Grunge

Week 36: Olivia Rodrigo- GUTS

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I fucking loved Olivia’s debut, “Sour”(Or is it “SOUR”?). She is different from your usual music star in the charts. She has plenty of fucking attitude and is unapologetic about it. Her debut was outstanding, and that punk spirit and it was definitely refreshing to see the singles chart shaken up by this angry lady. 

She certainly isn’t your usual Disney Kidz star. She doesn’t give a fuck what you think about her. She swears profusely, has a punk spirit, and loves to rock out. “GUTS”, the follow-up to “SOUR”, makes that album look tame. Olivia cranked the amps up to 10, and her attitude and opinions. Like every record, there is a lull and softer moments, but she does go tonto for most of the album. She isn’t here to please her label boss but to tell you her life with no holds barred. She doesn’t give a fuck about being commercially viable. This record is indie to how a label wants their musicians to be.

Olivia grew up listening to her parent’s music collection, which consisted of grunge and rock, and she has incorporated that into this album, but with subjects of dealing with fame, relationships, and other teenage angst topics. I fucking love the opener ‘All-American Bitch’. You hear an acoustic being plucked at the intro and verses before it fucking explodes in the chorus as well as her vocal volume and attitude. The electric guitars add to that effect. I also loved the solo.

‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’, which resembled ke$ha-like songs. You have softly spoken verses; occasional rapping with big choruses is another highlight. As mentioned, there are quieter, more reflective moments, but do not lack the angst featured on the full-in rock tracks. She even shows insecurity about her appearance on ‘Lacy’, an acoustic track, and confesses about being envious of what others see as “Perfection”. The soaring vocals bring that out. As gloomy as it is, ‘Making the Bed’ reminded me of that dream pop sound that we associate with Katy Perry in the late noughties and early tens. Like ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Vampires’ starts softly with a piano rather than an acoustic guitar before synths and guitars hit you by surprise.

I was slated for rating “SOUR”, but fuck you. This girl is so versatile in her writing. She writes full-on rock tracks to tender piano ballads, and the vocal delivery convinces you every song means everything to her. Her lyrics, at times, also add an element of sarcasm and comedy.

This record is like a person with schizophrenia. One minute, it is full-on, then tame, and then full-on again, repeating a spontaneous tempo. In musical terms, it’s like having iTunes, iMusic, Tidal, Spotify and Deezer on shuffle. You never know what’s coming. Despite that, every record should have heavy and reflective moments. It shows the songwriter’s versatility as well as showing they are human.

Besides the Reytons, the Lathums, Frank Turner, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Foo Fighters, the album chart lacks records that spark energy into your ears. Olivia has come along and made the album of the year that deserves to be nominated for the Mercury Prize next year. I wonder if this album will be number one next week. The album chart hasn’t had a mainstay this year yet, and the way music is these days, I don’t expect “GUTS” to break that but fuck me. It is a fantastic yet schizophrenic album. Olivia is a different breed to the new age pop star, which is a breath of fresh air. Another fucking monumental record. We need more musicians like this in the singles chart instead of nodding puppets for the label bosses.

Song recommendations: ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Making the Bed’, ‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’

9/10

Week 22: Foo Fighters- But Here We Are

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Was it ever in doubt that the Foos would be number one? Despite being locked in a week-long battle with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, no one save for the Beatles was stopping them from getting to the summit. They had the intrigue of what they would sound like post-Taylor Hawkins and if the new drummer Josh Freese was good enough to take over from the late drummer. The last time Dave Grohl suffered a band member loss was in 1994 when Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain died, and he hit the studio to record what would become the debut album of Foo Fighters. He called it Foo Fighters, so no one would watch wind of who was behind the then-solo project. Although Dave was hurting from the loss of Kurt, the sound in 1995 was more a celebration of life over hardcore rock.

