CD Odyssey Disc 1949: M(h)aol

A rare Friday review resulting from my being at home today waiting for some building infrastructure to be installed. Rather than feeling trapped, I’m going to take the opportunity to get some tasks done around the house that I’ve been putting off.

Before that, though, let’s procrastinate with a music review! The sixth of the last eight of an album released in 2025, so that trend continues…

Disc 1949 is…Something Soft

Artist: M(h)aol

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Kitty on a balcony! I give this cover an enthusiastic 5 out of 5, as any day where you spot a kitty on a balcony is a good day.

Also, cats are my #1 favourite thing in the “something soft” category.

How I Came To Know It: The boring way. I read a review of this album somewhere (I think Paste Magazine) and decided to check them out.

How It Stacks Up: I have two M(h)aol albums. “Something Soft” comes in at #2, making it good for the silver medal or last, depending on what kind of day you are having. I hope it is the first kind.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Loud noises!” yells weatherman Brick Tamland in a scene from Anchorman, not sure what is happening but overcome by all the cacophony. The sexist Channel 4 Newsroom would have a similarly tough time with the feminist stylings of Irish post-punk band M(h)aol, who deploy a broad swathe of jarring bangs and thumps while delivering their message.

It’s creative, thoughtful music that is sneaky smart in the way it pulls together noise and fury in a way that seems random when the wave first hits you, but that you quickly realize is done with clear intent. The better question for me wasn’t “is it good?” - it is - but rather, “did I enjoy it?”

Eventually, yes.

To tuck in a bit on this mixed reaction, it’s important to acknowledge my bias for some chord progressions and resolution in my music. I like my death metal melodic, not technical. And when it comes to post-punk, the bias spills in there as well.

So my first reaction was, admittedly, to the loud noises, and M(h)aol find and deploy a lot of them. The record is very heavy on syncopation, with drum and bass forward in the mix, crashing about like an unbolted piston in an engine room bouncing off the walls – unpredictable and dangerous. Even the guitars are mostly short repeating chords designed to add more thump.

Constance Keane takes over singing duties from departed band member Roisin Nic Ghearailt, delivering most songs in a low spoken-word rhythmic monotone. It is similar to Wet Leg but with less playfulness and more dread. In that style phrasing and timing are critical elements, and Keane (who is also the band’s drummer) hits her spots nicely.

Most of the songs fail to develop beyond their initial theme. They often get louder and more crowded with sounds but it is mostly about establishing a single musical theme, encircling that theme like a python, and squeezing it with ever-increasing intensity.

There was the ever-present threat of boredom from my melodically-biased aesthetic, but the band never lets the song go on long enough for me to get fidgety. Most are over in under three minutes.

The lyrics tag up with the musical approach, often being a phrase or two repeated over and over. Themes tend to be dark: abandonment, fear of partner violence, the death of a pet (n.b. it is a dog, despite the record’s cover, which I found both misleading and disappointing).

There is a lot of ‘tells’ here that point me to not liking this record. No melodic resolution? No narrative in the lyrics? Coming off a record full of folk and Celtic folk I was primed and ready to be unhappy.

Thing is, M(h)aol is just too good at what they do. The more I listened, the more I caught the magic of what they were doing.

Musically, the noise has focus and intent, and it drives deep in the marrow the more you listen. There are layers to it (better heard on headphones FYI) that pull you into an almost trance-like state. And because the songs are short, I could just appreciate the moment rather than getting caught up in what came next.

Despite limited lyrical content, the phrases M(h)aol choose land with maximum impact. For the dead dog, a simple and insistent repeat of “you should be here”. A gut punch for any loss of a loved one, which often rolls over and over in your mind as you grieve, just like the song.

On IBS, Keane sings/speaks, “Roll over/3 A.M. You’re Still Here/And I Ask Myself “Will You Hurt Me?” We don’t know the kind of hurt involved – physical, emotional, or just someone getting up and leaving before the dawn. We do know the universal anxiety and vulnerability of opening up to someone and wondering what’s next. And just like anxiety wonders such things over and over in a loop, so does the song.

When you do something well, you can overcome a lot. “Something Soft” was not in my musical wheelhouse. It wasn’t even on the ships I tend to sail. Rather, it was more of a ship passing by, purposefully pounding its way through the chop; a bit ungainly for my tastes, but you have to admire the sturdiness of the hull and the skill of the captain.

Best tracks: Pursuit, You Are Temporary But the Internet is Forever, IBS, 1-800-Call-Me-Back

CD Odyssey Disc 1948: Carpenter, Fowlis, and Polwart

Welcome back to the Odyssey, where today we celebrate my favourite kind of supergroup – the obscure supergroup! Can you be obscure and still be a supergroup? Well, here on the CD Odyssey we say emphatically – yes!

In other news this is the fifth album of the last seven to be released in 2025, so if the thread you’re looking for is a common one – there you have it.

Disc 1948 is…Looking for the Thread

Artist: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? At first I thought this cover was a bunch of stars, but Sheila tells me these are birds, and I am inclined to agree.

How I Came To Know It: I am Mary Chapin Carpenter fan and I always give any new album from her a chance. This doesn’t always land like it used to, and I have only bought four of her last 11 records.

