5 new releases we love: Tinariwen drops a classic, Lower Dens dance it off, and more
Music Features A-Sides
There’s a lot of music out there. To help you cut through all the noise, every week The A.V. Club is rounding up A-Sides, five recent releases we think are worth your time. You can listen to these and more on Spotify.
Tinariwen, Amadjar
[ANTI-, September 6]
For its ninth—and maybe best—album, Tinariwen went back to its home: the road. Still unable to return to Mali, the nomadic Tuareg musicians recorded Amadjar while traveling from southern Morocco to Mauritania via caravan. Every night, they’d set up camp and play; somewhere in the desert outside of Nouakchott, they set up a tent and recorded. Fittingly, these droning songs of interlocking (and mostly acoustic) guitar come together with an appealing slowness, as if each element is steadily wandering in from the wilderness, curious about the noise and ready to join in. The playing is loose and free and open; leads are passed around, the dust is shaken off a few new percussion instruments, frequent guest Noura Mint Seymali’s ardîn trills playfully among the guitars. In what should surprise approximately nobody, Warren Ellis proves a natural fit with whipping violin lines and groaning feedback, while Micah Nelson’s spritely mandolin makes “Taqkal Tarha” one of the brightest songs the band has ever recorded. Make no mistake, Tinariwen is still playing the desert blues, but pain is always easier to bear among friends. [Marty Sartini Garner]
Lower Dens, The Competition
[Ribbon Music, September 6]
If you won’t stop comparing Lower Dens to Beach House, then they will give you a reason to do so themselves. On fourth album The Competition, the Baltimore dream-pop band sings louder than ever while sharpening the edges of its synths—nearly to the point of optimism. Gone are the days of hauntingly lonely ballads like 2010’s “I Get Nervous”; the closest Jana Hunter and company get to that here is “Real Thing,” which burns with a metallic sheen rather than a feigned spark. Instead, The Competition prides itself on uptempo rebuttals; Hunter questions the intersection of gender and parenthood on dance-pop jam “I Drive” and critiques the insatiable destruction of the lower class on the elastic “Young Republicans.” If it’s not clear by the disco-splattered “Simple Life” or bouncy “Hand Of God,” Lower Dens are loving the ’80s on The Competition, a decision that allows them to stop carrying the weight of sadness and dance it off instead. [Nina Corcoran]
Paul Cauthen, Room 41
[Lightning Rod, September 6]
It’s startling how much Paul Cauthen sounds like Johnny Cash in the opening notes of “Angel,” off of the country insurgent’s new album Room 41. And although he’s less enamored with murder ballads than the Man In Black, Cauthen’s lyrics blend the sacred and the profane in classic outlaw country fashion, finding salvation both in a Saturday-night barroom and at the altar on Sunday morning. Lead single “Cocaine Country Dancing” celebrates the former with funky blasts of bass and a rhinestone leisure-suit strut, as does Cauthen’s pseudo-spoken-word R&B ode to the “Freaks” you meet behind bars. But the predominant mood of Room 41 is stirring revival-meeting gospel, as Cauthen testifies about all the hard livin’ he’s been doing and the angels who led him toward the light on hybrid love songs/hymns like “Prayed For Rain” and album opener “Holy Ghost Fire,” which finds Cauthen burning with fervor over wailing guitar, piano boogie, and an unexpected electro-soul beat. [Katie Rife]
Pom Pom Squad, Ow
[Self-released, September 6]
It’s fitting that Pom Pom Squad’s new EP, Ow, starts off with a simple guitar melody akin to a singalong campfire tune, because the record slowly reveals a haunting emotional core equivalent to any ghost story. “They all say they want what’s best for me,” singer Mia Berrin concludes on the short but potent track, before the record opens up into a fiery, distorted thrum of shambolic beauty and mid-tempo grunge all about heartache, trauma, and the specificity of her identity as a queer woman of color that achieves a universal relatability in its directness. It’s only seven songs, but the EP covers a lot of ground: From the explosive churn of “Heavy Heavy” that would sit comfortably alongside early Hole, to the bubblegrunge groove of “Honeysuckle,” to the minimalist tension of “Cherry Blossom” that evokes both old slowcore like Bedhead and Helium, as well as contemporaries such as Soccer Mommy. No matter the style, however, Berrin and company couple their powerfully direct music with her intense lyricism, belying its seeming simplicity with a nuance no less artful for how fiercely pissed-off it gets. This is music to get angry to. [Alex McLevy]
Tool, Fear Inoculum
[Tool Dissectional/Volcano/RCA, August 30]
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan once growled, “Learn to swim.” On the band’s fifth album, Fear Inoculum, the command is: “Learn to breathe.” Maybe meditate. Hell, try yoga. After 13 years, Tool has returned with 86 minutes of metal mantras, meaty guitars, and math (“7empest” is in 21). Fear Inoculum fascinates because Tool is still Tool, writing 15-minute jams that build to that climax when drummer Danny Carey punches every drum available like Goro from Mortal Kombat, when Adam Jones’ guitar and Justin Chancellor’s bass shoot laser-sharp riffs through stoners’ skulls. These moments usually included Keenan’s roar; here, he saves his energy. As much as Fear Inoculum asks listeners to chill, the 30-year-old band is aware of its mortality—a “warrior struggling to remain relevant,” Keenan sings in “Invincible.” Through the course of the album, Keenan spirals out. By the time we reach the excellent “7empest,” which tops 15 minutes, he’s spitting through his teeth, “Fuck, here we go again.” Rock gods, they’re just like us: too old for this shit. [Matt Sigur]
39 Comments
Jax Jones’ “Snacks (Supersize)” has some old releases (2016) but as first albums go, it’s a ton of fun. There’s plenty of hip hop influence to it, but what really shines through is his love of house music and Nu-Disco.
