Rufus Wainwright debuts ninth album
‘Unfollow the Rules’ captures Rufus Wainwright at a crossroads where he is at the peak of his powers.
Welcome to Seven in Seven, where each Thursday in this space we typically take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. Due to the coronavirus pandemic though, venue doors have shuttered, and no concerts are taking place. That doesn’t mean the music stops, and new releases are coming out weekly from artists you know and love and some waiting to be discovered. Whether your musical tastes are rock ’n roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out on the docket each Friday. Here are seven of the best hitting shelves and streaming services on July 10:
Rufus Wainwright — “Unfollow the Rules”
D
MA’s — “The Glow”
The new DMA’s album is a mission statement that the trio immediately encapsulates within the opening two tracks, a swaggering mash-up of the attitude on Primal Scream’s legendary 1991 LP “Screamadelica,” big beat dynamics and modern alt-pop flair. “Never Before” immediately sets the tone while the title track then keeps that energy firing, a rapid rush of melodic energy, joyous optimism and a new-found confidence. Yet even while the record hits hard out of the gate, the Aussie act saves the biggest surprise for last on “Cobracaine,” a maximalist melting pot of sounds with an escalating wall of guitars, a tense, almost trancelike beat with vocals filtered through vocoders. harmonies And as it and hurtles to its mesmerizing conclusion, one thing is certain: “The Glow” is the most fully realized of the band’s three albums to date. I
ration — “Coastin’”
Hawaiian-bred/California-based alternative rock band Iration return with album number seven, a 13song musical journey showcasing the band’s distinct hybrid style of music blending rock and reggae with elements of pop and newly incorporated R&B, funk and jazz sounds. “Coastin’” is set against meaningful and personal lyrics that push positivity, good vibes and good feelings into the world. At the end of the day, it’s a record about being thankful for the moments we have, something sorely needed given the current climate. S
keleton — “Skeleton”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, barreling out of Austin, Texas, comes the self-titled debut LP from the Lone Star State’s new wreckers of heavy music, Skeleton. Though some might be prone to apply simplistic genre tags to their style, the reality is far more sweeping as the album immediately reveals an excessively sharp metalliccharged juggernaut of severe force and high plains mayhem. Probably the most savage and intelligent dark punk/metal hybrid in years, the 11 tracks comprising “Skeleton” signal the black dawn of a new breed, and when the final somber strains of “Catacombs” close out the album, an eerie sense of the end as the beginning lingers like a morbid premonition. T
okyo Motor Fist — “Lions”
Tokyo Motor Fist’s 2017 self-titled debut scratched an itch for music fans who have been starving for new albums reminiscent of the last days of late-’80s/early-’90s glam metal, and now the band delivers another fix with their sophomore album, “Lions.” Once again, TFM gives exactly what fans want and would expect with their catchy and uplifting hard rock. The fruits of an artistic alliance between Danger Danger singer Ted Poley and guitarist Steve Brown of Trixter was always bound to make fans of the genre rejoice, and here it works again in spades. T
he Streets — “None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive”
Every track on the mixtape “None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive” has one — if not two — guests who, though underpinned by Mike Skinner’s distinctive lyrical flair, usually perform atop a genre or sound not previously explored within the realm of the UK outfit he masterminds, The Streets. The inclusion of Mercury Prize-nominated punk group IDLES and teenage wunderkind Jimothy Lacoste help ground things firmly in the here and now. Then there are familiar faces of the past like Birmingham legend Dapz on the Map, who pops up on the rap track “Phone Is Always in My Hand.” Old friends like Rob Harvey, previously of The Music and Skinner collaboration The D.O.T, assists on the pensive penultimate track “Conspiracy
Theory Freestyle.” It’s the true meaning of a mixtape if there ever was one. T
he Beths — “Jump Rope Grazers”