Tame Impala - "The Slow Rush" (2020)

While I more preferred Tame Impala's psych-rock sound of their first two LPs (I've grown to love Lonerism even more in particular since I reviewed it) to Currents' nu-disco and psyched up synth pop, I wasn't expecting Kevin Parker and co to return to it. I was also okay with it, as there were elements of Currents that I thought were great and the band could hone the sound further (much like the jump from Innerspeaker to Lonerism). For the most part, I feel that's what we've got, although there are some things holding the record back in my opinion.

The first two singles for the record dropped in early 2019, Patience and Borderline, before Parker delayed and reworked the album. This resulted in a new album version of Borderline and Patience being dropped entirely. I think this was a good move, as these singles had a very washed out and dream-poppy aesthetic, but felt rather limp and lifeless to me. The new version of Borderline is miles better, with the bass and drums pumped up and the whole song sped up. The squelchy bass and glistening keys give the song an infectious, dance-able groove. The first half of the record follows suit and provides a bunch of super groovy and psyched out songs indebted to not just disco but other forms of dance music as well, primarily house and Balearic beat.

One More Year opens up the record with chopped up, stuttering vocals, before the snappy beat fades in and Kevin's lead falsetto vocals glide on top. The lyrics intrigue me, dealing with the idea of time and what Kevin wants to achieve if he only had one more year. Perhaps it's relating to the band, and Parker is questioning if they can keep it up. The track builds momentum until the line "One more year, from today...", where the track breaks down into this effortlessly cool outro. These themes of time and achievement, and self doubt run through the album, and Kevin has clearly grown as a lyricist since Currents. The lyrics only really served the purpose of atmosphere on the bands earlier releases, but on Current's Kevin started to stretch out and tell more detailed experiences. However the lyrics on that album sometimes had a sour and wallowing tone, which is not the case here. It really feels like Kevin is writing introspective and emotional songs with more balance and less awkward self-pity.

The best example of this is my favourite song on the record, Posthumous Forgiveness. The song details Kevin's fractious relationship with his late father, and the tone of his voice excellently conveys the pain and hurt, and also the internal confusion that Parker feels towards his dad. The heavy, distorted synth line that runs throughout the song, accumulating in a massive, crushing breakdown really sell the tension and importance of this song. This leads into the second section of the song; a much breezier part where Kevin goes on to forgive his father and wish that he was still around to see all the amazing thing he is doing with the band.

Breathe Deeper, by contrast, is a much simpler song. It's an out and out dance song with an incredibly infectious groove and hook. The sparkling keys and funky bassline play off each other so well, and Kevin sounds uncharacteristically confident and swaggering on the vocals. Following this, Tomorrow's Dust slows the pace back down. The track has a very dream pop vibe, with the strummed acoustic guitar and reverb soaked instrumentation. Kevin sings about the past and how long ago and unrelatable it feels to him now, specifically referencing the bands back catalogue with the line "There's no use trying to relate to that old song".

It's at the half way point with the song On Track where the album's problems start to show. For each song I enjoy on the back half of this record, it is punctuated with one I don't care for. This completely kills the momentum of the album. On Track is the record's only ballad, and it builds up from a skeletal first verse to the chorus, which completely flat-lines and isn't memorable in the slightest. As the song progresses more instrumentation is introduced, but everything is so soaked in reverb and fader that it doesn't feel like the track really builds up as it progresses, and leaves me with the feeling of 'that was really 5 minutes?'.

Following On Track is Lost In Yesterday, a straight up disco-pop song with a catchy as all hell chorus and some excellent lyrics about losing your self in nostalgia and only embracing the past if it's beneficial and forgetting about it if it is not. The lyric "Eventually terrible memories turn into great ones" always jumps out at me on every listen. But then the track Is It True follows it. The track isn't bad, but to me it feels like it's trying to do the same thing as Breathe Deeper with a less interesting beat and a more clunky chorus. I like the switched up beat and jazzier, more loose feel to the outro, but it is just an outro, so doesn't really save the song.

