CD Odyssey Disc 1453: Lera Lynn

I saw this next artist live in concert, back when that was a thing.

Disc 1453 is…. On My Own

Artist: Lera Lynn

Year of Release: 2020

What’s up with the Cover?  Lera Lynn looks like she is about to head out to a Paris café to discuss existential philosophy. I cannot think of very many things I would rather do than have a coffee with Lera Lynn and exchange ideas about Camus and Sartre. I know from personal experience she is a witty conversationalist from when I met her in Nashville. Unfortunately, I find her so damned good looking that when I met her in person, I stumbled over basic grammar and stared at my shoes.  I expect our Parisian coffee date would be a disaster for the same reason, but I’m willing to give it a go and find out.

This copy of the album is hand signed by Lera. When I saw her in Nashville, she signed my copy of her album “The Avenues” in person. This time I paid extra to have her sign the copy I ordered from her. Not nearly as cool, but when it comes to interactions with gorgeous talented singer-songwriters with a possible penchant for chatting about philosophy, you take any interaction you can get.

How I Came To Know It: I have known Lera Lynn dating back to 2015 when she did music for the “True Detective” Season Two soundtrack (reviewed back at Disc 942) but this particular album was just me checking out her latest release. It was not available through Bandcamp or my local record store, so I faced down my e-commerce fears and ordered it direct from Lera herself. It all worked out just fine.

How It Stacks Up: I now have six Lera Lynn albums. Of the six, “On My Own” lands at #3, although it is in an almost dead heat with “Have You Met Lera Lynn?” They are so different it is hard to compare them but the "how it stacks up" section doesn't care for my excuses...

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

If you want to record an album where you play virtually all the instruments, then the middle of a pandemic is a good time to make it happen. And thus we are given Lera Lynn’s aptly titled “On My Own”, possibly her loneliest recording experience, but also one of her best.

Those self-imposed limitations help the record considerably. 2016’s “Resistor” is also very pop forward, and at times feels a bit busy as a result, but when you’ve got to learn every part on a song, the tendency is to go with sparse. The effect is to create a stripped-down song that compliments Lera Lynn’s natural talents as a lounge crooner. Her vocals on this record are some of her strongest in years, partly because they are on full display without distraction.

In terms of how she plays all those instruments, I was impressed with the sheer ability to play that many things proficiently. Lynn is already solid on the guitar, and outside her vocals, those bits are the best. She plays bass on all but two songs and it was fine, for as much as I noticed it. The drums are nothing amazing, but hey, she can keep time, and that’s the most important thing. She also wisely lets the percussion provide a funky backdrop, rather than trying to go all Neil Peart on her audience. The choices she makes with the rhythm section are restrained and well chosen.

This is notable on “Dark Horse.” It isn’t a complicated beat, but it is sultry and sets the right tone for the tune. When the guitar comes in, it adds a bit of that old alt country grit. By the end of the song there are backing vocals and even hand claps (all presumably Lynn as well). Despite all these additions the song never feels busy. Lynn has gotten lots of kudos for playing everything, but she deserves even more credit for the great arrangements on the record.

The album opens (wisely) with the up tempo “Are You Listening?” which is as close to anything on the record comes to radio friendly. It has a kind of Annie Lennox solo vibe, and I mean that in a good way. Lynn has a natural groove to her singing and like Lennox can sit down in the pocket without losing any of that sexy smokey barroom vibe.

“Isolation” is also a great track, clearly inspired by pandemic lock downs we’ve all experienced to one degree or another since last March. For all that, my favourite tune on the record is the thoroughly depressing “Make You OK.” Here Lynn channels her own mental distress into a better understanding of a tortured character that she can’t fix, despite a desperate desire to do so. The song could be Lynn’s greatest vocal performance ever, which his saying something.

Lynn’s been sidling up to this indie pop sound for a few years now, but with “On My Own” she has finally nailed it. If the pandemic helped provide inspiration musically and lyrically for her to get to this place, then at least there’s one thing we can be thankful for in these troubled times.

Best tracks: Are You Listening?, What I’m Looking For, Dark Horse, Make You OK, Isolation

CD Odyssey Disc 1452: Alela Diane

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! This next review shows that any topic can be interesting if the art depicting it is good enough.

Disc 1452 is…. Cusp

Artist: Alela Diane

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover?  It’s Alela Diane, looking majestically to the right. Diane is not royalty that I know of, but that’s the kind of profile that would look good on a coin. 

