June 7th Album Release Cycle
List of albums released, my thoughts on some and this weeks playlist
It is one of those weeks where I feel overwhelmed by new music. Not a lot of big releases, but a ton of artists I have not heard before whose singles sounded good, and I really wanted to just take a day off and dig into all of them. Not possible, though, but they are all on the weekly play list HERE. Save the playlist, as it updates weekly. Here is the full list of albums and my thoughts on some.
Fine- Rocky Top Ballads-was playing this in the store yesterday morning and had three people ask who it was. So that is a good sign. I don’t know much about this artist except that she is from Copenhagen and this is her first album. It has an open, airy singer-songwriter indie rock sound with breathy vocals. The overused dream pop tag, maybe. It’s a good listen, and on the surface, it is very appealing, as it sounds like a lot of things you have probably liked over the years, which is why people asked who it was. The songs are starting to stick a little, but not fully yet. We will see. Worth a listen.
Goat Girl – Below the Waste-Third album from Goat Girl. I liked the first two albums, and I really like this one too. The UK band is put in the post punk world, and on their past albums, that was there a lot, and here songs like “tcnc” fit that mold. A lot of their songs are in the grunge vein for me, but they also veer into indie-pop, like the standout song “Words Fell Out." Below the Waste has a lot of strong songs, twists and turns, and variety. I look forward to listening to this more.
Eels – Eels Time! I am a long time fan of Eels and Mark (A Man Called E). I first got an advanced slipcase promo CD of his first solo album back in the early 90’s (which I still have and got signed) and have been a long for the entire ride. If you are also a fan, you have gone through the dark albums, the more gruffy albums, and the weird stuff. On 2022’s Extreme Witchcraft, there were a lot of pretty standard Eels that we all loved, and I would say there are even more of those on Time! This is a pretty straightforward 40 minutes of E. Strong, hooky songs that sometimes go in the Beck-ish dad rock world, but in all reality, we were always kind of there…right? It’s a pretty upbeat pop album musically, with E’s interesting and sometimes matter-of-fact worldplay. His voice has that vibrancy that some of the early recordings did. A must listen for fans.
All Under Heaven – What Lies Ahead of Me-debut album-part dense shoegaze and part indie rock with mope rock guitars and Cure-like bass lines. It has a great sound and was produced well, and I think the songs are going to stick. Further listens will decide if the appeal is that it sounds like other things or that they have their own thing happening, which is driving my desire to listen to this more. Check it out.
Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free -Third album from the folk supergroup. This is a double album—20 songs and over an hour. I am a big fan of their past work. I burned out on the modern folk sound a long time ago, but this trio does it right. Their songs have enough of an organic, genuine feel to them, along with hooks and good production, to keep it away from both feeling too “down home” or having that commercial middle of the road sound that so many modern folky bands fell into. I went into this with trepidation, though. Very rarely does a long album work out, but on the first couple of listens to this, I didn’t hear much or any filler. The vocals switch out between Anais Mitchel, Eric, and Josh, and there are a lot of harmonies, and they work really well. The song “Old Dutch” is an epic song and a perfect example of how all of their vocals work so well together. There is a lot to dig into here, and I think it is worth it for you to jump in.
NxWorries – Why Lawd? The second album from NxWorries which is Anderson. Paak & Knxwledge. While this has a retro feel to it, it is much more modern than the last soul funk send-up that Paak was involved with, Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars. G-funk hip-hop, classic soul from the 70’s, synth based 80’s R&B, and even tips to 90’s R&B, jazzy guitar numbers swap out with each other as the album progresses. All with a modern touch. There are a lot of guests on here, including Snoop, Thundercat, H.E.R. and more. Worth a listen.
Aurora – What Happened to the Heart?
Charli XCX – Brat No
Amanda Bergman – Your Hand Forever Checking On My Fever
Margaux – Inside the Marble
Bathe Alone – I Don’t Do Humidity
Actress – Statik
Bloomsday – Heart of the Artichoke
Alisa Amador – Multitudes
Blair Gun – There Are No Rival Clones Here
cehryl – willow tree
Clara La San – Made Mistakes
L’Impératric – Pulsar
Laura Misch – Sample the Earth
Peggy Gou – I Hear You
Alfie Templeman – Radiosoul
Perennial – Art History
Razor Braids – Big Wave
Aloe Blacc – Rock My Soul Vol. 1
Angélica Garcia – Gemelo
Ann Annie – The Wind
Bass Drum of Death – LIVE….and LET DIE
Beings (Zoh Amba, Steve Gunn, Shahzad Ismaily, and Jim White) – There Is a Garden
Bon Jovi – Forever
Bored At My Grandmas House – Show & Tell
CANDY – It’s Inside You
Carly Pearce – hummingbird
Cactus (feat. Carmine Appice) – Temple Of Blues – Influences And Friends
Casey MQ – Later that day, the day before, or the day before that
Elkka – Prism of Pleasure
Enter Shikari – Dancing on the Frontline
Evergrey – Theories of Emptiness
FaltyDL – In the Wake of Wolves
FREQz – Grizzly Peak
Flesh Car (feat. Craig Wedren, Jherek Bischoff, and Jacob Richards) – Flesh Car
French Cassettes – Benzene
Ginger Winn – Stop-Motion
Insect Ark – Raw Blood Singing
JD Pinkus (of Butthole Surfers) – Grow a Pear
Kaytranada – Timeless
Kelley Stoltz – La Fleur
Liz Lawrence – Peanuts
Logan Lynn – SOFTCORE
LØLØ – falling for robots and wishing i was one
Maggie Gently – Wherever You Want to Go
Man Man – Carrot On Strings
Margo Guryan – Words & Music
Marina Allen – Eight Pointed Star
Maya Vik – Hustlebot
Meghan Trainor – Timeless
Men Seni Suyemin – BELIEVE
Nat Harvie – New Virginity
Nduduzo Makhathini – uNomkhubulwane
Nikka Costa – Dirty Disco
The Omnific – The Law of Augmenting Returns
Pedro the Lion – Santa Cruz
Rose Hotel – A Pawn Surrender
Sabrina Song – You Could Stay in One Spot, and I’d Love You the Same
SECT – Plagues Upon Plagues
SHAED – Spinning Out
Strand of Oaks – Miracle Focus
Swim Deep – There’s A Big Star Outside
Tems – Born in the Wild
Umbra Vitae – Light of Death
Yelawolf – War Story – Michael Wayne (Part 1) & Trunk Muzik 4ever (Part 2)