In No Particular Order: Dazzlers & Disappointments (12/11/20)
Welcome to the final INPO of 2020!
It’s been a wild ride, and I’ll be revisiting 2020 through music in the next few weeks with my annual Top 50 Albums of the Year collection – stay tuned!
To end things off, I’ve reviewed some of the biggest albums of the week from veterans and newbies alike – including Taylor Swift, Kid Cudi, Foxy Shazam and newcomers All Things Blue.
As always, you can find Dusty Organ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify to stay up to date on new releases. Also, you can find tracks from these albums and more on our Monthly Spotify playlist.
As well, we’ve introduced monthly newsletter and visit our Patreon account if you’d like to show your support!
Most importantly, if you enjoy something, don’t forget to share it around!
Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon III: The Chosen
Hip-hop/Rap
6/10
After ten years, Kid Cudi has finally brought his Man On the Moon trilogy to a close with his seventh studio album Man On the Moon III:The Chosen.
Part of Cudi’s success as an artist is his voice; something that is reminiscent of a therapist’s contemplative and soothing tone that sings his way into self-expression. His struggles with mental health, addiction, and at times, grasping reality, came across in his psychedelic style of hip-hop. The original Man on the Moon from 2009 is the pinnacle of his sound and career, while the 2010 follow-up The Legend of Mr. Rager doing a decent job at keeping pace.
10 years later, the trilogy is ending, but so has the captivating experimental and artistic merit of Cudi’s sound.
Not to say The Chosen isn’t a good record (it is), but compared to the rest of the trilogy and his earlier discography, it truly doesn’t hold up.
And it’s not entirely his fault; the shift of hip-hop into the bass-centered, trap-obsessed R&B style has clearly taken better on this Republic Records album. Take away his vocals, and you could easily have a Lil Uzi, or Playboi Carti, or any other mainstream rapper album.
Even the standout features on the album feel more of a cash grab than a conscious, intentional self-expression for Cudi. “Show Out” with Skepta and Pop Smoke (RIP) is just a radio-ready drill rap track, backed by hard-hitting production and two well-known names beside it.
His former self starts to shine through on the third section of the record, namely “Elsie’s Baby Boy (flashback)” where he pays respect to his single mother upbringing and his journey with mental health issues comes out on the ethereal track “Lovin’ Me” featuring Phoebe Bridgers (whose feature unfortunately doesn’t add much to the track).
The Chosen, while a solid major label release, will quickly fall into the rest of Cudi’s discography, unable to compare to his formidable introduction.
Notable tracks: “Another Day” // “Show Out” // “Elsie’s Baby Boy”
All Things Blue – Get Bit
Indie rock/Psych-pop
7.5/10
I’ve mentioned this before, but stellar debut albums are an exciting treat. Being introduced to a talented act right at the beginning of their budding career is an exhilarating moment for listeners and the band (I’m assuming). For Los Angeles duo All Things Blue, their introductory album Get Bit is a compact, yet complex collection of indie rock tunes about finding a sustainable balance, both for the environment and for ourselves, and is a captivating 10 track collection.
Lead by India Coombs and rounded out by guitarist Jon Joseph, All Things Blue first came together after the pair met each other after first arriving in Los Angeles at 18. The serendipitous connection is at the heart of the record, with their adventurous and free-spirited energy seeping into the hazy, psychedelic parts of the record, while their mutual understanding of the world comes out in the lyrics and the lo-fi rock sound.
And that understanding is an expansion of the idea of always “being on”, as our world exponentially finds more and more ways to connect and be stimulated with content. Get Bit embodies that idea as its shifts and twists through different energy levels and topics, from douchey lovers on “Chad”, exciting strangers on “Legend of Chav” and “Buddha & Penelope”, and the water crisis on “Lully” , all of which jump from place to place, but are easy on the ears with their tidy bedroom dream-rock sound.
While often covered by a layer of effects, Coombs’ voice finds a similarity to Gwen Stefani’s early No Doubt days, especially on lead single “Chad”, as her soft vocals sweep over the verse before punching into the chorus. Her angelic style adds to the appeal of the record, cushioning the guitar riffs and psychedelic textures with hypnotizing ability, especially on “Something Weird” and “Lully”.
