Need to Clear Your Ears of the Grammys? Here Are Three Great Albums From This Week Featuring PUP, Night Palace, and Confidence Man

The industry suits keep awarding the same ten artists. Give a listen to these fresh records instead.

According to the ratings for Sunday’s Grammys Awards, I am like most of you - I didn’t watch them. With 8.93 million viewers, the ceremony eked it out and barely passed last year’s all-time low record in viewership. Continually nominating and awarding the same artists may not be the excellent strategy the industry suits think it is, as the Grammys seem like an out-of-touch relic from the tube tv era.

Instead of dwelling on the same old stuff, three albums from this past week are more interesting than anything from Sunday afternoon.

PUP - THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND

Here are the 2022 Grammy Awards nominees for Best Rock Album:

• Power Up — AC/DC

• Capitol Cuts - Live From Studio A — Black Pumas

• No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1 — Chris Cornell

• Medicine At Midnight — Foo Fighters

• McCartney III — Paul McCartney

Holy shit, if these are the nominees for rock albums, no wonder the general public thinks guitar music is dead. The “youngest” group here is Black Pumas, who have been a band for five years, and then the remaining acts have all been household names since at least the 90s. Who knew AC/DC had released an album in the last ten years?

(If you did, here’s a pat on the back. Congrats, I guess?)

It’s strange to think of Toronto pop-punkers PUP as vets at this point, but at 14 years into their career, they may have made their finest record yet in THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND. With PUP moving out of the basement and into a mansion to record this one, these sessions take the band’s crunchy riffs to the next spacious level that finds them in a new sonic territory. A tour of the struggles of being in a working band, the album culminates in the tongue-in-cheek, yet indulgent “PUPTHEBAND Inc. Is Filing For Bankruptcy,” which is one of the best songs of the year (“So you’re selling insurance? That’s inspiring, give me two more years, let me know if you’re hiring”).

I love the release of THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND coinciding with the Grammys, as singer Stefan Babcock addresses stale listening habits on “Four Chords,” in which he sings:

“And all your friends, they hate my guts
They only listen to noise punk or nothing
And they haven’t listened to any new music since college
It all makes them sick to their stomachs
And I never liked them, so they can all shove it”

THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND is a record by a group testing the limits of their cult following by delivering songs that will please old fans while spectacularly moving in a new direction like last year’s effort from Turnstile, and it’s far more delicious than anything by those nominees.

THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND is available now on Rise Records.

Night Palace - Diving Rings

Diving Rings is the stunning dream pop debut for Avery Draut’s Night Palace project out of Athens, Georgia. What would be an excellent record even if Night Palace stuck to four-piece rock music is elevated by the chamber pop arrangements written by Draut. The lovely instrumentation and lush production elevate Diving Rings above the tried and true indie pack, and “Enjoy the Moon!” is a perfect example of this as it features a complete ensemble including woodwinds, harp, a string section, and an airy saw that channels the theremin from “Good Vibrations.”

This song, along with “Stranger Powers,” “Jessica Mystic,” and the well-placed interludes, will keep me returning to this one as Night Palace already sounds like they are on their third album in maturity.

Diving Rings is available now on Park The Van.

Confidence Man - TILT

Confidence Man is an Australian dance music quartet that brings all of the good times 90s throwback house beats and catchy choruses. If Confidence Man actually released TILT in the 90s, I would be giving my younger sister shit for listening to it while spinning Bush’s Razorblade Suitcase again. Dreadful.

With teen angst long in the rearview, I can’t help but love what Confidence Man is doing on this joyous record of synth-filled dance anthems.

TILT is available now on Heavenly Records.

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