CD Odyssey Disc 1881: Caitlin Rose

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. Today I come to you live from…my holidays! Yes, I am taking a very short break, but I bring you this humble offering before I sail off to Parts Unknown (I know where I’ll be but this is a music website, not a travelogue).

Disc 1881 is… Cazimi

Artist: Caitlin Rose

Year of Release: 2022

What’s up with the Cover? An out of focus Caitlin Rose appears to witness a stream of fuzzy musical notes passing into…or out of her head.

How I Came To Know It: I am sad to say I don’t remember, which usually means I read a review somewhere. A quick Google search shows there were reviews on at least two of my oft-visited music sites (Paste Magazine and Americana Highways) so there is a good chance one or both of these inspired the journey.

How It Stacks Up: Caitlin Rose has released four albums, but this is the only one I have, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Cazimi” did not win me over immediately, and I would say it still hasn’t won me over completely, but it is proof that if songs have good bones they can survive a fair number of other shortcomings.

Rose is a pop singer, with a country flair to some of the tracks that might trick a modern country radio station to play her tunes. I wouldn’t know, as I don’t listen to the radio. That pop/country crossover takes the form of a lot of mid-tempo tunes with a bit of jump in the rhythm and a production that might be twang, but in the end just comes out as reverb.  

The issue on Cazimi is a couple of things, the first being the aforementioned production, which opts for a considerable amount of fuzz.

Long-time readers will know that while my musical tastes are wide (to the point of wanton) I have a bias toward clean production, with plenty of space for the songs to breathe. Cazimi is not this, and there is a lot of stuff going on at the same time. Also, Caitlin Rose’s vocals, which are almost exclusively up in her head voice sound overdubbed and cloudy throughout. The album employs a number of background singers, so it might be tight harmony and not overdub (I am no expert) but either way it creates a diffuse sound where I would have preferred things to be a bit more distinct.

The instruments fare similarly. The drums sound light and diffuse, and the guitars have a bit of a wall of sound that is unexpected given the light and airy flavour of the music overall. When they rock out you don’t get oomph out of them, because the mix is too busy.

Fortunately, Rose is also a very gifted songwriter, and there are plenty of solid offerings on Cazimi that overcome all of these triggering (for me) production decisions.

Most of the good stuff is front-end loaded to Side One, which is a trend I have never liked but that has been seen on records…forever. I continue to live in hope that I will get over it, but seems late in the day for that.

But I digress…

The first track is the delightfully wistful “Carried Away” which features Grade A songwriting. The melody has delightful jumps up the scale that punctuate how the narrator would like a slow climb into a relationship but instead finds herself in a sudden jump forward. The melody carries you away suddenly just like the lyrics say it will. Meanwhile, there is a guitar tag with a measured step down at the end of the verse that seems to add a bit of sad resignation to the moment. Music and lyrics in synch to deliver an emotional punch = good songwriting.

This is followed up with “Modern Dancing” which is a dance-friendly number. Not so much “cut a move at the club” as “twirl in your living room” but danceable all the same. It also has handclaps and a weird bit of funky synth that is an example of the busy production, only here I liked it.

The record starts to flag in the middle, with songs like “Lil’ Vespa” and “Black Obsidian” that want to feel either whimsical or poetic but come off forced.

Fortunately, before the end, we get a Side Two gem in “Blameless”. Many of the songs on the record have a very common mid to up tempo sound (there’s probably a classical term for this, but I can’t think of it) but “Blameless”’ comes in with a slow and mournful drag at just the right time. The song’s slow meandering undertow make you feel the feels, and the lyrics are inspired, showing that bad relationships need to be named for what they are. The chorus alters slightly throughout but my favourite iteration is:

“Do it outta habit, do it out of love or whatever you're holding to
'Cause you always come runnin' each time you discover that I'm as cold as you
And there's no point in making it painless
It's nobody's fault and, baby, we're blameless, blameless”

“Blameless” would benefit from letting the pedal steel lift out of the mix a bit, but as noted above, that’s not how this record is constructed. Fortunately, the emotional impact of the record overcomes one grumpy reviewer wanting to elbow his way onto the mixing board. In the end, I sat in the corner of the studio, arms crossed, and forced to admit that all things considered, yeah, I liked it.

Best tracks: Carried Away, Modern Dancing, Getting it Right, Blameless

CD Odyssey Disc 1880: Kora Feder

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. It is the weekend and last night I enjoyed some board games with my lovely wife. Musical accompaniment was set on random via our 6-CD player. When we are “listening random” we each get three choices. Last night’s were: Tom Petty, Tom Jones, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, ELO, Grace Cummings and Creepshow.

I’ve reviewed one or more albums by all those artists so if you are intrigued to learn more, the blog has got you covered.

OK, on to an artist I have never reviewed before…

Disc 1880 is… Some Kind of Truth

Artist: Kora Feder

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Half a Giant Head Cover does not a Giant Head Cover make! However, this cover makes up for that with bonus content – it is signed by Kora Feder!

How I Came To Know It: I read a review and then liked what I heard when I checked her out. I bought the album from Bandcamp, which is why I have Ms. Feder’s signature. Cool and thank you, Kora!

How It Stacks Up: Kora Feder has two albums out, but I’ve only got one, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

Kora Feder is a singer-songwriter with a young heart and an old soul. Listening to her records is like receiving a confessional from a close friend or curling up on the couch with a book of poetry for an afternoon of feeling the feels. It all depends on whether you want this to be about her or about you. Ultimately, like all great art, it is both at the same time.

