Bruce Springsteen takes out top spot this week.
Album Of The Week
Bruce Springsteen
Hello Sunshine (Columbia)
The Boss. Bruce. Springy. He feels so familiar, but what has he done for you lately? ‘Hello Sunshine’ demonstrates the Boss ain’t purely a legacy act. It’s familiar – bluesy chord changes, wizened middle-aged vocal – but somehow unlike anything he’s done before. He starts off singing over a shuffling beat and country bass groove. Piano, guitar and strings enter as the vocal becomes more plaintive. It could be McCartney, it could be Dylan, it could be Cohen, but it’s Bruce showing there’s some greatness in him yet.
Emma Russack
Winter Blues (Spunk)
Emma Russack’s back with a foretelling of what’s ahead for us all. That cold wind is a killer. The grey skies quickly degrade your vitamin D levels. Everything gets a bit harder, usual pleasures lose their allure. Russack’s established a distinct stylistic personality over the last handful of years. Her lyrics are more conversational than refined, but she’s a pithy writer. Her vocal style is unguarded, which contributes to the emotional impact of her songwriting.
FKA Twigs
Cellophane (Young Turks)
In the years since her masterful M3LL155X EP, FKA twigs has collaborated with outré producer Oneohtrix Point Never and appeared on A$AP Rocky’s Testing LP. ‘Cellophane’ shows shades of both ventures. It’s accessibly open but also adventurous. The piano chords steadily warp and degrade as twigs’ lead vocal becomes more urgent and capacious. Her talents as a producer and sound manipulator can draw attention away from her voice. But ‘Cellophane’ reveals its skin-piercing agility and emotional acuity.
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie
Me! (Republic Records)
I always approach Taylor Swift’s work with a willingness to enjoy it. It’s obviously preferable for ubiquitous music to be quality music. Anyway, teaming up with Panic! At The Disco’s Brandon Urie and Lorde producer Joel Little, ‘Me!’ manages to be both bland and grating. It lacks any spark or personality. Surely none of the contributors signed off on this thinking, “shit yeah, we’re making pop history”. The kids deserve better.
