April Albums
April. What a month! What a time for music! I feel like I'm reawakening after one of the bleakest winters in New York State's recent history. Yes, it's supposed to snow tomorrow. But I have seen the sun and it is glorious. I just finished reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 800-page Soviet-era novel 'In the First Circle.' It's just as daunting as it sounds, with just as many references to Dante's Inferno as its title implies.
Not only have I been living in a bleak and colorless landscape, I've been transporting myself to an even more terrible environment through the wonder and magic of literature. Now, the final page has been read and the temperature has flirted with 75 degrees, so it's time to wake up and look around.
Just in time for a million fantastic new albums to hit the airwaves all at once! Exaltation! Here are three random favorites that dropped in the last month or so.
1. Sound and Color - Alabama Shakes
The first time I heard Alabama Shakes there was only one thing in the world. Brittany Howard's voice. Then there was her funk/blues/magic guitar playing. Then my tunnel vision opened up to include the entire soulful four. But Brittany's voice! Like nothing I had ever heard!
This time around the album seems even deeper. Like a gospel note is being hit longer, like they're really letting themselves feel the moment for a minute. They're baring emotions but are less indignant and more accepting of it all.
Get a taste of the sound with Gimme All Your Love, The Greatest, and Over My Head.
(Two of these are cruddy quality, but the album was just released this week! Cut me a break!)
2. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
This album houses a lot of funk and rhythm along with some powerfully spoken lyrics that I can't even begin to scratch the surface of. Kendricks's vocals are aggressive but smooth. He plays with genres of delivery that invoke nostalgia, but to the point of his present situation. This album is important. It's really, really important to consider Kendrick's message and his experiences because he's speaking something weighty and true, something that's not easy to hear.
As I listened, each track seemed to turn me to a different inquiry by Kendrick of his own worth in the spotlight. His lyrics are witty and thoughtful, and his use of sampled audio adds to his point instead of distracting. His whole flow is so smooth that I feel hypnotized.
Listen to Wesley's Theory, King Kunta, and The Blacker the Berry.
(As the album artwork notes, there's definitely some explicit content involved. I also liked an interview to The Blacker the Berry instead of the actual song, because I think it's important to watch before you listen.)
3. Strange Trails - Lord Huron
I got into Lord Huron about a year ago while letting the iTunes surf take me on its turbid waters. I think I started out at Sufijan Stevens, floated through St. Lucia and Wolf Gang, then arrived at Lord Huron. Their first full album, Lonesome Dreams, drew me in with a humorous croon that somehow suggested adventure.
Their new album, Strange Trails, was released in early April, and it's disparate enough to signify a change of place without also implying a new identity. It's an exploration of the same Lord Huron, but in a new time and situation. We're all sort of reconvening, and we're the same people but at the same time not.
Try out Love Like Ghosts, Fool For Love, and Frozen Pines for a measured glimpse into the album.
So like, try one of these out. Or all of them. Agree with me. Or don't. You are free to choose, I am but one humble individual with ears and an opinion.