It Might Be Time opens up like some kind of reverby Supertramp song, with a very 70s sounding keyboard line and Parker's high falsetto vocals. The lyrics of the song follow on from Lost In Yesterday, dealing with Kevin's fears of the bands relevancy going forward and whether he enjoys it as much as he used to. The track builds into a wall of sound as it goes on, with massive chugging drums, crunchy guitars and this wild, siren-y, distorted synth line blaring on top. It really dramatises the themes of the track.

The final track, One More Hour has a similar pop-prog feel to it. It phases through multiple sections with different instruments and effects popping in and out. The lyrics come across brutally honest, talking about Kevin's various motivations behind the band, his need for solitude every so often, and his doubts of the band's continued success and relevancy. The track builds up in intensity to the point where some noisy, distorted guitars come into the mix. It gives the ending a very shoegaze-y, ethereal atmosphere; which is furthered by the fade out at the end of the track. It makes me feel like Kevin is ascending off into the clouds.

But sandwiched between these two tracks is the completely uneventful and unnecessary interlude, Glimmer. I honestly don't know what purpose it serves, as the album is long enough as it is; and It Might Be Time and One More Year are quite tonally similar, and do not need an interlude between them. At 57 minutes, this album on the whole feels quite bloated. The weaker tracks in the second half don't feel necessary, and there's a handful of studio snippets separating some the songs that could easily come out. Quite a few of the tracks have long, extended outros, which are fine at a track by track level, but just drag the album out when listening all the way through.

The best tracks on this album are really great (and Posthumous Forgiveness is fantastic), but it does feel Kevin got a bit carried away when putting it together. It's just simply an hour long album with 45 mins worth of ideas. I don't think ill be coming to it in full very often because of this, but 45 mins of good ideas is still quite a lot of good ideas, so it's worth checking out for the highlights alone.

Top Tracks: One More Year, Borderline, Posthumous Forgiveness, Breathe Deeper, Tomorrow's Dust, Lost In Yesterday, It Might Be Time, One More Hour

7/10

Massive Attack - "Blue Lines" (1991)

Continuing on with my '100 albums you need to listen to' poster, and also Massive Attack's discography, I have jumped from Mezzanine to the band's debut, Blue Lines. This record is generally considered the origin point for trip hop, and so a more embryonic form of the genre is on show here. The genre's hip hop and dub elements are more clearly on show here than in later records, and the fusion between them is more fractious. Some tracks have a much stronger hip hop vibe, and some lean into soul, dance and dub, but these influences aren't as combined as they would later become in the genre.

Safe From Harm opens up the record with this rolling bass line and drum rhythm, with Shara Nelson's soulful vocals contrasting against the chunky synth lines and rhythms. It's very much a blueprint for the 'Massive Attack sound' going forward. One love follows a reggae beat with Horace Hinds' crooning on top, yet the tune is more chilled and stripped back than full on dub. Five Man Army is much heavier, with dubby bass and psychedelic effects floating around all over the mix. Horace's and Tricky's vocals play off each other, rapping in different registers in a call and response style. The title track is near enough a jazz rap song, where the group raps in a very 90s style over a funky beat and soothing lounge-esque keys. Be Thankful For What You Got and the single that put the band on the map, Unfinished Sympathy, are much more soulful. Unfinished Sympathy is particularly intense with swelling strings sitting on top a relentless percussion loop and sampled ad-libs from Mahavishnu Orchestra's Planetary Citizen. Shara Nelson returns for a emotional gut-punch of a performance, singing the hook "Really hurt me baby" with so much passion and intensity.

Daydreaming has a dreamy chord progression and eerie background vocals from Nelson. The group's rapping also is very dream-like on this track, floating from one topic to another, and features references to The Beatles and other famous songs. Lately has a slight R&B vibe to Nelson's vocals and melody, but the chunky beat and squelchy bass steer the song in a more spacious direction. The album closes with Hymn Of the Big Wheel, which sounds like synth-pop meets reggae. It's quite a triumphant way to end the record, with lyrics dealing with the idea that the world keeps turning, despite anyone's troubles - so you should try to enjoy yourself as much as you can despite whatever is going on. 

