EOB - "Earth" (2020)

It was always quite apparent that Radiohead's more experimental (and depressive) tendencies mostly came from Thom Yorke, so I was interested to see what the band's guitarist, Ed O'Brian (adopting the moniker EOB), would do on his first solo record. While Earth adopts plenty of elements of the group's sonic pallet and wouldn't seem too out of place next to their catalogue, it certainly cuts its own path away from the band's sound. Slowly written and recorded all over the place since 2012, the albums themes and sonic style reflect that. While broadly fitting in as an alt-rock album (the guitar tones in particular are reminiscent of Radiohead's heavier moments post-millennium), the record incorporates a large amount of folk and alternative dance into the mix. It makes for a surprisingly relaxed and upbeat atmosphere, which is further enhanced by the lyrical content of most of these tracks.

Take for example, lead single Brazil, a track inspired by Ed's year long stay in the Brazilian countryside. The track opens as a very serene, gentle folk song before unravelling into a transient dance beat in the back half. The tone of the song reflects Ed's apparently very spiritual connection to both the beauty of the landscape and the colourful party culture the country is famous for. Shangri-La, the opener, is a chunky and groovy dance rock tune named after one of the all-night rave tents at Glastonbury, so it is obvious what the song is about. The rest of the album follows suit, being songs about finding peace of mind, being free and having a good time. It's a vibe album in the purest sense, these lyrics aren't meant to challenge you, they're designed to reflect Ed's moments of spiritual connection and be the soundtrack to yours. The one track that doesn't fit this mould is Banksters, and it does kind of stick out because of it. It is a much more direct alt-rock song, railing on bankers and the 2008 crash, and would fit right in on Radiohead's Hail To The Theif. I do like the song, but it does feel out of place on the album.

The vibe of this album really does work, but it lacks any truly great moments to really make it something special. There are points where it also gets too comfortable with what it's doing at that point and slides into the background. Once Brazil slides into its dance breakdown, it doesn't really move from there. It makes the back half feel more like an extended outro when it really should soar into a transcendent experience. The following track, Deep Days, is more of a repeated motif than a a fully fleshed out song. The closest the record comes to greatness is the Nick Drake-esque Long Time Coming and the 8 minute alternative dance cut, Olympik. Long Time Coming features a gentle plucked guitar and wistful, bittersweet vocals from Ed about this girl who wishes to escape the city and discover the world. It's a simple and effective tune. Olympik, on the other hand, is manic. It shifts through multiple sections, rooted by an infectious, spiralling groove.

Earth is a very relaxed and straightforward album, and while it's not exactly groundbreaking, it's bright and summery, and I'm enjoying having it on while I'm stuck home. It brings some levity to these current times, and is a great reminder that sometimes life can just be about dancing until 4am or taking a stroll in the countryside. 

Top Tracks: Shangri-La, Long Time Coming, Banksters, Olympik

7/10

The Strokes - "The New Abnormal" (2020)

Ever since The Strokes iconic debut, Is This It, set the direction of the post-punk revival and indie rock in general for the 2000s, the band have struggled to really match that album in terms of quality and vision. Their follow up, Room On Fire, while a great album in it's own right, certainly followed in ITI's blueprint. The most noticeable stylistic shift was a doubling down on ITI's lower fidelity and messy recording and production style. This combined with some of the lyrics on the album gave the impression that the band weren't really comfortable being the genre zeitgeist and were almost trying to shrug off the fame and critical success. From this point forward, the band's discography becomes really hit or miss. There are some really good tracks in there, but the group's haphazard incorporation of noise rock and new wave into their sound, combined with constant infighting within the band, the obvious disinterest in the performances and rough, careless production made for some really mixed records. So even after the first couple of tracks were released and I really enjoyed them, I was still apprehensive about The New Abnormal, but I'm happy to say that it's really good and the best thing the band has released since Room On Fire.

