The Dandy Warhols - Pinups
One could make the argument that over the course of their over three decade career, no band has been as criminally overlooked as The Dandy Warhols. "Oh, the 'Bohemian Like You' band?" Well, yes, but scratch the surface and there is a wealth of absolutely phenomenal work beyond that one (admittedly very good) hit - to my mind, none better than 1997's seminal
The Dandy Warhols Come Down.
Now in their fifties, the band have decided to release a covers album, featuring a series of covers from various stages of their career. In terms of variety, Pinups is brilliantly diverse, with covers of The Cure ('Primary), The Clash ('Straight to Hell'), Bob Dylan (a brilliant re-working of 'Lay Lady Lay'), The Beatles (a psychadelic re-working of 'Blackbird'), and countless others.
The aforementioned covers are the highlights here, and it's fair to say the album is a little bloated as a whole, and not every cover works. The band's cover of 'The Beautiful People' is pretty naff, and it's a shame the 'She Sells Sanctuary' cover doesn't really come off as well as it perhaps should. That said, this 17 track, hour-long covers album should be treated as a welcome bonus rather than anything more.
7/10
Underscores - U
Let me start this review by saying that a 9am flight from Sofia to Vienna with zero hours sleep is
not the place for a Hyperpop album. In all honesty, I hated every minute, and I would say it's only partially the fault of the album. On listening again the following day in a more sleep-satisfied mode, I was able to appreciate it a hell of a lot more.
Since discovering Underscores via her excellent contribution to Danny Brown's latest album, I was intrigued to see how the next album would be, though in all honesty, I'd never been the biggest fan of hyperpop. Oddly enough, despite its seeming immediacy, it often takes a couple of listens at least to understand and appreciate the craft.
That was very much case in point here, and though to me it all very much sounds the same more or less, it's still a fun album worthy of a lot of credit. Highlights include 'Hollywood Forever', 'Music', and the more emotive closing track 'Wish U Well'. It's an album that could divide opinion for sure given the abrasive style, but it's amazing to hear the result of a prominent trans artist absolutely smashing it and doing her thing.
7/10
Holy F*ck - Event Beat
Holy F*ck, or Holy Fudge as they're known in less potty-mouthed circles, are a Toronto four-piece who've been on the scene since 2004, dabbling mainly in electronic music, but naturally basing their sound in a variety of styles. Album number six comes six years on from their last album, Deleter, and is very much testament to this variety.
This is a band that carries the influence of contemporaries massively here, and it's that which makes this such a unique and brilliant masterstroke in Holy F*ck's repertoire. 'Elevate' does exactly what is says and ascends into a euphoric 90s rave style crescendo, before 'Czar' sees the band channeling their inner Liars. 'Seven' is the understatedly infectious highlight, however, bringing to mind lesser known compatriots Suuns in its driving yet hypnotic simplicity, and a chorus that never leaves you.
There are even more guitar-driven tracks like 'Gold Flakes' that channel post-2020 Mogwai pretty well, as well as the obvious influence of Battles on 'Bricks'. Event Beat is ultimately a triumph of an album that uses its influences to create something so clearly of its time without sounding anything even close to a rip-off of anything else.
9/10
Remember Sports - The Refrigerator
Despite bearing a name that resembles a Peter Kay bit, Remember Sports hail from Philly and have been releasing indie with a slight country-tinge since 2014.
The Refrigerator is album number five, although prior to 2017, they went by just Sports. Aptly enough, I had one of their songs saved to my liked songs playlist that I couldn't rememeber, but it must have struck a chord at some point in time.
In truth, this latest effort isn't particularly memorable, with songs passing by without leaving too grand an impression. 'Roadkill' is probably the highlight, as vocalist Carmen Perry wistfully ponders if she was 'ever enough' for someone over a gradually ascending cacophony of synth and gentle guitar tones, before it explodes two and half minutes in.
Otherwise, sadly there's not too much here that hasn't been done before in a more interesting way, take Ratboys latest record just this year, or Wednesday's recent output. Basically, it's an okay album, but not one you'll rush to give another listen.
6/10
The Academy Is... - Almost There
Say the word 'emo', and you'll often get one of three responses. Either someone will shrug in indifference, go on a monologue about the Midwest emo of American Football, Cap'n Jazz, or Brave Little Abacus, or they'll be a fan of the eyeliner sporting pop-punk of the mid to late 2000s - think My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco.
The Academy Is... are a band you might remember from that period, and despite drawing regular comparisons to their Fueled by Ramen labelmates Fall Out Boy, they received barely a fraction of the success or exposure that they did. On their first album in eighteen years, The Academy Is... have mellowed out significantly. Gone is the pop-punk sass of 2007 album Santi, and instead are nostalgic songs that yearn for youth, endless summers, and better days.
That said, the album is far from a melancholic ode to what was, rather it's a reflection on just how quick life can pass one by - just take '2005' for instance as an example of just how purposefully the album reflects on the past. Then there's the unmistakable Americana vibe of '100mph' - an undoubted album high point. After all, the world keeps turning, as frontman William Beckett sings on the song's chorus, and as such, this is a band that have evolved rather than matured. This is a batch of songs perfect for those still yearning for those youthful, carefree days of the late 2000s, even if the songs don't carry that same edge.
7/10
Tiger's Jaw - Lost On You
Tiger's Jaw are a pop-punk band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and throughout the course of their two decade career, they've very much escaped my attention. They cite Title Fight as one of their biggest influences, and that's very much in evidence throughout album number seven,
Lost On You.
That said, there's not a lot to say about the album itself bar a couple of tracks here and there. 'Head is Like a Sinking Stone' goes pretty hard from the opening riff, and 'BREEZER' dabbles in a bit of shoegaze with vaguely intriguing results, but as a whole, nothing really stands out from the pack to distinguish this album from any other in the pop-punk genre.
Perhaps it's a case of needing to be familiar with some of the band's other work to appreciate what they're doing here, but as a whole, it's nothing mind-blowingly good.
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