CD Odyssey Disc 1626: The Hu

The weekend has arrived and not a moment too soon. I will be enjoying some lovely activities this weekend including taking my cat to the vet and doing the laundry. I’ll also squeeze some fun in there, starting with the writing of this next review.

Disc 1626 is…Rumble of Thunder

Artist: The Hu

Year of Release: 2022

What’s up with the Cover?  Based on their previous album having a song called “Wolf Totem” I’m going to say this is a wolf. A seriously bad-ass wolf, that looks like he’s partially made of electricity. In short, a wolf you most assuredly do not want to fuck with.

How I Came To Know It: I loved the Hu’s 2019 album, “The Gereg” (reviewed back at Disc 1388). I hadn’t realized they’d put out a new one until I found this while thumbing through the “new arrivals” section of the metal records in my local shop. I bought it on spec and hoped for the best.

How It Stacks Up: That first album is very good, meaning that “Rumble of Thunder” can only manage to land in second place, but it is an honourable second place.

Rating: 4 stars

If there is a band with a better handle on how to turn the thrilling motion of a galloping horse into music than the Hu I can’t think of one. Iron Maiden comes close, but against the restless never-ending energy of an album like “Rumble of Thunder” even they fall behind the pace.

If you are new to the Hu, they are a Mongolian folk metal band, folk metal being the blend of traditional instruments, stories and musical concepts of a band’s homeland with pure unadulterated rock and roll. I’m a sucker for this stuff (other examples you’ll find in my collection include Tyr (Faroe Islands) and Wagakki Band (Japan)).

Driving to “Rumble of Thunder” was an exercise in restraint. This shit makes you want to open up the throttle. With all the lights and stoppages of urban driving I assuaged myself by switching to manual mode, just to experience the visceral quality of shifting gears.

Even without the ability to fully open up on the highway, you’ll find yourself fist pumping in perfect cadence with each song, as you imagine a millennia’s worth of ancestors chanting along with you through the ages. No I’m not Mongolian, but the Hu will invite you to visit the experience all the same. I did so with relish.

The invitation comes immediately, with the powerful and insistent rhythm of “This is Mongol”. This song is a great opener, filled with guitar riffs that pound incessantly on the front of the beat, a caged beast of rock and roll snarling in fury as it is caged by the bars and perfect pocket of inspired musicianship.

This being the Hu, they throw in some traditional throat singing as well, and as with their previous record, it is dark, mysterious and invigorating, all at once. “Triangle” is particularly great, as the band plays around the edges of an eighties pop beat, throws in some great rolling “R” sounds and that ever-present guitar riff. The Hu know how to employ a modern rock guitar like a dollop of horseradish, spicing up every bite with a nostril-flaring thrill.

I speak exactly zero Mongolian, but the liner notes helpfully provided English translation of the songs, which feature heavily in national pride and evocations of ancient myth and tradition. Lots of references to ancient deities, the glory of a ride under a blue sky and the art of kicking ass. It isn’t necessary to know what the songs are about to enjoy the music, but if you read the translation later the reaction is likely, “yeah, that’s what I figured that song was about.”

The last song on the record is also the heaviest. “Tatar Warrior” has the rhythmic Mongol beat, but I also heard some melodic black metal influences in there that had me thinking favourably of the Viking-inspired Amon Amarth. Listening to it I could feel a brotherhood of kick-ass warrior culture across continents.

“Rumble of Thunder” doesn’t have the artistic range of “The Gereg”, which also has the advantage of novelty, but it is a worthy successor to that record’s greatness, and has me excited and hopeful for Hu albums for years to follow.

Best tracks: This is Mongol, Triangle, Upright Destined Mongol, Bii Biyelgee, Tatar Warrior

CD Odyssey Disc 1625: Jason Isbell

For this next review I did not roll randomly. This is because I was going to see this artist live and I like to match up a recent album release with a live show wherever I can. In this case, the most recent album dates all the way back to 2020, but that’s the last time they released a studio album, so little choice there.

Anyway, if you like this artist, and want to read about their live show just scroll to the end of the review and you’ll find it there. Or better yet, read the review first. Presumably that is why you came here in the first place.

Disc 1625 is…Reunions

Artist: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Year of Release: 2020

What’s up with the Cover?  A very small Jason Isbell on a very stark and featureless plain. This album was released the same year as Anna Tivel’s “The Question” (see review at Disc 1408 for the cover art), which leaves me to believe stark grey expanses featuring tiny human figures were all the rage three years ago.

I assume what with that whole pandemic thing going on, depictions of social distancing were a natural choice for an album’s cover art.

How I Came To Know It: I am a big Jason Isbell fan, so this was me buying his new album and hoping for the best.

How It Stacks Up: Turns out this wasn’t the best. I have five Jason Isbell albums and Reunions comes in at #5.

Rating: 3 stars (hey, it is still good).

“Reunions” did not get off on the right foot with me, but it steadily improves across its tastefully restrained 10 tracks. By the end, I was content and glad to have yet another fine collection of Jason Isbell classics in the collection.