While Blue Lines is not as complex or intensely enveloping as Mezzanine, the more chilled out and straightforward approach make it an easier listen to throw on in more situations. I don't feel I have to give it all my attention to maximise my enjoyment. It's also engaging to see the starting point of the genre, where its influences are more clearly on show.

Top Tracks: Blue Lines, Be Thankful For What You Got, Five Man Army, Unfinished Sympathy, Daydreaming

8/10

Green Day - "Father of All Motherfuckers" (2020)

Green Day have been rather directionless since American Idiot in 2004. Their records have flip-flopped between pale imitations of that album's style (21st Century Breakdown and Revolution Radio) and a more 'back to basics' form of pop-punk that called back to the group's 90s work (¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!), All of which have felt rather redundant in my opinion. This record does not follow in that tradition, instead taking a left turn into 60s garage punk revival territory, similar to what groups like The Hives, Jet and The Vines were doing in the early 2000s. 

And it just doesn't work. A lot of those groups have gotten stick for their sound over the years, due to it sounding stale and done to death, and it is still exactly the same for this new Green Day record. They don't do anything new with the sound at all, and it is so squeaky-cleanly produced that there is absolutely zero edge to it at all.

This is in contradiction to much of the lyrical content and also the bands promotion of the record, which is all about 'rocking out' and 'not giving a fuck' mentality. It makes everything here feel so fake and plasticy. Yeah let's rock out to this completely edgeless and toothless collection of songs. This is compounded by the cringe-inducing title and cover-art. The albums full title is Father of All Motherfuckers, but I only found this out when I went on its Wikipedia page, as wherever this album is available to stream or buy it will be listed as "Father of All..." with this awful censored cover. It's so transparently false that it's hard to believe a band as experienced as Green Day really believe what they were making was rebellious and 'punk-rock'.

The best tracks here are tolerable, if completely forgettable. The title track serves well enough as music for a car ad. The surf rock vibe of Stab You in the Heart has more energy than a lot of the tracks, as does Take the Money and crawl (which is also the punchiest). However the hooks are not memorable in the slightest, and slip my brain as soon as the tracks are over. The worst moments do start to grate after a few listens. Fire, Ready, Aim is beyond formulaic, and features awful whooping background vocals. I Was a Teenage Teenager is about as awkward as the title suggests. It sounds like a bad imitation of Weezer, with lyrics trying to convey teenage angst. However, Green Day are nearly 50 now, and the terrible hook of "I was a teenage teenager" really does not convey any genuine sense of relatability. Junkies on a High sounds like if Green Day made an Imagine Dragons song (although to it's better than most Imagine Dragons songs), complete with all the stale and played out 2010s pop rock tropes (supposedly 'epic' bass drop as the chorus hits, tacky pitch-shifted backing vocals, ect.).

This album is perfectly tolerable, but there is absolutely nothing inspired or unique about it. It is a crop of shiny pop rock tunes for beer commercials and sporting arenas. The band's awkward lack of self-awareness about how they are promoting it and what it supposedly represents also does it no favours. It's not even 'so bad it's good', since there is nothing interesting about this record.

3/10

Slowthai - "Nothing Great About Britain" (2019)

2019 was really Slowthai's year. He broke into the mainstream with his debut record, which was then nominated for the Mercury Prize; dropped co-labs all over the place and toured with the American super-group Brockhampton. And it's really not hard to see why he has made such a splash, as he is such an attention-grabbing character with an incredible presence on the stage and on these tracks.

Slowthai instantly grabs you with his very unique rapping style. It's not the most technical or flashy, but Tyron brings a punkish, DIY attitude to it which sets him apart from any other rapper I've heard. He has weird vocal inflections, and a rough aggressive tone throughout the majority of the record, although there are a few softer moments in the tracklist.

It's hard not to be sucked in by the lyrical content either. Slowthai raps about growing up in on council estate with his single mother, and some tragic childhood trauma, including the death of his younger brother and Tyrone's poor relationship with his step-father. The tracks are also stuffed full of commentary on class inequality and politics, as well as references to British pop-culture and stereotypes.

