Kendrick Lamar – GNX [PG Lang/Interscope 2024] In the age of the bro-cast having enough political weight to help determine elections it should be noted that despite how funny his A-minor line was, it’s the history lesson about Atlanta that actually held water. Now we’re left with a west coast victory lap where he’s never …
Author Archives: tombaumser
People seem to have forgotten that, at its core, politics is predicated on the quid pro quo of the official and the constituent. “I give you power, you give me beneficial policy”. If no policy ever gets passed you get cynicism.
Illuminati Hotties – Power [Hopeless 2024] More difficult because it subverts expectations, Sarah Tudzin’s follow-up to her breakthrough is also much quieter and more ruminative. Her mother’s death, the subsequent workaholism that arose as a form of denial, and her (now) wife’s ability to change Tudzin’s life by slowing down and not putting up with …
New Life Goal: Woman on Top
JPEGMafia – I Lay Down My Life For You [AWAL 2024] Black Ben Carson, Black AOC, Black Marjorie Taylorie Greene…really he’s running out of comparisons. And with enough built in pop culture references to make Dan Harmon cream himself. Always the scarer of hoes and never the hoe, eh? 3.2/5 https://open.spotify.com/album/1ezs1QD5SYQ6LtxpC9y5I2?si=fh_YRZZBQB6H_EucuHtTwA Big Thief – Two …
Focusing is hard but here’s my Charli XCX one tee hee
Charli XCX – Brat [Atlantic 2024] I can’t even say there’s a secret to the aural heft these 15 lime green beat-pop tracks exude. Just lessons she learned along the way and a dedication to the work, not that she isn’t talented obviously. Owning neither a vagina nor a Grindr account myself, my familiarity with …
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Honestly finally getting this off my laptop and onto the blog is a release akin to finally pooping after a vacation
Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia? [Universal 2024] While in America the default sound for rock bands post-Nirvana has been to filter all you can through an alternative lense and hope you’re catchy enough to have a hit, the Brits have had a clear lineage of post-punk fueling them after the Britpop bubble burst in …
“I still believe in the two party system. Friday and Saturday!”
Low Cut Connie – Art Dealers [Contender 2023] The line that every critic seems to have glommed onto is when Adam Weiner declares himself “a song and dance man”, probably because it’s accessible though it’d be an oversight to not note the Andy Kaufman parallel. More likely though it’s to serve as a branding reset …
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There’s too much Disney Food Blog on my TV at any given time.
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts [Geffen 2023] What she has that her heroes don’t is the skills that her time as a theater kid gave her – meaning she’s not just able to perfect her superlative comic and dramatic timing but also conceptualize scenarios as a writer that, whether or not autobiographical, come alive with the …
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I haven’t said G or R in weeks!
Back again after a long break between posts, since this batch in particular proved frustratingly middling. The records have good and even great songs bogged down with so much unnecessary filler that you might as well call it fast food. Even the good records come with a lot more baggage than I’d like. But that’s …
Queer Emo Up-and-Comers & Classic Hip Hoppers
Home is Where – I Became Birds [Father/Daughter Records 2021] Though they allegedly bristle at comparisons to The Hotelier (but not their hero Jeff Mangum) it’d be almost impossible to ignore the spiritual influences in 25-year-old frontperson Brandon MacDonald’s finished product. Impressionistic writing, a voice like a horn, and a sound that toggles between the …
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I Stay Poppin’ Off
Drive By Truckers – A Blessing and a Curse [New West Records LLC 2006] It feels forced, like a piece that was so frustrating they just put it out to get it off the workbench. From the schlocky drumming that opens to the way Cooley splits the difference between Mick Jagger & Rob Thomas to …
Cosmic Hero 