The initial problem felt like a friendly musical argument. Jason clearly felt that “What’ve I Done To Help” and “Dreamsicle” were the songs to catch the listener’s attention. Both did so in different ways, but in neither case was it a good thing.

“What’ve I Done To Help” is an intriguing mood piece, and it showcases Isbell’s light and airy vocal style to good effect, so no complaints there. My problem with this track is it slowly adds more and more production into the tune, eventually decaying into the wail of an electric guitar that drifts around in the middle of the mix. That and it’s six-plus minute length makes it feel like it is trying too hard to be artsy.

“Dreamsicle” is a pretty enough song, and I love the sound of Isbell’s guitar strum. It also has his oft-employed song structure of three internal rhymes followed by an effortless country hook to hang all the awesome off. My main gripe here was the chorus, which has a melody that connects awkwardly to the verses. “Dreamsicle” is also an odd image. Is this supposed to evoke something between old summer memory and a frozen ice cream treat? Maybe the loss of innocence as felt through old memories? If so I get it but that doesn’t mean it inspired me.

I am happy to advise that despite the false start, the album quickly gains momentum, with quality Jason Isbell singing and songwriting.

There is plenty to recommend from the mid-point onward, starting with the Drive-By-Trucker style rocker, “Overseas”. Isbell is a natural storyteller, capturing theme, mood and dramatic tension all through a few images, chosen with care and arranged in just the right order. The song starts with this emotional latticework of visuals:

“This used to be a ghost town
But even the ghosts got out
And the sound of the highway died
There's ashes in the swimming pool
But I saw you on your wedding night
And I watched you sleeping in my arms
You didn't wash your make-up off
And you woke up looking scared as hell”

Great stuff and on the chorus he even lets that famous guitar playing growl a little to remind you he’s mostly country, but he’s also more than a little rock and roll.

Another standout on the record is “It Gets Easier”. Playing off the old “easy does it” from AA, this song clarifies that there isn’t anything easy about it. Isbell often explores his journey and I hope he keeps doing so if it keeps bringing out such great songwriting.

This record grew on me with repeat listens. I could have lived without the first two tracks but after that I was all in, and enjoyed the rest of the journey right down the line.

Best tracks: Overseas, St. Peter’s Autograph, It Gets Easier, Letting You Go

The Concert: March 7, 2020, Royal Theatre ,Victoria BC

For the second straight show at the Royal, Sheila and I treated ourselves to “loge” seats. For those of you who don’t know, “loge” are those fancy box seats hanging off the side of the wall in old-timey concert halls. It’s where you can imagine royals or famous people sitting, or if you are a fan of the Muppet Show, the place from which Statler and Waldorf heckle Fozzie Bear.

Sheila and I did not heckle the show – we just like being in a spot where people can’t kick the back of your seat and there’s plenty of legroom. Also, it is a great perch for people watching.

Kathleen Edwards

The opening act was Kathleen Edwards. Edwards is a good thematic match to Isbell’s style, occupying that same space somewhere midway between country and rock, with a healthy helping of whatever “indie” means these days.

She was definitely a better match to Isbell’s vibe than when we saw him in Portland in 2017. Then he was matched with Frank Turner and while I’m a huge Frank Turner fan, the energy of the two acts make for a weird alignment. For more on that show, go read my review at Disc 1050.

Back briefly to Kathleen Edwards, who had taken a long break from music before returning in 2020. You could see she was glad to be back and recharged after a time away. She had a good energy and despite the limited set available to all openers, did a good job of mixing in the stuff the longtime fans wanted to hear with some modern material.

Overall I liked Edwards, although there were a couple of tracks where she and the band took off down a path of experimental noodle that bordered on the self-indulgent. Also, the sound guy needed to tone down the volume, as the natural acoustics of the Royal can easily overheat the mix if you aren’t careful.

Jason Isbell

When Jason Isbell took the stage the crowd was thunderous with enthusiasm, and I could tell immediately it was going to be a good show. Isbell seemed to sense it as well, waving with a disarming smile before getting into his usual schtick of standing still, and swapping guitars a lot.

Isbell has a lot of guitars, and dude can play. Through the course of the evening he showed off his country strumming, his rock and roll mastery, a bit of soul and everything in between. The highlight was him and fellow guitarist Sadler Vaden (yes, that’s his name) doing a bluegrass-infused version of “Tour of Duty”. Watching two masters play off one another and effortlessly trade solos without ever stepping on each other was a true treat.

In terms of setlist there was a good mix of the three corners of any good show: new tunes, old favourites, and a couple deep cuts.

The new tracks sadly featured those two songs I mentioned above, but I think he may have cut the noodle elements of “What’ve I Done To Help” short. If not, it felt tighter and more focused so, kudos.

Lots of crowd pleasers were to be had, including rocked out versions of “24 Frames” and “Something More Than Free” which were the songs that helped me discover Isbell years ago and remain favourites. I’m sick of hearing “Super 8” but at least he still plays it with gusto.

