Summer has left the 2021 chat, and I'm thankful that it ended in a much better way than it began. My leg is feeling a lot better, and we're moving around a lot easier. That's great news, because concerts are back in full force, as my last post on the wonderful show I saw Knocked Loose play would indicate. I'm so excited to be going back to shows, and every week I find myself checking venue calendars to see if there's a last-minute show I can shove into my schedule. In addition to a trio of great concerts I saw, September was also a great month--perhaps the best so far this year-- for album releases as well. Throw in a few awesome movies, and we had ourselves a hell of a month. Let's take a look back at all we were gifted over the last thirty days.
What I Watched
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings It was dubbed an "experiment" by Disney head Bob Chapek, but I think it's abundantly clear now: Kevin Feige knows what the fuck he's doing. Dropping on Labor Day weekend and remaining the number 1 movie in America for all of September, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is another unexpected smash-hit for the MCU, which continues to be the most bankable movie franchise of all time. Simu Liu is a perfect addition to the Avengers (when we eventually get another one of those movies), and Tony Leung's portrayal of the villain stands alongside Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger as one of the best we've seen in the series. With all the movies in the MCU that have been set in space, it's quite a surprise that one set on our planet provides the most fantasy elements we've seen, but the karate fight choreography does an excellent job of grounding the story and making it all work together beautifully.
The Card Counter Devilishly handsome and insanely talented, Oscar Isaac is one of those actors you can always count on to carry your movie (just ask the new Star Wars trilogy). However, as a movie based around poker should know, you can have the best cards pre-flop and still come out a loser. The Card Counter isn't a bad movie, but it's bogged down by nearly every performance outside of Isaac's. While you have to give the movie credit by casting Tiffany Haddish as the mysterious love interest and Tye Sheridan as the disgruntled, misguided young adult, there's something that never really clicks here. There's also a few things that happen that make no logical sense, which makes things a little messy towards the end, but this was still worth watching overall.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye In a contrast to The Card Counter, this is a movie that very much relies on Jessica Chastain's performance, but there's a lot of talent around her as well. With one of the best performances of Chastain's career being match with another great turn for Andrew Garfield, and a scene-stealer in Vincent Donofrio, The Eyes of Tammy Faye takes the story of a little-known celebrity and makes it feel like one of the most important struggles of the last few decades. Plus, Chastain recorded her own vocals for the performances of Tammy Faye's songs, which adds another impressive accomplishment to her acting career that's already been filled with so many.
Dear Evan Hansen Take your pick: the star of this movie, who plays a senior in high school, is 34 years old; the movie's entire emotional core is constantly upended by upbeat musical numbers; this is the biggest sociopath that's been put on screen since the entire cast of How I Met Your Mother; there are characters in this movie with a tendency to forgive that simply would never occur in real life; however you want to look at it, Dear Evan Hansen is an egregious miss. To be fair, I haven't seen the Broadway musical it was based off of, so I can't say with certainty whether or not this is a good or bad adaptation, but with how developed and shitty this main character is, I doubt seeing it onstage would make it any more likable.
What I Listened To
The Band CAMINO - The Band CAMINO Two EPs, some monster singles, and a whole lot of buzz have brought us here, to the much-anticipated release of The Band CAMINO's debut self-titled full-length album. While they once sounded like what many dubbed "Diet The 1975," CAMINO has grown into their own-pop rock sound, branching into a lot of really interesting sounds that could have them touring with a lot of different artists (as evidenced by their placement on Country-pop duo Dan + Shay's Arena Tour). The songs themselves are immediately catchy, and some of the best choruses to be released this year are found on "1 Last Cigarette" and "Roses," but there's some sincere emotional depth as well on tracks like "Damage" and "Everybody Dies." While the record is definitely good, there's some missed potential as well, as the album's 14 songs tend to be written about a relationship you can't quite get over. That's something that works really well on "Know It All" and "Song About You," but it gets a little old by the end of the album. Still, this is a great debut from what is likely one of the best pop-rock bands going right now.
Noah Kahan - I Was // I Am The Northeastern sognwriter Noah Kahan has been building a steady momentum since he released Busyhead in 2018, and on his sophomore full-length, he's bring you even more catchy songs written about a young man still trying to figure out his place in the world. It's all too familiar territory, but where Kahan really succeeds is in his unique songwriting. One of my favorite examples is "Caves," whose title makes it seem as though it'll be about the caves we hide ourselves in, but ends up being a very interesting rumination on two partners trying to make a failing relationship work, until one of them "caves" under the pressure. There are moments like this sprinkled throughout I Was // I Am, which should be more than enough to propel Kahan to the heights of the most renowned singer/songwriters of his generation.
You, Me, and Everyone We Know - Something Heavy The leader in the clubhouse for Album Artwork of the Year, Something Heavy is yet another triumphant return for Ben Leibsch, the one-man wrecking crew behind You, Me, and Everyone We Know. It's been 11 years since he last released a full-length under this moniker, as Some Things Don't Wash Out was followed by 4 EPs, a mass exodus and reshuffling of members, and a couple of retirements, but somehow, some way, Leibsch found the inspiration to keep plugging along, and those who stayed faithful to the band have been rewarded with another solid collection of songs. Much like we saw with the EPs I Wish More People Gave a Shit and Dogged, Leibsch is opting for more of an outward look at the world than the inward look he offered on Some Things and their two earlier EPs, but Something Heavy wonderfully blends both approaches for what feels like a melding of the band's two distinct pasts. It's a great step forward for a band that you never quite know what to expect from.
Thrice - Horizons/East If you told me that Thrice rolled out of bed and wrote a great song on a whim, I'd believe it. This band has made a career out of their progressive post-hardcore, and things are simply never stale with them. Horizons/East shows the band flexing its post-rock muscles, creating an album that flows perfectly over the course of its 10 tracks. While lead single "Scavengers" is among the standouts, leadoff track "The Color of the Sky" sets a perfect tone, and "The Dreamer" provides a great spark towards the back half of the album. This shouldn't be a surprise, but it's always great to see the amount of care Thrice put into each release.
Eidola - The Architect I've been trying to tell you for months now: get on this bandwagon as quickly as you can; pretty soon there won't be enough room. Eidola's fourth full-length and Rise Records debut The Architect establishes them as one of the best progressive-metalcore bands on Earth, and should make lead vocalist Andrew Michael Wells a superstar among the scene. With tracks that evoke memories of Secret and Whisper, Circa Survive, and Night Verses, The Architect mixes up tempos and structures, while finding moments to highlight the talents of each individual member. Sure, Wells and lead guitarist Sergio Medina are the clear highlights, but this is a record made by an extremely well-rounded band whose trajectory cannot be overestimated right now.
Looking Ahead to October September's definitely been the most exciting month of the year for me, but October is likely to snag that title pretty quickly. For the first time since movie theaters shut down, we've got bug movie releases each weekend, with Venom: Let there be Carnage, then No Time to Die, then Halloween Kills and/or The Last Duel, wrapping up with Dune on the 22nd before Last Night in Soho rounds out the month. Conversely, it'll be a light month for music releases until Every Time I Die drops their AOTY contender Radical on the 22nd. That should give me a nice month to catch up on some releases I didn't give enough time to, so if you have any suggestions that I may have missed this year, let me know!
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