on the pulse - 2023 - #21 - laufey, grouptherapy., geese, nourished by time, the national, kip moore, house of harm

House of Harm - Playground - So I’ve been hearing about House of Harm in the newest wave of post-punk, 80s synthpop, and darkwave, similar to acts like Korine, True Body, or Choir Boy, and there were solid pop fundamentals on their 2020 debut - indebted to the 80s and especially The Cure or early Flock of Seagulls, but the potential was there. And with this… it feels like an amplification of their debut: the reverbed guitars pick up more snarl with the occasional glossy shoegaze flair, the grooves are meatier, and the percussion is much heavier. And while the lyrical abstraction can get frustrating to untangle, the poetry nails the melodrama in the unspoken layers of playful connection and deception on the dance floor, there’s tangible romance. It can feel a bit too uniform for its own good, I wish more individual cuts popped, but if you’re a sucker for a kinetic gothic throwback, this is a lot of fun, check it out!

Kip Moore - Damn Love - Full disclosure, this was actually on my schedule to be covered months ago, based off the singles that showed Kip Moore back in that bombastic 80s Springsteen/Mellencamp Americana. And now that I’m finally here… it’s an improvement on his slower comedown album in 2020? The synths are more prominent - not always well-blended around his craggy vocals - the Americana touches feel more anthemic, and most importantly there’s usually more detail to Moore’s writing, leading to his most adventurous cuts to date, like the haunted ‘The Guitar Slinger’, the more personal ‘Another Night In Knoxville’ and ‘Sometimes She Stays’, and a great closer with ‘Micky’s Bar’. Yes, it runs a little long and he’s got a few broadly sketched songs that could easily be shipped to Nashville radio, but in the context of a hard-living road album, they make sense, and it’s pretty damn solid. If you missed it, worth a shot.

The National - Laugh Track - …look, I’ve been open on how if acts drop more than one album a year, more often they’d be better combining all the best songs into one project, and The National aren’t exempt, with this album embracing more twitchy rock tones and an even more familiar indie rock comfort zone. That translates to more defined drums and grooves - albeit the brittle programmed beats are still plentiful, never my favourite side of them - and a few great songs playing to formula. ‘Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces)’, ‘Dreaming’, the title track with Phoebe Bridgers, ‘Crumble’ with Roseanne Cash - exploring the anxiously absurd possibilities driving towards rock bottom… and then second guessing before it all burns down. But there are fewer striking hooks and the extended runtime can have the melancholy jams drag on, so… for fans of The National, it can work, it’s good, but it’s a sister album of b-sides, take that as you will.

Nourished By Time - Erotic Probiotic 2 - So this was a debut album that really came out of left-field before it started getting critical acclaim and year-end list considerations, where it might be a difficult sell: 80s freestyle, blended in with hazy hypnagogic pop and R&B, the sort of project that would feel simultaneously from a different time but very contemporary. So I wanted to check it out… and this might be one of the most compelling and strange albums I’ve heard in recent memory, sitting at the intersection between Genesis Owusu at his smoothest and Alex Cameron at his most dazed, with a dash of PM Dawn for good measure, music that in certain circles would become a meme and appreciated ironically for how much it doesn’t fit within genre conventions… until you realize it works. And even then I’m not sure if that’s an adequate description of what Nourished By Time is doing here: the mix is often clean and impeccably balanced with glistening percussion, burbling bass, and distant spikes of guitar careening through it, but the goopy keyboards spill over the mix to create a vibe that isn’t quite psychedelic or vaporwave, but isn’t prim or restrained either; the piano work is impressive amidst the wheedling blur of effects, it feels intentional, but also ever so slightly ‘off’, the sort of soft-focus chintzy feel reserved for the forgotten and deeply strange 80s R&B that didn’t have a budget and wound up in forgotten crates of vinyl… or rather, on old tapes. And that odd feeling is only amplified by the vocals, which are honestly tough to describe: a bit of a lounge or vintage smooth R&B baritone, but coaxed through delivery where passion and soul is more important than precise technique, and for as often as his voice spills into non-lyrical runs or where you just can’t make out clear words, you can tell that’s intentional as well, pulling from oft-forgotten traditions of Black music that was allowed to be more freeform and abstracted. I was tempted to call it impressionistic, given how freeform the writing can be, almost like thoughts that have not fully coalesced… but that’s not really true either, because looking into the lyrics this album can feel shockingly direct, initially dealing with depression, the collapse of relationships, and struggling to survive under late capitalism, not so much a rallying cry but a wry shrug to keep stumbling forward; in drawing the Genesis Owusu comparison, he feels caught in systems outside of his control, but in a comparison to someone like billy woods who can be just as strange also nails the unkempt drudgery and confusion of trying to understand it while noticing every crack with some tangible humour. And I think the humour is important to highlight, because to certain audiences this could come across like amateurish sadsack music to laugh at… which misses the reality he’s laughing too. And this is where I tell you that despite all odds, this is insanely catchy music, a low-key but remarkably sticky pop melodic sensibility underpins this album and with a runtime just over a half hour makes it incredibly easy to revisit. Not gonna lie, I kind of love this full-length debut - I checked out the EP that precedes this, a pair of nocturnal synthpop grooves where I was reminded most of mid-80s Depeche Mode - but the fact he could expand into such a fully textured and unique album is utterly wild. Once again I’m late to this, but it could very well be one of the best of the year - a late surprise to be sure, but you’ll not hear anything like this in 2023, check it out!

