- #21247
- Posted: 5 days ago
- Post subject:
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| MadhattanJack wrote: | Favorite band potential! Then I would say "fear not," as this is not much of a departure at all from their previous material. I think it was recorded mostly during the COVID pandemic, so it sounds a bit more "assembled" and there's less in the way of real drums, but other than that it's pretty good. They're more folksy-sounding than I usually go for personally, but I like Elizabeth Morris's voice a lot, as it reminds me of Harriet Wheeler's (she was in The Sundays but I see from your charts that you're familiar with them).
I'd also say the songs are no less catchy than on their previous albums, but I'm not big enough of a fan/listener of theirs (at least not yet) to say which I think is their best one... I don't think it's the debut though, since that seems to have more tracks where somebody else sings lead.
So, right now I'm listening to...
Europe by Allo Darlin'
...and I think I probably like this better than the new one, but only by a hair. |
All three of their previous LPs are in my top 20. That's true of only one other band (Bright Eyes), so I'd consider it indicative of favorite band potential. I love Elizabeth Morris's voice (yes I'm familiar with the Sundays, and yeah I agree with you about there being some similarity with Harriet Wheeler's voice, which is also great) and I really connect with the lyrics. Instrumentally, perhaps it's nothing that special, but I don't have a problem with that because that just means the focus is, appropriately, on the vocals. I didn't love the band right away. It took a long time for them to grow on me like they have. I'm not going to pretend their music is "objectively" the best or anything (whatever that even means), but it resonates with me more than almost anything else.
I did end up listen to the latest album last night. Just one listen so far, so my opinion is far from solidified, but my first impression is that it's probably their weakest thus far. Still quite good, but not up to the very high bar that they've previously set. Here's hoping it grows on me just as much as their prior output. Regardless, any new music from Allo Darlin' is a gift considering I thought they had broken up forever.
As for ranking their albums, I just put them in order of release. Their debut I have ranked as the third best album of all time on my overall chart. The quality density on that thing is so high, with not a single song even approaching dud territory, that from start to finish it is for me an unmitigated joygasm. Yes, Morris cedes some of her vocal "duties" on a couple songs, but she's never less than co-lead, and the guys she sings with on the first and last tracks are excellent and fit right in.
There are higher highs on the next two albums (My two favorite Allo Darlin' songs are Some People Say from Europe and Angela from We Come From the Same Place), but those two are not as consistent as the debut. Europe is close (I have it ranked seventh on my overall chart), but in my opinion there's a noticeable dip in quality on the third LP (but still good enough for 17th on my overall chart), including the presence of the single track in their LP discography (until now, perhaps) that I think is anything less than excellent (amusingly the name of that song is Bright Eyes, which also has a non-Morris vocalist who, unlike the "interlopers" on the debut, doesn't really fit and in my opinion should not have been included).
I don't expect anyone else to share my love for Allo Darlin', but it's nice to see other people at least giving them a chance.
Currently I'm listening for the first time to the latest album from another of my favorite bands:
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again by ...cemberists
I'm only a few tracks in, but my impression of this is similar as to Bright Nights. An excellent band, still putting out quality material, but undeniably past their prime.
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