How I Came To Know It: I was already a fan, so I checked this record out. It didn’t grab me on my first listen, so I didn’t bother buying it. A year later, I was down in Oregon and found a copy in a record store there. On a whim, I decided to buy it anyway.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Alela Diane albums. I like them all, but competition is fierce, and “Cusp” comes in at #3. And this being the last of Alela Diane’s albums in my collection (for now) here is a recap:.

1. To Be Still: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1000)
2. Alela Diane & Wild Divine: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1326)
3. Cusp: 4 stars (reviewed right here)

Ratings: 4 stars

Alela Diane would like you to know that she had a baby. Ordinarily, this is not my favourite topic (in fact, “babies” is probably my all-time least favourite topic). But when you can sing and write songs as well as Alela Diane, you get a pass.

Diane is a folk singer with one of those voices that dives right down into your soul. Hearing her is akin to finding yourself surrounded by elves in Lothlorien. It is magical and ethereal, yet so grounded in natural grace you feel calm and safe.

Her songs have a light lilt, like a birdsong, that makes you want to drift away on the wind. It is so pretty you want to tra-la-la along with her, but if you dare to try, you’ll quickly find the melodies only seem free and easy when she sings them. You can’t tell listening to Alela, but these songs are hard as hell to sing. She climbs up into a falsetto, then swoops down into chest voice then finds some middle ground before lifting off again. It’s powerful and fragile in equal measure; simultaneously the oak tree standing stolid in a storm, and a single leaf from that same tree, dancing in the wind.

Fortunately, you don’t have to listen to just anything, because “Cusp” is chock-full of Diane’s first-rate songwriting. They aren’t typical folk songs, mixing in pop progressions and folk traditions into something that catches your ear from the first notes, and then flits along with meandering purpose. There are times when I wished the melodies were more straightforward, but that was just me cranky that my broken old voice couldn’t keep up.

Diane had a child shortly before she released this album (her second) and as I alluded earlier, she wraps motherhood around every experience she has. “So Tired” captures the difficulty of balancing motherhood and touring, and “Never Easy” has Diane seeing her own mother in a better light, as she examines the mother-daughter relationship from the other side of the ledger. The best line in that song…

“Oh, my mama
I understand now
That you’ve always loved me more”

…leaves the “more” hang at the end of the line, trailing into the trill of piano and a wordlessly beautiful falsetto note. More than what? it seems to ask, letting that silence hang as the listener fills in the missing words, “more than anything.”

When she does use her words, they are too good effect. On “Song for Sandy” she describes her character, bereft of child, as “her heart hung heavy as a noose from a beam.” On “Ether & Wood” she draws you through a scene replete with sights, scents and nostalgia:

“I walked through the house we built
Saw the life I left behind
Ivory paint cracked and peeled on the walls
The hydrangea and red rose
Strangled by vines
I don’t live here anymore.”

“Ether & Wood” is the album’s best song, its melody breathing like the waters lapping at the edge of lake, dreamily evoking old houses, and the ghostly memories that haunt them. Even here Alela Diane takes it back to pregnancy, and the loss of self in the experience. As a devoted follower of the adage “cats not kids”, I wanted this to bother me. I even half-heartedly resolved to knock the album down a star.

Only I couldn’t do it. The songs are just too damned good. All that imagery of motherhood and pregnancy are so artfully thread through each tune, I found my complaints dying on my lips, as I swayed to the mysterious music of the elves. Pregnant ones to be sure, but elves all the same.

Best tracks: Threshold, Moves Us Blind, Song for Sandy, Ether & Wood, Wild Ceaseless Song

CD Odyssey Disc 1451: The Band

For the second straight review we have an album with a song about Cripple Creek. This seems unlikely, but be assured this is a coincidence, not a conspiracy. Your lazy brain is just looking for a shortcut through the chaos.

Disc 1451 is…. Self-Titled

Artist: The Band

Year of Release: 1969

What’s up with the Cover?  It’s…the band. The cover is a respectable entry in the “here we all are” portrait genre.

How I Came To Know It: I grew up hearing “Up on Cripple Creek” on the radio, but never thought to buy the album. Then last year Sheila and I watched a documentary about the Band, and it got me all excited about both them and this era/style of music generally. I went out and bought this album and “Songs from Big Pink” later that week. I also bought a couple Byrds albums for good measure.

How It Stacks Up: I have two albums by the Band. If you are following along you already know which two. I’m not sure yet how I feel about “Songs from Big Pink” but for now I’ll put their self-titled effort in first place, while expressing my usual right to change my mind down the road.

