Wednesday - Rat Saw God

Proper rock that whines and crashes (and sometimes twangs), covers a bunch of ground and reminds me in glimpses of all kinds of outfits from the 90s through to the 2020s (in its vibe it's not a million miles away from Big Thief's Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe You) in ways that make it feel of a lineage without being derivative. "Bull Believer" especially is immense.

Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert

Once I remembered to actually pay attention to the songs and the music, and maybe got my ear back in for Dylan a bit, this turned out to have plenty to offer - the 'acoustic' and 'electric' halves equally. Not life-changing, but good. And a bit of a way back to some ways of listening to music that I've neglected more recently.

Tana French - The Searcher

Another page turner from Tana French, though a slower burn than her others that I've read. It's the combination of the mystery, the investigation, and the character interactions and setting that make it so readable. It's subtle, believable and drenched in rural Irish atmosphere.

Katie Pruitt - Mantras

Expectations was a real one and I still listen to it from time to time. Three years on, Mantras feels a tiny bit less distinctive, like some of the elements that made Pruitt such a stand-out have been sanded down for a glossier package - it's subtle but still. Despite that, it's a strong album, its airy sounding country-rock-pop going down easily and the songs themselves sturdy. 

The ones I like more tend to be those in which she leans into the electric guitar - especially "White Lies, White Jesus and You", also "Worst Case Scenario" even if (and honestly partly because) it sounds like it could've been part of the soundtrack of any given high school movie pretty much in the last 25 years.

Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me

"It Was Coming All Along" is a real charmer, one of the best songs I've heard in ages - sound, mood and melody in perfect marriage. The rest of Don't Forget Me isn't near that level, but it never drags and the overall Fleetwood Mac / Haim-y vibe is super pleasant.

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

I like everything about Kacey Musgraves but this one's not all that distinctive and another step down from what was already the relative lull of star-crossed.

Rhiannon Giddens - You're the One

On this one, from last year, Giddens sounds notably like she's having fun, like there's joy underneath this music. It's good, like seemingly everything she touches.

3 Body Problem season 1

Pretty good - serious enough, spectacular enough, unpredictably plotty enough, human enough.

Lev Grossman - The Magicians

Was thinking I might re-read the series but got distracted after just this one.

(last time)