I hope you at least chuckled at me having a Carrie Bradshaw moment in the title of this week’s issue. But truly from introducing this series in April to it now being September, it really does feel like a snap of the fingers and the time has flown. Doing these weekly album reviews and other essays, coming up on twenty issues, I just wanted to check in and see how we’re all feeling. I know I’ve been having fun working on them, getting to listen to music and write which is what I’d always rather be doing, so I hope you’ve been having fun reading them. I started this with a list almost 150 albums long and while we’ve knocked off a few from the queue, new albums just keep coming! So before I start adding to the list and listening to albums that you might think “Where did that come from?,” I thought we’d take a minute to reflect on the past twenty issues and what I’ve been taking away from this experience.
Consistency
We’ve made it nearly twenty issues, y’all! I don’t think I’ve ever kept up a public writing project for that long before (hopefully I haven’t just jinxed myself with a long bout of writer’s block). It hasn’t always been easy, but the best thing I ever did was start before telling you I started. I’ve always been about 4 issues ahead of whatever I was publishing, which helped immensely when there were weeks the thinking and the writing were just not happening. And thanks to my little reserve of posts, including throwing in a special issue every now and again, when I started my part-time in person job, weekly reviews still kept coming. I took that job so that I could start getting back out into the world and saving up for whatever my next big move is, but I still want to balance it with my writing, which I also consider to be my job. As I’m writing this now, I currently have only one pre-written post ready to go, which is making me a bit nervous. But hopefully by the time you’re reading this in mid-September, I’ll be back to my usual three posts ready to go at all times and you’ll have never been the wiser.
Getting better at writing and listening
If you’ve been reading my writing for a long time, (remember those blog days in high school? Let’s not talk about it) then hopefully you’ve noticed a change too, but I genuinely feel like I’m getting better at this. And of course, yes, that probably comes from the twenty issues, doing it every week consistently and having the discipline aspect of this project, but it’s something else too. I feel like I’m really coming to understand what it is I listen for when listening to music that’s new to me, and I’m becoming so much more aware of how all kinds of extramusical factors like genre expectations, persona, visuals, biographical details, time-place context play into how “successful” an album and an artist is at what they’re trying to achieve. I can also tell I’m becoming a better listener. I’m hearing more of the background instruments, understanding more about the role of production and how that affects what I’m hearing. I still have more to learn, but I used to strictly be a lyrics only kind of a listener, so the fact I’m noticing so much more beyond that feels like an improvement.
Having a sense of accomplishment and doing the thing
Every time I finish an essay, especially if I struggled with it or it took several days (or even weeks, as a few have) I feel such a rush of pride and accomplishment. It’s the best feeling. There have been some issues that have gone out and I’ve felt less than confident about it because sometimes the best piece is the finished piece, but then there are some that I really feel good about and like “yeah, I’ve nailed that. I’ve said all that I wanted to say and I feel like I added intelligent contributions to the discussion” and that’s when I sit back and remind myself that, say what you will, but this is what using my degree looks like. The whole time I was working on that degree, I knew I wanted to use it to deepen my ability to understand and analyze popular music and to be able to communicate that in a casual, conversational way and what do you know, that’s exactly what I’m doing! Of course I would love to be doing this work on a larger scale, like for a major publication and maybe, I don’t know, be able to support myself and fund my life by doing this work, but baby steps, baby steps. But no matter the scale, we’re doing the thing!!!
In the last few weeks, my life has gotten suddenly much busier and feels like it’s going to get busier still but as I enter this new season, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to keep up with this space and keep learning new things in the process while working towards the things I want to do most. Grateful to have you all sticking around and reading each week. Work for music, entertainment, and culture journalists looks very bleak and has for some time, but I know deep in my gut that there are readers for this kind of long-form, researched and deeply thought about content. I hope in the coming years that this platform can grow and I can use it to show others that there are still people who care about this kind of journalism and we can create new opportunities from it.
Enough with that, let’s get on to the new list!