Enter, “Looking for the Thread” into this uncertain atmosphere, with a couple of additional musicians sharing the bill just to complicate matters further. How will it all pan out? Read on!

How It Stacks Up: I have nine Mary Chapin Carpenter albums, but this is a Carpenter/Fowlis/Polwart album. I’ve only got one of those, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars

I don’t know what inspired Mary Chapin Carpenter to share two thirds of her record with a couple of Scottish folk singers, but it breathes new life into her work almost forty years removed from her first record and brought two other talented singer-songwriters to my attention in the process.

Listening to Carpenter add Scots Gaelic inspiration to her work felt like a full circle moment for me. My first love of folk music came in the late eighties through the experience of Irish and Scottish folk artists. I ate up everything Clannad and Capercaillie could put out back then, as I weaned myself (temporarily as it turned out) from my heavy metal youth.

Carpenter was an early influence on me to expand my horizons westward, showing me that Americana folk music was equally compelling and worth my time and attention. All these years later, Carpenter returns me to my first love and infuses a new sound and approach into her own music in the process. Suffice it to say I was primed to like this record.

Things begin with Julie Fowlis putting new music to the traditional folk song, “Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe”. Stylistically, this song was an immediate trip down memory lane, with Fowlis’s voice pealing out into the night air (n.b. I listened during the day but the song has a “hear it at night” kind of vibe).

The low hum in the production, and the slow adding of instruments in the arrangement gives the song a building majesty that was everything I loved about Scottish music back in the day. It was like a lost lover returned from across the sea to serenade me. The whole tune is in Gaelic but you don’t need to understand the lyrics word for word for Fowlis to make you feel the feels. This song has romance in its bones.

The tune features a very resonant sounding fiddle, which I was to learn (via liner notes and a Youtube video) is Caomhin O’Raghallaigh playing an instrument called the ‘hardanger d’amore’. This is basically a big fiddle with some extra stings under the bridge that pick up the vibrations above and add extra oomph. I’d never heard of this thing before, but I was instantly enthralled with its haunting resonance.

After Fowlis lands a big moment in the record's opening notes, Mary Chapin Carpenter then joins the fray. “A Heart That Never Closes” features a list of domestic imagery all held together by the most powerful glue society ever concocted: the open heart. Fowlis (I think) comes in late with some well-placed whistle (the instrument, not the pursed lips) to add gravitas and colour in the edges.

Rounding out the record’s exceptional opening is Karine Polwart’s “Rebecca”, a song that takes on a bit of darkness, as the titular character is invited by her lover thusly:

“Trace your fingers along the scars
Where the cold steel tried to cut me down
They will never truly heal.”

The song never explains where these wounds came from, or what was sacrificed or won in the gaining of them. Maybe an old fighter home from the wars, maybe the result of a duel preserving Rebecca’s honour. It’s never said, but you can tell from the way Polwart’s light but deliberate Scottish lilt delivers them, it is one hell of a story.

The vocals of Fowlis, Polwart and Carpenter are all equally rich, each in its own way. Fowlis pure and high, Carpenter’s throaty low notes and Polwart with the sharpest edge – both vocally and in subject matter.

While the rest of the record never hits the same 1-2-3 punch of the opener, there is still plenty to recommend. A late favourite is Carpenter’s “Satellite” which is about some sort of space exploration device launched in ‘78. My poorly informed research suggests it could be the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, the International Cometary Explorer, or some made up mission in the future where ’78 is short for 2078. My bet is on the International Cometary Explorer, but that’s not what’s important.

What is important is that deep space scientific probes aren’t the sort of thing that populate your average folk song. Not only does Carpenter sell you on the adventure, by the end she has you rooting hard for the damn thing like it’s a person.

Each of these artists has had a long career, and each clearly inspires the other two to make great music. The result is a fine bit of collaboration that not only has me happily returning to Mary Chapin Carpenter but also discovering two artists that it is my great shame to not have known sooner. I’m excited to explore further now that I’ve found the thread.

Best tracks: Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe, A Heart That Never Closes, Rebecca, Hold Everything, Satellite, Buidheann Mo Chridhe Clann Ualraig

CD Odyssey Disc 1947: The Head and the Heart

I usually review an album on Saturday but I’m getting an early start on this one so that I can remove it from my car, my MP3 player, and my life.

Disc 1947 is…Aperture

Artist: The Head and the Heart

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Indistinct silhouettes in the fading light. This cover has very little to recommend it, which is not unlike my experience with this record.

How I Came To Know It: I first heard Head and the Heart in 2010 when they released their eponymous debut. I liked that record quite a bit, and over the years it’s afterglow has caused me to give their new releases a chance. Sometimes I like them, more often I don’t. I gave “Aperture” half a listen to and figured was good enough to buy.

How It Stacks Up: The Head and the Heart have six studio albums and I own three of them. Of those three, “Aperture” comes in at #3.

Ratings: 2 stars

“Aperture” is a perfectly pleasant 45 minutes of your life, as long as you don’t expect too much and don’t listen too hard. Since that’s not at all how I approach music, my experience was somewhere south of pleasant.

