Well, folks, we made it! Today is War on Drugs release day! By the time you’ve read this I’m sure I’ve listened to I Don’t Live Here Anymore at least twice. My plan is to stay up late Thursday and listen as soon as it hits Spotify. We’ll see if that worked or not. I’ve read three reviews, and I’m not sure my expectations could be any higher. Two of the reviews say it’s the band’s best album of their career. I’m sure I’ll share my thoughts about it down the road.
“The Wrong Train” – The Psychedelic Furs
The Furs have hung around a long time. They took most of the 90’s off, and then returned and put out a few good songs in the early 2000’s. It looks like they released this song last spring. I may have ignored it because I figured there was no way they could still be making decent music. Then it landed in my Discover Weekly playlist a few weeks back and…it’s pretty freaking good!
“Am I Wrong” – Love Spit Love
During that 1990’s Psych Furs hiatus, the Butler brothers formed Love Spit Love. This magical track that was their one hit, peaking at #3 on the Modern Rock chart in 1994.
“All Love” – Frances of Delirium
I don’t know why, but I thought FoD was another ’90s band making a comeback. Maybe it is just the vibe of this track, which is very mid-90’s, combined with their name, which seems straight out of the 120 Minutes generation. But band leader Jana Bahrich is only 19, so it’s not mathematically possible for them to have been putting out tracks during the alt-rock revolution. This song kicks ass.
“Taking Me Back” – Jack White
Mr. White’s new songs will always get an entry on my FP’s.
“Working for the Knife” – Mitski
I’ve followed Mitski’s career very casually. I loved “Your Best American Girl.” Which, to be fair, a lot of people did. But I haven’t listened to her much since then. A couple years back she took a break from music, saying she didn’t want her life to be defined by her success as an artist. This is her first track since that time away, and she sings about how stepping away wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. This is a powerful, terrific track.
“Love is in the Air” – Stella Donnelly covering John Paul Young
I know I shared this about two years ago. A Stella Donnelly track popped up in the comments of an article on Stereogum this week and it made me think of this. Which is all the excuse I need to share it again. It’s one of the most delightful things I’ve ever seen.