Tag Archives: #singersongwriter

Music, Music Review

Review: Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” is a Journey Through the Complexities of Fame and Growth.

I’ll start: God, this album is fun and good. “I know my age, and I act like it,” she sings on the opener, “all-american bitch.” 

Produced by Dan Nigro, the album is a collection of 12 tracks that weave together the narrative of a young artist grappling with the complexities of fame, love, and self-identity.

She is now just twenty-years-old, and GUTS follows her debut SOUR, which won Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year at the 64th Grammy’s in 2022 and was nominated for Album of the Year. She also won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2022.

GUTS

So there is the psychology of the “difficult second album” worry. After winning so many awards with SOUR, could Rodrigo cope? There’s the expectation, the fear of self-destruct.

GUTS has been nominated for the same two categories two years later at the 66th Grammy’s in February 2024: Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year.

Well, let’s brush away those “difficult second album” worries!

The songs

“Bad idea right?“… listening to Rodrigo talk about her ex, with fun, layered vocals and humorous lyrics… “Seeing you tonight. It’s a bad idea, right? Seeing you tonight. 

(Fuck it, it’s fine.)”

Her lead single, “vampire” starts: “I used to think I was smart. But you made me look so naïve… Bloodsucker, fame fucker. Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire.”

I won’t mention every song here, but I have to mention “get him back!“, which is a revenge psycho anthem that suits the albums tone. With a lyric like “So I write him all these letters, and I throw them in the thrash, ‘Cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he may me laugh,” devolving into “I wanna meet to his mom … Just to tell her son sucks.” Well, there is a sense of humor there. And I appreciate it!

The kind-of Curish-sounding “pretty isn’t pretty” is one of the best-sounding tracks on the album, with its late 80s new wave-style chords and lyrics: “And I bought all the clothes that they told me to buy. I chased some ideal my whole fucking life. And none of it matters, and none of it ends. You just feel like shit over and over again.“

The Vogue. Emporio Armani dress.

It ends with the gorgeous piano piece, “teenage dream” which is a flipside to the first song’s confidence: “When will I stop being great for my age and just start being good?” ending with what I can only imagine will be iPhone light waving lyric anthem at some point in a stadium somewhere at some point in her career: 

“Yeah, they all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don’t? They all say that it gets better, it gets better, the more you grow…. but what if I don’t?“

Rating

Each track in GUTS encapsulates a different aspect of Rodrigo’s journey, from dealing with fame and heartbreak to navigating personal insecurities and growth. This diversity makes GUTS a resonant and impactful album, showcasing Rodrigo’s evolution as an artist. It’s an album which in my view at least, outshines SOUR.

It’s so entertaining to listen to – I thoughouhly recommend it.

9.0/10

Chris Garrod, December 2, 2023

Music, Music Review

Review: Sparklehorse and the Tragic Beauty of Mark Linkous and 2023’s “Bird Machine”

Sparklehorse – which I can’t think of really being anything other than Virginia native Mark Linkous – has, in the fall of 2023, released his last, and maybe most remarkable album, “Bird Machine.”

I remember buying out of the blue and listening to his debut: “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot,” as a solicitor training in London. It brings back lots of late 1995 memories. It was also an incredible album.

I love the way – when describing Spaklehorse – AllMusic states: “The project of Mark Linkous, Sparklehorse’s noisy rock, pastoral folk, psychedelic pop, and gently devastating ballads were always grounded in empathy.” Noisy rock, folk, psychedelic pop, ballads… grounded in empathy. That is one big stew.

Linkous recorded four albums before his death. In 2010, on Saturday, 6 March, in Knoxville, Tennessee, he took his own life with a shotgun, shooting himself in the heart in an alley outside a friend’s home. He was only 47.

He had a lot of personal struggles, to say the least.

Before that, after “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot” became somewhat heralded in the indie circuit, Linkous experienced a life-altering incident while on tour with Radiohead in 1996. After ingesting a mix of Valium and antidepressants, he passed out in the bathroom of his hotel room in London with his legs pinned beneath him. He remained in that position for almost 14 hours, which cut off circulation to his legs. The lack of blood flow caused him to go into cardiac arrest when the paramedics attempted to straighten his legs. 

