Grief has consumed our eyes and filled our bed with lies

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's top 50 albums of 2023

#38 : Quaranta - Danny Brown

Danny Brown has long had two rap voices – a high-pitched wizened tone like a Disney crone dispensing profane wisdom, and a deeper, more serious cadence – but these poles have never been further apart as on Quaranta, his reflection on turning 40. There are still plenty of rude, zany punchlines and images; a rotary phone is used for one particularly vivid sex metaphor, unprintable here. But the downbeat moments are slower and lower than ever. The title track is a mid-life crisis in real time; Down Wit It is a brutal too-late understanding of love for an ex-girlfriend, Brown’s voice splintering into static under the shame and sadness; and Bass Jam is intensely poignant as he reminisces about the music percolating through his childhood family home, giving the residents an outlet they didn’t otherwise have for their emotions.

Never heard of him - I imagine I'm going to struggle to appreciate its charms, but every so often I am pleasantly surprised.

Hmmm - I didn't hate it and it was nicely understandable, but it seemed bang average to me with a liberal sprinkling of eccentricities, some more pleasant than others.  It was "fine" but I just don't understand why this got picked.

Wikipedia tells me this is his sixth album - Quaranta is Italian for forty and it's been described as a "spiritual bookend" to his '11 album XXX (thirty, geddit?).  Danny described the album as his "way of getting shit out" - I'd have to say I didn't notice it being as confessional as everyone tells me it is (but maybe I just wasn't listening enough).  The critics were very nice about it though, although it didn't overly trouble the charts with #40 in the UK download chart being the only entry mentioned.

"Customers also listened to" Blockhead, Aesop Rock, JPEGMAFIA and Injury Reserve - yeah, them lot.  I know I'm not a rap expert so I'm happy to defer to others this is a fine example, but it didn't click for me.

#37 : Everything Harmony - The Lemon Twigs

That explosion of earnest yet psychedelic adult pop in the post-Beatles US, from Simon and Garfunkel to the Beach Boys, the Byrds and even the hipper end of the Monkees, gets reanimated here in all its sumptuous Technicolor beauty. It would be inaccurate to say the duo transcend pastiche – you can almost feel the corduroy static against your ankles – but the songwriting is so ridiculously strong that were these songs released in the early 70s, the Lemon Twigs would still be on the cover of Mojo and Uncut at least once a year.

Another one I've never heard of but if it's going to give me some S&G/Byrds style harmonies, then I'm all up for that.

Well, it opens up with the perfectly lovely "When Winter Comes Around" which is very Byrds-ish.  And it continues pretty much in the same vein, although maybe not always quite so lovely.  Generally I really liked it (although maybe a whole album was a bit too much), but I was annoyed by his habit of trying to sing too low for his voice in places - they wrote the songs, so why didn't they just write them so he can sing them?!?  It you like that S&G/Byrds kinda sound though (and yes, you might well read Mojo or Uncut), then you should definitely check this out.

Wikipedia tells me this is their fourth album and they produced it themselves.  The critics either said it was exactly the same as their previous albums or it was subtly different - either way it didn't overly trouble the charts getting to #78 in the UK midweek chart and #158 in France.

"Customers also listened to" Durand Jones, Forever Pavot, Benny Sings and Westerman - none of whom I've ever even heard of.  But that was also true of The Lemon Twigs before I listened to this and, for the most part, I really liked it and the good bits were really very good indeed.  It won't be for everyone but if you like that late 60s/early 70s sound then give it a listen.

So - one I didn't mind but also didn't see the point to and one I liked and would be happy to catch up with again.

#40/39 - A fine pair of albums
#36/35 - A couple of missed opportunities