Beak> have played together long enough to develop a synchronicity in their performances, providing each other the space to adapt and the patience to explore. That earned sense of trust feels apparent in the progressions found throughout >>>>, a record in constant motion yet never seemingly in a rush to get anywhere.
Pons keep their reckless spirit alive with "Can’t Stand It,” a berserk cover of the James Brown song as you’ve never heard it before. Out today via Dedstrange Records (APTBS, Goblin Daycare, Wah Together), the band trade in the godfather of soul’s traditional funky sound for something a bit freakier, a bit noisier, a bit more deranged.
Beth Gibbons seems to have that slow-evolving, meticulous songwriting and arranging process, scrutinizing every note, every word placed in the lyrics. For some artists, such a process makes no difference in the final result, but with Gibbons, as evidenced here, the results are no less than mesmerizing.
Winged Wheel have expanded to a six piece ensemble involving Cory Plump, Fred Thomas, Whitney Johnson, Matthew J Rolin. and in addition to the first album’s lineup, Big Hotel enlists Lonnie Slack and Steve Shelley. In an orchestra where each person is a conductor, these experimental imaginations melt into one conversation.
There's beauty found in the thoughtful details and careful choices made throughout Amy O's latest offering, Mirror, Reflect. Arriving almost five years after her 2019 album Shell, here lies a meticulously crafted album that arguably embodies a stronger creative ethos than anything of her previous work.
There’s a thread of tension between domestic life and the life of an artist running through the record, with much of Deep Sage dealing with the specifics of motivation: why continue being in a band when it does so much to stunt the rest of your life around it? Why live life when you can take the band on the road and escape?
On their new single "Shimmer Away," Philly’s Bleary Eyed make brain fog sound inviting. Those familiar with the band's previous work will immediately recognize their trademark distorted blend of synths and a burst of busy drum machine beats, setting the stage for blissful hooks and hazy vocal harmonies to emerge from the muck.
A recent press release describes #RICHAXXHAITIAN as the last of a “tetralogy” of Haiti-focused albums, starting with 2016’s HBO (Haitian Body Odor), Pray for Haiti, and Balens Cho (Hot Candles). Haiti’s struggle for self-determination has always been central to Mach’s mythos, but these four records explicitly use it as a framing device — and compared to its predecessors, #RICHAXXHAITIAN feels especially clear and distilled.
On the Spell Blanket demos, which were recorded after the release of Tender Buttons, it’s clear that the synthesis or contrast of different traditions of music was an overarching interest of this musical project. Unfortunately, with the untimely death of Trish Keenan, this aspect of Broadcast could not be fully appreciated until now.
The brilliant Workers Comp, a band that splits the differences between lo-fi punk, Americana, and folk in it’s rawest distillation, are set to release their upcoming self-titled album, out May 31st via ever/never records, collecting all of their EPs and singles, highlighting both the humanity and labor driven dissatisfaction that lies in their hearts.
On A Country Western’s new album Life on the Lawn they once again tweak their sound into something new and dial up the energy ever so much more. They keep the general vibe reflective of their namesake, but instead of using the stylings of slowcore, they opt for a more straight forward alternative country rock approach.
Objections has generated buzz around their debut, Optimistic Sizing. Part of that, if we're to believe the press release, is how the band engage genre. Specifically, that they free themselves from the "constraints" of their "Minutemen music-as-socialism blueprint" by each member overseeing "their own chunk of sonic landscape".
For Hunter Mockett, who makes hypnotic, closely held music as Aaberg, his first months in Philly offered a dichotomy: a chaotic city and a cozy domicile. On “Mouth,” the first single from Wishing Well (out August 2nd via Forged Artifacts), Mockett’s near-whisper vocals betray the sense of gratitude and perseverance.
Sunshy’s “Poison” is yet another blast of focused, hooky noise pop from the Chicago group, the final single off their upcoming album I don’t care what comes next, due out this summer via MakeOutMusic Records. Sunshy has quickly made a name for themselves by combining heavy guitars with pop influenced grooves.s
On Teeth, Magana gingerly universalizes her pandemic lockdown restlessness and forced self-reckoning. Airy synths perk up her anguish, while matter-of-fact lyrics bring her back down to the mortal plane. Giliann Karon caught up with her on Mitski tour to discuss her arsenal of skills and find out just exactly what a Worm Moon is.
The Cool Cloud of Okayness was written and recorded during a period when Tara Jane O’Neil suffered the devastation of her home being destroyed by a wildfire in California and the long process of subsequently building a new one. She also describes the LP as being defined by her recording ensemble’s shared queer identity.
The Buffalo rapper layers her past lessons, each brick building a vision of a sustainable future. Like her counterparts, Noir sands rough friction from her upbringing into a smoothed-over confidence. However, instead of attempting to fortify a defensive armor, Noir’s learned past allows for a more honest, vulnerable swagger.
