#411: Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973)

Emily: Even though I've been writing about jazz at various intervals over the last 5+ years, I still struggle with the vocabulary to write about it. The adjective "jazzy" captures much of what I hear and feel about the music, but it doesn't really communicate that to an audience who hasn't heard it. Especially after attending a jazz festival this summer, though, jazz music in all of its variations is so much more about the vibe and the energy than the actual notes of music played. Head Hunters certainly embodied that. It's a jazz-fusion album that is smooth, funky, and totally engaging. It's the kind of music I'd want to hear at a jazz club, if I ever actually go to a jazz club. Does that actually do a good job of explaining what this album sounds like? Probably not, but that just means you have to listen to it for yourself.
Favorite Tracks: Chameleon; Sly; Vein Melter

Zack: We’ve run into jazz fusion before, but this was the most jazzy entry that we’ve had. It was quite exceptional. This particular entry merged a smooth variant of jazz with a dynamic funk sound. They were blended seamlessly, creating a dynamic listen. I need to listen to Head Hunters a few more times to really appreciate it, but on one listen it really popped out as an album I can play over and over again.

Favorite Tracks: Chameleon; Vein Melter; Sly

#410: The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)

Zack: First off, great band name. Second off, I really enjoyed this EP (you can’t force me to call it an album). Divine Comedy have this really lush sounds to them, like a big band started making 90s pop music. Wikipedia informs me that this is called orchestral pop, which I think is an apt name. The EP, as the name suggests, centers around the concept of love. It discusses it in sloppy, often hysterically awkward terms. This includes the incredible, “If you were a horse, I’d clean the crap out of your stables and never once complain / If you were a horse, I could ride you through the fields at dawn through the day until the day was gone.” I actually found this element to be somewhat charming. Think about all of the different quotes you’ve heard in movies and books and TV shows trying to explain love. Some are shitty, some are poignant, but none ever really capture it. Love is such an abstraction that we don’t really have a great way to explain in linguistically outside of cliches. This EP sort of accidentally captures that. It spends 32 minutes trying to explain being in love, which is an endeavor not unlike The Big Bang Theory trying to explain string theory. But the effort is sincere, if occasionally cringe-inducing. Along with the majestic music, this made for a fun way to spend half an hour.

Favorite Tracks: In Pursuit of Happiness; If…; I’m All You Need

Emily: I was also a big fan of this not-quite-EP, not-quite album. I'm all in on musical compositions clocking in at just over thirty minutes. They get their point and sound across clearly and efficiently, and hopefully with no filler. A Short Album About Love was just as it says in the title - short (and filler-free) and lovely. The sound is orchestral and grand, and you get the sense that in whatever venues The Divine Comedy plays in they can't quite replicate it without the stage cracking under the weight of all of musicians and instruments necessary. Or it's all on a computer, but I have no idea. The instruments are a romantic ideal, and this album is certainly romantic. It could be the soundtrack to a quirkier, indie-film Love Actually (minus all the Christmas music). It may not accurately capture what's it's like to fall in love, but that's a near-impossible achievement. But capturing the romance and grandeur of love? A Short Album About Love embodies that beautifully.

Favorite Tracks: In Pursuit of Happiness; If I Were You; Everybody Knows (Except You)