24 albums. 24 short reviews. Let’s see what I can do to try and condense my overall feelings around each record because this is going to take a good while to complete it. Originally, I was hoping to complete a total of such into one complete article. However, the amount of time that might take for me to complete it fully is pretty time-consuming to the point where it can feel a bit much when you also need to think about other bits as well. Especially with the later paragraph, I want to try & get the capsule reviews over so that I can move on to doing an Under the Label piece on the Paisley Underground scene in the 1980s. Here in this article, I will be looking at the first eleven records of the list that I had listened to for this series.
I would also like to leave a bit of a hint that I’m concurrently working on another project that’s more of a cultural/media criticism around one film that I’ve seen from a few months ago. In the best case scenario, I might even try and do a video essay based on it. Let’s treat this article as a starter before we get into the main meal, it just wouldn’t feel right to immediately jump into a very lengthy information dump. I have a good hunch that this script might be my very best work as an ‘content creator’ so far for a lack of better word. It’s something that I hope you might be excited about even if it might not be all that related to music in general.
George Children – George Children (19 July 2023)
A nice bit of slacker rock vibe helps to mesh with the angst and the bit of doubt that perpetuates the California-based band’s self-titled debut. Yet, the sludgy production largely shakes off the potential creation of a distinct identity. The riffs do sound nice, but these matter little when, at the end of the day, the tracks feel as if they blend too much with one another. The best cuts are more downtempo where, a bit like slowcore, you can truly get the sense of despondency and alienation one would feel in their world. It might not be a start of a newfound miracle, but it’s at least a nice little treat of escapism. 2.9/5
Tenhi – Valkama (9 June 2023)
Having long been a staple of Finland’s folk scene since 1996, Tenhi stood out for its more overt industrial influences that propelled them to become a neofolk household name. Valkama takes the cynical fingerstyle guitar up a bit with occasional drumming and layered singing to add to the sense of tension. There’s a clear sense of despondency through the downbeat tempo, the feeling of resignation and melancholia that seeks to choke you out. The drudgery might wear you down, but Tenhi’s composure is always soothing in a way that harkens back to a certain quote: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” 3.4/5
23wa – RORSCHACH (23 March 2023)
The french hip hop artist had opted to go for a concept record that’s grounded in psychology and introspection. Named after a well-known projective test, much of the record is filled with the constant ups and downs of 23wa as he raps about his sense of isolation. The production, oftentimes glitchy and ambient at the same time, is a big highlight for its boundary-pushing samples and sparsity in using the drum machine. Its atmospheric impressions are dulled out in a way by the rapping style of the artist himself. There’s a clear sense of interest in self-reflection, but the phrasing simply doesn’t feel as affecting as other notable rap albums. Think of it like the early Ye records minus the signature no-filter honesty. Check it out for the production. 3/5
McKinley Dixon – Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (2 June 2023)
For a bit of fun fact, you won’t get any more conscious than to have three Toni Morrison novels make up the name of your breakout record. The Midwest rapper who had previously released three albums, two of which during university, had gone full concision on Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? with a runtime of just under 30 minutes. With a jazzy instrumentation that feels reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly or A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, Dixon raps with complete dexterity. He has such a smooth flow and passionate inflection that makes him a clear standout compared to many, you know you’re in for a conviction once you hear his voice. If there’s anyone who deserves to have their names be known a lot more this year, then Dixon takes the glory. 4.3/5
billy woods and Kenny Segal – Maps (5 May 2023)
