This article explores several recent albums that transcend fleeting trends and offer lasting musical appeal. From Charli XCX's dance-pop to Kim Gordon's experimental rock, the review highlights artists who create music that resonates beyond the immediate hype.
The death of the water cooler moment has been exaggerated. Social media is actually causing the opposite, namely a relentless uptick in events that everyone is supposedly talking about — “the discourse”, in the cod-academic language of cultural commentary. The risk is overexposure, like the blanket coverage of Charli XCX’s Brat. But the album cuts through the surrounding noise.
It hones the singer’s vanguardist dance-pop to its sharpest point while conveying a more rounded sense of personality than previous records. It will outlast the discourse. Copenhagen singer Erika de Casier specialises in a delicately balanced form of R&B, knowing but not arch, slinky without being too smooth. Still makes fine use of this carefully formulated approach. De Casier murmurs about romantic ups and downs, a quiet register for strong feelings. The beats are arranged with the style and spaciousness of a chic modern apartment. Old flames smoulder (“Ex-Girlfriend”), capricious boyfriends are confronted (“Ice”), possessive partners are rejected (“My Day Off”). A seductive thread of humour runs through the storytelling. We should not cosset rock bands: that is not the rock-and-roll thing to do. But the urge to coddle grows as life for bands gets tougher (high touring costs, shuttered venues, lack of revenue from recordings). English Teacher’s victory in the Mercury Prize for their debut This Could Be Texas therefore deserves a cheer. But the album neither demands nor requires a charitable ear. The Leeds quartet make twisty but not over-elaborate songs with smart lyrics and a questing spirit. Musical quality carries its own reward — although it merits others too. “Cement the brand”, Kim Gordon intones on The Collective. Her album’s anti-consumerist, square-life-sucks messaging is on-brand too, for it is exactly what we would expect from the US experimental rock grandee, formerly of Sonic Youth. But there is nothing routine about her second solo albu
MUSIC REVIEWS ALBUMS CHARLI XCX KIM GORDON EXPERIMENTAL ROCK DANCE-POP
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