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throughout the record, and an almost oldschool cut-and-splice tape effect can be found on different tracks. Deal proves her timeless style can bridge the gap between Gen X and Gen Z( famously, her music has been heralded by Kurt Cobain and Olivia Rodrigo) while maintaining her fierce originality and lovely voice. To hear an artist this achingly vulnerable decades into a career is both unnerving and inspiring.
– Andy Derer
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14 illinoisentertainer. com may 2025
KIM DEAL Nobody Loves You More( 4AD)
Finally making her solo splash after decades of creating highly memorable and original alternative rock with The Breeders and Pixies( don’ t snooze on her overlooked side project The Amps), Kim Deal bares a different side of her essence on Nobody Loves You More. Over a decade in the making, this album steers clear of the tossed-off sound of some of her indie rock contemporaries, instead aiming for a grand and regal big-budget production. More James Cameron than Kevin Smith, Nobody Loves You More plays like a film, with the opening title track dressing up a grief-stricken melody with ornate horns and strings, something that wouldn’ t sound out of place on Frank Sinatra’ s In the Wee Small Hours. Losing both of her parents within months spurred Deal to finally put the finishing touches on the album. Caring for her Alzheimer ' s-stricken mother for years in Dayton, Ohio, inspired the stunning, pedal steel-laced“ Are You Mine?” a question posited by Kim’ s mother, showcasing the heartbreaking reality of the disease. Where this somber situation feels like a heavy haze hanging over the entire album, many production tricks and techniques keep the listener engaged. Recorded piecemeal in fits and starts when the muse hit, the album never sounds fragmented, even when it jumps between wildly different sounds with different collaborators. Nobody Loves You More effortlessly jumps from the sinister electro stomp of“ Crystal Breath” to the hard rocking“ Big Ben Beat,” a highlight that juxtaposes industrial, hip hop, and surf guitar to dizzying effect. The lovely Patsy Cline inspired“ Summerland,” warmly washes over the listener, conjuring sepia-toned home videos. At the same time,“ Disobedience” sports a melody so relentless it takes days for it to leave your head. There is a late-60s psychedelic vibe
WHITECHAPEL Hymns in Dissonance
( Metal Blade)
Hymns in Dissonance, the ninth fulllength album from Tennessee-based, sixheaded deathcore titans Whitechapel, is a brutally prophetic punch in the face toward our current world situation. Composed of 10 dynamic tracks, Whitechapel’ s musical template has basically remained the same since its 2006 inception – for good or for bad. However, on Hymns in Dissonance, the band – featuring vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitar triumvirate of Ben Savage, Zach Householder, and Alex Wade, bassist Gabe Crisp, and drummer Brandon Zackey – have created a menacing and brutal 43-plus minute opus. These new tracks lean heavily on the band’ s early-era period( mostly their first three albums) and rely less on the typical deathcore elements. I’ m not 100 percent sure if Hymns in Dissonance is meant to be a full concept record, but the vivid narrative follows a cultist who is gathering worthy people to join his cult. Album opener“ Prisoner 666” possesses a heavy opening
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