Still spinning

Some albums I've been living with lately. No grades, no rankings. I only write about music I like.

💿 Zach Bryan, With Heaven on Top

A bit of The Boss¹. A dash of Johnny Cash.

Both legends echo through Zach Bryan's latest voluminous (25 tracks) release. It’s like Zach and Morgan Wallen are having a back-and-forth pushup contest, except the reps are tracks released.

The album’s themes are familiar: drinking, regret, love squandered. But there is variety amongst those themes. At times, like on “Skin,” the sentiment is harsh:

I’m takin a blade to my old tattoos

I’m draining the blood between me and you

It’s not all darkness. On “All Good Things Past,” Bryan looks to the future:

Well, all good things pass, but there are better things ahead

Nostalgia has a way of looking better in your head

Some light and optimism pushes through these songs which are introspective and personal, and colored with self-judgement.

There’s criticism that the album represents musical retrenchment for Bryan. Some say the tracks run together, that there’s a lack of big sound or powerful hooks.

But that’s the point.

With Heaven on Top is boldly anti-Spotify². These tracks belong together, not flung across disparate playlists.³

I listened to With Heaven on Top on a Michigan backroads excursion with my wife. That’s this album’s ideal environment. Amble along with it, take in the mix of light and shadow, and don’t rush the destination.

💿 Leon Bridges, Leon

This album deserved more. More recognition. More conversation. More play. Released in 2024, it came and went, as etherial as the Texas memories Bridges shares from his youth.

Leon reminds me of Marvin Gaye, a strong current of 70s soul running through the tracks. There’s a hint of Latin influence running through some tracks, like “Laredo.”

As Leon looks back, the themes are familiar: first love, cruising the streets. But also some specific memories:

Rock, paper, scissors

‘Cause you know the winner would be the first to play Nintendo 64

I enjoyed “Leon” all the way through⁴ and have played it numerous times since, his Texas retrospective accompanying the lengthening evenings with a cocktail here in the great white north.

💿 Wang Chung, Points On The Curve

If you want to be transported directly into the 1980s⁵, Wang Chung’s Points On The Curve is a hell of a transportation vehicle.

It’s rife with 80s staples: lots of synth, comically large drum machine beats and prominent base. “Dance Hall Days'“ is the crown-jewel hit here, and the other tracks, while highly listenable nostalgia-fuel, are missing hooks that got radio play in the early 80s:

Watching this, it’s clear early Wang Chung lacked the cool factor of their British brethren like Duran Duran. And that, in the early MTV era, probably held back a couple more singles from breaking through here. It’s hard for me to believe “Don’t Let Go,” couldn’t have reached a lower rung on Casey Casem’s Countdown.

But I am team Wang Chung. For 80s atmosphere, Points On The Curve is an ideal CD to put on. Let the hair spray fly.

1. “Nebraska” energy, not “Born In The USA”

2. Which makes me love it more.

3. Like it’s supposed to be an album or something. What a concept.

4. If you like this one also, then check out Good Thing, Bridges’ 2018 album that feels like a sibling to this release.

5. Assuming a DeLorean is not available, of course.