Time is running out.
With the majority of this year’s records already out, candidates for album of the year are narrowing in release frequency. Massive political, social and personal statements by Fleet Foxes, LCD Soundsystem, The War on Drugs and Zola Jesus have so far bubbled on top of the title’s field, but a few releases changed the whole landscape late last week.
This past Friday marked the release date of two album of the year contenders as well as an excellent collaborative LP. Take a listen to these three albums from Friday, whether you’ve been anticipating the artist’s return or you’re listening for the first time. There’s enough food for thought here that no one will go hungry.
St. Vincent - Masseduction
Annie Clark’s fifth studio album and first since 2014 finds the singer/guitarists exploring areas of vulnerability obscured in her earlier work. Masseduction — that’s pronounced “mass seduction” and not “mass education” — delivers straightforward pop/rock songs divided into racy dance tracks like “Savior,” chaotic meditations like “Pills” and “Sugarboy” and, most importantly, melancholy admissions on songs like “New York,” “Dancing with a Ghost” and “Smoking Section.”
In the span of 41 fully-purposed minutes, Clark recreate the peaks and valleys of relationships and all the icky feelings that old ones leave behind. Plus, her Bowie-like fascination with an evolving persona supports the feeling that she’s telling us something we have yet to hear.
King Krule - The OOZ
In 2015, Archy Marshall stepped away from his King Krule moniker — only one of many — to release a dark hip-hop album under his own name called A New Place 2 Drown. But since then, Marshall has returned to his roots of combining indie, punk and jazz music to follow up 2012’s 6 Feet Beneath the Moon with The OOZ, an hour-long dense recollection of struggle, seedy activity and alienation. The bleakness that defined the first two King Krule releases does not take an absence here, with songs like “The Locomotive,” “Dum Surfer” and “Emergency Blimp” trudging along in pessimism and disciplined anger.
However, Marshall also incorporate his more sparse and relaxed songs to balance the heaviness with introspections. “Lonely Blue,” “Czech One” and “La Lune” meander through jazz chords and internal monologues spoken out loud. A moody saxophone interweaves seamlessly with all the other instruments, making King Krule sound like a band over a solo project more than any prior release.
With the same emotional clairvoyance as Earl Sweatshirt or Radiohead, Marshall places his finger on the emotional pulse of the today’s milieu and offers a stark look at our fears, missteps and gritty nights of loneliness.
Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice
Lotta Sea Lice might not make as many top 10 lists as the other high-profile albums released on Friday, but it does make for a fun time. With dueling lyrics and guitar riffs from two of rock’s most celebrated voices, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile’s collaborative full-length never lets up during its brisk 44 minutes.
Along with standout original songs like “Over Everything,” “Fear is like a Forest” and “Continental Breakfast,” the two crank out some entertaining bluesy covers. Barnett covers Vile’s “Peeping Tomboy” — a personal favorite of mine — and Vile covers Barnett’s “Outta the Woodwork.” Together the two rockers end their LP with spirited a cover of Belly’s “Untogether,” a fitting end to this once-unlikely project.
Lotta Sea Lice beckons back to earlier country-rock albums like The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo and Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, but it still moves forward with its creators’ idiosyncratic styles. Kurt and Courtney breathe enough life into each verse about writing songs or figuring out existence to make this one a memorable addition to their respective catalogues.
Luke Furman is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Have you listened to these yet? Let Luke know by tweeting him @LukeFurmanLog or emailing him at lf491413@ohio.edu.
