First off, I don't know how this album hasn't been discussed here yet. ALL-STAR SUPER GROUP PROJECT. Aaron Dessner's first major personal project, using his "band" with Justin Vernon as an experiment to reflect on his life while collaborating with many old and dear friends. Sharon Van Etten, Robin Pecknold, Anaïs Mitchell, and so many others. And, of course, the one and only Taylor Swift. Album dropped today and it lives up to its unworldly hype. This is for sure AOTY contender.
Another killer supergroup album that's gotten no love here. Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay are back with their second album as their little project. Album flows like a single track, tying together each track in a cohesion unlike anything else this year. It's borderline theatrical in structure. Crazy mind-fuck arrangements, harmonics, and meters going on here. Inspiring work through and through.
Stumbled upon this beautiful Australian alt/R&B/soul record. Great lyrics, smooth jams. Beautiful writing. It's a vibe that I absolutely rec.
(ignoring the other ones which were bigger releases, but which I also wasn't aware of and will certainly be listening to...)
This...album artwork does not match with the "R&B/soul" genre tag haha, looks like a power metal album. Not to say I don't dig it.
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Donda by Kanye West
And anyway, Donda seems to have dropped. I'm jumping in, wish me luck. It's almost 2 hours long which is very interesting, especially since his last few projects were all only around 20-25 minutes. This is his longest album yet, and significantly longer at that. 26 songs (possibly 27 but "Jail Pt 2" seems to be in the tracklist but unavailable for streaming yet), and a few longer ones including a 9 minute and an 11:30 (though that's the closer so it may just be a drawn-out fade out or something). Anyway, I'm over-analyzing too much before even starting to listen. Again, wish me luck. If it's 2 hours of the same sound that was on his last couple albums, I'm gonna need the luck. _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Donda by Kanye West
And anyway, Donda seems to have dropped. I'm jumping in, wish me luck. It's almost 2 hours long which is very interesting, especially since his last few projects were all only around 20-25 minutes. This is his longest album yet, and significantly longer at that. 26 songs (possibly 27 but "Jail Pt 2" seems to be in the tracklist but unavailable for streaming yet), and a few longer ones including a 9 minute and an 11:30 (though that's the closer so it may just be a drawn-out fade out or something). Anyway, I'm over-analyzing too much before even starting to listen. Again, wish me luck. If it's 2 hours of the same sound that was on his last couple albums, I'm gonna need the luck.
See how this goes. Initial response is kinda interesting.
I guess I'll voice my first impressions on the 2 huge albums that dropped in the past couple days. Note that this is after 1 listen each (I mean...they did just come out)
First, Donda: it's good, though I wouldn't say it's great. Certainly not an AOTY contender for me, but maybe top 15-20. It's certainly Ye's best album since Yeezus (though full disclosure I did NOT like Life of Pablo and actually preferred Ye and Jesus Is King over LoP). Other than a few choice songs ("Moon", holy crap this is a dope Cudi song), I think the album as a whole was mostly forgettable. I think each of the "Part 2" tracks at the end of the album probably could've been cut despite being pretty decent. It feels like they recorded multiple takes, or multiple mixes of the same takes, and just couldn't decide which to use so just threw both in lol. Which I guess would be fine if they were a little more different than their respective part 1s.
I could definitely see myself coming back to this album, but it didn't instantly captivate me the way Yeezus did (and Yeezus did that in a way very very few albums have in my life). I don't really see my opinion of the album improving much on more listens though. It's a solid effort through and through. Oh and the near 2-hr runtime actually seems...fine? I don't think the album seemed bloated at all other than the part 2s, and even then, I was ok listening to those tracks again. Even the 11+ minute "Jesus Lord pt 2" was good. No "Runaway", but good.
I've seen some folks here and there describe this as Kanye's "white album" (which...lol considering the album artwork), and quite frankly I think this is actually more cohesive than the white album. Could it have been more cohesive with more unifying themes? Yeah, probably. But the overall themes of loss, grief, and faith are pretty clear throughout the album. Oh and the album artwork is STILL better than Life of Pablo.
Second, How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine: I have a hot take... the 2 songs which did not feature Justin Vernon in ANY capacity are actually the 2 best songs on the album. "The Ghost of Cincinnati" is a contender for my song of the year, but the album overall is good-not-great. Interestingly this album felt more bloated than the much longer Donda. And despite the other high profile guest artists Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, and Sharon Van Etten, I think Aaron Dessner shines on lead vocals. Anaïs Mitchell's tracks are also great. I think I'd best describe this album as Folklore and I Am Easy to Find combined but with VERY heavy Justin Vernon influences.
I think other than the 2 tracks I mentioned earlier which don't feature Vernon at all, this feels a lot more like a Bon Iver album than a National album. It's neither, but if this had been released as a Bon Iver album with Dessner producing and the same guest musicians, I think it would've easily fit with the Bon Iver repertoire. Vernon's bandmates S. Carey and Mike Lewis do feature on the album (as do Aaron Dessner's bandmates Bryce Dessner and Bryan Devendorf also feature).
Both albums had the potential to be great. I don't think either of them reached their potential. But I don't think either fell short, nor were they disappointments. But if anyone was expecting to be blown away by either, I'd just recommend that you temper your expectations. _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Donda is cool. It might be too long, but there isn't a song on it that doesn't offer anything. The problem is that all the songs just kind of ride, they set a stage and exist in that stage. Kanye finds a good beat and gets a guest to find a good hook for it and they let it play for a few minutes. I think it worked better on Pablo - it's a bigger, brighter album, and the songs actually contrast with one another.
I might go on a limb and say the second listening party audio is the best version. It had a much more interesting sequence, and sense of space really lends itself to some of the tracks. 'Jesus Lord' falls a little bit flat without the sense of a crowd singing the refrain. It misses 'Come to Life', which seems to be grounding itself as a fan favourite. It sounds like a song from 2008 that a band all with forward swept hair would sing, which is kind of cool, but it lacks a post-naughties self awareness a group like Brockhampton would lend it, for better or for worse.
It's been a fun album launch, the grandiosity might have annoyed me 5 years ago, but I think Kanye's a strange product of his environment now that I can't help but admire. The drama and showmanship is all completely unnecessary (especially for an album this just-okay) but seems to fuel something very Kanye. If money was the chief concern then we wouldn't have had something nearly as chaotic. Maybe Kanye and Universal know it'll make money anyway, or maybe it is some kind of great expressionist self jerk. If it's the latter then I have to dig it. _________________ hello
I've seen some folks here and there describe this as Kanye's "white album" (which...lol considering the album artwork), and quite frankly I think this is actually more cohesive than the white album. Could it have been more cohesive with more unifying themes? Yeah, probably. But the overall themes of loss, grief, and faith are pretty clear throughout the album. Oh and the album artwork is STILL better than Life of Pablo.
Yeah I saw a similar comment on RYM. Idk why people like to jump to comparisons like this when the album has been out for less than a week lol.
I'm just very happy it sounds like a finished project, unlike Jesus Is King which still sounds unfinished to me. I'd argue it sounds more cohesive than Life of Pablo. Some of the best moments of the album exceed that of Life of Pablo. I hope he can get back to a refined sound again. I wouldn't mind a Yeezus sequel, or something as experimental. _________________ ...and for dessert!
The Weezer album Ok Human is a great album 😮 Feels as though there is plenty to sing along to despite the length. _________________ More needs and less greed
Yesterday is not you, it is a resource to be looked back on.
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