Synchronicity

My first concert was The Police at Jones Beach Theater. It was the penultimate show of their reunion tour which was vehemently described as “The last tour. Period.” by Sting. True to form, they stuck to their words and have not performed together since. It was a special concert, and even at twelve I could tell the old guys on stage were taking in their last moments together before disbanding for good.

I don’t give my parents enough credit for how cool they actually are. Who brings a twelve year old to a punk rock concert? Apparently just my parents, as I was the youngest in the crowd by a solid twenty years. They opened with “Message in a Bottle" and finished with “Every Breath You Take”. That’s all I remember besides Stewart Copeland smashing a gong and rattling my soul.

Fittingly, the first Police album I own is their last. Synchronicity is the band’s fifth and final album in a legendary run of six years. Their previous albums consisted of punk and reggae tunes, driven by their pulsating grooves and staccato beats. Synchronicity feels like a natural conclusion to their blond punk arc. The Police (read: Sting) ditch their old ways and turn to sounds and inspiration from worldly influences. Even the album title is indulgent of Sting’s self-taught intellectual curiosities in philosophy. 

“Synchronicity” the word, not the album, comes from the Jungian principle of simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. 

I can tell I’ve already lost you. 

The album’s namesake sets the tone for the A-side. Synchronicity I  feels like the Police are dusting away cobwebs from Message in a Bottle and added some jazzy fusion synths to indicate a new direction. Following is Walking in Your Footsteps, which I simply can’t stop thinking is the love child of the Tarzan soundtrack and “Go Cubs Go”. The middle tracks are largely forgettable, omitting Mother, which requires one listen just for sheer curiosity and should never be heard again. I recommend turning the volume down for this track, go use the bathroom and the sound of the toilet flush will be better than struggling through it. 

Synchronicity II finishes side A and indicates the turn to one of the best B sides I’ve come across. The song has a signature aggressive drive to it, meandering between major ascending verses and dark, anxiety-inducing pre-choruses. As far as I can tell, Synchronicity II has nothing to do with the first of the same name, though Sting doesn’t do anything just for the hell of it. I’m sure listening to this a few dozen more times may lead to clarity. But then again, maybe not. 

Turn the record over to a greatest hits EP and we are greeted with Every Breath You Take, a song of so many superlatives that it is best summed up as the most played song in radio history. Okay, one more accolade: the song accounts for about a third of all royalties income for Sting. Not bad for a song that was destined for the bin before Andy Summers introduced the now iconic guitar riff that has been copied by so many after him. In fact, Summers claims he should have songwriting credentials due to his part quite literally saving the song and making it the hit that it is. 

Continuing the greatest hits is King of Pain; the song is easily a top five entry in the band’s catalogue. Sting takes inspiration from his recent divorce, which feels naturally placed after Every Breath You Take. The dichotomy of King of Pain is most striking in the dark, depressing lyrics, backed by an almost peppy guitar and percussion. The Police have a knack for making a depressing song feel fun. 

Wrapped Around Your Finger maintains the album’s energy with relatively slow foreboding verses that modulate into triumphant choruses. The lyrics are spiteful and describe a change in power dynamics in a couple. Personally, I could listen to this song endlessly. 

Finishing a great run of songs, Tea in the Sahara provides a pleasant palette cleanser after an eclectic 40 minutes of listening. The song feels like a departure from the band and the beginning of Sting’s solo career. 

Synchronicity encapsulates the complexities of The Police. Three legendary talents butting heads constantly can produce chaos and gems, which is exactly what this album is. The infighting while creating Synchronicity lead to their breakup, getting to the point where all three recording their parts in separate rooms. The band’s discord was well known, making their reunion tour a surprise to everyone. After a year of touring together the three men remembered why they broke up in the first place, but we have Synchronicity (ironically) from the three agreeing to be out of sync for good. 

