Album Reviews: Lorde, HAIM, Frankie Cosmos

Lorde – Virgin
Auckland, New Zealand

Returning to a louder and more bashful dance sound, Lorde feels like she’s entered a personally reflexive era and matured in how she approaches her music. While the album does feel like it often restrains itself too much, particularly in not letting choruses combust those extra few notches in songs that earn it, there’s so much intensely intimate lyricism here that it offsets other pulled punches. The album opens on a slow-blooming dance celebration on “Hammer” as Lorde reflects on growing up, finding identity, exploring sexuality, and loving the journey, while emulating some of that growth and erotic satisfaction in the vocals and mix. The angry hindsight of “What Was That” echoes through the time-travel-esque production, as Lorde breaks down every important moment and possible lie in a mounting, blown-out dance explosion. The tender vulnerability of “Man of the Year” gives intensity to this song as every musical vocal and rise in the mix amps up Lorde’s reflection of how she sees herself, as it grows more powerful and respectful of herself. “Favourite Daughter” taps into a truly personal tale of trying to impress parents, and live your life at the same time, threading the needle of the album’s sonic highs and emotional power into one raw ballad.

Lammping – Never Never
Toronto

Mixing elements of hip hop and psych, Toronto’s Lammping mixes years of industry know-how into one fresh project that keeps delivering sweet sounds. “Never Never” sets things off on a desert and horn trip, with the beats and whistles adding a very Gorillaz-like layer to the sound, while the bass and vocals keep it firmly down its own jazz-oriented path. Halfway between something you’d hear on Nickelodeon and an old ’50s record, “Coconut” is ear candy for the ages, blending in that ’90s warped tone just enough to lend it a third layer of nostalgia. The same goes for the keyboard-driven “0 and 1,” as it swirls through a few different sonic dimensions just riffing. “Won’t Back Down” falls through a similarly demented sound, as the background wails feel like cheers pulled out of hell, and the otherwise upbeat guitar lines get drawn into a black hole like echo to make them feel just off in the best way.

Haim – I Quit
Los Angeles

Haim went from hyped band to industry darlings so quickly, it seems every few years their mesh of talented friends and new ideas seems to multiply exponentially. Annoyed, horny and unafraid to say things bluntly, this album sees the sister trio using their musical knowhow to shape emotion and make a lot of complex work seem simple and deceptively easy to swallow.  The raw lust is flailing out on the loud and proud “All Over Me,” that takes a rather chaotic and wild production, and makes it all seem easy thanks to the sisters’ smooth performance and sunny glow. Though it melodically suffers from sticking into its loop too much, “Relationships” runs on a sublime sound, masterful vocals, and a great extended breakdowns that shows just how broadly talented the sisters are as a pack and individually. In one of their fastest tracks to date, “Take Me Back,” rides between soaring bubble-gum and weirdly experimental folk at times, for an unexpected twist in the record that brings spoonfuls of comfort in its later moments. The sunburnt guitar growls on “Lucky Stars” borders on shoegaze at times, giving the track a kind of otherworldly, ethereal-but-singed sound.

Alien Boys – Live at Rain City Recorders
Vancouver, British Columbia

While not every live album captures the excitement of seeing a show or even gets a good sound out of the band, Alien Boys’ latest live EP manages to do both.  After a frenetic opening set of shrieking guitars, “Night Mayor” roars to life, buzzing with L7-like fury and a brutal guitar-vocal combo that sets the album ablaze. “Punching Concrete” oscillates between bouncy and chugging, constantly manifesting a mix of menace and destruction at every turn. Bringing some extra rasp and blaring fuzz to a PJ Harvey classic, “Down by the Water” never loses the original’ slinking allure, and rather ups the ante and sends it in a few extra directions for good measure. “Just Another Piece of Acid” rounds things out on a torrent of thrashing pain and unrelenting drive from the band calling out gross men in a ferocious guitar onslaught.

Frankie Cosmos – Different Talking
New York City

Greta Kline, aka Frankie Cosmos, has never lost that shimmer and hopeful light in her music that makes it such a delight to listen to, and this album feels like a ray of sun in dire times. Bringing her usual dreamy sound, while delivering a whole new set of stories, Kline keeps us smiling on all fronts. Even in the bittersweet chug of “Pressed Flower,” Kline is able to instil all the joy and excitement of the long-gone romance, and make you remember the good time before briskly moving on. The gloomy hover of the intro of “Bitch Heart” lets that guitar come in like a burning blade, and the growing shift between the drums and different guitars feel like the human range of emotions rebooting in real time. The swirling synths lend such a kaleidoscopic beauty to “One! Grey! Hair!” that it sends the driving guitar track to a more spacey, and childlike space, full of wonder, while still carrying all the weight of adulthood in its bones.  Meanwhile, the lo-fi drive gives a hilarious charm to “Vanity,” as Kline and co. have a shockingly groovy and sonically lush time goofing off together, and create pop magic as a result.

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