This week on Timely Tunes, we bring you the latest by Bon Iver, Drive-By Truckers, Solange, and more!
Drive-By Truckers “Guns of Umpqua” (From “American Band”)
Drive-By Truckers are a strange band. For the past twenty years, they have drawn from the well of their Southern Rock forbearers, even going so far as to release a rock opera loosely based on the mythology of Lynyrd Skynyrd (titled “Southern Rock Opera”, naturally). They have also infused their music with enough self-deprecating irreverence that makes them, in a way, the South’s answer to The Replacements. They have always been a political band, telling unflinchingly honest tales of Southern ugliness, unlucky pain, and desperate fools, but their new album is particularly direct about some very heavy issues. This track details the wrenching story of the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. It’s another sadly beautiful song in a long line of sadly beautiful Patterson Hood compositions, and it ranks as one of his best.
Bon Iver “8 (circle)” (From “22, A Million”)
Bon Iver’s achingly delicate debut, “For Emma, Forever Ago”, was released in the midst of a rough patch in my personal life. I won’t go into the details of it, but that album was a soothing balm. It’s also a collection of songs that I find harder to listen to now without being transported to a psychic location I have purposely distanced myself from. In the ensuing nine years since that album came out, it seems as though Justin Vernon has been attempting to distance himself from his early work too. He has collaborated with Kanye West, covered Bonnie Raitt, and slowly drifted towards a more abstract, experimental hymn of the self. His latest album is his strangest work yet, but it’s wonderful. “8 (circle)” is a beautiful and accessible meeting point between his old and new work, using a new pop lingua franca.
Solange “Don’t Wish Me Well” (From “A Seat at the Table”)
In 2012, Solange released the miraculous single “Losing You”, one of the truly great pop songs of this decade. It solidified her as one of the most intriguing and powerful voices in music, right alongside her more famous sister, Beyoncé. “A Seat at the Table” is easily one of the best albums I have heard in 2016; a hyper-conscious, empowered, and occasionally wearied collection of fascinating neo-soul/contemporary R&B. The album is full of highlights, but the track I keep returning to the most is the slow-burning “Don’t Wish Me Well”; a sensual track with a minimalist framework and maximum emotion.
Nicolas Jaar “No” (From “Sirens”)
Chilean-American artist Nicolas Jaar released “Space Is Only Noise” when he was only 21 years old, but it was a masterwork of restrained world-building originality. The fact that “Sirens”, which comes half a decade later, meets and exceeds the lofty expectations set by that debut is testament to the thoughtful patience of Jaar.
Neurosis “Broken Ground” (From “Fires Within Fires”)
Oakland’s Neurosis have been a heavy music institution for over 30 years, from their early days as an Amebix-influenced crust punk crew to their current status as elder statesmen of bone-shattering post-metal doom. Their current lineup has been steady for 20 of those years, back when they released the classic “Through Silver in Blood” and were opening for Pantera, and they are aging gracefully. Once again recorded by Steve Albini, “Fires Within Fires” is a great addition to a stellar catalog of apocalyptic sludge. The beginning of this track sounds uncannily like a great, whiskey-soaked Mark Lanegan ballad, before roaring into a soaring metal anthem.
Spotify Playlist: Timely Tunes, Vol. 22
Tracklist:
1.Jackson Browne “Before The Deluge”
2.Drive-By Truckers “Guns of Umpqua”
3.Uncle Tupelo “Still Be Around”
4.Nina Nastasia “Run, All You…”
5.Neurosis “Broken Ground”
6.Mark Lanegan “Mockingbirds”
7.The Beach Boys “The Night Was So Young”
8.Bon Iver “8 (circle)”
9.Pedro Aguiar “Lost in You”
10.Nicolas Jaar “No”
11.Erykah Badu “Time’s A Wastin”
12.Solange “Don’t Wish Me Well”
13.Gil Scott-Heron “A Sign Of The Ages”
14.The Chi-Lites “The Coldest Days Of My Life”
15.Rahsaan Roland Kirk “Old Rugged Cross”
16.The J.B.’s “La Di Da La Di Day”
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