Odds & Ends 126

Fictions auto- and less so, minor lifts, major falls

Tee Grizzley: Chapters of the Trenches

Professional Grand Theft Auto streamer tells hard-boiled crime stories (plus one for the Shakespeareans); the explicit fiction weirds out the vibe, but he knows how to deliver a twist ending, which sometimes isn’t even a gunshot—one time it’s a stabbing (“Robbery 4-5”, “Jay & Twan 1-3”)

Suede: Autofiction

They’ve made their most acclaimed record in 26 or 28 years by returning to their glam (not punk, c’mon Brett) rock roots, powered by their longtime Actually Good rhythm section, their former-wunderkind now-middle-aged guitarist who’s turned out to be about as good as the alleged legend he replaced, and B. Anderson’s delusions of grandeur which at this point are mostly harmless (“It’s Always the Quiet Ones”, “She Still Leads Me On”, “What Am I Without You?”)

Tove Lo: Dirt Femme

Still has plenty to say about desire and bereft heartbreak, still has little to say about masochism and guilt-ridden heartbreak, still makes sure the ones where she has plenty to say get the good tunes and beats (“2 Die 4”, “Call on Me”, “No One Dies from Love”)

Jeffrey Lewis: When That Really Old Cat Dies

Minor songs, which as Lewis well knows can be tons of fun, delivered minorly, which does make things tougher (“What I Love Most in England (Is the Food!)”, “Guest List Song”, “When That Really Old Cat Dies”)

Sonja: Loud Arriver

Getting kicked out of a brand-name extreme metal band for coming out as trans freed up Melissa Moore to pursue more fruitful classical heavy-to-Goth lines of enquiry, with actual catchy riffs and a rhythm section happy to keep things straightforwardly motoring along (“Pink Fog”, “Fuck, Then Die”, “Daughter of the Morning Star”)

Megan Thee Stallion: Traumazine

Okay fine, music critical establishment, this one actually is about trauma, and despite some Big Budget Rap Album compromises, there’s value in hearing her say “I’m a bad bitch, and I got bad anxiety” as well as in her body-ody-odying her trigger-happy ex (“Plan B”, “Her”, “Anxiety”)

Alvvays: Blue Rev

I vvill almost alvvways take great songs over a great sound, but that doesn’t mean that jangly guitars and loud guitars and fifty million overdubbed Molly Rankins vvon’t tempt me (“Belinda Says”, “Pharmacist”, “Velveteen”)

Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life

Finally, a British rapper with a clear flow and radical politics (and hard rock guitar), hurrah, yet he makes even exhuming Thatcher’s corpse for interrogation seem like homework (“Big Man”, “Take That”)

Immolation: Acts of God

Pretty good veteran death metal: definitely heavy, surprisingly hooky, and as precise as any K-pop concoction; read the song titles if you’re wondering if it’s anything you haven’t heard before (“Abandoned”, “Noose of Thorns”)

Carsie Blanton: Wolf EP

Seven voice-and-guitars remakes that strip back arrangements and foreground her singing, which hardly changes anything about the songs, but buy one at her shows anyway (“Twister”, “Fishin with You”)

Le Sserafim: Antifragile EP

One of the artsy K-pop girl groups, and if I wanted pro-forma tunecraft supporting novel sonics and dodgy faux-open lyrics I’d have a whole Western Hemisphere of indie pop at my fingertips, but fortunately rock is artsy now so they get to have fun eventually (“No Celestial”, “Antifragile”)

Dry Cleaning: Stumpwork

Post-punk works on fine margins, post-punk poetry more so, and when even a song called “Conservative Hell” doesn’t do it, maybe it’s not your year (“Gary Ashby”, “Hot Penny Day”)