2023 is coming to a close, and a lot of albums have been released. In terms of music, this has been a pretty good year. There have been classics and failures galore. I’m going to discuss one album which I think excels, and another one that I think falls rather flat.
An album I highly recommend is Model/Actriz’s debut record, “Dogsbody,” released on February 24th. Model/Actriz is an industrial/noise rock band hailing from Boston. This album is, in two words, utterly fantastic. Every single one of these albums is stellar in their production, performances, and flow, this album flows like a river. The sound of this album is like if Xiu Xiu or Daughters listened to Right Said Fred. Model/Actriz mixes noise rock, industrial, and dance music in an electrifying way, perfectly accentuated by Cole Haden’s dynamic, flamboyant vocals (some examples are “Crossing Guard,” “Slate,” “Maria,” and “Donkey Show”). This album isn’t perfect, of course; this album bleeds its influences. For instance, the song “Divers,” while haunting, sounds too much like Xiu Xiu. However, they can do their influences well for the rest of the albums, and the last track, “Sun In,” is heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
What isn’t heart-wrenchingly beautiful, however, is Travis Scott’s “Utopia,” released on July 28th. I know that’s a bold take, but let me explain.
Over the summer, I was returning from Indiana by car with my family, when my brother decided to force me to listen to the album. It was an excruciating two days, as I tapped out on the first day about halfway through. I recognize that I’m the wrong audience for Travis Scott, because I despise rap, and I could barely get through “Astroworld” because of the autotune. However, I had high expectations since so many of my favorite music reviewers liked it. When I listened to it, however, I was disappointed to see that it was bland and boring. Most tracks are tedious and repetitive, but some, especially “Topia Twins,” “K-Pop,” and the monstrously horrific “Modern Jam,” manage to be offensive. There aren’t any tracks that I would call “good” on it, and it has zero rights being almost seventy-five minutes long. My biggest question, however, is ‘ why is Dave Chappelle on “Parasail?” ’
Model/Actriz’s “Dogsbody” is an extremely impressive record that deserves more listeners, but Travis Scott’s “Utopia” is rather overrated and uninteresting.
