Orville Peck : "Stampede"

This album is an interesting step in Peck's career. It is a duet album, which is much like a covers album, and tends something artists fall upon when writer's block settles in, as they typically are not sprung from creative high points in anyone's career. Three albums into his career it's a little soon for Peck to fall back on something like this. The first song is both "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other" is a cover of  Ned Sublette's 1981 song. Willie Nelson at 91 sounds like he should have retired ten years ago. It generated a bit of internet buzz before the album's release but doesn't hold up to Peck's previous work. 

Peck then teams up with Midland for the pretty forgettable "The Hurtin Kind" which does nothing to hook me in though it's better than the Willie Nelson duet. The duet with Elton John on "Saturday Night's Alright" shows Elton can still belt it out, but Peck really only helps out with the high notes and feels awkward on the rock verses. "Back at Your Door" is the first song that measures up to what he normally delivers. He is joined by Debbii Dawson for this one.  There is more of a boozy New Orleans feel to "Chemical Sunset". Canadian singer Allison Russell lends her voice to it. 

He is a little more energized when joining forces with Beck for "Death Valley High"  This one sounds like Beck had the heaviest hand in the writing. It is almost disco. Noah Cyrus continues to set herself apart from her sister when she joins Peck on "How Far Will We Take it?" which makes this one of the album's best songs. Their voices work really well together. He covers the Magnetic Fields with Molly Tuttle. It works well enough. "Midnight Ride" is not as an unexpected turn as it sounds on paper when Kylie Minogue and Diplo collaborate with him. It does get dancey but disco and country music have coexisted in 70s. 

YouTuber Teddy Swims does a guest spot on "Ever You're Gone". They do not have a ton of chemistry together and things go in a gospel direction that he would have done better to have enlisted Christ Stapleton for. But even the Temu version of Christ Stapleton can work. The argument for this kind of album can be made in the fact that Peck can hold his own with most singers, Elton John being the notable exception to this rule. Margo Price is a singer who makes more sense for this album, and she works well with him on "You're An Asshole". 

Peck takes the reins on the songwriting to "Where Are We Now", though Mickey Guyton is pretty mediocre, she wants to be Shania Twain, and there are more interesting singers that would have been a better fit. Nathaniel Rateliff showed up with his own song that Pedk is just along for the ride for. But it goes back to my point that this is Peck showing he can hang with different kinds of singers. This is also another one of the album's strongest songs. When comes to a classic like Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" Peck would have been better off tackling this one on his own. TJ Osborne can sing, but Waylon Payne and Fancy Hagood, should not have been invited. Peck could have knocked it out of the park on his own, but some of the other voices falter. I will give this one an 8.5, while this is better than most of the pop country collabs that are coming out this year, it's really the Noah Cyrus song and "Back at Your Door" that makes it better than Yung Gravy's country album, which is a little disappointing for Peck whose work has been stellar up to this point. 

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Kylie Minogue : "Tension"

First time I have sat down to consume one of her albums in a single sitting for review. This is Kylie's 16th album. 15 song writers and 9 Producers which is more than legit rock bands , but these days  pretty par for the course when it comes to pop music, and more respectable than artists like Doja Cat and Lizzo who have over 25 of each.  Minogue's brand of dance music is more complex than what either of those artists are doing. She also has more of a European fan base, with more progressive tastes. The most remarkable thing, might be also due in part to her producers, but Minogue, does not sound like she is 55. Her voice is light and high almost like her barely 20-something pop counterparts in the States. House is a strong element to her music that can be felt on the opening song. 

"Hold On to the Now" sounds like if the Spice Girls went into the future and given the secret to what would make pop music work in 2023. Does not sound like her vocal performance is as inspired as the first song. "Things We Do For Love" nods in the direction of Madonna's influence on the genre, though it has a very youthful hook to it. The title track has a synth line that sounds like it was pulled from a 90s gay club. Which I think finds her appealing to queens old and young. I wonder how many are going to speculate how she drank vocally from the fountain of youth. This album is like hearing the portrait of Dorian Gray tell you age is nothing but a number which seems to be proving true for her. The carefree "One More Time"  even with all the songwriters aboard feels like filler. 

"You Still Get Me High" sounds like her producers have been listening to Taylor Swift. It gets supper peppy for the kids on the chorus, which makes it harder to take the song as seriously. The same thing could be said for the rapping going into "Hands". Though in the moments on the verses she sings on a lower voice, the closer I think we are to hearing what she sounds like beyond the smoke and mirrors. "Green Light' comes the closest to bringing back more of a disco sound. This is aided by the sax solo that flirts with the song.  It also might be the albums best song.  She wants to pretend the more commercial Euro-House sound of the 90s is the way to go on  "Vegas High" and ends up sounding like Aqua. 

"10 Out of 10" is most likely playing on the Sirrus radio of most Hair Salons today. If this song is not playing at the next gay bar you go ask for your money back, since there has not been many gay anthems this year and this feels like the one you have been waiting on. "Story" closes the album and once again there is the sense the was written for a much younger artist, but Kylie proves she can still get her voice up there. It sounds like this is being doing without too much studio magic. The deluxe edition came with a second disc, but for the purpose of this review I am just reviewing this album presented on this disc.  I will give this album a 9, it's much better than the new Doja Cat if we are to compare pop music, though is still the part of the big entertainment industry and is rolled off the assembly line with a rainbow gloss is the gay album that surpasses Sam Smith's album in every way.