Harry’s House

Album By Harry Styles

2022 was quite the year for Harry Styles. Releasing his third solo album and subsequently selling out Madison Square Garden fifteen nights in a row, Harry was then ready to take his wildly expensive show on the road. Harry’s House was omnipresent throughout the summer of 2022, nearly comparable to the unavoidable mania after Sgt. Pepper’s release in the 60s. Fans loved it. Haters abhorred it. And the media couldn’t get enough of Harry’s genre and gender bending charisma

Harry’s first album was an attempt to distance himself from his One Direction days by drawing from David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac. His second album fortified his place at the top of pop (and as a sex icon) with Fine Line and its megahit Watermelon Sugar. With less to prove after two certified successes, Harry’s House presents a far more heady and sensitive Styles, even with all the synth pop backing his stellar vocals.

The title of the album is a direct homage to Japanese pop icon Haruomi Hosono, who is best known for leading electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. He mentioned in an interview that  “It was very kind of literal and on the nose: I wanted to make an acoustic EP or something and make it all in my house, and make it really intimate… [‘Harry’s House’] was named after Horsono, who had an album in the ‘70s called ‘Horsono House'''”. I highly recommend giving Horsono and YMO a listen. 

Anyone who can cite Japanese electronic music pioneers either knows their stuff or has a spectacular PR team. Either way, Harry’s House holds up as one of the best albums of the year with songs that will bring you to tears along with radio hits that inevitably were co opted as TV ad-backing tracks. 

The first track, Music For a Sushi Restaurant, opens the album with fanfare and every catchy songwriting gimmick imaginable. Is using horns in a pop song cheating? Some would say yes, but in ‘Sushi’ it's too tantalizing to resist. With its descending off-pitch vocals and funk inducing bass line, not to mention the quick scatting in the verse, this song is both cheerful and off-putting. I was a fan of the song until the wrenching realization via TikTok that the song was practically made for a “Girls and boys jeans just 40% off at JCPenny’s Independence Day Sale!” overdub. Apple quickly obliged and, with that, I stopped listening.

With the album’s money maker out of the way, the A-side is chalk full of fun, late-night-karaoke-potential hits. Late Night Talking could be played in the background at a polite dinner party or belted by a bachelorette party en route to a wine tour in Napa. GrapeJuice provides a chill reprieve before launching into As It Was. 80’s synth pop is certainly back in a big way with this track. One could practically play Take On Me by A-Ha over the upbeat synth melody. Haruomi Hosono would certainly be proud of this one. 

The first side closes out with Daylight, Little Freak and Matilda, all of which are amazing in their own ways. Daylight builds into a headbanging classic. Little Freak and Matilda are likely his most sentimental and thought provoking songs on the album. Matilda is the best track on the album solely for its heart wrenching lyrics. It also feels like a song truly written in Harry’s house, effectively acting as the bookend to the album name’s double meaning- house music and music written in the house. The B-Side of the album is filled with  chill vibes and more stadium tour singalongs, however it simply doesn’t match up to the first half. That’s not to say it isn’t good, the A-Side is just that great. 

Has Harry Styles peaked? His name is in the rafters next to Billy Joel at MSG. Tickets across the country sold out in minutes and resale value for nosebleeds were well over $500. The success of Harry’s House is extraordinary. Harry probably hasn’t peaked yet, but it will be hard to top the success of his third solo album, Harry’s House. Enjoy. 

Best Track: As It Was (but actually Matilda)

Tom’s Favorite: Matilda

Give it a listen: Boyfriends. Doesn’t it sound like Marcus Mumford would kill a cover of this song?

The Lumineers

By The Lumineers

Sometimes you just have to get under peoples’ skin to gain attention. Imagine what it takes for a Bob Dylan-esque solo artist to gain the attention of pretentious, indifferent Brooklyn hipsters. No amount of acoustic guitars, rustic upright pianos or cellos will get their attention. That’s where Ho Hey comes in. The song was quite literally written to get attention between the catchy call and responses and thumping beat you want to be there, and yet alludes the listener. 

The success of The Lumineers’ debut album lies solely in the fact that they grab your attention with exactly what others fail to execute. Guitars, cellos, piano and drums are all they need to express themselves, and leave listeners yearning for more. Their songs are simple and just long enough to lull the listener into a trance, and end just before getting played out and boring. Like a Wes Anderson movie, they know exactly what their style is and they execute it flawlessly.

Each track is a beautiful vignette almost deserving of a Wes Anderson style music video, I like to imagine.

