You were two halves of the same piece, divided into two

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

#4 : Ignorance - The Weather Station



Tamara Lindeman’s fifth album as the Weather Station had a lightning-in-a-bottle quality that nothing she had released previously could quite prepare you for. At the end of 2018, she said, she was driven “insane” by reading a New Yorker article by environmentalist Bill McKibben, written as California burned during the most destructive wildfire season in history. She subsequently poured her anger and grief into the 10 songs on Ignorance. The lyrics occasionally slipped into something approaching straightforward protest songs but, for the most part, they entwine “climate grief” with what sound like words about a failing relationship to startling effect. She also shifted her musical focus, bringing in a new expansiveness and gloss – synths, disco beats, strings, sax and flute that carry a distinct hint of jazz about them. In purely melodic terms, these are Lindeman’s strongest songs to date, filled with nagging hooks and gracefully unforced-sounding tunes; the sound is smoothly, warmly appealing: you could imagine singing along to them if the lyrics didn’t keep belting you in the gut.


I'm vaguely aware of The Weather Station, but couldn't have recognised anything by them or told you anything about them, so it's fair to say I'm not quite an expert.  She's a female singer/songwriter though, so she's got to be in with a shout of me liking her.  And yeah, I liked it - but I'd struggle to say any of it particularly grabbed me, with it all just being a bit "nice" really.  I got strong Haim vibes in quite a few places and I generally like their stuff, so maybe if I gave it a few more listens then maybe it would click, but at the minute, I'm struggling to see me making the effort for that to happen.  Sorry, Ms Station!


Wikipedia tells me they're a group rather than a "her", but the group's membership has changed over the years - and I'll give you one clue who the one constant factor has been.  It also tells us that the album features "two percussionists, a saxophonist and a flutist" - oh yes, "plus bass, keys, and guitar".  It was well received critically - and OK commercially if you consider the UK midweek album chart where it got to #22.  However, I didn't even know that was such a thing and it only got to #61 in the PROPER chart.


"Customers also listened to" Lucy Dacus, serpentwithfeet, Indigo Sparke and Flock of Dimes.  One of whom I'm obviously an expert on, having first listened to her 25 days ago.  But, back to The Weather Station, I feel like I should like this album a lot more than I currently do - maybe I'll give it another go, but there have been a lot more instant hits on the list so far for me.


#5 - Just not for me, I'm afraid
#3 - Yeah, I liked this

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