He technically died for a couple of minutes but was revived by the emergency medical team.

This incident led to a grueling series of surgeries for Linkous. He had to undergo multiple operations to save his legs from amputation, and during this period, he used a wheelchair for six months. Despite the severity of the incident, he managed to recover to the point of walking again, although with difficulty. Sparklehorse’s second LP, “Good Morning Spider,” was released around this time, and Linkous would perform in a wheelchair.

He released two further albums, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain” (Danger Mouse and Linkous’ collaboration, “Dark Night of the Soul” came out soon after Linkous took his own life in 2010… but it doesn’t feel like a real Sparklehorse album.)

Now we’re in late 2023, and thirteen years following Mark Linkous shooting himself to death, we have “Bird Machine.“

This post took me a while to write.

His family was left behind what was an almost complete “Bird Machine” before Linkous took his own life. It was to be Sparklehorse’s fifth album. Linkous had even kept handwritten notes featuring Bird Machine’s title and tracklist. He had begun working on it with producer Steve Albini.

So it was left to his family – his brother Matt and sister-in-law Melissa – to help complete the project in early 2023 (plus nephew Spencer, who provided additional vocals.)

Verdict: it’s great.

I think Linkous would have adored this album – this is Sparklehorse at its finest, primarily low beat, often fuzzy, spacey noise-pop, but with sprinklings of beauty such as “Evening Star Supercharger.“

It can be like the first track, “It Will Never Stop,” which is about as noisy as he gets (on first listen, someone else asked me, “Is this music?!”). But the album will move on to the simple, acoustic beauty of “Falling Down.” and its haunting lyrics, “I Keep on falling down. To be found by the plow. Years from now. Keep on falling down.“

The most heartbreaking song is “Stay,” the closer, with its simple lyrics: “Stay today. Stay for the day. Oh, it’s gonna get brighter. Stay for the day.”

Matt Linkous ultimately said of the project: “It means so much to me, this last batch of beautiful stuff that my brother was putting together. When I sit down and put on a pair of headphones, I’ll run it all the way through. Everything from ‘It Will Never Stop’ to ‘Evening Star Supercharger’ to ‘Stay’, that’s Mark just letting it out.”   

As one of the song titles suggests, Linkous “Fucked it up real Good.” Because he took his own life, and I wish Mark Linkous was still here.

But I’m so glad to finally get “Bird Machine.“

9/10

Chris Garrod, November 18, 2023

PS: Do buy/rent but watch the 2022 documentary “This is Sparklehorse” if you can…

Music, Music Review

Review: From 2008, Melody Gardot’s beautiful debut, “Worrisome Heart” remains a must-listen today.

First, the remarkable journey that led to the creation of “Worrisome Heart.” 

A near-fatal bicycle accident, hit by an SUV, left Philadelphia-born jazz folkie Melody Gardot, at only 19, with severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, which shaped her relationship with music and art.

Her recovery process catalyzed her songwriting, infusing her music with a depth of emotion and authenticity that is utterly palpable throughout this album.

Since the accident, Gardot has struggled with short-term memory loss.

In her great 2018 npr.org interview with Scott Simon, “That forces her to write and record compositions before she forgets them. Furthermore, her heightened sensitivity to light and sound — which, despite hearing devices and sunglasses — makes performing somewhat difficult. But she says she still finds it enjoyable.”

But honestly, this backstory adds an extra layer of resonance to the already rich tapestry of simply, her music.

The album opens with the title track, “Worrisome Heart,” a slow and sultry starter that immediately establishes Gardot’s signature sound. With a voice that effortlessly oscillates between vulnerability and strength, she weaves a narrative of love’s complexities, setting the tone for the following emotional journey.  She sings: “I would be lucky to find me a man. Who could love me the way that I am. With all my troubling ways.”

And she means it.

As the album unfolds, tracks like “All That I Need Is Love” and “Gone” continue highlighting Gardot’s mastery of blending jazz and blues, with pop elements, creating a timeless and contemporary sound. When she sings along with the clarinetist in “All That I Need Is Love,” it is beautiful… and fun.

“Sweet Memory,” with its bossa nova undertones, is a change in pace that offers an audible journey to sun-soaked beaches and the rhythmic sway of a distant, nostalgic romance. Gardot’s ability to shift effortlessly between genres is impressive.

