BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - October 2019

MUSiC ALBUM REVIEWS
FKA TWIGS
MAGDALENE
Young Turks
KACY & CLAYTON
Carrying On
New West Records
REFUSED
War Music
Spinefarm Records
WILCO
Ode to Joy
dBPM Records
CITY AND COLOUR
A Pill for Loneliness
Still Records
Tahliah “FKA twigs” Barnett conjures
images of a far-away planet
where cats purr melodies and you
can see music swirling through the
air like puffs of gossamer in the
wind.
The long-awaited follow-up to
LP1 offers her signature, ethereal
vocals paired with otherworldly,
emotional elements and goosebump-evoking
notes.
Smoky and silky, MAGDALENE
turns feminism on a dime in the
title track, about the “creature of
desire” when she sings: “A woman’s
work / a woman’s prerogative / a
woman’s time to embrace she must
put herself first.”
Rapper Future joins on the Hip
Hop anthem, “Holy Terrain,” adding
a modern twist on what’s bound to
become a classic release. Pitting
sweet, tinkling pianos against
coarse, rasping synths, the avantpop
album is the equivalent of a
robust glass of Cabernet and dark
chocolate in a candlelit bubble
bath.
Gloucestershire-born Barnett—
who reportedly got her nickname
from her penchant for cracking
her joints loudly—channels Kate
Bush’s strange lyrical style in tracks
that smack of heretics, conjuring
the hotly-debated Mary Magdalene,
who was either a prostitute
befriended by Jesus Christ himself,
his wife — or both.
Best Track: Cellophane
Kasia Gorski
Were the world a fair place, Saskatchewan
duo Kacy & Clayton
would be filling stadiums and rolling
fields at outdoor stages with their
traditional folk songs.
On their fifth album, Carrying
On, there’s a quiet, stoic strength in
singer Kacy Anderson and guitarist
Clayton Linthicum’s songwriting as
each musician plays off the other
to form a sum so much greater
than its parts. Anderson’s angelic
voice soars with a gossamer
quality that belies her young age,
while Linthicum plays the guitar
like he’s reading poetry, equal parts
virtuosic and melodic.
Carrying On stumbles open with
a drum roll on “The Forty-Ninth
Parallel,” which quickly sees Kacy
& Clayton luxuriously stretch into
their comfort zone with a lilting
rhythm and understated arrangement
that feels as airy and delicate
as an autumnal prairie sunset.
Immaculately produced by Wilco’s
Jeff Tweedy, each instrument and
vocal line has ample space to
shine on its own, coming together
in a seamless whole that feels
effortless.
Indeed, Anderson and Linthicum
are at the top of their game on
this record in part because of the
space afforded to each of them to
play traditional folk in an English
tradition that sounds almost too
good to be true.
Best Track: Carrying On
Sebastian Buzzalino
When The Shape of Punk to
Come came out in 1998 it was a
daring new sound for hardcore, a
blast of energy that messed with
genre conventions and took things
to a new level for angry guitar rock.
Following a 15-year hiatus, their
long awaited follow up, Freedom
(2015), didn’t quite deliver on that
same energy. There were new
sounds and experiments but something
as missing. War Music however,
sees Refused toning down the
experimentation, but bringing that
vital energy back into the mix.
Frontman Dennis Lyxzén has said
War Music is an album that would
“make more sense” for fans of The
Shape of Punk to Come and he isn’t
wrong. The anger is once again
palpable and the album has an explosive
quality that Refused proudly
wore on their sleeves back in the
day. A little less daring in some
ways with slick production taking a
bit of the edge off, but the grooves
are there and Lyxzén tackles some
great anti-capitalist themes.
While War Music isn’t as
genre-defying, it’s still nice to see a
band quoting Marx and screaming
“blood red until I’m fucking dead”
like they mean it.
Best Track: Blood Red
Graeme Wiggins
The title of Wilco’s eleventh record,
Ode to Joy is a bit deceiving, given
its downcast thematic content. But
the Chicago six-piece aren’t seeking
to make a record that’s hopeful,
or that radiates sunshine, and that’s
perfectly okay—the tracks are reflective
of the times, and it’s Wilco’s
call to stay afloat despite them.
Minimalism is present throughout,
with drums being the constant
unifying thread within the album.
Are they a subtle nod to protests
or revolution? Yes, but a restrained
one. Wilco doesn’t have to shout
to the rooftops about everything
wrong in the world because we
know well enough—we’re living it.
Ode to Joy starts off slow but
kicks up after “Everyone Hides” and
stays melodically upbeat. Led by
frontman Jeff Tweedy, the group
takes a stripped-back approach
to songs that split open to reveal
lyrics splayed out over acoustic
instruments. This is perfectly
captured on “Hold Me Anyway” and
“Love is Everywhere (Beware).” It’s
endearing, but there’s a desire for a
deeper exploration.
It’s an album with a message, but
by no means the next great American
record. And that’s kind of the
point. The songs lean less towards
politically charged commentary
on American life, instead weighing
more heavily on finding moments of
happiness when all seems lost.
Best Track: Hold Me Anyway
Natalie Harmsen
Dallas Green’s unmistakably
haunting vocals take center stage
on his sixth LP with 11 new songs
that release all his emotions with a
slow burn.
With sweeping melodies and
introspective lyricism, A Pill for
Loneliness is a step forward into
new musical territory for City and
Colour. The album is a departure
from the folksier, plaid-shirt-anda-guitar
vibe fans have come to
expect from Green on previous
albums. Although it strays into new
ground, it still serves up more of the
best Green has to offer.
As always, Green navigates the
uncertainty of relationships expertly,
and while the overall tone is
melancholy, there are breathtaking
moments where he finds some light
in the darkness. He does so delicately,
striking a balance of asking
difficult questions while pondering
familiar themes of despair and restlessness.
He knows we’re living in
turbulent times, and that consciousness
translates with every whisper
and guitar riff.
There’s still familiarity and
Green plays with it comfortably,
like putting on an old sweater. He
returns to his rock and roll roots
on a few guitar-driven tracks such
as “Imagination” but overall, it’s a
record that soars due to experimentation
thanks to tranquil synths
and reverberating piano that reside
throughout.
Best Track: Astronaut
Natalie Harmsen
26 BEATROUTE OCTOBER 2019