Issue 4: To Thine Own Self Be True

Reviewing albums from 070 Shake, Angel Olsen and more!

Welcome back! I listened to 14 new albums for this issue and reviewed my two favorites—"You Can’t Kill Me” by 070 Shake and “Big Time” by Angel Olsen. I’ve also included some brief thoughts on three other albums that I think are worth listening to. Let’s get started!

Intro

In writing this newsletter, I keep falling into the trap of worrying about other people’s opinions of what I write. I worry about whether I’m getting things right. If I like something no one else likes, I could come off as uncool. If I don’t like something, I could come off as uneducated. The insecurities flood in every time I start to write. This project is ultimately for me—derived from my own passion—but it is tempting to think about what everyone else will think.

There are two possible solutions to try to get around this trap: try to be objective or stay true to my own opinions and not care what anyone else thinks. I have tried to think about music/art objectively before. When I was in college, I had this joke of a question that I used to throw around when I was listening to music, “but is it objectively good, like, compared to Beethoven?” It’s obviously illogical, but I was stuck focusing on the capital G “Good” instead of the kind of “good” that moved me. Really, objectivity is irrelevant (philosophical can of worms be damned). It isn’t as important as sharing your truth.

Both of the top albums this week have strong points of view, made by artists that are true to themselves. They have far more people paying attention to what they make, but they continue to make their art on their own terms. 070 Shake shares her perspective:

I just feel like the way that I make art – not to say that it's better or worse than how anybody else does it – but it's so freeing for me to be myself and to not be in the studio thinking about, “Are people going to like this?”¹

In an interview with Apple Music, Angel Olsen shared that she doesn’t fear the judgement others may place upon her work, and that the art itself protects her from it.

What I really do feel is part of the safety in it all—in sharing moments and situations from your life that are so intimate—is that everybody always takes what they want from something they hear musically, and they always put their own lens on it. So, in that, you’re always kind of protected because someone’s experiencing it through their own experiences also.

Any sting of what the audience may think is neutralized. They receive their meaning and the artist maintains theirs. With this boundary, an artist can stay true to themselves.

To thine own self be true. That is the only way. I have to remember that you are reading this for my perspective—not anyone else’s. It’s possible that I see something that no one else sees. I wouldn’t want to miss out on sharing that by trying to be someone else. That’s certainly not what Beethoven would do.

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Pick of the week

You Can’t Kill Me - 070 Shake

Alternative

Out of the 200+ albums I’ve listened to this year, few of them have blown my mind like 070 Shake’s “You Can’t Kill Me”. It is bold, fresh, and innovative with a strong point of view that can only come from a mind as unique as hers. Singer and rapper 070 Shake (Danielle Balbuena) has been called a shape shifter, genre dismantler, not part of this world, and a musical acrobat. One interviewer even referred to her as Morpheus. “She’s here to free us all,” he said². Whatever she is called, it is clear that she’s operating on another level.

Musically, the album feels like shapeshifting, too. It doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre, but it has threads of R&B, Pop, Electronica, and Hip-Hop. It’s a musical collage. It’s as if 070 Shake grabbed a bunch of random musical elements and brought them all together like she was in a “Chopped” challenge. The results are magnifique.

The landscape of the album is complex and intricate—captivating from the first moment until the very last. The vocals are highly stylized with a calculated use of autotune, vocal layering, and distortions. The beats for this album were all created and recorded from scratch³—adding to its uniqueness. Every song is full of the unexpected—at no point does it go where you think it’s going to go. I have listened to the album maybe twenty times now and I still discover things that I hadn’t noticed before. I almost hesitate to describe the songs because I don’t want to give away any surprises, but I’ll do my best to give some highlights without being too revealing.

The album has one of the strongest, most compelling openings I’ve heard with “Web”. The song builds with synths and layers of vocals to what feels like an emergence. “I think we should start here,” she sings. It is the signal that you have entered a new world.

The first step into that new world is “Invited”, which contrasts a deep rumbling of an indiscernible instrument with delicate harp moments. It sets expectations for a duality of lightness and darkness throughout the rest of the album.