I once had a friend tell me that he was “too old to relate to Taylor Swift’s music” which annoyed me, because great music is designed to transport you to a time in your life – maybe a more youthful time. Failing that, it connects someone else’s experience to your own, allowing you to hold a new perspective, or see your current ones through new facets.

Such is the quiet power of Kora Feder, who brings you in with every word, every note. It begins with her voice, which is youthful and green and full of sweetness and dappled sunlight. The rounded and unhurried phrasing reminded me heavily of Anais Mitchell of Bonny Light Horseman. It is a natural storyteller’s voice, but where the stories are less action/adventure and more personal journey.

The album wisely keeps the production to a bare minimum. Most of the songs start out with just a single piano or guitar to accompany Feder’s vocals, often with an open mic that lets you hear the slide of the strings at each chord change. I usually don’t like hearing that, but here it adds to the raw experience, like you’re hearing the song live at a small venue while sitting super close. Occasionally a bit of drum might come along to add volume, but it is relaxed and in the background.

The effect is that there is no barrier or space between you and these songs, and you are forced to confront their truths unvarnished and unprotected. This seems only right, as Feder puts her vulnerability centre stage, daring you to do the same.

The lyrics of this record are poetic brilliance, dealing with themes that are well-worn (finding yourself while travelling, navigating relationship and grief, and the age-old “what’s the point of it all?” we’ve all felt from time to time). But these are common themes because they are natural gateways to deeper thought, and Feder navigates them with grace.

Sometimes she grounds things in experience, like on “Orange Tree” where she celebrates her grandparents:

“Days like today I relate to the clouds
Grandma’s memory is fragile slowly emptying out
I try on her clothes to remind her where she wore them
The picket line the Pentagon and some Northern island
I’m wearing her favorite plaid shirt to weed the orange tree
I think it’s better on her but it’s fine on me
She can’t remember why there’s a hole in the left elbow sleeve”

On “In a Young Person’s Body” begins with Feder’s grief over the untimely death of John Prine, and delves deep into dark inner reaches of grief, echoing her uncertainty in the song’s refrain of:

“I looked in the mirror and all I could see
Was a worried old woman in a young person’s body”

It’s a sad song, and I wouldn’t have the heart to tell her that later in life you look in the mirror and see the opposite, and it isn’t any more reassuring.

But that’s the magic of this record, as it navigates space and time, the strum of the guitar or tinkle of the piano light and unobtrusively keeping you on the path. The journey is delightful, and I expect this record to compete for one of the best of 2025.

Best tracks: Rambling Man, Detroit Summer, Paragraphs, In a Young Person’s Body, Orange Tree

CD Odyssey Disc 1879: The Beths

This next record landed at #8 of my favourite records of 2022. If you’d like to see the full list, you can do so here.

Disc 1879 is… Expert in a Dying Field

Artist: The Beths

Year of Release: 2022

What’s up with the Cover? A Yellowtail Amberjack or Haku. I do not know this because I am an expert in a dying field, I know this because of the Internet, which, unfortunately, can make anyone appear to be an expert. Emphasis on that word ‘appear’.

I sometimes feel like an expert in a dying field because of all the old Roman writers I read (I am currently reading Suetonius’ “Twelve Caesars”) but then I remember – nope, there are actual experts in that. I’m just reading a book.

Anyway, if you like fish, this cover has one.

How I Came To Know It: I was a fan of the Beths previous record, 2020’s “Jump Rope Gazers” (reviewed back at Disc 1443) and decided to give their follow up a shot.

How It Stacks Up: I have three albums by the Beths, and while I’m still getting to know their latest (2025’s “Straight Line Was a Lie”) for now, I’m putting “Expert in a Dying Field” at #1.

Ratings: 4 stars

There’s nothing more rare and beautiful than a band that just gets better with age. The Beths were already a band whose blend of frenetic indie pop and disaffected garage band sound had me captivated, but on their third studio album, “Expert in a Dying Field” they take their songwriting to new heights.

Despite this record finishing in my top 10 of 2022, when I first heard it this week my initial reaction was hesitant. There was a lot going on. The production was dense, with a lot of bang n’ clang of the sort that usually puts me off. However, the Beths are proof positive that a lot can be going on in the arrangement, and it can still be good when done well.

It didn’t take long for this record to remind me why I liked it so much three years ago. Everything I liked about 2020’s “Jump Rope Gazers” is present, but with a bit more polish and care applied.

When a band has a post punk sensibility, that extra polish can sometimes strip a band of the energy that makes them good in the first place. No risk of that on “Experts…” which stays out in front of the beat on most songs, leaving you breathless and eager for whatever comes next.

Elizabeth Stokes’ vocals remain a cornerstone of the band’s success. She can alternate between a slightly flat “who cares” tone of alternative rock and the sweetest pop icon you can imagine. Is she going to slap you or blow you a kiss? The answer is yes.

Musically this record is also a step up. While Stokes vocals could carry the load alone, the Beths are a tight band, and despite the fast tempo and saturated nature of many of these songs, they never sound muddy. The mix is very even across all the players, letting you appreciate the growl of the guitar, snap of the drum, or undercurrent of the bass with equal joy. Set your mind to follow whatever appeals, and you’ll like where the journey takes you.

