Chorus.fm Record of the Week Club • Page 76

Both of her albums are great!

 

First impressions of Sydney Sprauge are solid. At times it reminded me of a more indie rock PUP. The deadpan and playful lyrics are a joy to listen to (“If I’m honest, but I’m not”, “I had a dream where nothing happened, guess I’m out of ideas”, “I try to fight the gravity, but you’re still holding it against me” are a few highlights). I’ll try to give it a few more spins today and tomorrow.

 

Sydney Sprague album was a fun, breezy listen. Love to see a short deluxe album. I think I enjoyed the track with Kevin Devine the most

 

My only complaint on the album is some of the songs sound like they’re coming through a tin can. The Kevin Devine song, being one. They aren’t all like that though. It’s inconsistent. But the songwriting itself is fantastic.

 

Sydney Sprague album is nice with a 90s-to-early 2000’s garage pop-rock sound, though maybe as a whole it’s not quite surprising enough for me. Great tight musicianship throughout while the songs themselves seem like they might fit on a lot of other artists’ albums, and there’s not a lot of variation on the tracklist. That said, I still enjoyed it! Will be keeping an eye on her.

I actually don’t have a problem with the mixing/production at all—if anything, it sounds pristine and the guitars sound great IMO.

 

Sydney is great - like everything she’s done including this album. She even sang on a song with my old band (along with Justin Pierre).
Sanity for Summer by City Mouth, Justin Courtney Pierre and Sydney Sprague

 

Love this album. "Big Star Go" is such a cool song, and pretty unique compared to the rest of her stuff.

 

@Matt Chylak your turn!

 

Okay! Here’s another one of my favorite albums of the 2010s that deserves more shine.

Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

Here’s a very short excerpt from my relatively long writeup of its number one spot on my EOTY 2017 list:

Equally buoyant and weighty, open-hearted and penetrating, Jens Lekman’s music makes me feel like nothing else in the world when it plays. The Swedish songwriter’s Life Will See You Now is a collection of soaring indie pop with touches of disco, calypso, and lounge music colliding in a beautiful set of anthems to living.

 

awesome pick. I loved that album when it first dropped but haven't really returned since. excited to spend more time with it!

 

Actually listening to this now. What an album.

The earnestness is refreshing as this is very much a lyrical album and the storytelling is super apparent, while the arrangements themselves are vibrant and immediate. There’s an element to this that reminds me a bit of Sufjan—maybe the openheartedness combined with the diverse instrumentation that touches on many genres from around the world.

Lyrics cannot be downplayed here though… so heartwarming and tender. Definitely an album that brightens your day.

 

Here’s what I wrote about it if anyone cares! (Scroll down to number one.)

Matt Chylak’s Top 10 Albums of 2017

 

I just found out Mabe Fratti is playing Empty Bottle on Saturday!? I might have to swing by.

 

You must!

 

I enjoy everything that’s going on with this Jens Lekman album. It kind of reminds me of a less abrasive or in your face version of something like Fun. But lyrically, it’s just not on its wavelength a lot of the time. His vocal style clashes a bit too much with the uptempo pace of most of the record. There are exceptions. I enjoyed the last two songs quite a bit. The calmer instrumentals compliment his voice and the lyrics, while still inventive, feel more direct rather than overly quirky.

 

Musically this Jens Lekman album is great. I don't think the vocals are for me though tbh

I agree with the above post, his vocal style clashes with the pacing of some of the songs

 

I like his vocals! Hotwire the Ferris Wheel, Wedding in Finistère, How We Met (The Long Version), and Dandelion Seed are my favorites on the album.

 

@troyplaysbass got something for us?

 

Let’s go with Waxahatchee - American Weekend.

Katie Crutchfield has a lot of well deserved hype now for her last couple records, but this first Waxahatchee album still might be favorite. Recorded right as her previous band was splitting up (if I recall the timeline right), this is a lo-fi solo album along the lines of early Mountain Goats. It’s fragile, sometimes abrasive, and always beautiful.

 

Dope choice. Love Waxahatchee but not super familiar with the early albums. I think I’ve only heard a song or two from this one.

 

oh hell yeah

 

I know a handful of her songs, all of which I enjoy. So I’m excited to dive deeper.

 

American Weekend is a cool album. Extremely sparse and intimate—it feels like reading someone’s diary. Nothing really sticks out much musically but I’m not sure anything on here is meant to, though her voice sounds great. It feels like Katie needed to create these songs as a kind of catharsis, and we’re all the better for it because it kicked off her songwriting career. That said, I don’t think it’s really something that I’d return to much. Side note, always been curious whether or not she invented her Southern drawl for the new americana-tinged stuff or if she suppressed it from her early lo-fi stuff.

 

Agreed with the above. It’s more of a stripped down version of the songs I’ve heard from her before, but the songwriting is rock solid.

 

A little late in the day but @Kistler it’s your turn!