Ratings: 3 stars

The Band’s eponymous debut is a seminal album in the history of rock and roll, that nevertheless finds various ways to annoy me, starting with the title.

It is bad enough that The Band call themselves “The Band,” which in terms of mailing it in is probably second only to “The The”. In addition, I have a general pet peeve with the many examples of bands that eponymously name albums that aren’t their first. It is confusing, and frankly you should’ve done it for record #1. You’ve missed your chance, now move on, and go come up with something more creative. May I suggest the opening track (“Across the Great Divide”), whatever hit your A&R man suggests (“Up on Cripple Creek”) or maybe just something that relates to the cover (“Five Guys with Facial Hair”). But I digress…

Back to the actual record, which features first rate songwriting and musicianship. The Band is like Blue Oyster Cult, in that every member brings their own talent to the mix. The songs reflect this collaborative effort, despite the fact that Robbie Robertson wrote most of them. This is aided by the fact that (just like Blue Oyster Cult) three different members (Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel) take turns on lead vocals.

As for those vocals, I realize Levon Helm takes the…ahem… “helm” on the two hits, and his distinctive warble is a big part of the Band’s sound. As for me, I have a love-hate relationship with it. On songs like “Up on Cripple Creek” he is what gives the song that wanton hippie vibe that makes it a classic. That and the fact that is song has one of the great sing-a-long choruses of all time. There is simply no resisting jumping in every time Helm launches into “up on Cripple Creek, she sends me…” It is a drunkard’s dream for narrator and listener alike.

On “Jemima Surrender” Helm’s vocals feel a bit too much of a drunkard’s dream. It isn’t just Helm, though. I feel the same way about Rick Danko on “Jawbone”. The group effort that makes the Band so great, draws them down into excess together as well. They sound like a bunch of friends getting too high and making music, which is great, except sometimes the final product sounds a bit too much like a bunch of friends getting high and making music. Your roll is brilliant gentlemen, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t slow it on occasion.

Of course, the Band’s organic sound is in many ways the whole point, and my criticism is blasphemous given their importance in the history of rock and roll. They are all brilliant and even the songs that irk me are – objectively – still great songs. I just gotta be real with how much I enjoyed them. If you don’t mind the deliberately loose sway of a jam perfected, then you are going to love this record. As for me, I merely liked it.

Best tracks: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Up on Cripple Creek, Look Out Cleveland, King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

CD Odyssey Disc 1450: Neil Young

After a long day at the office I wasn’t really inclined to write a music review, but this damned ship won’t make harbour without me heaving on an oar on occasion.

Disc 1450 is…. After the Gold Rush

Artist: Neil Young

Year of Release: 1970

What’s up with the Cover?  Neil’s out for a walk, apparently having put on the One Ring and entered Sauron’s shadow world. Neil, I know that the power of the One Ring is a bit of a “gold rush” but don’t be tempted! It will corrupt you and before you know it, it’ll be 1983 and you’ll be singing doo-wop.

In related news, Neil appears to be passing by a hobbit.

How I Came To Know It: The specifics of how I came to own this album is lost in the mists of time, and the deluge of albums that have come after. I’ve owned it for quite a while, and I likely bought it on a deep dive of Neil Young’s back catalogue sometime in the last ten years or so.

How It Stacks Up: I have 20 Neil Young albums, but given I had two others I’ve since parted with, I’ll be stacking “After the Gold Rush” up against 22 albums. It does very well against a field that is both strong and deep. I’ll put it in at…#5. I expect many people would put it higher, and I encourage those people to go start a music blog and tell everyone all about it.

Creative Maelstrom historians may also note that I ranked “Hawks and Doves” no lower than #5 way back in 2010 (Disc 188) and this decision bumps that record to #6. Don’t let this trouble you; change is part of life.

Ratings: 4 stars

“After the Gold Rush” is an album that covers two of Neil Young’s best attributes: simple, relaxed grace, and passion and protest. Neil keeps the two streams separated on individual songs, but they blend together across the record as a whole.

On the folksy side, Young offers up pastoral tunes like “Tell Me Why” and the title track. The former feels a lot like his work in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, with pretty harmonies that capture the tension of youthful enthusiasm as it runs up against the hard choices that come with success. The chorus of:

“Is it hard to make arrangements
With yourself
When you’re old enough to repay
But young enough to sell?”