Isbell ended the main set with “Cover Me Up” which is touching and undertsated love song, and one that had a perfect mix for the room. As I noted in the Kathleen Edwards piece above, the Royal’s sound can get a bit overheated but they nailed it on the softer tunes, and none better than “Cover Me Up”.

Deep cut wise, I enjoyed Isbell pulling out “Goddamn Lonely Love” from his Drive-By Trucker days. If I were to quibble I’d note my disappointment that Isbell didn’t play “Speed Trap Town” which is one of my all-time favourites. He’d played it live in 2017 so I held out hope, but what the hell – you gotta change up the setlist, so no judgments.

The band wisely ended the show with the tear-jerking masterpiece that is “If We Were Vampires” which likely had couples around the room sharing tear-stained embraces as they thought about how damn lucky we are to find that special someone. I assume it was happening in the cheap seats – it was definitely happening in the loge.

As for the crowd, it was terrific. A mix of everyone from their mid-twenties to their mid-fifties with plenty of whoops and cheers, all placed at the right time to add to the ambience, and not interrupt the tunes. Even the two dudes sitting in front of me didn’t shift around too much, affording me an uninterrupted view of the stage throughout the night.

Finally, a quick note on the merch table. I have high standards for a merch table. It should have stickers, and it damn well better have more than one style of t-shirt in a medium. Isbell had all of that and trucker hats to boot. A-.

All around a pretty great show, and one that will have me hoping Isbell returns to Victoria soon.

CD Odyssey Disc 1624: Lou Barlow

Had a lovely lunch out at what used to be my favourite diner. Unfortunately, the diner moved out of downtown (crime, high rents, the usual story) so I don’t get out to their new location very often.

However, since this isn’t a “what I had for lunch blog” let’s get back to music, shall we?

Disc 1624 is…Reason to Live

Artist: Lou Barlow

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover?  This cover won’t bring you to your hands and knees but it will bring you to someone’s hands and knees. I assume the isolation of the small window is designed to be artsy, but it just made me want to know what the picture was all about. And not in an evocative and artsy kind of way, but in an annoyed, “seriously, what is up with this picture?” kind of way. The graphic design is equally trying to evoke an artful quality without success.

How I Came To Know It: I have a few people I work with who trade “best of” lists with me each year. I believe this was one of my favourite album’s off of Darb’s “Best of 2021” list.

How It Stacks Up: This is my only Lou Barlow album, so can’t stack up against anything.

Rating: 3 stars

Most people know Lou Barlow from his other musical projects, namely Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. Given my reaction to those bands it is a minor miracle I’m going to be saying nice things about his solo work.

My recollections of Sebadoh are mostly from the early nineties when my roommate Greg used to play them. I recall each Sebadoh album having a lot of songs, most of which seemed like a collection of pointless noise, with one or two tracks I liked; usually the ones that didn’t sound like the others. As for Dinosaur Jr., they get brought out by friends at music listening nights from time to time. My reaction usually lands somewhere between “meh” and “um…no.”

Enter Lou Barlow’s solo effort, the pandemic album “Reason to Live”. My overall reaction to this record was it surprised me, and the songs land somewhere between the aforementioned “meh” and “um…yeah, I like it.” Given my prior relationship with Mr. Barlow’s music, this is significant progress.

This record is stripped down, which is how I like my arrangements. Most tracks are fueled by simple guitar strumming and Barlow’s vocals and little else. This is very much in my wheelhouse. Less so the production, which is a bit lo fi for my tastes. Just because you’re not employing a lot of instruments doesn’t mean you should skip proper care and attention at the mixing board. These tunes feel very “one take” and the production is tinny, like it was recorded at a single mic around a coffee table.

The one exception is the tone of the guitar work on “Privatize,” which is quite lovely. It has lots of layers and places for the ear to travel up and down in the mix without feeling busy. The record would benefit from this level of care and attention across the rest of the selections.

Barlow’s lyrics are a sort of conversational poetry, and he has a natural talent for phrasing that lets it feel like you’re overhearing some hipster at a coffee shop, telling an interesting story to his tablemate. Often this person is having an anxious moment and would benefit from making the next round a decaf.

The record is only 43 minutes long but it has 17 tracks, which is three over my maximum. I felt there were plenty of gems, but also a fair bit of filler. Getting this thing down to 14 or fewer tunes wouldn’t have been an impossible task, and should’ve been undertaken.

This problem is exacerbated by the front-end loading of the “good stuff”. It makes the record’s second half really drag. The one exception is the record’s penultimate track, “All You People Suck”. This song’s title might leave you the impression it is going to be a negative reflection on the human race, but the reverse is true. Barlow is only saying the people who deny human connectivity suck. The majority of us, working together, leaning on each other, and generally doing what we can to help out are OK. It’s that other group of people that suck.

This record has a lot of darkness and doubt in it, and a quaver to Barlow’s delivery that fits well in the year it was released (2021). Back then we were all locked in our houses, hoping the pandemic would one day end and life could resume. This “what comes next” vibe comes across in spades on “Reason to Live” but there is a also a thread of optimism that is pervasive and lurking behind all the trouble. Better times are coming, and in the meantime, it is OK to keep it real and express a few doubts.