This time, however, the loss of Taylor is etched all over the album, also released over a year after his bizarre demise. You can especially hear this in ‘Under You’, where Dave reminisces about the good old days with someone no longer with us in some form. It is obvious what the song is about, but Dave leaves it open to interpretation through his words. It sounds more like a couple splitting up than the obvious. ‘Rescued’ also expresses how Dave felt at the recording. Of course, the record is littered with songs ready to be blasted in stadiums and belted out by the crowd. That’s what the Foos are good at. ‘Somehow’ features his daughter Violet and is a beautiful ballad and one of the slow moments on the album. ‘Teach Me’ is a track that lasts just over ten minutes, which fools you because there is a sustained silence before the track returns. That track itself trickles along rather than catches your imagination. Of course, another great track closes the records in ‘Rest’, which again is about Taylor, except this time, it is far more apparent as Dave says the drummer can rest in the chorus. The song builds from acoustic to the entire band wading in to end the music how they would complete a show with Taylor going tonto on the drums.

Song recommendations: ‘Rest’, ‘Under You’, ‘Somehow’

7/10

Week 14: Boygenius- the Record

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Boygenius are a rock supergroup formed in 2018 consisting of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers. The former is the only one I have ever heard of, and I enjoy most of her material. Five years ago, the band also released their self-titled EP. They share common ground, and what makes Boygenius dynamic is their similar tastes in authors and poets. There is more than just a love of music, and unlike most supergroups, this has been formed on music and other passions to make the chemistry extra special. They also have their unique style of writing. Julien Baker is more melancholic, whereas Phoebe Bridgers, although she can sing softly, brings more energy, and Lucy Dacus brings consciousness to the fore.

Here is my track-by-track review of “the Record”:

Without You Without Them:

The opening track begins with the trio singing acapella. The trio exchanging cyphers. 

$20:

This has Julien Baker written all over it (Although I only know of Phoebe’s work, I did a little listening research.), where she gets political and her watermark guitar riffs, which, when you listen to her work, your ear picks up on the familiarity. Of course, as it is a trio, Lucy and Phoebe find a space on the track, with Bridgers doing a 90s-esque grunge rock scream, and Dacus leads the line during the fast tempo and fleshy verses.

Emily, I’m Sorry:

This song is split into two parts. The song title doesn’t fit the narrative that you should expect it to. Instead of being an audio apology letter to a specific individual, it discusses how uncertain life was during the pandemic ( depending on where you live.). You can hear Phoebe’s solo work coming through, but it also shows Boygenius working together to give it that unique sound. 

True Blue: 

This is quite obviously the turn of Lucy again. Why? Because her vocals are at the forefront, whereas Julien and Phoebe’s are more muted. This track is mellow and mid-tempo compared to what has happened so far. You can tell the band work democratically.

Cool About it:

We finally get to the acoustic song on the album with a cameo appearance from the banjo. The track could be described as folk-rock. Each member exchanges a cypher with different variations of bumping into the dreaded ex. The cyphers showcase just how talented each individual is at songwriting.

Not Strong Enough:

Just listening to this, you can tell that Sheryl Crow heavily influenced the trio. The track discusses the hotbed issue of the treatment of women (to this day, unfortunately.) within the industry. The instrumentation itself goes back to the sound more akin to ‘$20’ before developing into something more uplifting, which creates a rush of blood in your body. Synths feature on the bridge, and the strumming of the guitar with effects gives it that indie blend. I can imagine this one doing quite well on the tour. Although the lyrics are blunt, there is a sense of this becoming a tour anthem.

Revolution 0:

Another tender acoustic ballad to welcome in the second half of the album. The song has a frustrated delivery by Phoebe to match the writing. Phoebe ponders what love is and why it is called that if it isn’t love. 

Leonard Cohen:

Well, this is one of the favourite poets they all adore. The late Leonard Cohen was one of the best poets around. There is a nod to one of his tracks from 1992 called ‘the Anthem’. The track is, funnily enough, the shortest on the album, but in no terms does it mean they are insulting his memory. The band discuss the song’s meaning, which is about accepting your own imperfections. Lucy also has an Easter Egg in her verse, so listen out for that. Clue: It has already featured on the album.

Satanist:

This track features dirty and heavy riffs as Phoebe lets out a scream you will hear in many grunge songs. The track changes tempo again after the instrumental break after the bridge with Julien’s question about satanism as the song changes to downtempo and absent of guitars.

