Music & Concerts

YEAR IN REVIEW 2016: Music

Mould, Beyonce, Ocean, Bowie deliver stellar albums

Published

8 years ago

December 28, 2016

Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ was a seminal album this year. Decades later, it will be seen as a touchstone of the era. (Photo courtesy Parkwood/Columbia)

10. Ray LaMontagne ‘Ouroboros’

Produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne’s sixth album is a ‘70s-style throwback to the astral prog-rock of Pink Floyd’s best work. “Ouroboros” is a toker’s opus, an expansive head-trip deep into a world much less tense than our own. The album is meticulously crafted, a slowly swaying melding of piano, guitar and effects, with LaMontagne’s voice floating above like a distant dream. “Ouroboros” is made for late nights, great headphones and allowing the real world to fade into oblivion for a while, where it belongs.

9. Bob Mould ‘Patch the Sky’

Veteran alt-rocker Bob Mould’s latest release is perhaps his tightest since 1992’s landmark album with Sugar, “Copper Blue.” As with Sugar, Mould fronts a blistering power trio that bashes out his tunes with explosive firepower. The vocals are down in the mix, the melodies seeping through a stinging barrage of guitars and a ferocious rhythm section. “Voices in My Head” is the standout cut, but there are no weak links. Lean, mean and sparked with the same fervor that made Hüsker Dü such an influential band, “Patch the Sky” is the latest in Mould’s long string of essential recordings.

8. Pet Shop Boys ‘SUPER’

It seems apt that 30 years since “West End Girls” topped the charts, Pet Shop Boys would deliver one of the finest albums of their career. “SUPER” exhibits Neil Tennant’s whip-smart lyrics spiked with his usual dry wit, and Chris Lowe’s electronic wizardry is as inventive and exciting as ever. “SUPER” mixes retro ‘90s grooves with ultra-modern dancefloor bangers. The highlight is “Twenty-Something,” a piercing commentary on the millennial generation’s restless anxiety over the pressures of trying to keep up with the expectations of an increasingly cynical world beholden to money, status and technology. “SUPER” is smart, edgy, and irrefutable evidence that great pop music has no age limit.

7. Suede ‘Night Thoughts’

The veteran British rockers’ second album since their long hiatus is as good as anything they’ve done, on par with their 1994 masterpiece “Dog Man Star.” Suede has always brought a sense of dark theatricality to their work, but with “Night Thoughts” they up the ante with a full string section bolstering their brooding, cinematic rock. “Night Thoughts” is a work of ambitious grandeur, Brett Anderson’s expressive vocals soaring above a jagged and melancholy foundation.

6. Avalanches ‘Wildflower’

It took 16 years, but the Australian electro-mindbenders Avalanches finally released the follow-up to their classic “Since I Left You” this year. Like their debut, “Wildflower” is a dizzying swirl of samples and electronic effects that whiz in, out and around the listener’s consciousness like lights flashing through a smoky herbal haze. Highlights include the trippy aural excursions “Subway,” “Colours” and the sublime “Sunshine,” a dazzling ray of light that reminds us why we loved Avalanches so much in the first place.

5. Beyoncé ‘Lemonade’

“Lemonade” is a bold and relentlessly innovative fusion of modern R&B/pop with undercurrents of classic soul and gospel slashed with elements spun from a wildly diverse musical palette. Decades from now when listeners point to music that most sharply reflect the turbulent times in which we now exist, “Lemonade” will be at the top of that list. It’s a deeply personal journey that chronicles a complex relationship riven by distrust, rage and anxiety that is echoed in the context of an America roiled by blazing social upheaval.

4. Lucinda Williams ‘The Ghosts of Highway 20’

Interstate 20 stretches from Conway, S.C., to Kent, Texas, running through most of the South. It is indeed a trail through a vast and haunted land wrought by a dark and bloody history, and Lucinda Williams draws on those ghosts for her second two-CD masterpiece in a row, “The Ghosts of Highway 20.” Following 2014’s extraordinary “Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone,” Williams continues in the same vein with many of the same musicians, including guitar great Bill Frisell. The production is spare and the raw swamp-rock vibe places the listener right alongside the Highway itself. Williams’ writing is masterful and her ability to convey genuine emotion and vulnerability in her well-worn, beautifully rugged voice brings these songs to powerful life.