Abstract hip hop professional billy woods of Aethiopes fame hits the spotlight once again with his anticipated collaboration with California-based producer Kenny Segal. Maps continues to carry on the emcee’s growing case as one of the best lyricists in recent rap history with dense anecdotes about family, ambition, class, and the black American community. The beats to help back wood up wins you over for a bit with its alien percussions and altered samples. While I do feel at times that the album that might not have come off as being especially hard-hitting compared to other records in the same genre for this year, it’s still a fine literate piece. This isn’t some big groundbreaking push for avant-rap nor is it a complete art statement. What it is at the end of the day is a dope testament of intricate storytelling and cryptic bars. 4/5
This Is The Glasshouse – As Small As Ants (July 9 2023)
For what is largely a b-side project from a band that’s largely focused on “more simplistic production and sonic elements”, this hits me in a way that is rarely felt since Jordaan Mason. The Bandcamp page might downplay the youthful anxieties that pervades in As Small As Ants, but the album feels as if it’s built out of the concept of how we feel out of place in today’s society. Prog-pop sentiments is the name of the game with its elaborate horns and vast arrays of instruments alongside the timidly shy singing. If this is simple & largely negligent of the wider impact of the work, I can’t help but feel stirred by the sheer chemistry that is to be found here. Fans of grand chamber pop like Black Country, New Road would fall in love with this as do connoisseurs of imperfect singers. 4.7/5
Guided By Voices – Welshpool Frillies (21 July 2023)
Mythic lo-fi rock legends Guided By Voices are still pushing through after a string of acclaimed albums in the 1990s like Bee Thousands. Welshpool Frillies is the latest output just months after January’s La La Land. Admirable as frontman Roberts Polland’s work ethic is in music, this album lacks the certain magic that makes the earlier works worthwhile. The wittiness doesn’t feel as impactful nor does the fizzles add up to the point of feeling legitimately charming in its datedness. It’s all just decent playing of rock instruments that is struggling to push the rest of the record to the next level. Fans might be happy to see that Guided by Voices is working as per usual, but those who are hoping for a more inspiring vision might find little to realise what makes them worthwhile. 1.9/5
Greg Mendez – Greg Mendez (5 May 2023)
A short-run series of indie folk pop songs by the Pennsylvania-based music artist ruminates on love and addiction through gentle strumming and an Elliott Smith-esque hushed singing. The certain delicacy, familiar themes, and subtextual feelings of toxicity and abuse does make the whole album feel derivative in a way that points toward a lack of distinctiveness. The musicianship is good without enough unconventionality to truly show why Mendez is deserving of our attention. If there’s one prop that I would like to give praise to, it’s the pretty linear lyricism, containing only a couple of short choruses, which offers a verse-like storytelling like Gregory Alan Isakov. Greg Mendez is ultimately a nice little listen even if there could be more to carve itself out as unique from the others. 3/5
George Clanton – Ooh Rap I Ya (28 July 2023)
Vaporwave pioneer and chillwave aficionado George Clanton’s newest album aims toward the haziness and danceability of the late 80s’ baggy wave. With clear influences from dream pop, trip hop, and hypnagogic pop with serious neo-psychedelic drowsing, Ooh Rap I Ya puts all its eggs into the nostalgia bag. This leads to some very well-equalised series of reverberating instrumentations and echoing vocals. This would make for one dreamy example of the Wall of Sound production formula that Phil Spector had created in the 1960s. I would throw in a little admittance that the songwriting side does not feel as strong or peculiar as the other entries here; the lyrics for one take the backseat to a bit of negligence. Once the highs do kick in however, Ooh Rap I Ya proves Clanton’s talent as eliciting the past with ‘I Been Young’ as the definite cornerstone to enjoying this record. 3.6/5
ANOHNI and the Johnsons – My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (7 July 2023)
When My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross is released, ANOHNI embodies the queer community in the indie scene. Thanks to her breakthrough sophomore album, 2005’s I Am a Bird Now, and her openness about her gender identity, ANOHNI enters the record with clear hype from her following. Here, she sings with such a passion that it’s a miracle how she has yet to receive mainstream attention for the sheer intensity. The themes she ruminates over lend itself to mortality, dependency, and eventually returning. There might not be much about it that is eye-opening or evocatively emotional, but very rarely do you find someone with as much passion in their singing as ANOHNI in this very album. 3.8/5
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