The next track, “History”, is my favorite because it has so much stylistic range. I counted four style shifts in the less than five minute song. It starts off sounding like a church service then makes all sorts of twists and turns to end up in a different place entirely. It ends with what sounds like someone having a panic attack. Thrilling!

A note that I repeatedly made when listening to this album was, “oh, shit!” (as in, being totally floored). One of such occurrences was when the beat came in on “Medicine”. The song’s lyrics seamlessly connect to the next song, “Skin and Bones”, as a continuous love story. “Medicine” ends with, “when you were sick, I was yours,” and “Skin and Bones” starts with, “and we spoke in past tense, reminisce ‘bout back in the day when our spirits used to dance with each other.” “Skin and Bones” deceptively seems like the most mainstream track on the album…until the key change.

“Blue Velvet” opens with a heart beat and drumming that has the vibe of someone trying to outrun a cheetah. It’s another song that undergoes several shifts—from a sultriness that makes it feel like a “Bond” movie theme song to a song out of a Bollywood film—it’s cinematic, all around!

“Cocoon” has a danc-y electronic beat that makes if feel like it belongs in an underworld nightclub. But, its slick sexiness is interrupted with a “bleh!” that breaks the tension and gives the right amount of weirdness to it.

“Body” is perhaps the most relaxed track on the album but is no less detailed. It has a sultry and ethereal electronic feel with layers of vocalizations: breathing, talking, and soft vocals from Christine and The Queens—whom I always love to see as a guest appearance.

“Wine & Spirits” opens with a strummed A minor chord that immediately made me think of “Karma Police” by Radiohead. The song quickly diverges from the reference and develops this rich fullness, punctuated by beautiful twinkly sounds at the line, “I think we need each other.”

“Come Back Home” is another song that starts as one thing and shapeshifts into something entirely different—weaving the two styles together. It starts off with piano and strings and becomes something that feels like it’s from the soundtrack to “Drive.” It’s chilling.

“Vibrations” has a hip-hop feel with a dream-like intro that lasts nearly half the song. 070 Shake implores a vocal style not heard anywhere else on the album: an impassioned belt that showcases her range.

“Purple Walls” is perhaps the most simplistic (relatively speaking) song on the album production-wise, but it has just enough to keep it from feeling dull. It is an intimate and sweet song—a love story contained inside a room. “We fell in love inside your room,” is sung in the refrain.

070 Shake’s vocals are front and center in “Stay”. I think I counted at least four different vocal styles that she uses. It commands attention.

The album ends with “Se Fue La Luz”—a stunning track that is the perfect compliment to “Web”. There are two more “oh shit!” moments that took my breath away: when the beat comes in and another that I’ll keep a surprise. It has just the right energy to feel like a satisfying ending, but will make you want to immediately listen to the album again.

The last note I took when listening to this album was, “how did we deserve this?” When an artist this talented pours forth something from their mind and spirit as remarkable as this, it truly feels like a gift. I know that the avant-garde nature of it may not appeal to everyone, but I can’t get enough of it. It’s all I want to listen to. I recommend listening to it on your best speakers or headphones for the first listen—you won’t want to miss any details.

Also listen on Apple Music

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Runner-up

Big Time - Angel Olsen

Alternative

Not everything that is original has to be entirely new. With “Big Time”, Angel Olsen takes something classic (Nashville sound country) and infuses it with her unique point of view to create something that feels both fresh and timeless. The songs feel like songs you already know in a fondly familiar—not recycled—way. Stylistically, there’s nothing unnecessarily flashy or embellished on the album. The instrumentation gives Olsen’s voice—perhaps one of the most haunting in contemporary music—the right of way.

“Big Time” begins with an ending. In the opening track, “All The Good Times” Olsen sings, “so long farewell, this is the end. And I’ll always remember you just like a friend”. In Olsen’s case, it makes sense to start at the ending because—to her—beginnings and endings are intertwined. Not long before starting production of the album, Olsen came out to her parents and shortly thereafter lost her father and then her mother.⁴ But, through all of that trauma, her songs don’t seem like they are coming from someone in pain but someone who endures.