Buried in all the forward lean and reverb the lyrics have an emotional frailty that draws you in. Sometimes it expresses itself dark and distressed (“some things are best left to rot” – from Best Left) but is just as likely to be vulnerable (“still only knees deep/I’ll never be brave like you” – from Knees Deep) or just downright unapologetically romantic:

“But here I go again
Mixing drinks and messages
So I'll say it plain
I just
I want to see you
I want to hear you say
Don't cry
I'm on the next flight
To be by your side”

     -      Your Side

For all the plain beauty in the words, these are songs that say plenty without my ever paying much attention to the lyrics at all. The experience was multilayered, well-balanced and fascinating through whatever facet you approached it.

Best tracks: Expert in a Dying Field, Knees Deep, Silence is Golden, Your Side, Best Left, When You Know You Know, A Passing Rain

CD Odyssey Disc 1878: Meat Loaf

It was brought to my attention that my last review (for Neil Young’s “Harvest” was published on Neil Young’s 80^th birthday. I 100% did not know this (Neil, not having invited me over for the festivities) although all those “best Neil Young song lists that were popping up make a lot more sense now.

Disc 1878 is… Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell

Artist: Meat Loaf

Year of Release: 1993

What’s up with the Cover? Our motorcycle riding barbarian from the original album (reviewed at Disc 1860) has returned, and while back on earth he has managed to find some pants.

Emboldened by his newfound clothes, and armed with a ball of hellfire that probably should be stored more securely when riding, he heads for the gates of hell, which are guarded by a the big bat demon from the original album, and also a golden angel.

The angel is there presumably to ask, “are you sure you want to do this?” and sadly for all of us, the barbarian is undeterred as are we, his hapless audience, who are about to be subjected to this record.

How I Came To Know It: Meat Loaf wasn’t on my radar in 1993, but I liked the video for the song “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” enough that when I saw this record sitting in the $3 bin earlier this year I said, “what the hell”.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Meat Loaf albums, and this is by far the lesser of the two.

Ratings: 1 star

“Bat Out of Hell II: Back to Hell” is the worst collection of aimless, pointless, directionless bombast I have heard in a very long while. If I could send this collection of songs back to hell, reader, I would do so.

The sequel to “Bat Out of Hell” takes all the lessons learned from the 1977 record and misapplies them so badly I felt multiple times that Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman were deliberately punking me.

Even the record’s most recognizable and arguably best song, the exhaustingly titled “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” can’t get it right. The original “Bat Out of Hell” title track is a song that successfully breaks all the rules. Almost a full 10 minutes of overblown glory, and you love every minute of it.

The video edit of “…I Won’t Do That” is a chunky 7:40 journey that is a bit tiresome in places, but lifted up by a really hot girl running through a mansion, and a guest vocal (famously not sung by the lip synching woman in the video) that is a delightful counterpoint to Meat Loaf’s signature vibrato.

The album version is almost five minutes longer, with no discernable melodic or narrative value in the extra content. Minus the pretty girl to look at, it quickly becomes interminable. We’re left to wonder just what Meat Loaf famously won’t do when he references “that”.

Through the course of the song he confirms he will do a number of his duet partner’s requests. These include: make magic with his ‘own two hands’ (barf), build an emerald city with grains of sand, cater to her fantasies (one of which includes being hosed down with holy water), take her on trips and provide a parting gift when she goes home. Check, check, and check.

Apparently, the only things he “won’t do” are break up with her or screw around, both of which are not things you typically do for love anyway. The mind is tempted to marvel at what else he won’t do but ultimately, we yawn.

And that’s one of the record’s good songs.

After this we get a whole load of songs that are overlong, go nowhere, and have sprawling titles like “Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back”, “Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)” and “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are”. These song titles need an edit as badly as the songs themselves (which are respectively 7:58, 7:22 and 10:14 in length).

Along the way you will be treated to such tortured “Meat-aphors” as:

“If life is just a highway, then the soul is just a car”.

By track four – the aptly titled “It Just Won’t Quit” (n.b. also over seven minutes long) you realize that Jim and Meat really won’t. It was when I heard this stanza:

“Oh, is this a blessing or is it a curse?
Does it get any better? Can it get any worse?
Will it go on forever? Is it over tonight?
Does it come with the darkness? Does it bring out the light?
Is it richer than diamonds, or just a little cheaper than spit?
I don't know what it is, but it just won't quit”

…that I began to suspect this drivel was fucking intentional.

Whatever magic Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf captured on their first album is long gone. I imagine the two of them sitting around in the studio having a conversation like this:

“Hey Jim - I’ve got an idea. Kind of half developed, and featuring a strained and obvious metaphor. Can you help me out?”

“Sounds great, Meat. I can write that. But rather than developing it into an epic rock song, how about we just double down on that tired metaphor, throw in some overused phrase that you hear every day, and repeat it ad nauseum for a solid seven to ten minutes.”

“Um, yeah, OK – but let’s put a pretty girl in the video to boost sales.”

The record’s final song is the right-sized (five minute) and generally passable “Lost Boys and Golden Girls” which right at the end reminds you that Meat Loaf, for all his faults, has a great rock and roll voice, and that Steinman can write a song. But by then I had already endured 70 minutes of garbage and was too far gone to care.

Best tracks: The video edit of “I’d Do Anything for Love” (n.b. – not on the record), and “Lost Boys and Golden Girls”

CD Odyssey Disc 1877: Neil Young

Welcome to that rare event – back-to-back 5-star album reviews. This one is much more relaxed than the previous one.

