on the pulse - 2020 - week 36 - head to a disappearing god

Full disclosure, it was tough to pull something together this week, mostly because I’ve been working on other things both IRL and otherwise, plus it was a slow week and the majority of what I would be covering won’t attract a ton of attention, which is always a bit dispiriting especially when you tack on lukewarm feelings for the majority of the albums. Hate to spoil that, but if you’re still here, let’s get On The Pulse!

Taemin - Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1 - Why do I get the feeling I now opened the floodgates with k-pop last week and I’m going to wind up seeing a bunch more of it in the future? Anyway, Taemin is another member of Shinee, the same boy-band that gave us the late Jonghyun, who I covered back in 2018. He’s been putting out solo albums since 2016, and… I wish I was as impressed? He plays in a much more bouncy, dance-focused brand of pop/R&B which could call back to older boy band traditions that I like, but there’s a jittery, trend-chasing feeling to his production and grooves that can’t quite lock in, and his filmy, lightweight vocals haven’t really sold me either; if I was trying to be mean, I’d call him a k-pop Zayn. That said, if there’s a project I’d recommend it’d be his self-titled album from 2018 for having more solid songs than not, and here… a lot of what I’ve said also applies. He’s following mainstream trends in pop so we get the pulsating, sweeping synthpop and smoky trap flourishes, and he’s considerably more convincing with the former, especially as I’m not all that impressed with the stabs at trap are all that distinctive. And that’s before you consider how much he’s trying to vamp opposite the stuttering grooves, which can lead to messy cuts like ‘Interpretation (Waiting For)’ that tries to bring in more elegant keys and Spanish guitar flourishes to match the trap percussion and pitch-shifting. And it’s not like his content is evolving beyond sultry hook-up jams and flexes that might translate better if I spoke Korean but since I don’t, fall a bit flat. Now that’s not saying the better pop moments aren’t solid - like most k-pop it’s overcompressed and a little thin when you look at the fine details, and I wouldn’t say the production has as much colour as it could, but that won’t kill a good hook or dance groove, especially when some songs go for the old early 2000s pop/R&B boy band playbook like ‘Famous’. But if I’m looking for the moments that stand out or punch above… didn’t get a lot with this, sorry.

Doves - The Universal Want - Okay, this is an album from a band I never expected to hear from again. For those of you who weren’t around in the 2000s, Doves is a band that got tagged with Britpop in playing for a certain, quasi-anthemic brand of progressive pop rock that kind of let them dodge a lot of the scorn mainstream music critics threw on prog at the time. And I’m not sure why they got that pass, because a decade past their heyday, Doves’ back catalog is fine, generally solid, but their sonic influences were pretty stark and they weren’t rising above the best of what Elbow or Porcupine Tree were doing and they didn’t have the wild creativity of Muse or the hooks of Coldplay - a group that’s easy to like, but hard to love… or remember. Anyway, this is their comeback album ten plus years later, and… it’s a Doves album alright, and one that seems focused on reminiscing on missed connections, the universal want of everything you don’t have… and very specifically their strongest material round the turn of the millennium twenty years ago, and I’m stuck thinking that even when Elbow had their misfires, they at least tried to innovate on their sound or write stronger hooks! It’s frustrating because in terms of pure musicianship, the bass interplay and hazy blur of guitars goes down really smooth, and providing they stay away from awkward and over-emphasized drum machines, the overall sound of the album is agreeable… but good luck finding a striking hook or sticky melody as the album flops back to wallow in the haze. It’s fine in the background, but it’s one of those cases where i have no idea why anyone would care outside of Doves fans, and even they are going to be satisfied by hearing more of the same, especially when I don’t think there’s a dynamic or striking performance or lyrical punch that rises above - you’ve heard them do this before. Incidentally, as a critic these sorts of reunion albums give me nothing to talk about, so let’s keep this short: 6/10, it’ll satisfy the fans and will be lukewarm for anyone who likes turn of the millennium prog rock, but outside of that, you won’t care.