It’s my own fault. I explore a lot of new music in a year, and while an album gets my full and undivided attention when I review it, my first listen can sometimes find me distracted, with the music a bit in the background, as I wait for it to grab my attention. “Aperture” never grabbed my attention, but it felt consistently OK, and I figured it would grow on me.

Instead, this record revealed itself to be a surface beauty only. That girl at the bar that at a glance you want to talk to until you, you know, actually talk to her.

The record is easy early, with vocals that have a lovely tone that is smooth and rich, with production to match. However, it is all a bit too produced – too much smooth and not enough rich. The effect feels a bit “singing competition” for me, losing much of the edge of their 2010 release. They are without one of the cofounders these days (Josiah Johnson). This could be part of the challenge, but having only dabbled off and on with the Head and the Heart over the years, I don’t feel sufficiently informed to say.

Beyond this, there were two things that set me off in the wrong direction: the structure of the songs and the lyrics. Those are two pretty big things, and no amount of smooth production or silky vocals was going to fix it.

First, the song structures, which have lost the band’s indie creativity and just feel like any generic song you’re likely to hear on pop radio. It took me to a bad headspace of being out later in the evening at a music festival, where some “next new thing” band has drunken concert goers chanting along to deliberately constructed “singalong” chorus moments. And not the good “Frank Turner” singalong that draws you out with poetic inspiration, but more the manipulative kind based on a catchy rhythm and little else.

I like festivals, but that moment where the experience switches from being about the music and becomes about being there and taking photos of yourself to prove it (usually around 7-8 p.m.) is my least favourite window. It just feels like the soul of the show empties out, and realizing my feet hurt and, unable to face another Sunday evening port-a-potty, I turn and go. Behind me I imagine some stock anthem pop to keep the masses entertained and drinking, but before the headliner takes the stage. That’s this record.

The lyrics were my other challenge, with song after song being a cobbling together of cliché imagery and generalities. Probably lots of music I like has this problem, but all I can say is here is where I noticed it. “Nothing left to lose”, “someone’s gonna break your heart again/that’s just proof that you’re alive”, “I’m gonna tell you straight from the heart” and on it goes.

Not the only place you’ll encounter these shortcuts but combined with very “by the book” music you get the impression of a band taking exactly zero artistic chances. By the time the final song (“Aperture”) sang out these fateful lines:

“You get tired of hearing “it is what it is”
You’ll never rise above it”

I was thinking my own cliché in response – ‘I couldn’t agree more’.

There are bright spots here and there. The songs may be unimaginative but they’re not jarring or outright terrible. “Cop Car” is a little gem of a tune about getting arrested that captures some of the band’s early magic.

But there aren’t enough of these moments and mostly I was bored, and ready to leave early. And so here’s a Friday evening review where I’m doing just that.

Best tracks: Beg Steal or Borrow, Cop Car

CD Odyssey Disc 1946: Killer Mike

Last week I bought my first El-P album. More about that when I roll it (randomly) but for now let’s talk about a magical time when El-P partnered up with a man who would become his long-time collaborator.

Disc 1946 is…R.A.P. Music

Artist: Killer Mike

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? Killer Mike, chillin’ in Adidas.

My amazing and talented fashion blogging partner Sheila also loves Adidas (as recently as today!) and I think she wears it better. Sure Killer Mike’s the better rapper of the two, but where is he when I need to know if my tie goes with my shirt? Off rappin’ somewhere…

How I Came To Know It: I came backwards to Killer Mike: after finding out he was one half of Run the Jewels I dug into his back catalogue as a solo artist. And here we are.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Killer Mike albums, and “R.A.P. Music” is the B.E.S.T. #1.

Ratings: 5 stars

Before “R.A.P. Music” you will encounter many a fine Killer Mike record but those early records are missing a secret weapon: El-P. A year later these two brilliant artists would fuse together to create Run the Jewels, and on “R.A.P. Music” you get an early offering of just how great a partnership it is going to be.

The infusion of El-P’s brilliant production, and his mastery of beat and rhythm elevates “R.A.P. Music” to another level and results in what is Killer Mike’s finest record.

When I say “finest” it doesn’t mean friendliest, though, and “R.A.P. Music” is a furious, sometimes downright challenging record, as Killer Mike takes no prisoners. If you are easily offended or if the occasional curse word makes you blush and cover your mouth and sputter a high-pitched “oh, my!” then this record is not for you. You have been warned.

OK, still with me? Because if you aren’t easily offended you will find yourself treated to one of the finest rap records made in this or any era. You don’t have to agree with what Killer Mike says, but getting inside the dark constellation of ideas and concepts that he explores on “R.A.P. Music” it is clear he’s not afraid of the sharp edges of the pulpit.

“Big Beast” is the introductory track to “R.A.P. Music”, an expletive-laced shot of energy where Mike makes clear what you can expect for the next 45 minutes and change. In it he describes his style:

“I don’t make dance music this is R.A.P.
Opposite all that sucker shit they play on TV”

Worth noting that that’s one of the few lines in the song you can quote in company.

