I think there will probably come a point when I have enough time—I would assume this theoretical "having enough time" would come at the very earliest after this quarter's book club is over—when I spend a day listening to like seven or eight of these RC alumni releases that I'm dreading, and bunch 'em all up in the same Saturday follow-up blog post. Bullshit trash like Posty's country album, Katy Perry's space rock album, more loud staticky noises from BIG|BRAVE, that kind of thing. I just don't like the idea of falling behind on this project, especially if it's not really giving me joy.
Released: June 28, 2024
Follow-up to: Mood Valiant, Week 126
These reviews are written under the guise of "follow-ups" to the albums from the artists that we covered in Record Club originally, but the opinion should ultimately be in a vacuum. I should judge based on merit, not based on whether I liked or disliked the last album I heard. It's this album. I'm living in the present. This is particularly helpful to think about when I sincerely cannot remember what the Record Club album sounded like. I literally cannot compare.
These reviews are written under the guise of "follow-ups" to the albums from the artists that we covered in Record Club originally, but the opinion should ultimately be in a vacuum. I should judge based on merit, not based on whether I liked or disliked the last album I heard. It's this album. I'm living in the present. This is particularly helpful to think about when I sincerely cannot remember what the Record Club album sounded like. I literally cannot compare.
If I had to guess, though, I'd guess that Mood Valiant didn't features such percussive elements as this newest one does. "Telescope," for example, has a relentless snare drum tapping that keeps the whole thing moving at a good clip. Was there a song like "Telescope" on Mood Valiant? Not that I recall. If there was, I would've been discussing the tempo, right? And I didn't. I talked about Infinite Jest in my review, but I didn't talk about tempo.
No, the whole thing with R&B for me is that it drags too much. There are beautiful vocal performances and lush productions and tangible rhythms and occasionally memorable melodies, but for me, this genre never really seems to put it all together in satisfactory ways. I think this is what I was feeling for Mood Valiant. And that's more or less how I'm feeling for Love Heart Cheat Code too. But I'm saying that there were objectively more moments that felt whole to me on this one than the last one. And if I'm misremembering, then why was the "whole less than its parts" the fucking hook of my review?
I still think this music is pretty forgettable, but this time around, it feels like they are at least trying. I had fun with this. Shit, am I that much of a sucker for good drumming?
I still think this music is pretty forgettable, but this time around, it feels like they are at least trying. I had fun with this. Shit, am I that much of a sucker for good drumming?
GRADE: 3 pukes out of 5 (+0.5 from original review)
Released: April 11, 2025
Follow-up to: SABLE, EP, Week 308
I've waited a few months and no alternative narrative has emerged, so let's just lean into the thing that everyone is saying about the new Bon Iver album, because everyone is correct—this is an album of Bon Iver fuck jams. It effortlessly blends the '80s gestalt of previous efforts like "Beth/Rest" with a propensity to have sex while listening. There's no other way to describe it! I'm sorry! But you tell me. Next time your honey wants you to play some tunes while y'all are boning, try SABLE, fABLE, and then try telling me I'm wrong. (Sidenote: I'm totally down to hear about your sexcapades. Give me the deets.)
Clarification: You should start with "Everything Is Peaceful Love," and go from there. If there is something wrong with this album, it's that Bon Iver has decided to graft last year's RC-covered EP onto the front of this thing. Yes, yes, we understand now what that comma was for in the EP's title, but it's still fucking annoying. The artistic statement is "this is a transitionary period for the band," but that statement could have still been achieved if you had kept SABLE, separate. The two sides don't match, they don't go well together, and they are uneven, making the album backheavy. I don't like it.
That's only if you're taking the long view. Listening to each song as you move through the tracklist, and of course it holds up. Bon Iver is fucking great. It's thrilling to hear a new sound from them! I love the noise discordance of their last two records, but one more would've been too much. Gimme at least one more album of Bon Iver in Fuck Jams mode, okay?
GRADE: 3.5 pukes out of 5 (+0.5 from original review)
NEXT TIME: Got a 2024 album from Nathaniel Rateliff and a (good) 2025 album by Viagra Boys.
NEXT TIME: Got a 2024 album from Nathaniel Rateliff and a (good) 2025 album by Viagra Boys.
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