TAME IMPALA
Released March 22, 2019
-"Has it really been that long?" asks (ironically, I would imagine) Kevin Parker, the mastermind of Tame Impala on the first new music released in four long years. The opening chords sound like the arrival of Spring itself with its glorious array of sun sparkling keyboards and bouncy rhythms with Parker's ethereal voice flowing through like the warmest of breezes. Yes, it was a song that also felt to be the first signal of a new album (combined with a second single and a "Saturday Night Live" appearance), which ultimately did not arrive in '19 but as of this time of writing, will finally enter the world in mere days. All of us fans Tame Impala waiting and waiting and the band arrives with a track called "Patience." Clever...
POND
Released March 1, 2019
-While waiting and waiting for any news surrounding potential new material from Tame Impala, a friend of mine had asked me if I happened to have heard the a test album from Tame Impala compatriots, Pond, to which I answered that I hadn't, which then inspired a rave recommendation by my friend. I was more than wise to take his advice as Pond's "Tasmania," the band's eighth album, was instantly one of my favorite album of 2019 due to the glowingly wonderful sonic sheen that did indeed recall Tame Impala's specialized brand of neo-psychedelic pop with elements of prog tossed in for the ride (and why not, as Kevin Parker co-produced the album alongside the band). My own personal brand of synesthesia received a powerful workout while listening to this album as the colors blasted from the speakers, with the album's centerpiece of "Goodnight P.C.C.," "Burnt Out Star," and "Selene" making for 16 minutes worth of flying through the multi-colored vortex at the end of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968).
SARA BAREILLES
Released April 5, 2019
-My girlfriend released an album in 2019!!!
Ha ha ha!!! Yes indeed, my infatuation with singer/songwriter/actress Sara Bareilles was sparked tremendously within just the prior year. Yet, upon hearing her latest album, "Amidst The Chaos," that spark ignited into a roaring flame as I was superbly taken by Bareilles' strikingly complex and wholly empathetic songwriting, which unveiled a rich and luxurious song cycle that felt designed to ease and comfort us through our vitriolic socio-political landscape and rancorous dialogue.
Unapologetically feminist and proudly wearing its bleeding heart upon its musical sleeves, Sara Bareilles' album fully disarmed me, warmed me, and enveloped me in a tenderness and understanding that is in such short supply, and by album's end, I was convinced that this album was Bareilles' version of nothing less than Carole King's "Tapestry" (released February 10, 1971).
FOXYGEN
Released April 25, 2019
I have to admit that I appreciate Foxygen more than I actually like them...and I mean that in the very best way. The duo, made up of Sam France and Jonathan Rado, is a highly unorthodox, fiercely idiosyncratic pair, making difficult albums that defiantly defy categorization and never sound like each other to boot. Arriving after the dissonant and clearly Todd Rundgren by way of "A Wizard, A True Star" (released March 2, 1973) influenced "...And Star Power" (released October 14, 2014) and the Aaron Copeland/Broadway/demented lounge singer pop chaos of "Hang" (released January 20, 2017), Foxygen's latest release was their most enjoyable work to date to my ears as they displayed their songcraft chops with no frills, no bizarre concepts, no art rock smokescreens designed to challenge and dare the listener to stick it out. These songs, performances and production were first rate selections without sacrificing one shred of their left-of-center alt music leanings.
TONY CAREY
Released April 25, 2019
Much like how Sara Bareilles' "Amidst The Chaos" served as an antidote to the turbulent life and times in the Trump era, the latest album from one of my most favorite songwriters of all time was definitely a curve ball of a surprise, especially as Carey's songwriting, whether solo or under his pseudonym of Planet P. Project, tends to flow towards darker themes fueled by a lyricism that is acerbic, sardonic and often chilling as it is poetic and literary.
"Lucky Us," by contrast, is an album of superior warmth and nostalgia, nothing that I would expect from Carey based upon his past material. Yet, the difference in tone, all essentially ballads, feels so exquisitely fitting because, again, the album does serve as an antidote to our deeply troubled times, and so, his album of memories, of family and even mortality allows us a different and equally compelling window into his personal world just as the album also mirrors ours as we are clearly embracing our memories and families even tighter.
"BIG DAY" (EP)
SLOW PULPReleased May 15, 2019
It runs only a mere 11 minutes and what is received is an entire, complete musical statement and the band's finest to date. Madison, WI's very own yet now Chicago, IL based Slow Pulp has fully emerged into its fullest fruition as the quartet of Alex Julian Leeds (bass guitar), Emily Massey (vocals, guitar), Teddy Matthews (drums) and Henry Stoehr (guitars, keyboards) have congealed into a musical force who have delivered four new songs of superior texture, atmosphere, dynamics, seduction, aching nostalgia, stunning warmth and melancholic longing.
New material is forthcoming as I have heard at their triumphant homecoming performance at the end of 2019 in Madison, which the band has expressed to me personally may hopefully expand into their first full length album. While I have the utmost confidence in their abilities to deliver the goods, "Big Day" is nothing less than a jewel of a collection showcasing the group at their most intoxicating.
THE RACONTEURS
Released June 21, 2019
Out of all of Jack White's projects, from The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and solo material, his time with The Raconteurs completely hits me in my sweet spot as the aesthetic of four dudes just bashing it out together will always slay me. For their first album in 11 years, The Raconteurs have not missed a step with their specialized brand of garage rock and power pop which features no oddball gimmicks and kooky concepts but is filled to the brim with ace songwriting and killer performances.
THE BLACK KEYS
Released June 28, 2019
Even better was this album, No, the wheel wasn't re-invented or anything but it doesn't have to be when the aesthetic is as strong as The Black Keys have always been. Again, ace songwriting and superior performances are the order of the day with this album, a work that fully warrants immediate repeat listenings.
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