More of What I’ve Been Listening To– Record Store Day Edition

Self-Taught Learner EP (Lissy Trullie)
Six swaggering lo-fi garage-rock songs denouncing love, putting the rock back in indie rock, and the best part? She kinda looks like Alex Kapranos (https://thequillnews.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/people-that-kinda-look-like-other-people-a-photo-essay/). Not a bad investment of a few bucks and twenty minutes.
B

Fortress ‘Round My Heart (Ida Maria)
Now I’m not usually into Nordic Rock, but I’m bending that rule for Ida Maria, a Swedish cross between Katy Perry and Joan Jett. Fortress ‘Round My Heart is an alternative rock album… but the ability to classify it ends there. The mood shifts from angry to happy to scared to downbeat from song to song, and that’s only Side 1. The constant shifts in mood are not as distracting as one might imagine, as all the songs manage to flow into each other somehow. All in all, it’s a pretty good album, if short (about half an hour), but it’s totally worth the $8 on iTunes, or whatever you can get it for at your corner record shop.
B+

The Hazards of Love (The Decemberists)
Meloy and Co. are back, and as eclectic and creepy as ever. Sweet. The Hazards of Love brings the term “rock opera” to new heights, as it’s pretty much a fucking opera played by a rock band. Okay, so the opera is hevaly influenced by indie and glam rock, but that’s besides the point. Unlike most “rock operas,” The Hazards of Love manages to tell its story of love, lust, and an infanticidal shape-shifting demon very clearly, making one wonder if it’s a collection of songs that run into each other, or one hour-long song. Overall, it’s a really good album. Just don’t listen to the lyrics of “The Rake’s Song.”
A

No Line On The Horizon (U2)
Should be called “Achtung Baby 2.0,” and that’s not a bad thing. Though Bono can (and does) get a bit preachy sometimes. So much for another rock album like 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
B+

People That Kinda Look Like Other People (a photo-essay)