There is something admirable about longevity in a musicians' career. Especially when it is accompanied by a discography as vast and ever-evolving as that of Destroyer's. The Vancouver based project, formed in the mid 90s by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar has never truly settled on one distinctive approach, with each album varying enough from its predecessor to feel unique. On their latest project Have We Met, Bejar provides some of his best songwriting since 2011's Kaputt and blends it with smooth synthpop instrumentals, creating one of his most intrinsic projects since the mid 2000s.
Bejar, renowned most for his stream of consciousness lyricism and poetic songwriting is in fine form throughout the 10 tracks found on Have We Met. Twirling stories that seem to ride the line of abstract and tangible thought. It is not about what Bejar is saying, rather it is the way he which he says it that stands out. It will not come as a surprise to those familiar with Destroyer that the songwriting is the driving force behind this record. What will please fans of the band's previous work though is the beauty of the instrumentation they are delivered over and the atmospheric nature of the album as a whole.
Clouded in the sort of smoky veil that provokes the imagery of walking down a dimly lit street late at night, Have We Met is vividly atmospheric throughout. From Crimson Tide, the uptempo mood setting opener that prepares you for what is to come, down to the final cut on the album foolssong, a much more tepid and reserved addition to the album that rolls by at a snails pace, giving way to a guitar driven interlude and a very loud, visceral drum passage. There is a lot to digest here in terms of what each track has to offer. Cuts like It Just Doesn't Happen take on a more confined approach, as Bejar rambles into the microphone about our protagonist in the kind of up for interpretation poetry you will find all over this record. Yet even with the lack of clarity, his words remain poignant, which lends the track to being one of the true stand outs. Cue Synthesizer is another impressive, albeit ambiguous addition to the LP. The jazzy, guitar laden production provokes immediate thoughts of the late David Bowie's final album Blackstar, and whether or not Bejar and producer John Collins drew from that album in the conception of this track, it certainly scratches a very similar itch sonically.
The weakest point of the album come in the form of The Television Music Supervisor, a frustratingly empty cut that offers nothing more than a 4 minute break-up in the track listing. It is painfully inactive, ambient in its soundscapes, which leads me to believe it could possibly work as a 1 or 2 minute intro to the album, but ultimately the length and lack of real substance makes it unworthy of the time it occupies. Once concluded, however, it gives way to yet another stand out in The Raven, a track that offers one of the most notable vocal passages to be found here, as Bejar exclaims:
"Come out, come out, wherever you are But you don't, the dead don't come out The dead twist and shout in an invisible world The Grand Ole Opry of Death is breathless."
Have We Met faces a lot of tough competition in terms of its rightful place in the hierarchy of Destroyer's discography. That is part of the magic with Dan Bejar's songwriting though. Each record lives amongst itself, and while some most definitely shine brighter than others, they all have a lot to offer. This is certainly the case again on the band's latest effort, and for that reason I highly recommend lending it your ear.
A mix of free time and inspiring music projects released recently has given me the ambition to attempt to resuscitate this ol' word box of mine, even if it functions as nothing more than an unused portfolio. So let this serve as a welcome, or a welcome back, if you will.
There is not a singular album or artist review that seems timely or appropriate to return with in of itself, so I figured a look back at January releases collectively might be a little more suitable. I would say that 2020 is off to a promising debut, and while some artists have already blown me away, others have left me sorely disappointed. With that being said, let us take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the last month.
The Good Mac Miller - Circles
While there are a few albums that fall into the good category, there is only one that truly left me a mark on me and will undoubtedly show up on my (and many others) year end list. Circles, the most recent and presumably final release from the late Mac Miller who passed away unexpectedly in 2018, was a beautiful tribute to the young musician's career. As someone who has been critical of Miller at periods throughout his career, I can finally say that he was able to find the perfect blend of neo-soul and pop rap he seemed to be so desperately seeking over his previous releases. While 2016's Divine Feminine and 2018's Swimming missed the mark in this same vein, Circles sees Miller fully tuned in to his artistic direction. He's as confident as ever in his voice, yet lonely and introspective in his words. This leads to a beautifully produced melancholic mash-up of vivid sounds, with some of the best lyrical material I feel he has ever produced. From the timid, introspective, self-titled album opener, to the equally thoughtful lead single Good News, Miller never shy's away from appearing vulnerable or weak.
"Well, it ain't that bad It could always be worse I'm running out of gas, hardly anything left Hope I make it home from work Well, so tired of being so tired"
Miller writes on Good News.
There is a lot more that can be said in regards to the final product delivered, but to avoid making my reflection on this as long as a usual review, I'll finish with this. I think it is fair to say that Miller's final release, was also his most complete. It is a tragedy to not only lose him as an artist, but of course also as a person. In saying that, Circles serves as perhaps the most beautiful final act he could have given us.
