Tag: End of year

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Albums

Best albums of 2023: #4 The Reds, Pinks And Purples “The town that cursed your name”

This is now the third year in a row that an album by The Reds, Pinks & Purples has appeared amongst my top ten favourite albums for the year*. And had it not been released so late in the year, their 2020 mini-album, “You might be happy someday”, might have made it four in a row. But that’s not even telling the full story of all the music that Glenn Donaldson has released under this moniker since 2018. To my count, and I’ve probably missed a few, there have been no less than seven albums (plus the aforementioned mini-album), seven EPs, and a handful of singles. And every single bit that I’ve heard has been exceptional. I can’t even remember the last time I had fallen for an artist so quickly that has been so prolific and so consistent. I wholeheartedly admit that I am having a hard time keeping up.

Glenn Donaldson has been making music in around and the San Francisco area for over two decades in various musical projects. He first used the name The Reds, Pinks & Purples for one song on a split 7” single back in 2015 but the project didn’t really get off the ground until three years later and it’s been gangbusters ever since. Donaldson records and performs most of the parts of every song himself, often at home, and sometimes in his kitchen, not that you would know it by how great the records sound.

Much has been made about how this this fifth record, “The town that cursed your name”, is noisier, fuzzier, and punkier than its predecessors, invoking names like The Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. To that point, I can definitely see that parts of it feels a bit more upbeat, but on others, not so much, and the album definitely hasn’t fully departed from the territory of 80s jangle pop that had me hooked me from the start. It is peppy and reverb-drenched and with the exception of one, the twelve tracks all come in around the 2-3 minute mark and the total run time clocks in at just under 34 minutes. Throughout, Donaldson plaintively and romantically sings about the lives and loves of being a struggling musician in San Francisco and in the process, draws us all into his world with his melodic hooks and wistful turn of phrase.

Each song here is worth spending time with and unpacking for closer inspection but my three picks for you could be a great place to start. Have a listen.

“Mistakes (too many to name)“: Track eight is full of guitars so fuzzy that it’s hard to untangle the melody. If it weren’t for the steady and staccato beating up of a tambourine, it would all be one beautiful blob of sound. And then there’s Donaldson channelling Morrissey at his self-deprecating best. “I’ve made every mistake one person can make. How can one person make too many to name?” It’s all about being a nostalgic about a time before all those mistakes, when life was an open field of flowers that one could drown in. And after its two and three quarter minutes, you come up for air and just want to restart and dive deeper for more.

“The town that cursed your name”: The title track is really a thesis and call to arms for the album, ten songs in. One fifth of its two and half minute duration is dedicated to a subtle intro, starting with a quick step drum line and then a pair of guitars takes over, a steady acoustic strum rhythm and a chiming pickup electric. They’re joined by some haunting synths, some fuzz between the verses, and some funky drum flourishes for punctuation. And our protagonist is waxing existential and weaving a tale of musicianship woes, making for a verse worth repeating and singing along to. “It’s a shame your record label failed, too many problems with the mail, to be poor but still overpaid, in the town that cursed your name, and the apartment where you stayed was a living hell.”

“Too late for an early grave”: The opening number paints a miserable picture of the humdrum of working life, punching the clock and knowing that you can be discarded at a moment’s notice, if you slip, fall ill, don’t produce enough widgets. Donaldson cross-references this with the struggles of a musician, the thankless continued work at creation without success. “From the cradle to the grave, we all caved, no one was saved.” It’s a damned good thing he tempers this depressing hopelessness with such peppy and cheerful music. Jangly and full of soul, thumping rhythm and hopeful highs. He is playful and knowing and you feel alive wrapping yourself in this bit of pastel sunlight. But much like everything here on the album, it is but a snapshot, ending too quickly. Mercifully, we have the technology to listen again and thankfully, we know The Reds, Pinks & Purples will be back soon with more great tunes.

*”Summer at land’s end” was at number seven last year and “Uncommon weather” was my favourite album in 2021.

We’ll be back in a few days with album #3. In the meantime, here are the previous albums in this list:

10. Bodywash “I held the shape while I could”
9. Boygenius “The record”
8. Depeche Mode “Memento mori”
7. The Clientele “I am not there anymore”
6. Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”
5. Pale Blue Eyes “This house”

You can also check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.

