[Intro]
Hi everyone
Guithony Tartano here
The internet's busiest music nerd
And it's time for a review of Jeffrey Lewis's 2023 Tapes
[Verse 1]
So uh
I uploaded a video to Instagram and it was my Most Disappointing Albums of 2023
And yunno, it was just like a Most Disappointing Albums of 2023 So Far video
And um, I wasn't really expecting this, but who left a comment under that video content
Other than singer-songwriter legendary anti-folk punk singer-songwriter Jeffrey Lewis.
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 2]
So he was talking about how garbage all the albums were that I was listing off
And um, he was kind of talking up his own project that he just came out with over here
And I thought "Oh, I didn't even knew he had a new thing out and he's a very prolific guy
I've reviewed his music, talked about it a few times before
I'm very well aware of his uh, yunno almost very casual, raw folk singer-songwriter style
Very lo-fi, very uh yunno, very dirty, very filthy, very frank, very matter-of-fact as far as the writing and the lyrics go"
I should probably dip in for a hook now
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna, now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 3]
So I read the comment and yeah, he was like talking up his record
I was like "Yeah, I'm gonna go check that out, I'm gonna go check it out"
So yeah, I guess he's been coming out with these tape projects
Where he's kind of like quickly recording these band albums
And uh then releasing them
And then another
And then another and another
And another and another
And um yeah, the latest one over here is a bunch of 2023 tapes
So I decided to check it out
But I had to buy it cuz he's got his Bandcamp set up like that, I guess
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 4]
So I decided to listen to it and sort of do it in a bit of a one-take, once over kind of thing just like in the way that he recorded it
And sort of rip off his own songwriting style in a very poor poor poor unflattering fashion
Which I'm not doing any justice whatsoever um by going about it in this way in this video and I apologise
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 5]
So yeah, it's like a bunch of
It's a bunch of tracks, it's a bunch of tracks
Full band tracks
Raw, punky, lo-fi folk and folk-rock recordings with like some acoustic home tapes on the back end that
I don't know if they're that good
They don't really add that much to the overall project
It's really kind of like the core electric songs on the record that I think are like the best and the most worth listening to for the most part
Like, if you kind of dipped on those acoustic cuts towards the end, I wouldn't totally blame you
They kind of seem like yunno songs that are there for the most hardcore
Of hardcore
Of hardcore
Most hardcore Jeffrey Lewis fans
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review (um)
[Verse 6]
So yeah, it's
Yeah like about fourteen electric and band songs on there about
I could be wrong because I'm doing this off the cuff and
(Oh my god)
Guilty of Stupid is the first track on the record
And again yunno, if you're looking for something that is very uh off-the-cuff
That is very yunno rough around the edges
Yunno, cute, quirked up, funny, witty, very witty lyrics across a lot of points of the album
Some interesting rhymes as well
Jeffrey Lewis is uh rhyming like a diamond across this record, that's for sure
Much better than I am
I'm not even trying to rhyme at all
I'm really just talking over a single guitar chord until the chorus comes
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 7]
And yeah yunno like, Guilty of Stupid's a decent opener
Sounds really good
It's kind of weary
Give me almost like um Silver Jews vibes a little bit
Liking the vibe on that one a lot (uh)
Things That People Give Me is a very hilarious track (yunno)
All about like him having too much clutter due to the stuff that people give him
And him wanting to get rid of it and kind of going about it and sort of like uh very curt
A very brash
A very funny
A very ruthless fashion
And um yeah, it's highly entertaining and uh, honestly very relatable
The next track about rednecks
I don't know, I mean, you know
I sort of get what he's talking about there
Though I don't know if I would really prod or yunno, sort of like encourage any more craziness
Especially after Jan 6th (but)
But yeah, it is true, I mean they're total cowards
They have like yunno all the weaponry that they could possibly want at their fingertips
And yet
Like, they think the country's been stolen but they're like not really doing anything about it
It's (uh) kind of weird
(Um) Yunno he definitely makes a point there, but
Considering how much he's proven himself to be kind of like politically and socially savvy over the years, over the course of like numerous records
I'm really disappointed in the song 1-State Solution
Like, obviously it's about Israel-Palestine and it very much both-sides the whole situation and completely tears out the context of Israel being very much a colonialist project that is funded to the tune of billions and billions and billions of dollars by the American government and yet treats it as if it's just like yunno "two random groups of people who don't like each other"
As if there's not like a power dynamic going on here?