One cannot review “Worrisome Heart” without mentioning “Some Lessons.” This track is the heart of the album. The discovery of music as a healing form is hauntingly translated into this ballad. The raw lyrics like “When you’re born a lover, you’re born to suffer” mirror life’s fragility and its potential for regeneration and rebirth.

Musically, “Worrisome Heart” is an amalgamation of jazz, blues, and folk. The instrumentation is subtle yet effective. Gentle guitars, soft percussion, and the occasional harmonica or piano create a minimalist backdrop over which Gardot’s vocals dance. This stripped-down approach ensures that the emphasis remains on the storytelling and emotion of the songs.

One of the standout tracks, “Goodnite,” exemplifies this perfectly. The penultimate track, a lullaby of sorts, and its delicate guitar plucking combined with Gardot’s whispered vocals create an ambiance of warmth and intimacy. It’s such a simple song, yet it’s hard to shake off long after the track has ended. It has an almost cinematic imagery:

“Close your eyes now. Time for dreams. Love is here tonight.” 

This is the sort of lullaby one wishes to be serenaded with, a gentle reminder of love’s presence even in the quietest of nights.

In one simple song, “Love Me Like A River Does” she kills you with just one line:

“Love me like a river. Baby don’t rush, you’re no waterfall. 

Love me, that is all“.

“Worrisome Heart” is more than just an album; it’s an experience. Melody Gardot’s debut introduced the world to a singular voice that defies categorization. This album is a testament to the power of music to convey feelings, tell stories, and connect people across time and space. 

The concise nature of the album makes it – to me – even more alluring. It is very digestible, but also crafted with precision. Every note, every whisper, every sigh feels deliberate and perfectly placed. There’s a spaciousness to the production that lets each instrument and vocal nuance breathe, making for a listening experience that’s immersive and rewarding.

Listeners familiar with the likes of Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux will find a kindred spirit in Gardot (I initially did). However, while there are similarities in their soft, jazz-inflected tones, Gardot carves her own niche. She’s not just another voice; she’s a storyteller. With each song, she weaves a tapestry of emotions that resonates on a deeply personal level.

In conclusion, Melody Gardot’s “Worrisome Heart” is a fantastic debut that stands the test of time. I’m reviewing it in 2023, and it was released in 2008 – but it still sounds as fresh as any new releases I’ve heard this year.

It’s an intimate reflection of life’s dualities, sorrows, and joys. With her unique voice and heartfelt lyrics, Gardot beckons listeners to journey with her, ensuring that their hearts, though perhaps a bit worrisome, are undoubtedly full by the end.

For those not yet introduced to Melody Gardot, “Worrisome Heart” is the perfect entry point.

9.75/10

Chris Garrod, August 30, 2023

Music, Music Review

Review: First Aid Kit’s Palomino Deluxe (Child of Summer Edition)

The title, “Palomino,” symbolizes freedom, and the Swedish duo sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg demonstrate this… oh so much listening to their fifth, and I think – by far – most enjoyable album.

It’s not for everyone’s taste – indie-folk (hmm… indie-pop?) music isn’t – but they’ve hit the nail on the head with this album, released in November 2022, which completely missed my radar back then, and has now been re-released, adding five extra tracks for the “Child of Summer Edition.” (It’s taken me a while to catch up). 

Unlike other artists, who peg those new tracks to the end of a re-release, I love that they’ve released this with four of the five at the beginning of the album, with their newest single “Everyone’s Got To Learn” leading off the album, with lyrics: “No matter how I’ll try and try. To ease all your pain, you have to feel it all the same.”

The “real” Palomino album doesn’t start until track five, “Out Of My Head,” which entirely shows where this duo is heading. Away from Americana and into indie-pop territory. And it’s fun. “Runnin’ on low, does it matter now? Let me out, out of my mind. Out of my head…“

The album is just entertaining. It isn’t downbeat, despite a five-year hiatus post-pandemic break from their previous album, “Ruins.” 

It remains excellent with “Angel,” “Ready to Run,” and “Turning Onto You.” All of them are great indie-pop songs (and you can add the “Gee. They remind me of Fleetwood Mac” quote here because, yes, THEY DO REMIND ME OF FLEETWOOD MAC, AND WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?!)