As for his flow, Killer Mike has one of the best in the business, a ball of fury careening down a mountain, controlled just enough to make sure it hits every sensibility it encounters on the way. Often when you get someone flowing as fast as Mike does it comes off light and traipsing. Somehow Mike goes just as fast, but where every line drops as hard as a lead weight.

Helping considerably is the skill of El-P, who has an exceptional ability to reinvent very old beat structures into something new and futuristic.

“R.A.P. Music” has plenty of anger and thump throughout, but it also shows melodic variance that keeps you engaged, finding time for a song like “JoJo’s Chillin’” which feels more like a cross between Jackie Brown and Ocean’s Eleven.

As the record progresses Killer Mike also explores more of his youth and experiences. These individual vignettes of his life are just as compelling in their intimacy as his grand political statements. The range of emotion and experience is part of what makes the record better and better on repeat listens.

That range is not limited to the lyrics. On “Ghetto Gospel” the duo throw in echoes of church singing for good measure, showing that you can slip a little techno into your worship, mix in some relationship drama, thump out some of Killer Mike’s rap talent and have it all come out the other end bigger and better than any of its component parts.

There was a time when I would have said that El-P and Killer Mike first achieved perfection on the second Run the Jewels album, but that was before I knew about their pre-history. “R.A.P. Music” is all the things that make RTJ one of my favourite artists, only in the before times. Sure it would benefit from a bit more El-P on the mic, but all the ingredients of their awesomeness are here, and what’s more, it’s all for the first time.

For letting me experience the magic of El-P/Killer Mike all over again, but making me feel like it was the first time, I’m giving this record the full five stars.

Best tracks: all tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 1945: Ketch Secor

This is the third review in the last four that came out in 2025. While I select albums randomly every time, it does show I bought plenty of music in 2025. And every other year.

Disc 1945 is…Story the Crow Told Me

Artist: Ketch Secor

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Ketch Secor channels the Fonz.

How I Came To Know It: I’ve been a fan of Old Crow Medicine Show for a long time, and Secor is the singer and key songwriter for that band, so when he released a solo record, I figured it was worth a listen.

How It Stacks Up: This is my only solo record by Secor, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars

Ketch Secor’s “Story the Crow Told Me” is part love letter to all the music that influenced him, and part thank you to everyone who helped him along the way. It’s a grateful and gracious record that tickles your ears and warms your heart.

Secor has plenty of material to draw on for such a retrospective, having navigated the highways of the world for 25 years as part of Old Crow Medicine Show. In lesser hands such a journey could feel self-indulgent, but this record is authentic and heartfelt throughout.

From the personal, Secor digs deep into his early experiences, busking his way across Canada and America, playing various holes in the wall (there is even a song called “Holes in the Wall” that honours them by name).

The songs have all the jump and energy that you’d expect on a full-blown OCMS album, supported by his OCMS band mates in several places, as well as additional star power of Molly Tuttle on harmony and even an appearance by the legendary Marty Stuart. The energy of the record is infectious, with hand-claps and sing-a-long choruses that make you feel like you’re part of the band, or at least in the front row of the show.

There isn’t anything particularly innovative on this record – it is the mélange of sounds typical of OCMS, mixing bluegrass, Americana, and country, but what it lacks in creativity it makes up for with veteran songwriting that delivers banger after banger.

Secor has assembled a band that is as tight and talented as they come, mostly settling down in the front of the pocket bluegrass style. It creates a jump and energy that makes it impossible to sit still. Matching the subject matter of the songs, the music is celebratory and lively.

Secor’s vocals are sneaky good. These songs don’t require a huge vocal range but they do call for elite timing and phrasing, and Secor delivers throughout. The effect is one of an expert storyteller, knowing how to lean in or out, complete with micropauses to emphasize punchlines and emotional notes when the moment demands. He’s so smooth at this that you’re liable to not notice, but it is worth the extra focus to appreciate his uncanny sense of timing.

In addition to revisiting his own personal journey through music, the record is also replete with music history. If you’re a fan of the history of Americana, folk and country music, there are Easter Eggs aplenty here. On “On the Wall” Secor celebrates getting your picture up on the wall alongside Hank Williams and Little Jimmy Dickens. The song is a mix of pride and humility as Secor reflects on the mark he too has made on music.

The album’s last song, “What Nashville Was” is the only negative moment on the record, as Secor laments the decline of Nashville’s music scene from a centre of creative excellence to the empty calories of new country that emerged in the nineties. Secor artfully blends in sections of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country”, plus samples of Johnny Cash, all mixed in with his own quick-witted perfectly timed message.

While the song takes more than a few shots at Nashville’s creative decline, ultimately this too is a love letter to not only what Nashville was, but that the idea of Nashville endures, or as Secor puts it, “still running in our blood”. Having been to Nashville, I can understand the dichotomy. Sure the Honky Tonk Highway can be a drunken mess of broken dreams, but just off the strip there are still plenty of artists working away making great music, and the heart of the town still beats today as strong as ever.

“Story the Crow Told Me” is a thoughtful journey through all the great music that paved the way in Secor’s journey, paired with all the people that contributed to his success along the way. It’s also a toe-tapping good time that just gets better and better on each listen.

