All I want is to fall apart in the arms of someone entirely strange

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2021

#32 : An Overview on Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins

The New Yorker’s second album is almost confrontationally still: brass like wisps of smoke, guitar a gentle thrum, softly puddling cymbals. Once the aftershocks of a loss have settled, Jenkins takes stock of what’s gone for good – Ambiguous Norway orbits her memories of David Berman, whose band Purple Mountains she was set to tour with prior to his death – and how learning how to trust again might yet retrieve her stolen sense of peace.

Never heard of artist or album - but was looking forward to something "confrontationally still" (whatever that is).  And well, it's nice enough, but I didn't feel very confrontational about it - it's pretty gentle, I'd say.  I'm partial to a female singer-songerwriter, but there was nothing particularly to make it stand out from the crowd for me, although some of it reminded me of some of Jenny Lewis's stuff which I generally quite like.  And like the previous album, at seven songs covering 31 minutes, it doesn't exactly outstay its welcome.

Wikipedia has an entry for the album, but it doesn't tell you much more than it exists and the critics like it.  Her entry isn't much more comprehensive (she exists and the critics like her) but it did remind me who David Berman was because I knew we'd come across him before - he was the lead singer of Silver Jews.

"Customers also listened to" a load of people who I have a suspicion are slightly cooler than me ("say it ain't so", I hear you cry).  This is "fine" though - nothing objectionable, but somewhat lacking in substance (and maybe that's what The Guardian mean by "confrontationally still")

#31 : HEY WHAT - Low

Low’s last album, 2018’s Double Negative, was a total reinvention 25 years into a virtually undented career – a staggering achievement for any band. Yet somehow Alan and Mimi Sparhawk transcended it with this follow-up, bridling its predecessor’s swashbuckling noise until it splintered, and contrasting it with electronic reimaginings of the forlorn atmospherics that made their name. The sheer invention contrasted devastating lyrics about hitting a wall – drawn from the couple’s experiences dealing with Alan’s depression – imbuing these static hymns to limits and perseverance with a superhuman sense of determination.

I've visited Low once before on #AOTD and really liked it - but I also noted that this album came before their "complete reinvention" last year, so it seems like I shouldn't be counting my chickens as to what this would sound like.  And yeah, from the off we're obviously in different territory here.  It's atmospheric I guess, but not really my kinda thing - and "Days Like These" is a very odd track indeed.  I guess I prefer pre-total reinvention Low - these things happen.

Wikipedia, as with the previous album, tells us it exists and the critics liked it.  It's also well engineered apparently (nominated for a Best Engineered, Non-classical Grammy) which means that a lot of work obviously went in to the bits that sound like they weren't engineered at all.

"Customers also listened to" a load of people who turned up for the previous album - and they're still cool.  This just felt a bit too obviously quirky for me - confrontationally so, The Guardian might say.

#34/33 - One of these albums is longer than the other
#30/29 - Two more young ladies