Juliet McConkey - Disappearing Girl - Honestly, if there’s a genre that’s just running up the score in 2020, it’s country music, to the point where I’ve spoken to some folks honestly getting a bit tired of hearing so much of it, even if it’s great stuff! I’m not one of those people, so here’s a debut from Juliet McConkey - she’s from rural Virginia, she moved to Texas to start refining her sound, and when I start hearing names like Jason Eady cited as comparison points, you’ve got both my curiosity and attention! Now I’ll start by saying that if you’re expecting a project as sunny and crisp as Eady’s mixes often are, this is not that - the tones and arrangements are a little more rounded and full, particularly in the basslines that are often as robust in their arrangement as the guitar leads or touches of keyboard, but the bigger coup of the arrangements are how they center McConkey as a singer, who has a timbre similar to Brandy Clark but maybe even better with her poise and command of subtler moments. She’s an absolutely terrific singer, who maybe doesn’t have the instant magnetism or an idiosyncratic vocal tone, but as a pure performer she can command the room. But where McConkey stands out and where the comparisons with Jason Eady spring most to mind is in her songwriting, where several of the scenes seem deceptively simple in their construction, but contain a lot of pathos and depth. The title of the project is not mincing words, because McConkey’s storytelling often features how a woman’s presence is marginalized and their strength deeply buried, where men who refuse to take accountability run all over them and are enabled to do so… but where things get complex is how McConkey also highlights the women in the pictures are not just victims, and there’s complexity in their emotional involvement, be it come from love or just a hope something could work. Take a song like ‘The Deep End’, where she’s talking to a musician ex of hers whose career sputtered out courtesy of drug abuse, but even here where she could be bitter or petty, she tries to show tenderness, or how viciously she criticizes her own response to a homeless panhandler on ‘I’ve Got A Dollar’ over nearly six minutes. Granted, this is an album that absolutely takes its time, and if I have a criticism of it, it comes in the fact that many songs run long and can feel a little sleepy in the arrangement - I saw a comparison with Dori Freeman’s work, and I think that’s apt in how I think both of them could use a little more energy or arrangements with a bit more diversity, at least once on the project, especially given McConkey has the voice for it. But as it is, this is a legit great debut, and an underground name in country you’d be wise to keep your eye on - strong 8/10, make the time and give her some support, this is special.

The Flaming Lips - American Head - …man, I remember when I used to get excited for Flaming Lips albums. The buzz around this was even promising, that it was another improvement since last year and some critics were saying this was their best project since The Soft Bulletin and that they were going back to their late 60s/early 70s psychedelic roots and even Kacey Musgraves showed up for a song! And yet even with all of that… look, I thought their release last year was pretty inessential, and I absolutely know better than to have any expectations for this band. And that being said… look, I’ve been very tough on Dave Fridmann the past few years for his bad habit of blowing out mixes in a misbegotten attempt at clunky heaviness, but the other side to that coin is that when he wants to accentuate the colours and textures of a mix that’s a bit more low-key and restrained, he can be really damn good at it! So yeah, even though Wayne Coyne’s vocals sound utterly fried - seriously, he’s a bizarre contrast opposite Kacey Musgraves’ sweeter delivery and the autotune is not helping him - the synth are always bleeping and obtrusive in a way they shouldn’t, and some of the bass and percussion both still sound blocky, the choice to slide back towards vintage psychedelic rock and embracing more lush melodic textures in the guitars and swells of arranged elements is a good one; it’s probably The Flaming Lips’ most organic- and pretty-sounding album they’ve put out in a while. And that does a decent bit to amplify that feeling of lonely stretches for connection for lost friends or family or even childhood nostalgia as they stretch through the mists of time and across acid-saturated minds… which to their credit they probably reflect on more than you’d expect, especially in examining how a culture that represses reasonable drug use can lead to an even further alienated and disillusioned youth, especially the scenes of bloody carnage that Coyne describes, where the police have an ominous presence. In that, it reminds me of the disillusioned and political-adjacent anger that flooded psychedelic rock between ‘68-’71, and with the American backdrop… it worked more than I thought it would for me. Now all of that being said, it’s still a little scattered and languid and it doesn’t quite have the gutpunch impact of The Terror or the varied brilliance of Heady Fwends, but this was really good. Solid 7/10, if you want to get back on-board, this is a good return to form.