Sorry.

“Angel” is perhaps one of the album’s best and most moving tracks, especially for those with anxiety issues. With lyrics: “So, give me love and give me compassion. Self-forgiveness and give me some passion. I’ll love you even if you don’t love me. I’ll love you, oh, can’t you see you’re free? Oh, angel, can’t you see you’re free?“

I’ll love you, even if you don’t love me… but earlier in the track, “What has that fear ever done for me, but hold me back?” It’s actually joyous to listen to and a release. And yes, they absolutely channel Fleetwood Mac on this track.

And with such beautiful love songs such as “Turning Onto You,” with lyrics such as: “Fell in love with a dream, I guess, but I’m hoping we’ll pass the test. Oh, I can’t help it, I confess. I’m turning onto you.” and then “Fallen Snow” immediately following (“I’m gonna love you ‘Til the moon don’t shine, Oh, I’m gonna love you, ‘Til the waters run dry“).

“We played “Wild Horses” on the car stеreo. You prefer Thе Rolling Stones,’ and I like Gram’s. You know I can’t let you slide through my hands.” They sing on “Wild Horses II,” a great road-trip song.

The standout, “The Last One,” which follows, is so catchy, with the lyric “I want you to be the last one I ever love.” And the sheer pop of “A Feeling That Never Came,” with its rock guitar and instrumental backdrop, is just lovely to hear them sing along with.

This album makes me feel like this is a band completely breaking away from its Americana roots into a new era. And I like it.

I’d encourage you to give First Aid Kit’s “Palomino Deluxe (Child of Summer Edition)” a spin. If I had listened to the original at the end of last year, I’d love to have put it on my Best of 2022 Albums of the Year list.

8.25/10

Chris Garrod, July 14, 2023

Music, Music Review

Review: Caroline Polachek’s ear-opening “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You” is a 2023 indie pop music must-listen.

I love it when I come across an artist I’ve never heard of before and then think, “This is incredible: why?!”

Enter New York City’s Caroline Polachek, whose first album, 2019’s “Pang,” should have been in my collection. (A single from it, “So Hot Your’e Hurting My Feelings,” has almost 90 million listens on Spotify). What was I doing in 2019 to miss it?!!

Her new album, released in February 2023, “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You,” has become one of my favorites so far this year. Let’s start by disclaiming that its lead single, “Bunny Is A Rider,” was Pitchfork’s #1 song of 2021 (yes, I missed that somehow, too.) 

She describes it as “a spicy little summer song about being unavailable,” and with its “whoo-hoos” and whistles and the way it clicks along, it can be a contender for a song of this Summer of 2023.

The opener, and one the best on the album, is the electronic “Welcome To My Island,” where she starts singing after an epic opening wail: “Welcome to my island, see the palm trees wave in the wind. Welcome to my island. Hope you like me, you ain’t leavin’…” It’s fresh, fun, catchy, and contains the inclusion of her trying to play guitar at around 3:10 into the song (she can’t… so the guitar solo is marvelously “dogshit” – her words.) 

Once off the Island, Polachek says how the next track, the Balearic, trip-hoppy “Pretty in Possible,” as being the song she is “most proud of” from the album. It was born from a “cool experiment where Danny [Danny L Harle, her co-writer and producer] and I were like, “OK, let’s write a song that has no verses or choruses – where you just enter the song and flow.” 

“Sunset” is a lovely Flamenco pop song (OK, with this and “Bunny is a Rider,” it’s hard to say what will be played the most around the poolside this summer). “So no regrets, ‘Cause you’re my sunset, fiery red. Forever fearless. And in your arms, a warm horizon. Don’t look back. Let’s ride away, let’s ride away.” It’s the most traditional-sounding song on the album, but that isn’t a knock against it.

And then, everything after is pure art pop bliss. But, so very accessible, your head turns… well, spins.

“Look over the edge, but not too far,” she says at the start and end of the beat-heavy, groovy “I Believe.” The last single from the album “Blood and Butter” carries trippy 1990s electronica harmonies with lyrics, “Let me dive through your face, to the sweetest kind of pain. Call you up. Nothin’ to say. No, I don’t need no entertaining.” You’ll listen to it, love it and then, towards the end, love it even more when the bagpipes kick in. 

