You were learning how to skate in empty swimming pools and laughing 'til the neighbors called the cops

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts

04/09/26 : WILDCHILD  - Alex Warren 

Our second visit with Mr Warren and last time he was "perfectly fine" - I strongly suspect that's where we are again.

Hmmm - well. Taken one song at a time, I think it just about qualifies as pf but a whole album of it just gets a bit too much. Every song is aimed to pull at someone's heartstrings or deliver a message (dead dad, lost love, etc, etc, etc) and it all just gets a bit much, without any great variety between tracks. Actually, let me take that back because, on reflection, a whole album of it got far too much - I will not be revisiting this ever. I am somewhat intrigued as to what's going on with the album cover though.

And so, obviously, we're at #1 in the charts with a new entry (our tenth in a row), aren't we? The rest of the top five are The Courteeners (another new entry), Michael Jackson, Olivia Rodrigo and a Dolly Parton best-of - and boy do we have a curious selection of new entries for you this week.

The Courteeners (#2)
This is a best-of, so I wasn't going to check it out anyway - but interestingly, it's not available on Amazon Prime, which seems an odd move. But if you like The Courteeners then you'll probably like this, won't you?

The Warning (#16)
At first, I checked out the latest album by Warning who are a British doom-metal band - so I was quite pleased to find out this is actually The Warning, a Mexican rock band. I didn't mind it (it's got a female vocalist, after all) but I did think was a bit same-y after a few tracks.

Steve Hackett/Steve Rothery (#24)
I knew Steve I (from early '70s Genesis) but I wasn't aware of Steve II (from Marillion) - and this sounds exactly what you'd expect from such a pair (instrumental, with five of the seven tracks being over six minutes). But, to my surprise, I really quite enjoyed it - what is the world coming to? Apparently they've been working on it for over a decade, so I'm pleased for them they finally got it out there.

Mastodon (#27)
I would have been very surprised if I'd like anything by someone called Mastodon - but to my surprise, I didn't hate it. It's obviously still too heavy for my liking though.

Mike D (#28)
I recognised Mike D as being from The Beastie Boys so didn't have high expectations of this - but it's actually surprisingly more interesting than I was expecting. It's rooted in that Beasties vibe, but has a kinda psychedelic feel to it which makes it nicely distinct from all the shouting - it's certainly one of the more interesting albums of the week and not at all what you'd expect from a 60 year old white dude.

Interpol (#33)
I liked Interpol back in the day (they formed in '97) but haven't really followed them for many a year - so I was pleased to catch up with this and I really quite enjoyed it. It reminded me of The National in that they've obviously changed over the years, but you can still hear where they've come from. 

Pulp (#45)
I didn't listen to this because I saw this tour, so I know it will be good if you like that sort of thing.

Czarface/Frankie Pulitzer (#55)
I had no idea what this was going to be and couldn't even make a guess from the name - so I was somewhat surprised it was old school hip-hop (complete with scratching and weird noises and the like). Which I was more surprised to find myself quite liking - and I was even more surprised when I found out Frankie Pulitzer is actually Tom Hardy, so this really is another white dude doing the unexpected (although he's a mere 48).

Prince (#62)
Another one I missed out because I've got a bit of a problem with multiple posthumous albums - if the artist decided against releasing the tracks when they were alive, then I don't see why someone else should decide that we need to hear them. I'm sure it's fine if it's what you want - but I don't.

The Guest List (#70)
Another one I'd no clue about - and it's indie with a slight shoe-gazey vibe to it. Which I didn't mind at all, but can barely remember anything about.

The highest re-entry is, quite obviously, Bananarama's third album - if I tell you it was released in '86 then you can probably guess that an anniversary re-release is responsible (across three CDs - god help us all!). The next highest re-entry is Fontaines DC, but since that was #101 last week, it doesn't really count - Radiohead (#49) is a much more valid offering (although I've no idea why it's back), with all the rest appearing in the #9Xs from the #10Xs. Last week I said that Paul Heaton would be one and done and I'm very pleased to say I'm very wrong because he's at #33 - I'm super stoked for the lad (and I'm sure he met the news with a shrug and a "well, that's nice"). Unfortunately, I suspect Alex is going to be do better (because there's no way he deserves it) - let's guess at #17. And finally, I can report that this is the first chart since August '19 without a Taylor Swift album present - I guess she had a good run, but she had to spoil it all by getting married and being happy (shame on her!).

Wikipedia tells us this is his second album - and gives us nothing else of any interest (and I didn't care enough to find anything else about it, I'm afraid). The critics were a bit mixed on it with some praising the variety (which I'm afraid I missed) but others feeling it lacking an identity - it has, however, done well commercially, getting to #1 in Australia, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand and I'm sure it will do well in the US as well.

discogs.com tells us you can pick up a CD for £25, but if you want a randomly themed vinyl you have the option of playground red or tangerine for £30, nostalgia for £65, sandy beach for £90 or cotton candy for £99 (and no, I have absolutely no idea what any of that means). I appreciate that Alex has done what he wants to and I'm sure plenty will love it - but it's not nearly enough for me to make it album of the week, I'm afraid. All of which leaves us with the vexed question of who has done enough, with the most peculiar combination of the Steves Hackett & Rothery, Mike D, Interpol & Czarface/Frankie Pulitzer all having impressed me (quite amazingly, for three of them) - and I can't think of any way to split them, so we have a four way tie. I suspect I'll never listen to any of them again, but I'd be more than happy to do so because they were all surprisingly engaging.

28/07/26 - One from a national treasure