Eddie aims for the stars
There is also new music from Mitski and Sea Power
ALT-J — THE DREAM
ALT-J’S fourth album The Dream is a solid if uninspired return for the indie trio following a musical hiatus lengthened by the pandemic.
Indeed, Covid-19 has left an indelible mark on their latest recording, with cryptocurrencies, healthcare workers and true crime-inspired serial killers popping up throughout.
Bitcoin anthem Hard Drive Gold typifies Alt-J’s genre-bending mix of tight drumming and Americana grooving.
Few lines capture the madness of the present crypto goldrush than “Don’t be afraid to make, to make money, boy”.
Meanwhile, Get Better includes a tribute to healthcare workers described as “an underfunded principle”. It adds “they risk all to be there for us”.
Darker around the edges than previous outings, singer Joe Newman has said that the album was inspired in part by true crime podcasts.
Losing My Mind takes the perspective of a serial killer on the brink of insanity, as Newman sings: “I’m losing my mind, I’m losing my mind”.
Despite the contemporary setting, there is little here to convert the unconverted, and overall the album leaves the listener wondering if the band are running low on creative steam.
7/10
(Review by Luke O’Reilly)
MITSKI — LAUREL HELL
AFTER a brief hiatus, Mitski returns with her emotionally charged sixth studio album Laurel Hell.
The Japanese-American indie artist’s 11-track offering intends to move past binaries and explore the nuances of life and relationships.
As she explains: “I don’t want to put on a front where I’m a role model, but I’m also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that grey area.”
The album explores this idea of multifaceted entities through tracks like Love Me More and The Only Heartbreaker which juxtapose pondering refrains with 80s inspired synth beats designed to move your body.
She also still provides the tender, melancholic escapism in songs like There’s Nothing Left Here For You and I Guess which will satisfy those who turn to the artist for their ‘sad boy/girl’ moments.
However, it is Mitski’s signature vulnerable and self-reflective lyrics which are the connecting thread throughout.
The overall energy of the album says she’s ready to command centre stage as she embarks on some of the biggest shows of her career as she tours as herself and as a support for Harry Styles. 8/10
(Review by Naomi Clarke)
SEA POWER — EVERYTHING WAS FOREVER
LAST August, indie rock band Sea Power were surprised to find themselves at the centre of the culture wars for dropping British from their name after more than 20 years. They didn’t want to be associated with the rise of insular jingoistic nationalism, they explained, and it’s hard to believe any real fans were upset.
Defying waves of social media criticism, the six-piece pledged to remain the band they’d always been, and opener Scaring At The Sky’s epic sweep is instantly familiar.
Transmitter and Doppelganger step up the pace with urgent guitar, while the Two Fingers highlights their pop side, part of their appeal since the Remember Me single two decades ago. Fire Escape In The Sea and Fear Eats The Soul are sparse and wistful, and the irresistible single Folly rides in on a wave of synths with the apocalyptic warning “you’re losing the right to breathe, you’re losing the right to roam”.
The anthemic Lakeland Echo is at the heart of the album, about the days when singers and brothers Hamilton and Jan left their Cumbrian council home to deliver the newspaper of the title on their paper-round for The Echo which closed a decade ago. In Folly, Sea Power sing “everything was forever, until it was no more” and while the name has changed, the quality remains as high.
8/10
(Review by Matthew George)
EDDIE VEDDER —
EARTHLING
FROM the opening line of Eddie Vedder’s latest offering — the enthralling call of, “Are we clear for lift-off?” — the listener is braced for a journey with an artist who is aiming for the stars. Outside his day job fronting multimillion record-selling grunge heroes Pearl Jam, Vedder has been unafraid to experiment during solo ventures — most spectacularly realised with his mellow and haunting Into The Wild soundtrack.
Yet for the most part, Earthling treads a path that is not all that dissimilar to the 57-year-old’s main outfit, with the punky riff on Rose Of Jericho, the jaunty undercurrent in Power Of Right and the standout Brother The Cloud all sounding like they could have slotted comfortably into one of his Seattle band’s modern offerings. But there are fresh deviations. Try would not be out of place at a Dropkick Murphys gig, with its driving drums and saxophone lead; Picture sees Sir Elton John (Stevie Wonder and Sir Ringo Starr also guest on the album) lend some country-esque pop sensibilities; while the pre-released number Long Way will please fans of the distinctive singer’s film music. This album is certainly great company during our many circulations of the sun here on planet earth.
7/10
(Review by Patrick Daly)