Trollheart

Album title: Inviting Light
Artist: The Flatliners
Genre: Punk Rock
Nationality: Canadian
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Fifth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.90
I'm constantly having to re-evaluate my attitude towards punk. Well, not with every band, but some of them have really changed my mind, and opened it to the various strains of punk rock there is. Most sites don't seem to be able to agree on what genre this album falls under – I have melodic hardcore, punk, ska punk, rock – but the band appear to identify as a punk rock band, so I'm going with that. It's not nearly as harsh or aggressive as I had expected though, and very melodic, so either it's not punk or I have a lot to learn about punk. Possibly both.

Well, it's a decent album so far but I can't see anything that really stands out and makes me want to hear it again. A lot of it, to be fair, blends together and while the tracks are all pretty good - “Unconditional Love” and “Infinite Wisdom” being cases in point – I've yet to come across one which really stops me in my tracks. There are only four left, so I'm kind of assuming this won't happen. Well, I am impressed with “Chameleon Skin”, a slower, more intense kind of song that punches in the gut before it picks up tempo. Overall though, a decent album but nothing to get too excited about I feel.

Check out more from this artist? Maybe
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: The Far Field
Artist: Future Islands
Genre: Synthpop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Fifth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? I've heard one album
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little
Average RYM Score: 3.19
I remember listening to Future Islands a few years back and hating the vocalist. It's very hard for me to get past a singer I don't like, which is why I've estimated this with a lower rating than usual. Listening now, I'm not sure I hate the vocalist still, but there is something about him that grates on me. Not bad synthpop though. I mean, not great synthpop, but not bad. But oh yeah, I remember now: I really do hate this guy's singing voice. I mean, he sounds East European, but a quick check reveals he was born in North Carolina, and while his parents may have been from the old Soviet Bloc, there's no mention of this, so whether his accent is an affectation or what I don't know, but it gets on my tits no end. Yeah, not impressed with this much at all. All right, but just that.
Check out more from this artist? No; two albums is enough
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Dubtopia
Artist: Gentleman's Dub Club
Genre: Reggae
Nationality: English
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Third
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: N/A
So far, all the reggae I've heard has been very cheerful and upbeat. Maybe there's a subgenre called Depressive Suicidal Black (sorry) Reggae, but if so I ain't come across it yet, and every reggae song evokes images of golden sands, pretty women, sea breezes and bright sunshine. Can't be bad, right? Interested to see these guys are English: the only English reggae band I know of (and I know ****-all about the genre anyway) is UB40, and they really annoy me mostly. But this is good so far. Love the bright organ on “Let a Little Love”. You can't not love “Fire in the Hole” either, the instrumental “Gridlock” is class, and “Hotter” sounds like it might be ska? Possibly with a hint, almost, of techno at times? I'd say I enjoyed this pretty much all the way through.

Check out more from this artist? Yeah
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: August by Cake
Artist: Guided by Voices
Genre: Indie Rock/Alt-Rock/Lo-Fi
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Twenty-Fourth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No but I have heard of them
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.26
Oh give me strength! Thirty-****ing-two tracks! And they have another album released this year (as in, 2017) so I hope I don't hate this. Well I don't, not as such, but eight tracks in (a quarter of the way, only) and I can't honestly say anything has really stood out to me. Nothing's terrible, either, it's all quite acceptable, but though there's still a whole lot to go I do wonder if it's going to get any better than this. Maybe there are just too many tracks to allow me to concentrate on any potentially superior ones, I don't know, but facing taking on an album of this size is a daunting task in itself, so perhaps I'm unconsciously dismissing some good music. Or not. Okay, “Warm Up to Religion” is fairly decent, but most of this is pretty unremarkable to me. On “Golden Doors” it seems like he forgets how to sing, honestly. I think I'm just glad to be at the end of this.

Check out more from this artist? No; well I'll have to, as they have another album released this year, though hopefully there'll be a few months between the two...
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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rubber soul

That doesn't sound too bad actually. They were low-hi heroes in the nineties. Try Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes. They're a little crude and the songs are short, much like this album, but they're pretty good indie pop imo.

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Trollheart

I'm sure it doesn't sound bad. None of it does. But try listening to that thirty-two times, is the problem.

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Trollheart

Album title: All-Amerikkkan Bada$$
Artist: Joey Bada$$
Genre: Conscious Hip-Hop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.33
Nice soul rhythm and feel to the opener, his rap is very understandable and kind of laid back in a way, though there's some pretty hard-hitting sociopolitical commentary on “Land of the Free”, and obviously the album title shows that from the beginning, with the triple K added into “America”. Really cleverly done. This seems to have gone by rather quickly and I've enjoyed everything on it to this point. “Ring the Alarm” is a real highlight, and I like the slightly gospel stylings of “Babylon” though it mostly runs on a reggae idea. Really good. Great album, really like it.

Check out more from this artist? Yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

aw, i planned on recommending that one. at least you liked it anyway

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Trollheart

Album title: Everywhere is Some Where
Artist: K. Flay
Genre: Electropop/Hip-Hop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.40
Pretty much any genre I've explored here and elsewhere has suffered from the same male bias, which women are slowly doing their very best to dismantle, and usually with varying degrees of success. Metal remains almost exclusively a male preserve, there are hardly any women in prog, and as for hip-hop? Well, I obviously am not qualified to talk in sweeping terms, knowing so little of the genre, but based on what I've listened to over the last three and more months, it;s been almost all male artists. I guess this is easy to understand, given the often boastful, forceful nature of the music and lyrics, generally – though not always – portrayed best by men who are, as we would say here, up themselves. So it's nice to see the odd occasion when a woman steps into the arena.

Unlike CupcaKKe, whom I encountered last month, K. Flay (real name Kristine Flaherty – now there's a hip-hop name!) does not posture and boast, from what I can hear here; she utilises a sort of pastiche of electronic music with her (pretty quiet and restrained) rap to form a fairly irresistible mixture that really makes you want to listen. “Blood in the Cup” is a track that stands out to me, with some powerful percussion, while “Champagne” really showcases her rap style with some pretty barebones backing. Really gets into this one, displaying some powerful emotion. The bassline in “Mean It” sounds very reminiscent of “Walk On the Wild Side” while ”Hollywood Forever” has a very Lana feel to it. “Just a Lot”, on the other hand, is very electropop with some new wavey ideas in there too. Very impressive, very varied; watch this lady.

Check out more from this artist? Yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Double Roses
Artist: Karen Elson
Genre: Indie Rock/Folk/Country
Nationality: English
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.30
A model breaking into the world of music is not unknown, but this woman is a little different. From what I read, she has worked with Robert Plant, Neko Case and is the ex-wife of Jack White. She's gained huge acclaim for her vocal style, and I have to say that from the off I'm convinced and seriously impressed. She has that kind of rare voice which doesn't ever need to be forced to make an impression on you; effortless talent. A great mix of folk, rock and country, some of the better (among mostly really excellent) tracks being “Call Your Name”, the opener “Wonder Blind”, which immediately lets you know that you're listening to something very very special, the aching “The End” - hell, just about all of it really.

There's some fine power in “Hell and High Water”, the organ line on “Raven” kills, and “Why Am I Waiting” robs the keyboard motif from Peter Gabriel's “San Jacinto”. Another standout is the smouldering “Wolf” with its beautiful sax break at the end. Superb album. Top class.

Check out more from this artist? Oh yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018