I used to think we'd make it far, it turned out that we are

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

#34 : I Don't Live Here Anymore - The War On Drugs

The psychedelic, shoegaze-y haze has gradually lifted from Adam Granduciel’s band, burned off under a rising sun as their success has grown. He now stands in the midday of his career, with this fifth album fully embracing bright, mainstream classic rock. Powered by those distinctive WoD backbeats, which match the tirelessness of Granduciel’s search for love, perspective and contentment, these songs are huge in scale: both the arrangements and the strength of feeling.

I've tried to like The War On Drugs on several occasions before and never quite made it, so here goes again.  And yeah, I think they have more chance with this one - I'd struggle to describe it as "mainstream classic rock" but it has a nice indie rock feel to it at least.  It was possibly a little insubstantial at first listen, but there's some nice jangly guitars in which could probably get under your skin with a couple of listens.  Whether it gets the chance to do so remains to be seen.  I'm also not entirely sure there was quite enough variety across the album to sustain my interest for 52 minutes either.

Wikipedia tells us the album was  "recorded at seven different studios over the course of three years" - Covid didn't help matters but it sounds like Adam Granduciel really didn't help matters either.  They got there in the end though and the critics and public like the result, with it getting to #6 in the UK and #22 in the US.

"Customers also listened to" Band Of Horses (who pop up here a lot), My Morning Jacket (a link I can totally see) and Beirut (not such an obvious one for me).  This feels like a "nearly" for me - I liked a lot of the sounds on it, but I'm not sure the whole was quite the sum of the parts.  But if you like an American indie rock sound then I suspect there are plenty worse albums out there for you than this.

#33 : to hell with it - PinkPantheress

In the TikTok phenomenon PinkPantheress’s micro-pop gems (only two songs on her debut project exceeded two minutes), classic drum’n’bass samples double as nagging memories and overwhelming rushes of adrenaline, swirling around lyrics about obsession and disappointment made more sinister by her innocent, breathless voice. Fourteen years ago, Burial’s transient, lonely, sodium-lit sound became associated with the experience of sitting on the night bus. PinkPantheress makes music befitting another after-hours rite of passage: that bleary-eyed, rueful stumble through bright lights and swarming crowds as you try to hold it together. 

I'd heard of her because I'm down with them Tikkety Tokkers you know (that's what they call them right?) but I suspect I just heard her name and went "that's cute" because I had no idea what to expect from this.  And yeah, it's well put together and there's no danger of it outstaying its welcome with 10 songs in 18 minutes - blink and you'll miss it (and that includes a bonus track).  I'm not entirely sure I see The Guardian's link through to Burial - Katy B sprang to mind for me or some of Lily Allen's dancier stuff (her voice is quite similar).  I actually think the shortness of a lot of it doesn't do it any favours - the tracks aren't given any chance to go anywhere, but I guess that's not what the kids of day today want (he says generically, dismissively and not in the slightest bit seriously).

Wikipedia had considerably more on the album than I was expecting (164 milliPeppers) - it almost feels like it would take longer to read it than it would take to listen to the album.  It doesn't appear to say an awful lot though, although it often describes it as a mixtape, which feels a little harsh - there's an awful lot of mixing going on.  The critics liked it a lot - particularly the US ones, it seems with it appearing on a lot of "best of 2021" lists over there.  The public liked it to - #20 in the UK and #73 in the US.  It's also interesting that Wikipedia and a lot of the internet in general don't know her real name - can I suggest they could spend the 5 seconds looking a bit further down Google, in which case they'll see she was born Gemma Victoria Walker.

"Customers also listened to" a load of people who I have a slight suspicion aren't after me as their target audience.  Kids, eh?  No respect for their (significantly older) elders.  I liked this though, even if I'm not entirely sure what I'd do with it.

#36/35 - Two slightly different albums
#32/31 - A slightly underwhelming pair