Sweet and Salty Music Reviews | no. 1
Talk of the latest tastes with Dennis Stock
The Sweet
“LUMP,” by LUMP.
Veteran folk songstress Laura Marling joins forces with Mike Lindsey of Tunng fame to create the spacious, perplexing “LUMP.” The album glimmers with woodwinds, synths and Marling’s husky yet nimble voice. Lindsey’s gloomy, rumbling soundscapes accompany the brighter aspects of the music, providing an unsettling counterpoint. The songs are full of interesting — and often challenging — samples and instrument choices.
Minimal and mesmerizing, the opener, “Late to the Flight,” starts with a hot, wiry buzz. Suddenly, a resounding nylon string guitar, accompanied by a watery bass line, floods the center of the track. The rest of the song is colored with discordant synths and soft flutes. Marling’s voice sits front and center, delivering abstract lyrics in her smoky, brooding voice. The most memorable part of this track is the refrain, “Anytime,” sung first by the main voice, but later accompanied by harmonies, all sung by Marling herself, beautifully cascaded from left-to-right.
Next in the tracklist, “May I Be the Light,” starts off sparsely and then builds into a luminous, sprawling ensemble containing pulsing synths and flute vibratos. Marling starts the track singing in a hypnotic, deadpan voice. The odd meter of her lines is supported rhythmically by an industrial-sounding chime along with a tinkering hi-hat. The track culminates in a grand harmony, as Marling croons loudly, “It’s a sign of the times, you know?”
The album has other bright spots. I particularly enjoyed “Curse of the Contemporary,” which delivers the clearest message on the album. Cooly, Marling quips “If you should be bored in California, I’m sure I’m not the first to warn ya…” Though Marling’s lyrics remain cryptic, listeners can detect her disdain for modern consumerism. “When the day is done, We can’t believe what we’ve become, Something else to prey upon…”
The entire length of the album is a short 32 minutes. During that time, Marling and Lindsey deliver a challenging, yet coherent, group of experimental folk songs that take advantage of no-wave, industrial and avant-garde styles of music. This has been my favorite contemporary folk release since “case/lang/veirs” in 2016.
Rating: 3.7 / 5
The Salty
“Lush,” by Snail Mail
Two years since she released her first EP, “Habit,” at the age of 16, Lindsey Jordan returns in 2018 with “Lush,” her debut indie rock album. While “Habit” was messy, fuzzy and inspired, “Lush” offers a cleaner — albeit predictable — sound. The band’s makeup includes bass and drums with Jordan singing and playing guitar. Don’t get me wrong, the DIY three-piece rock band is a mainstay in indie music, however, Snail Mail’s current configuration limits their sound. Similarly, concerning the songwriting on this album, Jordan fails to deliver anything much different from her EP two years ago.
Lyrically, “Lush” is focused on Jordan’s personal experiences with relationships as well as her boredom with partying and substance abuse. The album’s first single, “Pristine,” kicks things off after the album’s aimless intro track. The guitars sound bright and jangly, and Jordan’s lines are smartly written and introspective. The chorus explodes with crashing cymbals and a sudden rhythm change. Jordan shouts candidly, “Don’t you like me for me? Is there any better feeling than coming clean?”
The repetitive lyrical content and Jordan’s lack of singing experience are my two biggest issues with “Lush.” At its best, Jordan’s deep, breathy vocals fit the style very well. Alternatively, Jordan can also sound sharp and whiny, as she does at the beginning of the third track, “Heat Wave.” Finally, the album is front loaded with the main singles, leaving the final 20 or so minutes sounding stale and recycled. I imagine Jordan’s reuse of lyrics in the final track, “Anytime,” was intended to be a reprise of sorts — a thematic link from the start of the album to the finish — but it just seems like more filler. The final half of the album finds Jordan spinning her wheels, remaining stuck on the topic of break-ups without any sort of development.
With so many indie rock and dream pop releases this year, “Lush” barely stands out. While I was in love with the band’s aesthetic when “Habit” was released, Snail Mail hasn’t grown much in two years and the shortage of new material on their new album shows it.
Rating: 2.5 / 5
— huffy.hayden@protonmail.com
@huffy_hayden