ADULT – KISSING LUCK GOODBYE

So this is where we’re at, although my earlier assumptions were probably drastically wrong. I didn’t know where this was going to go, aside from taking up space in the EDM world but Becoming Undone (Dais), the 10^th album by Detroit’s Adult takes a different route. Sure, there’s plenty of quick-step beats that affords the band space on dance floors but this is a much more aggressive endeavor. The husband and wife duo of Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller utilize their synths & drum machines here for wild ecstasy-filled ride into electronic music. It’ll move you, it’ll even tickle your senses while offering more dramatic moments like “R U 4 $ALE” with its infectious repetitive keyboard notes and Kuperus descriptively letting us all know “the chaos is what they want” so “are you for sale?” But it’s “Freaks” that takes us back to the dancefloor with its quick-paced rhythm drop. Yeah, adulting can be fun and Adult let’s us all in.

THE PRETTY FLOWERS – NEVER FELT BITTER

Do you ever have moments when you just don’t like people telling you what you may like? I have those often, especially when someone has an FFO (“for fans of”) or a RIYL (“recommended if you like”) used as a comparison. I think we’re all more than capable of making up our own minds and hearing if something sounds like something else. In the end, music is subjective and, unless you’re nothing more than a carbon copy of what came before you, let everyone else make a decision.

With that said, California’s The Pretty Flowers, led by vocalist/guitarist Noah Green, makes its way to the forefront with its new album Never Felt Bitter (Forge Again Records). Read that title again because you probably read it wrong the first time, as I did. Rounded out by bassist Sam Tiger, guitarist / percussionist / keyboardist Jake Gideon, and drummer Sean Christopher Johnson, it seems the band might be onto something here, carving out a sound all its own with its rumbling power pop sound. There’s a nostalgic feel to the band’s music, although there seems to be more sides to The Pretty Flowers than should be expected. The group’s opening “Thief of Time” is joyfully melodic, juxtaposed with melodramatic lyricism which seems to be intentional. Green reflects with his words about this frustrated and confused relationship, which might be a waste of time, but everyone’s here for the drama as the band wraps harmonies and clever instrumentation around this pop ditty. The song is masterfully executed, and if it’s heartbreak that gets us all here, I’m all in! The band shifts gears with “To Be So Cool,” speeding down highways at a frantic pace, wrapping guitar notes and power chords around seductive melodies & harmonies proving that the band is capable of creating explosive pop songs and here, there isn’t a dull moment.

It isn’t a one-off either, as the band proves time and time again it can take a pop melody and splash colorful melodies all over musical canvases. You don’t have to take mine or anyone else’s word for it and just listen to “Ring True,” which slowly crescendos as the feedback from the melodic notes eventually surround the churning rhythm that follows. Here the band not only creates a wall of sound but engulfs everything in the surrounding atmosphere. Semblances of shoegaze permeate throughout it but don’t be confused, the band’s pop sensibilities are obviously dominating. When Green sings, “We say ‘hello mom’ from the tv set/I visualize peace but I ain’t seen nothing yet” you realize he has his eyes open and is waiting for something & hopeful, while he and the rest of the group are awash in a wave of pressure coming from the combination of instruments. But now I did say there’s a power-pop aspect to the group and while there isn’t much jangle to “Ocean Swimming” since guitars are smothered in distortion, there is a semblance of it within. Green’s voice never hits a bad note, but then again, neither do the rest of the members and Johnson’s drums just drives the song along. Let’s not forget the handclaps which add a little more dignity to it. One has to admit, the band takes chances and every moment it does, wins. The vocal melodies on “Came Back Kicking” are offset by the band’s stylish crafting of the song itself, which slinks along never allowing a respite. Guitars envelop the song and the light keyboard found around here is added for good measure. The band shifts things gain with “Not Dissolve,” a lovely slower number with acoustic guitars, light percussion, and keys – with the eventual addition of strings – sets this apart from the rest of the album, while at the same time, never losing its identity.

While the group has been active since 2018, Never Felt Bitter is the release that should give The Pretty Flowers the notoriety it deserves. Why? Well, the band just released one of the greatest albums of the year.

DÄLEK – BRILLIANCE OF A FALLING MOON

There are those whose intentions you never have to question. Ideals will always land on the spectrum that’s the right side of history. Their words, always punctuate with finite answers to the questions you’ve never asked. That’s a rarity when many refuse to commit to an answer one way or the other. Standing firmly in your beliefs allows you to keep your chin high. Remaining quiet and complacent just makes you complicit in your non-action. Public Enemy understood this, as did Rage.

For decades now, dälek – MC dälek (Will Brooks) and Mike Manteca (Mike Mare)– has always stood tall, apart from contemporaries, using its platform to direct powerful messages which stand apart from the status quo. Now, four years later, after 2022’s stunning Precipice, dälek returns with its Brilliance of A Falling Moon (Ipecac Recordings). This time around, the energy has shifted, the mood seems darker, and the attack is venomous. dälek tends to go straight for the jugular, but here, the duo is ready to disembowel and crush bodies down! The music on the opening “Better Than” throbs with thunderous potency as Brooks’ words cut through the thickness with calculated & menacing power. His wording is clear, stating “Erasing vital histories / bleed a needed misery”  and later, “Genetically I’m prone to grow my anger exponentially / keep testing me / see if I act sensibly.” Boundaries are pushed until we all break. But it always comes back to the music, which is the vehicle that allows for the prose. A thick beat layered with multiple sounds (keys, guitars, samples), everything we’ve become familiar with. No two songs are ever the same, and “Knowledge | Understanding | Wisdom” follows a similar formula but seems much denser musically, as Brooks waxes poetically across this backdrop. He descriptively directs his words at those who are deserving of them. His words are weapons when he spits, “Catch yo breath ya my peoples been stressed / If concerns unaddressed …we Strapping Knowledge to chest!” It’s not difficult to understand his meaning, but the way it’s pieced together is more than clever, with adept precision. But here there’s something that sticks with me, and that’s “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave / Algorithms attempt to dictate how we behave…” Someone finally said it, and of course, it came from a dälek track. When education is lacking, you’re simply fooled; easily manipulated. The brilliance of this moment doesn’t escape me.

One thing notable about dälek is that there’s never a need to always create apocalyptic soundscapes to get points across. “Expressions Of Love” moves delicately with keys tripping across an underscored sheen of noise; a quiet storm, so to speak. The hypnotic beat and bassline, yeah, it’s a head-nodder while Brooks tries to escape the world around him. And he says what many are thinking over and over, “(the) Only answer is to RIP out the cancer.” But it’s “I Am A Man” where the melancholic throws of the music match Brooks’ self-reflection. His thought process seems to move from self-deprecation to self-worth, understanding who he is and what he’s capable of. He understands there’s power in his words and he controls his own narrative. There isn’t anything dälek seems to miss on this release, and “By The Time We Arrive In El Salvador,” it hits with a vehemence unlike anything. Again, the duo doesn’t have to smash anything over your head to get the point across, making you believe we’ll all eventually end up in CECOT for expressing our thoughts regarding freedom as oligarchs destroy everything we’ve worked hard for, and local politicians compile lists of the vocal disenfranchised.

There’s no need to hide the fact that I’ve always been a fan of dälek, and that’s because they’ve always walked a road less traveled, slowly paving the way for those who would rather find solace in creativity than bland mainstream slop. Through the Brilliance Of A Falling Moon, its 10^th proper full-length release, dälek has proven again how and why it rises above its contemporaries. There is no ignoring the talent that dälek is.