Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Album Reviews: LIGHTS, BANKS, Alex Benjamin, Wet Leg, Kehlani, Miranda Lambert

 

 
 
PEP by LIGHTS
 
This is LIGHTS 8th studio album since her first in 2009.  I have never heard of her until this listen.  I liked the album but outside of one song "Rent" I didn't find anything that really grabbed me.  Still it's a solid listen and you could find songs off of here for a workout mix.  



Serpentina by BANKS

This is BANKS's 4th album since 2014.  It's an interesting album.  It's one of those where I can't really get a sense of the influences because they seem so all over the place.  In that way it reminds me of the album from LIGHTS.  For me the LIGHTS album was much more direct though in its presentation where this feels a bit more experimental.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Both are at the heart pop albums.  Again there are solid options here for a workout mix.  




(Un)Commentary by Alec Benjamin

This is Benjamin's second album since 2020 and the first I've heard of him.  I have to admit it took a few listens for me to get into this album, but then I found that I enjoyed it, especially the song in the video here "The Way You Felt."  Lyrically he's interesting and I still can't decide if I like his lyrics or just find them too cute.  

An example here from the song "Nuance."
I used to talk about the worldI used to talk about life with nuanceI used to see word from the treesI used to be alright with nuanceBut I've got some nuance, don't want to be seenWith nuance, I've moved on, it's just not for meDon't wanna talk about the worldDon't wanna talk about life with nuanceAnymore, anymore
This is pretty much the voice through the album.  Still it's an easy listen and one you can throw on while you clean the house if you like as it can be shared with the family.  



Explicit Lyrics



Wet Leg by Weg Leg

The debut album from this band and they are a critical favorite.  They are taking inspiration from past female punk bands and doing it well.  It will be interesting to see where the go next.  Sorry can't find a video that doesn't have explicit lyrics.  If you want to know what is hip and cool in the music critic corners of the world then give these guys a listen.  





blue water road by Kehlani

This is Kehlani's 6th release since 2014.  She's an R&B pop artist and I find her to be less than I expect whenever I listen to her.  I really like her voice but something is missing with her songs.  I'm just not sure what it is.  Lyrics, beats, hooks, I'm not sure but this album feels less than the whole.  I will say to that I was listening to this album during a time when I wasn't in much of a music mood, so maybe if I pull it back out later in the year I'll like it better.  Another album with strong options for a workout mix.  




Palomino by Miranda Lambert

In a perfect world I think we would get an album from Miranda Lambert that was just her and an acoustic guitar.  She's got a great voice and she's a fun lyricist.  This is a fun album but it feels so overproduced to me, so Nashville.  If you are gonna take a long drive grab the song "Tourist" and maybe some others off of here and throw on a mix tape for the drive. 



















3 comments:

  1. Ooh, that "Rent" song by Lights is pretty!

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  2. Ooh, so is "Tourist" by Miranda Lambert.

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  3. I imagine that the the music critic corners of the world are very tidy.

    ReplyDelete