The band seem to have worked through all of the issues that plagued their past few releases here. The album is a tight 9 tracks, and nothing feels redundant or half finished. They have also brought on Rick Rubin as producer, known for his clean (albeit often compressed) production style. This shift in approach really allows for these tracks to really pop in a way the band never really has before, most notably in Julian Casablancas' vocals - which are traditionally buried deep in the mix on a Strokes record, and his vocal performance is stellar here. The combination of him overcoming his alcohol problem and him actually caring about this record can be really heard in his voice.

One such moment is the opening track, The Adults Are Talking. The verses are sung in this hushed, sensual tone over a kinetic guitar and drum line. The chorus melody is catchy and cool, and the second time round Casablancas launches into a souring falsetto bridge. It features two solos and feels so unique within the bands catalogue. The tracks Bad Decisions and Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus are similarly uptempo and catchy. Bad Decisions has been on repeat for me since it was released as a single. It cribs the riff and part of the melody from Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself, although it is played in a tighter more New Order-esque style. The lyrics about wanting someone in your life, despite the bad influence you might have on each other are fun and feel very honest and open. Theres a part of the bridge where Casablancas sounds just like Lou Read and adds to the throwback feel of the song. Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus is straight up synth pop, and features the weird and catchy line "I want new friends, but they don't want me" as part of the chorus. The melody of the coda is also just really fantastic and I wish that part of the song went on longer. It's fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, although it's the only track where the production feels a little off. The whole track is too loud, and the synths sound really compressed and pierce through the mix, whilst Casablancas' vocals and the guitars fight for space lower down. It's not awfully sounding, but you can definitely hear the sharp raise in volume from the previous track.

The back half of the album goes on such a run. The first of these tracks is the first single released, At The Door. This song is simply fantastic. It's really stripped back, primarily featuring some thin, dark sounding synths, with a little guitar popping up here and there. This allows for so much focus on Julian's emotional, powerful croon. The lyrics feel like a gut punch, and use obtuse and dark imagery to tell what sounds like the end of a relationship (which fits Casablancas' divorce in 2019). The following three tracks delve more into this topic, giving the end of the record a real sense of unity. Why Are Sundays So Depressing is probably the most classic Strokes the record gets, in terms of sound and done. Yet is longer and slower, and has a funkier edge to the verses. Julian sings about how he just wants an easy life and to just chill out, and that he doesn't care that "his baby's gone" or that his friends have also left him.

The final two tracks really go into the pain and anguish caused by the break up. The first verse of Not The Same Anymore sounds cynical and sarcastic - with weird lyrics such as "You'd make a better window than a door". It really reminds my of some of the more bitter moments in the Arctic Monkeys discography. The track then straightens itself out and Casblancas starts to accept responsibility of his misdeeds and ponders the impact on his son. It's so honest and earnest from someone who often puts on a show of brashness and unbotherdness. Ode To The Mets, as the title suggests, is about Casablancas' love for the New York Mets baseball team; but also features lyrics looking back on the history of the band and also feels like its referencing the breaking down of his relationship. The track sounds so pained and tired and bittersweet, as it builds and builds, and Juilens vocals sour higher and higher. The outro to the song is truely phenomenal.

The track Eternal Summer is the only real misfire on the record. It flits between two different styles; breezy 80s pop tune for the verses with entirely falsetto vocals, and a shouty, noisey chorus similar to Casablancas' other band The Voidz. I get the concept behind the track, as it is about the threat of climate change, yet society's inability to accept it. But it's the longest track here, over 6 minutes, and doesn't really progress anywhere due to its constant shift back and forth between these two styles that jar against each other.

At first, even though I though the record was decent, I didn't quite pick up on how good it was because it doesn't sound like the band's first two albums. It really is a grower, and as you start accept that it doesn't sound like the last time The Strokes were this good, and let the lyrics and atmosphere soak in, you start to get what they're going for and how well they've achieved it.

Top Tracks: The Adults Are Talking, Bad Decisions, At The Door, Why Are Sundays So Depressing, Not The Same Anymore, Ode To The Mets

8/10

Manic Street Preachers - "Everything Must Go" (1996)

Everything Must Go is one of those records borne out of so unique circumstances, that it bleeds into everything about it: the sound, the lyrics, its legacy. This is the Manic's fourth record, and first without guitarist and joint lyricist Richey Edwards. Edwards disappeared in early 1995, and was never seen again. This had an expectedly huge impact on the band, and drastically shaped the tone and sound of this record.

