ALBUMS: September 2023 In Review
Digging into the latest albums from Olivia Rodrigo, Mitski and Kylie Minogue
There are plenty of new releases, but before I dig into this month’s trio, I can’t ignore the release of the Replacements’ Tim: Let It Bleed Edition.
The original version from 1985 is in my all-time Top 10 in spite of, not because of, its production.
With all due respect to the late Tommy Erdelyi, who was suffering from increasing hearing loss, the album was a tinny mess. Right away in listening to the new version, I could hear the missing drums and bass, details that had been hidden before (like what Westerberg was singing in spots).
I couldn’t help but think that since Ed Stasium brought back the bass on this, maybe he could fix …And Justice for All while he’s at it.
The new mix is revelatory without altering the soul of dead-end Midwestern punk with a bleeding heart at its core. The production is vastly superior to the original, but the rawness is still there. The melancholy on “Here Comes a Regular” and romantic ache on “Swinging Party” cut deeper. The snarl of “I’ll Buy” is still evident and the anthemic moments like “Bastards of Young” and “Left of the Dial” land even harder.
And even the closest things to filler — “Dose of Thunder” and “Lay It Down Clown” — pack a punch closer to what they were intended to be.
The ‘Mats, with their knack for self-sabotage, may have been distrustful or scared of reaching for the stars, but with this new mix, they get there anyway.
And with that, we move on to new material. Mitski and Kylie Minogue are coming up, but we start with the latest artist whose fans are discovering just how awful Live Nation/Ticketmaster can be — Olivia Rodrigo.
Olivia Rodrigo is not the first to follow the path from Disney kid actor to pop star. For every Miley, there have been those whose music careers either stalled (Ashley Tisdale) or never took off (Brie Larson, whose acting made for a strong fallback).
Her stint on High School Musical: The Series opened the door, thanks to “All I Want.” The song, which she wrote and performed for the soundtrack, took a life of its own on TikTok.
Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Album: Guts
Label: Geffen Records
★★★★1/2 (4.5/5 stars)
Rodrigo isn’t just able to write her own material, she was also smart enough to secure ownership of her masters when she signed her record deal.
The quick rise of “Drivers License” turned plans for an EP into an album. The emotional breakup ballad didn’t just reach girls and young women around Rodrigo’s age.
Its universality was underscored by an SNL sketch in February, 2021. Set in a bar, the bros within try and fail miserably to pretend that the song doesn’t affect them. Kate McKinnon, playing the old man, said, “I got my drivers license 55 years ago. Why does this hit me so hard?”
Sour, released that May, went multi-platinum across the globe. Four more singles — “Deja Vu”, “Good 4 U,” “Traitor” and “Brutal” — became hits.
Not only was her record deal on her terms, she achieved that success without forcing herself into a squeaky clean Disney straitjacket. It’s not as if the swear jar on either Sour or Guts would rival the one on the set of Casino, but Rodrigo is loath to censor herself completely.
“I’ve certainly gotten some side-eyes from concerned parents over the swear words in my songs,” she told NPR. “But I’ve grown up with so many incredibly strong, talented, inspiring role models, women songwriters that I’ve looked up to for a long time. And when I look back, I think they were my heroes because they were exactly who they were, and didn’t cherry-pick parts of themselves to present to the public.”
Rodrigo felt the expected pressure for the follow-up until she found ways to get back to her pre-fame mindset of just writing songs she liked. Not wanting to fix what wasn’t broken, she teamed back up with producer and co-writer Dan Nigro.
Part of what differentiated Rodrigo was that she put elements of rock– past alternative and indie — into her brand of pop.
When someone on Twitter (as it was still known in the pre-Musk days) pointed out the similarities of “Brutal” to Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up,” Costello responded, “This is fine by me, Billy, It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.” He hashtagged two songs that influenced his — Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business.”
Guts’ three singles keep rock as part of the recipe.
“Vampire” sounds like it’s going to take the breakup ballad slot “Drivers License” occupied on Sour, but Rodrigo turns the heartbreak into anger, as the tempo rises and the movie musical drama ratchets up. And if “blood sucker” sounds cliche, she cannily rhymes it with the glorious kiss off “fame fucker.”
She speak-sings the verses in a way that Patty Donahue of the Waitresses would have killed for, full of playful snark and knowing self-recrimination. The guitars get ramped up (even an actual solo on a Top 10 pop hit in 2023). Above all else, it has an irresistible chorus. Seriously, if anyone has the idea of rebooting that underrated live action Josie and the Pussycats movie from 2001, casting directors take note.
VIDEO: Olivia Rodrigo “Get Him Back!”
Rodrigo’s even wittier in pondering the bad idea in “Get Him Back!,” which has its own chorus ready for arenas (for those who could afford Ticketmaster’s surge pricing, of course). She cuts him down, “He said he’s six-foot-two/I said ‘Nice try.'” Ever messy, she rapidly steps back-and-forth between the two interpretations of the title — getting revenge (“I want to key his car”) and reconnecting (“I want to make him lunch”).
