Half of the year 2023 has left us. Grammy bait is in full swing. Though there are heavy hitting releases waiting for us in the second half (some of which have already been released by the time of publication), let’s look back on some highlight album releases from the months of January to June.
Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Lana Del Rey
Interscope
Mar 24, 2023
Pop
Lana Del Rey is so back.
Following arguably her best project in Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Lana Del Rey’s sound gradually slowed and softened. The 50/50 old and new sound approach to Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters was messy and unfocused.
On Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, however, Lana almost completely ditches the trip hop drums and synths of her past and settles into pure songstress territory. Save for a few big production moments, Lana croons over simple and sweet piano ballads, or lush and elegant orchestral arrangements.
The near absolution in stylistic switch is incredibly effective. The mind-bending three act “A&W” and the psychedelic blur that is “Jon Batiste Interlude” cut through the quiet of the album like an acid balances a dish that’s too sweet.
While the one foot in, one foot out approach of her last two albums didn’t work, the 75/25 composition of this album forms a beautiful rose with just enough thorns to keep it thrilling. Third time’s the charm for Lana and on Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, she fully shines as a vocalist and songwriter in the third arc of her career.
Lana Del Rey is so back.
the record
boygenius
Interscope
Mar 31, 2023
Indie rock
It can be hard to believe the record is boygenius’ debut studio album. Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker have been a unit even before their 2018 eponymous debut EP, and individually they’ve been in the scene for even longer. Now 5 years on from their first music release and 5+ years of friendship, the indie rock band has dropped a safe full-length debut that can appeal to both longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Core fans of boygenius and its members can easily match each song to its respective writer. The only track that feels to have a “boygenius” sound is the opening track “Without You Without Them”, and only because it works as a perfect segue from the closing track of the boygenius EP, “Ketchum, ID”, with its parallel acapella vocals.
Essentially, the record is a summation of centrist B-sides from each member of the band. The Phoebe Bridgers tracks are less existential. The Lucy Dacus tracks are less narrative and nostalgic. The Julien Baker tracks are… less depressing and filled less with dread…
But, this is all okay! Around 50% (random figure not based on evidence) of boygenius enjoyers are not fans of all three members—two-thirds (again, random figure not based on evidence) of that are solely fans of Phoebe Bridgers. the record does a good job as a debut by providing an elementary entry point to each member’s work, where nothing veers too extreme in any member’s direction, resulting in a body of work that’s easy to listen to and ultimately safe.
NEVER ENOUGH
Daniel Caesar
Republic
Apr 10, 2023
R&B
How does an artist reach the heights they set with a momentous highly acclaimed debut album? They don’t. With NEVER ENOUGH though, Daniel Caesar is inching back towards the stratospheric potential he demonstrated with Freudian.
Caesar keeps production on his third album simple and contemporary. He doesn’t experiment wildly and keeps it natural. It’s mostly 4/4 time; hi-hat, hi-hat, snare, hi-hat; dreamy synths. If things switch up, it’s a variation of the aforementioned. Boring? No. Effective.
This is all he needs because where he excels is vocally, tonally, and thematically. Caesar goes from rich tenor to falsetto and back again, singing with an alluring swagger about love—complicated, dirty, painful love.
Daniel Caesar may never reach the heights of Freudian again, but that’s fine. He’s staying true to his sound and creating music that stays intriguing with themes that are evergreen.
That! Feels Good!
Jessie Ware
EMI
Apr 28, 2023
Pop
Jessie Ware runs back her new disco sound on That! Feels Good! and it sounds good too. 10 tracks in and out (all under 45 minutes)—you’ll have this album on repeat at dance parties all Summer long.
That! Feels Good! lacks the groundbreaking factor the pandemic disco party What’s Your Pleasure? had in 2020, as pop music has hastily adopted the disco sound on a grand scale, but this album’s production still rises above the plethora of key-banging piano melodies and groovy bass lines.
Jessie Ware set the bar high for herself with the strength of the first album in her career’s second act, so does That! Feels Good! suffer from second album syndrome? It’d be extremely harsh to say it does. Most of the songs are phenomenal.
As aforementioned, it doesn’t zag on the average sound of pop music, nor is it going to be an album of the year favourite. The second single, “Pearls”, could’ve been sung by any other pop artist with its uninspiring production (paging Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, etc.). Another point when the album hiccups is when it dips out for a moment to Jessie Ware Act I Club next door for a quick drink on “Lightning”. The track just doesn’t work, nor does it fit the album. Not to fret though, the vibes were off and we quickly go back to Jessie Ware Act II Disco Club to finish off the night on a high on “These Lips”.
It’s impossible to listen to That! Feels Good! without comparing it to What’s Your Pleasure?, but on its own, it’s very good. It makes you dance and it makes you dance some more—alone in your apartment, or sweating it out with strangers in a bar. Will the third iteration of this sound work? We’ll have to see. For now, We! Feel! Good!
Life Under the Gun
Militarie Gun
Loma Vista
Jun 23, 2023
Hardcore
“I’ve waited long enough” is the line that opens Life Under the Gun and Militarie Gun fans could not shout this any louder. Two years on from All Roads Lead to the Gun (both EPs), the Los Angeles hardcore punk band have released their long awaited debut album. Heavy, shouty, melodic, Life Under the Gun is a burst of energy one 2ish-minute song at a time.
Life Under the Gun lacks the rawness that the EPs brought, but the much more refined sound works in the album’s favour. Deep hardcore heads may argue the contrary, but the cleaner production elevates the more melodic nature of Life Under the Gun, without losing much of Militarie Gun’s vigor and bravado.
The heavy driven guitars are balanced out by Britpop and post-punk inspired chorus riffs. The harsh and shouty verse vocals are softened for anthemic chorus melodies.
Rock music fans that are not necessarily intrigued by hardcore and other heavier subgenres, should give Militarie Gun’s Life Under the Gun a spin. Those who enjoyed Turnstile’s GLOW ON should definitely check this record out. Hardcore fans, well, you probably already have Militarie Gun saved.
Check out selected cuts from the highlights on the Spotify playlist.
The Utility Spot 