Best tracks: Busker’s Spell, Talkin’ Doc Blues, Old Man River, Catch Me If You Can, Thanks Again, What Nashville Was

CD Odyssey Disc 1944: Courtney Marie Andrews

It’s another fine day as we look to an artist that I saw live just three months ago. This time we go back over ten years to early in her career.

Disc 1944 is…On My Page

Artist: Courtney Marie Andrews

Year of Release: 2013

What’s up with the Cover? A wistful looking lass (Andrews) decides if it is time to untie those heavy curtains. Probably depends on whether the light is hitting the TV funny.

At least that’s what determines curtain use at our place.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of Andrews for about ten years now. “On My Page” is a re-release of an album even earlier than that, which I snapped up when I saw it in the record store.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven Courtney Marie Andrews records. “On My Page” is solidly in the middle. I’ll rank it #4

Ratings: 3 stars

Soft, understated, and emotionally powerful, “On My Page” is a record of a young Courtney Marie Andrews finding her voice. This is the flower of Andrews’ talent in the dawning light: a little fragile but full of beauty and promise.

With later records like “Loose Future” (2022) and “Valentine” (2026) (Disc 1915) you’ll hear me throw some occasional shade on all the production elements going on. Given how good those records are, you’d be justified to ask just what my problem is.

The answer is no problem at all, except that early records like “On My Page” have spoiled me with the pure Andrews experience - the undiluted stuff.

I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of singers that could break your heart with just their quaver, and Courtney Marie Andrews is one of them. Her vocals rise up through the arrangement with effortless power but yet always present as soft and vulnerable.

The opening track, “Woman of Many Colors” shows how aware Andrews is at using her instrument. The song starts at the highest point in the melody. It is sneaky hard to do what she does here and not come off pitchy, but it allows the song to immediately generate a restlessness. The lyrics double down on the effect with a clever turn on a coat of many colours, Andrews instead makes herself the patchwork of experience – living art.

In this early stage we have very limited arrangements, and while “Woman of Many Colors” has guitar, piano, some sort of shaker and (I think) a bass, it is all very subdued – more of a delivery system for the bird song of her voice as she shows you the artful joy of flitting from place to place and thought to thought.

This song is followed up by “This Time” which has more of a traditional anthem quality. Because of the nature of Andrews’ singing style she doesn’t need to belt it out to make you feel the feels. If anything, that slight hurt in the back of her throat is what makes you know how well she’s earned it as she delivers a refrain of “I ain’t goin’ back…this time.”

The songwriting on the album shows early and intense talent, and Andrews’ propensity for making private moments reflect as universal is already well developed, despite her still being in her early twenties when this record was recorded.

If there was a quibble, it would be that one of the records great assets – its quietness – can sometimes make it a bit harder to access. You get less hooks in the melodies and the instruments are often there more as a delivery vehicle for the poetry. This isn’t a bad thing, but it means to love the record that way it deserves to be loved requires you to bend your full attention to it and let the quiet moments slip into you.

There is also a similarity between the songs that later in the record can lead your mind to wander. A few years later, Andrews will have added just that extra amount of range and songwriting chops that take the concepts she’s trying out here and convert them into the masterpiece that is 2016’s “An Honest Life” (reviewed at Disc 1081). “On My Page” isn’t quite at that level, but all the ingredients are there, vibrant and on the verge of full bloom. It’s a prequel that is well worth the listen.

Best tracks: Woman of Many Colors, This Time, It Keeps Going, 500 Nights

CD Odyssey Disc 1943: Sunflower Bean

Welcome to the weekend, dear readers! I have a few chores to run today and when that is done it’ll be time for some much-needed relaxation and decompressing with my lovely partner.

Before any chores, however, we must honour the hierarchy of needs, CD Odyssey style. It’s similar to Maslow’s but music comes first and so…a review before brunch.

Disc 1943 is…Mortal Primetime

Artist: Sunflower Bean

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Just another night hanging out with Sunflower Bean playing Vampire: Masquerade. And if every few months someone doesn’t come home from a session, who’s to question it?

Lead singer Julia Cumming has gone from blonde to black hair for her deep dive into Gothic mystery. Regardless of hair colour, sign me up for the next gaming session. Leave my phone at home and don’t tell anyone where I am? Whatever you say, Julia!

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan since discovering this band through their second album, “Twentytwo in Blue” and have been following their career ever since. “Mortal Primetime” is just me doing that.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Sunflower Bean records. I was very much prepared to give “Mortal Primetime” top spot but I see I scored “Twentytwo in Blue” at 4/5. Although it’s close, I’m going to honour that decision of yesteryear. That puts “Mortal Primetime” at #2, but still easily displacing the relatively disappointing “Headful of Sugar”.

Here’s the full recap in case you are inspired to a deeper dive:

1. Twentytwo in Blue: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1230)
2. Mortal Primetime: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
3. Headful of Sugar: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1605)

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Mortal Primetime” is a record that straddles the line between mainstream pop and indie rock. These are two well-worn roads, and while Sunflower Bean don’t take any major chances, the record shows a band that has evolved their influences into something that belongs intrinsically to them.

