🎶 Notes on Notes (2021–06–30)
Can’t stop tripping on these old roads I go down.
We’re moving in a few weeks and I was able to negotiate with our family’s Historical Society to co-opt some space in the living room for a “music area” where I intend to put together some kind of music streaming/record player/loud speaker setup. Will I use it? Maybe? Probably… at least a little bit. At the very least, it should make music more accessible for everyone. Listening to music is fun.
With that in mind, listening to music this week was less fun than normal - only one album this week. There were a few albums I was excited to hear but they didn’t really live up to the hype I had built up in my mind.
👀 Goings On About Music
Let us take a look at some new(ish) albums and singles…
💿 Albums
Mother Mother - Inside ( Apple | Spotify )
Would Mother Mother have released this album if it were not for Tik Tok? Absolutely, yes. Would Mother Mother get as much attention on the release of this album if it were not for Tik Tok? Probably not, no. Doesn’t matter, though. For those not in the know, a bunch of Mother Mother songs “went viral” on Tik Tok and I would love to elaborate on that more but that is about the extent of my knowledge. Like millions of youths who heard it on the probably-a-social-network-setup-to-spy-on-you, their second album - O My Heart - was also my first exposure to Mother Mother. Throw in some concerts shortly thereafter along with a decent run of albums and all of a sudden I’m locked in as a fan. The vocals - both lead and quasi-lead - are unique enough to define their sound but this album had a different feel to it than some of the previous albums. A bit heavier and a bit darker, but still very much a Mother Mother album.
🎵 Tracks
Wild Pink - Ohio
Wild Pink put out an EP earlier this year and the cover of the album was so similar to an album (that I really liked) from former At The Drive-In member, Jim Ward, that I decided I had to listen. I’m glad I did because they’re now a band I like. Fast-forward a couple months and we’ve got another quick three-song EP. This track is a lot more mellow than the previous music I noted but the other two tracks on the EP bring up the energy a bit.
Eve 6 - i wanna bite your face
I flagged this album a while back as one to keep my eye on. Eve 6 had an incredible debut album, a commercially successful but less enjoyable follow-up and then seemed to just ride the fly album for all its worth. The lead singer made some small waves a little while back spilling some dirt on some fellow bands and they also released a live version of their debut album. Otherwise, at least to my knowledge, they’ve been pretty quiet. This EP was fine… it was listenable. I wouldn’t be surprised if the band got back together and just did this to have some fun as opposed to having some grand plan for a big comeback. I was expecting puns and wordplay but instead I got a pretty generic collection of late-90s-sounding music. It’s fine.
Sara Kays - Traffic Lights
I can’t imagine how newer artists separate themselves from the pack. The barrier of entry into music has never been lower but there’s never been so much competition and so many different ways for someone to make it. It seems like, at least for me, if an artist ends up in a curated playlist, they’ve got a chance to get some attention but I’d wager that most people will hear the track and then just listen to the next one in the playlist without digging into any specific artist they’ve heard. Sara Kays has a collection of a bunch of singles and an album from last year that I will have to check out. They’ve got a voice that’s easy to listen to and this track, at least, has just enough pop sensibilities to keep your attention.
🎧 In My Queue
Aside from those albums and singles, what about some other tracks?
I really need someone to explain why a bunch of 90s alt-rock Canadian bands seem to be releasing new music all of a sudden. This Our Lady Peace track is pretty upbeat, Raine still sounds the same, and the general message is something I can get behind… I had this Hemi Hemingway song (and album) queued up last week but didn’t pass it along. It reminded me too much of the Lord Huron album in that it sounds like it’s a time-period piece but I went back and listened to the album again this week and it caught me at the right time. It’s very laid back and if you’re a fan of this old-style quasi-country music, you might like it as well… I still haven’t listened to the full Kings of Leon album but I keep seeing individual tracks pop-up on a bunch of playlists and every time I hear them, I like them. It’s nothing new or groundbreaking but if you like them, you’ll like the track.
Mother Mother - Forgotten Souls
Wild Pink - Ohio (feat. Samia)
Eve 6 - i wanna bite your face
Sara Kays - Traffic Lights
Our Lady Peace - Stop Making Stupid People Famous (feat. Pussy Riot)
Hemi Hemingway - Burnin' Blue
Kings of Leon - Stormy Weather
Subscribe to the In My Queue playlist on Apple Music or Spotify. It’s updated weekly with the new tracks.
Check out my profile Apple Music or Spotify for links to the playlists from previous weeks.
🏳️🌈🤘.