Del Amitri Fatal Mistakes 2021

Welcome back, Del Amitri. Almost 20 years after their last album, they're back, and while it doesn't sound like "they never went away", it is close enough.

And they didn't completely go away, as there have been four Justin Currie solo records in the meantime. While they weren't Del Amitri records, Currie is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the band, so those solo albums also came pretty close.

So, does it live up to their reputation for lovely, catchy melodies coupled with Currie's dark lyrics and yearning voice. In short, yes it does. 

A brief review of a band that has had some success, and should have had more. After an odd eponymous debut in 1985 that sounded nothing like the band they would soon become, they made five solid albums between 1989 and 2002. They released 21 singles, several that cracked the top 20 in the UK, and a few that made it into the US charts, including Kiss This Thing Goodbye from Waking Hours 1989, Always The Last To Know from Change Everything 1992, and Roll To Me from Twisted 1995. Not Where It's At and Some Other Sucker's Parade from Some Other Sucker's Parade 1997, and Just Before You Leave from Can You Do Me Good? 2002 were solid work that went mostly ignored. For my personal tastes, Some Other Sucker's Parade is as good a rock record as any, and all of their records after the debut are worth hearing. Their Best Of, Hatful Of Rain 1998 is an excellent display of their abilities. But without hits and only moderate sales outside the UK, they were summarily dropped by their record company in 2003. 

They reassembled and briefly toured in 2014 and 2018, which brings us to Fatal Mistakes. Not quite the rocker that Some Other Sucker's Parade was, there's still plenty to tap your foot to. You Can't Go Back, All Hail Blind Love, Musicians And Beer, and Losing The Will To Die are all solid rockers, and the slower material holds up well. The closer, scathing seven-minute Nation Of Caners finds Currie full of vitriol. It's Feelings has a jaunty rhythm and a classic Currie vocal with a hooky chorus.  The classic Del Amitri elements are all there, and the songwriting is solid.

If you never heard of Del Amitri, you're not alone, but you've missed out for sure. If you're a fan and you're not sure about this new one, there's no need to hesitate.

St. Vincent Daddy's Home 2021

St. Vincent's new Daddy's Home is another strong outing from an artist who continues to expand her musical vision. Watching and listening to her progressive career path from Marry Me in 2007 to today has been a fascinating and rewarding experience.

Pay Your Way In Pain opens the record on a strong note with distorted pop that recalls 2017's Masseduction as much as anything on this record. Down And Out Downtown features great guitar, vocals, and background vocals and has a big, dramatic sound that is found on much of the album.The funky, sparse title track features Thomas Bartlett's Wurlitzer piano to fine effect. A Lennon-like dream state surrounds the airy vocals and hot guitar of Live In The Dream. The Melting Of The Sun and The Laughing Man are slower mid-tempo pieces that continue the well-crafted song and lyric writing evident everywhere.

The twisted rock of Down, with fine synths and St. Vincent's signature hot guitar lets you know not to mess with this woman. More great guitar, as well as mellotron, and Greg Leisz's pedal steel guitar embellish Somebody Like Me. My Baby Wants A Baby is a great lyric with more fine background vocals, and ...At The Holiday Party is a great melody and lyric that also features the horns of Evan Smith and Michael Leonhard. The record ends on the sweet romantic note of Candy Darling.

St. Vincent/Annie Clark shows off her prodigious talent on every track. But she owes a debt of gratitude to several others. Throughout the record, the vocals of Lynne Fiddmont and Kenya Hathaway add greatly to the arrangements, as does Thomas Bartlett's Wurlitzer piano, and Evan Smith's sax.

And then there's Jack Antonoff. As he did on Masseduction, Antonoff co-writes half the songs, produces the record, and plays drums and keyboards throughout. A pop sensation as a producer and multi-instrumentalist, Antonoff has produced and written songs and albums for Sara Bareilles, The Chicks, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Pink, and others. The guy is a hook machine that knows how to assemble a modern pop hit like almost no one else, and seems to do this while enhancing, not replacing, the artist's inherent strengths. St. Vincent made great records before Antonoff (producer John Congleton made Actor, Strange Mercy, and the stellar St. Vincent) but there is clearly magic in Antonoff's skill set.

It is hard for me to think of another artist to appear on the scene in the new millennium that that has produced a more interesting, and progressive, body of work. That she could follow her last two releases with one this good is nothing short of extraordinary.