Lindsey Jordan was 16 when she released her first EP as Snail Mail on her local punk label Sister Polygon Records. Two years later, she has graduated from high school and signed to Matador Records, home of Stephen Malkmus, Kurt Vile and Helium. Lush is Jordan’s debut full-length album, which she describes as being “more deliberate” than her previous work.
Here to be Heard, made by US film-maker and punk rocker William E Badgley, has such a juicy, pertinent story to tell that it never palls. Over 84 minutes, contemporary interviews and old footage build a two act drama that reveals The Slits to be one of the most underrated bands of their era.
Would it come as a terrible surprise to learn that this record is highly problematic? Well, duh. Kanye West is the sad clown narrating the global tragicomedy, a troll on an epochal scale, a bundle of contradictory drives all attempting to express themselves to reductio ad absurdum levels. Every time he seems to trip himself up and the world acts as if he's humiliated, it just spurs him on to go “uhuh, you think that's bad?
It can be hard to put distance between an artist and their behaviour. Woody Allen films present a problem for some, while I, for one, will never see Tommy Robinson’s impressionist landscapes in the same light again.
Ignore the associations that come with the name LUMP - this record is as far from leaden, dull and heavy as you can get. A dreamy, itchy collaboration between folk musicians Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of Tunng, LUMP features vocals and lyrics by Marling and music, sound effects and "textures" by Lindsay.
Many will remember Jennifer Warnes as the backing vocalist on a mighty handful of Leonard Cohen albums, and from his touring bands – she was on the 1972 and ’79 European jaunts. The latter was in support of Recent Songs, mocked at the time for its painting-by-numbers sleeve and for just about everything else.
Everything on this record changes shape. One moment in “RayCats” Far Eastern instrumentation is being glitched beyond recognition, then suddenly it sounds like something from a relaxation tape. “Same” shimmers and twists between 20th century avant-classical, Depeche Mode at their stadium peak and pure electronic sound.
Their ninth album should please Morcheeba fans. Take the song “Find Another Way”, for example. It rolls in like a haunted breeze, an acoustic/twangy combination preceding front-woman Skye Edwards, one of the sweetest-sounding vocalists in pop, and she still has it.
Few bands divide opinion quite like Snow Patrol. Their fans see their slow, intense anthems as cathartic friends. Others - myself included - tend to regard their music as an insidious, dreary presence. As Nicky Wire (of the Manics) once put it, "the same drab little thing, over and over". Wildness, their first album in seven years, is being billed as being something completely different - more passionate, and with a lighter touch.
Apparently, the shift in musical direction is down to various changes in the band members' lives. Singer Gary Lightbody has given up drinking. He's also been writing for Taylor Swift. Guitarist Johnny McDaid has been composing for the likes of Ed Sheeran and P!nk. But while evidence of these personal and musical developments can, indeed, be seen on Wildness, it's only on a few tracks
The best is the album's opener, "Life on Earth", a spritely tune full of Turin Brakes-style guitars and subtle harmonies. The arrangement is bright and catchy. Then there's "Heal Me", continues the acoustic-pop-rock vibe with hints of Alanis Morissette. Finally, "Wild Horses" is an honest-to-God stripped back, indie track.
Unfortunately, the rest of the LP is simply business as usual. "Empress" is full of Lightbody's trademark over-dramatic, breathy vocals. "Don't Give In" features lyrics that sound like they should be meaningful but aren't. The album's limpest moments are "What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?" and "Life and Death". The former sounds like Coldplay on Valium. The latter whimpers like a wounded animal.
Of course, some will say that I'm missing the point; that some of the album's themes - like drugs, alcohol and depression - require a certain weight. I'm not buying any of that. In fact, quite the opposite. If Wildness demonstrates anything, it's that Snow Patrol are actually capable of creating perfectly enjoyable AOR rock once they stop writing songs that feel like swimming through porridge.
Overleaf: Watch Snow Patrols video for "What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?"