The album isn’t just big, hooky pop rock. Those years where the teens end and the twenties start can be full of joy and learning, but some of life lessons come from unfortunate choices.
The poignant “Logical” details a bad relationship with someone older, getting berated (“Said I was too young, I was too soft/Can’t take a joke, can’t get you off”) and getting gaslit to the point of blaming yourself for his actions (“I know I’m half responsible/And that makes me feel horrible”).
The mostly acoustic “Lacy,” taken from a poem she wrote for an assignment in a poetry class she took at USC last year, sounds like a post-“Vampire” breather at first. Then you realize the self-loathing and jealousy in the lyrics.
The self-loathing manifests in the body image issues being fought in “Pretty Isn’t Pretty,” where Rodrigo tries her best to work through them even as she disgustedly realizes that that dishonest inner voice is likely to stick around for a while longer. It’s all set to shimmering pop that would have been on the Top 40 circa ’84 or ’85 (think ‘Til Tuesday or The Motels).
“All-American Bitch” takes its title from the late Joan Didion’s essay collection The White Album. Rather than the complaining Deadhead whining about his mom in the book, she turns the term into a statement of self-confidence in the face of expectations and artificial standards, all with a pop punk chorus.
“Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” isn’t a ballad, but rather a rocking personal trip through Awkward Memory Lane for Rodrigo, who was homeschooled for five years once her acting career kicked in.
Guts is full of conflicting thoughts and contradictory emotions. Life can be messy even when you’re well into your senior citizen years, let alone between the ages of 18 and 20. If it’s more chaotic in spots than Sour that’s part of the emotional deal.
Whether in upbeat big hook songs or the ballad moments low-key or full of theater kid emoting, Rodrigo mostly succeeds in achieving that relatability that made “Driver’s License” go viral.
Rather than a sophomore slump, it’s another indicator that with songs this sharp, presented this honestly, Rodrigo’s chances of being in it for the long haul aren’t in danger of dropping any time soon.
Mitski’s future in music hasn’t been 100 percent certain in recent years. She took an extended break from touring after 2018’s Be The Cowboy. Speculation was that last year’s Laurel Hell might be her last.
Mitski renegotiated her deal with Dead Oceans, then made an atypical quick turnaround, releasing The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We.
The title’s inspired by those billboards you see entering states, signs whose messages don’t jibe with reality. Florida, for example, has a government openly embracing bigotry and anti-vax conspiracy theories to the point where “The Sunshine State” feels rather disingenuous.
Artist: Mitski
Album: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Label: Dead Oceans
★★★★1/4 (4.25/5 stars)
It’s clear from the get-go that Mitski’s opened things up, moving away from the electronics of Laurel Hell.
“Bug Like an Angel” begins with simply strummed guitar and the imagery of an alcoholic. As she sings, “Sometimes a drink feels like family”, a whole chorus incongruously jumps in with “Family!” The choral vocals, as they reappear throughout, lend a grace note for a protagonist who would otherwise sound even sadder.
The romantic “Heaven” is full of countrypolitan vibe and cinematic orchestration, as if Angel Olsen and Lee Hazlewood had somehow collaborated back in time.
The song dated back to around the time of Be The Cowboy, the first demo recorded just after she and long-time producer Patrick Hyland made that album. The song didn’t really fit Laurel Hell, but was a perfect fit this time around.
Love is also front and center on the slow-burning “Star”, which explodes in technicolor orchestration inspired by Scott Walker and Terry Riley.
The orchestration runs through a fun house filter on “When Memories Snow”, as disquieting as certain memories can be now matter how much one tries to
put them in a corner and pretend they aren’t there.
There’s a warmth at play. Mitski’s reverbed vocals on the pedal steel-filled “My Love Mine All Mine” sound as if they’re being sung at a campfire next to a canyon, rather than in a claustrophobic room. the song itself is an ode to finding a sense of permanence in the emotion itself, rather than goods or other external things. Of course, that feeling is only capable of lasting as long as she (or any of us) is.
The same techniques give a hushed anger to the breakup song “I’m Your Man” which, coupled with its sounds of barking dogs, could be taken as a patriarchal admission of guilt or as a sarcastic “Yes, you’re right, I’m the asshole here” to a mentally exhausting ex.
VIDEO: Mitski “Bug Like an Angel”
Mitski’s relationship with celebrity, even at her level of having a steady career without selling out arenas, has been troubled at times. As much gratification as one can get from creating songs that touch people deeply, there are those who can feel things too deeply. It’s led her to pull back from social media. She’s even had to ask interviewers not to reveal the names of her cats in order to protect her privacy.
Even though Mitski’s personal experiences have informed her songwriting, for her, that’s enough, mattering more than specific wheres, whos, whats and whys.
It’s hard not to hear her discomfort with the more invasive aspects of her career in “The Deal,” especially as she sings “There’s a deal that I made” over and over at the end, with percussive noise growing louder like an approaching stampede.