Rating: 4/5
Floral Tattoo - You Can Never Have a Long Enough Head Start
One of the biggest surprises I found last month came in the form of Seattle based band Floral Tattoo and their newest release You Can Never Have a Long Enough Head Start. If you could not tell by the long winded album title, it is indeed ripe with influences from the early 2000s emo scene. It is not inherently your standard emo release however, and it set apart by it's booming, noisy, shoegaze inspired soundscapes. Crushingly beautiful at times, with the shared voices of vocalists Alex Anderson and Gwen Power, it's a moving project that had me hooked from the first listen. It is not exactly an innovative combination of genres, but treading new ground does not appear to be what the band set out to do on this record. Instead they are looking to capture you with the explosiveness of their sound. There are moments where the album does come to a bit of a lull, and not each track brings the same energy as She or Danny, Be Well. Collectively, however, it is a positive release that brings some well deserved attention to the group. A step forward that can hopefully lead to even more powerful material as they move forward.
Rating: 3/5
Pinegrove - Marigold
Another solid release from the group who blend modern country inspired instrumentals with heart-on-my-sleeve midwest emo lyrics. Much like their previous two releases Cardinal and Skylight, I feel this album shows some very high highs. For example, the title track Marigold and the album opener Dotted Line are two brilliant pieces that warrant giving the record a listen on their own. Yet ultimately , it can feel a little too same-y when consuming it all at once. Much like my previous criticisms of Pinegrove, I feel they struggle to make the most of every track and quite quickly a project can turn into 3-4 memorable songs that you will take with you for awhile, and a handful of others that will quickly become forgettable.
In saying this, I still feel the album was a positive addition to their discography, and further proof they have it in them to write some incredibly enjoyable songs. Whether or not they're able to build off of the momentum that came off of the positive reception to Cardinal is yet to really be seen. Here is hoping they can continue to grow with their next project.
Rating: 3/5
The Bad
I might be better off naming this section as the "indifferent," because for the most part that is my exact feelings towards these releases. As is usually the case early in the year, we get a few releases by artists who are either looking to capitalize on an early start at a time where not a ton of big releases are scheduled, or are being held up due to delays that prevented releases later in the previous year. Perhaps this is why there were so many forgettable records to be found. Either way, let us take a look at some of the more... shall we say, lukewarm, projects from January.
Stormzy - Heavy Is the Head
Anyone who knows me personally would be aware I have a bit of an infatuation with UK grime. There is nothing quite as powerful as the booming bass and energetic deliveries found on classic grime releases from the likes of Dizzee Rascal or Wiley. Stormzy has been a bit of a prodigy in the grime scene, appearing on tracks from the likes of the aforementioned Wiley in the past and building up quite an exorbitant amount of hype surrounding him in the process. His first attempt to harness this hype into a full length studio release came back in 2017 with the release of Gang Signs and Prayers. To the disappointment of many, however, Stormzy strayed from the grime influence on that project and instead laid most of his focus on moving into a more accessible and easily digested pop rap direction. Dabbling his influences in the realm of a more traditional hip-hop and R&B sound led to a fairly forgettable project and had me hoping to see the Manchester based emcee return to his roots on his sophomore follow-up.
What we received in Heavy Is the Head, unfortunately, is very similar to the disappointment of Stormzy's previous LP. It is better, I will begin by stating that emphatically. There are some tracks that do show the grimier side of the emcee and even when he blends them with a little more pop essence they pack enough of a punch to feel true to his sound. One listen to Big Michael, Audacity, or Vossibop will show you just how much talent Stormzy does have in his delivery. He comes into these tracks aggressive, focused, and ruthless in his approach. A project containing nothing but songs cut from this ilk could rank high in the halls of UK hip-hop and grime releases. And yet, he appears indifferent to this material. Just like on Gang Signs and Prayers, Stormzy seems insistent on burying these tracks between the blander poppy R&B styling of Do Better and the uninspired lyricism on a track like Superheroes. It isn't so much that these songs are outright bad, they just seem to serve as nothing more than what I would call vibe killers. After building you up with the energetic flows and speaker busting production of the grime cuts, Stormzy swoops back in and breaks the immersion with these uneventful filler tracks.
A project with one lackluster cut to match every enjoyable one. Stromzy is back with yet another failure to consistently capture that same sound that made his early singles so impactful.
Rating: 2.5/5
Algiers - There Is No Year
This one is painful to type out. I mean it when I say that. Over the last decade the Algiers released two albums that would probably end up fairly high on my top 50 list (a list that I might get around to making at a later date.) So to say I was excited by the prospect of a new Algiers project is no stretch. If you were to ask me what I expected them to deliver on it, though, I never would have guessed it would be such a disappointment.
It is not so much that they put out a bad project. In reality, it is quite far from that. It is actually perfectly okay. Maybe that is the issue though. This is an album that is just... okay. The loud, industrial influenced elements that made their previous two records stand out so much seem to be gone. We still have the soaring soul inspired vocals of Franklin James Fisher and the chugging high tempo riffs still feature prominently throughout. There just seems to be a lack of that same substance, that pizzazz if you will, that made them such an alluring outfit to begin with. A quick flip through the track listing will give you all you need to hear. Nothing offensive, nothing really worth spending all that much time commenting on. In effect, it feels like a collection of songs that just failed to stand out enough to make the track list of their previous efforts. Perhaps not a record that deserves to be regarded as the bad, but more so as the disappointing.
