EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

I was very impressed with the theme of the last record. really enjoyed the interviews about the kinds of ideological conversations she would get into and how the best shows were always at the boundaries between the cities and the suburbs, she had her finger on something being able to address those issues without falling into easy condemnations, while at the same time not letting the evil off the hook. what she does isn't always a kind of pop music I intuitively get, but y'know local bay area family means I root for and I thought that last one was going to be her biggest

I hope she doubles down and goes further into it now that 2020's made all those issues even less ignorable

i know i gave the full album a spin at least once but i don't recall much about it. should try it again. "california" was/is tremendous

I listened to this again a few months back, and its still a very impressive record in the way that Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a very impressive record, though my enthusiasm may have dimmed a tiny bit.

PLMS takes me back to an alternate reality, somewhere in 1997, where this album sits comfortably next to Sonic Youth's Washing Machine and Cat Power's What Would the Community Think.

I think the description upthread of how she evokes both the best and the worst of the alternative 90's is otm. Her songwriting - like most of the songwriting of 90's alternative - leaves a lot to be desired, but she's great at evoking a past life. Problem for me with the follow-up albums to PLMS is that the clearer the production, the less evocative of nostalgia her songs get and her sound is all about nostalgia.