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SHARK SANDWICH – Fast Album Reviews for Those on the Go
October 20, 2017 – Vol. 58
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Music reviews come in all sizes, but you’re busy and do not have time for flowery language… or sentences, really.
Spinal Tap gave the world the greatest album review of all time:
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Welcome to our “Shark Sandwich” — razor-sharp reviews that sum up an album in five sentences or less.
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Bully – Losing
Bully plays it straight. Do you like the 80s college rock underground crew, and the 90s mainstream racket? Bully does, too, and one should not take that the wrong way. This is a band that scratches all the right itches if rock and roll is your bread and butter. This is Midwestern meat and potatoes music for everyone to enjoy, and it doesn’t matter if you were listening to cool music decades ago – the time is now (again).
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Not the Way”
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Margo Price – All American Made
If it is possible to love All American Made more than I love Margo Price’s last one, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, I just might (and I love the last one). She is classic country, bros need not apply, but on this album she is exploring the soul side of American country. The Dolly and Loretta touchstones are there, but also prominent is a feistiness that is undeniable. If you have any doubt, take a listen to the Cajun-inspired “Pay Gap” for a little honesty. She doesn’t care whose feelings get hurt.
Rating: 5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Pay Gap”
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Destroyer – Ken
Destroyer front man Dan Bejar has been around the block of the Vancouver, BC music scene on his own, as well as with the fabulous New Pornographers. Ken is a throbbing bit of electro folk that should make New Pornographer fans happy, but also casual Cure listeners. It’s mood on mood on mood set to a reasonable pulse, and sung with the appropriate amount of emotion. Bejar sometimes lets the rock monster out like on “Cover from the Sun” and “Sometimes in the World,” and it balances out some of the quieter stuff. Ken is a great album for listening to in the car with a friend, constantly stopping the music to say, “Wait, wait, wait, listen to this…”
Rating: 4 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Cover from the Sun”
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And So I Watch You From Afar – Endless Shimmering
Admittedly, when I read the band name And So I Watch You From Afar, as well as the album title, I was ready to haaaaaate this band. A funny thing happened when I popped on this album of rock and roll instrumentals, though: I effing loved it straight away. It is big, blustery, math-y, and it doesn’t need any stinking lyrics. It is prog without singing about Lord of the Rings or 2112, and it elicits emotion through strong dynamics instead of lyrics. This is perfect album if you want to bob your head in the car, but do not want to get caught singing along at the next red light.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “Terrors of Pleasure”
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King Leg – Meet King Leg
Like Margo Price (reviewed above), King Leg is authentically American. Not retro or winking there in the corners, but he/they dive right in and celebrate classic country, early rock and roll, and soul without irony or camp, and that is not only refreshing, but almost revolutionary in 2017. I was able to interview Mr. Leg recently, and it certainly shed some light on the thought processes that went into Meet King Leg. Fans of Roy, Dwight, and indeed Tom Petty and thousands of garage bands from the 1960s onward take note of this album. We don’t deserve it, but just the same, here it is.
Rating: 5 out of 5 whistles
Best Song: “The Great Outdoors”
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All artists are available on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, and wherever else better music is sold, streamed, downloaded, or performed on tour.
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NewsWhistle music contributor Chad Werner is “ahead of the curve, behind the times.” You can contact this rock n’ roll sphinx at chad@newswhistle.com (e-mail) or @scooternotmoped (Twitter).
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Lead-In Image – Composite
- Album and sleeve – Courtesy of imagefactory / Shutterstock.com
- Main album cover – Courtesy of Blablo101 / Shutterstock.com
- Album collage – King Leg – Sire/Warner Bros Records; And So I Watch You From Afar – Sargent House; Bully – Sub Pop Records; Destroyer – Merge Records; and Margo Price – Third Man Records.
