Where the hell is my husband?
Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts
03/04/26 : This Music May Contain Hope. - Raye
We've kinda met Raye before but this is our first proper visit - and her star has certainly risen since then so my expectations are quite high but, at the same time, I'm not entirely sure what I'm expecting...
And, having listened to it, I'm not entirely sure what I experienced, But it's certainly an album, there's no doubting that. It's orchestral, theatrical, gospel, jazz and so much more because all the tracks here have a LOT of people involved and it really sounds like it - it's a very full sound. And she starts the album with a spoken intro and ends with a full-on credit reel, which only increases the sense of theatricality, And the tracks are very well put together, if not necessarily upbeat - the lass has had some love-life issues and no mistake, but boy does she get some mileage out of it. Obviously "Where Is My Husband?" is the most well known of these, but it's by no means the only example - but they're all pretty good. On first listen, I'd struggle to say I loved it but it was certainly a very impressive offering and I can see that those of a certain mindset will listen to this over and over and over - and I really can't blame them. I also have to say I really like the album title and cover art.
We're at #1 in the charts this week with a new entry - I suspect few people will be surprised by that, but I'm happy enough that she took it. The rest of the top five were Olivia Dean (she's back!), Ye (a new entry), BTS and Melanie Martinez (another new entry) - and boy, do we have a LOT of new entries to consider this week (which I why we're a bit late this week).
Ye (#3)
I've obviously got no time for the man, but this is interesting because it's credited to both Kanye West and Ye whch suggests that maybe he's having a rethink about his place in the world - as much as the man would ever rethink anything. However, whilst I obviously listened to it with a sense of dread, I have to admit that it's not nearly as dreadful as I was expecting. I didn't listen to it all because I have to get this post out this week but I seriously think I could have. Which wasn't at all what I was expecting....
Melanie Martinez (#5)
Only our second ever mention for Melanie and I have absolutely no idea what to expext - and having listened to a reasonable amount of it, I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. It's a bit like Chappell Roan, but it's also a bit more twee and a bit more goth at the same time. Which doesn't sound like the most amazing recommendation ever, but I actually quite liked it - if you like Chapell then check this out.
Don Broco (#7)
I didn't think DB were my thing, and a couple of minutes listening to this just confirmed it for me. But, if you like that kind of heavy nonsense then I can't see any reason why you wouldn't like this. It's not for me though...
Tom Misch (#9)
I wasn't aware I'd ever heard of Tom before but I have mentioned him once before - without actually listening to him, so who knows what we've got here. But whatever I was expecting, I really didn't think I'd get a 70's almost yacht-rock kinda sound - think Christopher Cross. It's well done, but I struggle to imagine it's what too many people are looking for - but the fact that it's at #9 suggests I'm wrong.
Robyn (#10)
I like a bit of Robyn so was looking forward to this - and I enjoyed it but I'd struggle to say it's her finrst work. but "not Robyn's finest work" isn't exactly a slur for me, so I'll take it...
Pet Needs (#16)
Only our second mention ever for PN and I've no idea what I was expecting - I was guessing some kind of post-punk nonsense. But, to my surprise (and, tbh, enjoyment) it's US style punk - imagine early doors Green Day. It sounds dated but, at the same time, it knows it is and it's also grown up and laughing at its younger self - I thought it was well done.
Scouting For Girls (#17)
This is entirely what I was expecting - which was perfectly fine (and it could have been SOOO much worse) but I'm not entirely sure who's going to listen to it. But I guess enough people have...
Central Cee (#34)
This isn't my thing but I appreciate the lad has talent - if you're into this sort of thing, then I'm sure you'll love it. I was surprised it was relatively low in the chart, but that's possibly because it's only got seven tracks on it, which I guess cuts down the number of streams it gets.
Slayyyter (#36)
What kind of a name is that? I'd never heard of them and couldn't even hazard a guess - she's a US dancey-pop type with quite a Charli XCX sound. And I didn't mind it at all.
The Twilight Sad (#42)
Another artist I'd never heard of, but I did think it was a great name for a goth band. And they have hints of goth, but I'd say it's closer to an industrial/shoegaze sound - it's something I would have loved in my younger years, but I rarely listen to these days. I do enjoy this sort of thing a lot if I stumble across it at a festival, but Wikipedia tells me their shows are "completely ear-splitting", so maybe they're best avoided - also, their name came from a Wilfred Owen poem.
Elmiene (#46)
And another one I have no clue about - I guessed some electronic ambient music from the name. And I'd be wrong - he's an R&B dude, with more than a hint of Prince to his voice. It's done well enough, but not something I need in my life.
Black Label Society (#61)
There's a load of artists I'm meeting for the first time this week, but I really should have heard of this lot because they formed in '98 and this is their twelfth album - and seven of them have charted, for a combined total of seven weeks. It's very American hard rock - not my thing, but sounds well enough done.
Massive Wagons (#85)
Whereas, somewhat surprisingly, I do know about Massive Wagons - not only have I previously met them, but their post is my second most read post (after, quite obviously, Noah Kahan). This is a live album and whilst it's not sort of thing, it sounds gloriously over the top and I can imagine a great time was had by all - "All right Manchester! Are you fooking mad for it?!?"
Yeat (#86)
I met Yeat once before and found him surprisingly enjoyable - which, of course, I wouldn't have remembered without the post to remind me. I must admit I didn't spend ages on this because I'd spent a load of time on these new entries by this time, but there was nothing to obviously drag me in - there are some interesting people on the album though including Elton John, Kid Cudi, Grimes and Kylie Jenner.
Wow! They certainly weren't all for me, but there's a load of albums there that feel like they're decent enough examples of their particular genres. And interestingly, because of all the new entries, we have no re-entries in the chart this week - I'm not sure that's ever happened before. Last week, I said that BTS would be at #16 and I called it very wrong because they're at #4 - but I'm going to confidently state that Raye is going to hang in there at #1. And this week's Taylor stats are one in the top thirty and whilst she manages to hang on to three in the entire chart, Folklore is at #99, so it's not looking good for the lass.
Wikipedia has a lot for a new album (224 milliPeppers) and it tells us this is her second album and she's got some musical heavyweights involved, most of whom I don't recognise but I obviously know Hans Zimmer, who is an interesting choice. The album was delayed because her car was stolen with all her music books in it - which must have been an absolute nightmare but fortunately, it was recovered complete with books. It's actually quite an interesting read with quite a few interesting facts in there - I was particularly interested to learn that she was inspired by the word "sonder". Which I'm sure you know means "the profound realization that every random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, complete with their own ambitions, routines, and worries" - I was impressed to learn this, but apparently I already knew all of it because Dermot Kennedy had an album called exactly that.
Critically, everyone was very nice about the album with words such as "theatrical" and "spectacle" bandied about, with a lot of people liking the overall sense of optimism and well, hope. And commercially, it's done well across Europe, getting to #1 in Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
discogs.com tells us the only version available is the marigold yellow coloured vinyl and you can spend anything from £30-£45 on it - although I feel the marigold colour might be a bit too much. And I can see that some people could think this album is a bit too much as well, but others will absolutely love it - and I can't help but admire the ambition. So she's getting the album of the week award from me, with honourable mentions going to Robyn, Pet Needs, Slayyyter and The Twilight Sad - I'm also going to give Ye a nod in passing for making something that was at least listenable, even if he's still obviously a despicable person.
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