Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: The Smile is a supergroup consisting of Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood alongside Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. After debuting in 2022 the project quickly returned with new singles in 2023 and a new album early this year. But that's nothing compared to how quickly they're back now. The band's third album Cutouts  arrives less than 9 months after it's predecessor and yet that short amount of time allowed the band to once again lead off the album with a series of massively acclaimed singles.  And let's talk about those singles, because they're great. First came "Don't Get Me Started" which emerged in a time where I wasn't expecting to hear from The Smile and just blew me away. The opening synth lines flashing between channels is so enticing and every sound in the song just seems to bounce back and forth forever into this massive space. It's such a chilling song that's so isolating and magnetic. Cl

5.  Have Nots - The Underachievers Welcome back Underachievers. For the record this isn't the first thing they've dropped in ages or anything they had a new single just last month. The point is that I haven't even been doing this segment long enough to have talked about them before and I've been doing it for YEARS. In what sounds like a Griselda song of all things AK and Issa split chilling and calculating verses that remind me of how much I liked them both in the first place.  Listen 4.  DINORWIC  - Bibio Bibio is back with a sequel to his surprisingly beloved turn for ambient music Phantom Brickworks . This bulky lead single is a perfect introduction to the record delivering a serenity that feels in line with the naturalistic sounds and styles his music has always dabbled in. It's a song that creeps along but never feels eerie or ominous, instead more than welcoming you to engage in the nuance and details of its delicate core.  Listen 3.  A Fragile Thing  - The Cu

At some point I've got to get better about reviewing metal records. Since I'm so bad at it I felt the need to do a recap of some of the most notable ones to drop this year so far.  The Promise Of Rain  - Scarcity Scarcity are a NY black metal band that I'm a bit late to the party on. They debuted a few years ago on The Flenser, which really should be enough to get me to tune into anything at this point, but I let the debut slip by me. I almost made that mistake again when this new record didn't immediately blip on my radar beyond the actually beautiful album cover it sports. Thankfully some positive coverage the album received has led to me attempting to right both wrongs with an overdue review.  Promise  serves up just 6 tracks, but with four of them powering past 6 minutes it's grand total runtime reaches 40 minutes. It opens with the bold "In The Basin Of Alkaline Grief" which wastes no time introducing its brutality and ferocity. It takes a seemingly b

Review by Lavender: Clarence Clarity is an electronic music producer and vocalist who first broke through with a surprise underground hit in 2015's No Now . That gave way to a sophomore record called Think: Peace  in 2018 and eventually part 1 of Vanishing Act , an EP that dropped in 2021. Simultaneously Clarence has continued to produce for a variety of other artists like Dorian Electra, HMLTD, Sundara Karma, and most notably, Rina Sawayama. Now his long awaited 3rd studio album has arrived 6 years after its predecessor and three years after the EP it's serving as a sequel to. The record dropped with no singles, so there's really no choice other than to dive right in. Where to even start with this record, the beginning I guess? The first half of this record is pretty standard Clarence, and it's a god damn banger factory. You have to get 4 songs deep into the album just to find a track that reaches 4 minutes, which makes the opening salvo of the record a dizzying affair

Review by Lavender: Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a band that really needs no introduction. They're one of the most legendary figures in the world of post rock for classic albums like Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven  and F#A# ∞. After an extended hiatus through much of the 2000s they returned in 2012 and have since released even more classic material like Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!  and G_d's Pee AT STATE's END! . Last month, the band announced their return 3 years after STATE'S END  with this uncompromisingly titled 8th album, whose only teaser was its closing track.  Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of my favorite bands of all time and I've never been one to hide it. The band has dropped two albums in my time blogging and I liked them both more than the general consensus. But I won't mince words here, Despite my love for both records, NO TITLE  is better. In fact, it's their best album since at least 2012's Allelujah  and mayb

My review of my favorite artists complicated posthumous self-titled album is out right now in Ringtone Magazine <3 Read it here For more groundbreaking pop, check out my review of Charli XCX's  BRAT