Though enduring, grief is still a theme throughout the album. “Ghost On” seems to come from a place of grappling with the past while becoming comfortable with one’s self in the present. It opens with, “tell me how I should feel. How can this heart learn how to heal?” Later she sings, “And I don’t know if you can love someone stronger than you’re used to.” It is confident, yet vulnerable.

“Go Home” is my favorite track on the album. It is emotionally charged and arresting. The piano hammers in the background like the stomping feet of a petulant toddler. “I want to go home. Go back to small things” Olsen sings. It demands the listener stop what they are doing and pay attention. It also has this lovely build with the addition of strings and horns—and I’m always a sucker for horns.

The album ends with a heart-wrenching minor chord in “Chasing The Sun”. It’s a fitting reminder that not all is entirely resolved. Grief, after all, isn’t a linear process—it is intertwined loops of beginning and endings.

Also listen on Apple Music, bandcamp

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Three more albums worth listening to

I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Emile Mosseri

Electronic

This album makes me feel like I’m in an indie film where things are slightly weird but beautiful. It’s peaceful and quirky. Smith and Mosseri’s experimental mix of organic and electronic sounds will transport you to all manner of places. “Glendora” feels like walking in a magical forest. Take a submarine ride with “Moonweed.” Float into space with, “Green To You”. My favorite track is “Shim Sham”. Drums and angelic vocals appear about halfway through the track (initiated by a key change). It feels like an arrival at the other side of the rainbow—where everything is suddenly in color.

Also listen on Apple Music, bandcamp

Simple. - IDK

Electronic / Hip-hop

“Simple.” is short and sweet at only 18 minutes. It’s worth a listen for the technical mastery alone. Each song transitions seamlessly into the other and then the album ends in a perfect loop back to the beginning. With smooth rhymes and relaxed beats, the whole album has a refreshing ease to it. “Taco” is a standout track on the album with a jazzy sample accompanied by percussive snaps, but “Dog Food” is my favorite. It has a nice, shuffling beat and I appreciate songs that remind me what time it is—“eleven o’clock, on the dot.”

Also listen on Apple Music

i don’t know who needs to hear this… - Tomberlin

Alternative

I will listen to just about anything Saddle Creek puts out, but this album is a shining star amongst its catalogue. The album has a delicate, understated effortlessness to it—slightly folky at times (born again runner), sometimes dipping its toe into rock territory (happy accident). One highlight is “tap”, which uses creative percussion. The drums were brushed with twigs, grass, and flowers for a “witchy” vibe⁵. My favorited track, “happy accident”, features Cass McCombs (whom I love) on guitar and contains one of the best lines in the album, “I want to burn it all down, could I borrow a light?” Overall, the album makes the listener feel safe without playing it safe. Like lullabies for broken souls.

Also listen on Apple Music, bandcamp

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9 more albums I listened to

• Tmí - Katzu Oso (Pop)

• Afrikan Culture - Shabaka (Instrumental Jazz)

• Twelve Carat Toothache - Post Malone (Hip-Hop/Rap)

• Inside Problems - Andrew Bird (Alternative)

• Versions of Modern Performance - Horsegirl (Alternative)

• White Jesus Black Problems - Fantastic Negrito (Roots Rock)

• Denim & Rhinestones - Carrie Underwood (Country)

• New to You - Bread Pilot (Rock)

• Altar - Jo Schornikow (Indie Pop)

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The Playlist!

These are my favorite songs off of each new album I listened to this year listed in chronological order of listening. The songs from the albums in this issue are at the end of the playlist. It’s updated weekly.

365 Albums in 2022 - Apple Music playlist

365 Albums in 2022 - Spotify playlist

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Thanks for reading! Next week I’m listening to albums from Perfume Genius, Bartees Strange, and more. I’ll review my favorites. If you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss it.

What have you been listening to lately? Anything good? Let me know in the comments.

1. Source

2. Source: New Music Daily - Apple Music

3. Source: New Music Daily - Apple Music

4. Source: Apple Music

5. Source: Apple Music