I’m back! Back to write about all 40 Polaris Music Prize long-list nominees and announce my ten favourites at the end, that is. Maybe if I keep doing this they’ll invite me to be part of the voting committee. Anyway, let’s get to it.
Prospect by AHI
Pleasant, if boring, acoustic folk deliver with soft, raspy vocals. Lyrically uninspired. The album didn’t have any clunkers, but by the fifth or sixth song about how the singer would feel lost in the world without his love, the music started to wear a bit thin. I could’ve done without the insipid “ooooooohhhhs” that he inserted at the end of seemingly every chorus.
2.5 stars out of 5.
WE by Arcade Fire
What are we doing here, folks? This is an album that desperately – and I mean, desperately – wants to “make you think.” In protest of such a transparently self-important (some might say “ambitious”) goal, I let my mind remain blank for the duration of its 40-minute runtime. You bastards aren’t gonna make me think about anything if I don’t want to. “Your heroes are selling you underwear / And little white pills for your despair,” Win Butler sings in “End of the Empire IV (Sagittarius A*).” I’m exhausted of this Black Mirror shit. Ooh isn’t modernity scary, with its computers and apps and algorithms and SSRIs and financialization? And I guess it is, but that level of observation is banal. With all that said, WE is certainly an improvement over Everything Now, which was one of the corniest albums I’ve ever heard. There were some neat synth parts in “Age of Anxiety.”
2 stars out of 5.
I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES by Backxwash
Now this is more my speed: noisy, abrasive rap songs about self-medicating with alcohol and the struggle for parental and social acceptance as a Black trans woman. Ashanti Mutinta’s harsh vocal delivery and frantic, choppy cadence is the perfect vehicle for her ominous, terror-inducing music. It’s certainly “not for everyone,” but as one of the people it is for, I love it!
Highlights: “Wail of the Banshee,” “Terror Packets,” “Burn to Ashes.”
4.5 stars out of 5.
Talk Memory by BadBadNotGood
The drummer of BBNG is apparently a huge asshole, but I will be separating the art from the artist here when I say “this is great jazz!” Frequently accompanied by a majestic string section, Leland Whitty’s swelling saxophones riffs, Al Sow’s rapid-fire drumming, and Chester Hansen’s droning organ and steady bassline come together to create a delightful sequence of tunes. Mildly psychedelic and full of subtle nods to the rock-infused jazz of the 1970s, Talk Memory is fun from start to finish.
Highlights: “Signal from the Noise,” “Beside April,” “Love Proceeding.”
4 stars out of 5.
aubades by Jean-Michel Blais
Some very soothing piano, string, and sax compositions here. Blais calls himself “post-classical,” and I don’t know what that means or how it differs from regular classical, but whatever it is, it sounds nice.
3.25 stars out of 5.
The Garden by Basia Bulat
Fairly standard orchestral pop with slightly reverbed vocals. Not bad, but nothing really stuck out to hold my interest.
3 stars out of 5.
Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly by Tanika Charles
Ehh. Charles’ voice is nice and her melodies are upbeat, but R&B doesn’t usually do anything for me, and this is no exception. Nothing personal.
Highlight: “Different Morning,” which had an infectious synth line and drum pattern. Gotta give it up when that happens in a song.
2.75 stars out of 5.
Hope for Sale by Chiiild
If you like mid-tempo electronic soul music, this is the stuff for you. Personally, I like it, but not a lot. I wouldn’t choose to listen to it if left to my own devices. It’s the audio equivalent of chili. Like, I’ll eat it if someone offers me some, but I’d never make it for myself.
3 stars out of 5.
ruminations of a sad oaf. 