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Albums

Best albums of 2023: #5 Pale Blue Eyes “This house”

Things are getting real now on this list of my favourite albums of 2023. The number five album comes care of a band that I’d never even heard of three months ago and now I can’t imagine this year without it.

Pale Blue Eyes were formed just a handful of years ago in southwestern England when married couple Lucy and Matt Board met Aubrey Simpson at a music festival. They recorded the bulk of their debut album amidst the lockdowns of the COVID pandemic and it was largely informed by the sudden death of Matt’s father. I have yet to listen to 2022’s “Souvenirs” but I have every intention of rectifying this in the very near future.

“This house” followed that debut by one day short of a year. This album is considered by the group to be the debut’s older and wiser sibling, not just because it benefited from the band’s ability to perform live and hone their craft and that it was recorded with the band together, rather than locked down in separate places. The sophomore record was finished in the shade of another parental death, this time after Matt’s mother had endured a long terminal illness. This was a sustained mourning rather than a bolt of lightning, but this mourning was extended to the ending of many things. The house on the cover, as an example, was the house that frontman Matt grew up in, where both of the band’s first records were recorded, and that needed to be sold, inciting the band’s relocation to another city.

Reading this, one might think that the music would be dour and melancholic, but this is not the case at all. The music is a blend of the various band members’ favourite music and so dream pop, jazz, electropop, and disco all bring an upbeat and hopeful feel to such difficult subject matter. It is 44 minutes of transporting music, songs that stick to your bones and seep into your skin, and make you want to live in the music and let it delay what comes next just a little while longer.

There isn’t one out of the eleven that I dislike but these three picks for you are ones pulled from those near the top of the heap.

“Takes me over“: “Surrounds me, like a living dream.” The first single released off the album nearly closes the album at track 10 of 11, practically the climax before the climax. It begins with a driving bass line that might be pulled from Peter Hook’s playbook and then the drums take over and we’re really off to the races. This frenetic track deals with release and how music can get you there. As Matt Board says, it’s about “embracing, processing and letting go through music making and any artistic or creative process”.

“Spaces”: Jangling guitars and shimmering synths and punishing rhythms, oh my. Matt Board’s vocals are there, right on top, urging us all on. “Forget about life. Forget about what was, it’s always changing. Let go, let go, let go. You’re already gone. These feelings, they’re temporary.” It’s another track that’ll leave you breathless by the end of its three minute duration. Pale Blue Eyes want you to accept change and get on with it and have a great time in so doing.

“Simmering”: This last one here is pure joy, the height of the evening, a night out with friends and forgetting all that ails you. It’s banding together for support and appreciating all the little things that add up to greatness. It is a driving guitar that doesn’t know where the brakes are. It is rapid fire drumming and a piece of 80s synths that teases and flirts. It’s Matt board asking “In the morning it’s over, where is my mind? Is this a party inside?” This is a song that would have had me on the dance floor in seconds back when I was young enough not to know my limits and didn’t care. And I still think it would get my butt out there. It’s so beautiful.

We’ll be back in a handful of days with album #4. In the meantime, here are the previous albums in this list:

10. Bodywash “I held the shape while I could”
9. Boygenius “The record”
8. Depeche Mode “Memento mori”
7. The Clientele “I am not there anymore”
6. Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”

You can also check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.

Categories
Albums

Best albums of 2023: Albums #10 through #6

Good morning, good morning! And happy Tuesday!

To be honest, Tuesday mornings are not something I typically get too excited about but today, I’m starting in on the countdown of my top ten favourite albums of the year. Music has always been a trusty crutch and a source of joy and in recent years, has even been more so. And the albums that I’ll be focusing on as we close out the year are my favourites that the last eleven plus months have offered us.

As in years past, there’s been lots of great music in 2023. It’s true that I’ve had to be more selective in vinyl collecting, continuing a trend from last year, what with the rising costs of everything. But rest assured, I’ve been listening to lots more than the handful of new records I’ve procured, streaming hours of music through my trusty Apple Music service.

