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

Blur - "Parklife" (1994)

A friend of mine gave me for Christmas this year a '100 albums you need to listen to' poster, where you scratch off each one once you've listened to them. I have listened to 15 of them already, but I thought I'll go through the remaining 85, and write about them here as I listen. This is the first one I've scratched off from that 85. Blur are one of those artists that I adore their Best Of album (there isn't a bad song on it), yet previous to this I have never listened to any of their studio LPs.

Parklife is the group's third record, and is the one which broke them and Britpop into the mainstream (along with Oasis's Definitely Maybe), and contains some of the band's biggest singles: Boys and Girls and the album's title track, Parklife. These tracks perfectly encapsulate what the band and Britpop was about, being fun, bouncy guitar-pop tracks with witty, tongue-in-cheek commentary on life as a working class British youth. The synth pop groove and squelchy bass of Girls and Boys, and the immensely catchy (but also impossible to remember) chorus make it sheer pop-perfection. Phil Daniel's cockney spoken word verses on Parklife are enigmatically charismatic; detailing the characters morning routine, feeding the pigeons and slagging off Audi's slogan.

The rest of the albums singles are the tracks that I am most familiar with, as they all made the Best Of. End of a Century juxtaposes triumphant horns against Damon Albarn's nonchalant vocals, describing how the end of the century is nothing special and life still goes on as normal. To the End gives off a throwback 60s lounge vibe, with sweeping strings above really spacious keys and percussion. It has a bittersweet feeling to it, as the retro instrumentation combines with Albarn's soaring voice, claiming "It looks like we might have made it, made it to the end." The final single released was the penultimate track on the record, This Is a Low. The song is up there with Girls and Boys as one of the band's very best. The song starts off slow and sombre, with gentle acoustic guitar strumming. But as the chorus hits, Albarn's voice raises to a cathartic, emotional swell; before dropping the intensity back for the second verse. The band's alternative rock influences creep in for a noisy, distorted guitar solo and bridge before the final chorus. It remains one of the most personal moments on an album which is generally more focused on the world around it.

The deeper cuts on the record are also a lot of fun. Bank Holiday is a short, brash, punky tune about celebrating bank holidays. Albarn's vocal inflections and unique points of emphasis give the track quite a quirky feel to it. The bouncy guitars and the "oh-oohs" on Tracy Jacks make the song feel weightless and harmlessly fun. Badhead's jangly guitars and kind of self deprecating tone give the track a very Smiths-esque feel, but the horn section which crops up in the chorus make it a distinctly Britpop version of that kind of indie rock. Immediately following Badhead is The Debt Collector, an entirely instrumental, doo-wap interlude. The horns take centre stage and make it feel as if you're now in a fairground. This theme carries over into Far Out, a short wacky tune which sounds like what Albarn would go on to do with Gorillaz (despite the fact it was written and sung by the groups bassist, Alex James).Trouble in the Message Centre has blaring guitars and bubbling synths, and along with all the "ooh"s and "aah"s, it really feels like the song is turning it up to 11 to make a song about going overboard on drink and drugs really feel like it. Clover over Dover turns the intensity back down, and features a really cool guitar hook just after the chorus. Jubilee has a wild, glam rock swagger to it.

My biggest fault with the album is one that can't really be avoided due to the way it has been written and constructed. The fact that the majority of the songs revolve around fictional characters, it lacks a certain kind of intimacy and emotional stakes. It feels like the tracklist could've been assembled in any order, and the fact that a track called To the End is literally at the midpoint shows this well. The fact that the closing track, Lot 105, is basically a silly joke track does kind of irk me. It feels like the band didn't want to leave the listener on the depths of This Is a Low, even though it would make for a great closer. On the whole, this is a small problem, as the tracks are good enough to hold the album, no matter what order they are in. 

Parklife is an incredibly fun and tongue-in-cheek album. It has an upbeat and summery feel to it, like it's the kind of thing I'd throw on during a barbecue. There a so many great songs on here, beyond just the two big singles.

Top Tracks: Girls and Boys, Tracy Jacks, End of a Century, Parklife, Bank Holiday, To the End, Trouble in the Message Centre, Clover Over Dover, Jubilee, This is a Low

8/10

Tame Impala - "Tame Impala" (2008)

Since we're exactly 1 month out from Tame Impala's long awaited 4th album, The Slow Rush, I thought I'd go back to the only one of the bands releases I haven't covered yet, their 2008 self-titled debut EP. Here the band sounds like a work in progress, figuring out their sound and their influences more blatantly show.

