Best Tracks – 10.7.22

Best Tracks – 10.7.22

 

Bonny Light Horseman – “Someone to Weep for Me”

As a supergroup, and I use that term very lightly, Bonny Light Horseman yields stronger results as a single unit than they do in their respective projects. At least they did on the group’s debut outing in 2020, where Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson propelled each other’s songwriting, with Josh Kaufman filling in all the spaces. Rolling Golden Holy, is what it is, a sequel deemed in necessity by a successful predecessor. Much of the magic from the debut is still here though, the trio is clearly at ease and ecstatic to be playing together, and on “Someone to Weep for Me” the group crafts a track heavy on pathos and theatrics, but with a steady, beat and more wigged out instrumentation than they’ve previously employed. Regardless, Bonny Light Horseman was an outlier, a gem of a collaboration where musicians find themselves eerily compatible and with plenty to say. On Rolling Golden Holy, the feeling is there, but naturally with less purpose.

 

Alvvays – “Velveteen”

Another great album from Alvvays, and one that could be their best so far. It’s hard to say, but a track like “Velveteen” speaks for itself. It not only incorporates a bolder and denser sound, but features one of their strongest hooks, and a soaring vocal delivery from Molly Rankin. Alvvays have never sounded more confident, which in theory, would have gone against the charm of the group’s initial insecurities. Instead, the band is resolute in their emotions and their charisma and can back it up with the songcraft that’s only gotten better and better.

 

Nnamdi – “Anti”

Chicago’s Nnamdi, broke through with one of 2020’s best albums, Brat, a kaleidoscopic and frenzied genre-crossing pastiche. Please Have a Seat is a worthy follow-up, not just in its adventurous and freewheeling nature, but in its ability to hone in on Nnamdi’s proclivities and emotional anguish. On “Anti”, Nnamdi croons about wanting to forgive, his own paranoia, and his general anguish, while delivering what amounts to an emo-hip hop banger.

 

Broken Bells – “Love on The Run”

The third album from the James Mercer, Danger Mouse collaboration, is reliably scattered, with plenty of bloated and cheesy throwbacks to take away from the few moments of genuine purpose. What makes a Broken Bells album different from, say, a Brian Burton-produced Shins album has become a thinner and thinner line, and that’s probably for the best. But “Love on The Run” is far from a Shins song, blending 60s AM pop with Philly soul, its shoehorning of genres could easily have sounded forced, but instead feels like a track that needed to exist as a Broken Bells tune, because it couldn’t make it as a Shins one.

 

Daphni – “Cloudy”

Dan Snaith’s Daphni moniker has been a reliable outlet for his house-ier exploits over the years, even if it still pales in comparison to his main Caribou-gig. His new album, Cherry, is another relatively strong batch of club tracks, if a little backloaded. There’s still plenty to like here though and Snaith never pulls back off the gas, always keeping the tempo dance-ready and intoxicating. Even “Cloudy” with its soft, twinkling piano line, manages to repeat itself to the point of turning itself into a mantric beat, on top of the actual beat itself, something only the best house songs can do.

 

Dungen – “Skövde”

The newest from Swedish psychedelic rock outfit Dungen is another well-played, push towards warm, almost proggy, jams. No other band sounds quite like Dungen, even though you can name their influences as they reveal themselves throughout the record. “Skövde” is harder to pin down though; every instrument approaches its part lightly, and the group puts extra emphasis on the vocals. The result is a kind of wigged-out pop song, both driving and soft, and with layers that only keep revealing themselves, hiding in their own simplicity.

 

Sorry – “Quit While Your Ahead”

Asha Lorenz and the rest of Sorry sound like they’re finally living up to their own hype.  On the group’s last album, 925, the band was captivating, but still had a way to go to prove they were more than just another London, indie band. Anywhere But Here fulfills the group’s potential handily and “Quit While Your Ahead”, even as a relatively subdued duet, demonstrates how far Sorry has come in songwriting, songcraft, and precision.