San Francisco Days, Chris Isaak

San Francisco Days, Chris Isaak, 1993, :41

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I am reasonably sure that 99%, if not the entirety, of Chris Isaacs' oeuvre can be summed up in a single sentence: "I messed up my love life and now I bitterly regret it." His brand of laid back folk-soul rock doesn’t vary much. Brushes hitting the drums. That thick sound of the blue guitar. And of course that honeyed voice, that climbs to a falsetto wail of despair or comes down to an eerie haunted whisper. Phrases such as "I am still crying," "Sorry I made you cry," and "I’m thinking of you / I really love you" abound in his lyrics.  It's all very routine, but well-made.  He covers "Solitary Man," which is totally in his wheelhouse; sadly, "5:15" did not turn out to be the Who cover I hoped it would be.  Favorite tracks: "San Francisco Days," "Beautiful Homes," "Lonely With a Broken Heart."

Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, the Cranberries

It's the title word count-up to ten! Nine words.

Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, the Cranberries, 1993, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I'm quite surprised by this album, which I idiotically dismissed as "pop" when it came out because it was new and I was a hip dude who only listened to old music, because old music is great, and new music sucks, except now this album is old, and it's good now.  Good lord, I was a pretentious little jerk.  Anyhoo, this debut album, while perhaps slightly overlong (I'd cut out a couple of tracks), features some astonishing songwriting chops right out of the gate by Dolores, whom I'm sure I dismissed at the time as just a pretty face with a voice, because I was a pretentious jerk.  Favorite tracks: "Dreams," "Linger," "Sunday," and "Still Can't..."

Live Through This, Hole

It's the title word count-up to ten! Three words.

Live Through This, Hole, 1993, :38

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The original riot girl feminist grunge rock. Hole tackles issues like body image, sexual politics, romance, and abuse throughout. Sounds like a harder-hitting Liz Phair, or an angrier Breeders. I don't think there's any point to the hoary and fairly misogynistic debate over how much of a hand, if any, Cobain had in this material. Even if, as I don't think he did, he wrote all the songs, this is still Love's vision and performance. There's definitely signs of a Cobain influence in the writing, but the emotion and the muscle is all Love's.  Again, I'd say that this is one of those four-star albums that doesn't have too many extraordinary moments, but is successful at what it sets out to do throughout.  Favorite tracks: "Violet," "Miss World," "Doll Parts."

Last Splash, the Breeders

It's Wimmen Week!

Last Splash, the Breeders, 1993, :39

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Kim Deal's side project that was bigger than the Pixies, the Breeders rock pretty hard.  There's a lot of distortion, pell-mell drumming, and buzzy riffs that come in waves.  Unfortunately, there's also some of that droning, lo-fi stuff that was so big in the '90s and which I just can't get my rock 'n' roll brain to admire.  So while this is a strong album, and the high points are great, I think there are also some skippable tracks.  So I simply don't find myself as enthused about it as I might be, as a whole album.  I want to say three and a half stars?  At the moment of writing, anyway.  Favorite tracks: "Cannonball," "Invisible Man," "Drivin' on 9," Divine Hammer."

Liberation, Divine Comedy

Currently doing one album for each year, 1960-2020. Today: 1993. 

Liberation, Divine Comedy, 1993, :51

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This is the second album under the name Divine Comedy, but the first that followed Neil Hannon's artistic vision and marked a change in style.  Hannon played guitar, bass, and keyboard on this, but it's hardly a one-man effort; there's percussion and a string session.  Anyway, this is ornate, lush orchestral pop of the typical Divine Comedy style.  His sound really coalesced quickly.  The instrumental "Europe By Train" gets tiresome and is overlong; Hannon's strength is in his robust, fruity, public-school British voice and literate, witty lyrics.  If you like Belle & Sebastian, and if you don't you're a yokel with no taste, you'll like this.  Favorite tracks: "Your Daddy's Car," "The Pop Singer's Fear Of the Pollen Count," "Lucy."