Give me a fucking break, Jeff
What's wrong with you?
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I gotta do a review
[Verse 8]
Still, the World is Just a Series of Confounding Events is uh quite entertaining and cute (um)
I think things dip a little bit at (u)h What Part of Blank Don't You Understand (um)
Yunno, Jeff, as much as I do like his lyricism
I like the way he focuses on a topic
I like the way he discusses things in his music too (uh)
Sometimes he does tend to ramble and I feel like the message really sort of like overloads the "song" or the need for a song
Much in the same way that we're kind of experiencing right here like
What I'm doing right now even with yunno the addition of
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 9]
It's not a very good song
Like, it's actually an awful song
Like, I mean obviously, it's more of a review than a song
Like a real proper, proper song (um)
And yunno, don't get me wrong, there are tuneful moments on this record
I just feel like yunno, these tracks are not necessarily two of them
I do love Creature of Routine though
I think that's a very funny track
Very witty track
Very quick-witted track (uh) all about yunno just being somebody who sticks to a routine
Repeats things
Which we all are, yunno
I love the cure little roar that the song ends off with (um)
Dating Profile is another rambly cut but I just kind of feel like the fact that it is yunno just about dating profiles and the way that it is and it's so focussed and it's so detailed
It really kinda makes it funny and entertaining (uh)
Fuck It's Just So Fucking Hot is all about climate change, global warming
It's very intense, it's very loud, it's very punky, it's yunno
It really meets the moment
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 10]
(Um) When We Fight, We Text is another track I found to be maybe a little bit too rambly
But still, I did like the story and about how you sort of have these miscommunications in a relationship that happened more in one context than in others
And sorta wanting to favor other modes of communication over texting just so that these miscommunications don't necessarily happen (um)
That's certainly happened to me before (uh)
Preconditions Include though, I feel like is kinda okay
Pales in comparison to Accept Yourself which is a very kind of beautiful and moving song about self-acceptance (Duh!)
I mean yunno, Jeffrey Lewis is a very kind of like
"What you see is what you get" kind of guy
As far as his writing and the content of his songs go
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing because (um)
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Verse 11]
He gives you a lot
Yeah, what you see is what you get, but you get
You get quite a bit, yunno, considering that his records and the presentation that he puts on them is so raw, it's a little messy (you know)
But there's still like a lot of content there
There's a lot of meaning there
There's a lot of heart and emotion in what he's saying
Even if he's glossing over very vital power dynamic issues in dire political situations, but I digress
What's even funnier though is Fortune Favors the Bold
It's a song all about sort of like yunno doing things that you're not supposed to
Even things that are so obviously stupid and bad for your health or maybe even yunno would put your life at risk
But yunno, Jeffry sort of like hilariously embraces the idea of doing these things anyway
Like "Hey yunno, you're being bold, fortune favors the bold," it's very funny, it's very cute (um)
Why Not Utopia, Bedtime for the Depressed
This is like yunno the point in which we're kind of like transitioning into the yunno the home tapes portion of the project and it really starts to lose me
I do generally like Jeffrey's kinda solo and acoustic performances and stuff
But I just kinda feel like the pace of the songwriting
The vocals being maybe a little wearier than they have been in past years (uh)
Combined with (uh) just the (um) recordings being as like loaded with ambient sound as they are
It kinda makes them difficult to connect with (um)
I feel like they could definitely be better if it was just going to be yunno a vocal and a guitar type thing
There are some good guitar parts though
I will give Jeffrey that (uh)
Jeffrey is definitely no slouch when it comes to the songwriting game
Still creative, still doing his thing, still idiosyncratic
Almost to a fault in some ways
Because yunno, while his sound is very recognisable and very specific
It's definitely not gonna be for everybody
He is not your average singer-songwriter (uh)
Even on this project over here (uh) wher yunno, he's very very very very far deep into a yunno massive, lengthy and (uh) influential career
[Hook]
Jeffrey Lewis left a comment
And now I'm gonna do a review
[Outro]
Yeah, for the most part I feel like (uh) the album's pretty good
It's decent. I feel like he's had better, more exciting, punchier albums in the past uh, albums with more memorable songs, but by usual Jeffrey Lewis standards, I feel like this is a pretty enjoyable affair all around, which is why I'm feeling a strong six to a light seven on it
Transition
Have you given this album a listen?
Did you love it? Did you hate it?
What would you rate it?
You're the best, you're the best
What should I review next?
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Anthony Fantano, Jeffrey Lewis, forever