“Flowers in Your Hair” offers a tasteful introduction for what to expect for the next 42 minutes of your life. The playful offbeats of “Classy Girls” and “Submarines” leave you dizzy with excitement from their use of staccato mandolines, strings, or piano, pick your poison. Next is the glorious buildup of “Dead Sea”, a song often overlooked due to its skippable first few seconds to the impatient Spotify listener. The first side finishes with “Ho Hey”, a song that will forever be played in twinkle-light adorned barn weddings. Plus, who doesn’t like a mandolin?

The B-side offers more time to ruminate on the emotional and lyrical genius of the band. “Slow It Down” forces you to do exactly that, allowing you to exit the dancefloor for a bit and feel the emotions the haunting vocals stir. After the brief reprieve from bangers, “Stubborn Love” follows, likely causing Marcus Mumford a nightmare or two about what he could’ve written. “Big Parade”, “Charlie Boy” and “Flapper Girl”, further prove the band’s creativity in making the most out of their instruments and gritty vocals. Finally, closing out the raucous affair is “Morning Song”, a track that feels like filler and a song that allows you to head to the bar while the line is short. 

This is a fun album. Each track seems totally unique and yet the album could be played on shuffle and still make sense. The Lumineers find ways to creatively gain your attention, whether it be the “Hos” and “Heys”, the offbeat kilter their instruments produce (see Submarines: is it 4:4? 6:4? Who’s to say), their poetic lyrics or gut wrenching vocals. Sidenote, check out “Falling” on Youtube, Neyla Pekarek’s vocals are arguably better than Wesley Shultz’s.

If you’re in Brooklyn and a band with a mandolin and cello leaves the room tapping their feet, give them a tip. In the meantime, give The Lumineers a spin. 

Best Song: “Ho Hey” 

Tom’s Favorite: “Submarines”

Sigh No More

By Mumford and Sons

There are a few special moments in one’s life when a music discovery is made and their tastes are changed forever. That rare moment introduces something so new, so exciting, so overwhelming, that all other tastes are forgotten. Something about that instant moves you in such a way that the thought “why didn’t I hear this before?” comes to mind and practically causes heartache. That moment occurred in 2009 when I heard Little Lion Man.
I was not the only one with a eureka moment for acoustic guitars and banjos. Sigh No More gave pop listeners tired of Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga exactly what they wanted. Are they rock? Are they folk? Are they whatever “indie” is? Perhaps some bastard offspring of Flogging Molly and the Avett Brothers? Yes, to all of the above.

However Mumford and Sons, a band from West London, are not quite the country barn burners their sound and absurd music videos portray. At times they sound like city boys playing covers from O Brother Where Art Thou. They may not be original, but who cares? They popularized Nu-Folk.

The album is filled with hits but is not without its duds. Its namesake first song is basically a knockoff of the power hitters that follow.  Beginning the murderers row of tracks is “The Cave”. A song beloved by all and which single-handedly introduced a new generation of guitar players to open tuning. Next, adding a tasteful horn section in “Winter Winds” gives the ears a deserved break, with its swells offering goosebumps with each chorus. Finally, “Roll Away Your Stone” rocks like the Irish pubs in which it deserves to be played. 

The major hit on the album is of course “Little Lion Man”, with its off beat rhythm and four part harmonies giving teenagers everywhere the best reason to scream “FUCK!” as loud as they want while singing along in the car. Unfortunately, the B-side is rather lacking with “Awake My Soul’s” harmonies doing exactly that after sleeping through “Timshel” and “Thistle and Weeds”.

Perhaps I’m nostalgic, or maybe I have a repressed desire to learn the banjo, rock suspenders and grow a mustache while sipping small batch whiskey. Sigh No More is Great. The A-side rocks and the B-side allows you to get up, refill your Woodford Rye neat, and discuss whether Mumford sold out by going electric on Delta or if they were always sellouts. Either way, enjoy the banjos.

Best song: “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave”

Tom’s Favorite: Winter Winds and White Blank Page (do they change the time signature at the end? Please discuss.)

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

By Paul Simon

If an album is a patchwork of songs, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is the perfect family quilt. I want to wrap myself in it and have someone read bedtime stories to me. Each perfect and unique song is immaculately sewn to one another, providing personality to each patch and yet this album-blanket is seamless in its execution. Forced Metaphors aside, Paul Simon draws from rock, pop, gospel and dixieland to sew this genre-defying masterpiece. 

