09/26 – 09/30:

Pixies, Trompe le Monde Pixies swan song was a sort of return to the unpreditcable explosion of their earlier material. But while it can be as frenetic and intense as their first couple records, the actual sounds producing that feeling are markedly different, expanding the abrasive rock music with layers of sounds cultivated over their whole career. Kim Deal didn’t write anything on it, a big signal that this would be their last album. It’s a weird ol’ record. I think it was a fitting end to the group. Pixies, “Planet of Sound” Das Racist, Relax After a flood of free music in the last couple of years, DR is finally asking you to buy something. And I think it’s well worth doing so. They’ve changed things up on Relax. It’s easy to say they did it to make the album more palatable to a wider audience, but given the rapid evolution they’ve gone through from “Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell”s viral success to now, it could easily just be what they’re into these days. Regardless, there’s more singing, some songs you could call “club friendly,” but also really insane songs that seem as far from commercial as possible, and one of those, “Michael Jackson,” is the lead single. “Shut Up, Man” is a particular highlight, with a searing verse from producer El-P and a title seemingly designed to be the last word on the previous phase of their career. “Rainbow in the Dark” from the first mixtape is the only old song to make an appearance, although theoretical club banger “Booty In The Air” uses the same beat and a brief passage of lyrics from ancient artifact “Different Schools.” Overall, I think it’s a fine introduction to the group for the commercial music biz. Next up: free solo mixtapes from every member to released on the same day in January. Das Racist with El-P, “Shut Up, Man” St. Vincent, Strange Mercy The new St. Vincent is weirdly funky. It’s still got the dense-yet-ethereal, fragile beauty of her previous work, still surprisingly dark lyrics for the sound, but there’s some serious groove winding through a lot of these songs. In her own weird way, of course. There’s some surprisingly ripping guitar work, too. This album is a fine example of an artist building on the strengths of past work while trying new things. Full success! St. Vincent, “Cruel” Deftones, Diamond Eyes Quite the emotional album, this one. Deftones bassist Chi Cheng remains in a coma, years after the car accident that nearly killed him, derailed Eros, the album the band was recording at the time, and left the rest of the band in turmoil. Nothing in the lyrics of this album references those experiences directly, but the sound, emotions and passion on display leave little doubt as to what was on their mind when they were writing. All those factors combine into the band’s most inspired work in a decade, too. The band’s penchant for both raw aggression and shimmering moments of beauty both feel more honest and intense than they have in years. It’s a whirlwind listen, especially if you know the context. Deftones, “Diamond Eyes” Lush, Lovelife Lush is a band that I appreciate more now than I did at the time. At the time, I was a teenage goofball and all into various grunge and post-grunge items. Obviously, that’s not all I was listening to, but it was my primary focus. Lush was a good band, I bought their music, but they weren’t a major factor. 15 years later, I like them more than a lot of the bands I spent more time with back then. Lush, “Ladykillers” Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes Ok, not just grunge things, I was super into Tori Amos, too. I still like her, although she’s kinda gone off the rails in the last decade. But her intense, personal music was pretty hard not to get wrapped up in as a younger person. I hadn’t heard this in awhile. For whatever reason, my go-to Tori record tends to be from the choir girl hotel. I forget what prompted me to listen to it. But: still good. Tori Amos, “Winter” Yup. --D