Best tracks: Reason to Live, Why Can’t It Wait, Love Intervene, Privatize, All You People Suck

CD Odyssey Disc 1623: Linda Ronstadt

I’ve been piling through this next artist’s back catalogue with wild abandon, which is he best way to pile through a thing. It is OK to pick through a back catalogue as well, but that should be done with discerning care.

Disc 1623 is…Prisoner in Disguise

Artist: Linda Ronstadt

Year of Release: 1975

What’s up with the Cover?  Linda sits on the floor of what is either a photo studio or an oubliette. If she is a prisoner here her disguise is a lovely sun dress and heels, which is not usual attire for serving time in an oubliette.

How I Came To Know It: I grew up listening to Linda Ronstadt but never got into her music directly until a few years ago. This album proved hard to find, then out of the blue a used copy showed up at my record store just last week. It pays to always check the stacks, even if you don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven of Linda Ronstadt’s studio albums, which is a far cry from the 28 she released, but I’ve now got most of the ones I want to own (I’m still missing “Mad Love” but then I’m done). Of the seven I have, I’ll put it in at #5, which just shows how great Linda Ronstadt is.

Rating: 4 stars

As Frank Sinatra teaches us, if you aren’t going to write your own songs, then you’ll need two things for success: a fantastic voice and a keen ear for picking the right songs to match it.

Like Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt has an incredible voice, but she has an advantage Frank could never manage; a versatility that lets her seamlessly adapt it to a half-dozen different styles. Sinatra is always that easy listening jazz crooner. Ronstadt can be a sweet country girl, a counter culture California hippy, or an R&B soul singer, all with equal authenticity.

The record’s opening number feels determined to prove my thesis wrong. Sure “Love is a Rose” was a small hit, and yeah, as a kid I liked it on a.m. radio just fine. But despite the beautiful lilting melody, this song gets tired quickly.

Nope, on “Prisoner in Disguise” give me the deeper cuts. Like her cover of James Taylor’s “Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On the Jukebox.” Sure this is more traditional Ronstadt going soulful country at a time when she was expanding in a half-dozen different musical directions, but sometimes the old sound is what I want, particularly when it is this sublime. When the chorus hits and the pedal steel hits, Linda’s inimitable tone will have you swaying and feeling all the feels.

I also dug her cover of Little Feat’s “Roll Um Easy” which is that “California hippy” rock and roll I mentioned earlier. This is one of my favourite Little Feat songs but just like the original, Ronstadt’s was never a hit. Ridiculous.

Then when you think she can’t shift gears any more she takes a classic like “Many Rivers to Cross” and, just voice and piano, she breaks every pane of stained glass in your heart. You might’ve thought your heart was made of meat and muscle, but this song will quickly clarify it is brittle, vulnerable, and liable to sharp-edged pain when given the right stimulus. This is the right stimulus.

Ronstadt also covers “I Will Always Love You”. I know what you’re thinking. She’s crazy to cover anything ever sung by…Dolly Parton, but this song is just as strong as the original. A little less quaver, and a bit more power down on the chorus, just like Whitney would do…17 years later, mind you.

The album’s other (lesser) hit was Smokey Robinson’s “Tracks of My Tears” which landed top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and blipped a couple of other places. It ain’t quite R&B, but it is the Ronstadt equivalent, and deserves a lot more love than it got. This is not just for Ronstadt’s vocals, but also the great musicianship – something consistent across the record.

I wanted to say “Prisoner in Disguise” suffered from identity crisis with all these different styles battling away, but it feels smooth and natural throughout. A testament to one of music’s greatest voices.

Best tracks: Hey Mister That’s Me Up On the Jukebox, Roll Um Easy, Tracks of My Tears, Many Rivers to Cross, I Will Always Love You

CD Odyssey Disc 1622: Josie Cotton

I’m sick, and it sucks. Not COVID at least, but also not fun. This delayed my review by several hours this morning, which I spent lying on the couch watching stand up comedy. Comfort view.

I’m now feeling sufficiently human to tackle the next review. After this I might even tackle a shower and put on pants, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Disc 1622 is…Invasion of the B Girls

Artist: Josie Cotton

Year of Release: 2007

What’s up with the Cover?  It’s a B movie poster! Scenes from various B movies populate the background. We’ve got aliens, go-go dancers, muscle cars and even Godzilla himself. In the foreground we have Nurse Cotton, and she’s ready to give you your medicine.

How I Came To Know It: This was me digging through Josie Cotton’s back catalogue after I’d discovered her through the Valley Girl soundtrack. This record is much later. I could only find it digitally on Bandcamp but that’s OK, I’ve joined the digital world.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Josie Cotton albums and originally I had preserved second spot for “Invasion of the B Girls”. However, on balance I think “From the Hip” is slightly better, so I’ll put “Invasion” in last. Still good, mind you.

1. Convertible Music: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1612)
2. From The Hip: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1546)
3. Invasion of the B Girls: 3 stars (reviewed right here)

Rating: 3 stars

Josie Cotton has spent most of her unheralded career doing whatever the fuck she wants. Nowhere is this clearer than on her 2007 album “Invasion of the B Girls” where she covers ten songs from the golden age of B movies.

