The Early Bird: Top New Recorded Releases 5-26-23 – 6-1-23 Reviewed
ALBUMS
My Soft Machine – Arlo Parks – she was nominated for Album of the Year, Best New Artist and Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2021 Brit Awards for her debut. It won the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize for Best Album.This is more of the same, low key but melodic and well sung and still a bore – B
Pistolz & Pearlz – Kodak Black – I’ve admired Kodak Black since catching him years ago at a Tidal night curated by Hova, with a lot of heavy competition he held his own and has done, between stints in jail, living up to a man who claimed “I couldn’t find peace without all the violence”, an amazingly stupid comment. This is as straight ahead as emo rap gets, a missing link between Juice WRLD and Lil Uzi Vert, with one grand coulda been a contender after the other, the title track is especially excellent – A-
Almost Healed – Lil Durk – it opens with a lament for Lil Durk by Alicia Keys as his therapist discussing the death of his friend in 2020 and again he lost his brother in 2021 on a dank and dark album of prohibitive loss and a coupla good features, including (again) Morgan wallen, as well as Future, 21 Savage and more,the beats are trap always, the sound Chicago drill grown up too fast – B
The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte – Sparks – 50 years later and they still do pop rock cloaked in Asian vibes and non-cliche cliches, and the songs could have escaped from Kimono, My House, if they were only better. They are alright, and give the brothers a tip of the hat for still doing it – B-
Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) – Taylor Swift – two adds, including this year’s model Ice Spice – B+
SINGLES
Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album) – Dua Lipa – the meta Barbie movie might well fall directly on its face though the single, with Mark Ronson on board, is straight up disco, nothing special but at least it is pink – C+
Show Me How – Foo Fighters – two out of three good songs so far and while journeyman Josh Freese drummer gives em sturdiness it doesn’t give them tightness and instead a drummer not exactly fitted. Be that as it may, this is a gorgeous dreamlike state of weirdness – B
Green Light – Hayley Kiyoko – a major slice of bad news from Hayley who is usually too busy seducing lipstick lesbians to seem upset about much more than boys she wishes to steal girls from, here she is chasing her future on a disappointment – C+
I’m Blind – Sam Huber – Sam has been touring Europe for the past month and dropping singles, this is his fourth though it sounds as a piece with only the last two singles: growling, thundering, baritone swoop with a who are you ender from left field – A-
