Panic!’s Big Step Up, Hinds’ Howling Good Time & More
Panic! At The Disco: Death Of A Bachelor (DCD2/Fueled By Ramen) Where on one hand it might be easy to see this band as a remnant of an era that passed by a half-decade ago, there is no denying 1) A very strong fan base for it still exists (huge first-day numbers at iTunes), 2) this fifth studio album is effectively a solo album by band frontman Brandon Urie, and 3) It rocks in an appealing, Queen/Darkness/over-the-top chorused way. And it is, unexpectedly, dripping with cultural references and smart as hell. There are samples from and sonic nods to Frank Sinatra, the B52’s and Chicago, its title (knowingly or unknowingly) references a pair of Leonard Cohen masterworks, and “Crazy=Genius” casually offers this conversational snippet: “She said ‘You’re just like Mike Love but you’ll never be Brian Wilson.’” This is an impressive, pounding, highly commercial album in 2016, skirting an interesting area between rock’n’roll and pop roughly akin to, say, Maroon 5 (which I’m sure they’d hate hearing) but absolutely, and immensely, cooler. Dripping with the best kind of excess, and worth your time.
Hinds: Leave Me Alone (Mom +Pop Music) Must put in a plug for this fabulous debut album by Spanish quartet the Hinds, which is an exciting blend of melodic and raw indie rock, evoking some of Glasgow’s finest of 20 years ago, but never less than modern sounding. That these are four young women from Madrid is not a small thing, especially when it comes to such songs as, say, “Fat Calmed Kiddos.” What exactly is that about? I have been told that “Castigadas En El Granero” means, in English, “Grounded In The Barn,” and I’m not only willing to believe it, I want to see the barn in question. Point of it all is that this music is not just catchy and good rock’n’roll—it’s coming from an unusual place geographically, demographically, and emotionally, and you really need to hear it. It’s great.
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels: I Long To See You (Blue Note) I don’t want to imply that the very best music draws from all sources and rolls itself up into one appealing and very presentable, consumable ball, but here are the facts: This is a wonderful album by distinguished reed player Charles Lloyd, who has been making fabulous albums since the ‘60s, most of which you’d call jazz, and here he is heard with a crew including marvelous guitarists Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz (on pedal steel), a dandy rhythm section, and guest vocalists Norah Jones on “You Are So Beautiful” and Willie Nelson on “Strangest Dream.” There are songs you’ll recognize—“Abide With Me” and Lloyd’s own “Sombrero Sam” from long ago—and maybe some you won’t, but you are certain to like everything you hear. This album has fascinating potential for amassing a large, multi-genre fan base, and I hope Blue Note can make that happen. Please note: Saxophonist Lloyd, now 77 years old, could not sound more contemporary here.
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto: The Revenant (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Milan) Really a spectacular showing here from distinguished composer Sakamoto, who with Alva Noto (aka German musicians Carsten Nicolai) has assembled one of the year’s finest soundtracks to accompany what many are calling the year’s finest movie. Sakamoto’s instrumental and compositional wizardry has been in ample evidence since his days in the Yellow Magic Orchestra, but recent new works from him are to be treasured, sadly due to recent health issues. Wonderful, haunting stuff that is moody, throbbing and of a genre entirely its own. Movie or not, this thing is oozing with cinematic imagery. A classic.
Alan Price: Savaloy Dip: Words & Music By Alan Price (Omnivore) There are reissues, and then there are “reissues,” and calling the re-emergence of this 1974 set a reissue is questionable–as its sole appearance, however briefly, was on 8-track cartridge before it entirely vanished from the marketplace. It is the work of Alan Price, early ‘60s pop star, member of the Animals, and much admired solo artist, who recorded this to follow up his memorable soundtrack to Lindsay Anderson’s 1973 film O Lucky Man! Price’s post-Animals solo work tended to blend British music hall style with a pop sensibility—his late ‘60s hit with Randy Newman’s “Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear” perhaps set his career tone—and most everything he did was classy through and through. This set barely came, totally went, and just one track, “Between Today And Yesterday,” lingered around long enough to be the title track to Price’s next “real” album, released in late 1974. So: Here’s an unknown treasure that, incredibly, is finally seeing release. And that’s a very good thing.
Wes Montgomery: One Night In Indy (feat. The Eddie Higgins Trio) (Resonance) New material from deceased jazz legends—especially those who passed away in their prime—are to be treasured. Here’s a new one from guitar legend Wes Montgomery, recorded at an Indianapolis club in 1959, nine years before he died and just about the time he’d hook up with the distinguished Riverside label and record many of his all-time classics. The recording here is absolutely superb—the work of photo journalist and fan Duncan Schiedt, apparently—and the overall effect is strangely like being shunted back in time via a time machine. Montgomery and crew are excellent, just doing their jobs, with minimum fanfare and no mythology attached, and it’s often breathtaking. So here’s hoping there’s more to come.