Albums in Italics are albums that were on the original list, but I’ve listened to them already or too many times to really give an honest first impression, so they’ll find their way to you as little blurbs in a larger round-up article. Albums that are in bold and underlined are albums that have already been covered and are linked to where you can that piece. And albums 141-215 are albums that have been added to the list since launching ECW in April. Still deciding if I’m going to do a big reflection post every so often when I add albums to the list, or if I’ll just add to this list quietly over time, we’ll see what I decide. Given that this list is already over 200 albums long, and with more being released each week, it’ll take me several years to get through all of these, so if you have a recommendation for an album you think I’d love (or hate), go ahead and send them my way now. No constraints on era or genre, I’m genuinely willing to give everything a fair chance, but caveat is that you can’t get mad at me if I end up hating your favorite album.
SUBJECT TO CHANGE—Kelsea Ballerini
(self-titled)—Marcus Mumford
Outside Child—Allison Russell
Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?—Tyler Childers
five seconds flat—Lizzy McAlpine
Preacher’s Daughter—Ethel Cain
Stick Season—Noah Kahan
Being Funny in a Foreign Language—the 1975
Surrender—Maggie Rogers
Midnights (3am edition)—Taylor Swift
Radiate Like This—Warpaint
The Loneliest Time—Carly Rae Jepsen
Skinty Fia—Fontaines D.C.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers—Kendrick Lamar
Dance Fever—Florence + The Machine
Cool It Down—Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Car—Arctic Monkeys
Can You Afford to Lose Me?—Holly Humberstone
Sonder—Dermot Kennedy
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t I—The Cranberries
CRASH—Charli XCX
Oxnard—Anderson.Paak
Ventura—Anderson.Paak
Take It Like A Man—Amanda Shires
NO THANK YOU—Little Simz
The Highwomen—The Highwomen
Wolf—Tyler, The Creator
channel ORANGE—Frank Ocean
Honey—Samia
RUSH!—Maneskin
Queen of Me—Shania Twain
Further Joy—The Regrettes
Cuts and Bruises—Inhaler
Dummy—Portishead
Making Movies—Dire Straits
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You—Caroline Polachek
Hats—The Blue Nile
Let Her Burn—Rebecca Black
Greatest Hits—Al Green
Good Riddance—Gracie Abrams
Pablo Honey—Radiohead
The Bends—Radiohead
OK Computer—Radiohead
Kid A—Radiohead
Babygirl—Charlotte Clark
Marquee Moon—Television
I Can’t Let Go—Suki Waterhouse
Endless Summer Vacation—Miley Cyrus
Mid Air—Paul Buchanan
29: Written in Stone—Carly Pearce
kelsea—Kelsea Ballerini
Graceland—Paul Simon
The Divine Feminine—Mac Miller
Back to Black—Amy Winehouse
Exile in Guyville—Liz Phair
Orange Blood—Mt. Joy
the record—boygenius
Tuesday Night Music Club—Sheryl Crow
(Minus) —Ed Sheeran
First Two Pages of Frankenstein—The National
Salt—Angie McMahon
Joanne—Lady Gaga
Woman on the Internet—Orla Gartland
Gag Order—Kesha
Brotherhood—New Order
Weathervanes—Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
The Show—Niall Horan
The Stone Roses—The Stone Roses
The Good Witch—Maisie Peters
Grapefruit Season—James Vincent McMorrow
The Loveliest Time—Carly Rae Jepsen
Pure Heroine—Lorde
GUTS—Olivia Rodrigo
The Returner—Allison Russell
The Best of Sade—Sade
Fidalgo—Lizzie Weber
Come June—Mitch Rowland
Undesired—George Houston
Paint My Bedroom Black—Holly Humberstone
All That Was East Is West of Me Now—Glen Hansard
MOTOMAMI—ROSALIA
WE ARE—Jon Batiste
Light, Dark, Light Again—Angie McMahon
Henge—Gus Dapperton
Back of My Mind—H.E.R.