These tracks are more roughly produced than the band's later work, giving the EP a low-fi, garage rock feel. They also veer consistently towards the band's blues and stoner rock side, making the release likely the groups heaviest. However the rougher production means that they never quite pack the same punch that the heavier tracks on Innerspeaker and Lonerism do. The opener, Desire Be Desire Go, demonstrates this. The song is essentially the same as the version that appears on Innerspeaker, except the rougher production makes the EP version feel less kinetic and driven.

Skeleton Tiger and Half Full Glass Of Wine have an undeniable Led Zeppelin influence, with the later literally sounding like the band's best attempt at a Led Zep cover (Complete with Kevin Parker doing a Robert Plant falsetto), but slowed down by a 1/3. The slowing also shifts the pitch down, giving the track this real sludgy stoner rock vibe. Skeleton Tiger initially sounds more Beatles indebted (with Kevin trying to sound like John Lennon as he so often did in the early days of the band), but then breaks down into a bridge that evokes Whole Lotta Love's quiet guitars and rumbling drums but with more effects. 41 Mosquitoes Flying In Formation is full on stoner rock. Kevin's vocals drone on over this heavy, sludgy groove, transforming into an hypnotic "oh-ah, ah-oh, oh-ah, ah-oh" at points in the track.

The intensity peaks at this point, with the last two tracks mellowing out slightly. Slide Through My Fingers lacks the intense groove of 41 Mosquitoes, but retains the mysteriousness with Arabic sounding guitar licks mixed to sound like they're right off in the distance. The Beatles influence once again raises its head on the closing track, Wander. Parts of this song remind me of what I'd imagine Tomorrow Never Knows would sound like if you replaced the sitars on that track with blaring guitars and drums.

Despite it's obvious influences, this EP is a fun and easy listen. It is obviously weaker when compared to the bands first two LPs, but shows a band in growth with some decent songs. I really wish there was a version of some of these tracks with better production, to really show off how immense they could sound. I wouldn't say the EP is a necessity (it's not like the band are ever going to play any of these songs live anymore), but its a really fun listen for fans waiting for LP number 4.

Top Tracks: Skeleton Tiger, Half Full Glass Of Wine, 41 Mosquitoes Flying In Formation, Slide Through My Fingers

7/10

Massive Attack - "Mezzanine" (1998)

I have known and loved Massive Attack's most famous song, Teardrop, for years, but would have been stumped to identify any other songs from the trip hop pioneers. As I've been delving into more of the genre this year (trip hop playlists make for good background music to work too), I took the time to listen to its parent album, Mezzanine. This hour long collection of spacious and subtle electronic mood-pieces ebb and flow from tense and claustrophobic, to relaxed and laid-back. I wouldn't say it is as much a chill-out album as other trip hop releases, but it certainly has a real late-night vibe to it.

The album opens with Angel, a track I would have previously recognised from edgy perfume adverts on at Christmas. It opens with a rumbling bass-line and rattling hi-hats. Ominous sound effects and some enchanting vocals join the mix, ramping up the tension as the bass becomes more prominent. All this tension is released as a whining guitar floods in with the vocals repeating "Love you, love you, love you...". The next track, Risingson, is far less cathartic, sounding very industrial and alien. The vocals on this track just have this creepy non-emotional quality to them, which combined with the mechanical beats of the track make it feel so off-kilter and alien.

Teardrop follows this, and couldn't be further from the inhumanity of Risingson. The song features real gut-punching chord progressions as Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser soars above them with some beautiful vocals. She was inspired to write the lyrics after the death of her friend (and excellent musician and songwriter) Jeff Buckley, and you can really feel the grief and pain in her voice. Once again, this emotion is punctuated by the return of the more intense and industrial Inertia Creeps. This song isn't as alien as Risingson, with a thunderous drum beat and mantra like hook of "Moving up slowly, inertia creeps". The guitars which come in at various points of the song and the beat inspired by Turkish Tsifteteli rhythms give the track a dirty and dangerous atmosphere. Exchange gives the first real breather in the album, a purely instrumental cut which is straight out of some beach-side bar on some Mediterranean coast. It is such a chilled song, with a bouncy bass and some gliding keyboard notes on top.

