Orville Peck - Beyonce - MARINA and the Diamonds - Julia Holter - Perfume Genius - Alex Cameron: Lilliputian Album Roundup #4

    

                       

Pony - Orville Peck (2019)

Country 

8/10

This boi got a voice that could lullaby a bison come noon-up(?) The instrumentation is...nice, but sometimes it feels like the softer production is betraying Orville's vocal range. The Masked Ranger can hit booming power notes (going full Whitney Houston on "Hope to Die") as easily as sweeping melodies ("Dead of Night", "Roses Are Falling"). There's a lot of classic country hits infused with modern sensibilities: "Buffalo Run", "Kansas (Remembers Me Now)" and "Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)". It's enough to make a young man...

Another flaw is a small stretch of weaker songs in the middle, but the beginning of this album yanks you into the starlit prairie night and ends with some legitimate tearjerkers, especially the bittersweet "Nothing Fades Like the Light". Hopefully Mr. Peck stays around as a presence in Country music for a long time.

Fave Tracks: Dead of Night, Buffalo Run, Kansas (Remembers Me Now), Roses Are Falling, Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call), Hope to Die, Nothing Fades Like the Light

Lemonade - Beyonce (2016)

Alt-R&B

9/10

Jay-Z, you fucked up. You fucked up big time.

Many people are adulterers. This is not an excuse for infidelity, but if you're going to cheat on someone, make sure they aren't one of the biggest icons in the pop/R&B cultural sphere, with enough clout and money that they can recruit Jack White to do their own take on a Led Zeppelin song. Bad move.

Beyonce's rage and heartbreak channels through in so many interesting avenues on this project. There's the aforementioned Zeppelin-infused Hard Rock stunner, "Don't Hurt Yourself". Then there's the badass Country "Daddy Lessons" mixed with a lil' New Orleans brass for spice (the genre mix no doubt a reference to Beyonce's heritage she references later in the album, being of Texas/Louisiana stock). "Sandcastles" is a sad piano ballad in the vein of sad piano ballads we're all familiar with, but Beyonce's expertise elevates it into a gut-wrenching experience.

 "Freedom" is a Soul/Gospel firecracker that affirms Beyonce's agency on multiple levels: as a wife, a human being and a black woman. Then the finale "Formation" is such an interesting take on Girl Power; it's a place where some artists fall into cliche platitudes, but this song has such weight thanks to Beyonce and an experimental instrumental (what the hell is making that 'boing'ing sound? I love it). The totality of the album makes me appreciate songs like "Hold Up" and "Sorry", songs that I didn't vibe with when they were all over the radio, but are such fitting pieces in the project as a whole. And check out that list of features: Jack White, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, James Blake.

This is such an awe-inspiring work borne out of Beyonce's rage, captured into a diverse narrative. Beyonce is at her best in this hellish fury.

Fave Tracks: Don't Hurt Yourself, 6 Inch, Daddy Lessons, Sandcastles, Freedom, All Night, Formation

Electra Heart - MARINA and the Diamonds (2012)

Dance Pop

6.5/10

What makes this album special is its station as a historical musical document, not necessarily as an album. It's a fine album, I had a fun time listening to it. I don't know how often I'd revisit it, if at all, but it is quite a trip to find something that so perfectly encapsulates the sound of 2012 Pop. I'm shocked that "Primadonna" wasn't the No. 1 song of 2012. Electra is musical archaeology that shows the direction that both established and upcoming pop artists would embark upon during Obama's second term. I hear a lot of Lady Gaga, Lana Del Ray, and Melanie Martinez, as well as Charli XCX and Lorde when they were still competing for Top 40 spots. If you want a 2012 Pop review, whether for nostalgia or academic purposes, try this one out.

I have listened to "Primadonna" over 20 times in the past two days. Help

Fave Tracks: Bubblegum Bitch, Primadonna, Homewrecker, Hypocrates

Have You in My Wilderness - Julia Holter (2015)

Art Pop / Baroque Pop

5/10

i dont understand art pop

Fave Tracks: That one song that gets jazzy, I guess? That has some interesting parts

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately - Perfume Genius (2020)

Art Pop / Art Rock

9/10

Wait a second, I do understand Art Pop! Especially when Art Pop manifests as one of the most romantic albums of the year, an angelic serenade about intimacy and vulnerability to the point that it feels kinda religious. 

How else do you talk about Art Pop? 

Izza....lovely! Go listen to him talk about love so you can feel things.

Fave Tracks: Describe, Without You, Jason, On the Floor, Your Body Changes Everything, Moonbend, Borrowed Light

Miami Memory - Alex Cameron (2019)

Neo-Classic Rock

8.5/10

You want Bruce Springsteen music with the sleaziness of a Dorian Electra character for the Internet Age? You got your wish. This is such an 80's rock album, and could be mistaken for one if it wasn't for the meme-era language. You got lyrics about gaslighting, eating ass, taking the red pill, political correctness, Elon Musk and all the horrible Internetisms that torment us all the time, wrapped in a layer of sleaze so thick you can practically feel the grease and oil coming off of this thing. "Stepdad" is about your stepdad. "Miami Memory" is about being a romantic sex weirdo. "Far from Born Again", one of my favorite songs of 2019, is perhaps the only song about being a horrible piece of garbage. It's about how sex workers are really dope actually! And if you don't approve of them them, it's cuz' you're a loser.

"Gaslighting" is about yes. "Bad for the Boys" is a sequel to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town" after all the boys have turned into failed and bitter middle-aged misogynists. "End is Nigh" is about wanting to have a weekend romance because the world is going to die holy fuck just somebody hold me. And "Divorce" is a this soaring, powerful jam about being an idiot who wants a divorce. That chorus is amazing, "Well I got friends in Kansas City with a motherfuckin' Futon couch! If that's how you wanna' play it/".

Unfortunately, the last two tracks on the album are not thrilling. They're fine as Classic Rock thangs, but they don't have the thematic power or Internet shenanigans that the rest of the album possesses. But this album is still a good-ass time about being a big loser. 

Fave Tracks: Stepdad, Miami Memory, Far From Born Again, Gaslight, Bad for the Boys, End is Nigh, PC With Me, Divorce