Welcome to “An Album Every Day.” Every day, I listen to an album I’ve never heard before, and every week, I post a round-up of my thoughts and highlights. Read on for the third edition of “An Album Every Day!”
Monday, January 24, 2022
HAPPY TO BE HERE (2019) 😊 – Barrie
Rating: 7.8/10
Favorite song(s): “Chinatown” and “Teenager”
Favorite lyric: “Clovers in my eyes / Trying to stay awake, trying to stay away” – “Clovers”
HAPPY TO BE HERE, reminiscent of the carefree, flower-child music of the 70s, makes you want to laze around in a field of dandelions with a flower crown and tambourine in hand. With that being said, some of the songs are so relaxed, they border on lackadaisical; I wish there was just a little more to spice up the production.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
IMMUNITY (2019) 🤩 – Clairo
Rating: 9.0/10
Favorite song(s): “Bags” and “Sofia”
Favorite lyric: “Sofia, know that you and I / Shouldn’t feel like a crime” – Sofia
IMMUNITY is sweet, bright, and yet completely heart-wrenching, all at the same time. Clairo delivers her lyrics like arrows, piercing straight through the heart, and “Sofia” is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking queer songs of all time.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
LITTLE OBLIVIONS (2021) 😊 – Julien Baker
Rating: 6.4/10
Favorite song(s): “Song in E”
Favorite lyric: “ I wish that I drank because of you / And not only because of me / Then I could blame something painful enough / Not to make me look any more weak” – “Song in E”
Compared to the abundance of indie-rock/alternative albums with unique sounds and fascinating production, LITTLE OBLIVIONS disappears into oblivion. Julien Baker has a wonderful voice and great lyricism, but while LITTLE OBLIVIONS is good, it is nothing special.
Thursday, January 27, 2022
JUNO (2021) 🤩 – Remi Wolf
Rating: 9.3/10
Favorite song(s): “Quiet On Set”
Favorite lyric: “Now I don’t have feelings / I’m doing on-and-off pilates / Like a middle-aged soccer mommy / I’m making donuts with my body / And talking with Jesus” – “Anthony Kiedis”
JUNO is funky and fun, exuding Remi Wolf’s unfiltered charisma. The production is entertaining, the songwriting is free-spirited, and the album as a whole is, frankly, pretty hilarious.
Friday, January 28, 2022
TITANIC RISING (2019) 😊 – Weyes Blood
Rating: 7.6/10
Favorite song(s): “A Lot’s Gonna Change” and “Everyday”
Favorite lyric: “No one’s ever gonna give you a trophy / For all the pain and the things you’ve been through / No one knows but you” – “Mirror Forever”
TITANIC RISING has a fairytale-esque production, complete with swelling orchestras and heavenly backing choruses. The phenomenal instrumentals are complimented by WEYES BLOOD’s soulful voice, similar to that of artists like Mitski and Hana Vu, and painfully raw songwriting, similar to the works of Phoebe Bridgers and Lorde.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
HARMONY HOUSE (2021) 🤩 – Dayglow
Rating: 8.2/10
Favorite song(s): “Close To You”
Favorite lyrics: “On the day that you were born the angels got together / And decided to create a dream come true / So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue” – “Close To You”
HARMONY HOUSE is a feel-good, nostalgic album with an infectious joy that makes you want to bop your head and do the electric slide. The rhythm and production have a brightness and optimism, even with the slower, sadder songs, that make your heart swell. If you like Rex Orange County, you will love Dayglow.
Sunday, January 30, 2022
BACK TO BLACK (2006) 🤩 – Amy Winehouse
Rating: 9.6/10
Favorite song(s): “Back To Black”
Favorite lyric(s): “We only said goodbye with words / I died a hundred times / You go back to her
And I go back to / I go back to us” – “Back To Black”
BACK TO BLACK is legendary, and with the snappy “Rehab” to the soul-stirring “Back To Black” to the sultry “Some Unholy War,” it is easy to see how this album has inspired and shaped the modern pop world. Amy Winehouse’s deep, soulful voice has a magnetism that pulls you in and keeps you wanting more, and her lyricism has an unrestrained honesty that creates a moving and powerful album.
