New Album: Paul McCartney’s newest album NEW entered the Billboard Charts this week at #3, and it’s more of what McCartney does best. For a guy who has been putting out solo albums for twice as long as many of the Collegiettes who are reading this have been alive, and put out fantastic music in Abbey Road and on stages across the world with The Beatles when our parents were in diapers, his wellspring of songs has not exhausted yet.
Jaunty Beatles-esque tunes like “Queenie Eye,” the video for which came out this week, and “New” dot the album and show McCartney’s propensity for schlock, but making it sound pretty good nonetheless. Acoustic numbers like “Early Days” and “Hosanna” won’t make anyone forget “Yesterday,” but they’re very cohesive with this album. As a by-product of working with younger producers like Mark Ronson and Giles Martin have imparted a flair for electronica on this album, with “Appreciate” sounding more at home on a Fatboy Slim record than a McCartney record, and the electric drums on “Looking at Her” make the beat seem very modern. On the whole, my favorite track on the album is the last one, “Scared” – which is a fairly haunting piano ballad which reminds me of “For No One” off Revolver, one of the most underrated songs McCartney has ever written. If you’re a Beatles fan, give this a listen.
What I’ve Been Listening To:
As we know, it’s midterm season, so I’ve been listening to stuff that will keep me awake, and Eyedea and Abilities’ final album By the Throat will do just that. MC and guitarist Eyedea creates pointed lyrical critiques of society that flow past faster than page-filler in an obviously bullsh*tted paper backed by grunge-influenced guitar, bass, and drums often filling in for breakbeats, often incorporating choruses that showcase Larsen’s Cobain-esque singing voice. However, most solo breaks are taken by DJ Abilities, who uses it as a showcase for his rhythmic abilities. This instrumentation is most evident on tunes such as “Spin Cycle,” “Smile,” and “Junk.”
A slightly mellower album is Elliott Smith’s 1998 album XO (not coincidentally, also a great Fall Out Boy song), but upon the decade anniversary of his passing, it seemed fitting to put this on. This is one of the albums that defined his sound, layering his own voice to create harmonies much like artists like Lorde and Imogen Heap do nowadays, and melancholy-sounding works that reflect the turmoil that a very depressed Smith had wrestled with all his life. It may be a downer, but it’s a beautiful one. Choice tracks include “Waltz No. 2,” “Sweet Adeline,” and “Tomorrow, Tomorrow.”
Back on a more upbeat note, New Jersey band Titus Andronicus’ debut album The Airing of Grievances has also been a favorite of mine that’s happened to be in rotation. Taking the raw sound they had honed from years of playing basements up and down the eastern seaboard and putting it on tape leads to a very raw-sounding punk record that serves as a great precursor to their sophomore smash The Monitor, with a healthy dose of lo-fi indie inspiration as well as a hearty influence from the Boss. Choice tracks on The Airing of Grievances include “Upon Viewing Breughel’s ‘Landscape With The Fall of Icarus,’” “Joset of Nazareth’s Blues, ” and “No Future.”
Local Music Happenings:
1) One of my good friends, Sunderland-based musician Jake Slater, released his EP Neutral Prophet earlier this week. Formerly of Secret Jam Society, Slater spent much of the summer recording some tracks that combine rock, funk, jazz, and psychedelia to create one of the better efforts from a UMass artist this year.
2) R&B Legend Mavis Staples will be at the Calvin Theatre tomorrow, November 7. A member of the Staples Singers in the 1950s-70s, she’s still touring in her mid-70s, bringing her gospel sound to many generations of fans.
3) Ska-Punk legends Big D and the Kid’s Table will be at Pearl Street on December 6. Rebounding from their singer’s bout with cancer, they’re back and better than ever.