Summer 2022 Album Roundup

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

CHEAT CODES
DANGER MOUSE & BLACK THOUGHT

It takes real talent to make a throwback sound incredibly fresh. The collab between The Roots' MC Black Thought and super producer Danger Mouse hits that sweet spot. Danger Mouse delivers an old school hip-hop palette that blends vinyl-digging samples, big breakbeats and soul. Black Thought uses this canvas to deliver dense baritone bars that feel imbued with veteran craftiness and rap sage wisdom without feeling old or stale. Seamless features by acts ranging from Run the Jewels to the late MF Doom only bolster an already air-tight collection of grooving jams.

click to enlarge

DANCE FEVER
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

After becoming an arena-filling star on the strength of her powerhouse vocals and wonderfully dramatic delivery, Florence Welch has turned her lyrical lens inward on Dance Fever. The album details Welch's inward reflections on the life of an artistic performer and the inherent anxieties and weights one must bear by choosing such an existence. Welch manages to avoid making this exploration an example of "woe is me, the famous star" by being acutely aware and critical of her own self-mythologizing. The pop grandeur of the instrumental arrangements makes sure that it's not too heavy of an endeavor, allowing Welch to dance like she's got a benign case of choreomania the whole way through.

click to enlarge

I JUST WANT TO BE WILD FOR YOU
MAITA

Maria Maita-Keppeler is yearning. What exactly for varies over the course of I Just Want To Be Wild For You's 11 tracks, which only makes the Portland-based singer/songwriter's sonic dexterity shine through. Her razor-sharp songwriting can deliver back-to-back songs telling two sides of the same clashing relationship (one a hyper indie rocker about overthinking, and the other a slow twangy ode to trying), make a cleverly biting, tongue-in-cheek "love" song about her smartphone become grand chamber music, or peel back the layers to revel in the aching for getting past faded distance to return to wild passion. It manages to call to mind stellar albums like Mitski's Bury Me at Makeout Creek and Steady Holiday's Take the Corners Gently, while carving out its own excellence in this world that fosters isolation.

click to enlarge

A LEGACY OF RENTALS
CRAIG FINN

While Craig Finn's prior solo efforts never felt extremely gripping, his latest LP sounds like a subdued, spoken word version of his band The Hold Steady in the best possible way. Narrative songcraft has always been Finn's forte, and the lyrical poetry with which he paints these bittersweet tales of memories (emphasis on the bitter) pairs perfectly with instrumental arrangements of strings, subtle rock 'n' roll and vocal aid from Cassandra Jenkins. The backing assists without ever overwhelming, making for a whole that's as beautiful and rotten as all those faded days gone by.

click to enlarge

MIDDLING AGE
TIM KASHER

Cursive frontman Tim Kasher has never been anywhere close to a chipper songwriter, but even when stacked against his catalog of bummers, the lyrical work on new solo album Middling Age feels brutal and at times devastating. While the sound might be stripped back compared to Cursive's harder edge, there's plenty of twists and turns added to the fingerpicked folk and rock formula via swirling horns, string flairs, kalimba and the like. But that's all really a backdrop for Kasher's thoughtful lyrical explorations of being unable to move past a failed marriage ("I Don't Think About You"), existent fear of being forgotten, faith in the face of death ("I don't need a crucifix for a crutch"), the middle age crisis of numbing routines, wrestling with staying egotistic or giving up, and the agonizing thoughts of lovers inevitably dying. The whole package is a poetic gut punch.

click to enlarge

RAISED
HAILEY WHITTERS

While modern pop country can often feel like it's suffocating under the weight of lowest common denominator cliches, the real thing that's so off-putting about the genre is how hollow and insincere its contributors sound — more test-marketed than from the heart. That's partially why Hailey Whitters' Raised feels so refreshing. Yes, she hits plenty of familiar tropes with her rosy nostalgic odes to growing up in the rural Midwest — there's plenty of drinking, trucks, big families and side-eyed glances at city ways — but the whole thing goes down smooth because there's genuine sincerity in the songwriting. By keeping the production simple and letting the county fair sweetness in her voice do the heavy lifting, there's an authenticity to the clap-filled singles and awww shucks Americana.

click to enlarge

SKINTY FIA
FONTAINES D.C.

There's a menacing quality to Skinty Fia, the third LP by Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. The bass-driven tracks with ultra-tight drumming create an ominous brooding rock atmosphere while singer Grian Chatten lets the dark unease hang. He sings his lines of cold love and the complexities of his Irish identity with a captivating detachment, like he's been cornered in a smoke-filled pub and must seethe his worldview through clenched teeth. Skinty Fia is a snarling, jaded, brooding collection of pummeling sound that rarely relents.

click to enlarge

SOMETIMES, FOREVER
SOCCER MOMMY

Sophie Allison's superpower is crafting songs that burrow into your brain and grow like welcome weeds. The singer-songwriter known as Soccer Mommy first displayed this gift on her stunning debut album, Clean, and it remains true on her third LP, Sometimes, Forever. Allison's casual delivery and deceptive melodic complexity might not grab you on first pass, but the more you hear songs like "Bones," "Shotgun" and "Following Eyes," the more hooky these tunes packed with bummer lyrical confessions become. In no time, Soccer Mommy songs sound like ultra-catchy old friends that you feel like you've known (sometimes) forever.

click to enlarge

SPECIAL
LIZZO

After some pretty rough years, your mileage may vary on Lizzo's brand of relentless hyper-positivity. But if you're still on board, Special offers up another blast of upbeat chart-topping dancefloor pop. Lizzo once again spreads her soulful wings and attempts to uplift all her sisters by trying to make everyone feel good in their own skin. Special might not be quite as loaded with undeniable bangers as Cuz I Love You, but there's certainly enough to keep your 2022 party playlist loaded.

click to enlarge

VERSIONS OF MODERN PERFORMANCE
HORSEGIRL

One would be forgiven if they didn't realize Horsegirl was a trio of Chicago teens. After all, the group's debut LP Versions of Modern Performance could've come out before any of them were born and still fit in as one of the best post-punk albums of that era. The band exudes an ultra cool youthful swagger with tracks emitting a buzzing wall of shoegaze noise without ever losing their melodic underpinning. With the aid of producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., The Hold Steady), Horsegirl saunters through ultra hooky brooding jams ("Anti-Glory") and the type of guitar rock ("Live and Ski") that's artfully ramshackle in the hip way that only masters of the genre can typically pull off. ♦