The tracks on the second half of the record aren't quite as contrasting or stand out from each-other quite as much as they do in the first half, but seep into each other to build a real moody atmosphere. Dissolved Girl's sensual but sarcastic vocals from Sarah Jay Hawley and wild guitar which breaks out midway through give it a Garbage-esque vibe that I really do enjoy. Man Next Door is built around a sample of the iconic drum riff in Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks, but it is twisted and mutated into something more distant and spacious than the thunderous drumming in the original. This is combined with a sample of the Cure's 10:15 Saturday Night, to make a strange groovy instrumental base for the cover of an originally reggae song to sit on top of.

Black Milk is a very gentle song which sees the return of Fraser's soothing vocals. The track doesn't explode or change up, so acts as nice breathing room after the groovy Man Next Door. The title track returns to the emotionless vocals of Risingson, but with sparser instrumentation, with makes the track feel very tense and restrictive. This leads into Group Four, a similarly sparse song, yet Fraser's vocals contrast the rest of the song, being smooth and angelic. This really juxtaposes against DJ Ninja's mechanical and methodical vocals on the track. The album closes with a reprise of Exchange (titled (Exchange)), with added vocals. This almost acts as a wind-down for the tension built up across the second half, allowing it to dissipate as the soft keyboard note glide along.

Mezzanine is fantastic, start to finish, maintaining a consistent tone yet covering so many styles within the 12 tracks. It is very much an album just to sit back and take it all in. That being said, particularly the tracks on the first half can stand very much on their own in isolation. This might be the best entry point into this side of electronic music I've come across, being that I loved this on first listen, where things like Portishead's Dummy and the more electronic side of Radiohead took longer to sink their teeth into me.

Top Tracks: Angel, Risingson, Teardrop, Inertia Creeps, Exchange, Dissolved Girl, Man Next Door, Black Milk

9/10

Coldplay - "Everyday Life" (2019)

Coldplay have had a pretty underwhelming decade compared to the 2000s, all things considered. They kicked things off with 2011's Mylo Xyloto, a pop rock concept album that I will defend more than most, however it was probably their weakest release at that time. They then followed this up with the sombre break-up album, 2014's Ghost Stories, which won some people back with its moodiness more akin to the bands earlier albums. However, the weak writing and incredibly stiff, lifeless instrumentation and production make this by far my least favourite Coldplay release. Just a year later, they then moved onto A Head Full of Dreams, which stepped further into pop than Mylo Xyloto, and returned some of the colour which was so devoid in Ghost Stories. The last we heard from the band was the 2017 Kaleidoscope EP, a project that contained a mix of the typical safe, radio-friendly Coldplay tracks and a couple of weirder, less mainstream ones which hearkened back to some of their more ambitious work from the 2000s. So I had a feeling that whatever the band was going to do next, it wasn't going to be just 'A Head Full of Dreams 2'.

And that is exactly what happened. Everyday Life is a double album that takes influence from world music, showing the bands artier side that hasn't really seen much light since Viva La Vida in 2008. The two halves are titled Sunrise and Sunset and deal with far more global and political topics that Coldplay are generally know for.

Sunrise opens with its title track, a beautiful short string piece which sounds like it would accompany a sunrise quite perfectly. This leads into Church, a relaxed, sunny tune with Chris Martin's joyous vocals floating above a shuffling drum beat and chiming guitar. It's the first of many religious references within the album, and certainly the best of them. Trouble In Town takes a turn away from the serene atmosphere of the album so far, starting as a very moody, Latin inspired tune about police violence. The back half of the song explodes into this Radiohead-like frenzy while an audio clip of some police violently harassing someone is added to the mix. The other truly fantastic song on the Sunrise half (and my favourite from the entire album) is Arabesque, a song built around this French-pop groove as Martin sings about how we 'share the same blood', even singing in French for a verse. A stomping Nigerian brass band then enter the tune, giving it this massive sounding quality as it builds to the climax where Martin drops his first ever F-bomb in a Coldplay song.

The rest of the first half is fine, if completely unremarkable. BrokEn is a bog standard gospel song, WOTW/POTP (standing for Wonders Of The World/Power Of The People) is a cute but clearly unfinished acoustic song in desperate need for a memorable hook, and Daddy is as about as awkwardly soppy as Coldplay have ever been. Sunrise concludes with When I Need A Friend, a song done in the style of traditional church hymns, and for me this style just sucks the life out of the track, making it sound pretty uninteresting to me.

