Album of the Week: to hell with it

We have the new album below, as well as the archives and the playlist and all that good stuff, but first...

Record Club's Third Annual Christmas Album Vote Spectacular

As we've done for 2019 and 2020, it is asked that any participating members of Record Club vote on which Christmas album we're gonna cover. I have compiled another eight new releases from this current season, recorded by popular (or "popular") artists, and I am now asking that you email me your choices (up to three). Whichever album gets the most votes will be the official Record Club album for the week of December 12th-18th (but, as always, feel free to review any album you'd like for any given week of Record Club! There are no rules!!). I will send reminders in all the emails between now and then. Here are the choices.

(Sidenote: In the three years I've been doing this, I haven't seen any new and popular-ish Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Solstice (etc.) albums in my surface-level research. If any artist or any Record Club member can prove me wrong, then I welcome the opportunity to throw it in for the vote, either this year or in the future, as well as change the descriptions to "Holiday Album Vote." Thanks for understanding.)

VOTE VIA EMAIL FOR UP TO THREE ALBUMS

• Happiness Is... Christmas! by Kristin Chenoweth
• When Christmas Comes Around... by Kelly Clarkson
• A Very Darren Crissmas by Darren Criss
• O Come All Ye Faithful by Hiss Golden Messenger
• I Dream of Christmas by Norah Jones
• The Season by Steve Perry (of Journey)
• Hell of a Holiday by Pistol Annies
• Something About Christmas Time by Rob Thomas (of Matchbox 20)

Thanks, and good luck.

 

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. It's Thanksgiving Week! I understand that it's a bad week for Record Club! I picked a really short album for this reason!

 

WEEK 147 — November 21-27, 2021

 

What we're listening to this week (Joe's pick):

 

ALBUM: to hell with it

ARTIST: PinkPantheress

RELEASED: October 15, 2021

WHAT GENRE IS THIS: dance pop, UK garage, hyperpop(?)

WHY JOE PICKED IT: As I said, this is Thanksgiving, and I don't expect many people to have Record Club on their minds. That's why I'm picking the album this week—don't want to give any contributors the short stick. And, as I did last year, I'm choosing something that I've already been listening to, to give myself a break during a tight week. I usually try to pick something I have never heard before, but there's not enough time to explore new music during a holiday week, so I'm just picking something that I feel like I need a little more time with before the EoY lists come out.

TRACKLIST:

1. Pain
2. I must apologise
3. Last valentines
4. Passion
5. Just for me
6. Noticed I cried
7. Reason
8. All my friends know
9. Nineteen
10. Break it off

LENGTH: 18:36

WHERE TO LISTEN FOR FREE: Bandcamp

READING SOME SHIT: Yes! It seems as though PinkPantheress was popularized on TikTok! Oh lord! And she's crossed over with the NPR crowd! Yikes!

PREVIOUSLY ON RECORD CLUB: Mura Masa, one of this album's producers, has stated that Gorillaz was a big influence on him, and he recently supported Nile Rodgers on a Chic comeback album, paying Rodgers back for when he supported Diana Ross on one of her comeback albums.

Happy listening, fam! Have a great Thanksgiving!