Album Reviews
Dolly Parton’s A Holly Dolly Christmas Invites Everyone over for the Holidays: Review
The Lowdown: Christmas means different things to different people. For some, it holds great spiritual significance. For others, it’s one of the few times a year where they are able to reconnect with the ones they love most. And for others still, it’s a much-needed day off work, an excuse to spoil each other with gifts, or even a cue to snuggle up next to someone special. The holidays can mean any number of things, and if Nashville legend Dolly Parton’s new Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, has one consistent message for her eclectic fan base, the “Cult of Many Colors,” it’s come all ye … well, everyone. In other words: the more the merrier. [embedded content] The Good: In that spirit, Parton throws a Christmas party with a little something for everyone. She opens with a playful tri...
Matt Berninger Finds Stripped-Down Solace on Debut LP Serpentine Prison: Review
The Lowdown: As the founding singer of Ohio alt rock troupe The National, Matt Berninger has already proven himself to be a captivating vocalist and — alongside wife Carin Besser — an insightful lyricist. For instance, we praised last year’s I Am Easy to Find for its “conversational” approach regarding “the intricacies of modern romance.” Thus, his monotone yet elegantly arid voice and observational storybook songwriting rarely fail to charm and connect with us, especially when they’re placed on top of such vibrantly picturesque and subtly exploratory arrangements. For the most part, that holds true on his first solo record, Serpentine Prison. Produced by Booker T. Jones — a revered artist in his own right who’s also collaborated with Otis Redding, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, a...
Public Enemy Are Mostly in Full Effect on the Rallying What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?: Review
The Lowdown: 2020 has become a year of extremes. A global pandemic that will forever affect the way that we live our lives. A political climate that has created division at a level that the United States has rarely seen. And a racial divide that has reached a boiling point. During times as distressing as these, it is important to have representation — a voice that holds the establishment accountable and gives an in-depth report on the current state of the nation and the world at large. For over 30 years, the legendary hip-hop crew Public Enemy have provided that hard-hitting soundtrack reporting back on our oft-troubled country. Last Friday, PE released their 15th studio album, What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?. Their first on Def Jam since 1998, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and DJ Lord ...
Fleet Foxes’ Shore Comes as a Soul-Soothing Surprise: Review
The Lowdown: Earlier this week, folk outfit Fleet Foxes made major waves (no pun intended) upon the spontaneous release of their latest album, Shore, which is their first in three years following 2017’s Crack-Up. Released to coincide with the autumnal equinox, which marks the shift from summer to fall, the album is peppered with themes related to transition and change within oneself, in others, and in the world. What makes Shore feel special, though, is the multidimensional lens in which transition and change are explored. [embedded content] Through a tapestry of 15 tracks, Shore details how transitions often involve the pain of letting go (and sometimes before we’re ready to do so), the challenge that can come with accepting their presence, reckoning with the myriad of impacts they can ha...
Sylvan Esso Share a Mystical Partnership on Free Love: Review
The Lowdown: At first glance, the crowd at a Sylvan Esso show may look still. Hone in on the mound of bodies, though, and you’ll see that the opposite is true: The crowd is moving unanimously. “Just imagine you’re the seaweed in Ursula’s cave,” lead singer Amelia Meath said during the band’s 2015 Tiny Desk Concert. Although she cringed at herself after sharing the thought, it was a resoundingly accurate way to describe the innate physical reaction the band provokes. Comprised of Meath and producer Nick Sanborn, the duo formed in 2013 after unearthing the power of their combined talents. Meath told her then-boss Feist, “It’s sort of electronic music and he’s going to make beats and I’m going to sing and it’s going to be massive and amazing,” according to an Entertainment Weekly interview. A...
Deftones Embrace Their Heavy Roots on the Commanding Ohms: Review
The Lowdown: Sacramento alt-metallers Deftones tend to transform at the turns of decades. In 2000, they released their conceptual high-water mark White Pony, while 2010’s Diamond Eyes is a stellar collection of catchy-but-clever skate rock tracks. On the other hand, 2020’s Ohms isn’t a radical reinvention, but it’s a solid addition to their legacy — a surprisingly heavy one, at that. The Good: Deftones’ albums exist along a delicate axis: At the one end, singer Chino Moreno’s romantic and crooning atmospheres, and on the other, guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s sludgy, metallic slug-fests. The band is at its best when these elements are in balance, and the tension between these poles is the core of their identity. 2016’s Gore seemed like a Moreno-heavy album, focused on dreamy landscapes. In c...
