As he continues his endless creative run, Jack White’s non-stop touring and album releases have kept him busy. Though his latest effort has his regular growling charms, and a sense of exploration to it, these tracks feel more at home in a live setting, and can at times feel a little stripped down for his usual level of dynamic production. There’s a gospel-like chug and prophesising style of delivery on “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs,” and it lets White play with all the typical conventions of its blues direction and take it somewhere more ecstatic and weird as a result. Despite the more simplified centre to the writing on “Derecho Demonico,” the soloing gets more demented as the song goes, and slowly becomes its own separate beast within the song. The simple pleasures of the hard riffing on “Dollar Bill” makes the more rollicking rhythms and mix of White’s slide guitar and screams work really well here as a unique spin on sounds he’s used elsewhere, just never quite like this. There’s a more playful interplay between White and his band on “I Can’t Believe What I’m Hearing,” and he really opens up the sonic colours here in a way that calls to some Raconteurs, and gives more of a dynamic range to the song compared to other tracks on the record.
With each new record, Confidence Man set the pace with their live transition tracks, which give Janet Planet and Sugar Bones the perfect time to rest and leave the crowd a minute to get hyped up with their DJ counterparts. “Young London” appears to be the bass-cranked answer for their latest album, bringing a bit of 2 Unlimited-style energy not unlike its predecessor “Firebreak.” This time, however, the percussion is finessed to a frantic high while the bass is shaking the earth, and the mix of vocal drops blends the spirit of dozens of 90s classics with a DJ power that begs for a few “Lord have mercy” drops in a live set. “Young London” feels like a much better tone-setter for what’s to come and manages to give us that comedown loop while avoiding the inherent sample loop feeling they’ve approached before on interstitial tracks like this. There’s also a layer of blending in other electronic elements here that brings in the heritage of influences of their Fabric Presents album, which shows they’re looking to give their next record a much denser sound.
Playing to a sense of nostalgia can be risky, but when done with the right mix of awe, curation, and a voice of your own to reinvent it, you can still keep it fresh. On her latest record, Madonna makes an entire record out of remixing a few decades of dance energy, bringing a lot of classic tones, but using them in ways that don’t feel derivative. And while Madge’s vocals sometimes mismatch with the exact energy of the song at the moment, the flow, production and overall feel of this record are more fun and cohesive than her releases have been for some time now. You’re dropped into the album’s intense production style on the menacing “I feel So Free,” as you’re set between more dangerous modern electronic production and mixes of disco and 90s house. That catwalk shuffle kicks off on “Bring Your Love,” with Sabrina Carpenter playing like a feisty competitor or even that younger self you’re always trying to catch up to, in this rave anthem. There’s a retro fun to the mix on “Danceteria” as Madonna takes a kind of “Vogue”-like vocal approach to walking you through a full suite of artists that have inspired and fascinated her. It’s a testament to the righteous and non-stop flow of this record that “Love Sensation” feels like an intoxicating wave that keeps you dancing and grooving without ever fully having to remove itself from the larger sound of the record.
With a vintage pop-punk edge that gives you hooks and fire for days, Among Legends are cutting with a sharp knife on their latest record. The claws come flying out on “H/A/C/K” with the bass roaring and the drums stomping through their ripping and infectious choruses. With all the catch riffs that call back to pop-punk bands of the mid-aughts, “Sound the Alarm” begs to be sung along to live, before a mosh pit breaks out in its fury. The beats are an onslaught in the barrage-like rage of “Go On,” and it quickly finds a way to explode into something even bigger on those monumental choruses. Despite the subdued anger that sets “Floating Here for Years” off, the way the band spins elated excitement out of it on each refrain turns it into the true anthem of the whole record.
As she’s ridden into the echelons of powerful indie-pop songstresses faster than most, Suki Waterhouse has quickly found herself with a reputation to live up to. While her latest album is perhaps less dense sonically than her previous efforts, there’s more punch to the individual pieces on this record to make them pop. Beyond the cinematic layers of romance that cover “Back in Love,” Waterhouse crafts a dreamy and groove-driven ballad that feels ripped from a fun era of mid-2000s orchestral pop that hasn’t had a comeback in a while. There’s a more cathartic swell on “Any Man,” as Waterhouse rides the fat neon riffs of her track and lets even more bass explode in the undercurrents of this track. There’s an instantly catchy hook to that simple piano malaise on “Notting Hill” that feels like a lost classic, pulling you into a back-and-forth chant with Waterhouse right away. Though the verses leave you a little wanting on “When I Get Drunk (I Want You Boy),” there’s a wash of ethereal wonder on every chorus of smoky harmonies. And those post-chorus phone-call-like lines give a sultry power that’s hard to match.
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