Disc 1877 is… Harvest

Artist: Neil Young

Year of Release: 1972

What’s up with the Cover? Not much. Soft autumn colours suitable for harvest time, and some scripty font. On this one, Neil’s gonna let the music do the talkin’.

How I Came To Know It: In the early seventies “Heart of Gold” was on every AM radio station in the land, so this album is in my DNA. I didn’t buy my own copy until the late eighties, however (and that on cassette). Eventually, when I upgraded my collection to CD, this was one of the first converts.

How It Stacks Up: I have (or have had) 23 Neil Young albums. I thought for sure this was the last one to review but one remains. So the full list will have to wait, and for now I’ll simply note where “Harvest” ranks, which is #1. The best.

Ratings: 5 stars

After fifty plus years of “Harvest” gracing our collective consciousness, there isn’t much left unsaid in the hyperbole vault, but if it is a well-worn path I’m about to walk, at least it’ll be a beautiful one.

This record is a masterclass in songwriting, playing melodies that take you on a journey to the centre of the soul without need of a single word. Young’s quavering vocals are the perfect backdrop, but he could probably just idly make nonsense syllables and this record would be worth four stars.

Of course, he does much more than this, adding his finest storytelling and mood setting poetry to the music. The quiet and plaintive prayers of “A Man Needs a Maid” gives way to the spiritual wanderlust of “Heart of Gold”.

Over the years I have cycled through almost every track as my lyrical favourite. Perhaps the most heart-wrenching of all is “The Needle (and the Damage Done)” with its revelation that “every junkie’s like a setting sun.” Beautiful and tragic, and descending to darkness with a reminder that there’s “a little part of it in everyone” to remind us that all of society is affected by the tragedy, and every one of us could walk the path if fate were just a bit more unkind. We listen to this song a thousand times each time emerging both sadder and wiser at its revelations.

The record somehow manages to fill us with bone-deep weariness and transcendent wisdom at the same time. The combination is both rest and meditation, and the realization the two are not the same.

“Old Man” always comes to mind in this way. In my early twenties, this song brought a deep connection to restless youth. “Twenty-four and there’s so much more” and the trepidation on just what the “so much more” would entail. In my middle-age this song speaks just as strongly, with different accents and connections across the years – decisions made, and the ongoing work to fully come into who we are through the accumulation of our deeds. I fully expect to find yet undiscovered connections years hence when I’m in my eighties.

Great lyrics alone do not make a great record, however. While “Harvest” ranges from folk to rock sensibilities, Neil Young’s guitar is ever present. Sometimes strumming quietly along in fellowship (“Out on the Weekend”, “Harvest”) and sometimes digging in with discordant raw emotion (“Alabama”, “Words (Between the Lines of Age)”). Young’s tone and style of playing is one of the most unique in music, and the brilliance of it is sometimes overlooked on his folkier records.

The arrangements on “Harvest” also serve the story. Banjo, piano and harmonica come and go at just the right time. A song like “Heart of Gold” would be a classic played on a single acoustic guitar, but the delayed entry of that harmonica hook a couple of bars in – that’s what makes it transcendent. Later that step-down of the guitar tag provides the perfect juxtaposition to the harmonica’s high peal of manic exploration. The combination lets the song “search” high and low, as the tension between the two instruments, and the rival hooks they play, mirrors the restless nature of the seeker.

Over the years every song on this record has revealed its secrets to me like a flower in full bloom. Untold decades and countless listens later I simply can’t pick a favourite anymore. All of them.

Best tracks: all tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 1876: Arch Enemy

For the second review in a row we get a Swedish metal album released in 2007. Much as I love Sabaton, this next album is better.

Disc 1876 is… Rise of the Tyrant

Artist: Arch Enemy

Year of Release: 2007

What’s up with the Cover? Maybe the titular tyrant’s coat of arms? We’ve got an eye set in a triangle, some serpent tales, white fire and a whole lot of nasty looking talons.

Or maybe this is a seal on some crypt revealed when an old building gets taken down. Break this seal, and risk the rise of the tyrant, fools!

How I Came To Know It: I discovered Arch Enemy this year, after checking out their 2025 release “Blood Dynasty”. This led me on a delightful journey into their back catalogue, which is how I came upon “Rise of the Tyrant”.

How It Stacks Up: Arch Enemy has released 13 studio albums, but I ‘only’ have seven of them. I bought all of these in a glut since March and I can’t claim to know them well enough yet to know my favourite for sure. However, “Rise of the Tyrant” is pretty goddamned good, so I’m going to put it #1 and dare something else to knock it off. It won’t be easy.

Ratings: 5 stars

Arch Enemy’s “Rise of the Tyrant” is a perfect evolution of heavy metal as an art form. In biology it would be the xenomorph from the Alien film franchise, except instead of being a perfect killing machine, it is all the styles of metal, evolved to the farther edges of heavy.

The interweb describes Arch Enemy as “melodic death metal” which is fair enough, but doesn’t do justice to the range of traditions you will hear on this record.

Yes, there are classic death metal elements, notably the double bass drum action, and the menacing growl of Angela Gossow’s vocals. Gossow in particular is incredible here. Early Arch Enemy’s main drawback are the vocals of original frontman Johan Liiva. You won’t find any of those records on the CD Odyssey because with Liiva singing, Arch Enemy just doesn’t float my boat.

