New Music of 2021 

31 Jan 2021

A couple of random albums have dropped unexpectedly in January. In a different time, I’d spend a lot of time writing about them, diving into the meaning, comparing to albums of the past. Right now, I have a hard time getting motivated to do that. Someday, that motivation will be back.

In the interim, a couple of quick notes:

Typhoon Sympathetic Magic Apple Music

This album is a grower. I love me some Typhoon. The band creates a soundscape that is both poppy and atmospheric. Kyle Morton’s lyrics are just poppy enough to get you singing along to a song about death. This is a beautiful album with some lush songs that creep up on you, and just when you’re sort of drifting along on some strings or a quiet guitar, you get a stanza like this:

Everybody’s angry

Everybody’s lonely

And maybe it’s hopeless and maybe

Love is not enough

But let’s not rule out the possibility

Weezer OK Human Apple Music

Another “someday list” item is my thesis on Rivers Cuomo and how he’s the closest thing to another Brian Wilson. Weezer’s output is a lot more hit or miss these days (and that comes from someone who can defend a lot of Weezer songs that most people despise). There’s a couple of great songs on this album (the lead track “All My Favorite Songs” is one), but it’s a very light album. There’s a few songs where it feels like you can see the seams (you can tell the lyrics the songs built out of, and how it doesn’t feel like it ever grew from there). That being said, it’s typical modern Weezer: short and poppy.