3. Frank Ocean ‘Blond’

The eagerly awaited follow-up to Frank Ocean’s stellar debut “Channel Orange,” “Blond” doesn’t disappoint. Ocean’s slow-burning, oddly structured compositions fall between the cracks of any traditionally definable genre. “Blond” is built on fragmented dreams, an intimate night of mind travel that’s languid and shrouded in smoke, mellow and contemplative but also immediate and potent. Ocean’s hypnotic tone poems wander in unexpected directions, looping a kaleidoscope of samples and vocal effects with complete disregard for the confining lines of standard pop, R&B or hip-hop. It’s an uncompromising step forward for a gifted artist who will surely continue to surprise.

2. Radiohead ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’

“A Moon Shaped Pool” is Radiohead’s most lushly beautiful and deeply personal album, on par with their very best work. “Burn the Witch,” with its tense paranoia and gripping col legno battuto strings that build to a feverish climax, captures the mood of 2016 as well as any other song this year. “Daydreaming” is a soul-wrenching reverie on the end of a long relationship, which is the overarching thread that ties the album together. It closes with the melancholy “True Love Waits,” Thom Yorke’s forlorn vocal gliding over the sparse electronic accompaniment, pleading, “Don’t leave … just don’t leave.” It seems a futile gesture. “A Moon Shaped Pool” is an album of subtle melodies and intricate arrangements that unfurl majestically, another glistening gem in Radiohead’s already peerless body of work.

1. David Bowie ‘Blackstar’

David Bowie released “Blackstar” on his 69th birthday, and it was immediately hailed as a bold modern classic. It was only two days later, as the world learned of Bowie’s shocking death, that the full context and profound meaning of “Blackstar” became infinitely more clear. Keeping his terminal cancer secret, Bowie and longtime producer Tony Visconti worked with ace jazz musicians that provide a tight and sophisticated canvas for a spacey trip through the chilling final mythologies and expressions of a dying man. “Lazarus,” with its ragged, breathless vocals and wrenching lyrics, remains a painful listen. The grief is still raw. It’s staggering to contemplate the determination and artistic vision that David Bowie possessed to create one last towering masterpiece as those last months and weeks ticked away. He closes with “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” a rueful acknowledgement of what we’ve always known: through his five-decade career, his many personas and an endless inventory of classic songs, we’ve never known exactly where the real David Jones is lurking. The truth is that every album is a facet of a man with many faces. In all its glorious darkness, “Blackstar” is the last puzzle piece, the image complete, the ending to an extraordinary journey finally revealed.

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Music & Concerts

Pianist Jeremy Denk to play George Mason

Soloist performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 alongside FSO

Published

3 weeks ago

November 16, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

Pianist Jeremy Denk (Photo by Shervin Lainez)

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University co-present Jeremy Denk — one of America’s foremost pianists—on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. Denk joins the FSO as soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. The concert, conducted by FSO Music Director Christopher Zimmerman, also includes the regional premiere of “She Dreams of Flying” by American composer Quinn Mason, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Tickets are available through the Fairfax Symphony and the Center for the Arts: $65, $55, $40 and half-price for youth through grade 12 (service fees may apply).

A pre-performance discussion with Denk and Maestro Christopher Zimmerman, moderated by Mason Dewberry School of Music Professor John Healey, will take place in Monson Grand Tier, located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.

Music & Concerts

Lana Del Rey, Katy Perry plan fall releases

A Fleetwood Mac live album, more Joni archives among vintage options

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2024

Joey DiGuglielmo

Dolly Parton’s ‘Smoky Mountain DNA’ is slated for a Nov. 15 release. (Image courtesy Owepar Entertainment)

Paris Hilton released her “Infinite Icon” album on Sept. 6. It’s just the second effort following a massive hiatus — her debut album “Paris” was released way back in 2006. Sia produces. This summer’s “I’m Free” was the first single. A tour is planned. Hilton promised a “heavily gay-leaning release.”

Miranda Lambert’s “Postcards from Texas” is slated to drop today. Lambert’s 10th studio album was preceded by the May release of single “Wranglers,” which stalled in the lower 30s on country radio. Lambert calls the album a musical ode to her home state. She co-produces with Jon Randall and either wrote or co-wrote 10 of the project’s 14 cuts.

