Took a few days off, but now I’m back to speak in cliché about some albums I listened to. Let’s go!
Sundry Rock Song Stock by Yves Jarvis
Some very chill soft rock vibes to be found here, alongside experimental electronic bubbles and blips that surprise without being disorienting. Unfortunately, it was so chill that it almost put me to sleep.
Highlights: “For Props,” “Fact Almighty.”
3.5 stars out of 5.
Play with the Changes by Rochelle Jordan
R&B + electropop + breakbeat = this album. Love to open these mini-reviews with a genre description because I’ve got nothing else to say about the album. It was fine. I have a hard enough time writing about music I love, but now I gotta find words to describe a bunch of 3-out-of-5s? That’s my own fault. I could stop at any point.
Highlight: “Count It.”
3 stars out of 5.
Meteors Could Come Down by LAL
Remember what I said about Yves Jarvis earlier in this post? Similar words apply here, except there’s more piano than guitar and it’s even more downtempo than Jarvis’ music.
Highlight: “Meteors Could Come Down.”
3 stars out of 5.
Heavy Sun by Daniel Lanois
Is this Daniel Lanois’ first Polaris nomination? Too lazy to confirm. But I must say I do prefer his weird guitar shit like in Flesh and Machine to the slow soul/gospel ballads about love and kindness, etc. in this album. Oh well. It’s not up to me what music Daniel Lanois makes. Art is sometimes about what moves the artist, not the audience.
Highlight: “Dance On.”
3 stars out of 5.
Cantalou by Thierry Larose
Didn’t follow the lyrics because they were in French and I’ve lost my ability to speak French from years of disuse, but the music had very 2009-era indie rock vibes. I will not be elaborating on that any further. That’s all I’ve got.
Highlights: “Cantalou,” “De la perspective d’un vieil homme.”
3.25 stars out of 5.
Humor by Russell Louder
“They should be Russell Quieter” is what I would say about this dance album if I hated it. But I didn’t. It was pretty good!
Highlights: “Home,” “Outside,” “Know the Game,” “Lavender.”
3.5 stars out of 5.
ruminations of a sad oaf. 