As a whole though, even in its most unsettling moments, Mitski sounds freer than she has in a while. The country flavorings give it charm. The usage of choir and orchestra are well-considered.
By the time the album concludes with the distorted, gauze-wrapped statement of hope “I Love Me After You”, one is left realizing that Iggy Pop had a point when he called Mitski “probably the most advanced songwriter I know” on his BBC Radio Show in 2018.
Pop music’s long been viewed as a musical domain that’s skewed young, a place where performers eligible for AARP membership have found it tough going. It’s more so for women.
Kylie Minogue’s trying to buck that trend, coming back in a big way this year with her first chart hits in her biggest countries — the U.K. and Australia — in over a decade.
Those singles — “Padam Padam” and “Tension” — were the advance songs off her new album, also called Tension.
“Padam Padam,” the song whose title is an onomatopoeia for the sound of a heartbeat, came from Norwegian songwriter Ina Wroldsen and British producerJ Pete Rycroft, aka Lostboy. The two envisioned it being performed by a random Eurovision contestant or, perhaps, someone like Rita Ora.
Artist: Kylie Minogue
Album: Tension
Label: BMG
★★★★ (4/5 stars)
Minogue changed that trajectory when she heard it.
In her hands, it became a pulsing, come-hither anthem that took off in spite of some U.K. stations’ reluctance to play it because Minogue is, gasp, 55 years old.
The song was undeniable even to the holdouts, especially as became not just one of those Songs of Summer, but perfect for Pride festivals.
“Tension” has a similarly glossy camp aesthetic, aided by Minogue’s willingness to deliver verse lyrics like “Call me Kylie-lie-lie/Don’t imitate-tate-tate/Cool like sorbet-bet-bet/Cool like sorbet-bet-bet/I’m your escay-ay-ape/I’m your vacay-ay-ay/Hot like chile-le-le/Hot like chile-le-le” without a trace of irony.
Minogue’s recent work had explored specific genres — 2018’s Golden took added some country flavoring and 2020’s Disco, well, you can figure it out.
When Minogue started work again, she thought of going in on the ’80s, but things weren’t clicking. “The turning point for the album was when my A&R and I decided there’s no theme. I remember him saying to me, ‘Just go in and have fun. — as long as it’s not boring,’ and I don’t think it’s boring,” she told people.
Upon listening to Tension, it’s a little amusing that Minogue thought the ’80s thing wasn’t working, considering that’s the exact decade one can hear at points. “You Still Get Me High” alternates between balladic verses and a chorus that sounds readymade for the soundtrack to one of those ’80s soundtracks with multiple hit singles.
“Things We Do For Love” likewise sounds like one of that decade’s lost hits with a music track that could have been used in a single by The Weeknd before he was focusing on starring in an awful HBO drama series.
If Dua Lipa mined the past effectively on Future Nostalgia, Minogue tips the hat back on “Green Light”, as at home at a 2023 club as it would have been at a roller rink 40 years ago.
On the other hand, “Hands” sounds like its creators were listening to Doja Cat’s “Say So” and taking copious notes and thinking, “Hey, if we throw in a Barbie reference, people won’t remember that song from 2019.”
One also wishes that there’d been an occasional curveball or two, like a ballad.
But this is Kylie Minogue we’re talking about. She wouldn’t be having hits in her 50s if she didn’t know her own personal musical wheelhouse. She had a hand in writing eight of the album’s 11 songs and had veto power over her team on the other selections (for example, using her executive privilege when they pooh poohed “Padam Padam”).
Thus we get the happy house of “One More Time” and the difficult-to-resist boots-and-pants of “Hold on To Now”. She’s even not so precious about things that she gets snippy about being second-billed on her own album, listed as “featured” on DJ/producer Oliver Helden’s “10 out of 10” (which sounds like a future single).
VIDEO: Kylie Minogue “Hold On To Now”
Tension is not an album to go to if it’s lyrical depth you’re looking for. This is sheer escapist, dance pop fluff, mostly full of songs about love and/or sex. There are hints of unleashing hedonistic abandon, although there are guardrails. “Vegas High” is more Slide Show of Pam’s Vegas Vacation than The Hangover.
But it’s dance pop fluff with a sure hand, from someone whose first hit was when she was still in her teens and her biggest hit (“Can’t Get You Out of My Head”) was when she was 33. And her chart rewards for her pop art have to be gratifying now.
“So, like I say, I didn’t set out to do this. I’ve also been the youngest kid where I had to fight to be heard or just occupy my space,” Minogue told People. “The negative then was, ‘Well, you’re 18. what do you know?’ So, through all the decades of my career, there’s been something, and here we are. I’m really proud to be representing this moment, and guess what? The earth didn’t cave in, and everyone’s having a great time. This is the age I am. What can I do?”
Sometimes, when you traffic in the ephemeral, you can find the transcendent. There are enough moments on Tension that show Minogue is capable of reaching high, that pop divas don’t have to disappear when they’re closer to their 70s than their 30s and that there is still a joyously fun time to be had.
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