The previous MSP records were a much heavier, glam-y punk affair; whereas on Everything Must Go the group shifted to more accessible alternative rock and britpop sound. The whole record is drenched in existential angst. There are so many lyrics revolving around the themes of disappearance, escape and rejecting the past / embracing the new; and the tracks that don't focus on these still ponder the meaning of life, isolation and mental and physical health. This is aided by gorgeous string sections on a good chunk of these songs that swell up in the climaxes, building so much intensity to accompany the gripping passionate vocals from James Dean Bradfield.

Take for example the lead single, A Design For Life. This track is the most reliant on the strings, to the point where the guitar line is just there as a framework for them to expand upon. They swell up and come crashing back down as the band laments the apparent meaninglessness of life. "We don't talk about love, we only want to get drunk / And we are not allowed to spend, as we are told that this is the end", Bradfield howls during the chorus. It's so raw and cathartic, and is one of my favourite songs of all time. The title track is similarly orchestrated, although has more of a triumphant perseverance to the tone and melodies of the song. Nicky Wire, the band's primary lyricist, claims the song is a message to fans, hoping they would accept the group's new sound. But Bradfield's incredibly personal performance makes it feel like the song is directed towards Edwards, hoping that where ever he was, he would forgive them for their change in direction. On top of this, some of the lyrics feel like they've been written from Edwards perspective, as if he's apologising for leaving his friends. It results in an incredibly multilayered and emotional song.

The band channel some of this existential dread through songs named after and about real people. Kevin Carter's lyrics were written by Richey Edwards before he disappeared, about the South African photojournalist who committed suicide in 1994, while battling mental health issues and PTSD from the things he had seen. The track is deceptively uptempo, and features a horn solo of all things. Interiors (Song for William de Kooning) is inspired by the Dutch painter who suffered from dementia and couldn't remember his own work. The intertwining of the guitar and vocal melodies on the chorus give the track a real energy to it.

The opening cut, Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, is one of the few tracks that doesn't really explore the rest of the albums themes - instead tackling the apparent acceptance of American consumer culture within the UK. It unravels from a gentle acoustic tune as the roaring guitars and anthemic chorus come round. Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky likewise is about animal abuse, according to the band. Yet the lyrics, written by Edwards, could easily be interpreted as about his worsening mental state. There is some really off-putting imagery in the song, which is a stripped back acoustic one with reverber-y harp and gentle piano keys in the background. It has a very otherworldly and ethereal vibe.

Exploring the lyrical content in such detail makes the album seem really dour and heavy, but it really is a loud, uptempo and raucous record despite this. Some of the tracks aren't so gruesomely detailed. Elona / Alone and The Girl That Wanted To Be God are anthemic and emotional without being as lyrically bleak. Australia might be the loudest and most rocking of all the tunes. The track is about running away and starting afresh, and is about as balls to the wall as Oasis' most 'epic' songs. Overdriven guitars fly everywhere over the top of this ascending chord progression and Bradfield's absolute belting of the chorus. He genuinely sounds like he could not be singing any louder.

The closing moment, No Surface All Feeling, is the rawest moment on the record. It's the only track that features guitar work from Richey Edwards, and is simply the band opening up and falling apart about losing him. Its noisy and grungy, and has so much emotion oozing out of it. It really leaves the album in a vulnerable place after 45 minutes of them trying to figure it all out, and finding no answers.

I do really recommend this record, it's profound and existential and cathartic; without ever being morose or overly depressing. A lot of what's being said here is layered in the subtext, and rewards multiple listens. Yet the emotion and meaning translates through the performances, so it feels important even on the first listen. I'm really looking forward to checking out the groups previous record, The Holy Bible, as it has quite a cult following - being the last one featuring Richey and before the group hit the mainstream.