“Rise of the Tyrant” is smack dab in the middle of Gossow’s 14 year run as Arch Enemy’s vocalist, and this record is a standard bearer on how much she lifts that part of the band. Every word is understandable but still infused within an unrepentant raspy growl that screams “I am the danger” at you in a way that makes you like danger.

But unlike straight up death metal, Arch Enemy borrows from many other branches of metal tradition. “I Will Live Again” adds both thrash and symphonic metal into the mix, as it throws chugging riffs at you, over which soars the rich tone of guitar solos. The guitars on this record are courtesy of brothers Michael and Christopher Arnott.

I don’t know enough about this band to know who is most responsible for the solo work (Michael is a founding and continuing member of the band; Christopher is only on studio albums for a short run). Whoever it is, this is some of the finest metal axe work I have heard. It isn’t super complicated, but dear God man – hear the tone. Buck Dharma himself would be proud.

In a fit of what can only be described as showing off, they even throw in a short classically inspired piece of guitar-forward brilliance called “Intermezzo Liberte”. Yes the song title suggest a large dose of self-importance, but that’s OK when you can live up to the hype, and the brothers Arnott do just that.

If that weren’t enough there are moments on this record that Arch Enemy throw in decisions that are positively proggy. Imagine a latter-day Rush record, except with the violence dialed up to 10. Like Rush, Arch Enemy is not afraid to take a song in a totally new direction midway. Like that riff? Well, here’s a different one. You’ll like it too.

Ere the end, Arch Enemy even throws in some Doom adjacent sounds on “The Great Darkness” which features creepy chanting for good measure, along with yet another tasty guitar solo.

There isn’t much on “Rise of the Tyrant” to fault. This record knows where it is going and even though there are multiple destinations, they manage to hit every single one.

Whether you are a connoisseur of all things metal, or just a one-lane “I like what I like” headbanger, there will be something on “Rise of the Tyrant” that will get your blood pumping. Turn it on, turn it loud, and you’re welcome.

Best tracks: all tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 1875: Sabaton

I’m a bit knackered tonight, so it is a good thing my next album is a shot in the arm of good ole power metal!

Disc 1875 is… Metalizer (with bonus content Fist for Fight)

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2007 (although originally recorded in 2002)

What’s up with the Cover? This mechanical monstrosity has everything you could ask for.

Glow in the dark eyes? Check!

A helmet decorated with bullets? Check!

Can we surround the whole thing with human bones? You be we can!

How I Came To Know It: This was me digging backwards through Sabaton’s earlier records after I discovered them relatively late.

How It Stacks Up: At every Sabaton review it feels like I have recently added yet another record. While I don’t yet have Sabaton’s 2025 release, I am now up to nine total. Of those nine, “Metalizer” comes in at #7.

This reissue of Metalizer comes with a bonus CD of 2001 demos called “Fist for Fight” which has a lot of the same tracks (with different production) and a couple of extras. Given the overarching similarities, I am reviewing them as a single entity.

Ratings: 3 stars

Believe it or not there was a time when Swedish power metal band sang about something other than battles. Yes, hard to believe, I know, but everyone’s favourite heavy historians once made songs about other stuff.

That time was the early oughts, they recorded first “Fist for Fight” in 2001 and “Metalizer” in 2002. According to Wikipedia (which as we know, is never wrong) a bunch of copyright stuff denied us access to both until 2007. As a late adopter of Sabaton this did not affect me one whit, but was probably deeply frustrating for the band.

If back in the day I had known there was a record like “Metalizer” gathering dust on some shelf for five years I would’ve been frustrated as well, because this record is awesome on many levels.

It is a glimpse into the early influences and approach of Sabaton. They were already an amazing band – tight and loaded with oomph – and these early works are great to watch them explore their sound and subject matter.

A title like “Metalizer” may feel a bit on the nose, and while that’s true, you won’t mind so much after you listen to it. Sabaton embraces the concept of metal on this record like it’s a religion. The title track is about how much fun it is to enjoy heavy metal and that’s about it. Metal is all that they need, and they want you to know it.

The lads wear their love for Judas Priest on their sleeves, with lyrics like “While hell bends for leather we stand strong”. The last song on the original record (not counting covers) is “Masters of the World” which owes a lot to Judas Priest anthems “Take on the World” and “United” but is glorious in its own right, and a worthy entry in the canon of songs that celebrate the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of heavy metal music.

This re-issue of “Metalizer” even features a bonus track of the band covering Priest’s “Jawbreaker” which is worthy homage.

My favourite song on the record is “Shadows” which is the story of the nine Nazgul in Lord of the Rings. The song has the furious guitar riffs that Sabaton excel at. It is filled with dire portents and a doom that doesn’t creep toward you so much as gallop. Want to know in your bones what it is like to be Frodo pursued across a plain by a Black Rider? This song is a good approximation.

Sometimes on this record it is hard to know if Sabaton might be taking the piss, however. Since “7734” featured a number and a whole lot of heroic exaltation and I was sure it must feature a battle. However, I came up empty on this one, and all the internet could offer is that 7734 spells “hell” upside down on a calculator. Part of me hopes there is more to this song, and part of me doesn’t.

