My Week In Music: 23-27 September
Jamie xx and Snow Patrol are back while Tami Neilson turns in one of the years best records and Katy Perry turns in one of its worst
Monday:
NEW: Snow Patrol - The Forest Is The Path (2024)
It was a while ago now, but there was a time when Snow Patrol were a hot commodity, one of those up-and-coming bands that you just had to hear.
A tall guy named Stuart at my old work insisted I listen to them; the album he was pushing was 2003's Final Straw, the one with "Run" on it (the song that Leona Lewis made even more famous) that came out a few years before "Chasing Cars" was everywhere.
I mention this because - to be honest - and despite losing every member except singer Gary Lightbody - I can't hear much difference between that version of Snow Patrol and the version that put out The Forest Is The Path. Maybe they were a little more melancholic back in the day. But they sound more or less the same now as they did then.
All of which is to say that The Forest Is The Path isn't too bad, the faux-U2 sound probably pleasing anybody who still calls themselves a Snow Patrol fan. Myself, I get annoyed by the fact that Lightbody tries to add syllables to words like 'unequivocally' ('un-e-quiv-i-cull-y' he sings on second track "The Beginning").
Its a bit cliche at times; literally cliche in the inoffensive opener "All", when Lightbody sings 'they say that pride, it comes before the fall', presumably giving editors worldwide an ache in their chest.
But, c'mon, get some new tricks, Lightbody.
Tuesday:
NEW: Katy Perry - 143 (2024).
I'm not going to wax lyrical about everything wrong with 143: the out-of-date production ('[Perry is] an invasive species pushing into environments where she doesn't belong, namely the 2020s' said one review), the lack of cultural awareness in the feminist messaging ('stacked with toothless, pseudo-inspirational declarations' said a different review), the collaboration with Dr Luke, who has a credit on all but one track (and whose history with Ke$ha completely undermines his involvement in anything with a pro-feminism message).
Instead, let me tell you about a post I saw on Reddit that claimed Kim Petras was the first performer to guest on a Katy Perry track who is white. I laughed, thinking it was a joke on the expectation that Petras would be the first trans guest on a Perry track.
It turned out it wasn't a joke: until Petras, every feature on a Perry track has been a black performer - Snoop Dogg on "California Gurls", Juicy J on "Dark Horse" to name two famous ones. Mic.com wrote an article titled '5 Reasons Katy Perry Is Pop Music's Worst Cultural Appropriator'; it came out in August 2014, more than a decade ago. And if it isn’t appropriation, she’s at least borrowing their audience - one that she perhaps wouldn’t appeal to on her own. Makes you think, I guess.
Oh, how is 143? It fucking stinks. DO. NOT. LISTEN.
Wednesday:
Interpol - Antics (2004)
I was late to the post-punk New York indie revival led by The Strokes. There, I've said it now. I was in the tail end of my nu-metal era and was needlessly dismissive. I've corrected that now. I've listened back to the The Strokes and The National and LCD Soundsystem and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But my favourite album of that period is this one.
My first interaction with Interpol was actually 2007's Our Love To Admire, but it was Antics - and, specifically, it's bass-led second track "Evil" - that captured my imagination, that got me hooked, that made me buy a ticket to their brilliant 2008 show at the Auckland Town Hall (they opened with the haunting "Pioneer To The Falls" and catchy "Obstacle 1"; "Evil" joined "The Heinrich Maneuver" at the end of the main set).
Antics is brilliant from start to finish, from opener "Next Exit" and it's Moog-driven opening stanza to the lazy swing of closer "A Time To Be So Small". It features their three best songs: "Evil", plus rockers "Slow Hands" and "C'mere", both of which are more akin to a Strokes track than most of the album. Really loved listening back to Antics this week; happy 20th birthday, old chap.
Wednesday:
NEW: Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak (2024)
I checked this one out based on a recommendation from Instagrammer MetalAndCoffee and I'm glad I did - I think I would call myself a metal fan primarily, but its ridiculously hard to find good quality metal that is new and interesting since most of the metal outlets just keep promoting the old guard (I don't want to hear endless shit about Judas Priest and Metallica and Megadeth, metal media).
Where Gods Fear To Speak is the sixth album from the Houston band Oceans Of Slumber, led by married metalheads Cammie Gilbert (vocals) and Dobber Beverly (drums). The sound is brutally heavy at times but incredibly progressive, working in varied time signatures, dynamic pacing, piano and acoustic guitar; think Gojira circa Magma.
It helps that Cammie Gilbert is a helluva vocalist: the band shines when it lets her take centre stage - "Wish" is a highlight, as is her work on 8-minute epic "Don't Come Back From Hell Empty Handed" - as opposed to when growly-screamy vocals from bassist Semir Ozerkan come to the fore. Where Gods Fear To Speak is a really strong album, and one I'll be coming back to again.
Thursday:
NEW: Tami Neilson - Neilson Sings Nelson (2024)
Here's a look inside my brain: the latest from Tami is called Neilson Sings Nelson, as in Willie Nelson. My brain started doing gymnastics. Willie Nelson guests on "Beyond The Stars", making it Neilson Sing Nelson With Nelson. Later, Jay Neilson joins her for "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", making it Neilson Sings Nelson With Neilson. I guess you had to be there.
Somewhere else you should be: your streaming platform, listening to Neilson Sings Nelson. Tami Neilson is one of this country's most under-rated performers, operating on the fringes of country and soul and funk. Neilson Sings Nelson is her spin on a collection of Nelson standards.
It takes shape properly on second track medley "Sister's Coming Home/Down At The Corner Beer Joint", before Willie pops his head in for a duet on "Beyond The Stars", their voices intertwining beautifully, even as the acoustic instrumentation sounds like it might burst under the pressure of Neilson's soaring vocal. I loved her rendition of "Always On My Mind", maybe the most famous track here, slowed down and turned into a larger-than-life ballad.
Neilson's unique musical personality comes through in "The Sound In Your Mind"; even as an homage, the album repeatedly shows the best of Tami. Neilson Sings Nelson is a must hear; this is one of the best of the year.
(One last note: Tami does a good job on my favourite Nelson track "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", but my favourite rendition is still a live performance from 2007. Willie sounds so remorseful as he belts out the opening words and fiddles with his guitar, wiping away a tear as he thanks the crowd as its end. Beautiful.)
Friday:
NEW: Jamie xx - In Waves (2024)
The latest solo album from Jamie xx - the drummer and beatmaker for indie pop darlings The xx, formed in 2005 - is his first since 2015, and first appearance with new music since The xx's 2017 album I See You; his bandmates feature on third track "Waited All Night" here.
Despite the long break between releases, Jamie xx has lost none of his potency; opening with the symphonic "Wanna", In Waves is a bloody good album that evokes his earlier work while updating for the current scene.
That said, In Waves is overtly a dance album, designed to be heard in a sweaty nightclub after a few (or a few too many) drinks. While you can appreciate the quality of the work at your desk through headphones at 3pm, it loses something in translation heard that way. I kind of pine for the days when I was still energetic to find somewhere to get drunk and have a dance.
Yet, its still clear to me that this is a great album. I enjoyed listening to it, boogieing as best I could in an office chair. Definitely worth a listen if you want to hear some top shelf dance music.
Thanks for reading this week, gang.
Have a great weekend!
Mā te wā,
Chris
For Willie Nelson covers check out Julie Christmas version of I Just Destroyed the World I'm Living In. That Katy Perry trope I call feminismism and Le Sserafim do it better