Sunset, unlike the first half, doesn't have a title track; instead opening with Guns, a sarcastic tune where Martin lists off plenty of the worlds injustices (including America's apparent love for solving their gun problem with more guns) while he strums his acoustic guitar so ferociously it starts to go out of tune by the short track's end. I love the intensity of this track, but I think it could've done with another pass as its chorus of Martin declaring everything is crazy and he might be crazy too creates a fair amount of tonal dissonance within the song. The album's big single, Orphans, also suffers from this. The track is literally about teenagers who have lost their homes and everything in the war in Syria, yet features a typical Coldplay party chorus about just wanting to get drunk with their friends (complete with millennial whoops and all). Cry Cry Cry is a cringy faux-retro doo-wop tune complete with fake vinyl crackles, and is half finished to say the least. Old Friends is much better, a sentimental, simple but effective acoustic tune that gives me Parachutes vibes.

The last two tracks are far more complete than much of whats on the Sunset half, and do seem to give the album some direction in its latter stages. Champion Of The World is a song dedicated to Frightened Rabbit singer, Scott Hutchinson, and I appreciate the intent of the song but it isn't Martin's strongest set of lyrics, so the track lands in this awkward sense of sentimentality but also being too generic to truly resonate. Everyday Life, the closer and overall title track, also falls into this trap, as the songs message basically amounts to 'why can't everyone just be nice to each other'. Not that is inherently a bad thing (much of the Beatles' music amounted to the same), but here Coldplay just don't quite land it.

Everyday Life is certainly the bands messiest album. It goes in loads of different musical directions, and attempts to address some massive themes and ideas with a tracklist that is full of half finished songs. However, the musical concepts the band has been going for in this one is much more to my tastes than the squeaky clean pop of 'A Head Full Of Dreams' and the stiff electronics of 'Ghost Stories', making it a much more enjoyable listen even if those albums were more polished and carefully constructed. I'm also glad that the band is prioritising their own artistic ambitions over commercial appeal, and despite Everyday Life's faults I'm exited for whatever they do next.

Top Tracks: Sunrise, Church, Trouble In Town, Arabesque, Guns, Old Friends

6/10

Elbow - "Giants of All Sizes" (2019)

Elbow consistently release albums every 3 years, so I wasn't expecting to hear anything from them so soon after 2017's excellent Little Fictions. The band have sped up pace with this one, rolling out the first single and opening track, Dexter & Sinister, in August, with the album dropping last month. I'm glad I've waited to talk about it, as it feels quite different from past releases. Elbow Albums generally feel like a warm hug (except their debut), whereas this one is much colder and world-weary. If Little Fictions is about finding peace of mind in friends and family despite all of the world's troubles, Giants of All Sizes gets caught up in the ongoing chaos of Brexit, the Grenfell tragedy, and the deaths of loved ones and strangers alike.

Musically, the album also leans into Elbow's proggier side far more often than any of their preceding records. Dexter & Sinister opens the record with weird electronic glitching before moving into a chunky guitar riff for a large part of the 6 minute tune. In the middle there's a piano solo and the song finishes with an extended coda that features a very OK Computer-esque descending guitar line with angelic vocals from Jessica Hoop. Empires is built around echoy and cavernous percussion, with no real break in Guy Garvey's vocals for any sort of musical breathing room. This creates a suffocating atmosphere to the track which reflects the lyrical content, detailing Garvey's grief after his father's passing.

The Delayed 3:15 is a track about a fellow who jumped on the tracks in-front of a train Guy was on. It's a hauntingly beautiful tune, where Garvey first details how run-down and neglected this area of train and asks why he chose there as opposed to a much more beautiful portion 'just a mile down the line', then going on to discuss the 'First-class tuts' who don't seem to care about this man, only that their journey is delayed. He finishes talking about how the man didn't make the news and how he couldn't find out who he was before a slightly discordant outro of woodwind and strings, as a sort of regretful send-off to this man.

Seven Veils is equally beautiful. It has a soft and pillowy atmosphere, and features some bittersweet imagery. The song appears to be about letting go of someone, and includes such phrases as 'I let you saw me in two / because that's what illusionists do', 'There's no roses in this garden / no sun melting in the sea' and the main hook of the chorus, 'Take your seven veils and sail the seven seas'.

Doldrums provides a delirious and kind of psychedelic melody, with faded and disembodied background vocals. This really fits a song, that from what I can tell, is about Theresa May's somewhat ridiculous term as Prime Minister. 'Staring down busses protected by God' is a lyric which really amuses me, it captures the feeling of her inevitable demise. White Noise White Heat also delves into the current UK situation, specifically Guy Garvey's loss of hope and belief in himself as an actual force of good, all framed around the Grenfell Tower fire. This is also the most direct song on the record, with crunchy guitars and an anthemic chorus.

