Album Reviews: Kacey Musgraves, Iceage, Red Vanilla

Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere
Mineola/Sulphur Springs, Texas

A rare universally adored voice in country that crosses audience spectrums most can only hope for, Kacey Musgraves doesn’t take her place lightly. Her lyrical playfulness sells it all here, as Musgraves blends what would best be described as vintage, even crooner sensibilities into a pop sound that gives her sound a blend of eras that’s its own kind of magic. With a bit of “Somethin’ Stupid” in the riffs of “Middle of Nowhere,” Musgraves brings a little windy swing to her title track, with her guitars feeling like musical rays of sun dancing in the breeze. There’s a fun, shadowy flavour to “Dry Spell,” as Musgraves laments a lack of late-night fun, and has a lot of cheeky moments explaining how she’s kept satisfied in the meantime. Though “Loneliest Girl” shifts to a more distinctly radio pop feel, Musgraves injects such personal feel to the music, and explores the joys of singledom for once, rather than only seeing it as a negative. Despite the shift to a more lounge singer pop in “Mexico Honey,” you can hear how instantly classic these chorus hooks are, as the lay into you like a song you’ve been listening to for decades, and feel like you could sing them back on a first listen.

James Leclaire – The Deal
Ottawa

For those trying to find a place where the organs meet a raw, folk-rock punch, James Leclaire does the trick. Catch him at Red Bird Live on June 11th! There’s a big swampy chug to “The Deal,” with the vocals roaring out like a giant ripped out of the bayou, with the horns and harmonies rising to meet this grandeur. “The Knot” swings with more of a Tom Waits walking through nature feel, as Leclaire explores what grounds us, and how we manage to grow without losing ourselves completely. The drums shoot way up in the mix for the stomping charge of “The Sound of You Gone,” where Leclaire gets one of his bigger choruses out of that haunting melody. The stark and nearly gospel feel of “If Ever” really lets Leclaire’s voice carry the song more than other tracks on this record, giving a wailing and longing ballad for the ages.

Iceage – For Love of Grace & the Hereafter
Copenhagen, Denmark

Few bands have been able to subtly evolve record by record while perfectly threading the needles of infectious and ambitious quite like Iceage. This whole record sounds amazing, blending sounds and a jazzy spirit into a melange that is constantly going for it. There’s a no-holds-barred fun to the endless hooks of “Ember,” as it mixes in bells, a rushing rock charge and a swirling, anxiety-inducing set of guitars to keep you jumping with joy one second, and bracing for impact the next. It’s magic how the band manages to shift to dance-pop energy so viciously on “Match Head Girl,” blending a Gang of Four-type funk with such a specific, chipper sound in that chorus burst. They touch more ’80s lustre on “No Fear,” with the bass at a blissful high, with the tone finessed to perfection, and the guitars layered into each other like fine machinery. This is truly seeing the band produced until every moment collides perfectly, but still has that friction and unease that makes it so fun to follow. Case in point, the touches of discordance all over “Star” that always contrast its addictive pop, with even the claps being painfully lo-fi and the shout-out lines feeling just off the cuff enough to never fall too deep into predictable pop clichés.

Thee Soreheads – Zorra (Single)
Montreal

Only a few months off from the release of their latest LP, the pyric fury of Montreal’s Thee Soreheads clearly is too much to leave waiting for another record. “Zorra” rips out the gate with buzzsaw riffs whose tones wouldn’t go amiss in a Priests or Amyl and the Sniffers track, but that melodically zig zag totally away from either band. The Spanish lyrics allow Maria Jimenez more spots to spike up at the ends of words here, though admittedly the most fun drop of the whole thing is the disinterested “Yo no, quiero” right before the solo that feels like abandoning anger for resignation. Despite that self-aware and cheeky dip in the energy, the rest of the track is the band at their most excited, blender of guitars and drums sound, like a ball of flame in musical form. You can hear the fun being had here, while the attitude is cranked into overdrive, resulting in a track that is as fun and satisfying to listen to as it must be to play.

Red Vanilla – Where I Should Be
Dundee, Scotland

It truly cannot be overstated how powerful dynamics can be, and the blend of heavy rock and stargazing pop that Dundee’s Red Vanilla puts out brings back a 90s crunch in the best way. By creating a duality in their sound with synths and massive guitars, they find a way to revitalize shoegaze without feeling like they’re rehashing anything. After a long, more ambient pop opening, the weight finally drops on “Electric Blue,” unleashing a torrent of heavy riffs like mountainous hammers from the sky. There’s a more distinct 90s Curve-meets-Lush feel on “Ask Her If She’s Happy,” with a more rising pop that lands more between Paramore and other mid-2000s rock in an excitingly cataclysmic way. They shift to airy synths on “Play Me Something New,” as you float through a dazzling trip through self-doubt and where a relationship fell apart. The straight, heavy guitar sound is a fun drive down on “Oh No, I Got Older,” bringing them the closest on the record to fellow Scottish rockers Honeyblood, while the way the harmonies dance off each other make both the verses and choruses burst with life. Something about this final track has the vivid colours of both an anime soundtrack and the visuals themselves, making for a truly explosive listen.