2022, I think, has been a difficult year for many of
us. I cannot imagine how difficult the
past few years have been for musicians with the closures and shut downs taking
away essentially every opportunity to perform and share their art or even
create it.My goal in sharing the music
I love with as much gusto as I have is to celebrate it!Not just those that I champion here, but all
of it.I admire the effort and passion
to not only have the talent and creativity and vision to make music, but to
also bring it to the public for those of us who struggle to make things
happen.Considering all of the
obstacles, 2022 has been as vibrant and exciting as any other year in music.These choices below are an approximation of
what I believe my most listened to albums of the year have been.
It’s been eons since I’ve written one
of these album recommendation things, so please bear with me. I first came to learn about Just Mustard while reading an interview late last year with a former member of 90s Irish band Whipping
Boy (whose second album, Heartworm,
recently a received 25th anniversary repackage reissue and is one of
my favorite albums of all-time!). In the
interview, he was tasked with naming current Irish bands that he finds worth
noting. Just Mustard caught my eye as an
especially bad name, but it was the only name I remember him listing, so
mission accomplished. By the time I got
around to checking them out, they were releasing singles leading up to their
second LP, Heart Under, which came
out at the end of May, which I’ve been listening to relentlessly ever since!
I have not investigated their
earliest material yet, but plan to do so.
I am imagining that this is a musical departure and quite a sophisticated
one at that. The sound of Heart Under is
one that lives in the same atmospheric universe as Joy Division’s “I Remember Nothing” crossed with the cinematic
scope of Portishead. It’s very stark and spooky and harsh. The vocals of Katie Ball are a background haunt behind the very steady, up front beats of Shane Maguire, and the twin guitars of David Noonan and Mete Kalyon that stab and howl out strange rough metallic sounds – resembling
old long dormant machines beginning to grind and whir back into motion – and a
low end, provided by bassist Rob
Clarke that comes in like that same massive machine’s engine Earth shaking
the entire scene.
As I’ve grown older, my musical
journey has seen my tastes evolve and streamline. Though, as a young man discovering the
extremes in sound, I probably swore I’d never mellow out, I find that I have
always been most drawn to music that contains a catchy hook or a captivating melody. Much like my choosing Low’s HEY WHAT LP as my
favorite of 2021, Heart Under may be
a contender for 2022! I may not be done
with experimentalism after all! It’s
refreshing to hear bands stretching out and this is my small way of showing
appreciation.
Surprisingly, the most traditional
song structures are saved for the second half of the album. I suppose they wanted us to note right away
that this is going to be a focused statement and it is! The lyrics are very fitting for the
mood. They are pretty abstract for the
most part, but seem to dabble in dissatisfaction with one’s self. The repetitive plea from Katie Ball to “change
my head” is uncomfortable and identifiable, as is the wonderful “Mirrors,” my
favorite track, that covers that feeling many of us encounter as we age of not
recognizing what we see looking back at us.
It can also happen to those of us, who don’t particularly like who we
are.
Many smart people have told me that
Just Mustard’s sound reminds them of 90s UK band Cranes. I can hear it, I was often fascinated by
their music, but I never particularly liked Alison Shaw’s baby vocals – found them a distraction. Perhaps I’ve changed, though I can hear
similarities with Ball’s vocals, hers remind me more of The Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler. At any rate, I fear I may be giving off a
vibe that this is a difficult album, but it’s not! It does challenge the listener a bit, but if
you buy in, it is a fascinating and rewarding album that continues to please
over repeated listens.
