It's Young to Feel Great Again

Around this time of year, I get a little tired of reaching into the past and decide to dip into current music. It's my version of actually going out and interacting with other humans.

Plus, we live in such a positive time, why not immerse myself in it?

But it's really due to my vanity. I would like to feel young at least for a few minutes, and there's nothing like turning on the radio and hearing a great new song to do that. Clearly, that has not happened in some time. The closest I can come to it is putting on a new album that sounds great.

I would thus play it safe and get some pop music. So why I chose this moment to get a punk album I'll never know. Perhaps I thought "punk" no longer meant what it used to? 

Amyl and the Sniffers: Comfort to Me (2022)

Wrong.

In terms of sheer energy, this beats out Dry Cleaning. Amy Taylor's high-pitched-but-not-quite-a-shriek vocals are a perfect complement to the low roar of the guitar. And her Australian accent just adds to the fun. 

Rage is the default emotion in punk, so what's odd here is the repeated use of the word "love". A welcome development! Of course, Amy is demanding that you love her. Still, it proves you can be angry and in love at the same time.

And I found out later Jaybee Son Mike loves it!

As with some other genres (reggae, blues, country, etc.) I only play it when I'm in the mood, like when I'm alone or when we've somehow invited someone over who I hate.

So in the long run I'll probably play Dry Cleaning a little more often.

But then again, I could go through my old address book and look up some old frienemies...

A-

"Hertz"

Wet Leg: Wet Leg (2022)

"Dad, I think you would like this band," sez Jaybee Son Mike, making his second appearance here. 

Whenever I hear this phrase - and I hear it a lot - I think of it as a statement about me rather than the music.  I chafe at the suggestion I'm "predictable". Am I not the "independent spirit marching to the beat of my own drum"? Not with those cargo shorts ads popping up on my Facebook timeline, I'm not.  

So I look them up and the buzz is quite strong. So I gave them a try.

Turns out, Mike was right! It's EXACTLY what I would like. Even Mrs. Jaybee likes it, and she's pretty tough on the young ladies (Editor's note: Don't tell her I said that.)

(Editor's Note: Mrs. Jaybee would like to address the whole "girly voice" question. It is not that they sing that way per se. It is that they don't project. If they've got a good voice, they should use it.)

However, we both agree that the vocals here are less "girly" than quirky, and - critically - the band rocks, adding just the right touch a given song needs, moving several from good to memorable. So it's fun from beginning to end.

Warning: Slight Digression Ahead:

And it edges out Haim, simply because I don't feel obligated to put it on. The Haim record is "excellent" overall, and it deserves its due, but that adjective has never been a good compliment for a rock record. "Excellent" is not "great!", (and, of course, "great!" is not "Great!" which is not "GREAT". You get the idea.)

But in case you don't:

• Not Bad: (B to B+) Weyes Blood or the first Grateful Dead album
• Pretty Good: (B+ to A-) Sharon Van Etten or Her Satanic Majesties Request
• Excellent (A-): Haim or the first Allmans album 
• great! (A- to A) A real pleasure at the moment, but who knows if it will last? Wet Leg or the second live Grateful Dead record. 
• Great! (A) Joy from beginning to end. Township Jazz and Jive, Marshall Crenshaw's first album, and most Beatles, Stones, and Neil Young albums.
• GREAT (A+) The Pantheon, still bringing joy decades later: Abbey Road, Tonight's the Night, Another Green Word, The Who Sell Out, Katy Lied.

End of Digression:

And with (Spoiler Alert!) the final line: I just need a bubble bath to set me on a higher path, this record's "great!". Now let's see if it makes its way to "Great!"

A

"Too Late Now"