IDLES’ Ultra Mono Offers Rallying Cries for a Burning World: Review
The Lowdown: In a year that’s seen the world burn physically, politically, and epidemiologically, getting into a debate about whether or not a rock band is phony feels as nostalgic as it does futile. However, this is an IDLES review, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do (at least for a minute). After the twin triumphs of 2017’s Brutalism and 2018’s Joy as an Act of Resistance vaulted the Bristol five-piece into the upper echelon of the British music world, the backlash arrived with bite that seemed to go beyond the music. Pick any IDLES profile from this album cycle, and you’ll inevitably see references to the recent charges and epithets leveled by fellow artists like Sleaford Mods (“their take on [political music] is cliched, patronising, insulting and mediocre”) and Fat White Family ...
Artist of the Month Anjimile’s Giver Taker Is a Startlingly Beautiful Prayer to the Present: Review
The Lowdown: Anjimile Chithambo might be new to the spotlight, but he’s been paying attention for a long time. His debut album, Giver Taker, carries a wide variety of influences — among them church choirs, ’80s pop, African music, and indie-folk — and melds them together as if they were born for this, born to flow into one another. The Boston-based trans musician wrote much of Giver Taker while in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, and many of the songs are also concerned with his experiences coming out as trans and non-binary. As such, the entire album is papered with transformation, but through lenses of tenderness: the love implicit in confessions and the awe of one’s own resilience in the face of socialization and struggle. The Good: Would that I could just plop every single lyric f...
YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Top Hints at a Next Level: Review
The Lowdown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has become home to some of the most fertile “breeding grounds” in the hip-hop industry. Considered a small city by census standards, it is the hub to several major tech, medical, and entertainment companies — along with being the home of Louisiana State University. For all of its bright spots, Baton Rouge is also one of the poorest cities in America, riddled with crime, poverty, and a culture of youth facing an uncertain future. With hip-hop being born out of struggle and desperation, this town has become a hot bed of sorts, giving rise to some of the genre’s biggest emerging stars, including YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Since 2015, YoungBoy has released 16 mixtapes and two studio albums, an output level that is a testament to the dedication he has for h...
Marilyn Manson Masterfully Embraces His Influences on WE ARE CHAOS: Review
The Lowdown: While Marilyn Manson has developed a signature sound over the past 30 years, it never manages to get stale. One reason for this is the revolving door of musicians and producers with whom he has worked throughout his career. Manson is back with his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, and he recruited Shooter Jennings — son of legendary country artists Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter — as his new musical compatriot. The two met when Manson was working on the TV show Sons of Anarchy and, according to Manson, have wanted to work together for a while. With Tyler Bates at the production helm on Manson’s critically acclaimed albums The Pale Emperor (2015) and Heaven Upside Down (2017), one might be concerned about this change in the ranks. Have no fear, though, as the resulting collaboration ...
The Flaming Lips Return to Earth on Devastatingly Beautiful American Head: Review
The Lowdown: Looking back now, it feels safe to say that the ’10s represent something of a lost decade in the long, strange journey of The Flaming Lips. After ushering in the new millennium with a pair of unlikely mid-career classics (1999’s The Soft Bulletin and 2002’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots) and closing out the ’00s with unexpectedly muscular rock fanfare (2009’s Embryonic), Wayne Coyne and his merrymakers spent most of the next 10 years getting into tabloid feuds, recording scattershot side projects, and cosplaying as Miley Cyrus’ acid-casualty uncles. The Flaming Lips records they did manage felt like dispatches relayed from a derelict space station, about sonic landscapes too grim (2013’s The Terror) or fried (2017’s Oczy Mlody) or daft (2019’s The King’s Mouth) to warrant re...
Big Sean Rediscovers Himself on Detroit 2: Review
The Lowdown: Since he first emerged on the hip-hop landscape, Big Sean has been recognized as one of the most talented MCs in the game. After displaying his skills in the presence of Kanye West at a local radio station, he was signed to G.O.O.D. Music in 2007, becoming one of the imprint’s flagship artists and continuing the legacy of Detroit hip-hop. With a frequent string of mixtapes and hit albums released throughout the 2010s, Big Sean garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, catapulting him into superstardom. It could be argued, quite convincingly, that Big Sean gave birth to a style that has influenced an entire generation of rappers, which brings us to the present. Taking time off to manage his mental health and discovering a renewed sense of inspiration, he makes his long-...
