Record Roundup: Poptones

There’s music almost scientifically designed to be popular, with little other reason for being. And then there’s music that uses the techniques of pop music for some form of personal expression. It’s the latter type that moves me and here are three recent albums that exemplify its virtues - and one of them happens to be VERY popular. 

C. Duncan - Health The third album by this Scottish singer-songwriter finds him doubling-down on the more electronic textures of The Midnight Sun, the follow up to Architect, his Mercury Prize nominated debut. While I still love the elegant folk-pop of the first album, which cast an hypnotic spell similar to Fleet Foxes and Radiohead, the gossamer delights of Health are undeniable. While even more synthetic than Architect, the production is richer than Midnight Sun, with a depth and polish to every sound. Plus, the tunes are catchy as heck, with choruses that wend their ways into your life long after the album ends. While Duncan doesn’t employ their lyrical acuity, the intricate bounce of Scritti Politti and the bright swing of Gaucho-era Steely Dan are obvious referents, which only makes me love Health more. This is artful pop music that should be more popular than it is - make it so by listening ASAP. 

Edwyn Collins - Badbea If the words “Scottish singer-songwriter” above didn’t cause the Edwyn Collins synapse to fire in your brain, I recommend a remapping. You could start with Orange Juice, present at the birth of indie with classics like Rip It Up. Or you could fast forward to A Girl Like You, the worldwide smash that has likely kept Collins in a certain comfort, especially after his life and career were interrupted by two nearly fatal strokes in 2005. In the six years since his last album, Collins and his indefatigable wife, Grace Maxwell picked up stakes, moved to the north of Scotland and built a new studio, unearthing some old lyric books in the process. Taking inspiration from his younger self has helped Collins make the most confident and compelling album since his recovery began. Just listen to the wicked fun he has wielding the lowest depths of his baritone during the breakdown of In The Morning, a moody stomper ripe for remixing. Dance music has always been an arrow in his quiver and it’s a delight to hear him employ it again on that song and others, like Glasgow To London, a flashback to the early days of Orange Juice. He also looks back more reflectively in I Guess We Were Young, creating a new folk standard in the process. But in the end, it’s the brash sense of forward motion and sheer gusto makes this album such a joy. If you want some of that in your life, look no further. 

Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? As I mentioned in a recent issue of Off Your Radar, the fact that Eilish once appeared on YouTube with a ukulele caused me to put her in the “to be ignored” file. And I was doing a good job of that until the serious hype around this young singer-songwriter turned into a genuine buzz - then I HAD to listen. And I’m glad I did! What we have here is a protean talent who has put together a batch of electronic and hip hop-inflected pop songs for the ages. Her key collaborator is her brother Finneas O’Connell, who produced the album and filled it with all kinds of unique sounds, creating a canny blend of the organic, acoustic and synthetic. He even makes the ukulele work! 

But the songs are the stars. The fact that her mom said some of them remind her of Kurt Weill gives a sense of the home environment that helped nurture Eilish’s musical interests. And mom is right - there’s a sense of Weimar darkness here that suggests someone who has not only played with fire but been burned more than once. Whether you call Eilish an old soul or just a 17-year-old who feels things more acutely, there is real emotional depth here, especially in songs like the post-goth Bury A Friend or the stark introversion of I Love You. She uses her voice in all kinds of quirky ways, but it somehow avoids feeling mannered, and you soon realize what a rich, expressive instrument she has.

Part of her artistry is the way she keeps those emotions brilliantly at bay with lyrics which can graze a sophistication that Cole Porter would recognize, as in Wish You Were Gay: "To spare my pride/To give your lack of interest an explanation/Don't say I'm not your type/Just say that I'm not your preferred sexual orientation." But even before I discerned what she was singing about, the sheer melodic and sonic interest here grabbed me from the start. When I was caught by surprise by You Should See Me In A Crown in an episode of Hanna, I was struck by the extent to which Eilish had quickly colonized my brain, the way the best pop music does. While its hard to figure out where she goes from here, with hundreds of millions of Spotify streams and YouTube views (not to mention a rabid Instagram following), but as long as she keeps it personal and lets Finneas do his thing, I think we'll be hearing from Eilish for a good long time. 

Find tracks from these albums and keep up with what's coming next in this playlist.

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