What makes every song work – from the heartfelt to the hokey – is the vocal prowess of frontman Joakim Broden. Broden doesn’t artfully growl like Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg, and he doesn’t soar the high notes like Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. Nonetheless, Broden has a weapon just as powerful – he’s got bombast. You can’t teach the unfathomable depths of bombast in Broden’s voice. It just is. He is like the Lord Humongous himself before the gates of the last oil refinery in the outback; he just knows he’s the biggest and the baddest, and his thunderous chest voice announces that fact in every song.

The rest of the band is up to Broden’s challenge, and together these guys know how to make everything sound important. The guitar riffs are timeless, the drums are furious and the whole effect lifts your ass out of your seat.

As an early effort “Metalizer” is a bit raw around the edges, and some of the songs have some eye-rolling lyrics but Sabaton is all in. It’s not as consistently great as some of their later records, but it has plenty to recommend it.

Best tracks: Thundergods, Metalizer, Shadows, 7734, Masters of the World

P.S.: A quick note from “Fist for Fight” which has a lighter production touch (being mostly demos) but also features the inspired “The Hammer Has Fallen” which shows a softer, symphonic sound and despite being buried on a demo collection, is one of my all-time favourite Sabaton songs.

CD Odyssey Disc 1874: Great Lake Swimmers

Happy All Saint’s Day! I hope everyone navigated the horrors of Hallowe’en emerging soul intact, and house unhaunted (or at least no more haunted than when the day began).

This next band just played live in my hometown, but unfortunately I already had tickets to the Beaches on the same night. It seems the universe wanted me to listen to them one way or another and contrived to have me roll this next record.

Or, more likely, it was just a random coincidence. Either way, here we are.

Disc 1874 is… Bodies and Minds

Artist: Great Lake Swimmers

Year of Release: 2005

What’s up with the Cover? What could have been a lovely nature photo is marred by someone getting creative. I find this strip-slicing and adjusting about as enjoyable as when Netflix doesn’t load properly, or when my TV pixilates.

How I Came To Know It: Periodically, I dig through my local record store’s bargain bin, where all you see can be had for the low price of $3 per CD. It’s usually a barren wasteland of castaways, but every now and then something intrigues. I already owned (and liked) two later albums by the Great Lake Swimmers, so when I saw this record poking out from the ruins and decided to give it a chance.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Great Lake Swimmers albums. “Bodies and Minds” comes in at #1, bumping 2012’s “New Wild Everywhere” (reviewed back at Disc 966) down to second.

Ratings: 4 stars

Welcome to the intimate and pastoral poetry of the Great Lake Swimmers. If you are feeling the need to chill out and Think Deep Thoughts, you’ve come to the right place.

“Bodies and Minds” is the second album released by this fine collection of indie folk musicians from Ontario, and while early in their career their style and approach to music is already fully realized. Moreover, some of the fuzzier production decisions on later records are not present here, making for a crisper and – to my ear – more accessible and compelling sound.

It all starts with lead singer and songwriter Tony Dekker’s haunting vocals. His voice is incredibly high and breathy, with a tone that is confessional and authentic.

It’s a voice built for artsy and poetic language and Dekker offers plenty of it. The natural world as symphony in “When It Flows”:

“The subtle piano raindrops
The creaking of he buildings and their cellos
The wind was our violin
The sky was a symphony mural of the stars”

Or the seductive directness of “Various Stages”:

“I have seen you in various stages of undress
I have seen you through various states of madness”

The poetry is everywhere and while it sometimes feels a bit university lit, I happen to like university lit, making this a feature not a bug.

Holding and building space around Dekker’s words and vocals is a band that knows how to sit gently in a pocket and create a mood. Nothing is played loud or aggressive, and everyone finds their comfort spot. Well orchestrated and impeccably timed, but less ‘dark suits and straight-backed chairs’ and more ‘t-shirts on the living room couch’.

While Great Lake Swimmings plays as a team, special shout out to Erik Arneson on banjo on this record. On “Let’s Trade Skins” his light but artful touch on the banjo elevates the record and is the perfect counterpoint to Dekker’s high tenor.

“Bodies and Minds” felt different depending on whether I was listening during the day, or at night. By day, it was a quiet walk on the lakeshore, by night the ghostly keen of innermost secrets of the heart. It makes sense, as Dekker consistently draws in the natural world around him and uses it to help interpret whatever musings he may be having. These musings are deep and serious. Not “what shall I have for lunch?” and more “what’s the secret of the universe and how do I fit into it?”

My first coupe of listens to this album were in my rather ‘growly’ car. This is NOT the best way to enjoy any Great Lake Swimmers record. This is music that requires quiet and time for contemplation to steal its way into your heart. Knowing I was missing something, I put some time aside this morning to just grok it on the headphones.

It was a good decision, as that’s how this music is intended. Take your time and let it mist around you.

Best tracks: Let’s Trade Skins, Various Stages, Bodies and Minds, To Leave It Behind, Imaginary Bars, I Saw You In the Wild

CD Odyssey Disc 1873: Courtney Barnett

At the end of a long day, there is always music. Here’s some that helped chill me out on a Tuesday evening.

Disc 1873 is… Things Take Time, Take Time

Artist: Courtney Barnett

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover? Nine shades of blue paint. I’m not sure what the significance of this is, but I think the cover would’ve been better if someone had used those nine shades of blue paint to, you know, paint something.

I’m not picky about what to paint. The sky, the ocean, Smurfs, Dr. Manhattan. Something. There are plenty of options.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a Courtney Barnett fan from her early days, so this was just me buying her latest and hoping for the best.