I enjoyed a full week of listening to this album, which is a kitschy celebratory retrospective of old sixties and seventies movies that essentially invented the concept of “so bad its good”. We’ve got John Waters, Russ Meyer and a host of lesser lesser-lights who have their films theme songs “Cottonized”.

Cottonizing isn’t a major shift of approach for these songs. Josie is already naturally cinematic in the way she sings (she would have done a fine Bond film theme if she’d been given the chance). She adds an element of New Wave to the experience, but her love of sixties go-go tunes is already infused in most of these tunes. She does dress up the songs with a bit more oomph than the originals, however, and the New Wave element adds a pop to the beat in a way most of the originals lacked.

A lot of these original tunes - like the movies they’re featured in - have terrible production. I checked out the originals before writing this review and for the most part Cotton improves them, without losing any of the camp that makes them so much fun.

The album opens with “Get Off the Road” the theme song to the 1968 movie “She Devils on Wheels”. This movie looks atrocious, but holy crap is it a great song. Motorcycle growl effects in the background, and a driving guitar that makes you imagine leaning your bike into a corner a little too fast.

“Female Trouble” goes instead with a big horn section, and a lascivious sway that does the original justice, but with much better vocals.

It is not all fun. While “Valley of the Dolls” may be a B-movie classic, the theme song is not. The original version by the Sandpipers is a saccharine crap-fest and Cotton’s version is equally bad. Cotton’s adds some plot voiceover which does not help.

Overall I enjoyed discovering these songs separate from the films they’re attached to, it made me want to watch the movies as well (I settled for the trailers this time around, but I’ll be keeping my eye out).

Even though this record is only 35 minutes long, it is still a lot of cheese in one sitting and you have to be in the mood for that. Cotton infuses what import she can, but there isn’t a lot of gravitas in these tunes. They are fun compositions written for carefree films that did not take themselves too seriously. Approach the album from this perspective and you will have a fine time.

Best tracks: Get Off the Road, Female Trouble, Faster Pussycat, Goodbye Godzilla

CD Odyssey Disc 1621: Porridge Radio

As long time readers will know, I don’t listen to the radio. I find new music through reviews, my own research and the recommendations of friends. Regardless of the method, I listen to the album once before deciding if I’m going to buy it…usually. Sometimes I’ll take a flier on something new from an established artist that’s never let me down, but it only takes a couple of duds to make me default even old favourites back to the “listen first” camp (I’m looking at you, Steve Earle).

I almost never buy something based on someone else telling me to trust it, but yesterday I did exactly this…twice! In addition to two artists I was looking for (Caitlin Rose and Main Source) I also bought two albums blind, based on recommendation by a friend: Amyl and the Sniffers and Orange Goblin. Both are amazing, so thanks to Nick and Chris respectively for the good advice.

Disc 1621 is…Every Bad

Artist: Porridge Radio

Year of Release: 2020

What’s up with the Cover?  This cover plays hell with my blue/red colour blindness. It’s not totally invisible, but it is about as clear as mud. Are there tendrils reaching up to a moon? I think so… Do I care? I think not…

How I Came To Know It: I got into this band through their 2022 album, “Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky.” “Every Bad” was me drilling through their back catalogue.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Porridge Radio albums, and this one is the second best. Or last, depending on how pessimistic you’re feeling.

Rating: 3 stars but almost 4

Listening to Porridge Radio, I found myself wondering if growing up in Brighton, England, they spent a lot of rainy Spring afternoons listening to their parents Cure albums, staring at the sea and sighing a lot.

There is no shade intended here, however. The Cure are an amazing band, and while a lot of the production, arrangements and song structures are reminiscent of the Cure, lead singer and band leader Dana Margolin uses that inspiration to craft powerful music which is evocative, not derivative.

It starts with Margolin’s vocals which share a lot of their plaintive cry quality with Robert Smith. Slightly flat, urgent and desperate, and sad but in a triumphant kind of “losers unite!” kind of way. If Robert Smith annoys you, rest assured that Margolin will also annoy you. However, if you enjoy this kind of vocal delivery, Margolin will draw you into a delightful intersection of melancholy and dread import.

While there are tracks that I like better than others, “Every Bad” works best as a cohesive album. It is a mood piece, and it will make you want to wear black and take long walks at midnight. Most of the time I fell fully under its spell, the resonant and echoing production enveloping my mood. Once in a while the songs dragged, slowly unraveling at their ends and lingering past their welcome.

This could relate to individual songs, but more often than not it was how whether I was letting the music into my heart. This music is better when you are feeling introspective and emotionally open, less compelling when stuck in traffic.

Lyrically the songs are what you might expect from the music’s style, with a lot of introverted exploration of uncertainty and doubt. It might look something like this line off of “Give/Take”:

“How do I say no without sounding like a little bitch
And how do I say no without being contagious?”