Like all Sunflower Bean records, “Mortal Primetime” rides on the under-appreciated star power of lead singer Julia Cumming. Cumming has charisma to spare, and it translates into her singing voice, which is confident, emotive, and sweet with just the right amount of mist around the edges to give the record the Gothic feel it is going for.

Take note, however: if you are expecting Gothic at the Evanescence or Type O Negative, please lower your expectations and put the black lipstick away. This is more Gothic lite, with the twee observations and pop sensibilities of Rilo Kiley, mixed with the pale and wan undercurrent of an Emily Bronte novel.

Also like a Rilo Kiley album, there are a couple of songs where Julia takes a step back for a secondary singer – in this case guitarist Nick Kivlen. Like a Blake Sennett song on a Rilo Kiley album makes you pine for Jenny Lewis, when Kivlen came on I found myself immediately fidgeting while I waited for Cumming’s return. One of Kivlen’s songs – “Please Rewind” – is particularly saccharine. That phrase should be buried alongside all the VHS tapes from Blockbuster.

Fortunately, Cumming more than compensates, delivering her best vocal performance to date. The record’s opener, “Champagne Taste” has a fist-pumping anthem quality to it, and Cumming is flirty but tough in her vocal delivery. Kivlen’s guitars on this song are also top-notch (more on this later).

The band then shows their stylistic range on “Nothing Romantic”. Here Cumming’s voice is sweet, light and tinged with sadness as she sings the chorus of:

“There’s nothing romantic in being alone
I don’t wanna be the last lonely soul
Sitting at the bar drinking alone
Waiting for God to take me home”

I heard heavy overtones of Jarmusch’s 2013 vampire movie, “Only Lovers Left Alive”. Maybe that’s just me getting influenced by the cover, but that was my connection. Yours may be more mundane or personal such as a heartbreak of the more human kind (the album’s title is “Mortal Primetime”, after all). Whatever your reaction, Cumming’s evocative vocals express a human (or inhuman) longing that will get into your bloodstream.

And despite the shade I earlier threw on some of the Kivlen vocals, he is a talented guitar player with a lot of range. He can drop a rock-ready riff, a pop trill that tucks in as a perfect partner to Cumming’s vocals, and even bluesy tones when that’s needed. On “There’s a Part I Can’t Get Back” Kivlen is at his best, dropping some tones on the axe that are downright Buck Dharma adjacent. Long time readers will know this is high praise.

Overall, “Mortal Primetime” is a record that shows positive growth for the band, and a deeper understanding of what kind of music they want to make. It has less full-on pop bangers than “Twentytwo in Blue” but is arguably the more well-rounded record. A true return to form from a band that looks like they have plenty of creative juice left in the tank.

Best tracks: Champagne Taste, Nothing Romantic, I Knew Love, Take Out Your Insides, There’s a Part I Can’t Get Back

CD Odyssey Disc 1942: Miya Folick

Welcome back, readers. This past weekend I spent my Sunday at the Vancouver Folk Festival which was a delightful musical journey enjoyed in the company of good friends. Plus thousands of people I didn’t know, of course.

The highlight of the show was Anna Tivel, who I heartily recommend to any lovers of folk music out there. Great live, with a lyrical storytelling quality that exists both within her music and the stories she tells in between.

It was also great to see Ken Pomeroy (for the first time) and Tami Nielson (for the second) and just generally enjoy a day of music and companionship.

On to the review…

Disc 1942 is…Erotica Veronica

Artist: Miya Folick

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? A dirt-covered Miya Folick, dressed only in her underwear, strikes an awkward pose.

Is this the morning after a bad night out, or has Folick dug her way out of some shallow grave?

Either way, she seems to be emerging from some kind of harrowing experience and I hope she’s OK. Unless she’s a zombie. Then it isn’t that I don’t wish that she’s OK, but I will just do so at a distance. Safety first!

How I Came To Know It: I became a fan in 2018 when I heard her “Premonitions” record and I’ve been a fan since. This was just me buying her latest release.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Miya Folick records, and of those three one must be last. That one is “Erotica Veronica”.

As this is the final (for now) Miya Folick record currently in my collection, here’s a recap:

1. ROACH: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1687)
2. Premonitions: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1608)
3. Erotica Veronica: 3 stars (reviewed right here)

Ratings: 3 stars

Folick writes thoughtful indie pop music, in a genre that is sort of a slow-jam low key lounge kind of style. It isn’t a style that typically catches my attention but her songwriting is top notch and her melodies are both catchy and unexpected.

Her third record, “Erotica Veronica,” is all those things, although the overall quality of the songs here are a step down from her previous two efforts. Not bad by any stretch, but less powerful overall.

Folick’s vocals remain strong, and she has a whisper to her voice that augments the sweetness of her pop delivery, without overwhelming it. That bit of whisper is what gives all her songs – even the ones I liked less – a magnetic quality as she pushes and pulls you through various emotional states, often within a single song.

The record begins with “Erotica”, which has a twee sort of fairytale quality to it, setting a dreamy tone that echoes through the record. This song is deeply romantic overall, but there’s a distance to it (maybe it’s the echo in the production) that made me feel slightly distant from the vibe Folick is trying to establish.

