The Music Dispatch: June 13, 2022
There's a man on the thumbnail so you know his music must be good. Also: Joyce Manor, Shygirl, Demi Lovato, Halsey, and 21 savage
Welcome to The Music Dispatch! This is a weekly part of this Substack where I shortly review every new(-ish) release I listened to. Out every Tuesday. All mentioned songs are available on your streaming platform of choice unless stated otherwise. Is there an album you want to recommend me? @ me on Twitter or head on over to the Retrospring!
There’s this bind a lot of people are in, I feel — a rock and a hard place, if you will. It’s the urge either to enjoy something and feel defensive, or to hate and feel aggressive. I’ve been in both situations, once even about the same thing (Free Iwatobi Swim Club, of course, what a time). But is this really the way to live life? It makes things so black and white. What about stuff that you like that makes you say “well except for…” and things you dislike that makes you say “but I still liked”? There’s this part of Inside Out that always stuck with me: the conclusion, in which Joy learns that the prepuberscent protagonist Riley doesn’t only have happy, sad, or angry balls (memories), but also happy-sad ones. It’s not just nuance what I’m trying to get at — it’s just acknowledging one thing can be many things.
EPs and Albums
I haven’t heard the new BTS songs, but if your sole contact point with BTS was Dynamite or if you spent the last three years avoiding everything about them by virtue of fans, overkill hype, or both, the first twelve songs of Proof should be enough of … well, proof… as to why they got so popular in the first place. The songs used to be good, at the very least charming. (Funny omission of War of Hormone on this thing though — it’s a fun piece of misogyny, actually!)
Kalben — Eski Dünyanın Yangını Started off strong, and Kalben’s rich mezzosoprano makes for a very satisfying listen with the first leg, but then it just ends up self-serious — mushy and samey with a Chanson vibe throughout. Very typical of Turkish alternative music if you’re a bit aware of the scene? The other problem is that it never switches up in genre the same way Büyük Ev Ablukada do and it’s also never leaning to pop as strongly as Yüzyüzeyken Konusuruz do either. It’s honestly drab and dreary. Yasak was particularly silly as the club beat is weak and honestly even Tarkan manages a social message better.
Joyce Manor — 40 oz. to Fresno Fully realized, very strong in its pop punk and post punk sensibilities, this is the one album you want to listen to if electric guitars appeal to you in any way.
Kelly Clarkson — Kellyoke A bunch of covers that she has originally performed on her Kellyoke section of the Kelly Clarkson Show and my God, this woman can sing. Call Out My Name and Happier than Ever are both better than the original.
Wonho — FACADE His shortest one yet, it suffers from the exact opposite problem that Blue Letter has from last year: it’s too incoherent to really be an enjoyable mini listen. You have a brooding intro, the single CRAZY which is a very good song but has nothing to do with the intro, then there’s Close which is just WENEED in “we like to party” version, and the Korean version of White Miracle, which honestly sounds like a Christmas K-Pop song. I have to reiterate though: CRAZY is very good: it’s propulsive, it tries many different things, and never strays too far from the template Wonho built for himself. Is it his best? I’m not sure? Obsession might be better, and I’ve grown to really like BLUE, but . He still remains the most exciting K-Pop artist around bar Sunmi, and the reason why is that they really make songs sound like them.
Singles
Shygirl — Come For Me It’s an Arca production, which means it deconstructs club beats, has a bunch of curveballs on it, and is best enjoyed intellectually. After this I checked out Cleo at Abbey Road and got obsessed with that song instead, so.
Lizzo — Grrrls This is a Lizzo copy of a song. Like it’s not interesting, it’s two minutes so you already know this is for Tiktok as opposed to About Damn Time, it’s more rap than singing, and it’s just what you expect of somebody trying to copy Lizzo. By far one of her worst moments.
Halsey — So Good I’ve gone bat for this woman’s phlight with her label multiple times on Twitter. When it comes to people fighting companies, I’m with the people! So Good is a pop song so solid (and, let’s be honest, safe compared to If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power) I’m surprised that she had to fight for it. It makes no sense. This is a good pop song and it never does anything odd.
Demi Lovato — SKIN OF MY TEETH I didn’t have a Demi Lovato childhood like a lot of my friends, but I did enjoy this a lot. Demi’s insane vocals are such a good match for pop punk, and they embody the spirit of punk so well.
Pharrell Williams feat. Tyler the Creator and 21 Savage — Cash In Cash Out 21 Savage is honestly so good. His adlibs alone makes a song, and it’s been years since i am > i was, so you already know I was at the edge of my seat at his verse. Tyler was uncharacteristicaly uninteresting; maybe it’s time to hang the girl-loving fur hat persona up?
Soccer Mommy — newdemo The obligatory forgettable-third-single-before-album-drops single.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs feat. Perfume Genius — Spitting Off The Edge Of The World Dreampop and arena rock come together for this grand piece of music that you’ll probably hear two years down the line in a show or movie with white teens. Greta Gerwig and Olivia Wilde are probably saving up their sample money already!
This Friday, I’m looking forward to Perfume Genius’ Ugly Season! Libra king of the gays.
With the opener in mind, this week’s impromptu list is a list of albums that I like except for one song that I don’t like:
The Boyz’ REVEAL is my most played K-Pop album and also one of my favorite K-Pop albums, but Wings is just so uninteresting to me. It’s the kind of midtempo that’s best for falling asleep.
Beyoncé’s self-titled is the most flawless album ever conceived and I hope to write about it soon. But the Platinum Edition also features a very unserious verse of Kanye West for the Drunk in Love remix and it’s an instant skip for me.
Charli XCX’s Pop 2 is flawless but my finger immediately skips as soon as I hear Tommy Cash’s voice in Delicious. It’s his fault.
Beach House’s self titled is among my favorite projects of theirs, but it’s just… the vocals on House on the Hill is so rough compared to that ethereal production. Lovelier Girl has the same problem.
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