Geese - 3D Country - Full disclosure, Geese was a Brooklyn act I missed in 2021 in the wave of nervy, challenging experimental rock that dropped that year - and let’s be fair, so did a lot of folks, but I probably shouldn’t have. Going back to Projector, its shouty, jangling post-punk was pretty good, but I had heard that 3D Country was a much bigger swerve… which is certainly true, because 3D Country is a strange beast to quantify. The closest way I can describe it is taking that nervy post-punk edge and slamming it straight into the narrow mid-70s window when progressive rock had more crossover with blues, boogie, southern rock, and even funk; think David Coverdale-era Deep Purple or Lynyrd Skynyrd at their wonkiest, with all of the unchecked ego and horniness, but more twang, wild compositional shifts, and existential nightmare fuel. And one thing you’ll start wondering is just how seriously you should buy this: looking at the psychedelic time-and-space bending weirdness of the lyrics drenched in apocalyptic imagery set against an era-appropriate performance of masculinity in classic rock or southern rock, they seem self-aware about how utterly ridiculous and self-serving this arrogance is, staring into oblivion and societal collapse in the face of very real catastrophes like of climate change alongside historical reflections that could feel like the end times… but there’s also a bizarrely optimistic tone in the framing that certainly wants to leverage the power of that era, it’s odd. It’s amplified by frontman Cameron Winter’s vocals, which have an exaggerated Viagra Boys-esque timbre of overselling all of it to imply a parody, but there’s also enough that reminds me of singers like Matt Bellamy of Muse or Anthony Kiedis or Julian Casablancas in his nasal belting that could be just playing it straight camp, especially compared to how that voice may have worked better on Projector. It leaves me with the weird feeling that a Brooklyn hipster band is doing a classic rock pisstake just to stand out, which is only amplified by the swaggering unreality of the content, but that feels a little unfair, especially if you remember the weirder conceptual crannies of that era - I think my larger issue is that despite Geese’s desire to amp up the hooks and flair, ratchet the melodic kookiness up to eleven with some admittedly warm and solid production from indie veteran producer James Ford, it just doesn’t feel as sticky or compelling, a lot of flash but not a lot of soul or a strong emotional core. That’s not saying this is bad by any means - way back in my review of Fishin for Fishies by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard I’ve talked about my mixed emotions on this era of classic rock, and Geese are certainly a fun band who have found a unique sound in this era for those who don’t know the callbacks, and those who do will certainly have a blast, I know a few classic rock nerds who would adore this - but this hit an odd note for me and hasn’t quite stuck the landing, especially as the back half seems to get way more uneven. Certainly an interesting listen, I think it’s decent… probably not one I’ll revisit much, though.