Or from “Born Confused” this bit of sadness as celebration:

“Thank you for leaving me
Thank you for making me happy”

“Born Confused” is a good song, but that refrain above gets repeated a lot at the end of it, and a good example of Porridge Radio’s propensity for doubling or tripling down on mood, sometimes at the expense of knowing when to wrap something up.

Overall, “Every Bad” is intricate, thoughtful and emotionally honest and has one of the key indicators of a good record – it improves on each listen. I look forward to exploring its depths further in coming years.

Best tracks: Sweet, Don’t Ask Me Twice, Give/Take, Lilac

CD Odyssey Disc 1620: Big Daddy Kane

Happy Valentine’s Day! With our wedding anniversary so close to Valentine’s Day, this is one Sheila and I tend to downplay, but I can’t help but think happy thoughts about having found (as one of my friends from work c) “my human.” Thanks for giving me this wonderful life with you, darling!

Disc 1620 is…It’s a Big Daddy Thing

Artist: Big Daddy Kane

Year of Release: 1989

What’s up with the Cover?  Big Daddy hosts a pool party. There does not appear to be a pool (the guests are all sitting on the back of his limousine) but everyone’s in a bathing suit, so that’s my assumption.

Kane is shirtless and showing off a gold chain so thick it’s likely to give him back trouble in later years. Big Daddy often eschews a shirt, going with robes, togas, or - as is the case here - nothing at all. It’s a big daddy thing.

How I Came To Know It: Checking out old school rappers led me naturally to Kane, and once I fell for his debut album, “Long Live the Kane” (reviewed back at Disc 1108) it was an easy descent into all his awesome stuff. “It’s a Big Daddy Thing” is just part of that journey, which continues to this day.

How It Stacks Up: I have four Big Daddy Kane albums, twice as many as when I reviewed “Long Live the Kane” and I’m still growing the collection. Of the four I have, “It’s a Big Daddy Thing” comes in at a tie for #1, but since I don’t believe in ties, I’ll reluctantly put it in at #2.

Rating: 4 stars

Big Daddy Kane is considered part of the “golden age of hip hop”. This expression feels like it is pandering; a sort of “look what the old fellers used to do.” But it isn’t just that the celebrated rhyme concentration of someone like MF Doom wouldn’t exist without predecessors like Kane. It is more than that. This isn’t just musical history – this is some dope-ass, furious spitting as good as anything before or since.

Kane doesn’t get the same cred as some other early rap artists, but in terms of the sheer saturation of language few have ever done it so good. And fortunately, this being 1989, and one of the big topics to rap about is how well one raps, we have Kane proving it in his own words. Consider this little quatrain of pain from “Mortal Combat”:

“I seize and freeze MCs with these degrees
Put me to my knees, or at ease, chill'd please
I break it down, to bring on the next act
Rappers are so full of shit, they need ex-lax”

Now multiply the awesomeness of that by 10, and that’s what it’s like when Kane is delivering it out loud.

Kane is not alone in his brilliance, and the record features a laundry list of first-rate producers and DJs, including Marly Marl and Mister Cee among others. Kane produces half the tracks on the record on his own, and he is a natural. The samples on this record have a natural funk that makes this record not only a grab-bag of verbal delight, but a great party record as well.

This could be a dope bass line on “Smooth Operator” or a sampled horn riff on “Calling Mr. Welfare” but the choices are universally well chosen to bring the funk.

My biggest beef with this record is that it is too long. At 17 tracks and 76 minutes it is just too much – but what would I cut? Everywhere I turn there are incredible flows, rhymes, and samples. This record is saturated in excellence. What should go?

OK, one song can go. “To Be Your Man” tries to channel LL Cool J’s sensual slow jam, but it comes across as schmaltz, not sex. The chorus is an annoying earworm and the production includes a sample that sounds like a dental drill which, based on the number of times it recurs, was designed to annoy me.

However, this is the only song that annoyed me. The other 16 are various shades of great. I did not tire of this record once, and my only frustration is that I must reluctantly put it away and move on to my next random review.

Best tracks: Another Victory, Mortal Combat, Smooth Operator, Calling Mr. Welfare, Wrath of Kane (Live), I Get the Job Done, Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy, The House that Cee Built, Warm It Up Kane

CD Odyssey Disc 1619: The Chats

Every time I complete my “top 10” list for a given year it isn’t long before an album comes along and makes a push to be added after the fact. This next record is definitely in the conversation for Top 10 of 2022, or at least Top 15.

Disc 1619 is…Get Fucked

Artist: The Chats

Year of Release: 2022

What’s up with the Cover?  The Chats have a message, and this cover delivers that message in both words and pictures. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, although in this case just two are required.

How I Came To Know It: My friend Nick introduced me to the Chats about five years ago when he sent me their video for the single “Smoko” which to this day is one of the best songs…ever. When Nick sent this song around it had a few thousand hits but it is now over 18 million. Well, discovered, Nick!

Anyway, since then I’ve been on the lookout for the Chats and have bought both their full-length studio albums. “Get Fucked” is their most recent. I bought this one direct from the band through Bandcamp and look, it came with a sticker!

