February: Yeehaw!
Welcome to another month of Search/Play/Repeat! If you're unfamiliar, feel free to review January's blog post to get an idea of what this blog's about or why I'm doing it. Otherwise, let's jump into what I listened to throughout the month of February.
Despite kicking the month off with The Afghan Whigs, February quickly began to lean more heavily on the different facets of Country music, from Bruce Springsteen's Americana to Pinegrove's uncommon blend of Emo and Alt-Country. These past few weeks my wife and I have been getting into Orville Peck's 2019 debut, Pony. He's Country's mysterious cowboy, hell-bent on reviving the classic country sound for new audiences, and it's really good. He's 1-part Elvis Presley and 2-parts Roy Orbison. I had trouble whittling down my Orville Peck song choice, but in the end, I went with "Roses are Falling," which is reminiscent of Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk" up until Peck begins to croon. This album caused me to fall down Country's rabbit-hole for a few days. Since I was getting Roy Orbison-vibes, it seemed like a decent place to start. "You Got It" has actually always been one of my favorite songs, but I never thought to check out the rest of the album it comes from, Mystery Girl. It didn't put me in a rush to listen to more Orbison, but the album does have its high moments.
I wasn't quite sure where I should go next. I knew I wanted to listen to something rooted in Country in some shape or form. Murder by Death had a show coming up, and I was reminded of the few times I saw O'Death open for them. O'Death are a unique blend of Goth, Country, and Bluegrass. The only album I have is the great Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin... which is 12 years old. It was time to get a refresher. I dove into the last album they put out in 2014, Out of Hands We Go. It's much more toned down than the punk-fueled Broken Hymns, but a solid album that fit the mood I was in. Needing that little bit of punk energy though inspired me to revisit Country-Punk outfit, Lucero. I skipped out on the last few Lucero albums, so I decided to work my way back with their most recent release, Among the Ghosts. I was pleased to find they're still doing what they do best.
It wasn't all Country all month. Envy, Spanish Love Songs, and Green Day all had new albums come out. Envy didn't really fit in with the rest of the playlist, but their new album is great! I encourage everyone to give it a listen. You can check out Mick's review HERE. I took the time to listen to King Krule and Grimes' new albums, which managed to have songs that fit this month's playlist somehow. I've seen a lot of buzz over King Krule for years, but never gave him a chance. He didn't really click for me, but maybe Man Alive wasn't the best starting point? Before the month came to a close, I was also able to sneak in Soccer Mommy's new album. I need to give it some more attention, but "Stain" immediately stood out on the first listen. It's such a simple song unlike anything else on the record.
Thus wraps up February's playlist. I don't know what I'm going to listen to in March. St. Patrick's Day is coming up, so I may end up listening to a bunch of Flogging Molly for all I know. We shall see! Thanks for reading and checking out the playlist below:
