Playing Catch-Up: Part XVIII

Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: ‘American Dream‘
Year: 2017

Retirement is fucking overrated. LCD Soundsystem made a big deal about hanging up their gear only to come back with an album that, not only encapsulates the essence of their sound, but builds upon it in weird and wonderful ways. This could have been an album of wacky and aimless experimentation but, instead, it was focused and really slick. Definitely a must-listen.

Track of Distinction: “Call the Police” is just a good jam by the band that is both infectious while being very simple at its core.

Artist: Ke$ha
Album: ‘Rainbow‘
Year: 2017

Ke$ha is becoming the artist I had hope Katy Perry would have the guts to become. This album is daring without becoming an art piece. She dug into her will to be an artist–I’m guessing this is a result from her awful and all-too public legal battle with her shitface former producer–to make a shockingly diverse, eclectic, and very well-done album that, not only includes her signature sound, but also a couple of country-inspired hits. She did a duet with Dolly Parton and it’s awesome! In fact …

Track of Distinction: Her duet with legend Dolly Parton, “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle To You),” is magic and feels like a torch is being passed from one generation to another.

Artist: Gogol Bordello
Album: ‘Seekers and Finders‘
Year: 2017

It stinks to come off of two really solid offerings from great performers to hear an album that seems to be a husk of the band’s former self. Gogol Bordello endeared themselves as the raucous gypsy-punk badasses but, on this album, take it a few notches down and really seem to phone it in. This sounds more like a shitty Coldplay album than anything resembling punk rock. Shame!

Track of Distinction: “Saboteur Blues” would be a nice bridging song between what the band was and what it wants to become if what it wanted to become was something better.

Artist: Iron & Wine
Album: ‘Beast Epic‘
Year: 2017

There is something to be said for consistency in the face of an industry that seems to embrace change for the sake of change. Sam Beam’s project continues with another album filled with songs that seem to be made out of blood, sweat, and bone leaving me to wonder how he doesn’t sleep for a month after every studio session. Though deeply personal and extremely moving, he doesn’t let the listener carry the load leaving the sound deceptively light and refreshing. Sound weird? Just listen.

Track of Distinction: “Call It Dreaming,” like much of the rest of the album, is light, refreshing, and very relaxing.

Iron & Wine

Albums
‘The Sea & The Rhythm [EP]‘ (2002)
‘Our Endless Numbered Days‘ (2004)
‘Woman King [EP]‘ (2005)
‘The Shepherd’s Dog‘ (2007)
‘Around the Well‘ (2009)
‘Kiss Each Other Clean‘ (2011)

I have mused before that, at certain times, I really like slow and simple music; something I can take or leave at my will and is steady enough to give me equal parts distraction and freedom. Iron & Wine gives me these things and more.

Last week I found my mind wandering daily and I couldn’t focus on any of my personal or professional responsibilities. Then I put on these albums and lost myself for a bit. During this time I found my focus once more and became productive come the end of the week. I don’t know if it was Samuel Beam’s monotone singing or the fact at times he is almost inaudible, but the music made me calm and renewed.

People who are not used to listening to folk troubadours may find Iron & Wine’s early releases to be dull and lifeless, preferring 2011’s ‘Kiss Each Other Clean’ and its complex orchestrations. I, on the other hand, prefer the early acoustic albums because they are the heart of what Beam is as an artist. There are artists that are obviously terrified of being alone on stage or on an album but Beam seems to revel in it despite his almost shy-natured singing. The lyrics betray him and his vulnerability almost immediately and it becomes clear that he is trying to hold back the pain that comes with baring your soul to the world.

By the time he get to 2007’s ‘The Shepherd’s Dog’ we see that he is starting to branch out and develop his music more by adding in more and more elements to each track. He still keeps true to his folk roots but he does allow himself to experiment and it proves out in the end. What I found to be a wonderful surprise was, during this experimental time, and taking into account the huge musical leaps he takes in the five years between ‘The Shepherd’s Dog’ and ‘Kiss Each Other Clean’ we get ‘Around the Well,’ a collection of B-sides and covers that includes a cover of The Postal Service‘s “Such Great Heights,” which will go down as one of my favorite covers of all-time simply because it is the appropriate showcase tone for those lyrics (the original is way too up-beat and pop and sounds odd with those lyrics).

And while I’m more a fan of his early work, the late work shows a lot of time and dedication proving that Beam is truly in it for the music and not for the acclaim.

Track of Distinction: “Jesus the Mexican Boy” from ‘The Sea & The Rhythm EP’ is a lyrically ambitious song that is pretty memorable for what it is. The symbolism may get lost in the folds but this will go down as one of the better cuts from this artist’s first solid release.