How It Stacks Up: I have two killer Chats albums and it is hard to choose between them. I guess because I’m immersed in this record, I’ll put “Get Fucked” #1, but this could change when I finally review its competition.

Rating: 4 stars

On each successive listen to “Get Fucked” I have turned the volume up a couple of ticks. By the time Thursday had rolled around, the car was shaking with their punk/hardcore fury.

This may seem like an obvious thing to do with a punk album, but there is something you should know about me. Something that very much belies my heavy metal roots: I don’t like my music too loud. Even the angry stuff. I think when it gets so loud that it’s painful, it is time to dial it back. But with “Get Fucked” I just kept going to 11 and I just kept loving it.

For the second review in a row, the album opens with a song about a vehicle. On the IDLES record this was a performance motorcycle with a Rolls Royce Engine (MTT 420 RR). The Chats go with “6L GTR” which isn’t fully defined, but that I think references a Holden Torana, which is an Australian made muscle car. Whatever it is, the music tells you right away it is going to be driven at reckless speed.

The whole record charges forward at reckless speed. There are 13 tracks, and the whole thing is over in 27 sweat-drenched minutes. “Get Fucked” is the Chats at their heaviest, and many songs embrace heavy metal style guitar riffs nested down inside what is otherwise straightforward mosh-inducing punk rock. The effect is intoxicating, and not in that “fine wine” kind of way. This is music for the reckless drunk, or for those who just want to safely feel like a reckless drunk for two to two and a half minutes at a time.

Subject-wise, the Chats are very literal. “Struck by Lightning” is about being struck by lightning, and “Ticket Inspector” is about being a ticket inspector. Want to know what it’s like to be “Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane”? Listen to the song and you’ll have an approximation. And for anyone who has ever lived pay cheque to pay cheque there is no better expression of the deep frustration than the impotent fury of “Paid Late”.

Through it all, the band is sneaky tight. It isn’t easy to play with this much wanton fury and still stay on the beat, but these boys manage it without losing one ounce of their punk rock cred. Singer and bassist Eamon Sandwith has that classic eighties voice for the style, channeling something between Jello Biafra and Johnny Rotten.

My favourite song on the record is “The Price of Smokes” which shows off Sandwith’s bass skills as well as his vocals. The band’s first hit “Smoko” is an anthem to a smoke break, but “The Price of Smokes” is an angry, brickbat of an anthem of finding out that the sin tax on cigarettes has gone up. Take the murderous gleam in the eye of a smoker who finds themselves two dollars short of a pack, distill it down into a song, and you’ve got “The Price of Smokes” aka “Smoko Denied”.

This whole record was one giant explosion of loud and awesome. I don’t smoke, I haven’t been drunk in a single pub in Brisbane and I listened to this record in a Jaguar convertible not a 6 L GTR. I am a far cry from these characters. I'm likely a favoured target of the cover art’s message. But so what – I had a great time. Want a little rebellion in your life, in 30 minute chunks or less? Get this record, put it on repeat, and turn it up. Loud.

Best tracks: 6L GTR, Struck by Lightning, Ticket Inspector, The Price of Smokes, Paid Late, Emperor of the Beach

CD Odyssey Disc 1618: IDLES

After a welcome evening of drinks with friends, and later board games and telly with my lovely wife, I awoke this morning with a slight headache, rum the likely culprit.

Disc 1618 is…Crawler

Artist: IDLES

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover?  Is this an astronaut falling from the sky, or a motorcyclist being launched from a bike? Or maybe the ghost of either, ethereally floating by his old apartment window? The album has a lot of car crash imagery, which doesn’t rule the ghost out, but makes the astronaut less likely.

How I Came To Know It: Each year I trade a “year’s best music” list with a fellow from work named Andy. Our lists rarely align, but I often find a few records on his that are new and welcome discoveries. This is one of those from 2021.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this one IDLES album, so it can’t stack up.

Rating: 4 stars

“Crawler” is a brutal, oppressive assault, a tidal wave of industrial tinged rock and roll, hard, jittery and electric. You can fight the wave, but as I quickly learned, the joy in this record is letting it envelope and subsume you.

That’s not to say this music doesn’t grate, it is just that the grating is part of the charm. It’s like the growl of an internal combustion engine – there’s a lot of explosive energy and metal whirring around, and it hurtles you forward. It’s only oppressive when you don’t go along for the ride.

The IDLES ease you into the record slowly, however, starting things off with a haunting Nick Cave-like number, “MTT 420 RR”. As it happens, a MTT 420 RR is a high-performance motorcycle. The song starts with a haunting repeated refrain of “It was February. I was cold and I was high.” Surely our narrator doesn’t intend to ride his motorcycle in such a state? Based on the many violent and aggressive tunes that follow (one is even called “Car Crash”) we must assume he does.

This record is great driving music, with plenty of tunes featuring the Motorik drumbeat of Krautrock that calls for a heavy foot on the accelerator. Full disclosure, I had no idea about “Motorik” before writing this review, but if you want to learn more about it there’s an intriguing five minute video that can tell you more here.

