Record #974: My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges (2008)

When you’re as obsessive about music as I am, you’re constantly on the hunt. As frequently as I might buy a record though, I’m always listening to several new albums while I’m getting into the ones I end up buying. As much as my collection serves as a snapshot of what I was into at any given point in my life, a lot of what I was listening to is out of frame.

My Morning Jacket is one of those bands that has existed just outside of my financial commitment for a long time—especially this record. There were a number of times where I was actively debating between buying a copy of Evil Urges and something else, and Evil Urges never won out. That is, until a few months ago where a copy popped up at the right place at the right time and we reunited.

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Record #677: Mike + The Mechanics – Mike + The Mechanics (1985)

At times, Genesis feels less like a progressive rock band and more like Xavier’s School For Gifted Solo Pop Artists.

Of course there’s the original frontman, Peter Gabriel, who perfected the pop record in 1986’s So. His replacement, Phil Collins, crafted such heartfelt pop that 30 Rock once claimed—correctly—that all that is necessarily to enjoy him is “two ears and a heart.”

In the shadow of such massive monoliths, it makes sense that Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford would be overlooked. In fact, I didn’t even know he had a solo career until I found this album in a box of freebies. But at first listen to his debut Mike + The Mechanics, Mike makes it clear that he’s just as capable.

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Record #660: The Alan Parsons Project – Stereotomy (1985)

The deeper I get into The Alan Parson’s Project’s later discography, the more I expect each record to disappoint me. For years, the narrative in my head had been that APP peaked hard with The Eye In the Sky and went downhill fast.

When I put Stereotomy onto my turntable, I expected the bouncing metallic synths to finally signal the Project’s downfall into uninspired new wave pastiche. But to my surprise (and delight), what followed was a record that retained the sophistication of the collective’s finest work while adding more electronic elements to their palette.

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Record #659: The Alan Parsons Project – Vulture Culture (1984)

After The Eye in the Sky, Alan Parsons Project originally intended to release a double album as a follow up. Instead, they split the project into two records: Ammonia Avenue and Vulture Culture, released ten months apart in 1984.

Like its twin, Vulture Culture is another underrated gem, showcasing the Project’s effortless blend of progressive composition and infectious pop hooks.

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Record #658: The Alan Parsons Project – Ammonia Avenue (1984)

For the last decade or so, my understanding of the Alan Parsons Project’s discography was that the collective started strong with two prog rock masterpieces, had a couple uninspired albums in the middle, then had a return to form before dropping the magnificent The Eye In the Sky and hanging up the project.

But after a friend acquired several boxes of (mostly sealed) LPs and dropped them on me to take my pick of, I have since learned that they released four records after what I thought was their swan song. Ammonia Avenue, the first record after Eye, hits more than it misses, even if it’s still overshadowed by the record before it.

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Record #636: Local Natives – Violet Street (2019)

Remember when Local Natives was an indie rock band?

I certainly do. But after the delicious synthpop of Sunlit YouthI came to peace with the fact that they’d probably never write a song like “Sun Hands” or “Breakers” again.

While I wasn’t surprised to see them to further embrace pop sensibilities, I was a bit shocked that Violet Street explored the disco-tinged soft rock of the late 70s.

Did I say shocked? I meant frickin’ delighted.

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