Higher—Chris Stapleton
Zach Bryan—Zach Bryan
Whitsitt Chapel—Jelly Roll
Summertime Blues—Zach Bryan
Something To Give Each Other—Troye Sivan
Bloom—Kimberly Perry
A Seat at the Table—Solange
When I Get Home—Solange
-Ugh, those feels again—Snoh Aalegra
Heaux Tales—Jazmine Sullivan
Dirty Computer—Janelle Monae
JAGUAR II—Victoria Monet
My 21st Century Blues—RAYE
World Music Radio—Jon Batiste
Bleachers—Bleachers
eternal sunshine—Ariana Grande
Liz Phair—Liz Phair
JPEG RAW—Gary Clark Jr.
Melodrama—Lorde
saintmotelevision—Saint Motel
Fetch The Bolt Cutters—Fiona Apple
Baduizm—Erykah Badu
Ruff Draft—J Dilla
To Pimp A Butterfly—Kendrick Lamar
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Trouble—Ray LaMontagne
Alvvays—Alvvays
Same Trailer, Different Park—Kacey Musgraves
Pageant Material—Kacey Musgraves
Contra—Vampire Weekend
HERO—Maren Morris
Humble Quest—Maren Morris
Spice—Spice Girls
Spiceworld—Spice Girls
Whip-Smart—Liz Phair
Messy—Olivia Dean
Bear Creek—Brandi Carlile
MASSEDUCATION—St. Vincent
$10 Cowboy—Charley Crockett
12 Stories—Brandy Clark
Bright Future—Adrianne Lenker
Weird Faith—Madi Diaz
Heads Up—Warpaint
empathogen—WILLOW
Anniversary—Adeem the Artist
The Man from Waco—Charley Crockett
seventeen—eva snyder
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT—Billie Eilish
ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS—Zayn
Don’t Forget Me—Maggie Rogers
High Violet—The National
American Football—American Football
American Pastoral—Andrew Montana
brat—Charli XCX
Dance the Devil—The Frames
OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES—SOPHIE
The Place We Ran From—Tired Pony
Tommy—The Who
I’ve Got No Friends Here—Moonwater
The Secret of Us—Gracie Abrams
Wide open, horses—James Vincent McMorrow
Sunburn—Dominic Fike
Ultraviolence—Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon—Lana Del Rey
Lust for Life—Lana Del Rey
Norman Fucking Rockwell—Lana Del Rey
Chemtrails Over the Country Club—Lana Del Rey
Blue Banisters—Lana Del Rey
Did you know there’s a tunnel under sunset boulevard?—Lana Del Rey
The Swell Season—Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
Rhythm and Repose—Glen Hansard
Didn’t He Ramble—Glen Hansard
Between Two Shores—Glen Hansard
This Wild Willing—Glen Hansard
Future Nostalgia—Dua Lipa
The National—The National
The Great American Bar Scene—Zach Bryan
Charm—Clairo
Lucky—Megan Moroney
Am I Okay?—Megan Moroney
Visions of Dallas—Charley Crockett
Aim and Ignite—fun.
I Love You So F***ing Much—Glass Animals
Oracular Spectacular—MGMT
Loss Of Life—MGMT
Made by These Moments—The Red Clay Strays
No Name—Jack White
Kansas Anymore—ROLE MODEL
Nebraska—Bruce Springsteen
Coming Home—Leon Bridges
Good Thing—Leon Bridges
Gold-Diggers Sound—Leon Bridges
I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet—Del Water Gap
F-1 Trillion—Post Malone
Bedouine—Bedouine
Whirlwind—Lainey Wilson
Short n’Sweet—Sabrina Carpenter
Romance—Fontaines D.C.
emails i can’t send fwd—Sabrina Carpenter
Wild God—Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Songs About Jane—Maroon 5
Paradise State of Mind—Foster the People
Astral Weeks—Van Morrison
This Is What It Feels Like—Gracie Abrams
No Way to Relax When You Are on Fire—Dora Jar
I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore—COIN
The Forest is the Path—Snow Patrol
What’s Wrong with New York?—The Dare
Smitten—Pale Waves
Moment of Truth—Red Clay Strays
Vertigo—Griff