January Is the Worst, But These Three Albums Will Make It a Little More Bearable
January sucks. There is no need to sugar coat it. It may be the worst month of the year. January is like being stuck at the bottom of the hill on a roller coaster. You are coming down from the highs of the holidays and making your New Year's Resolutions and convincing yourself that you are going to keep them. Two weeks into January, you are already giving up on those hopeful resolutions and you've settled in to the funk you will most likely be in until at least April.
Knowing that January is the worst, you would think the entertainment industry would kick it into high gear to help us forget about how it's not even worth it to leave your house, but you would be wrong. January is a dumping ground for movies that studios have zero expectations for and music that the artist and the producers don't really want people to hear. This January gave us all a nice surprise with three albums being released that should help us trudge through the winter doldrums.
Björk, "Vulnicura
Björk is too weird. Is her voice even any good? I can barely understand a word she says. These are all things that I have heard non-Björk fans say when they are trying to explain why they won't give the enigmatic Icelandic a try. I know this, because these are some of the excuses that I would give when someone suggested I give her music a listen. I finally gave in. My friends have pretty good taste in music so I listened to "Debut" her... debut. And I was hooked.
Some of the complaints leveled against Björk are valid. Her music can sometimes be too insular and self-indulgent. Her last album, "Biophilia," was very much both of those things. She seemed more concerned with the app that accompanied the album then with the music itself. Something happened in between "Biophilia" and the recording and release of "Vulnicura." Björk and her partner, Matthew Barney, ended their relationship and she channelled those recognizable feelings into her most relatable album yet. The albums sprawling, nine tracks document the time before, during and after the break up. The lyrics are some of her most personal but the music is still dense, sonically interesting and uniquely Björk. When the album leaked two months before it's planned release, the singer pulled a Beyoncé released the album digitally to iTunes. If you like to get your music the old-fashioned way, the physical CD will be released on March 3rd.
Fall Out Boy, "American Beauty/American Psycho"
In the early aughts there were a lot of pop punk bands that emerged. The majority of them have broken up or just kind of disappeared into the ether. It was fun while it lasted My Chemical Romance! Bon voyage Good Charlotte! Keep on Truckin' Panic! At the Disco! It seemed like Fall Out Boy was headed in the same direction. They went on "hiatus" and released a greatest hits compilation. Lead singer Patrick Stump released a solo CD. When they announced their return in 2013, FOB defied expectations with return single "My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" and the album that followed "Save Rock and Roll."
"American Beauty/American Psycho" comes less than two years after the success of that album and based on the 11 high octane songs it contains FOB shows no sign of slowing down or losing any of their momentum. Suzanne Vega sampling lead single "Centuries" is a blast of power pop that gets this new era of the band off on the right foot. FOB have grown since their early days with the unnecessarily long song titles, but they haven't lost all their quirk. What other band could get away with a song like current single "Uma Thurman" that is built around a sample that comes from "The Munsters" theme song?
Dawn Richard, "Blackheart"
You may know that Dawn Richard used to be a member of the Diddy founded girl group Danity Kane. You may have also heard that Danity Kane was planning a comeback that came to an unceremonious end when Dawn allegedly smacked Aubrey O'Day upside the head during a heated argument in the studio. That put a stop to that reunion. The Danity Kane album was hastily released and forgotten about. Dawn wasn't bothered by any of this. She kept it moving and released "Blackheart" the impressive follow up to her equally impressive debut "Goldenheart."
"Blackheart" is the second installment in a trilogy of albums that Dawn is planning on releasing. "Redemptionheart" will follow at some point in the future. The album is full of moody, forward thinking alt R&B. This is a darker album than "Goldenheart," the songs reflecting the break up Dawn went through that was caused by infidelity. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Dawn teams up with former Danity Kane bandmate Aundrea Fimbres on the album standout, "Phoenix."
So, there you have it. Three killer albums all released in January! What do you guys think? Any albums you picked up this month that impressed you that I missed? Let me know in the comments.
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