Katy Perry’s “143” is set for a Sept. 20 release. It will be her seventh studio album. Its title refers to what she says is her symbolic angel number. Perry is aiming for a dance party feel working with producers Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Stargate, Vaughn Oliver and Rocco Did It Again! The proceedings are not off to a strong start. First single “Woman’s World” stalled at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up “Lifetimes” failed to crack the Hot 100 at all.

Fleetwood Mac releases “Mirage Tour ’82” on Sept. 20. It includes six tracks previously unreleased including “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams,” “Never Going Back Again,” “Sara” and more. Available on double CD, triple vinyl and digitally.

Volume four of Joni Mitchell’s “Archives” series dubbed “The Asylum Years: 1976-1980” releases Oct. 4. It’s being offered in six-CD or four-LP (highlights) configurations. It will feature unreleased studio sessions, alternate versions, live recordings, rarities and a 36-page book with new photos and an extensive conversation between Mitchell and filmmaker/uberfan Cameron Crowe.

Sophie B. Hawkins releases her “Whaler Re-Emerging” album (a re-recording of her landmark 1994 album) on Oct. 15. Order through her site and the first 250 copies will be signed. Hawkins (who identifies as omnisexual) says it surpasses the original.

Joe Jonas’s “Music for People Who Believe in Love” and Shawn Mendes’s “Shawn” are both set for Oct. 18 releases. Jonas’s album (his first solo effort since 2011’s “Fastlife”) will feature songwriting he says is of a more personal nature. Billboard called it “unvarnished” but with a shimmery pop sound aglow with garage rock and alt-pop influences. First single “Work It Out” was released over the summer and failed to chart.

“Shawn” will be Mendes’s first album since 2020’s “Wonder,” the tour of which he cancelled citing mental health. Two singles — “Why Why Why” and “Isn’t That Enough” — have been released. The former stalled at no. 84 on the Hot 100. He has called the album his “most musically intimate and lyrically honest work to date.”

Lana Del Rey’s “Lasso” is expected for a possible fall release, although some sources say it’s been bumped to early 2025. No date had been announced as of yet. She’s apparently going the Beyonce route and releasing a straight-up country album.

Dolly Parton plans a Nov. 15 release for “Smoky Mountain DNA — Family, Faith & Fables.” Parton recruited family to help her on the 37 (!)-track collection, which will also encompass a four-part docuseries tracing Parton’s familial roots. One song (“A Rose Won’t Fix It”) is an outtake from the feverish writing sessions that led to her solid (but underrated) 1998 album “Hungry Again.” An extremely limited-edition triple vinyl release is also planned.

Release dates shift and many more releases will be announced later. Pitchfork keeps a great running tab at pitchfork.com/news/new-album-releases. Also check your local record store for Black Friday special editions available on Friday, Nov. 29. Release info was scant as of this writing.

(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Blade’s news and features editor from 2006-2020.)

Music & Concerts

Fall concerts feature Sivan, Eilish, Lauper, more

Ndegeocello pays tribute to Baldwin at Strathmore next month

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2024

Joey DiGuglielmo

Sigur Ros plays the Anthem this month. Frontman JONSI (center) is gay. (Photo by Chloe Kritharas; courtesy motormouthmedia)

Sigur Ros will be joined by the Wordless Music Orchestra at the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Wednesday, Sept. 25th. They’re continuing their 2023 tour in support of “Atta,” their first LP of original music in a decade. Frontman Jonsi is gay. Tickets are $60.50-173.50 for this seated show.

Troye Sivan brings the “Sweat Tour” with Charli XCX (co-headlining) to Baltimore at the CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Thursday, Sept. 26th at 7:30 p.m. It’s sold out. The latter is touring behind her 2024 album “Brat.” The former is touring behind his 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other.” Sivan is gay and has performed at Capital Pride.

Cyndi Lauper brings her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour” to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $29-179. It’s her first solo arena stateside tour since her ’86-’87 “True Colors World Tour.” Lauper is a longtime and avid LGBTQ ally.

St. Vincent brings her “All Born Screaming Tour” to the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Friday, Sept. 13th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55-95. A Variety review called it “minimalist” and said “with no video screens, backup singers or sketches, and a lot of electric guitar, it’s the purest distillation of St. Vincent we’ve had on stage in quite a few years.” Anne Erin Clark (aka St. Vincent) doesn’t identify as anything sexually but has mostly dated women in recent years.

Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming play Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Va.) on Friday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. Individual sets are planned, but there will likely be a duet or two. Tickets are $29.

Out singer/songwriter Perfume Genius brings his “Too Bright 10th Anniversary Tour” to The Atlantis (2047 9th St., N.W.) on Monday, Sept. 16. This highly limited run will only play six dates in five cities. Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) will perform his 2014 album in its entirety. It’s sold out.

Meghan Trainor brings “The Timeless Tour” to Jiffy Lube Live (7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristol, Va.) on Tuesday, Sept. 17th at 6:30 p.m. She’s touring behind her album of the same name released earlier this year. Tickets are $33-155. No lawn seats available for this show.

Queer-affirming gospel singer Amy Grant (who also had a decent pop chart run in the ’90s) brings her fall tour to The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. As she’s done on tour with previous re-releases, Grant could include more songs than usual from her 1994 “House of Love” album, which was just released in an expanded edition and on LP for the first time. Tickets are $95.

Sara Bareilles, a self-described LGBTQ ally, joins the NSO Pops for a three-night stint at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Sept. 24-26 at 8 p.m. each night. It’s sold out.

Billie Eilish brings her “Hit Me Hard and Soft: the Tour” to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) in Baltimore on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Her album of the same name dropped in March. Although she’s mostly dated guys publicly, Eilish identifies as bi. It’s sold out.

Queer artist Meshell Ndegeocello plays the Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md.) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Her show is dubbed “No More Water: the Gospel of James Baldwin” and is billed as a tribute event to the legendary Black gay writer. A pre-concert event, “The Gospel of Meshell Ndegeocello” is free but advanced registration is required. Tickets for the concert are $28-74.

Former Capital Pride headliner Betty Who (“queer/bi” herself) brings her “An Acoustic Evening in Celebration of 10 years of TMWYG” to the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $55. It’s a nod to her 2014 debut album “Take Me When You Go.”

Justin Timberlake brings his “Forget Tomorrow World Tour” to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 13. This seventh headlining concert tour (and first in five years) supports his 2024 sixth album “Everything I Thought it Was.” Reviews for the tour have been strong; the setlist looks career-spanning and generous. It’s sold out.

Gay-helmed Pink Martini with China Forbes and Ari Shapiro plays the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40-80.

’80s pop sensation Debbie Gibson brings her “Acoustic Youth: Songs & Stories from Electric Youth Era” to the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $59.50. Gibson is celebrating her 1989 album “Electric Youth,” her second. She’ll accompany herself on piano playing the songs “the way I first wrote them.”

DJ/producer Diplo, who says he’s “not not gay,” plays Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road, N.E.) on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. Walker and Royce join. Tickets are $60.

Motown diva Diana Ross brings her “Beautiful Love Performances Legacy Tour” to MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) on Oct. 24-25 at 8 p.m. Except for adding a couple cuts from her abysmal 2021 album “Thank You” (her latest), her setlist has not changed much in 15 years. She’s a little better about performing Supremes songs than she was earlier in her career (for ages, they were crammed into one medley), but she still heavily favors her solo material. Tickets start at $102.

“The Life and Music of George Michael” comes to the National Theatre (1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Hard to tell from promo material if this is a typical jukebox musical-type show or more like a tribute band concert for the late gay singer. Tickets are $55.

“Sapphic Factory: Queer Joy Party” is at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. It’s slated to feature music by artists such as Mana, Chappell Roan, Fletcher, Phoebe Bridges, Kehlani, Rina Sawayama, boygenius, Kim Petras, Tegan and Sara and more. Tickets are $23.

Kacey Musgraves brings her “Deeper Well World Tour” to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. It supports her sixth studio album, released in March. The setlist morphed slightly over a spring run in Europe. It’s sold out.

Soul diva Gladys Knight plays the Hall at Live! (7002 Arundel Mills Circle) in Hanover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 17th at 7:30 p.m. Knight, who hasn’t had a new album out in a decade, tends to be fairly generous with her classic Motown- and Buddha-era hits with the Pips in approximately 75-minute sets. Tickets start at $95.

(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Blade’s news and features editor from 2006-2020.)