Only a handful of weeks left! Time to cram in what I can! Today I have releases from Atmosphere, the War on Drugs, and audiobooks! READ!

Atmosphere – WORD?
(October 8, 2021)

I can’t believe I’ve never actually listened to Atmosphere before. They’ve been on my radar long before I even cared about hip-hop, since they’re associated with the “alternative” or “underground” scene, and god knows those particular words spoke to me at a young age.

I’m not a stranger to their Rhymesayers label, being very well-acquainted with Brother Ali and Eyedea/Abilities. There’s a unique production style to the music that comes out of the Minneapolis area that you can pinpoint right away. It’s not limited to genre, either. You can hear it in Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, even some of Prince’s stuff. Similar to Detroit, it’s this cold and sparse Midwestern grittiness. Atmosphere has a good name, because atmosphere is the first thing I think of. It sounds like Slug and Ant are wearing big, puffy coats and winter beanies. You can probably see Slug’s breath while he raps.

And, also a trademark of Rhymesayers, Atmosphere attempts to seize whatever existential or identity crisis needling them at the moment with bared emotional openness. In the case of WORD?, it’s the crisis of getting old. Tracks like “Something” (“I’m closing in on fifty and my fashion is flagrant/I’m officially too old for these pants to be sagging“) and “Clocked” (“Time’s killing us, time’s killing us/We killing time and time’s killing us“) appear to simultaneously express regret and acceptance while providing some, dare I say, upbeat rhythms? Reminds me of Aesop Rock’s trajectory as an aging hip-hop icon as well. I like it when rappers get old and start spitting rhymes about AARP newsletters and Muselix.

My only nagging gripe is that the main beat from “Distances” is lifted from the chorus of Busdriver’s “Pompous Posies! Your Party’s No Fun” from 2007’s RoadKillOvercoat. Is this just a case of both artists sampling from the same original source material? It’s hard to find this kind of shit online. I’m too tuned in to this kind of thing, perhaps when it comes to hip-hop I have to let it go.

I like this though! Finally, an excuse to dip into the rest of Atmosphere’s large catalog.

Early Verdict:

The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
(October 29, 2021)

I like the War on Drugs, but I don’t love the War on Drugs. I found both 2014’s Lost in the Dream and 2017’s A Deeper Understanding grossly overrated, nothing more than lush pastiches of Americana that were heavily drawn from, if not completely ripped off from, the likes of Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen. Just this very down-to-Earth, warm, affable roots rock. A little of it is totally amazing, much of it is merely enjoyable, some of it even a pretty dull. I get it, I just never saw the big deal.

And maybe it’s not a big deal. But after spending the better part of two weeks revisiting and devouring Adam Granduciel’s five-album War on Drugs discography, I think he may have touched on something special here with I Don’t Live Here Anymore. I can’t put my finger on it, other than that all the musical ideas are presented more succinctly and confidently? There’s nothing on this new album that I haven’t heard already as I listen as far back as Wagonwheel Blues. Those layered pianos and lovely guitars and folksy vocals and hooky arpeggios and descending thirds were always there before, but now they’re there…on purpose? They’re there with some force. I find it more gripping and addictive! And, as I weave through the five albums, I come back to this one more often. It feels more familiar than the rest even know I’ve only had mere days to absorb the music.

I think what War on Drugs does best for me, and even more so with this new album, is give me elements to look forward to when I revisit to a song. On “Harmonia’s Dream”, it’s those blaring synth notes that don’t show up until the bridge. On “Victim”, it’s that abrasive psychedelic guitar. On the title track, it’s the female backing vocals from guest pop group Lucius.

Almost all the songs have something, and between certain songs that particular something might be a similar something, but one thing is for certain: having something to look forward to within an album as you’re listening to the album is the hallmark of an instant classic! And I have a lot more to say (which is a good sign, too), but that’s enough for now.

Early Verdict:

audiobooks – Astro Tough
(October 1, 2021)

I became acquainted with this duo when their debut cracked the top ten in the Quietus’ 2018 Albums of the Year list. Like much of what the Quietus loves, I found their debut Now! (in a minute) intriguing after one listen, pleasant after another listen, and then thin and forgettable from listen #3 and beyond. I’m always frustrated by this. What are the Quietus always hearing in their obscure list of top albums every year that I simply do not?

Well, audiobooks (lowercase, because why not?) is still on my radar, and when Astro Tough dropped at the beginning of October I was motivated to give them another fair shot. It’s still the two of them doing the same thing: David Wrench handling the music, Evangeline Ling handling the lyrics and the talking and the singing. Think of them as Dry Cleaning‘s stranger cousin. Both groups employ weaving surreal narratives around catchy punk-influenced beats, but where Dry Cleaning’s musical tapestry draws from post-punk, grunge, alt-rock, and noise rock, audiobooks draws from dance-punk, club, techno, and trance. In either case, it’s a winning formula, and this time around I find an audiobooks album increasingly more enjoyable with each listen instead of the other way around.

The Dry Cleaning connection is immediately obvious with the opening track “The Doll”, where Ling speaks a deadpan story about a little girl who lost her doll, and then the ensuing absurd 911 call that follows, which culminates into a repetition of “So hard/So hard/So hard/…/To let go“. But the metaphor isn’t even the good part. Right after the little girl cries because her doll is gone, Ling says “I had just finished digesting dinner in a Thai restaurant/I was there on my own, comfort eating“, completely exasperated that she’s even involved. Even while empathizing.

But the real fun in Astro Tough is that not every song is like “The Doll”. “LaLaLa It’s the Good Life” is the most obnoxious dance song in recorded history, complete with the worst autotuned chorus ever attempted, and it’s glorious. “Blue Tits” digs up Mark E. Smith’s decomposing bones and slowly shakes, rattles, and rolls them. The part where Ling squeals “But they want your big ass in their faaaaaace!” reminds of The Fall during “New Face in Hell” when Smith yells “New face in hell” so loud that the speakers can’t contain it? Yeah, that. Sure, they fall back on some tricks that work, but the end result is so damn bizarre that the charm itself should keep you going for a few listens before you even realize how good the actual music is.

So, what’s my point? This is the Tom Writes About Stuff “Band to Watch Out For in 20xx”, that’s what! This album took the formula of their debut and improved upon it in every way! Astro Tough will show up somewhere on the Quietus year-end list or I’ll eat my hat with ketchup.

Early Verdict: