Black paint and ammo, got bodies like Rambo

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts

23/09/22 : Born Pink - BLACKPINK

Well, it's a bumper bundle of new entries for you this week, I can tell you.  And yes, I know that's totally against the rules but you'll just have to live with it.

First up, straight in at #1 we have Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa - as I obviously know them because I'm SUCH a fan.  I was actually aware of them (which slightly surprised me), but had no idea what to expect from them - my one previous encounter with K-pop was BTS, which wasn't at all what I was expecting, so I was pretty much expecting the Spanish Inquisition here.

And well - it's odd one.  I both quite liked it and found it quite annoying at the same time - it reminded me of Ava Max in that regard.  I also got hints of Zara Larsson as well, but I want to make it clear I don't find Zara annoying - I quite like her stuff.  Can I describe it any better than that?  Well - no, not really.  All the songs have quite a lot to them though - there's quite a bit of content there for the hardcore fans to dig into and analyse.  Well, as much as you can fit into 25 minutes anyway - I'm intrigued as to why the album was quite so short.  I'm glad I listened to it, but there's no danger of me revisiting it, I'm afraid.  "Customers also listened to" Lady Gaga, New Jeans and NAVEON - I'm guessing the last two are K-pop because I've never heard of them (and obviously K-pop is the ONLY genre I know nothing about).

So, partly because this was such a short album but mostly because I wanted to listen to it, I ventured down to this week's #2 - Autofiction by Suede.  I liked Suede back in the day and I recently revisited Head Music whilst I was concurrently reading Coal Black Mornings by Brett Anderson, so I was intrigued to see what sort of thing they're up to these days (this is their first album in four years).  

And, unsurprisingly, this is much more up my street than BLACKPINK - I really liked it.  It opens with "She Still Leads Me On" which is a very strong track indeed, but they're all decent enough - I really liked "It's Always The Quiet Ones" as well (the track titles are very Suede).  Brett's voice maybe isn't quite as strong as it once was, but he still carries the emotion through - and, oh, the guitars.  They soar on every track and the drums drive things forward nicely as well - listening to this I thought, I bet these will sound cracking live.  So I've just booked tickets to go and see them in March next year - I'll let you know how it goes.  It's a very Suede-esque album cover as well, isn't it?  "Customers also listened to" The Manics, Editors and The House Of Love (I've not listened to any House Of Love stuff in years!).

So that's obviously it, right?  Oh, hang on - look who we've got at #3.  It's only Rina Bloody Sawayama!  In a mad dress as well!  I'd never heard of her before I listened to her debut album as part of The Guardian's best of 2020 list and it was utterly bonkers and a complete mess, but it was a very enjoyable bonkers mess.  So we have to listen to this as well!

Well, well, well!  She's dialled down the bonkers and I reckon this could be one of the better albums of the year.  There's a load of different stuff on there (like her debut) - amusingly, WIkipedia says it is "primarily a pop, pop rock, dance-pop, and alternative pop album - it also contains elements of 1990s alternative rock, soft rock, Europop, trance, industrial, country pop, hi-NRG, pop punk, Eurotrance, stadium rock, disco, R&B, hyperpop, J-pop, house, Eurodance, techno, folk, and psychedelic music".  I hope that helps explain things.  It is, however, very well put together and she's got a great voice (more obviously impressive than on her debut).  The title track jumped out as my favourite but I think the whole thing will definitely benefit from repeat listens.  It's quite Gaga-esque and I think I could really get to like it - I would have booked to see her live as well, but she's on tour right now and I'm not spending the amount they were asking for tickets to go and see anyone!  "Customers also listened to" Charli XCX (no surprise there), Agnes (this was a great album from last year) and Pale Waves.

Right, that's it then, surely?  Well, it was going to be - but we've got another new entry at #4, which I wasn't going to listen to (you're suffered enough, surely?).  But I read the reviews and it's got good write-ups, so it felt unfair not to give it a quick listen as well.  So here we go with Marcus Mumford and the incredibly pretentiously titled (self-titled) album.  Yes, it's actually called (self-titled).

So - what's this final (and I promise it really is!) album like then?  Actually, it's not nearly as annoying as I was expected - it's quite understated and Bon Iver-ish.  Someone has decided that his voice sounds much better paired with a female one - and I hope it's Marcus, otherwise he might be really annoyed when he reads this, because they're absolutely correct.  There are four duets on here with different lady collaborators and they were the tracks I liked best, but it's all fine, I guess, if you're in the mood for that kind of thing - that's all I've got to say about it really.  But we can't leave Marcus without recounting the best thing about him - he was childhood pen-pals with Carey Mulligan, lost contact, got back in touch and five months later they were engaged.  Awww!  "Customers also listened to" James Bay, Dermot Kennedy and James Tw (and don't ask me how you pronounce that).

So, there's only one album left in the top five - it's got to be Harry, right?  No!  It's (quite obviously) Pink Floyd's Animals, a mere 45 years after it was first released.  Wikipedia tells me it's been remixed and remastered and was ready to go in June last year, but was delayed because Roger and Dave couldn't agree on the album liner notes.  Those boys, eh?  I know this album is very highly regarded by Floyd fans - but I listened to it and thought it was very meh.  Yes, I'm a heathen.

PS don't worry - Harry's at #6.

16/09/22 - Another surprisingly enjoyable album from the lad
30/09/22 - Very boring and very bland