We’re back, dear reader, and free of the dog days of summer. The kids are back in school but the air-conditioner’s still in the window (and let’s face it, we’re not taking it out until we absolutely have to). So let’s skip a big intro and settle in for some tunes before the yellow bus pulls up with a hoard of Frozen backpacked boys and girls ready to regale you with epic tales of math and recess.
Album: In this critic’s tenure here at MotH, there has yet to be an album that has truly been a “must own”. To choose the “best album of the year” would have been a challenge, as there was no stand out like last year’sRandom Access Memories or Channel Orange the year prior. Then the master of melancholy came back with an album that might well be his best in years, if not his best ever recorded. Without further ado, let’s discuss the must own album of the month, Ryan Adams’ Ryan Adams.
Adams has made a career out of the blues/folk blend with a hint of bleak that sounds like a spiritual sister to Springsteen’s Nebraska (sometimes even going darker, like the tortured “Wonderwall” cover from Love is Hell), and the self-titled album kicks a bit more life into the melancholia at first a killer, vicious opening track entitled “Gimme Something Good”. From there, we segue into "Kim", which takes the energy of the opener and subdues it with shades of wounded bitterness, proving to us that Adams has sonically evolved but spiritually remained the same (in spite of a happy marriage since the groly days of grimness). “Stay With Me” is the radio friendly hit that every record producer demands (even if the only radio station willing to play something so devoid of a dub step beat is NPR), and pulls the album toward a midpoint rise before hitting the brilliant denouement of the album’s final few tracks. In truth, the two real highlights of the album are admittedly the ones that play like long lost Bruce tracks, “Feels Like Fire” and “I Just Might”, and it wraps with a brilliantly somber closer, “Let Go”, sung in a swirl of hope and desperation as though Adams tries to follow the titular command as he grumbles his way through the song’s softer moments.
Ryan Adams is the kind of record some artists only get once, yet it also feels like the dawn of a new creative phase for Adams. It’s pained but passionate, enjoyable and emotional. It’s a must own record that gives hope for the future, both of Adams career and music in general. Pick it up today.
Single: “Believe Me”- Usher
Usher is back with a new single that showcases the stellar R&B vocalist before drowning it electric backing track that kills what could have been a brilliant stripped down ballad. Chris Browns and Biebers come and go with beat-heavy hits, and Usher seems determined to keep up with the Jonses, but a track packed with this much electronic noise makes his usually enthralling vocal riffs feel auto-tuned by association. It’s as though he doesn’t realize he has the talent those others lack, which is why they mask it with production values. And if this single is any indication, the album which can’t be far behind will feature more of the once R&B icon adrift in electronica.
Music Videos:
Electronica: “90’s Music (DJ Shadow x Salva Remix)”- Kimbra
Speaking of electronica, let’s look at some that works as the legendary DJ Shadow (whose Endtroducing… is required listening for any music fan) takes a crack at Kimbra’s hit “90’s Music”. Bet you never thought the bouncy track could be made terrifying, but this haunting bad trip stays with you well after the song ends.
Hip-Hop: “Ruggedman ft. Reminisce”- 8Figures
We’re not going to try and make a case for the track itself, which is subpar if we’re being generous, and admittedly the video isn’t exactly mind-blowing either. Yet, in a slow week for hip-hop, at the least, “Ruggedman” reaches beyond the typical tropes of the rap video.
Pop: “Shake It Off”- Taylor Swift
From the man who brought you such classic music videos as NIN’s “Closer” and Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” comes…well, the polar opposite. Mark Romanek, who might be the greatest music video director of all time, goes well outside his comfort zone both visually and musically, tackling former country star-turned pop musician Taylor Swift’s cheery debut single for her album, 1989. The fact is, the track as infectiously catchy, and Romanek captures the spirit of the song without settling for simple shoats and cliches. The video is still gorgeously filmed, and the shot composition is far better than it had any right to be.
R&B: “No Gravity”- AU8UST ft. Mina Knock
Sometimes you find a video that far exceeds the quality of the track it’s promoting, and “No Gravity” sure is that. A gorgeous and visually striking monochrome video works just as good on mute, but it works, and that’s what we’re here for.
Rock: "Udoroth”- A Sound of Thunder
This week’s column brought us a painful single from Usher, two awful R&B/Hip-Hop tracks with varying degrees of enjoyable B&W videos, and a pretty good music and video remix of an alright pop song from Kimbra. The joy that Ryan Adams provided had been overtaken by seeing Usher’s potential career downturn, and even the ever-enjoyable Taylor Swift couldn’t improve the mood in a bad week for music (Adams and Swift aside). So sometimes, you don’t need something objectively brilliant to fix it. Sometimes, you just need something so delightfully absurd it makes it all go away. So please, dear reader, let yourself get lost in something so unironically 80’s metal the only question you have is “How?”. At the 1:32 mark, Udoroth bites the head off of a demon. Just Ozzy-style bites it, and there’s no better way to end this column. See you next week.
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