The Brutalist Bricks, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Currently doing one album for each year, 1960-2020. Today: 2010.

The Brutalist Bricks, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, 2010, :41

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

For quite some time I have heard good things about and from this band.  So I started this one up with great expectations.  Gradually, I became disappointed.  It's... well, it's a standard rock album.  At times, like on "Even Heroes Have To Die," I was reminded of that '90s indie jangle-rock sound like the Rembrandts and Soul Asylum.  It's a very strong rock album, written and played with skill. don't get me wrong. I just expected... more, something hard-hitting.  Oh, there are hard-hitting tracks ("The Stick"), but there's no overarching cohesion.  Favorite tracks: "Where Was My Brain," "End of Days."

Praise And Blame, Tom Jones

Praise and Blame, Tom Jones, 2010, :38

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This terrific gospel album is a wonderful surprise.  Jones' voice is powerful and carries a lot of emotional weight.  It's not corny at all. At times he growls like the Blind Boys of Alabama, or bellows like a preacher.  Even though I don't listen to a lot of gospel and almost no Tom Jones, I could see myself returning to this one.  Favorite tracks: the cover of "What Good Am I," "Did Trouble Me," 'Didn't it Rain."