The tail end of the record does bring back some optimism, with the last two tracks having a hopeful message. On Deronda Road is an ode to Garvey's new family home in South London. The track is probably one of Elbow's most daring, built around this glitchy Radiohead-esque beat, with rough choral vocals from the band plus The Plumadores. The Closer, the aptly titled Weightless, is a light, airy tune about Garvey's newborn son. The little guitar noodles and the chiming piano riff bring the album to the real sense of optimism that Elbow are known for.

I'm glad I've let this album sink in, because I really didn't know how to feel about it when it first released. I could see the band's usual high quality, but it wasn't making me feel the way an Elbow album usually does. Now I can say that while it's not my favourite from the band, it is a distinct and memorable addition to their discography.

Top Tracks: Dexter & Sinister, Seven Veils, Empires, The Delayed 3:15, White Noise White Heat, Doldrums

8/10

Foals - "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 2" (2019)

I've been gone quite a while, blame going back to uni and a bunch of hassle around it for that. So it seems quite a good restart to posting on here to talk about the sequel to the first post I wrote, about the part 1 of Foals' Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost released earlier this year.

It was safe to say that I was pretty exited for this record, as part 1 has been one of my most enjoyed releases this year and also my personal favourite Foals album. However, as the singles rolled out I found myself a little apprehensive, and ultimately the full album has disappointed me somewhat overall. It's far from a bad album and not even Foals' worst in my opinion, but it is quite a step down from part 1.

Starting with the singles, Black Bull was the first to drop and I was initially underwhelmed. The track felt like a neutered, 3 minute version of What Went Down (the bands most ferocious, hard rock, riffs 'n' screaming track). The track has grown to be one of my favourites on the album, with Phillipakis' paranoid vocals set to these massive riffs. It doesn't hold a candle to What Went Down, and wouldn't make my list of best Foals tracks, but is an enjoyable track on its own. The second single, The Runner, hasn't grown on me in such a way. The track opens with a chunky riff, much like Holy Fire's Inhaler, but then shifts to sounding more like Mountain At My Gates as the chorus hits. The lyrical mantra of "If I fall down, I'll keep on running" feels pretty cliche and played out. It doesn't hit the anthemic optimism of Mountain At My Gates or the explosivity of Inhaler.

This is one of my problems with the record as a whole; it doesn't feel like a sequel to part 1, lyrically or sonically. Part 1 detailed a confusing and paranoid world, backed by equally panicky and frantic dance rock grooves more reminiscent of the bands early work than their big hits. This album just feels like more Foals rather than any continuation to really deem this a part 2 of a united whole. The lyrics don't provide anything to counter or compliment part 1, it's just generic "I won't give up" feel-good-ism that the band have done for years. The music is also more straight-forward indie and alternative rock than the propulsive rhythms of part 1.

The production is also a bit wobbly. Foals have always had an issue with an over-reliance on reverb, but on top of it here the tracks just seem completely blown out and impact-less. The band promised part 2 to be heavier, and I don't really think that's the case; it's just louder. To be honest, I actually think part 1 is the more explosive and impactful. The most low-key song on the record, Into The Surf, is built around the creepy keys and effects of part 1's Surf pt 1 interlude, but the track is washed out with reverb to an absurd degree. It completely takes the personality out of a track I would otherwise really like.

Not that there aren't highlights on the album, Wash Off would fit snugly on part 1 with its dance-able groove and chanted backing vocals.The chorus does kind of fall victim to the albums production, but the verses of Dreaming Of are propulsive and driven with Phillipakis' vocals mimicking the chunky and choppy groove. 10,000 Feet has this almost Coldplay-esque keyboard line matched against a loud and heavy bass line that does give the track a real sense of drama as it shifts between the quieter verses and the massive chorus. The ten minute closer, Neptune, recalls a post-rock sound the band haven't really explored since Total Life Forever and has a real weight and swell to it that much of album lacks. 

I think there enough tracks on here I enjoy (and enough that I would enjoy a whole lot more if the production wasn't as blown out) for it to be more than just mediocre, but it is a real step down compared to part 1 and leaves me feeling as if it might've been better for the band to condense down he best tracks from both albums and release a longer single 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost' album.

Top Tracks: Wash Off, Black Bull, Neptune

6/10