Rating: 2.5/5
The Ugly
AJJ - Good Luck Everybody
If it pains me to dismiss Algiers in such a fashion that I previously did, then it kills me to say what I am about to say about AJJ. For those who are perhaps unfamiliar with the ragtag folk punk posse formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad who are responsible for some of my personal favourite albums of all-time (see Knife Man and People Who Can Eat People for such projects), let this please not serve as your introduction. A band renowned for their clever, abrasive, over the top political commentary and satire during the mid 2000s to early 2010s, AJJ seem to have lost all touch with that side of their music on Good Luck Everybody. If their last release TheBible 2 was disappointing (it was) then this is a straight up punch to the gut. While front man Sean Bonnette is still delivering the same quippy political commentary we have come to expect, it is being done at a much more tepid pace. Instrumentally the project fails to excite, with some of the blandest musicianship the band has given us to date. The only real deviation we get from that is on Normalization Blues, a track that plays very much to it's name as an up tempo blues tune but lyrically does not offer anything more than a mediocre commentary on the state of the average American person. We get similar takes on tracks like No Justice, No Peace, No Hope, that while presenting an important topic, seems to lack the same abrasiveness AJJ would approach such topics with in the past.
It all just falls a bit flat in the end. There is no question that the band are true to their beliefs and stick with it in their song writing. It just seems like that intensity you would find on their older projects has gone away, and in it's place all that remains is a subpar indie folk act bringing forward room temperature political takes in a client chalked full of more than enough of them already.
For those not familiar with Entropia, they are a Polish post/black/experimental metal outfit who really hadn't crept onto my radar until the release of this LP here; Ufonaut. With that being said, the fusion of black metal and post metal, also known as blackgaze, has been one of my favorite metal sub genres over the past few years, and it has led me to a handful of fantastic releases from the likes of Deafheaven, Ghostbath, and Harakiri for the Sky. So, when going into this album, I clearly had high expectations. Fortunately for myself, and any other fan of this genre, Entropia delivered in quite impressive fashion.
On Ufonaut, the band encompasses a traditional black metal style as means to create a basis or outlining sound for their music, but it's their ability to take influence from other subgenres and incorporate them throughout that really adds the extra substance to this project. The opening track Fractal is a great example of that, as the opening 45 seconds or so, see's the band weaving in and out between a much more traditional black metal guitar riff and some Mastodon-esque sludgy, slow paced guitar stylings. As the track progresses, we also see the band incorporate the use of an organ which helps contribute to the very haunting nature of the song. As it comes to end, horns are introduced, which really allow for the group to build a fantastic crescendo to what is easily one of the best moments on the entire LP.
From there, you find much more of that same risk taking and genre bending formula as the album proceeds. Songs like the title track Ufonaut see the band experiment with some slower, cleaner guitar tones in between heavy, hard hitting moments, while both Mandala and Paradox are used to showcase the group's more experimental side, as they use variations of middle eastern instruments to help create some intricate, folkish instrumental passages. The record's closing cut, Veritas is also worth mentioning, as it's the longest track on the record and also perhaps the loudest. It finishes the album off with a fantastic climax, thanks to the final minute of the track which is full of in your face, wretched, ugly screams that really help drive their sound into your head like a car with no breaks smashing into the side of a burning building (that was seriously the best analogy I had.)
Aside from Veritas however, the vocals do, at certain moments at least, tend to come off as rather gimmicky and annoying. It's not so much the vocalist himself, (who goes by the stage name of U, as each one of the band members is named after a letter from the word Ultra,) but it's the production choices. Like on the aforementioned opening track Fractal for example, we find a blowing, wind-like noise appearing seemingly every time U opens his mouth, and then as the album continues, the vocals become coated with an echo effect that would make you assume the band recorded the frontman while he was screeching in a dark, empty cave. And while typically that might be a positive on a black metal project, this isn't your ordinary record, and the rest of the production is rather clean and lively in comparison to the raw, lo-fi nature of the vocals.
With that being said, the vocals only appear on perhaps a third or so of the album, and the focus clearly lays on the instrumentation, which is of course consistently fantastic, so it doesn't interrupt my enjoyment all that much. There really isn't anything on this album that doesn't deliver in a unique and intriguing fashion. It's certainly heavy enough to welcome any fans of more traditional black metal acts, but it also keeps you guessing by firing post-metal inspired passages at you on nearly every single track. A great addition to the Polish black-metal scene, and a fantastic statement for all blackgaze bands around, Entropia delivered a very nice LP.
All in all, I'm giving Ufonaut a 4/5.
Let me know down in the comment section, have you heard the album? If so, what'd you think?
Listen to Fractal, the second single released from the album down below:
You can download or stream the album over on Entropia's bandcamp page here.
