LABYRINTHITIS by Destroyer
What a goddamn delight this album is, to me. Classifying it as one genre or another wouldn’t really do it justice, but it’s definitely somewhere under the “rock” umbrella, drawing influences from jazz, pop, funk, and ambient. (Actually, I changed my mind: that does do it justice. That’s descriptive enough. What more do you want from me?) It’s full of fun, cryptic lines like “Oh Aggie, your beating heart was a carriage made of gold” and “I touch roses and go where the wind goes, not on shitty vacations.” This might be my favourite record of 2022 so far.
Highlights: “June,” “Tintoretto, It’s for You,” “It Takes a Thief.”
4.5 stars out of 5.
I Thought of You by Julie Doiron
’Round these parts, we respect a straightforward folk-rock album. Doiron’s sensitive, breathy vocals and overdubbed harmonies are warm and pleasant. The guitars have that classic, unadorned ’90s/’00s indie tone that I can’t seem to describe other than by this exact comparison. It’s nice.
Highlights: “You Gave Me the Key,” “Thought of You.”
3.75 stars out of 5.
Get Thee to a Nunnery by The Garrys
Some nice surf rock out of, it says here, “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan?” Can’t get much further from surfable waters than that. It’s kind of like if someone from Dayton, Ohio made Mongolian folk music. Or maybe not. Maybe there’s a vibrant music scene in Saskatoon with all sorts of unexpected genre interpretations! I don’t know! Anyway, the guitar reverb produces a vague sense of unease that permeates the record and keeps the listener on edge, so it’s not fully “surf rock” per se. It’s got kind of a country twang to it as well. An interesting listen.
Highlight: “Sintaluta.”
3.5 stars out of 5.
One More Saturday Night by The Halluci Nation (f.k.a. A Trade Called Red)
Something about most electronic “dance music” strikes me as terribly hollow. If I had to pin a reason on it, I just don’t like the tinny synthetic drum machine sounds that are so ubiquitous in the genre. All of this is to say, I started this album expecting not to like it. But it was alright! The band’s combination of forms (dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and Indigenous vocal chanting) holds my interest better than most other entries in the dance category & the band’s political activism kicks ass, but they’ve still got those tinny drums and over-compressed synths that I don’t like. As a result, my appreciation only goes so far. I respect what the band is doing, but it’s just “not for me.”
Highlight: “It’s Over.” (I should clarify here that this is a song literally called “It’s Over.” I’m not saying that my highlight is the fact that the album is over. That would be mean.)
3 stars out of 5.
Joyful Joyful by Joyful Joyful
Speaking of “combining forms,” there’s this duo. And this time, it’s drone, musique concrète, and … gospel? Bird calls, cricket chirps, and sustained organ combine hauntingly with Cormac Culkeen’s plaintive vocals that echo as if being sung from deep inside a cave. Culkeen was excommunicated from their church after coming out as queer and non-binary, so their music comes from a place of loneliness and personal anguish and seeks to reconcile their faith with their sexuality and gender. That resonates with me, even as an atheist who was never religious. I love that this music exists.
Highlights: “The Valley,” “Sebaldus.”
4 stars out of 5.
When Flowers Bloom by Adria Kain
Apple Music classifies this album as R&B, and that’s basically correct, but it also has elements of art rock. (Maybe the fact that I’ve been saying “this album is X, but it’s also Y!” a lot indicates that genre descriptors are kinda useless, but I’ll proceed as if I’ve just said something meaningful here.) I like the echo-y guitar timbre and vocal effects. Queer folks “stay winning” with respect to the blending of musical forms.
Highlights: “Melt Into You,” “Classic.”
3.5 stars out of 5.
Depuis by Lydia Képinski
Je ne parle pas français, so my appreciation of this album from a lyrical perspective is slightly impaired. No problem, though! I can simply listen to the music itself! And what I have to say about that is: pretty catchy electropop. Not bad.
Highlights: “L’imposture,” “MTL me déteste,” “Vaslaw.”
3.75 stars out of 5.
José Louis and the Paradox of Love by Pierre Kwenders
Really groovy rhythms to be found here. As with the Halluci Nation’s album, however, there were also some tinny drum effects going on. I found that a bit distracting, but it’s a good album on the whole. (Aside: Apple Music calls the album “worldwide,” but what the fuck does that mean? “World music” is a dumb, reductive term; get rid of it! Either compare the music to genre(s) for which there’s already a word in English or use the local term for it! This shouldn’t be hard.)
Highlights: “L.E.S. (Liberté Égalité Sagacité),” “Papa Wemba.”
3.5 stars out of 5.
ruminations of a sad oaf. 