Everything Everything - Re-Animator - I remember pissing a lot of people off when I described last year the ‘one-and-done indie hype cycle’ in my Weyes Blood review, where an act doesn’t really change or evolve their formula that much but suddenly to every mainstream critic this is the album you have to pay attention to, and it’ll make a bunch of lists and the band will think they’ve finally struck it big… and then for no discernible reason, it evaporates. And I feel sorry for the artists, because there doesn’t seem to be much consistent logic behind it, especially when their sound or style doesn’t change that much or might just become even more accessible but see less attention or buzz. And I kind of get the unfortunate feeling that this has happened to Everything Everything, and even as someone who has been consistently lukewarm on this band’s anxious, barely controlled art rock, I remember the hype driving Get To Heaven and now five years later, it doesn’t seem like Re-Animator is getting much attention, especially when it’s not that much of a dropoff or change; it can’t just be them going to a new label, right? Because no, it’s not quite as manic as Get To Heaven, but it’s still Everything Everything back to their regular bag of tricks, just with heavier, creaking synths and more obvious Radiohead worship. And like with Radiohead, they’re back at their same thematic well of exploring mankind’s tendencies towards irrationality and primal recklessness with a wonky detachment that not only kills some of the intensity, but can feel increasingly misaligned. A lot of the album is rooted in an exploration of the mostly debunked psychology theory of bicameralism, where half of the human brain projects auditory hallucinations to the other - perceived as voices in one’s head, which to the listener can be linked to any number of things - and it’s only in somewhat recent years have we recognized those ‘inner voices’ as consciousness, which presumably brings reason. And I see why Everything Everything would be intrigued by this given their previous themes, as a loose framework and idea why people behave irrationally or not as ‘civilized’ - but if you think this sounds condescending, we haven’t gotten to the points where he makes that comparison to conspiracy theorists, those who engage in reckless capitalism, and online trolls; maybe it’s just me, but just assuming those who behave in a way you consider irrational are mentally ill isn’t just the definition of condescending bad faith argumentation, ithe conflation is also shockingly ableist, especially when you seem to treat all of these situations with self-obsessed musings around personal responsibility! Now to their credit, a lot of the framing of the album places them as characters experiencing these things and imply they’re not immune to irrationality, but if you go to that place, you’d think it would come together and coalesce to say something larger; I’d argue individual songs pack more punch, specifically the observation on ‘Big Climb’ that more folks seem terrified of living after an apocalypse than dying in it, and deconstructing that nihilistic fear could have been fascinating. But I’ll be honest, when you’re also dealing with an increasingly stiff and programmed mix where the nervous intensity is continuing to drain away, the synths and guitar tones are only getting screechier and Jonathan Higgs’ theatrical squawking remains an acquired taste I still haven’t acquired, we’re still stuck with an Everything Everything project that I can appreciate in patches for interesting melodies and ideas, but not much longer. very light 6/10, just for the fans here.

Conway The Machine - From A King To A GOD - So after I covered Westside Gunn earlier this year, I made the promise to myself to be a little more ahead of the game when it came to other Griselda projects, especially as I often like but don’t quite love the sound but do see major potential for improvement. And while I still think I like Benny the most, Conway has intrigued me for being a little more of a thoughtful and layered lyricist - still a bruiser, but willing to experiment a bit more. Yeah, if you know Griselda, going through his back catalog will not shock you in the slightest in sound or content, but I did hear his newest album was pushing even further, maybe even diversifying both, especially with the stable of guest features behind him. And… well, this is an album that shows just how much potential and runway Conway has as an MC and he’s making strides, but I’m not sure he’s found greatness yet. Now I’ll give him some of the same credit I give Freddie Gibbs, in being able to make gangsta rap feel more witty and layered and colourful, and you can absolutely tell the production is expanding in that direction too - the samples are cleaner, the drum are sharper, there’s a bit more synth and grooves that are a bit more developed and bouncy, which I do see as a bit ironic, given how Conway references people biting Griselda’s sound as he starts to sidle into a mainstream-adjacent lane. And for as much as I appreciate the wit and sharper bars - this is gangsta rap I’ll appreciate a lot more than just bargain-barrel repetitive trap - the album does have the Griselda problem in that there’s a lot of ground that’s been trod before in terms of gunplay, drug-running and flexing; not saying cuts like ‘Lemon’ with Method Man aren’t great, but it’s a comfort zone. I did find myself appreciating the moments that got away from that or showed a bit more insight, though, like how Conway reinforces his own emotional stakes by referencing his own pain at the death of friends and family who have died, specifically DJ Shay whose interludes pepper the album and both ‘Seen Everything But Jesus’ with Freddie Gibbs and ‘Forever Dropping Tears’, or even when he gets more political with ‘Front Lines’ highlighting police brutality and what violence is actually sanctioned by broken systems. Hell, I actually found myself really liking his obvious crossover cut ‘Anzi’ with Armani Caesar - the minimalist groove from Murda Beatz is something he can ride effortlessly and she sounds great too! But again, most of this is Conway in an agreeable lane, but only rarely driving content or a sound that punches higher. In other words, it’s very good and has me intrigued for that second album coming from him if it drops, but not quite great, not yet. 7/10