Here are my first impressions of three new albums Cam and I listened to in the car on the way up north this weekend.

Ariana Grande — petal
Released July 31

Petal

This one disappointed me. It’s a lot of whispering, insubstantial vocals, with lyrics that are usually unintelligible from the speakers of a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, backed by weak rhythms and undistinguished pads of synths. It felt like music made by people who could barely keep their eyes open. There was hardly anything to grab onto, and about seven minutes after it was over, I realized it had almost entirely left my head.

Bellamy Brothers — 50 Years On
Released June 26

50 Years On

Before this album, I knew one song by the Bellamy Brothers — 1979’s “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me.” I first heard it on a country radio station while driving around town delivering DoorDash on a particularly nice summer evening, and it ended up being one of the first country songs I saved to a playlist. I never got into Bellamy Brothers beyond that song though, so I was intrigued when Apple Music served up their new album. The title track, “50 Years On,” was easily the strongest—a pretty unique song reflecting on five decades in the music industry, alluding to old stories and misadventures. Nothing else on the album was as good as this. Most of the other songs felt a bit waterlogged — usually too long by a chorus or two, and with a chronically low energy level. To be fair, these are old men, and the one song I knew by them is a chill one, but I still think they could have picked it up a little bit, especially on a track like “Barndominium,” where their emotionless, slightly-too-quiet monotone brings down what should be a fun, funny track. Moderately clever lyrics enliven some other songs — I enjoyed the singalong ode to Jimmy Buffett and another where the refrain was “I hate to break it to you baby / But your grandma was a whole lot cooler than you are.” But overall I don’t think I’ll be returning to this much.

Weezer — Weezer (Gold Album)
Released Aug. 21

Weezer

I really liked this one. I’ve never been much of a Weezer person, but now I’m Weezer curious. Songs had good ideas behind them and never overstayed their welcome; none of them really struck me as bad or superfluous. One got stuck in my head pretty quickly (‘C.E.O.’). I laughed out loud a couple of times — this line got me: “Bought a toaster just to make some toast / First I had to scan a QR code.” A couple nights later, I listened to the album again and liked it even more.