Weekly Music Roundup: Strength of a Woman & "Fire"
Week of April 10: This week, Mary J Blige returns; two musical responses to the November election; and Beth Ditto’s fiery solo debut.
Mary J Blige Says “Love Yourself”; Kanye Obeys
Mary J Blige has just released a new single, called “Love Yourself,” which features Kanye West and comes from Blige’s forthcoming album, Strength of a Woman, due on April 28. The song begins as a piano-driven ballad before the electronics and programmed percussion take over. Some fine horn arrangements are held in reserve throughout; and when Kanye’s verse comes in, it seems quite clear that he has taken Blige’s statement that “you gotta love yourself” to heart, as he launches into a description of his favorite person: “He a designer, artist, producer and he rap.” For her part, Blige’s song of empowerment is also a cautionary tale – “cuz everybody don’t mean you well.”
Beth Ditto Of The Gossip Goes Solo
No one needs to sing songs of empowerment to Beth Ditto, the longtime frontwoman of the indie rock band The Gossip. She has been a role model for gay women and for large women, famously posing nude on the cover of the music magazine NME in the UK as a way of encouraging body-positivism. Of course, there’s more to Beth Ditto than her personal life – professionally, she simply has one of the great belting voices in rock, and now, she is preparing to release her first solo album. The first single, called “Fire,” has a classic rock/R&B/country vibe and a fevered video that reflects Ditto’s other, often overlooked, talent: her strong sense of fun.
Dangerous Music from Son Lux
Composer and vocalist Ryan Lott moves freely between the worlds of contemporary classical music and arty electronic pop. He tends to use the name Son Lux for his more song-oriented works, and these days the name refers to a trio, with the formidable Rafiq Bhatia on guitar and Ian Chang on drums. Recently, Ryan wrote a series of pieces for the new music ensemble known as yMusic – an album called First, full of composed works that echo the rapid-fire sampled woodwinds of Son Lux but with acoustic instruments. Now, Son Lux is preparing to release an EP called Remedy, which consists of four songs written in the wake of the November election. Ryan Lott’s quavery vocals speak of disillusion and determination, and suggest that creativity and community are more important in troubled times than ever. The first track, “Dangerous,” is available now, and aims both for the head and the feet. The EP comes out on May 12, and all proceeds will go to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Heavy-hearted Music From Into It. Over It.
The band called Into It. Over It. is the work of Evan Weiss, a Chicago singer/songwriter whose choice of band name hints at a well-developed sense of the absurd. Weiss has just contributed a song to the project known as “Our First 100 Days,” which describes itself as “100 songs that inspire progress and benefit a cause for change.” Begun on Inauguration Day, the project has featured some notable contributors already, including recent songs by The Mountain Goats, Speedy Ortiz, and Angel Olsen. Into It. Over It. adds the song “Bergen-Belsen, Nov 8th, 2016” to the list. Clearly, the project is a progressive one and no friend to the Trump administration; still, some might flinch at drawing any comparisons between an unpopular but elected president and the horrors of Hitler’s camps. Fortunately, Weiss doesn’t go that route: as he wrote on Twitter, the song was written on Election Day, a day that he spent visiting the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. A surreal day that led to a surreal evening… and as he suggests here, sometimes a heavy heart is an appropriate reaction. The song is a hazy rock ballad, using the electric guitars to create an atmosphere and giving the melodic material largely to the bass – and of course Weiss’s voice.
Heartbreaking Old Tale From Natalie Merchant & Kronos Quartet
For over 40 years, the Kronos Quartet has been transforming what people think a “string quartet” should sound (and look) like. In addition to championing contemporary composers, they’ve explored traditional music from all over the globe. On June 9, they’ll release an album called Folk Songs, which will feature just what the title suggests. A small but amazing group of guest singers will take part: Rhiannon Giddens, Olivia Chaney, Sam Amidon, and Natalie Merchant. It’s the former 10,000 Maniacs singer who joins the quartet on a quietly beautiful arrangement of the old Anglo-American folk song “The Butcher’s Boy.” It’s a classic old tale of a woman wronged, best delivered in a simple, straightforward way. Merchant does just that, letting the song do its heartbreaking work.
