Bite Down on the Untamed Tigers, Daniel

Albums in heavy rotation from mid-February to the end of March or so...

I decided I’d better write about these albums before I get too much farther listening to the big releases of Apr. 5 and beyond, which is already more than 2 weeks ago. The good news is, 2024 continues to deliver the goods.

The Black Crowes/Happiness Bastards - I didn’t expect much from a Black Crowes album in 2024, which comes 15 years after the last and a gap that was filled with acrimony between the Robinson brothers (lead singer Chris and guitarist Rich). I’m glad I didn’t expect much, because that made it all the better when it turned out to be pretty good. I feel like opener “Bedside Manners” is a pretty good barometer for whether you would want to listen to the album - it’s got that rockin’ boogie you would expect from the band with Chris’ yelping croon over top. “Rats and Clowns” is even better, with a little ascending guitar line adding the extra sauce to the tasty rock sandwich. We get a sideways “Jealous Again” with “Wanting and Waiting,” but it’s not a strict rewrite of past glory. “Flesh Wound” has an almost power pop feel, with a Springsteenian bridge. Closer “Kindred Friend” does what it should, spreading out and slowing down and summing everything up. What a fun listen.

Elbow/Audio Vertigo - Whenever I listen to Elbow, I wonder how the songwriting takes place. Sometimes the songs are like puzzles to solve, with knotty rhythms coming together to provide a bed for Guy Garvey’s ruminating croon. That’s not to suggest the band is difficult to listen to, but I can’t think of anyone else that sounds like them. A good thing, of course. The album kicks of with the great “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years,” with an insistent drumbeat, backing chorus, darting guitar, and a torrent of lyrics. “Lovers’ Leap” follows with gliding bass and horns and that percussive drive, adding up to something a bit different from the band. My favorite song might be “Knife Fight,” which has Garvey ruminating on why that’s in his mind over nervy and sharp guitar and lots of cymbal in the percussion. “Good Blood Mexico City” brings more straight-up rock in the penultimate slot, before the album closes with “From the River,” which is more nimble than you might expect in that spot. I had my birthday a few weeks ago and my wife let me choose the music as she drove us 30 minutes to meet my parents for lunch; I chose this and had no regrets.

Sam Evian/Plunge - Evian is new to me, though I feel like I knew his name before this album. A review mentioned the involvement of Liam Kazar, who put out an album in 2021 (Due North) that I enjoyed, so I thought I would give this a try. Glad I did. This is very well-crafted pop music, in the vein of the Beatles; in fact, “Jacket” has a very Harrisoneque guitar lick. Speaking of guitar, “Why Does It Take So Long” has a guitar solo from Adrienne Lenker. Meanwhile, “Rollin’ In” has that laconic vibe of Kurt Vile or Mac DeMarco, “Runaway” definitely has some Wilco in its DNA, and album closer “Stay” is a jaunty stroll with pedal steel and soaring “ooh”s. It’s a nice mix of musical styles, while remaining cohesive. It’s also good for bopping your head and singing along; sometimes that’s just what you need.

Jonathan Peyton/Nothing Here’s the Same - I hadn’t heard of Peyton at all until my friend Keith Jacobsen played “Those Days Were Hell” on his ‘Sunday Papers’ show on Rockin’ the Suburbs radio. I decided to check out the whole album and while I wasn’t blown away, I gave it another listen…and then another and so on. I would say he traffics in the same genre waters that Jason Isbell does, which makes sense because the album is produced by 400 Unit stalwart Sadler Vaden. It starts with the mainly acoustic “To the Country,” which is a pretty duet with Abigail Peyton (not sure what relation) before shifting to more up-tempo “Anymore” and “Indifference,” which has a cool little guitar lick. “Insane” gives the album its name in the lyrics and is a soulful ballad complete with violin. If none of that sounds too specific, it’s because I don’t know that I can capture what happens as you keep listening to these songs…the album is a classic grower. The aforementioned “Those Days Were Hell” is the most immediate song on the album, a stately rocker with some nice slide guitar, but that’s only a first blush. A lot of meat on the bone here once you allow yourself to dig in.

