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ROCKHOUND
Top 5 Rock
Albums of 2021
JUBILEE BY JAPANESE BREAKFAST Japanese Breakfast has a knack for transporting listeners to a different realm, era and life, simply through its electro-rock notes. The band’s latest album, Jubilee, is no exception and remains true to its name by delivering a moment of joy after years of deep reflections on grief by frontwoman Michelle Zauner. With brighter synths, horns and strings, Jubilee, which was released June 4, shoves listeners into a time machine and brings them back to the days of bright ‘80s glam rock—practically placing them in the middle of a scene out of Pretty In Pink. Relating to the likes of The War On Drugs and Lush, the 10-track album is a compilation of dreamy electro pop-rock tunes, all blanketed in layers of synth.
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
HOT SASS BY LIZ COOPER
L
iz Cooper combines deeply personal lyrics with a strong punk attitude, owning up to her own baggage on her latest album Hot Sass. After an extensive touring run for her first studio album Window Flowers under the band name Liz Cooper & the Stampede in 2018, Cooper found herself emotionally and physically drained. Her attraction to folk/country music helped her create the acclaimed folk-psychedelic album she worked so hard to make but left her cooped up in the Americana bubble. Nearing the end of her 20s, Cooper was evolving emotionally and spent two years working on her most self-revealing record yet. Hot Sass was released Sept. 3 through Thirty Tigers Records and marks a new era for Cooper and her band. They dropped Stampede from their name, and they’re running with a psychedelic openness and guitar-driven heavy rock. By straying from the constricting expectations of folk and Americana, Cooper and her band are pursuing sounds inspired by Courtney Love, David Bowie and Lou Reed. With Hot Sass, Cooper proved she is capable of so much more, whether it be heavy guitar solos or elongated interludes reminiscent of The Doors—and she’s not afraid to throw it in your face. Start with the song Lucky Charm and you’ll hear a drawn-out intro that brings to mind The Doors’ Light My Fire. Pay attention to how the guitar slide drops after the long interlude in Lucky Charm, allowing Cooper’s voice to prevail as the main attraction.
The Beatles, Stones and Zeppelin were awesome—but rock lives on. Why not break out of the classic rock cocoon and give new rock a chance? Rockhound is here to help. Think of it as a bridge from 1967 to today and beyond. 46
Start with the song Be Sweet, and you might hear the dreamy guitar chords that Fleetwood Mac employed in Dreams. Pay attention to the band’s use of sub-genres to augment their sound.
Luckbox | December 2021
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11/12/21 3:46 PM
