We’re midway through summer. We’ve heard “Padam Padam” all the time everywhere (no complaints), festival season is in full swing, and the Beyoncé Renaissance tour finally arrives in the US. Let’s catch up on a few other musical things.
Quick reminder that I’m going to launch a podcast soon about albums! I’m still looking for people who want to talk about records with me. If you’re interested, sign up here!
Carly Rae Jepsen announces The Loveliest Time
It’s become a guarantee at this point: if Carly Rae Jepsen releases an album, she’ll also release a disc of b-sides. Thank god she’s so prolific because each of these collections offers songs that rival the main album’s tracks and become setlist staples and fan favorites. This time around, she’s doing something a little different. On July 28th, Carly will put out The Loveliest Time, a companion piece to her latest album The Loneliest Time. She’s framed this as its own entity and not necessarily leftovers from the previous album. Her latest single “Shy Boy” is a James Ford production, famous for his work on Jessie Ware’s latest albums. With new blood and the promise of more Rostam tracks (Warm Blood, Western Wind) - this will indeed be lovely.
Mini chemistry Review
Kelly Clarkson’s long awaited 7th studio, non holiday album finally arrived last month. Pitched as a record covering the entire arch of a relationship that ultimately ended in divorce, chemistry shows Kelly jumping from anger to remorse to nostalgia to apathy. At press stops for chemistry, Kelly admitted to holding back some of the more scathing songs to protect her children, which of course makes sense. However that also means the final product feels like she’s not going all in on someone who clearly shattered her illusions of love. That’s not to say she doesn’t get mad - my absolute favorite song from the album and an instant classic in her canon is “rock hudson.” “You were my Rock Hudson / It was real until it wasn’t” - she evokes the closeted Hollywood leading man who later died from complications with AIDS, comparing her relationship to the facade. The title track has an early Coldplay baseline that melts around Kelly’s delivery, and “lighthouse” is the moment her hurt is palpable. Definitely believe the record is a grower so if it hasn’t clicked, give it a few more spins.
You should also listen to these!
Amaare - Fountain Baby
This album and artist emerged out of nowhere and instantly became a favorite of this year. The range of sounds and styles she employs - sometimes with in a single song’s 3 minute duration - is some galaxy brain shit. Amaare’s voice has a dynamic quality that’s consistently in service of the lyrics, knowing exactly how to spit a line or glide over a beat. I continue finding new things to love about it with each listen.
Olivia Rodrigo - Vampire
Ask my friends at the beach the other weekend - I wouldn’t shut up about this song. It refused to leave my head, and remains an impressive sophomore lead from an artist with sky high expectations. While I enjoyed a chunk of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut SOUR, I wanted more grit. The best songs - brutal, good 4 u, jealousy jealousy - had an edge I wanted to hear across a full album. “vampire” suggests we’re going to get a more developed, aggressive affair and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the record.
Doja Cat - Attention
I’ve been a passive Doja Cat fan. The singles are inescapable, the albums are clearly titanium made, but she hasn’t had much sticking power. However, “Attention” stopped me in my tracks. Someone mentioned how the instrumental has “Confide In Me” by Kylie Minogue vibes and I can’t unhear it (thankfully). The precision with which Doja eviscerates critics and peers gives that confident thrill only hip-hop can give.
Ani DiFranco - Little Plastic Castle (25th Anniversary Edition)
With someone as prolific as Ani DiFranco, sometimes it’s overwhelming to know where to start with an artist. However, if someone was Ani-curious, this would be the record I’d put forward. Upon its release in 1998, Little Plastic Castle arrived as Ani’s most complete and realized artistic statement to date. That’s not to suggest the albums before it weren’t incredible - they’re some of her best - but Little Plastic Castle showed where she’d been, and where she’d go. The remastered edition brings every crystal clear aspect of her guitar playing and singing to the forefront, unearthing buried production details and giving these songs new life.
Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
I’ll leave you on a swift note. I’ve talked a little about my journey with Taylor’s music. I wasn’t a fan fan until she put out 1989 in 2014. Until then, I appreciated a handful of songs but wasn’t seeking her out. Speak Now accelerated her ascent. It hit number one and sold a million copies in its first week, the second best at that time behind Britney Spears’ Oops! I Did It Again and a record she herself would break with each consecutive album. The album itself was entirely written by Taylor, the first in her catalogue with no co-writers. It was written and recorded while she was 18-20, which means the songs have a youthful outlook and experience to them. Some of that is softened by the re-recorded Taylor’s Versions, but some of the songs also benefit from Taylor’s improved vocal abilities and confidence. I might prefer the original Better Than Revenge (and Mean, but I’ve never liked that one honestly), but as far as I’m concerned the bulk of the rest are the definitive versions. “Mine” sounds like the world conquering smash it should have been, “Dear John” has the passion and bite it was missing, and “Enchanted” finally receives a vocal performance worthy of its grandiosity.
Hard agree on Little Plastic Castle. It was my intro to Ani and made me delve into her entire discography after.