Arrangement-wise, the record is standard pop fare, with guitar, piano and some string flourishes where called for. There is one unfortunate moment of extended jazz flute on “Felicity” that I could live without, but otherwise I had no serious complaint.

There is also a lean into the drum machine in a couple places (notably, again, on “Felicity”) where I would have preferred a more organic touch. However, that is a part of the soundscape of “Erotica Veronica” and I realized if I spent too much time second guessing the guy on the keyboard/synth I’d be missing out on a lot of thoughtful music.

“Fist” was more my speed, and I’m sure the “good ole regular” guitar strum didn’t hurt in this regard. I also like the way this song can shift from a skip-in-the-step sprung phrasing, combined with long sweeping flourishes that naturally flow into a flourish that feels a bit like ocean waves crashing into the shore. Folick songs like “Fist” go through a lot of movements in the short time available to a pop song.

While the record is solidly indie pop there are undertones of smooth R&B at work. This creates a tension with the folksy narrative quality of the lyrics, like a dance song that never quite lifts you past sway-mode. There’s nothing wrong with sway-mode but living in that crossover area of styles can be both innovative and dangerous. It isn’t that Folick falters while navigating that tricky space, but most songs lacked the edge of previous work. The intense yearning and vulnerability in her voice still won me over, but I admit some of that yearning was an echo from her previous efforts.

And for this reason, despite the favourable three-star rating, and no serious criticism (other than the one bit of jazz flute), I was left wanting just a little more.

Best tracks: Fist, This Time Around, Prism of Light

CD Odyssey Disc 1941: Amon Amarth

I’ve fallen hard for this next band in a short period of time. So hard I was still sorting out how I felt about the eight albums in my collection when I bought this one – their ninth.

As habits go, there are worse ones.

Disc 1941 is… …Versus the World

Artist: Amon Amarth

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? A warrior in full-on “D&D action figure” pose faces down his opponent: the world!

Yes, this intrepid adventurer has decided to fight…planet earth. This cover reminds me of that Monty Python skit of the guy who plans to jump the English Channel, dig to China and eat Westminster Abbey: you don’t like his odds, but you have to admire his moxie.

As for this particular warrior’s quest, I would just caution him that objects in space are larger than they appear.

How I Came To Know It: I learned about Amon Amarth way late – 2019 – through a friend. Since then I’ve learned they don’t make bad records, so when I saw this gap in my collection at the local record store, I snapped it up.

How It Stacks Up: I have nine Amon Amarth albums. I have more every time I write a review of them it feels like (when I reviewed “Twilight of the Thunder God” back in 2022 (Disc 1538) I only had five). Anyway, it is hard to stack against a moving target, but on balance “Versus the World” is…eighth, but that’s no shame with a band this good.

Ratings: 3 stars

Amon Amarth – the band that consistently reminds me that death metal is legitimately awesome when played at a high level and infused with a little melody. Plenty of death metal is too harsh for my tastes, but Amon Amarth is engaging and catchy, while being just as intense and dangerous as anything else in the genre.

“Versus the World” is the earliest record by Amon Amarth I’ve experienced so far, and served to educate me on the evolution of their sound. Later records have crisper production values and a bit more separation of sound. “Versus the World” is muddier and raw around the edges while retaining all the qualities that make for a great Amon Amarth record. It almost has a hardcore vibe, until that precision drumming of Fredrik Andersson kicks you in the side of the temple, practically yelling “metal” at your delicate Eustachian tubes. Daring you to be a wimp and put in ear plugs.

Just kidding. There is nothing wimpy about putting in ear plugs at a metal show, if you want to be able to hear music later in life. Safety first, kids.

But I digress…

Back to the record. With “Versus the World”’s thick crunch I was tempted to call it “wall of sound” but it isn’t – Amon Amarth are so tight in their playing, and so grounded in the tasty pocket of rhythm guitar player Johan Soderberg that it is more like a symphony than a smash.

As with most (all?) Amon Amarth records, the lads like to sing about Vikings and the shit Vikings get up to. Rowin’, raidin’, lootin’, killin’ and eventually crossin’ over into Valhalla for more of the same (Viking heaven was pretty much all the same stuff from Viking life, minus the ability to die).

They’ve also got a song (“Thousand Years of Oppression”) about Christianity which is not…er…complimentary. In the lyrics the band rejects the “kind God” for Odin, and pine for the return of the “wrath of the Norseman”. While those ships have – quite literally – sailed, the song is one of the record’s best, featuring some precision drumming from Andersson and a powerful inexorable build to climax.

When I first heard “For the Stabwounds in Our Backs” I was convinced it was about the Viking response to the St. Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002 (history buffs: look it up) but according to the liner notes it’s just a bunch of Viking warriors returning from the dead and doing what Vikings like to do most. Still, there’s no clarity on who the backstabbers are and for this reason I like my (incorrect) narrative better.

As ever, the powerful and highly emotive death growl of lead singer Johan Hegg underpins every song on the record. Hegg is, quite simply, the best death growl I have ever heard. He is able to enunciate his words, infuse just the right amount of melodic phrasing, all while losing none of the visceral aggression the genre demands.