As far as debut albums go, Get Bit is an exemplary release, sounding confident and cohesive as if the group had already a stack of records behind them.
Notable tracks: “Chad” // “Buddha & Penelope” // “Lully”
Foxy Shazam – Burn
Alternative rock/Arena rock
7.5/10
It’s been almost six years since Cincinnati glam rock revival group Foxy Shazam announced their hiatus. Fortunately, the original cast of Eric Nally (vocals), Sky White (piano), and Loren Turner (guitar) have returned, alongside Trigger Warning (bass) and Teddy Aitkins (drums) to fill the airwaves with their triumphant and arena-sized sound.
While their earlier discography was a wild mix of hardcore, glam-rock, and avant-garde, they’ve gradually been refining their sound into ’80’s inspired rock, in the way of Queen and Meat Loaf (who Nally has some writing credits for, coincidentally enough). On their sixth album Burn, the influence of the ’80s is undeniably present, capturing the gallivanting guitar riffs and booming harmonies on the chorus, complete with drum fills and piano-rock.
Album after album, Nally continues to be the centrepiece of the band, with his Freddie Mercury-esque vocal power and style stealing the show (although White’s dizzying piano performances are still there to make a statement). It was even Opening tracks “Burn” and “Dreamer” have the barrelling style Foxy fans remember, while “Dreamscape 2020” and “S.Y.A.A.F” have the full band at their wildest for the record, blending in Aerosmith level guitar solos and blaring horns to round it out.
A few slip ups, relative to the rest of the album, such as “Never Ever” and the basement-hip-hop sound of “Into the Wild” (that can’t be Nally rapping?) feel out of place on the track list, but the rest of the album is there to save its status as a compelling comeback.
Acting as bookends, “Suffering” and the fiery Jonas Brothers-esque tune “The Rose” bring the record full circle with its infectious energy; guitar solos, virtuosic piano power chords (an oxymoron, I know), and Nally’s voice overtop a horn section bring the album to a close.
For long time Foxy Shazam fans, Burn is a welcomed and exciting continuation of their career and sound. Although gone are the days of Nally’s wild performances of “A Dangerous Man”, the five-piece still have something to show-off and flaunt confidently in 2020.
Notable tracks: “Burn” // “Dreamscape 2020” // “In My Mind”
Taylor Swift – evermore
Singer-songwriter/Pop
8/10
Impressing both fans and critics alike, Taylor Swift has released her second album of 2020 with evermore, a sister album to her July release folklore. Continuing with her woodsy, imaginary world aesthetic, evermore shares more of her fictional storytelling in her music, once again produced alongside The National’s Aaron Dessner. The result is a rustic piano-drenched collection of sad songs about lost love, heartbreak, and nostalgia.
One fact remains undeniable: Taylor Swift has the perfect voice to match her heartfelt lyricism, and it is especially shown off on evermore with the raw production. Dessner, who has been producing music on the side for about a decade now, has really stepped into the light as a producer this past year, with a handful of releases, including Hannah Georgas’ That Emotion and The Lone Bellow’s Half Moon Light on top of Taylor Swift’s double release, and to sum up his 2020 discography, he has done a fantastic job at bringing out the richness in the female voice and its timbre. folklore and evermore are both auditory treats in that regard, with the sombre piano and orchestration lifting it up further.
Bulking up both the sound and the song credits is her writing team, which also includes Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon, and her boyfriend Joseph Bowery on a few of the songs. The combined minds of the team bring Swift’s stories to life. From proposal gone-wrong on “champagne problems” (Bowery), and admiring from afar on “gold rush” (Antonoff) to the rich piano ballad and title track “evermore” (Vernon). Plus Dessner and Swift add to the collage of stories with college sweethearts on “’tis the damn season”, to a Hollywood actress on “dorothea”, and even an ode to Swift’s late grandmother on “marjorie”. For the 15 tracks, Swift criss-crosses between narratives and character perspective, keeping her emotional folk style interesting.
While folklore took some time to properly sink in, evermore is a much stronger second half, relying less on theatrics and instead solely on pure songwriting and storytelling.
Notable tracks: “willow” // “’tis the damn season” // “evermore”
