In No Particular Order: An All-Female Lineup Dominates This Week (07/24/20)
In No Particular Order has been taken over.
Not entirely – it’s still me writing it, but it just so happens to be a female-dominated album review roundup! This week, I dive into the new Taylor Swift surprise album, electronic artist Jessy Lanza, and the empowering art-rock of Liza Anne.
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Liza Anne – Bad Vacation
8/10
Indie rock/Art-pop
Feeling drained from both an exhausting tour schedule and toxic relationship, Liza Anne slipped into an unhealthy pattern of benders and self-destructive habits following the success of her last album Fine But Dying. But after therapy and a whole lot of self-awareness, she released her inner demons on her new album Bad Vacation, and its that facetious tenacity that gives the new release its alluring edge.
While her earlier discography sits comfortable on the folk shelf, on Bad Vacation Liza Anne finds a new path, exploring art-rock, new wave, pop, and good ol’ indie rock to express herself in a different light. More impressively, she manages to talk about the importance of mental health through her own experiences without sounding preachy. Instead, it’s a refreshing and honest collection about throwing regret and those pesky demons to the wind and starting up better than ever.
Notable tracks: “Bad Vacation” // “Devotion” // “Bummer Days”
Taylor Swift – folklore
6/10
Pop/Singer-songwriter
For her eighth studio album folklore, sad-girl icon Taylor Swift wrote the 16 tracks during isolation. In four months, T-Swift (with health precautions) wrote and recorded a full-length – which is a risk upon itself – and then surprised fans less than 24 hours in advance. And her recycled tropes of heartbreak, regret, sadness, and the inevitable bounce back from it all are brought out once again on the new album, but in a different, minimalistic Bon Iver-meets-Lana Del Rey sort of way – another risk. folklore feels more genuine and raw compared to her earlier releases, but at 16 tracks, it quickly becomes dull and monochromatic.
The shift in pace and style may have something to do with her collaboration with Bon Iver and The National’s Aaron Dressner, the latter produced the majority of the album, and their influence is quite prevalent on the record. Swelling string arrangements, glowing piano chords, and airy vocals in melancholic minor keys profess some newfound maturity in Taylor’s love song writing, but at the end of the day, she is still brooding over someone for over an hour.
Overall, it’s great that Taylor Swift was able to create something more true to her sound and heart, and while there are stand out moments scattering throughout the album, the length and time invested to find them just isn’t entirely worth it.
Notable tracks: “exile” // “this is me trying” // “peace”
Jessy Lanza – All The Time
7/10
Electronic/Experimental
Although Jessy Lanza is originally from Hamilton, the electronic artist now resides in San Fransisco, a move she recently made from New York. The Canadian transplant was inspired by this cross-country departure for her third album All The Time, matching the colourful individuality found amongst the bustling busyness of the coastal cities with her intimate and glitchy electro-pop.
It dances between minimalistic and big-room; intimate and club-worthy, depending on your interpretation. There’s a rich underlying influence of ’80s R&B and pop, which Lanza draws from her childhood influences of Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul, and jazz music education, modernizing the style’s sultriness into 808 clap beats and glossy synth chords with subtle expertise.
Notable tracks: “Lick in Heaven” // “Face” // “All The Time”