How It Stacks Up: I have four Courtney Barnett albums, if you count the one that is technically two EPs taped together, which – in a move wholly counter to my decision with the band the Beaches – I do. “Things Take Time, Take Time” comes in at #2 out of those four.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Things Take Time, Take Time” is Courtney Barnett’s version of looking on the bright side. Relatively speaking. Don’t look for upbeat sunshine and good vibes all over the place, though. Barnett’s signature minor chord laden and down-dropping melodic style remains fully intact, and there’s plenty of drama to be had on the relationship front. It’s just a titch…happier.

Longtime readers will know that when I reviewed her previous record, “Tell Me How You Really Feel” (Disc 1217) her dirge-ridden style was good, but ultimately weighed me down. On “Things Take Time…” she delivers the same powerful and thoughtful musical mood rock, but with just enough brightness around the edges to keep up the momentum.

The result is a record that was a pleasant surprise. There isn’t anything special going on in the guitar work, but I love Barnett’s tone, which plays like the lean of a lazy motorcyclist, taking each corner nice and wide, but in full control throughout.

I found this record restful. Songs like “Here’s the Thing” are like a nice sit on a couch after a hard day, right before you put on the telly, when you’re still just enjoying the space, all homey and quiet and ready to receive and relieve your tension. Mirroring the guitar vibe on the song, Barnett’s usual flat low vocal delivery gives way to a light head voice that surprises and soothes.

My favourite track on the record is “Before You Gotta Go” a song that says both “I love you” and “I’m sorry” in such an artfully intertwined way you wanna just die from all the romance. Two warring concepts like that could make for a song that feels tense and uncertain, but Barnett applies a wise and easygoing vibe to the moment.

The song is aided by a very light production, with just a bit of reverb on the guitar and a bit of echo on the vocal. It creates a diffusion that takes the edge off of lyrics like:

“We got angry, said some careless things
Who was wrong, remains unclear
Pride like poison, always keepin' score
You don't have to slam the door”

And replaces it with a “hey, we’re angry, but let’s not be so angry we regret ourselves” feel. There is some angry storming out featured here, but there’s also a persistence to the relationship – a weak but strong quality that feels like emotional gravity. And while the song builds its energy and insistence as it progresses it never feels aggressive. A bit resigned, and with no guarantee that there is going to be a rapprochement, but still breathing enough oxygen into the situation that it could be possible.

Songs like “Take It Day By Day” have the emotionally distant but catchy phrasing that made her famous from earlier records, and the “old friend” experience of that in these tracks is welcome, maybe the more so when it is mixed with the chill “que sera sera” quality of the tunes that surround it.

Most of all I found myself regretting not putting this record on more often, because it was thoroughly delightful and filled with a thoughtful chill vibe. Barnett’s not saying everything’s going to be OK on this record, but she is saying that bad moments are easier managed when you eschew being battered by them in favour of letting them wash over you.

Best tracks: Rae Street, Here’s the Thing, Before You Gotta Go, Take It Day By Day, If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight

CD Odyssey Disc 1872: The Beaches

Welcome to a bonus content review, wherein Your Humble Author both provides a review a studio album (as per our longstanding social contract) and also some thoughts on a live show in support of same. If you just want the review, it follows immediately. If you just want the concert review scroll down past the review.

But don’t do that. Get the full benefit of your primary school education and show those studies about the internet destroying your ability to focus who’s boss. Read the words.

Disc 1872 is… No Hard Feelings

Artist: The Beaches

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? The actual cover for this album is a close up of a woman wearing a white bra, nipple shining through the fabric like a dark star. Not that half-nip that Prince teased us with back at Disc 1833. Full – albeit diffused – nip. I have no strong knowledge of content expectations on either of the platforms this review will appear on, but I’m going to err on the side of caution, so if you want the actual cover you can see it on this Wikipedia page.

Instead I offer you this (not very) exclusive viewing of…the back cover! Yes, proof positive I actually own the album.

This should totally have been the cover, and it shows the four members of the Beaches evoking a “coolest girls at the party” vibe. Which is exactly what they are.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of the Beaches since 2018, when my friend Nick said, “hey, there’s this pretty cool band called the Beaches playing a show in town – want to go?”

I did go I’ve been going to their shows and buying their records ever since. Thanks, Nick!

How It Stacks Up: I have either four studio albums and three EPs, or three studio albums and four EPs (it’s complicated). Due to precedent established on earlier reviews, I go with the 3-4 over the 4-3 for…reasons. Of three studio albums “No Hard Feelings” comes in second out of three.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

The Beaches know how to make great music, and they’ve been doing it for a long time. I was excited to dive into “No Hard Feelings” but on my first listen I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. They have definitely continued to move away from their earlier sound into what I feared would be a more “generic” approach. However, multiple listens won me over – aided by a well-timed live show (more on that later).

“No Hard Feelings” deploys the Beaches’ most complex arrangements yet, which is not always a feature, as I favour stripped down production over a lot of layers. I found myself initially wanting a little less going on. However, after multiple listens the top-notch songwriting (lyrically and melodically) won me over. It also helped to get a couple rounds in on headphones. Free of the background growl of my car engine, I was better able to catch the nuance and creativity I think the band was going for.

Thematically, the Beaches love to dig into relationships, and a lot of their best stuff explores the ones that didn’t work out. All those break ups must be trying for the band members, but they sure know how to convert all that drama into great songs.

