous project with plenty of peaks and troughs to reel you in. Nothing else sounds quite like a DJ Shadow record, he has a wide range of musical influences that come together in his own output to form an instantly recognisable style, and even at this point, 5 albums in, it is a sound with plenty of ground left to cover.

Mountain is a good record on the whole, but at times it's more like a series of sketches than a fully-fledged album. It can get jarring when Shadow gets a groove going and then drops it out for 16 bars of weird noodling. The ending to Mambo is particularly frustrating, the song rising to a crescendo with an immeasurable amount of anticipation for a huge drop that - Oh. That's the end of the song. Nobody Speak, a straight-up Hip-hop song featuring Run The Jewels is far and away the best cut on this record.

05: The Temper Trap - Thick As Thieves - B

Indie/Rock

The Dud:


Rival Sons - Hollow Bones - D

Rock

D is for derivative. This is the worst album I've heard this year. This is pointless, lifeless and thoughtless. Hollow Bones is everything that is wrong with guitar music in 2016. There is no message, no dynamic, and the guitar riffs are on that intensely annoying knife edge between soft and heavy. You can't mosh to this, but you can't sit back and groove to it either. There is no discernible difference between the songs, save for the token acoustic ballad at the end, which somehow makes it even worse. A whole lot of hot air. Expect to find this soundtracking beer and car adverts for the next 12 months. Are we done? I think we're done here.


That's June, as always there's been some wonderful listening to be had this month. And hey! I actually got this done (just) before August. See you in a month.