NTTR - No Time to Review

Your Day Will Come is one of those albums where I can understand why critics are excited without really sharing the enthusiasm. Chanel Beads have a recognisable sound, and almost every track contains some detail that catches my attention, but that does not mean I enjoy the album very much as a collection of songs. “Drums Only” sets the problem immediately. The bass pulse is good, the strings and electronics gradually fill the space, and the production is certainly interesting. But once it ends, I remember the texture more than any melodic idea. That becomes a recurring pattern. “Song for the Messenger” works better because there is an actual refrain I can hold onto. The pedal steel gives it warmth, while Shane Lavers' loose vocal delivery keeps it from becoming too polished. NME hears the album as more disciplined and song-based than the previous record, and this is one of the tracks where I agree. “The Coward Forgets His Nightmare,” “Profane Break” and “JBL in the Fireplace” l...

Soft Control is a record I find easier to respect than to get excited about. The Afghan Whigs sound completely comfortable with what they have become, and there is nothing embarrassing about a band ageing into a less volatile version of itself. The problem is simply that removing some of the volatility also removes part of what used to make their songs memorable. “Jungle Roux” starts well. The groove is heavy enough, Dulli immediately sounds like Dulli, and the mixture of rock and soul still feels natural rather than retro. “House of I” continues in roughly the same space, but already I start noticing how much the vocal is doing. The instrumental framework is effective without being particularly distinctive. “Duvateen” is much better because the band stops trying to fill every space. The piano changes the emotional character, Dulli sings with less theatrical pressure, and the song feels vulnerable without asking me to admire its vulnerability. Pitchfork is particularly positive abou...

These Killing Times sounds bigger than Engine of Hell , but I do not think it is automatically better because of that. Bringing the band back gives Emma Ruth Rundle more range, more distortion and more movement, and that certainly helps after the extreme isolation of the previous record. Still, once the initial impact wears off, I am left with a set of songs that are more uneven than the production first suggests. “Powerless” is a good opener. The piano-led restraint and heavier chorus create a clear dynamic arc, and this is one of the places where the full-band setup immediately earns its place. “God’s Picture” is more delicate, with a warmer build and more vocal space, but I remember the atmosphere more than the melody. Kerrang also emphasizes how the song grows gradually rather than relying on immediate heaviness. “Anvil” is solid but less distinctive. The arrangement is detailed, the vocal performance is strong, and the darker spiritual tone suits Rundle, but it does not leave m...

Second Song is pleasant, fragile and occasionally very moving, but I think I was rewarding the mood too much before. Neil Young still knows how to create a space where very little can feel meaningful, but here that trick does not work consistently enough. “The Foggy Edge of Time” opens the album in a restrained way and sets the tone immediately. Piano, soft rhythm section, tired voice, very little urgency. It sounds honest, but I do not think the song itself is especially strong. “Day After Day” is better because the melody is clearer, and the seven-minute runtime gives the band enough space to make small changes around Young without forcing a climax. Pitchfork hears the album as deliberately hypnotic, and this is probably the best example of that approach actually working. “Earth Girl” is where I start losing interest. It is more compact, but also more ordinary. The title track is much stronger. At over eleven minutes, it repeats a simple progression for long stretches, but the at...

Estrus is easy to understand and quite easy to enjoy while it is playing, but I do not find much reason to return to most of it. The whole album is built for immediate impact: short songs, direct hooks, dense production, very little downtime. That makes the first listen efficient, but it also means the songs often feel finished before they have developed into anything memorable. “a lot of feelings, no solutions” works as an introduction because it states the idea of the album directly. Then “I’m your girl right?” gives me the first proper dance track, and I understand why some reviews respond strongly to it. Slant describes Estrus as Tove Lo’s most nightclub-focused record, and that is obvious very quickly. The beat is strong, the vocal is confident, the chorus does its job. But once the track ends, I do not feel much need to hear it again immediately. “if I could I would” is more interesting because the subject matter is darker and more personal, but at just over two minutes it f...

Ride Lonesome sounds beautiful almost immediately, and that was probably what made me too generous with it at first. Beck knows this territory extremely well. Acoustic guitars, soft bass, strings, restrained drums, psychedelic details, Nigel Godrich's immaculate mix. Nothing sounds wrong. But after a few listens I start wondering how much of the music remains once I separate the songs from the production. The title track establishes the problem quite clearly. It has the right atmosphere, Beck sounds appropriately weary, and the arrangement is elegant, but the melody and lyrics feel more generic than the mood around them. “Run Away” is much better. The fingerpicked guitar gives it an identifiable shape, and there is a simplicity to the song that feels natural rather than calculated. Pitchfork also points to that guitar figure as one of the small details that still make Beck interesting here. “In the Night” and “Failed Words” are where I start losing concentration. They are pleasa...