Top Tracks: Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, A Design For Life, Elona / Alone, Everything Must Go, Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky, The Girl That Wanted To Be God, Interiors (Song for William de Kooning), Australia, No Surface All Feeling

8/10

Glass Animals - "How To Be A Human Being" (2016)

I've been listening to Glass Animal's debut album, Zaba, for a few years now. The groups woozy psychedelic pop has a humid, tropical atmosphere which makes it perfect for hot summer evenings. With the group releasing new music, I have finally got round to checking out their follow-up, 2016's How To Be A Human Being. The core of the band's sound is still here (the glossy, multilayered production, Dave Bailey's sensual falsetto vocals), but it has been expanded upon with more ambitious elements and lyrical concepts.

Each of the tracks on How To Be A Human Being focuses on a different character, all inspired by people the group met while touring Zaba. We take a look inside the heads of these characters, with their inner monologues accentuated and absurd-ified. It reminds me of the writing style in fellow indietronica band Everything Everything's work. The lyrics here are not as socio-politically charged or as taken to the extreme as EE, but do evoke the same feelings of silly absurdity tinged by a genuine sense of believability.

The record opens on an incredibly bombastic, anthemic note with Life Itself. This track is built around groovy afrobeat rhythm, and revolves around this loser like character who's mother is disappointed in his life choices. It explodes into a massive chorus with blaring synths and distorted horns, where the character seemingly doesn't care. It creates a weird juxtaposition, as the music sounds like your supposed to root for this character, yet the lyrics clearly describe why your not supposed to. Youth carries on this anthemic atmosphere, although it isn't quite as in your face. The track is a typical coming of age story about growing up. It hits all the right notes, and the silky smooth chorus is irresistible.

Season 2 Episode 3 is more stripped back than the first two tracks. There's a rolling hi-hat beat and midi-esque, chip tune sounding synthesizers. It gives the track a retro video game feel, and even samples sounds from Super Mario Brothers. The song is about people who lounge around all day binge watching TV, and the music really fits the vibe. It's all very chilled. The  majority of Mama's Gun is a tense build up with a jangly piano motif and wondrous sounding woodwind. Eventually some choral backing vocals come in just before the track gently crescendos. All that tension feels like it needs a bigger payoff, which keeps the eery vibe of the song intact right towards the end. 

While the album doesn't quite get as festival ready as the opening tracks, it still has some massive sounding songs. Pork Soda has the excellent hook of "Pineapples are in my head, I've got nobody cause I'm braindead" and the track just builds up the layers more and more until track feels like it genuinely could not sound any more full. Take A Slice has a really fuzzed out, bluesy guitar and a woozey, sensual vocal melody. It sounds like modern Tame Impala and Like Clockwork... era Queens Of The Stone Age smashed together, and is absolutely mental and surprisingly works. Blaring horns and staccato piano come in when the chorus hits, all accumulating in the guitar solo outro that is just so much noise but brilliant.

The album sags just a little in the middle. Cane Shuga is perfectly fine but doesn't really do much for me, and [Premade Sandwiches] is one of many tracks that try to be Fitter Happier. It's still one of the better imitators, but I don't really know why artists try to go for that idea - because no one ever seems to match Fitter Happier's balance between irony and paranoia. The Other Side Of Paradise's chorus features this very 2010s, post-dubstep, bass drop. It is pretty tastefully done here, but it does make the track already seem a bit dated - and is the only point where the album seems to be chasing the trends of the time.

These weaker moments are still well done, their ideas don't quite connect with me like the rest of the track list. So despite the ambition here, I'd say I like it about the same as Zaba. Both are great albums, with different qualities. Zaba goes for a more consistent tone and vibe; whereas HTBAHB is more ambitious and higher highs, but has a few moments that don't hit like the rest of the record. I'm really quite interested in what the group do for album 3 now, although the singles released so far haven't really landed with me the way these two records have.