The cover art (is that what it’s called these days?) for that Tool record is remarkably generic.
Is it though? To me it looks unmistakably, unapologetically like a Tool cover.
Do yourself a favor and check out the rest of the package thought. It even comes with a 4” HD rechargeable screen that plays a song and video. It’s very impressive.
Pretty sure that’s an Alex Grey and yeah, his art has gotten more and more generic as the years have gone on.
Uh, you should check the rest of the packaging, it’s his best work to date with Tool.And Adam Jones is also credited for some artwork so I wouldn’t be surprised if the front cover isn’t even from Grey.
Looks like the shitty computer generated stuff used as cover art for the later volumes of Grateful Dead Dick’s Picks.
I get a real “EDM artist chooses the clipart for his very first soundcloud drop” vibe.
It’s not really the “cover art” – the actual CD case unfolds into a bunch of stuff, and has an HD screen. It’s silly but also cool. Physical media is soon to be extinct, but props to some artists who have done weird shit with it (looking at you, Mark Z. Danielewski…)
The goodies are inside the package. The inner paper sleeve jacket artwork reminds me of Mastodon’s Crack the Skye.
I will not stop comparing Lower Dens to Beach House, since I’ve never heard of either of them.
As an obnoxious metal purist, I’ve never understood why Tool fanboys think they’re so hard. At the end of the day, Tool is nothing more than a nu-metal band that don’t know when or how to end a song. Danny Carey is a kick-ass drummer though.
Always thought of them as the nu-metal of prog metal, a band first championed to me by someone who wouldn’t be caught dead listening to something with a guitar solo in it.
Plenty of metal fans like this band, but I’m long past caring why. If I wanted to listen to a grown man whine like a whipped dog for 70 minutes I’d listen to Katatonia.
I just want to say I deeply appreciate what is likely the first ever Katatonia reference on The AV Club
I’d argue that not liking music because it lacks solos is just as equally dumb as being allergic to them.Plus, there are actually guitar solos on this album.
The heavy-music recommendations of someone who hates guitar solos are worth less than the heavy-music recommendations of someone who won’t listen to anything without them. It’s just science.That said, there is no Tool guitar solo I want to hear ever again or for the first time. It’s still Tool.
I don’t think science means what you think it means.
I am a Tool fan. In fact, you could call me an “O.G.T.” fan. And I disagree with your comment. That’s it. I just disagree. That said, I don’t think they’re nu-metal. I think nu-metal, in general, has a certain amount of ugly goon-rock elements to it (be it sexism, or just generic ‘my dad sucks’ style lyrics). But I think Tool has always tried to be ambitious, both musically and lyrically – to varying degrees of success. I haven’t picked up the new album yet. I’m going to wait for the “reasonably priced” CD (even though I know I could easily download it). I’m a Tool fan. Just not a “$48.99″ Tool fan.
I appreciate your thoughtful response and retroactively apologize for coming off a bit too snarky. I’ve tried to dig Tool. I’ve tried so hard! Growing up, my older brother was a near-religious devotee of the band, and often talked about how ambitious they are and how they’re doing things no other band is capable of. I never saw it – still don’t. For me, I’d much rather go listen to a Neurosis album. BUT, I will never doubt their musicianship (see earlier Carey comment).
It’s weird, I feel almost the exact same way with Converge. I totally get why people love them. They are without a doubt talented musicians, but I just cannot get into them to save my life.
I’m a Tool fan from back in the day, and I can tell you they were doing stuff unlike any other band at the time of Undertow. They took the drop D tuning of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains and added an element of evil and darkness to it, though in a psychological vein, that really spoke to me. Live, they are unparalleled.
Then by the time Lateralus came out and the title track spins out into the 8th minute and it pulls that stop-start groove with a sweeping pullback and I’m screaming along with the lyrics — almost 20 years later that song still kills me and it’s been a real trip to get my sons into it, which, thank god, they both love.
I’m not hard because I’m a Tool fan, it’s just that this band gives so much to love.
Thanks for this. I appreciate good stories about loving a specific band and the reasons why.
Tool is the Pink Floyd of prog metal. Not hardcore metal, not psychedelic, but harder core than regular alternative with a good LSD trip thrown in. I’ve had Fear Inoculum going regularly for the last week. 7empest is the powerhouse track, no doubt. But Culling Voices is an amazing buildup.
Helium is considered a slowcore band? News to me
Missed one…my band’s second album comes out today. The band is The Brutalists, the record is called “We are not here to help”. If you are in L.A., we’re doing a release party at the Redwood in DTLA tonight. Here’s the first single:
Good stuff. I’ll be playing this on my show on KUCI this weekend.
https://www.mixcloud.com/jonsghost/
38 minutes (tears up). That’s a proper album length.
The Tool album is okay, but honestly it just sounds like a combination of Lateralus and 10,000 Days. But without any of the monster hits.
Obligatory “Tool sucks ass” post
“(“7empest” is in 21).“What does this mean? That it can buy booze?
I’ve seen Tinariwen a bunch of time live in Chicago. These guys are always awesome. If you like blues, world music, psychedelia…..it all overlaps with Tinariwen. Its especially good in concert.
No love for the new Amun’s album? Listening to it now and really digging it.
Really digging this new Iggy Pop record! It’s mellow and odd in a really agreeable way. Like what’s going on here?Sweet new bouncer from The Comet is Coming!Very on-brand singles from Chastity Belt and Belle & Sebastian, both nice. Very excited to see new music from Rachel Grimes- what a rad video too!WHAT? NEW KARIN KROG?
The Highwomen!
I miss early Lower Dens.
Same. Nootropics is so good and in opinion is not really similar to Beach House.
When are all the these little ADD/peanut allergy girls going to take a singing lesson?