Yes. Bagpipes. It’s fantastic.

The final track, “Billions,” is haunting, with a reversed beat, creating an elegant dreamish backdrop for Caroline to sing in.

As Caroline said to The New Yorker in September 2021:

“One day, Harle sent her a beat that he’d written, and Polachek heard a melody out of nowhere, oceanic and potent, and started jotting down psychedelic images: a headless angel, an overflowing cup, a pearl inside an oyster. The beat and the images became the song “Billions.” She told me, “I wanted something that captured the afterglow of a reopening.“

It is a gorgeous song to finish the album, with a lovely choir to end the album: “Oh, I’ve never felt so close to you, I’ve never felt so close to you.”

“Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” is an impressive, fascinating, but more importantly, enjoyable listen. Caroline Polachek’s island isn’t one I will rush to leave any time soon. 

8.5/10

Chris Garrod, July 8, 2023

Music, Music Review

Review: Margo Price stays on track with “Strays”

Nashville country singer-songwriter, Margo Price, continues her streak of great albums with “Strays,” released in January 2023.

I’m not a huge country music fan other than alt-country (think: early Wilco, the Jayhawks or Whiskytown), but I adore Margo Price, with her 2016 debut, “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter,” produced by Jack White’s Third Man Records, being my favorite of that year, so I had high hopes for “Strays.”

Joined by her husband and co-songwriter Jeremy Ivey, Margo went on a (very potent) mushroom trip in the desert and came out with what was less a traditional country album and more an alt-country album. Her voice infuses the songs with Americana, but the album really isn’t.

It’s actually hard to categorize.

The epic six-minute “Country Road” is piano and pedal steel driven, with such vivid storytelling and emotionally resonant themes it harkens back to her earlier work, taking the classic country tradition while infusing it with a contemporary edge. (“I’ve got this joint. Let’s go get high. And shoot a little dice. I’ll pour some gin, you can buy me in, Oh, wouldn’t that be nicе?“) The six minutes disappear before you know it, and it’s one of her finest songs.

From the album’s start, the banger “Right to the Mountain,” her voice is rich and expressive, bringing a blend of vulnerability and strength. 

“I’ve been on food stamps. I’ve been out of my mind. I rolled in dirty dollars, stood in the welfare line. I’ve been a number. I’ve been under attack. I have been to the mountain and back. Alright. Alright.“

Things move into new-wave/indie territory with “Radio,” where Sharon von Etten sings along, which is just fantastic. 

“People try to push me around. Change my face and change my sound. I can’t hear them. I tuned them out. And I turned them way down low. The only thing I have on is the radio.”

The Grammy Award-winning artist’s best songs are the ones with her best lyrics (and I love that last quoted line from “Radio“…. the only thing I have on is the radio…”). Other guests include former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell, who plays guitar on “Light Me Up,” and Lucius on backing vocals on “Anytime You Call.”

Price’s rootsy “Change of Heart” is all about release. Don’t come running to me (“You’re gonna wake up older, with a hole in your pocket and a blade in your shoulder. Well, if you break both your legs, oh, don’t come runnin’ to me.“)

She’s just basically pissed, and the song is about letting go of her anger, but then… resignation. (“Get down to the end of the line. And it all fell apart. I quit tryin’ to change the past. I had a change of heart, oh. I had a, I had a, I had a……“) And that’s it. That’s just… it.

Her troubled, lost love song, “Time Machine,” is a lovely, poppy ditty, with 70’s California sound producer Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty) who keeps the entire album, I’m be honest from verging into a Fleetwood Mac cover. 

With primarily, “Lydia,” I applaud her for mostly ending the album with such a dark tone.

“Lydia” is just her, with an acoustic guitar and strings.

It’s a lyrically great song, probably one of Margo’s best, about a woman seeking an abortion, unable to raise a baby in the U.S. without health insurance, even more pointed now by the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

Heartbreaking is not even the first word (though it was recorded before the overturning.)

“Just put out the cigarette. Just make a decision, Lydia, just make a decision.

It’s yours.“

I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Whether mushrooms are needed or not.

9.0/10

Chris Garrod, June 30, 2023