Today is Friday, the most wonderful day of the weekk for music lovers because it’s the day when new albums are released. Let’s celebrate by highlighting some of today’s new records.
Morrissey
Low in High School (BMG)
Oh, Morrissey. What a character. From cancelling shows often enough for it to be a fan’s initiation right to being as incendiary as possible when touting a cause as unobjectionable as animal rights, you’ve got to admit that the man makes himself heard. The ex-Smiths frontman is both loved and hated in his native Britain and elsewhere, and he’s got one of the biggest egos in all of music. With his vitriolic nature and arrogant tendencies, Moz is quite the curmudgeonly misanthrope. If you’d like, you could also just cut to the chase and just call him an asshole.
But whether you love him or hate him, Moz is one of the most important figures throughout the scope of contemporary music. The Smiths were a truly seminal band, important to goth, indie, pop and pretty much all other musical subtypes at the same time, and Morrissey is totally entitled to riding on that success for the rest of his days. His fans find his cattiness endearing, and as an avid Moz fan myself, for the most part I don’t even resent his chronic show-canceling. He often has voice and throat problems, and he has a right to reserve himself (and those sweet, sweet pipes) if he wants to. So there.
Low in High School promises as much pessimism and wallowing as we’ve come to expect from the melancholy crooner. The single “Spent the Day in Bed” tells you that with its title alone. The album is said to be highly political in theme, which comes as no surprise. I can only imagine what Morrissey will have to say in a post-2016 world, after he already told America where they could shove their hamburgers. –JM
Listen on: Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
Tove Lo
Blue Lips (Island)
With her affinity for crop tops and Doc Martens and giant bicep tattoo commemorating seminal riot grrl act Jack Off Jill, Tove Lo brings a distinctly grungy influence to her otherwise dancefloor-ready pop hits. And with Blue Lips, the follow-up to her 2016 smash Lady Wood, that Cobainian melancholy will be evident in the music, too. Tove Lo told Paper magazine that Blue Lips is “highly emotional” and “dramatic,” essentially a darker spiritual sequel to Lady Parts (in fact, the full title of this new album is Blue Lips (Lady Wood Phase II)). Lead single “Disco Tits” (a fitting title, given Tove Lo’s affinity for flashing fans in concert) sets the tone for Blue Lips as a sweaty, electro-banger with a video that features the singer getting into all sorts of shenanigans with a puppet. With its masterful production and tongue-in-cheek aesthetic, Blue Lips looks to shine a light in the darkness on the dance floor. –TW
Listen on: Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
Mavis Staples
If All I Was Was Black (Anti-)
You’ve seriously got to hand it to Mavis Staples. The living R&B legend has been making music for half a century, and at 78 years old she remains fresh and relevant. The former Staple Singers leader has collaborated with musicians who span the spectrum of genres, from Bob Dylan and Price and Gorillaz and Arcade Fire. Her second act has seen her become something of an indie darling. Her 2016 release Livin’ on a High Note was an entire album of songs written specifically for her by names such as Neko Case, Nick Cave and Justin Vernon. Her two most recent albums were even produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Mavis can make music with almost anyone, and she doesn’t seem to age while doing it. At her live shows she’s quite the spectacle; you can catch her running around and cracking jokes just like she did back in 1972. She does it effortlessly, and all with a big smile and a huge heart.
If All I Was Was Black marks her third collaboration with Tweedy, and in true Mavis fashion, it promises to be somehow upbeat in spite of itself. As a woman of color who grew up during the Civil Rights Movement, race is a subject she knows better than most. But instead of addressing the bitter subjects of racism and inequality with anger, Mavis Staples eternally emphasizes harmony and happiness. She wants us to fight back against trying times by banding together and fighting back with grace. And that, hands down, is the best message of the week. –JM
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