The 706 Albums Digest: March 2024, Part I

The Black Crowes- Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow)

Even the most loyal followers of these vintage rock & roll heroes would be forgiven for approaching the first Black Crowes album in a decade and a half with caution and skepticism. The years since the band’s last proper studio release, 2009’s Before the Frost…Until the Freeze, have been littered with a litany of line-up changes, failed reunions, and well-known dissension between founding brothers Chris and Rich Robinson. Nevertheless, it does not take long for the burning, bluesy rock energy that courses through the veins of Happiness Bastards to adamantly restore faith in the fiery and magnetic vitality of this modern rock cornerstone. Chris’ passionately bawdy vocals are in all of their captivating glory and play off his brother’s scintillating guitar work (as well as Sven Pipien’s on-point bass support) as boldly and seamlessly as any other record throughout their three-decade canon, a spirited continuity which is unsurprisingly perfectly captured by one of this era’s truly great sound men, ace-producer Jay Joyce. Jams like “Bedside Manners”, “Rats and Clowns”, “Bleed It Dry”, “Follow the Moon”, and the like recall the heights of 90s frat-rock and deserve to be staple anthems on modern playlists. Meanwhile, a union with ubiquitous country darling Lainey Wilson on “Wilted Rose” proves to be a thrilling showcase of the band’s omnipresent Southern roots. All in all, Happiness Bastards instantly triumphs as one of the year’s premiere band efforts, and just as Shake Your Money Maker did in 1990, serves as a surging reminder of the timeless appeal of all the flavors that give American rock its insatiable roots.

Bleachers- Bleachers (Dirty Hit)

The fourth album from rock stalwarts, Bleachers, arrives accompanied by several significant professional and personal milestones. First, the LP marks their first since branching out on their own record label. Meanwhile, their frontman Jack Antonoff (who you surely must know by now as pop music’s most in-demand producer) finds himself starting down his fortieth birthday, which serves as the impetus for what is overtly their most grounded and reflective body of work to date. While the omnipresent shadow of one’s past and future is certainly lurking here, this is an album firmly planted in the current moment, performed from the perspective of a voice that has accepted both where life has brought them thus far, and wherever it plans to up ahead. This thematic point-of-view lends to the record a more hazy and hushed alt-whisper, one that downplays the splashy synths and boisterous E-Street energy of previous works. It’s very reminiscent of the sound Antonoff has helped make a signature for his protege and alt-darling, Lana Del Rey (who not coincidentally guests on “Alma Mater”). This means a track like the burning first single, “Modern Girl” feels more like a left-over from the Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night-era, which is initially disappointing given the pure fury of Zem Audu’s Clarence-recalling sax playing. However, that same golden sound is just as soothing and inspired on the more pensive songs that permeate the remainder of this album. After all, there’s no way to completely erase the scrappy passion and chipper buoyancy of this band, regardless of which brush they’re painting with. It’s a fact that makes these soulful confessions all the more accessible as you let the album marinate as a listener. Bleachers is undoubtedly a grower, not a shower. But once those revelations do appear, they are deep and potent. Especially for those of us currently confronting this same “Ordinary Heaven” life-stage that inspires Antonoff here, as well as those that can still recall those feelings and have made it to the other side.

Ariana Grande- Eternal Sunshine (Republic)

Ariana Grande’s ascendancy into that rarified air of pop music regency continues in confident stride on the songbird’s seventh studio record. It’s an effort that reunites her with golden producer Max Martin (whose absence was notable on 2020’s Positions), and also follows the disintegration of a brief marriage, an occasion that would presumably alter the tone of an artist’s next record. That is of course if said artist wasn’t already a queen of blistering break-up tunes and kiss-off anthems. Nevertheless, there’s some added fire when she revisits this terrain on tracks like “Bye”, not to mention an elevated layer of raw ache on a cut like “I Wish I Hated You”. Overall, Eternal Sunshine stays entirely loyal to the classic Ari-elements that defined late-2010s smashes like Sweetener and Thank U, Next: irresistible pop hooks, glittery disco shine, confident house beats, sublime R&B vocal chops, and a songwriting poise that allows her to maintain her own agency and autonomy over the tabloid chatter that stalks her. Sparkling, surging moments like the title track, “Supernatural”, and “True Story” find her continually pushing forward the same bold R&B/pop path as Mariah Carey and Destiny’s Child before her(seriously- those harmonies), while balancing them with complex moments of both tempting vulnerability and bittersweet conviction on performances like “Don’t Wanna Break Up Again” and “We Can’t Be Friends” (Wait For Your Love)”. And then there are the pure powerhouse, blockbuster moments like smash single, “Yes And?” and “The Boy Is Mine” which simply propel the record into the stratosphere of pop contagion. Grande’s versatility as both a pure, belting vocalist and a hit-making dynamo remains unparalleled in the current scene. Her powers reach a new peak here, and thus deliver the first true pop juggernaut of 2024, and one that will be difficult to match as the year unfolds.