Has a dreamy questioning quality that leaves you unsure of the answer to the riddle it poses, which I think is exactly what Neil is going for.

The title track follows, doubling down on the dreamy uncertainty. It is a stripped-down affair, with a lonely piano and the heartworn uncertainty of Neil’s quavering vocals. The world-weary construction and introspection made me think of Bruce Springsteen at his best (it even features a horn solo, albeit a flugelhorn, not a saxophone).

“When You Dance You Can Really Love” takes that chill hippy vibe even farther – too far in fact. It has a sound that makes me wonder if it was the inspiration behind generations of gumboot wearing outdoor concert goers. The ones who spend the event spinning about, arms out and heads back, oblivious to where the dance floor ends, occasionally knocking the beers out of the hands of unsuspecting folks who were just trying to listen to the band. For this reason alone, I do not like this song. But I digress…

The album also has a rockin’ side, exemplified best by “Southern Man” a rocking protest song which is - how do I put this delicately? – not the most optimistic view of the deep south. It was also one of two tracks (the other being “Alabama”) that put Young in the crosshairs of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Quite apart from the fact that both Neil Young songs are better than the retort, “Southern Man” also features some of Young’s best guitar work. Young is a brilliant guitar player, who has a Hendrix-like quality of playing with such volume and dimension it is like he’s his own backup band. “Southern Man” has at least two killer guitar solos in its five and half minutes of awesome.

“After the Gold Rush” is a masterpiece of songwriting, with melodies Paul McCartney wishes he could have written, musicianship that sinks into your bones, and lyrics that leave you feeling deeply contemplative. Regardless of whether you prefer folksy Neil or rock ‘n’ roll Neil, you won’t leave disappointed.

Best tracks: Tell Me Why, After the Gold Rush, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Southern Man, Birds, Cripple Creek Ferry

CD Odyssey Disc 1449: Alestorm

In a coincidence bordering on the uncanny, this is the third straight review from the year 2008, all determined randomly. For the stat nerds out there, it is my 36^th album reviewed from that year.

Disc 1449 is…. Captain Morgan’s Revenge

Artist: Alestorm

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover?  The titular captain, presumably seeking revenge. He definitely has an enraged look on what’s left of his face. Some captains are accompanied by parrots, but Captain Morgan has gone with a zombie rat as his beloved pet.

And if I may just say once again, heavy metal consistently has the best album covers. It isn’t even close. Kudos to artist Ingo Romling for this one.

How I Came To Know It: I discovered Alestorm in 2017 when I heard “No Grave But the Sea” (reviewed back at Disc 1317) and began digging through their back catalogue. I couldn’t find “Captain Morgan’s Revenge” anywhere, and I must shamefully admit that I bought it off of Amazon after not being able to order it via my local record store. Not my finest moment.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Alestorm albums (and on the lookout for one more). Of the three I have, I put “Captain Morgan’s Revenge in at #2, barely behind “No Grave But the Sea”.

Ratings: 4 stars

A couple albums ago I reviewed a power metal band (Sabaton) that likes to sing about war…a lot. I don’t know what it is about European power metal, but it definitely attracts the thematically inclined. In the case of Alestorm, that theme is pirates. “Captain Morgan’s Revenge” is their first album, but the theme is already well established.

Before I get into all that piratical fun, a few notes on the music, so you’ll know what you’re getting into if you decide to check these guys out. Alestorm is a mix of Celtic folk melodies, mixed with power metal chords, crunchy guitar, barroom sing-a-long choruses and healthy helping of keytar. Yes, keytar. Think Dropkick Murphys but way heavier, and with a lot more eyepatch wearing.

It sounds a bit silly, and it is meant to be. Alestorm don’t take themselves seriously, and I don’t think they want their listeners to either. However, the musicianship is anything but silly. These guys can play. You’d be surprised how good a keytar can sound in the right hands (singer and “keytarist” Christopher Bowes plays with gusto). I was particularly impressed with the heavy hitting precision of drummer Ian Wilson. He really thumps it out with staccato brilliance, grounding these tunes with the driving energy they need to work. His double bass on “Wenches & Mead” is – as a pirate might say, “full-sail and hard over”.

Also, for a band that sings about only one topic, Alestorm manage to work in a lot of sub-styles in the field of metal. The title track is classic power metal, with soaring anthemic power chords (on guitar and keytar – can’t stress that enough), “Nancy the Tavern Wench” is essentially a barroom folk song that has been metalized, and “Death Before the Mast” and “Terror on the High Seas” work out some killer thrash/speed metal.

