Score first then I'll ramble go try and justify it. This is clearly a good album. Much better than a 6 but one I can't rate higher than a 7 even though it's doing a lot of stuff I like. It's also doing a bunch of stuff I don't quite understand so it's probably me. But it's also doing a bunch of stuff that actively aggravates me.
I split the album into 2 with the pointless To The End of the Earth marking the break point. Or maybe it's not pointless. Maybe it is me not understanding.
The first half features a bunch of songs that could very easily soundtrack a glossy TV series featuring lawyers or cops somewhere sunny but with a seedy underbelly. I immediately thought of Suits but it could be a bunch of stuff and there will definitely be a scene where someone is getting chased whilst one of the tracks plays and also a bit where we drive by a tented village where everything is over exposed and filmed at 8 FPS.
Maktub sounds like Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder or Leave Me Alone by Michael Jackson. I wanted to sit with it a while as I initially found the production far too dense with lots of things obscured behind the vocal and guitar. It's particularly egregious on Maktub and JPEG RAW but I think on subsequent listens I'm able to pick out some more of the detail. However I'd still love to hear a mix that's more open. I do enjoy the groove of JPEG RAW and the repeated words on the end of the lines and it does reward multiple listens - I just wish it wasn't making me work so hard to hear them :)
Don't Start carries on with the muscular stuff and threats to kill a man. Some nice bass work but I've definitely had enough by the time it finishes.
This is Who We Are has the best moment of the album. The intro is bananas in all the ways I loved War of the Worlds and the song has some interesting sounds I wish were more obvious. It has a pulsey bass thing going on like Witness by Roots Manuva or at least I think I'm hearing it. My goodness it's full of interesting production choices being hidden underneath a bunch of guitar. It ends really really well and I love the arpeggio it descends into.
I really enjoy how this section feels like I'm hearing it in a club and in general I really enjoy how the songs seem to be blending together. it is very very masculine though with lots of threats to shut mouths etc. To The End of the Earth might be a joke or it's doing something very deliberate I don't understand but I wish I did. The album changes direction slightly and a lot of the groove that I felt was hidden by the mix suddenly becomes more obvious as we leave some of the masculinity behind. Again I really want to know if this is deliberate choice or not.
Alone Together really makes me feel like my 7 is incredibly harsh. I love the subtle variation in the drums, the flute, the falsetto, the groove. I want to put it on repeat and fall asleep to it. Am I about to talk myself into a higher score? Unfortunately not as Stevie Wonder is about to appear and harsh my vibe.
It's easy to imagine What About The Children being a single as it has the most immediate groove. Its missing a strong hook though and the lyrics are so cliched and bad that I can't quite believe it's not a joke. The honest people line confuses me as I'm not sure if it's sarcastic or not. Stevie shouting WHAT ABOUT THE BABIES and thinking you can buy shoes for a dollar is a real low point.
Hearts in Retrograde almost returns the album back to a high standard but I have a nagging feeling that Lenny Kravitz would do this better. Still some interesting ideas in this. The tempo change is good but doesn't seem to lead to anything. I really want to understand why!!!!!!! I feel like it's important but don't know why.
Hyperwave has a really enjoyable bass line and some really nice moments but again the contrast between the first half of the album and this half feels significant but I don't understand why :(
Funk Witch U has stupid spelling and worse lyrics. I guess they are genre appropriate but singing all around the world and rhyming that with all the boys and girls just feels lazy. Still some nice sounds on it that I wish were easier to hear.
Triumph is soooooo close to being a banger. I wish again the lyrics were stronger and the gated snare is really an abomination. BUT I really applaud the decision to do it even if I think it's dumb. It's possible though that this song and all the other songs trying to get me to think about the babies are failing for me because I've heard The JCB Song which is the greatest song about a dad and his kids that's ever been written. This is why it really obviously can't be a 6 but why I can't give it more than a 7.
Album closer Habits is the perfect way to end and leave me really confused. What's the purpose of the breakdown thing just over 3 minutes in? I expected it to go into a mad gospel direction but we then return to a variation of the main riff but now it's kind of latin.
This album frustrates me so much. With the exception of the homeless kids song there isn't a single track I wouldn't want to hear again and it's got some incredibly fascinating choices in it. It's obviously great but I just can't get past that 7
Sort of tangential to the pick itself but one of the things that endears GCJ to me is the blak and blu signature Casino he did. It's not uncommon for signature versions to a bit of a rip off but this looked gorgeous and was fantastic value for money with a bigsby and American p90s for a little bit more than the price of the basic models. Been looking for one for elder son for a while but hardly anyone seems to want to part with them and the second hand price is now a fair bit more than when they were released. I have no idea the degree to which the artist ultimately influences the pricing but it was such a fantastic value guitar to have in his name.
Which brings me to his tone which for me is one of the best things about him. Bimbo has already mentioned Numb which has that brilliantly big sound but what I really like is he never goes too far, no mindless dialling it up to 11 shit, the fuzz and the overdrive are there in spades but never overwhelm the songs and he's great at tonal variation across and within songs too. One minute swampy the next very clean.
So I approached this new release with a bit of trepidation as I'd read he'd gone for more of a stripped back sound. So far though any concerns were unfounded, still loving those tones.
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