Welcome to the inaugural edition of Heard This Week! In this series, The Mammoth will quickly go over albums he’s listened that released in the last 7 days. Usually 5 albums, usually by artists he hasn’t heard before. He will provide brief impressions of the overall album, highlight favorite tracks, and wrap up with whether or not the record inspires him to further explore the artist’s other work – ADMIN
Alex G – Headlight
Alex G has a long reputation for making compelling, reflective lo-fi rock music. In many ways, Headlights fits right into that description, but having heard his breakout record, DSU, before, this album highlights his growth as a musician and storyteller. Some times its instrumentals are shimmery and anthemic, veering towards shoegaze. At others, they’re restrained, almost folksy. Others still, bluesy and muted. But all of it sounds very W I D E. They provide a nice contrast to his voice, which is soft and crooning, pitchy at times while fitting the aesthetic. In particular, the Mammoth was compelled by the interplay between the mandolin and accordion on “Afterlife”. The lone stain on the record is the track “Far and Wide”, which has moments where it resembles a Muppets ballad, especially the singing.
Highlight Tracks: “Louisiana”, “Afterlife”, “Is It Still You In There?”
Worthy of Investigation?
The Mammoth is interested to see what else Alex G has released in the intervening decade since DSU. A quick skim of his career shows a few surprise projects. If the reader is seeking good music to listen to while thinking deep thoughts, this will scratch that itch.
Slaughter to Prevail – Grizzly
The Mammoth considers this a solid deathcore record, highlighted by vocalist Alex Terrible’s vocals, and excellent instrumental backing. On both their Russian and English language tracks, Terrible incorporates this trill into his growls that adds a novel quality to his performance. The atonal, dissonant lead guitar interjections that are added alongside the usual death metal pinch harmonics remind The Mammoth of Slipknot’s work. They are particularly noticeable on the track “Song 3”, a collaboration with Japanese novelty act Babymetal that is a good collaboration, though the joke of mixing idol singing with extreme music wore out its welcome long ago for The Mammoth. A track of special note is the ballad “Rodina”, where Terrible sings clean, and the track “Vikings” which, ITMO (In The Mammoth’s Opinion), has the best breakdown. The final track, “1984”, was meant to be a meaningful coda to the record, being about the environment in Russia amid the current war, but the message behind the track came across as simplistic and shallow.
Highlight Tracks: “Vikings”, “Behelit”, “Rodina”
Worthy of Investigation?
The Mammoth thinks not. This is not a bad deathcore record, but it’s not an amazing one. The rest of the artist’s history does not interest him.
Madeline Kenney – Kiss From The Balcony
This record runs the gamut from moody electronica to breezy acoustic pop. The Mammoth considers the production to be the highlight of the album – especially in the choruses. Kenney’s vocals are often quite subdued and quiet, but on tracks like “I Never” and “Semitones”, she shows she’s capable of a very powerful, almost defiant-sounding, vocal performance. There’s a tendency to build tension with these swirling electronic interludes, before stripping things back and re-centering the sound around Kenney again. Overall, the record is VERY compelling.
Highlight Tracks: “Semitones”, “I Never”, “Slap”
Worthy of Investigation?
The Mammoth says yes – if only because he’s curious if this eclectic mix of sounds is a result of this record being a collaboration with two new artists for Kenney, or if the genre fluidity that runs throughout it was part of her style all along.
Zac Farro – Operator
The Mammoth considers this to be the biggest disappointment of the five records he focused on for this article. Farro has an established career, first as the drummer for the pop-punk band Paramore, then as the consistent creative voice for the synth/rock project HalfNoise, but something motivated him to release this as his first record under his own name. It’s a perfectly competent pop record, aiming for (and accomplishing) a summery, funky vibe. The Mammoth was strongly reminded of Vulfpeck. But something is missing; there’s no technical flaws, but very little passion. It’s the sonic equivalent of lukewarm tea – it still gets the job done, but it’s not what you wanted for tea. It’s trying too hard to be cool and relaxed, and instead comes off as muted.
Highlight Tracks: “My My” has a nice guitar intro. “1” has about 25% more energy than anything else on the record.
Worthy of Investigation?
The Mammoth understands HalfNoise attracted some interest and probably doesn’t sound anything like Operator, but more of this? The next time he puts on something like this would be in the search for inoffensive background music at a party.
millkzy – thenarrator
This record begins with a rocky start. Not knowing millkzy’s prior work, the way “mirageanother” and “miragenist” lean very heavily into a rhythm-less approach – most often they sound more like spoken word with musical backing – The Mammoth was concerned he’d be thrown out of the whole experience. But slowly, the two sides, vocals and instrumentals, meet each other, blooming into a record of quiet, contemplative, and passionate hip hop. The vibe is immaculate — millkzy has this even, rumbling flow that, at times, comes off as dispassionate, but remains enthralling. He explores themes of crises of confidence, social status, relationships, and regrets, draped over quiet RNB beats with wooden, snappy percussion, glossy synths, and ethereal background choruses. The album art captures the spirit of the album perfectly: a man taking a moment in a chair, left alone with his thoughts.
Highlight Tracks: “heavencanwait(itcan’t)”, “aseverancesickness”
Worthy of Investigation?
Absolutely. In very good ways, this artist reminds The Mammoth of J. Cole. Well, maybe J. Cole on Xanax.