As for the topics, did I mention it involves pirates? Sometimes the pirates are at work, (“Over the Seas”, “Terror on the High Seas”) and other times we catch up with them in their leisure time, where they mostly get hammered and chase after women (“Nancy the Tavern Wench” and “Wenches & Mead” are pretty much exactly as their titles suggest).

The best tune on the album is the title track, which tells the tale of a mutiny, a curse, and a grim reckoning in the end for the crew at the gallows, depicted by Bowes as:

“At sunrise we'll all dance the hempen jig
So raise up your pint of rum and take another swig”

I assume from this that the condemned pirates got one last night of debauchery ere the end. Proof that even in the blackest of moments, Alestorm can always find time to squeeze in another round.

All this piraticism should get old quickly, but it doesn’t. Bowes’ vocals are raspy and infectious, and he is clearly having a good time inhabiting these rogues. With lyrics like this:

“When I come back from a mighty quest
I have no need for sleep or rest
I head to a tavern for a drink
And get so drunk I cannot think”

You shouldn’t be expecting any insightful poetry, but while the rhymes may be obvious, the band sings it with so much gusto, you don’t mind. Many of the songs have choruses designed for singing along as well, so feel free to join in.

Most of the band is from Scotland, and on album’s last track, they give their homeland a little love with a cover of the Corries folk classic “Flower of Scotland.” It has a bit more thump than the original, as you might expect, but remains a ton of patriotic fun.

Fun is the name of the game on this record. Don’t expect a lot of insight into the human condition. Just sit back and have a good time.

Best tracks: Captain Morgan’s Revenge, Nancy the Tavern Wench, Death Before the Mast, Terror on the High Seas, Wenches & Mead

CD Odyssey Disc 1448: Martha Wainwright

For the second straight review we delve into the wonders of 2008. As we do so, however, we depart the world of heavy metal.

Disc 1448 is…. I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too

Artist: Martha Wainwright

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover?  Martha looks absolutely amazing here, but would it kill the couch to show a little leg? That floor-length skirt does nothing for its curves.

You might also ask why Martha is laying so awkwardly, but couches this size are just awkward for reclining; you just can’t stretch out. And if she were to do so, those heels could easily tear the fabric.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced by a coworker in my last job, Anna, who played me one of her songs. While it wasn’t on this album, it did cause me to dig through Martha Wainwright’s back catalogue. “I Know…etc.” is one of the albums I discovered in that process.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Martha Wainwright records. Of the two, I must put “I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too” in at #2. Depending on whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist, this means it earns a silver medal or comes in last.

Ratings: 3 stars

“There are days when the cage
Doesn’t seem to open very wide at all.”

These lines open the record and along with the song’s title (“Bleeding All Over You” you know early on you are in for an emotional rollercoaster ride. This is a collection of mournful dirges dressed up as pop songs that sometimes work, and sometimes don’t.

At their best they are heartbreaking birdsongs warbling with a sad beauty. At their worst, they’re caterwauls of despair – a tomcat yowling at the moon while dodging old shoes thrown by neighbours trying to get some sleep. Either way, you can’t deny they come from a place of passion.

Wainwright has a great voice, and she explores every corner of it. On “You Cheated Me” she sings in a soft and breathy whisper, and on “Tower Song” she climbs high up in her head voice and pulses with a light ululation. Across a whole album it’s an acquired taste, and on my first listen I found it hard to settle in, sometimes all the verbal gymnastics even getting in the way of Martha’s natural talent for storytelling. No matter how artistic or creative it may be, if there is too much going on vocally, at some point it just upstages a good tale.

When Wainwright plays it straight, as she does on “You Cheated Me” and “Comin’ Tonight” she’s at her best, blending smooth production with innovative melodies and phrasing. She has a gift for climbing up high in the middle of a progression, and then tumbling down the other side.

At other times, such as on “Tower Song” it feels more like an interpretive dance gone wrong. Overly creative, trying to evoke emotional resonance with strangeness, but ending up with only the latter. There’s a Patti Smith vibe when she goes for this, but it doesn’t land that same gut-punch that makes Smith’s songs so powerful and affecting.

Subject-wise Wainwright gets right to the heart of nasty and unhealthy relationships. “You Cheated Me” and “In the Middle of the Night” both masterfully twine hints of violence and emotional damage around a core of sensual longing that ably captures the confusion of the characters that inhabit them.