Off the bat, Kodachrome is a certified banger by Paul Simon standards and will continue to get the people going for decades to come (much unlike its namesake!) Take Me To The Mardi Gras manages to take a chill Jimmy Buffett beat, Billie Holiday style vocals, and turn it into a French Quarter parade by the end. Magnificent. American Tune’s lyrics could give Bruce a run for his money for commentary on Americana in decline. St. Judy’s Comet will be sung (poorly) as my childrens’ lullaby. Loves Me Like a Rock polishes off the set with a fun call and response that can turn any down day into a dance party by yourself.

As Simon’s third solo album and second since Bridge Over Troubled Water (break up with Art Garfunkel, 1970), Rhymin’ Simon cements Paul Simon’s position on the song writers’ Mount Rushmore. If only Stevie Wonder didn’t act as the Michael Jordan to Simon’s Ewing and he’d have two Grammys for best album and pop vocals to match. Regardless, this album is some of Simon’s best vocals and lyrics, and set the stage for his leaning *all the way* into world sounds (see Graceland).

You can hear Paul Simon isn’t in New York like he was for Me and Julio. That’s because most of these tracks were recorded in Muscle Schoals  in Alabama, and we are all better for it.

Ultimately, Rhymin’ Simon can be heard in any context and please the ears. Curl up in a blanket, get cozy, and listen.

Best Song: Kodachrome

Tom’s Favorite: Mardi Gras and St. Judy’s Comet

Sour

By Olivia Rodrigo

The gall. The boldness. The absolute audacity to release a breakup album as your debut LP. It is only more devastating that it was written by an 18 year old woman who is still in high school and doesn’t give a fuck what her peers think. Maybe I cared too much about what others thought in my teens.

Olivia Rodrigo doesn’t give a shit what you think and yet has all the feelings about it. If only I could hear her lyrics when I was 17. Or 19. Or 22. I’ll bet there are people in their 50’s who get her lyrics on a spiritual level.

Regardless of how her lyrics make us feel, Rodrigo gets it. Not only is her obvious self-awareness through the roof, she has the music to back it up. Sour has bangers, both musically and emotionally.

It is not hard to hear Rodrigo’s influences in contemporary solo female artists.

Taylor Swifts’ song structures, Lorde’s harmonies, and Billie Eillish’s subtle vocal executions all come to mind when any track on Sour is played. And yet Sour evokes so many artists in her reverential stylings. Perhaps Paramore is a little too on the nose (good 4 u), but you can hear everyone from Kacy Musgraves and Avril Levign to Radio Head and The Kills in brutal or deja vu or enough for you. 

This is a great album and most agree with that sentiment. Listening to Sour, while an emotional roller coaster in itself, should give one pause as to what Olivia Rodrigo is capable of in her next album. Only time will tell and I will be cheering her on.

Best Track: “good 4 u” or “drivers license”

Tom’s Favorite: “deja vu”

Highway 61 Revisited

By Bob Dylan

One of the most influential albums ever made with one of the greatest songs as its first track. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, that snare crack at the start of Like a Rolling Stone slammed the door open for Rock n’ Roll lyrics, and music was never the same.

Not only are Dylan’s lyrics years ahead of its time, the music is electric. Literally.

Just two months before Highway 61 Revisited was released, Dylan was booed off stage at the Newport Folk Festival by purists, unhappy with his electric guitar in hand. A mortal sin for folk at the time.

This album represents Bob Dylan’s “Going Electric”, and includes a full band backing Dylan (a first for him as well). Many reviews and music historians agree that not only did this album shut up those folk purists, but cemented his legacy as a rock legend. Bob Dylan was 24.

The album pays homage to the route that connects Dylan’s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota to Music Capitols like Memphis and New Orleans. You can hear the Americana ooze from the tracks as it meanders down the Mississippi.

Best Track: “Like a Rolling Stone”, obviously.

Tom’s Favorite: “Queen Jane Approximately”, because it sounds like a follow-up to Rolling Stone, or perhaps I just like the name Jane.