The Hotelier – Home, Like Noplace is There [Tiny Engines 2014]
What was most intriguing about this band when their Meta-breakthrough landed was how Christian Holden’s verbosity was so dense it directed listeners instead to the emoting indie rock that surrounded it. That is of course until a small phrase or two broke through with clear eyed memorability; think “I just slept for years on end, fuck!”; “Open your walls to this”; “Chewing wildflowers to numb the pain”. It’s only through repeated listens and an accompanying lyric sheet one can discern, through the histrionics, a vague narrative about how the white-collar trappings of the suburbs drove a queer friend to suicide, or something thereabouts. A keystone is how the subject through the lens of the speaker’s guilt, in a remnant of a viciously toxic relationship, becomes an exact inverse of Emersonian self-reliance. As “Dendron” proves, all the haggard catharsis in the world only gives way to more cyclicality on the road to acceptance. Powerful shit. 4.5/5
Megan thee Stallion – Fever [300/1501 Certified Ent. 2019]
Coming from the daughter of a rapper, it’s not the tour-de-force some think it is, but it’s a reasonable step. The problem is less the lack of variation on MoneyAndSexAreAllINeed, that rappers both male and female have crafted into such a strong lineage on its own, than a problem of staying power attributable to how the lack of major hooks makes for less of a communal experience. But still she has needs and demands satisfaction as all women should, speaking her truth: “He said he ain’t trickin’/And he said he ain’t lickin’/Nigga, why you over here with all that little kid shit?” Big oof for the asshole who doesn’t eat pussy. But while her preferred method is dirty southern bangers that young women will dance to and feel empowered by her secret weapon is “Best You Ever Had”, a vignette with nuance that she’d be smart to continue perfecting in tandem with her forte. 3.4/5
The National – Sleep Well Beast [4AD 2017]
After so many years and so much work, relationships like the one at the center of this band are those to be respected wholly. Which is why there’s irony to be enjoyed in the fact that their most cohesive song cycle is about a first person account of marital dissolution. Whose relationship death throes are personified in the track-to-track dynamics in the first half, after which is a continuously quiet path to the grand knell. New colors like electronic glitches and even a guitar solo provide superlative supplementary material for the most vulnerable that Matt Berninger has been in his career. A band that can write “I’ll Still Destroy You” deserves enthusiasm. A band that writes “Nobody Else Will Be There” deserves awe. 4.5/5
The Wrens – The Meadowlands [Absolutely Kosher 2003]
As of this writing it’s been some years since this minor major masterpiece was rudely overlooked by most of the listening world despite earning the favor of a nascent p4k, NME, Allmusic, and The Dean Himself. Their arc is readily available on wiki but long story short years of burnout from writers block and label hopping yielded mid-30s defeatism with such poignancy and clarity that its lack of both cynicism and hope barely even register. Yes the lines start to blur in the filler after “Hopeless”’s standout glow until the last third of the track list releases more emotional power by articulating real adult problems than any of the other bands confusniks typically find themselves drawn to out of necessity. Bright and swampy, honesty with experience and a wink, it’s my humble opinion that it should be listened to repeatedly by anyone with ears. 5/5
Cosmic Hero 