“Versus the World” lacks the thump of the classics that would follow it, (“Fate of Norns” in 2004 and “With Oden on Our Side” in 2006) and the songs don’t have the same dynamic differences of later classics like “Jomsviking” (2016) (Disc 1542) but it makes up for this with a purity of vision.

It is also a great tether-point to start to better understand the band’s sound, vision, and evolution through the years. Has Amon Amarth changed in subtle ways through their 25+ year journey? Of course, and hearing early records is just a reminder that change or no-change, they’ve always been a force.

Best tracks: For the Stabwounds in Our Backs, Where the Silent Gods Stand Guard, Thousand Years of Oppression, Bloodshed

CD Odyssey Disc 1940: Olivia Rodrigo

When I was young I didn’t trust anything I perceived as being too popular. I missed out on a lot of good music as a result. Frankly, I still do,.

This next artist is monster popular to a degree rarely seen on the Odyssey, but I’ve managed to get past this. Talent has that effect.

Disc 1940 is… …Guts

Artist: Olivia Rodrigo

Year of Release: 2023

What’s up with the Cover? The arrestingly pretty Olivia Rodrigo flashes us a vampish glance.

Does she, as the album title suggests, have guts? Why yes, all over her hand in fact in the form of her jewelry and – spoiler alert – all over this record in the form of her songs.

How I Came To Know It: A friend put me onto Rodrigo’s debut record. This one was me just buying her latest, having been previously hooked.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Olivia Rodrigo albums, which is all of them. They are all good, and it is hard to pick a favourite, but I’m going to pick “Guts” as mine. At least for now.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

It would be hard to predict Olivia Rodrigo would immediately top the brilliance of 2021’s “Sour” but here she is on record #2, topping it. On “Guts” we see an artist growing before our eyes, with edgier songs, more range of production and theme and a pop-perfect voice that is bigger and more badass than ever.

Some artists are “old souls” but there is also greatness in an artist that is just unapologetically and perfectly situated in their own age, and their own place. They’re comparable to nothing other than their own immediate experience, with a magnetism that pulls the listener inexorably into their orbit. This is the universe that Olivia Rodrigo invites us into.

On “Sour” we encountered a teenage Rodrigo, exploring coming of age, and on “Guts” we are treated to a woman leaving her teens, blossoming into the beauty and majesty of the world with all its marvels and devils.

Before I go any further, I am compelled to note that more than half the songs on this record are straight up A+ bangers as well. There’s no need to explore the inner depths of the adult world without having some effervescent sing-a-long action while you do it. Enjoy!

The opener, “All-American Bitch” is an excellent example, a song that bounces between a folksy guitar pluck and a crunchy B section of thump and crash that had me imagining Avril Lavigne at her peak.

“All-American Bitch” is also an early signal that “Guts” is a masterclass of production and arrangement. The song showcases Rodrigo’s sweet pop vocals, also shows she can rock out, and leaves the listener reveling in the repeated shifts between styles. The first time you hear it, it surprises you, and every time thereafter you have the delicious anticipation of expecting them. The more you listen, the more fun it gets. That’s pop at its best.

“Bad Idea, Right?” is an example of Rodrigo taking on more mature themes. In this case – a booty call she knows is a bad idea, but makes anyway. The song is playful and joyful, but it’s also a cautionary tale.

“Vampire” comes next. Just like the structure of an individual pop song, the album knows to put the best song tastefully in third place. Far enough in to leave you anticipatory every time you drop the needle, near enough that you don’t have time to start fidgeting about it.

Whoever “Vampire” is about (and theories abound) it is a master class in pacing, melodic structure, lyrical brilliance and a stunning showcase of every corner of Rodrigo’s vocals. You’ll hear power, phrasing, and sweetness, all wrapped in a churning undercurrent of regret and anger. You will also be compelled to sing along every time you hear this. When you do, please sing the real lyrics – with all the curse words – and not the irritating radio sanitized version. Fortunately only the “real” version is on the record.

While Rodrigo has plenty of vitriol for those that have wronged her, it is also an unflinching look inward. “Bad Idea, Right?” shows that even the smartest girls get urges, and “Making the Bed” is a song about owning your shit. Becoming a star this massive at such a young age can’t be easy, but Rodrigo embraces the self-exploration of all of it – the change, the effect it has on you and in the end, the recognition that whether we are behaving at our best or our worst, it’s still our choice at each step of the journey.

On “Making the Bed” you can see a talented singer-songwriter who finds herself in a very big moment and is not only up for the challenge, but aware and confident enough to share a song about it.

A shout-out is in order for Rodrigo’s songwriting collaborator and album producer Dan Nigro. Nigro pulls every single pop album trick in the book on “Guts”. He skillfully navigates through shifts in different instrumentation: sometimes piano, sometimes guitar, sometimes percussion. Usually it’s a seamless progression of several movements, all blended seamlessly in a three-minute pop song. Making songs this catchy is not as easy as Nigro makes it sound.

My only regret is looking back to discover I put “Guts” at #10 on my Best Albums of 2023 list.

It should be higher.

Best tracks: All-American Bitch, Bad Idea Right?, Vampire, Lacy, Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl, Making the Bed, Get Him Back!