Plenty of bands have put out an excellent album, and some even have multiple great recordings. But how many bands have three exceptional releases back-to-back-to-back?
Ben Freid is a host on our sister station, 105-5 The Colorado Sound. He recently wrote an article about some standouts in that category, and he joined us on KUNC to talk about his picks.
Nikole Robinson Carroll: When determining these three album runs, what criteria did you judge by? What makes a great album?
Ben Fried: Besides gut instinct and these albums really resonating with me, creativity and versatility. Looking at these three albums in a row, you know, is there a difference? Do they all sound the same? Is there an evolution there? I looked at critical acclaim. How were these albums received when they first came out? How are they looked at now? And I also looked at lasting impact - do I hear the influences from these albums in more modern bands?
NRC: Can you give an example of how you applied all those criteria?
BF: One of the bands I chose was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs [and] their first three albums - Fever to Tell (their debut), Show Your Bones (their second album) and their third album, It's Blitz. So I looked at those three albums and just how wildly different they all were: their debut album being much more fast-paced and punk-influenced; a lot of what you'd call “art rock.” But there was a slow song in there called “Maps,” which ended up being their most popular song.
BF: Show Your Bones is kind of if “Maps” was an entire album. It's much slower. There's a lot more acoustic.
BF: And then their third album, It's Blitz, is a lot of synth and electronic and dance oriented music, but it still sounds like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They still have Karen O, who's an amazing frontwoman. It's like they kept their originality, and they were still very versatile and experimental on all these albums, but it still sounded like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
NRC: And as you mentioned before, you wrote about more contemporary acts. But who are some of the greats of the past who have achieved this three-peat?
BF: Some that immediately come to mind for me: Metallica's first three albums, Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets. That's just masterful work by them. I think of Pink Floyd with Dark Side of the Moon into Wish You Were Here into Animals. Prince, who I believe has multiple three album runs in his amazing discography. And I didn't want to focus on them as much, because I feel like those albums have already had their time. They've gotten their flowers. And with these more contemporary bands, our listeners, I think, are just less likely to know about them.
NRC: What groups are you watching right now that maybe have a two album streak going so far and you're expecting a third?
BF: Yes! This is something I was actually thinking about quite a bit when writing this article. So there's a band right now called Momma. They have two albums they released - Household Name a couple of years ago, and they just released their new album, Welcome To My Blue Sky back in April. Two great albums, just such a fun band; very shoegaze-influenced alternative rock.
BF: This artist, Blondshell, who I really, really love - she had her self-titled debut a couple of years ago, and then earlier this year, she released her album If You Asked For A Picture - very 90s-influenced. I mean, she would have killed it back in the '90s. She would have been a Fiona Apple type.
BF: A band called Geese released their debut album, Projector, a few years ago. And then last year, they released an album called 3D Country. And I don't even know how to describe Geese. They are just a blend of alternative rock, but there was a lot of 70s influence. You hear Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix in their music. They have an amazing frontman in Cameron Winter, who just released a debut album.
BF: And the last one is Wet Leg. Now, they've only released a self-titled debut album a couple of years ago, and they have their second album coming out in July. But I'm expecting that second album to be really great, and then whatever album they make for the future, I'm sure it's going to be really good.