I’ve discovered plenty of great new artists over the course of this year’s music journey and I’ve also reacquainted myself with many old friends. Indeed, a good number of my top albums have come from bands that I’ve been a fan of for years and despite high expectations, have put out some fantastic new pieces of work. Some of these were represented in the post I shared on Friday of five exceptional albums that didn’t quite make the cut but were worth your attentions nonetheless. Some are these are yet to come – today, and in the weeks ahead.

As I mentioned earlier, this post marks the start of my top ten countdown in earnest, starting with albums #10 through #6. Then, I plan to share my favourite five over the next few weeks, hopefully, getting them all in by the end of the year.

With all the excellent releases, I am sure I missed out on one or two so as we go through my own ten favourite albums, I welcome your comments and thoughts and perhaps even your own top ten favourites in the comments spaces provided.

Let’s do this.

#10 Bodywash “I held the shape while I could”

Bodywash is a shoegaze duo that was formed in Montreal in 2014 by Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter, apparently after musically bonding over another Canadian indie, dream pop group: Alvvays. I only came upon the group a few weeks after the release of this, their sophomore record, but I was so enthused that I immediately went back to explore their previous debut EP and LP and was sad to hear that I had just missed their swing through town on their tour. “I held the shape while I could” was mostly self-produced but recorded with Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) and is notably darker and muscular than its predecessor but shares its penchant for shimmering guitars and airy vocals from both its singers. It is by times haunting and fleeting and explosive.

#9 Boygenius “The record”

Just over five years ago, three of the most exciting young solo singer/songwriters in indie rock banded together and put out a six song, self-titled EP. This particular music fan could and should be forgiven for assuming that that one fine release would be it for the humorously named Boygenius. As great as it was, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus were all very successful and busy in their own careers, had put out their own excellent albums in the interim and toured quite a bit. The announcement of “The record” was met with a lot of excitement and just as much hype and the album of course lived up to meet both face to face. The songs are all finely crafted but what’s more impressive is how you can almost feel the joy with which these three musicians perform together while listening and you just can’t do so passively at all.

#8 Depeche Mode “Momento mori”

Depeche Mode is probably the band that I’ve been following the longest of those that I consider amongst my favourites and they’ve made quite a few appearances on this blog’s pages already. The new wave and synth pop icons have been making music for more than four decades and the time that passed between records had never been more than four years before. “Memento mori”, though, comes six years after 2017’s “Spirit” and after news came of Andrew Fletcher’s passing last year, reducing the one-time quartet down to a duo, I was actually surprised we saw the 15th album come out at all. But what was even more surprising to me was how much I loved this album. It’s like a return to form without feeling like a retread and chock full of bangers.

#7 The Clientele “I am not there anymore”

The Clientele has also already appeared on these pages a number of times*. I can’t really believe that I’ve been following the indie pop group from London for a couple of decades but the dates on all those timeless albums on my record shelves don’t lie. Indeed, their sun-kissed and lazy sunday psycheledelic dream pop has been one of my mainstays and every album an event. However, it had been almost six years since we’d last heard from them and then, when news came of a new album but that it would be a departure, I was hesitant to check it out. Luckily for me, those words of experimenting with jazz and electronic music were a bit overstated. They have indeed expanded their sound, freshening it up and seemingly invigorating its players in the process, but it’s still beautiful Clientele music.

#6 Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”

Eyelids are a power pop, indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. As far as I can tell, they’ve been active since some time around 2012, which blows me away because I only just learned about them this year. The announcement of the impending release of their sixth studio album, “A colossal waste of light”, came up on my Instagram feed care of The Decemberists’ account. As it turns out, the latter band’s drummer, John Moen has had this side thing going with a good friend of his, Chris Slusarenko (ex-Guided By Voices), for quite some time and they are quite excellent. Their latest features their new bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker) and is produced by good friend Peter Buck (R.E.M.). With all this music pedigree, you can bet that the tunes are tight and slick, jangly power pop that gets stuck in your head for days and will cause no complaints while it’s there.

*They had songs on my Best Tunes lists for 2000 and 2003 and made my Best Albums lists for 2007 and 2017.

Stay tuned for album #5 on this list. In the meantime, you can check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.