We’re in Love:

Phoebe has been taking over a bit with her songs, but Lucy steps up this time, showcasing her ability to write a specific feeling and deliver it on the instrumental. It also sees the band move away temporarily from the rock wall of sound (Depending on what your idea of “rock” is.).

Anti-Curse:

Julien’s turn, this time with a song which talks about romance. After the bridge is the best section of the song, as we hear full-on guitars with cascading drums.

Letter to an Old Poet:

By this point, I was starting to wonder if there was a democracy in the band as we heard yet another Phoebe trademark song. The track is about surrendering to what you used to be. It also has recycled lyrics from ‘Me & My Dog’, featured on the trio’s 2018 extended play. You can hear a crowd in the background. As the song gently fades, Phoebe closes with a message of hope.

You may think, by reading this, that the album is a fantastic listen. Unfortunately, I have masked that by measuring each track individually. Overall, I felt that for a band dubbed “rock”, there were many downtempo moments and many of the shoegaze side of indie. For me, the term “rock” has not been categorised all that well. There are sub-genres, in fact, many for rock, and this one falls under alternative/indie/shoegaze for me. This was more akin to an album by the XX than full-on rock. I was looking forward to hearing “the Record”, but I had to listen to it twice because my concentration wavered somewhat on the first listen. I felt it was all relatively tame for a “rock” album. There is more energy in a Phoebe Bridgers live performance than this.

Song recommendations: ‘Leonard Cohen’, ‘$20’, ‘Cool About it’

7/10

Week 11: Kings of Leon- When You See Yourself

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My first introduction to the band from America was in 2009 when “Sex on Fire” was heard in pretty much every nightlife establishment you went into. Indeed, my friends and I sang it at the top of our voices and even changed the words to go with an ex-Newcastle United footballer. I’m sure others sang it that way before us. The old “Yourrrr Temuri Ketsbaia”. Now, Kings of Leon are very much like Bush. Why? Because they are popular everywhere else except in their native land. Bush is from London, but their Grunge sound never stood a chance when Oasis and all the other Indie bands came along. Because people over here were not so much into listening to Soundgarden and Nirvana at that point, the same could be said of Kings of Leon. When they came along, America wasn’t interested in listening to a band whose sound was more attractive to the European market. Unlike the Killers, whose sound was very much inspired by Oasis and the Smiths when they first started to make inroads and gradually started to win over fans from their homeland, America never took to Kings of Leon, and as far as I know, that is still the case. I am in the minority regarding the band in Europe because I am not a fan. I liked “Sex on Fire”, but that’s it for me. 

I am going to quote my friend Tommy about Kings of Leon. I told him I listened to the new album and told him to listen because he would be surprised by some of the songs. He told me he would make a conscious effort to listen to it because the band are no longer kids anymore and is more mature. Now, I concur. When you listen to the lyrics, you can hear their maturity. They’re no longer singing about getting drunk and living that wild life.

The opening track is the title track, but the title is slightly different from the name of the record. It’s called “When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away.” immediately upon listening, the track got my attention because of the Jaws-like sound to it (Jaws the band, by the way.), you can also hear an electric guitar plucked throughout, which sits nicely rhythmically, and a xylophone, which I would never have associated with the band using. I then highlighted “100,000 People” to Tommy because it’s a slow plodder with a dreamy chorus that sounded Indie, and then a synthesiser that you would associate with the Killers, so you can imagine Brandon Flowers being all over it. Then, there is the “Golden Restless Age” because it sounds like the War on Drugs. Apart from that, the rest of the album sounds like Kings of Leon with more grown-up subjects. However, those three tracks I mentioned to Tommy caught my attention, and for those fleeting moments, I enjoyed listening to the band.

Because of those three tracks and the departure from talking about sex and whiskey all the time, there is something to look forward to in the future from the band. They have shown that they are ready to tackle more sobering issues and are willing to dabble with the sound. If the band makes something entirely out of the ordinary next time, they show they aim to be around for another decade. Who knows, they might get America on board and remove the stigma of “They’re a band for the Europeans with their Indie Rock.

Song recommendations: “Golden Restless Age”, “When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away”, “100,000 People”

8/10