SOUND BITES

(This post is a continuation from the previous two "catch-up" posts, and covers albums I didn't get around to giving a proper review to in August and September.) BLUE OCTOBER I Hope You're Happy August 17, 2018 • Up/Down Highlights  Daylight •  I Want to Come Back Home •  I Hope You're Happy Remembered by most as the one-hit wonders behind 2006's Hate Me , Blue October has soldiered on to build a small but devoted fan base and an impressive resumé; I Hope You're Happy is their ninth album, and fourth to be fully funded by crowdsourcing. It also features some sharp songwriting and tasteful pop elements that could absolutely blindside listeners who have only heard Hate Me , but longtime fans will just smile and enjoy it like they have the other eight. SLAVES Acts of Fear and Love August 17, 2018 • Virgin Highlights  Cut and Run •  Magnolia •  Chokehold Scuzzy UK duo Slaves' third album finds them trimming the fat a bit (at nine tracks, ...

Coming just over a year after their Mercury Prize nominated debut LP, Take Control provides more of the scuzzy garage punk that got Slaves noticed in the first place. One of the more prominent people who discovered the duo is Beastie Boy Mike D, who signed on to produce this sophomore LP (and performs a short verse on Consume or Be Consumed ). Listening to the record, it's not much of a stretch to understand what he sees in them, as much of Slaves' aesthetic mirrors Beastie Boys' own punk numbers, albeit with a decidedly English slant; the result draws influence from Sex Pistols, The Clash and, yes, Beastie Boys, but doesn't take itself seriously enough to come off as too contrived or heavy handed. It may not be revolutionary in any significant way, but its looseness, swagger and sneering fury is somewhat refreshing in today's musical climate. September 30, 2016 • Virgin Highlights Spit It Out • Consume or Be Consumed • Same Again