My November picks for your playlist include the first solo album from Alabama Shakes lead singer, Brittany Howard and the fourth album from the metal band, Deafheaven. I also selected the second album from Portland-based Black Belt Eagle Scout and the latest album from Deftones.
Jaime is Brittany Howard’s first solo album. It was released September 20, 2019, on ATO Records. Howard is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock bands, Alabama Shakes and Thunderbitch. It is named for and dedicated to her older sister, Jaime who died at 13 from cancer. The songs on the album are deeply personal for Howard which influenced her decision to release these songs as a solo project. Though the songs on the album are not specifically about Jaime, many of the songs are about their childhood. Howard credits Jaime with teaching her how to write poetry and play the piano. Other songs reflect on the racism she experienced growing up in the South as the child of an interracial couple and the racism she felt traveling through the Northwestern states as a person of color.
Howard was born in Athens, Alabama. At 13, she began playing guitar. She met Zac Cockrell who would later become the bassist for Alabama Shakes while in high school. In 2012, the band released their first album, Boys and Girls which was critically acclaimed and garnered multiple Grammy nominations. Howard also performs with the bands Thunderbitch and Bermuda Triangle.
My favorite songs on the album are “Georgia” and “Stay High.”
Photo Credit for Brittany Howard Photo:
By Drew de F Fawkes - Alabama Shakes, Hyde Park, London, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80191797
Album Cover photo credit:
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61263765
Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is the fourth album from the metal band, Deafheaven. It was released July 13, 2018, for Anti- (a sister label of Epitaph Records). Every album by this band has a unique sound and Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is their most subtle and introspective. On this album, the subject matter of their songs has shifted to the ordinary things in life… telling the intimate but unglamorous stories that happen when no one is watching and elevating them to something unique.
Deafheaven formed in San Francisco in 2010 as a duo consisting of singer George Clarke and guitarist, Kerry McCoy. After the release of a demo album, three new band members were added. Current band members include Clarke, McCoy, and Daniel Tracy on drums; Shiv Mehra on guitar and backing vocals, and Chris Johnson on bass and backing vocals.
My favorite songs on the album are “Canary Yellow” and “Night People.”
Photo credit for photo of Deafheaven:
By Grywnn - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62786577
Album Cover Credit:
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57834558
At the Party with My Brown Friends is the second album by the indigenous artist, Katherine Paul performing as Black Belt Eagle Scout. It was released on August 30, 2019, on the Saddle Creek label. The songs from her first album were written during the resistance at Standing Rock to support the struggle. The songs for this album were written for what comes after the struggle – rest and play. But, in the indigenous community, these times of rest are never devoid of controversy and Paul is adamant that she wants her music to speak to her indigenous audience. Paul grew up in the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community on the Puget Sound in Washington. She taught herself to play guitar and drums by listening to bootleg VHS tapes of Nirvana and Hole and pausing them to study the musicians’ fingering techniques. While in high school, she was involved in the Washington DIY music scene. Paul attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland where she became involved with the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls and played guitar, drums and sang vocals for the Portland-based bands, Forest Park and Genders.
My favorite songs on the album are “You’re Me and I’m You” and “My Heart Dreams.”
Credit for Artist Photo:
By Paul Hudson from the United Kingdom - SXSW 2019 - Black Belt Eagle Scout, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77305528
Credit for Album Cover:
Image is taken from https://www.blackbelteaglescout.com/
Ohms is the ninth album by the alternative metal band, Deftones. It was released on September 25, 2020, for Reprise Records. Critics are hailing Ohms as the perfect blend of Chino Moreno’s and Stephen Carpenter’s musical styles which often clashed on earlier albums. Ironically, this clash of styles and personalities has given Deftones their unique and successful sound. So why does this meeting of the minds work so well? The songs are more focused with a renewed love of hard-rocking guitar riffs that has rekindled the band’s relationship with fans. Deftones was formed in Sacramento, California in 1988 by Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, and Dominic Garcia. Moreno, Cunningham, and Carpenter were childhood friends and remained connected through music and the city’s skateboarding scene during their high school years. During their first five years, the band went through many personnel changes but stabilized in 1993 when Cunningham rejoined the band. The band is known as one of the most experimental groups from the alternative metal scene. The current members of Deftones are Chino Moreno - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Stephen Carpenter - Lead Guitar, Abe Cunningham- Drums, Frank Delgado- Samples, Keyboards, and Sergio Vega - Bass Guitar.
My favorite songs on this album are “Genesis” and “Headless.”
Photo credit for Deftones:
By benjgibbs - https://www.flickr.com/photos/bengibbs/6097857876/in/photolist-ahR7GC-9w4Kr7-E6G65-5HYKcK-9w4M8d-NJiTb-e74tKK-dVTtvg-8hfvmi-acsFR4-aZSnUn-7UezMX-dChyRa-8nhbin-j2TdNs-8eWkaQ-jcNr3-246RZE-9iDFQq-iYPgWs-iYLsHT-7NPU3g-4a7WBd-2jw37o-dNx64K-dYyUQC-9w4zeb-e9hByV-dX52dv-dT6H37-dveMVp-7ZNDv6-NJeaw-f79XMM-8cSK1x-k9hmuQ-kk3yhR-k9ezSg-k9fFaQ-k9cvA6-k9eqYA-jck59E-k9dN4z-j2S8nt-j1bMfm-j18Jje-iYMqbM-iYMZpx-iYNMQs-jHGNQ7, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39746224
Credit for Album Cover – Ohms:
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65009539
Here is a link for the November 2020 playlist:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLShruoKY_FZUaipChDJ3T72QecuKZKCPd
Sources for this article:
Brittany Howard
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49808839
https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/
https://uproxx.com/music/brittany-howard-jaime-review/
Deafheaven:
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/deafheaven-ordinary-corrupt-human-love/
https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/07/album-review-deafheaven-ordinary-corrupt-human-love/
https://www.npr.org/2018/07/05/625292101/first-listen-deafheaven-ordinary-corrupt-human-love
Black Belt Eagle Scout:
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-belt-eagle-scout-at-the-party-with-my-brown-friends/
https://www.travelportland.com/culture/black-belt-eagle-scout/
Deftones:
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/deftones-ohms/
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/deftones/ohms-album-review/
https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/09/deftones-ohms-album-review/