They’re also not afraid to explore the not-great choices that can happen during a breakup. Nasty “I hate all the things about you” lyrics on “Can I Call You in the Morning?” are paired nicely with Jordan Miller literally singing to herself immediately prior “Don’t do it, Jordan don’t do it.” Of course she does, which is both raw in the moment and brave after it, and results in a great song.

While the record has LOTS of break up/party songs (and ‘party after a break up’ songs that do both), the Beaches are more than just party girls. “Lesbian of the Year” is a thoughtful and vulnerable exploration coming out later in life that grounds and “quietens” the record at just the moment that’s needed.

Whatever the song, the vocals of Jordan Miller continue to star. Throaty, playful and totally unique, she has a talent for phrasing and emoting that ensures that every emotionally complex song on the record, despite all the production bells and whistles, will still make you feel the feels.

In the end, “No Hard Feelings” is a master class of how to make a fun album full of party-oriented music without ever shying away from the darker side of why we sometimes party a little too late, drink a little too much, or shout a little too loud. It isn’t easy to have a great time while still 100% owning your shit, but the Beaches have the formula down, and once again we – their audience – are the beneficiaries.

Best tracks: Can I Call You in the Morning?, I Wore You Better, Dirty Laundry, Lesbian of the Year, Jocelyn

The Concert: October 25, 2025, Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena, Victoria BC

This was my fifth time seeing the Beaches live, so I already knew what to expect in terms of their high energy, brilliant showmanship and talented musicianship.

We arrived early for the merch table, and a good thing we did, as the lineup was enormous. I love a good concert tee so while I held our place in line, Sheila went forward armed with phone to take a photo of the options. This is a good strategy if you want to avoid being a slack-jawed gawker when you finally get to the front (n.b. – you want this).

In this case, it allowed Sheila and I to assess that none of the options struck our fancy. I now have a LOT of concert tees, and I am becoming more picky. Tees that just feature a photo of the band are generally out, and that’s most of what was on offer.

Fortunately, I already have two Beaches concert tees, including a very old “original logo” one that I was wearing, secretly hoping someone would say “wow – cool old tee shirt” or failing that, that I’d overhear someone whispering, “wow – that guy has a cool old concert tee.” These hopes overlooked the fact that as a middle aged man at a concert full of the Youngs, I was mostly invisible. Whatever – I was the only one wearing it so…go me.

Anyway, we bailed on the merch and instead stood around in the common area people watching for a while, before taking our seats.

Valley

The opening band was another Toronto band called “Valley” which does music in the same general genre of the Beaches. Sheila (who, unlike me, listens to the radio) said that she knew some of the songs from there. According to the Internet, Valley was even nominated for a Juno (Canadian Grammy) in 2025. So, neat.

Anyway, Valley played inoffensive and occasionally catchy pop tunes that are exactly what I expect from the radio when it is having a good day, but also why I don’t listen to it. It felt like what you’d hear younger kids playing around their campfire next to you at the beach. Not offensive, and it could have been worse, but just OK.

The set notably improved for the one song where main vocalist Rob Laska turned the mic over to bandmate Karah James (sorry, Rob), but that was only for one song.

Valley had good energy overall, and I bopped along, but about halfway through I knew I would not be exploring their music further later, which is the main goal of any opening act.

The Beaches

The Beaches took the stage as they always do, with energy already dialed all the way up to ten. This was their first ever indoor stadium show as a headliner (they’d come to town opening for The Glorious Sons in 2018, but I’d already seen them live earlier that year as a headliner, and so I skipped that show. Also, I find the Glorious Sons very ‘not glorious’).

Any concerns that the stage would be too for them was instantly dispelled. This quartet of talent has been doing the live show thing for over a decade and all that experience and dedication has paid off. Everything they do that is awesome – the banter, the moves, the tight yet organic performance - translated 100% to the bigger stage. I generally do not like stadium live shows, but the Beaches did things up right.

The set was predominantly songs from their last two albums, and as I noted in the album review above, hearing the new album performed live I realized that it was written with this partly in mind. It elevated those songs and made me appreciate the new record in a way I hadn’t before. That’s the mission of the headliner and…mission accomplished.

It even rehabilitated their overexposed hit, “Blame Brett” which I thought I had heard enough time for a while at this point. Instead, with the lights and the crowd participation and the delivery, the joy of this catchy bit of pop magic was reborn. A true stadium banger.

Everyone in the band is a natural on stage, but none more so than frontwoman Jordan Miller who had the audience in the palm of her hands throughout and clearly loved and fed off the experience.

The Beaches are pretty strict about sticking to their new material, and this show heavily featured songs from their last two records, but they did a special section “just for our Canadian fans” of old songs. I’ve never seen them do this before and hearing early tunes, including some of my favourites from 2017’s “The Late Show” (concert and album reviewed at Disc 1131) was a special treat. They updated the delivery, so I wasn’t hearing a staid performance of old tunes, but rather a reimagined delivery of tunes with bones so strong they sound good through any treatment.

It was also fun when Leandra Earl dedicated “Sorry for Your Loss” the LA Dodgers, while wearing a Blue Jays jersey. Lest you wonder where the loyalty of these Toronto gals lay in the ongoing World Series.

The show opened and closed with their latest banger, “Last Girls at the Party” and that’s exactly what the Beaches are. They are also the life of the party, and if you get a chance to see them live, you should do it. If you skip the opportunity, well then – as band member Leandra would say – I’m so sorry for your loss.