The biggest problem on the record is that Wainwright tends to over-sing songs that don’t need the extra push to make their point.  The record is also a bit long, and the latter third tends to drag a little with a lot of overlong atmospheric numbers. That said, I should note that even the songs I don’t like, do what they do deliberately, and do it well. It just isn’t always my cup of tea.

The record ends with a solid up-tempo cover of the Eurythmics “Love is a Stranger” which has an unexpected country/rockabilly vibe that channels a bit of early Springsteen. Crossed with Wainwright’s unique vocal styles, makes for a catchy mix.

In the end, this record is not unlike its cover: a mix of awkward and sexy. I never got comfortable enough to love the experience, but it had some good moments.

Best tracks: Bleeding All Over You, You Cheated Me, Comin’ Tonight, In the Middle of the Night

CD Odyssey Disc 1447: Sabaton

The dice gods have seen fit to reward me with my second straight foray into heavy metal. Yeehaw!

Disc 1447 is…. The Art of War

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover?  This cover should come with a label: “Warning: sharp edges.” All manner of pokey bits protrude from around a helmet with a very uncomfortable looking faceguard.

How I Came To Know It: I fell hard for Sabaton when I checked out their First World War themed album, “The Great War” in 2019. Since then I have voraciously dug into their back catalogue.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven Sabaton albums and I’m currently on the lookout for two more. Of the seven that I have, I put “The Art of War” in at #5.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sabaton is a power metal band from Sweden that likes writing songs about war…a lot. With the exception of some very early releases that is pretty much all they sing about. “The Art of War” is a relatively early record for them, but as you can guess from the title, not so early they haven’t entered their “total war” phase. If you don’t like songs about military history, this record is not for you.

If you do, then you’ll be glad to know that Sabaton is amazing at writing songs about battles. They aren’t warmongers, and the songs have a strong focus on the senselessness of war, and the individual heroism of those who have to suffer through it. Think of their approach as midway between the interest of a military historian and the wide-eyed wonder of a 10-year-old.

The music has a galloping urgency to it, driven by Daniel Mullback’s killer drumming. Daniel Myhr’s keyboards add an element of drama and theatricality, and the double guitars provide every song with a simple but compelling power riff.

Joakim Broden’s vocals are big and bold, inviting you to sing along with every chorus. Every word is filled with majesty and drama as he sends you back in time with lyrics that are very specific. There is not a lot in the way of metaphor and imagery – for Sabaton war stories are dramatic enough on their own.

As for topics, these guys go in for a lot of World War Two stuff. “Art of War” they cover such memorable topics as the German blitzkrieg into France (“Ghost Division”), the Winter War between Finland and the U.S.S.R. (“Talvisota”), the Poles desperate defence of their homeland (“40:1”), the Battle of Kursk (“Panzerkampf”) and the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy (“Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)”. Later on they tag on a general piece on carpet bombing (“Firestorm”).

In telling these tales, Sabaton employ an equal-opportunity narrative, with the songs being told from the perspective of Germans, Poles, Finns, Russians and Americans.

They also cover World War One, and the best of these is “Cliffs of Gallipoli” which has a more complicated arrangement and melody than most Sabaton songs (usually, they jump pretty quick from galloping guitars to sing-a-long chorus). “Cliffs of Gallipoli” is no “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” but Sabaton still do a strong job of highlighting the horror and pointlessness of that failed campaign.

“The Art of War” gets its name from Sun Tzu’s famous book on how to wage war. That’s a cool thematic device, but Sabaton takes it once step too far, having a bunch of 30 to 60 second interludes of a woman quoting from the book. Sometimes these are their own tracks, and sometimes they are tagged onto a song, but they are universally annoying.

My copy of the album is also a re-issue, and has a few extra tracks, including a song about Vikings (“Swedish Pagans”) a demo version of the title track, and a live version of the Swedish national anthem. These songs added very little to my enjoyment of the record, serving chiefly to push it to a bloated 17 track, 64-minute beast.

Despite these frustrations, there is no denying the infectious music Sabaton delivers. Like ACDC, their songs may all sound similar, but they are all good. I had this album in the car for a full week (a function of giving it multiple listens and it being so damned long) and I enjoyed it every time. I even started singing along as the songs became more familiar. I hope onde day to do the same at one of their live shows, when this damned pandemic ends.

Best tracks: Ghost Division, Unbreakable, Cliffs of Gallipoli, Panzerkampf