The album also has slow swayers, but even these feel ominous. Part of this is the production, which leans heavily into thump and crunch, and part of it is Joe Talbot’s apocalyptic, angst-filled vocals. Talbot is a master of straight-jacketed fury, up there with the Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson and Henry Rollins.

“Meds” is a strong example of Talbot’s talent, as he alternates exclamations of “medicate” and “meditate” until they’re a single concept. IDLES is also one of those bands that don’t lose their accent when singing, which adds a bawling, pub-shouted conversation feel to the music.

While I enjoyed this record, around the third listen I found myself separating from the brutalism and wanting something more gentle so walking to work yesterday morning I put the ole MP3 player on “random play all” rather than take on a fourth listen of “Crawler”. That wasn’t because it is a bad album – it’s great – I just needed a break.

As for my Top 10 list for 2021, I don’t think this one would crack it, but it comes damn close, and if you are in the mood for a little gasoline fueled rock and roll, I heartily recommend it.

Best tracks: MTT 420 RR, The Wheel, The New Sensation, Stockholm Syndrome, Crawl!, Meds

CD Odyssey Disc 1617: The Muffs

After a long weekend I felt energized but after a long couple of days at the office, I feel tired. I take solace, as ever, in good music. Here’s one of my most recent acquisitions!

Disc 1617 is…Blonder and Blonder

Artist: The Muffs

Year of Release: 1995

What’s up with the Cover?  Not much to say here. A picture of the band. The font is a little teen idol for a band that rocks out so much, but I won’t quibble further. The guy on the right looks like he’s related to the Gallagher brothers.

How I Came To Know It: I completely whiffed on the Muffs back when they were making this music, so it was all new to me, but once I discovered it I liked what I heard.

I had a chance to buy this record at a local record store about five years ago. I decided to go home and see if I liked it. I found I did like it and went back the next day only to find it had sold. Argh. Then for years I couldn’t find a copy (it was out of print) until finally I succumbed when I saw it available through an English distributor on Amazon a couple weeks ago. So…here it is. This copy is 2016 re-issue, but not being a purist I am untroubled.

How It Stacks Up: I am on the lookout for another Muffs album that is equally hard to find (1997’s “Happy Birthday to Me”) but for now, “Blonder and Blonder” sits alone, so it can’t stack up.

Rating: 3 stars

“Blonder and Blonder” proves you can punkify anything if you know what you’re doing. This record has pure teen idol pop songs, rockin’ grunge-fest numbers, and even a bit of Celtic folk, all folded up into furious two-and-a-half-minute pop punk ditties.

The result is a little bit angry, but mostly fun. OK, maybe half and half, but the fun glass is the glass that’s half full. These songs have a lot of aggressive playing but don’t let all the crash of cymbals and guitar crunch fool you: underneath they have the soul of sixties pop hits. Think the Supremes or the Shangri-Las, with a bit of nineties snarl.

If you are a punk purist this will irk you. You will rail at the multiple chord progressions, and likely shriek in frustration at mid-song key changes. These things are going to happen, however, and I encourage you to instead enjoy this music for what it is – supercharged pop music written by someone who knows what they’re doing.

That someone is lead singer Kim Shattuck, who tries on different musical styles like she’s thrift-shopping clothes, making each style contort to the sound she needs to make it work for her, regardless of its original owner’s intent. She does this with a wild abandon – think manic pixie dream girl, except that she’s as likely to punch your mouth as kiss it.

Production-wise, this record is of its time. It is full of that wall-of-sound thing that grunge had popularized five years earlier. Plenty of reverb, and lots of banging and crashing. On the one hand, I just wanted to hear the tunes, but on the other I realized that is exactly what gives “Blonder and Blonder” its frenetic charm.

Some of the more surprising style adaptions include “Lying on a Bed of Roses” which has an A section that sounds a lot like the A section in Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right.” It feels slightly wrong, but mostly right. Go with it.

Another surprise is “Funny Face” which has the drunken folksy sway of a Dropkick Murphy’s song. It sounds so much like this that for a while I was convinced Shattuck was just punkifying some traditional sea chanty, but no – she wrote it herself. She just made it seem effortless.

Over repeat listens, the thick production did wear me down a bit, but I can’t denied I enjoyed it. It was both a kiss and a punch, just like it was intended.

My copy of “Blonder and Blonder” is a 2016 re-issue which has a lot of bonus tracks. The original album has my maximum allowable of 14, and the re-issue adds 8 more, many of which are demos. This was irksome but I couldn’t get too mad. For one thing, the liner notes feature short well-structured paragraphs of Shattuck describing what inspired her to write each track. Also, the demos are basically stripped down the way I like my production. Finally, even swollen the record was still only 56 minutes long (the original is a svelte 34).

In doing the minimal research I apply to this review process I learned that Kim Shattuck died of complications of ALS in 2019. For someone with such irrepressible energy to be taken so soon sucks big time, but she left us an album that is so full of life it will survive for generations to come.

Best tracks: Oh Nina, Sad Tomorrow, What You’ve Done, Red Eyed Troll, I Need a Face, Funny Face