Real Estate/Daniel - I first came to Real Estate’s music 10 years ago with the release of their third album, Atlas, and have been a fan of their jangly rock ever since. Daniel is their first since 2020’s The Main Thing, though lead singer/guitarist Martin Courtney put out a really good solo album, Magic Sign, in 2022. If you already like the band, you will like this one and if you don’t know them, this is a pretty good place to start. Lead single “Water Underground” is an ideal Real Estate song, all chiming guitars and prominent bass with catchy background vocals. The next song, “Flowers,” also fits that formula, but it picks up the pace a little more and almost pulsates…plus, there’s a nifty guitar solo. I dig the backbeat of “Freeze Brain” and the lyrical reference to Harvest Moon in “Say No More.” The album goes out with “You Are Here,” which pushes past the 5-minute mark and gets a little psychedelic along the way. So happy to have such a strong album from the band.

Rosali - Bite Down - I didn’t know Rosali before 2021’s No Medium and after that fantastic album, I am all in on her music. Like that one, Bite Down was made with David Nance and his band (Mowed Sound) backing her and the results are even better than the previous high. Opener “On Tonight” is very percussive and has a great bass line; plus, the guitars sounding like divebombing insects as the song comes to close. The guitar dances around the beautiful melody of “Hills on Fire,” accentuating with discordant squawks and menacing tone. The band takes some seconds to clear its throat in a delightful cacophony before locking into a tight rock groove after a drum hit on “My Kind”…it also has a false ending. The title track has a sensual feel from the combination of her sultry vocals, sighing violin, syncopated bass, and the snare and cymbal work. “Change Is in the Form” sounds like she’s fronting Crazy Horse and it is glorious. The album closes with “May It Be on Offer,” which quiets things down. Bite Down is so rich that you hear new things each time you listen; I suspect it will be on many top ten lists later on in the year.

Mary Timony/Untame the Tiger - I didn’t know who Timony was until Wild Flag came into existence in 2011. I followed her to Ex Hex and their two great albums from 2014 and 2019. Other than that, I remained fairly ignorant of her music. So, I was looking forward to this, her first solo album since 2005. It opens with “No Thirds,” which stretches over six minutes with an acoustic base and lots of guitar layered over top, a far cry from the power pop of Ex Hex. That song sets the template, although another element is Timony singing with herself, as on “Dominoes.” There’s a bit of psych rock to “Looking for the Sun,” which still staying rooted in the acoustic guitar. A lot of these songs are melancholy in nature, such as “The Guest” - it begins with “Hello loneliness/Come back home/You were the only one who never left me alone” - ouch! I really like the epic feel of “The Dream” and the lengthy Led Zeppelin-like opening of the title track before it transitions into something different.

Waxahatchee/Tigers Blood - I was greatly anticipating this album, as 2020’s Saint Cloud was one of my favorite albums of that year. Once I heard the first single, “Right Back to It” (which features MJ Lenderman), my excitement level shot up even further; in fact, it was very hard to maintain my rule of only listening to a single once before the album comes out. So, it’s no surprise that this album is very good. But right back to “Right Back to It” for a moment, because Katie Crutchfield and Lenderman sound so good singing together on a song with a great melody that just unspools perfectly. One of the songs of the year, for sure. The other songs really start worming their way into your head and heart after just a couple listens. You start to anticipate the full band kicking in on “3 Sisters.” You appreciate the melody being echoed in the guitar line (or is it vice versa) on “Evil Spawn,” which also gives us more of the dynamite duo vocals from Crutchfield and Lenderman. The rubbery bass on “Bored” is super fun and the lyrics of “Lone Star Lake,” such as “I’m an outlaw in the court of strong opinions” and “If I cannot tell a lie/We might be here all night,” make you want to hit the repeat button. Those types of pleasures abound and so many turns of phrase or small musical moments are there waiting to be discovered, like everything Spencer Tweedy does on the drums. Songs that you liked on first listen become the ones you most anticipate (hi, “Crowbar!”). I think this is another one bound for 2024 top ten lists; it’ll probably be on mine too.