Best Tracks – 9.16.22

Best Tracks – 9.16.22

 

Whitney – “Never Crossed My Mind”

A departure for Whitney, although maybe not as much as it seems. Spark is an energetic deviation, the kind that seems more like evolution, even if it isn’t necessarily better than what came before, (although it’s certainly better than what came immediately before). “Never Crossed My Mind” is the most successful and maybe the best example of how talented Whitney is as a group. If “No Matter Where We Go” is the kind of youthful, ode to infatuation that the band was able to easily capture back in 2016, now six years later, “Never Crossed My Mind” gives the listener a very different view of romance and maturity in a relationship. The rumbling bass and the twinkling keys that round out the back end, hint at the consistency in the group’s sound, and simultaneously at how much they can do within those constraints.

 

The Black Angels – “Here & Now”

The Angels may be well past their late-aughts hey-day, and their music may not have changed much since then, but as far as slightly derivative and reliable psych-rock goes, you could do a lot worse. Yes, Wilderness of Mirrors is not an important album, but it does have plenty to like, even with its excessive runtime. “Here & Now”, with its propulsive beat and Andrew VanWyngarden-esque vocals sounds fresh and purposeful, never pushing its way into unnecessary, trippy, or garage guitar work. The band may not be reinventing themselves or their niche sound, but no one faults Brian Jonestown Massacre for not doing the same, and at this point, it’s hard to expect more than that comparison.

 

The Beths – “Your Side”

As far as New Zealand indie pop goes, The Beths tends towards the middle of the road. That’s not to say there isn’t enough to distinguish them from the pack, just that apart from those elevating elements, the band seems content too often to rely on genre cliches that hinder the overall benefits. Expert In a Dying Field is a strong album though, and one whose strength easily out ways any of its detractions. “Your Side” exemplifies the group’s abilities when they are at their strongest, despite Elizabeth Stokes delivering her vocals in an earnest although indistinct voice, the chorus is catchy in a deceptively normal way and the band repeats that chorus enough so that eventually it reveals how ingenious it really is, and in a way where it’s hard to imagine anyone but Stokes singing it. Add in some great guitar leads strewn throughout and the band taking lead on the final chorus and The Beth’s individuality shines.

 

Quinn Christopherson – “Celine”

The first proper album from Anchorageite Quinn Christopherson compiles the series of stand-out singles that he’s accumulated over the last few years, along with some new material. The results are a riveting and personal examination of transgenderism, alcoholism, and growing up as an Alaskan native. It’s a summation of his experience and a surprisingly cohesive piece of work, and “Celine” with its soaring chorus and gurgling instrumentation is Christopherson at his most immediate and his most honest, as a direct tribute to his mother.

 

Suede – “She Still Leads Me On”

Brett Anderson has been quietly releasing some pretty decent Suede albums over the last ten years. That might be because no one can find them, given the legality forcing them to be filed under “The London Suede”. Regardless, Autofiction is another winner, and that is due almost wholly to Anderson and his intense devotion to Suede. On nearly every track, he delivers a theatricality and passion that very few legacy acts can muster. On “She Still Leads Me On” in particular, Suede touches on what made them so great in the first place, the biting lyrics, and Anderson’s charming and distinct approach to storytelling. Anderson may still be writing, singing, and acting like he’s in the 90s, but Suede is all the better for it.

 

Pink Siifu & Real Bad Man – “View of Paris (feat. Ahwlee)”

Following the collaboration with Boldy James, Killing Nothing, earlier this year, clothing/hip-hop producers Real Bad Man has returned, this time with Pink Siifu, and on Real Bad Flights the results are even better. This collab is just as well thought out, but the difference here is the strength of the individual tracks, namely “View of Paris”. The track slowly unravels over a simple beat and synth combo, taking its time to find the right groove and giving Siifu and Ahwlee plenty of room to muse and blend in, until a distinct piano line comes through to cement the track’s vibe.

 

No Age – “Tripped Out Before Scott”

People Hurting People may not be the No Age that fans remember, after all, there’s less of the punky exuberance they first became famous for, and less of the noise-art rock that they did so well on Everything In Between and An Object. Nevertheless, No Age is remarkably resilient and in place of some of their more left-field leanings are a few immaculate rock tracks with plenty of ambient set pieces to bind them together. “Tripped Out Before Scott” is still hazy and lo-fi, in the best dingey-basement kind of way, but the energy and vigor are there and that carries the simplistic arrangement to the halfway mark, where No Age turns a rudimentary track into something approaching transcendence, or at least it would in a DIY environ.