Top Tracks: Life Itself, Youth, Season 2 Episode 3, Pork Soda, Take A Slice

8/10

Childish Gambino - "3.15.20" (2020)

My first real exposure to Donald Glover's musical project, Childish Gambino, was his 2018 global smash hit, This Is America. The captivating fusion of trap and afrobeat, paired with with the razor sharp political lyrics has made it an instant classic. This really peaked my interest, so I went and checked out his 2016 album Awaken My Lover, expecting more cutting, conscious hip hop. What I got was 70s throwback record of psychedelic funk and soul - and I really enjoyed it. But I still expected the inevitable next CG album to follow in This Is America's footsteps, even after the release of the follow up 2 track EP, which was more of a contemporary R&B sound.

So it was to my surprise that 3.15.20 is closer in sound to Awaken My Lover than This Is America, although it is hardly a sequel in the same throwback sense, as almost everything about the sound, style and release of this record is weird and unstructured. The title comes from the date the record was originally released, as a looping livestream on the website donaldgloverpresents (before releasing on streaming a few days later), and the majority of the tracks are titled as their timestamps in the entire records runtime. The exceptions are tracks 2 and 3, titled Algorhythm and Time. This is America does not feature on the record, yet Feels Like Summer (one of the tracks from the follow up EP) does. Although it now goes by the name of 42.26, track 10 of the record.

The sound of the record jumps all over the place, from contemporary R&B, to experimental hip hop, to the throwback sounds of Awaken My Lover; all through the lense of some really odd production choices. The mixes here feel muddy and washed out, but not in a good way. The whole mix feels out of balance. Things that feel like they should pop (Vocals, guitars and synths, ect.) don't; and many of the lower ends (percussion and bass) sound to harsh and loud. Time, featuring Ariana Grande, is a good example of this. Both her and Donald have striking, fairly high pitched voices, yet their vocals just feel concealed in the low end of the mix.

These tracks are also very unstructured, with half the tracklist being over 5 minutes, and a good chunk of them not really feeling like songs - more extended instrumental sections with Donald and others just doing whatever they feel like on top. While choruses and hooks do crop up, they feel rather unrefined and not very catchy. 12.38 is a six and half minute tune of Donald laidback-ly riffing over a simple beat, and while the relaxed vibe of the song initially sounds pretty decent, it goes nowhere for 4 minutes then just jumps off the deep end after that point with random effects placed on the mix and unremarkable features from 21 Savage and Kadhja Bonet don't anything.

The album really dips around the midpoint. The 8 minute neo-soul croon-fest that is 24.19 just goes on and on. The production on this one sounds really bad and murky, and makes Glover's usually quite intense croon sound amateurish. The pitch shifting that crops up from time to time also really doesn't sound good. The main track fades out at around 5:30 for a weird interlude with intense breathing and the building of industrial beats to lead into 32.22. This is a track in the style of some experimental, industrial hip hop, and just sounds ugly. The garbled, autotuned vocals combine with this repetitive, garish beat to just feel really pointless and annoying. Nothing else on the record sounds like this, which makes it seem really random and disjointed why it's on here (especially since it does nothing interesting).

The best tracks are the ones that do feel like complete songs (or songs most of the way to completion). 19.10 is straight up Prince worship, but the singular goal of the song gives it some focus and is fairly catchy. It's not amazing, and feels like 3/4 of a complete song, but I don't get tired of it by the end of its runtime unlike a lot of the tracks here. 42.26 is essentially unchanged from it's original incarnation as Feels Like Summer, and so is actually quite jarring how much better it sounds than the rest of the record. You can definitely tell it was recorded and mixed separately from the rest of the album. The relaxed, tropical grove of the song and Glover's reggae-ish singing do genuinely feel like summer. The Closer, 53.49, is reminiscent of the wacky, psychedelic funk that cropped up on Awaken My Lover. The track is short and snappy, and Donald's vocals really pop.

This record is really quite weird. Everything sounds so unfocused and unfinished, yet so intentional. It hops genres with each track; ideas are either barely explored or dragged out far too long; and the lyrics don't build to any sort of coherent theme or concept. It's certainly ambitious and subversive, just not really the strongest executed.

Top Tracks: 19.10, 42.26, 53.49

5/10