The opening track is the title track, which serves as a tone setter for the rest of the record. Slowthai lists off social injustices and ends with brash pot-shots at the Royal Family. Following this is the Mura Masa assisted Doorman, a manic, dance-able banger about going out and the related alcohol and drug abuse. It has a certain post-punk/dance punk quality to it, despite having electronic instrumentation. It is the cream of the crop of the album's tracks, I've been listening to it for months and it never gets old. Gorgeous is more organic, built around a loop of a little piano riff, with additional strings and manipulated vocals in the background. Tyrone raps more nostalgically about his youth here, despite the challenges he faced during it.

Some of the more grime-styled tracks in the middle of the record don't do much for me, I just struggle to connect of become invested in those types of instrumentals. Slowthai and his features (Jaykae and Skepta) still perform well on top. The record picks up again towards the end though, starting with Peace Of Mind. Slowthai is particularly driven and swaggering on this one, with the hook "I feel peace of mind when I'm dreaming of a life I ain't living". You really feel the anguish and anger in his voice here. Missing has a weird, creepy, warped synth-line. Similar effects smother Slowthai's voice, creating a dark, dangerous atmosphere to the track. Northampton's Child closes the record much as Nothing Great About Britain opens it, however with a more autobiographic slant about has family life growing up. It's incredibly touching, especially considering Tyrone's adoration of his mum despite everything they went through.

The lyrical side of this record is top-notch, and it is worth listening just for that. The instrumentals don't always hit the mark for me, and the ones that I do vibe with aren't exactly the most complex or intriguing. This makes the album feel slightly lopsided, but again, the lyrics carry it for the most part.

Top Tracks: Doorman, Gorgeous, Peace Of Mind, Missing, Northampton's Child

7/10

Loyle Carner - "Not Waving, But Drowning" (2019)

Not Waving, But Drowning is very much a continuation of Loyle Carner's first album, Yesterday's Gone. Here he is softly rapping over similarly low-key and jazzy instrumentals, about life and love and growing up (much like his debut).

On the lyrical front, love is a bigger topic for this record than the last, as Loyle seems to have entered a new relationship. The opening track, Dear Jean, details as much. It is essentially a poem to his mum about even he's moving out to live with his girlfriend, he is is still going to be around and be apart of her life. This leads into Angle, featuring a hook courtesy of Tom Misch. This track consists of Loyle professing his love, saying "You're my angel" over and over.

Ice Water and You Don't Know are some of the more driven tracks on the record, with stronger beats and a more angsty tone. Ice water covers Loyle's feelings as they first appear, like an energetic sugar rush. You Don't Know covers a contrasting topic, where Loyle and some interests' ideas of a relationship don't match up, where Loyle questions whether this person is really in love and knows what Loyle wants from it. It has a stomping, swaggering horn instrumental and a sassy hook from Kiko Bun. The reverby and vibrato effected instrumental of Sail Away Freestyle make it stand out among the rest of the tracks. This is also one of the more upfront tracks, with Loyle lamenting people who tell him how to 'wisely' use his earnings and people who have come to him now he's a successful rapper.

My biggest criticism with the record is that it sometimes dips a little too into sentimental nostalgia, a line which a feel the debut tread better. Some of the tracks just feel quite 'soppy'. Desoleil (Brilliant Corners) and Loose Ends featuring Sampha and Jorja Smith respectively are the worst offenders. Not that they're bad, by any means, they just feel slightly like a directionless ramble about emotions and people from Loyle's past. The fairly regular occurrence of studio bites or phone conversations as interludes also adds to this. Its not a big issue, but something that is noticeable coming from Yesterday's Gone to this.

Overall, Loyle's sophomore record is just more of what made the debut an enjoyable listen. So if you liked that, you'll like this. It is perfect for chilling too in the evening.

Top Tracks: Angel, Ice Water, You Don't Know, Sail Away Freestyle, Carluccio

7/10