Ty Segall – “Saturday Pt. 2”
First Taste and Harmonizer were interesting experiments to be sure, but that’s exactly what they were, experiments. “Hello, Hi”, even if more understated, is true to Segall’s ethos in ways he hasn’t addressed in a long time. “Saturday Pt. 2” in particular, features what at this point is a familiar build; Segall alone on sparse instrumentation, and the track gaining momentum with every ensuing chorus. But here, the cathartic horns come blaring in at the halfway point, and the real crescendo reveals itself in the form of Segall’s own double-tracked vocals. He plays within his own formula instead of experimenting and eventually he bucks it entirely.
Sean Nicholas Savage – “Comet”
Savage has a knack for a very vulnerable strand of golden hour pop. Each exhalation of breath and wistful sigh is captured and mixed way up front, but Savage is just as compelling with his sleepy guitar plucks and affable charisma. Behind the sparse instrumentation of “Comet” is a chorus that could get the Max Martin treatment and yet feels indebted to Savage alone. Whether it’s the lilt in his croons or the emotion that trembles through his delivery, it’s easy for this project to seem vain, or imposing as a single entity. Shine is built around the deepest depths of Savage’s humanity, and he’s adept enough to display it for us.
Rico Nasty – “Focus on Me”
Despite her overwhelming confidence and critical favor, Rico Nasty remains an enigma to me, someone who occasionally touches on the compelling, but too often can’t even find the base. Las Ruinas is no different, but it’s not without its share of choice cuts. Most of those do so well because they push Nasty further out of her already enormous comfort zone. Prime among these is “Focus on Me”, a track both vulnerable and subdued, two adjectives that don’t permeate Nasty’s music very often. What’s more is that on this downtempo little dance track, she manages to embrace that naiveté without sacrificing the bravado of the rest of the album.
Jack White – “A Madman from Manhattan”
White’s last two and a half albums have been very bad, almost unexplainably so. How could an artist, once marked by both his consistency and his tendency to consecutively push his boundaries further and further, fall so far off the grid? Maybe it’s the baseball bat factory, the record label, or the furniture store; it doesn’t really matter, he knows he has enough good grace to earn himself a lifetime of listeners muddling through his excess. Entering Heaven Alive, seemed like it could have been the necessary course correction White needs, but falls directly into White’s now hokey and frustratingly boring midlife crisis. “A Madman from Manhattan” is a risk, and one White hasn’t taken in a long time. Lyrically it remains captivating even as it flexes White’s vocal workout, and musically its more urgent than any of the phony guitar heroics White could easily dish out. It’s enough to keep his fans listening.
Joey Bada$$ – “Make Me Feel”
On a release day full of haphazard and spotty full lengths, 2000 is one of the brighter moments. Yes, too often the production outshines Bada$$ himself, and sometimes it’s not enough to save his clunky flows or turns of phrase, but when the tracks do work, they really work. “Make Me Feel”, is a masterclass at taking a decent emcee and toting him as just as great as the production itself. It’s not, but Bada$$ is self-assured enough to convince just about anyone it is, or at the very least, that it doesn’t matter. On top of that, when style doesn’t supersede substance, Bada$$ has a lot to say, and when it’s not a cliché, it’s even worth listening to too.
Sam Prekop & John McEntire – “Crossing at the Shallow”
Prekop and McEntire’s shift from the indie post-rock of The Sea and Cake to this blend of atmospheric electronic music is not as far off as it might seem. In fact, their tendency to stretch out and let the tracks breathe is as enthralling as ever. Especially on “Crossing at the Shallow”, where the pulsating rhythm and cascading synths never come in or last as long as their expected. Yeah, Prekop doesn’t sing, but he doesn’t have to, the track is as busy as it needs with no room for embellishment and plenty of momentum to carry an 11-minute track like it’s a single.
