Michael Cera Palin - I Don't Know How To Explain It (2018)

So Sheryl Crow definitely needs to listen to this entire EP, and not just because Michael Cera Palin covers her song "If I Makes You Happy".

It's airy, built around sounds that could be aromas. It's subtle, but also packs a sneaky punch.

The bass lines, the tone of the guitars. The shifty melodies. It's just that much of a superb release. I'm not bothered to admit that I may have listened to the albums a bit too many times, but who can blame me?

The trio from Atlanta, GA, with 2 EPs under their musical belt, deliver a sonic cocktail of brazen hymns, an angst-filled homage to emo heartbreaks. The only downside to this is that it's an EP. Just five lonely songs that go by way too fast, but hey, there's always another spin.

95/100

Get it from their Bandcamp!

Track Listing:

1. Portrait of a Woman on a Couch With Cats

2. Southern Comfort

3. If It Makes You Happy

4. Admiral

5. Go Home. Play Music. Feel Better,

Chatterbot Records

2/2/2018

Pale Waves - Who Am I? (2021)

Pale Waves is now asking the poignant question of identity we all probably ask ourselves at some point in our lives. Who Am I?, the sophomore record by this Manchester-based quartet, abandons the shadowed The 1975's 80s revival gimmick for a course closer to the early Avril Lavigne years of the 00s.

With lead singles "Change" and "She's My Religion" released in 2020, and follow-ups "Easy" and "Fall to Pieces" already leading this year, the album contains songs that could've easily been ripped directly off Lavigne's Under My Skin in 2004. That's not to say the entirety of this release is an imitation- after all, it is the best form of flattery. Baron-Gracie's vocal range expands here, particularly in the chorus of "She's My Religion", a song that also gifts us with some of the most experimental drumming Doran has done on record.

Lyrically, it's gentle. It speaks openly of Heather's struggles these past few years as well as falling in love during quarantine times, but it presents it in a helping that's infinitely more palatable. Although the messages aren't overly sophisticated, they appear honest, and words like "Loving you is easy" off the 4th track, "Easy", resonate with you even after the music has stopped playing.

90/100

Track Listing:

1. Change

2. Fall to Pieces

3. She's My Religion

4. Easy

5. Wish U Were Here

6. Tomorrow

7. You Don't Own Me

8. I Just Needed You

9. Odd Ones Out

10. Run To

11. Who Am I?

Dirty Hit Records

2/12/21