grouptherapy. - i was mature for my age but i was still a child - So yes, this is absolutely a case of me trying to find underground rap where the lyrics are fully available, common trends are at least partially dodged, and there might even be some critical acclaim, so enter grouptherapy., comprised of SWIM, TJOnline and Jadagrace, a trio out of Los Angeles of former child actors so thoroughly disillusioned with the entertainment industry they decided to make a rap group - and unlike you might expect with their possible connections, they appear to still be independent and pretty good for it! Their buzz first started materializing around 2020 with the mixtape there goes the neighbourhood., in which the BROCKHAMPTON comparisons arrived in earnest for their free-flowing family structure, loose humour, and embrace of quirkier pop swerves, and now with a proper full-length debut… well, I get the BROCKHAMPTON comparison with the heavier use of autotune, the confrontational bangers juxtaposed with the emotive pop angst, how it all feels ever so slightly offkilter, the open queer text, but with Jadagrace taking more leads showing up way more often to deliver a sweeter R&B touch to the hooks, I’m reminded a lot more of the rap groups that had their women members who could rap just as well play the pop/R&B frontwoman for crossover, and I’m not sure it feels as unique, even if TJOnline sings a lot as well and he’s got a good voice with solid interplay. The sound palette is different, though - you get some mainstream trap touches that feel middle-of-the-road, but at its best the production draws on spare and slinkier west coast grooves reminiscent of Odd Future with several deliberate throwbacks to 2000s R&B swagger, as well as faster drum’n’bass and even a bit of pop rock to ramp up a jittery dance floor vibe that seems to amplify the underlying anxiety behind the deflective flexing and horniness. Because especially in the ballads it’s exposed that these three are all theater kids are heart and while they may have found some money and success early on, they are so alienated from that exploitative system that they have to find their own release, even away from the folks that might want to help but that they can’t trust. That said, while this has been getting compared to Saturation, it doesn’t have that project’s natural flow or structure - especially on the back half the sequencing is really slapdash - and for as smooth as these grooves can be, both SWIM and TJOnline perhaps aren’t as sharp as rappers yet to truly get in pocket; even if sliding off beat was intentional to amplify the uncanny vibe, it doesn’t always feel as effective as it should be. That combined with running a little longer and thinner in terms of distinctive detail than it should has the feel of a full-length debut, and a pretty good one. I’m not quite as wowed as I want to be, but there’s a lot of kinetic flair and potential on display that just needs the right focus, and unlike BROCKHAMPTON I don’t imagine this trio is in any hurry to sign and get eaten alive by a major label! So yeah, if you’re looking for a loose, accessible, and very likable rap album that I was way too late to hearing this year, this’ll fit the bill!

Laufey - Bewitched - The odd thing about acts that blow up on TikTok isn’t just that it can feel unpredictable, but it can feel so detached from historical context. So when Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and singer Laufey started showing up on my radar and amassing critical acclaim alongside TikTok traction, I was initially perplexed… but then I heard her 2022 full-length debut Everything I Know About Love and got it pretty quick. A clear acolyte of the tasteful smooth pop jazz of the 50s - think Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday - but who wrote and produced all her own work, the easy comparison is Norah Jones but Laufey struck me as a more interesting, personal and detailed writer, clearly inspired by modern pop songstresses, which left me curious at her next step. And with Bewitched… oh, I know I’m not going to make any friends with this, but it feels like a sidestep or even a step down from her debut, even if I would agree with the majority of points of praise for it. The arrangements are bigger, more diverse and lush, there’s some slinky bossa nova touches, Laufey’s vocal presence on the mic has only grown more refined and confident - again, she sung, wrote, and produced all of this, the technical craftsmanship is legit stunning! But it isn’t just that her arrangements feel bigger, they also feel broader, more traditionally “accessible” as a whole and that feels like a slight misstep. Her debut was a coming of age album, sure, but it was full of idiosyncratic romantic details in the lyrics that felt uniquely hers, which gave it so much character; this album is full of love and heartache and that sense of detail feels eased back to play to more general sentiments. And I get the rationale - it plays her more directly in lineage with her influences and this particular tradition - but it makes the mistake of assuming that audiences will not relate to the specifics of her story, which is all the more pronounced when you recognize on a sonic level, the soft-focus ballads of this album are playing very much to formula and thus the comparison to her influences becomes more pronounced. And when you pair that with a longer runtime and how the album seems to have less variance in tempo and content, it can start slipping into the background when there isn’t a few odd mixing and mastering choices that feel like weird missteps especially against the rest of the soundscape. Now I think part of my frustration is that since I listen to a lot of indie country, this vocal jazz tradition isn’t as distant - the immediate comparison to mind was Courtney Marie Andrews, but there are a decent number of throwback songstresses with similar vibes - so I’m not discovering a ‘new era’ of this sound at the same time the rest of TikTok did, and that’s also not to say that this is bad - I love the gorgeously tragic ‘Second Best’ and ‘California and Me’, the spare, lonely angst of ‘Promise’, and the slinky moral ambiguity of ‘Haunted’! But I do find it a little less interesting than her debut - extremely tasteful, well-performed and well-produced, I’m actually glad I’m late to this because for a holiday atmosphere it feels inspired - but in the interest of mass appeal I don’t think it helps Laufey stand out, I hope they can correct that quickly. Really nice album… I wish I was more enchanted.