on the pulse - 2022 - #20 - yungblud, eden, ari lennox, preoccupations, jon pardi, blind guardian, black midi, michaela anne

Michaela Anne - Oh To Be That Free - Oh, this is long overdue, another indie country release where given how much I loved Desert Dove you might be surprised why I’m late to this. Well… I’m torn on it, because the writing has gotten a lot stronger - embracing a more self-assured, morally complex approach to relationships and conflicts therein; where Desert Dove was finding a balance, there’s a confrontational willingness to claim one’s strength, yearning, and vulnerability. The flickers of naivete have faded, but the winsome yearning is still so strong. But between a few songs that wind into pastoral metaphors without landing, some messy production around the guitar and vocal blending that can’t quite capture the previous swell and texture, and a more quiet, slow-burn presentation, it doesn’t quite have the same sticking power. Really damn good, worth your time… maybe not great?

black midi - Hellfire - Yeah, I needed to let this one marinate, because on one hand, this is the synthesis of everything black midi did well on the last two albums. The manic vocals, the jerky arpeggiated compositions careening across experimental rock and jazz fusion, weaving in more modulation to drive the cinematic climaxes. And it’s the natural, more accessible successor to Cavalcade in both theme and metanarrative, exploring misspent lives and corrupted men in downward spirals towards hell, while the narrator desperately claws for what it’s all worth in writing these epochs of inevitable damnation. On the other hand, the nihilism and Pagliacci complex with (somewhat) empathetic framing for protagonists makes a bleak listen, where every gleeful excess leaves a bit of bile in your throat. So yes, it’s great… but if you’re just admiring the spectacle, the Nine Hells await you.

Blind Guardian - The God Machine - At this point Blind Guardian have nothing left to prove - legends in thrash and power metal with an album that hits the marks of operatic hooks, overlayered compositions, insanely bright guitarwork, and songs touching on scattered fantasy and sci-fi franchises, walking the epic tightrope as veterans. And while it’s their heaviest in some time - along with some iffy drum and synth mixing - I found myself wondering if they could have afforded the focus of a higher concept beyond how ineffable gods wreak havoc on human psyches following or confronting them, or tighter hooks, or more modulation; the album is solid all around, but unlike Beyond The Red Mirror or their peak, it’s tough to find the moments that reach their absolute best. Maybe ‘Secrets Of The American Gods’ and ‘Let It Be No More’ or ‘Violet Shadows’ in a pinch… but I dunno, very good but I expected more.

Jon Pardi - Mr. Saturday Night - You would think with mainstream country’s shift towards a more neotraditional sound this would be the perfect time for Jon Pardi to elevate his material. Instead with this, we hear his ceiling, because while his production remains pleasant and easy to like, saturated with fiddle and pedal steel, he has effectively made the same album as Heartbreak Medication in 2019: drinking songs, hookup songs, and drinking to forget failed hookup songs, and he’s not an expressive enough performer nor cowriter to elevate them - to end with ‘Reverse Cowgirl’, Hot Country Knights this is not. And while there are a few experiments with more synthetic elements that work better than you’d expect, everything here you’ve heard before done better, and it feels weirdly basic. So… it’s fine for what it is, exactly what you’d expect from Jon Pardi - and not a bit more.

Preoccupations - Arrangements - The weird thing with Preoccupations is that I’ve consistently praised them the past decade for textured, smart post-punk - nostalgic but also really well-written, and the albums have held up for the record - and then I just never return to them! But four years later… and I might be in the minority, but this is a step back across the board. The grooves are better, but with the clattering fuzzy guitars of their Viet Cong days while trying to maintain some brighter synths lead to muddy tonal clashes - especially with the vocals - they can’t elevate their melodic hooks. And given the lyrics have gone back to antisocial, pessimistic nihilism on a personal and societal level, detached, sardonic musings on human fallibility don’t have the same pull in 2022. A bitter, clumsily paced album that wants you to stew in existential emptiness - I’d rather do other things.

Ari Lennox - age/sex/location - So even though I missed covering Ari Lennox’s debut in 2019, I wanted to hear her succeed in this style of sensual, organic R&B and neo soul - her debut was likable, there was so much promise. And yet with this… I think I’ve pinned down what holds me back from liking her more: Ari Lennox has ridiculous talent as a singer and presence on the mic… but there’s a shocking lack of refinement, subtlety, and self-awareness. Maybe I’m sensitive about being in a similar lane so it throws me off instinctively, but between slapdash vocal runs, compositions lacking tightness or tune, and clunky writing, the mess and melodrama feels less intentional and less fun. That’s not saying it’s bad - the grooves are terrific, I love the horns, there are some fun, well-balanced sex jams, and I know a lot of this album is not “for me” - but man, I wanted to like this more.

EDEN - ICYMI - I didn’t get the hype with EDEN initially - the first two albums were occasionally interesting, fractured alternative R&B, but I wasn’t wowed by the lethargic compositions, underwhelming vocals or drippy lyrics - we already have James Blake, Frank Ocean, and Justin Vernon doing this better. And here… well, it’s shorter, and wallows across acoustics, brittle percussion, burbling synth and waves of autotuned vocals reminiscent of 22, A Million. I’d call this experimental in composition… if I hadn’t heard these experiments already go further in the 2010s. To EDEN’s credit, the atmosphere is solid and the lyrics are actually pretty good, still dreary but sifting through a hazy blur of memory, on-and-offline, processing grief, heartbreak, loneliness, and burnout with paralyzing self-awareness in its artistry. So I don’t love this… but I get why some absolutely will, it’s good stuff.

YUNGBLUD - YUNGBLUD - You know, even following weird! in 2020, I wasn’t prepared for YUNGBLUD to keep getting better - I still remember his disaster of a debut - and yet, this might be his best to date. Chris Greatti producing enables a more homegrown sound blending 70s glam with acoustic-driven pop rock of the past twenty years, but considerably better mixed and mastered, YUNGBLUD’s Gerard Way impression is becoming more tolerable, and the slew of industry ringers keeps it lean and catchy. The problem is that this album leans on its influences so much, and there’s a tangible desire to embrace even more queer, flamboyant melodrama, and yet it never goes for broke even in the personal narratives - the potential is there, it just needs a more distinctive followthrough. At its best weird! was dumb fun - this is better and aiming higher, but could have been even more.