Kacey Musgraves- Deeper Well (Interscope)

The biggest question hovering over the release of Kacey Musgraves’ sixth studio album surrounded the stylistic direction that Deeper Well would inevitably take. Would it mark a heralded return to the twangy country wit of her first two records? Nope, her hungry traditionalist fanbase will continue to have their patience tested in that regard. Perhaps it would pivot back to the cosmic pop wonder of her biggest triumph, 2018’s Golden Hour, or double down on the misunderstood synth direction of its predecessor, the 2021 divorce diary, Star-Crossed? Negatory in both of those regards as well. Instead, Well finds Musgraves settling into a meditative, songwriter-centric folk realm that has truly been the heartbeat of her music all along, even as she navigated between her country and pop lanes. And while that may not make for the most captivating sonic template out of the gate, it’s certainly the best dressing possible for the collection of songs gathered here. Among many other achievements, Musgraves’ biggest legacy has always been owed to her gift as a poetic lyricist, and that quality is on prime display on this record. These tracks (highlighted by career-best moments like “Cardinal”, “The Architect”, “Dinner with Friends”, and “Lonely Millionaire”) are among the most sharply direct and stirring of her career; a clear-eyed journey through the back-half of one’s thirties. It’s a pivotal time defined by our maturing ability to banish toxic relationships and habits from our existences, and reclaim our power in the process. The warm, clean acoustic folk trappings display these reflective narratives marvelously, and shine the same light on Musgraves’ crystalline, resonant vocals. Few modern artists exude the understanding of a singer-songwriter’s power and purpose than Kacey Musgraves and with Deeper Well, she’s delivered a modern folk music masterclass.

Justin Timberlake- Everything I Thought I Was (RCA)

The arrival of Justin Timberlake’s sixth studio album, his first in as many years, coincides in the midst of a strange phase within the public profile of his staggering career. While there’s no denying that a new JT album retains plenty of the blockbuster zeal of past releases, it’s also indisputable that a series of awkward PR missteps and revisionist analysis of past acts have done plenty of damage to the overall popularity of the suave crooner. Couple that with the (unfairly) maligned reception to this record’s predecessor, 2018’s Man of the Woods, and there’s a visible cloud hovering over this comeback effort. And, that’s where it’s important to drown out all the noise and assess the music on its own merits. In doing so, you’ll find plenty of vintage Timberlake to devour on Everything I Thought I Was. Bangers like “F****n’ Up the Disco”, new single “No Angels”, “Play”, “Infinity Sex”, “My Favorite Drug”, and more shine in the same glorious light as the tastiest moments on records like Justified, Future Sex/Love Sounds, and The 20/20 Experience. Are they likely to be smashes on that level at this stage in his career? Unlikely, but they deserve to be neverthless. They find Timberlake wholly in his stylish and dazzling element; the same realm that allowed him to push the classic pop, dance, and R&B influences of icons like Michael Jackson and Prince into the new millennium. Elsewhere, his experimental nature soars on the Tobe Nwigwe feature, “Sanctified”, while his signature mid-tempo/balladeer magic is likewise highlighted nicely on moments like first single, “Selfish”, “Love & War”, and the sumptuous cocktail tune, “Alone”, which immediately radiates as an all-time career highlight. And then, there’s the highly anticipated NSYNC feature, “Paradise”. It’s packed with all of the prime, throwback harmonies necessary to continue holding rabid fans at bay for the group album & tour that they’re loudly clamoring for (an occasion that would instantly restore Timberlake’s darling status BTW…) An additional staple of JT’s canon is also his disregard for brevity, and with a seventy-seven minute run-time, Everything carries on that tradition as well. This leaves the record prone to some inevitable dead spots, but the otherwise solid nature of the album ultimately compensates for them. His recent press rounds may feel like cringing grabs for lost relevance. However, that vibe is nowhere present within the music on Everything I Thought I Was, which is probably destined to be one of the year’s best dark-horse albums, rather than the cultural movement it would have been a decade prior. Regardless, this is indeed the return-to-form Justin Timberlake followers have been waiting on for the past six years. Might as well turn it up loud, and pretend it’s 2006 all over again.