Lav's Music Corner

Pinegrove are a New Jersey indie rock and who have spent the last decade crafting a unique and extremely recognizable blend of lo-fi indie rock, emo and folk that has significantly divided listeners. The band has a dedicated fanbase but also sports plenty of haters citing how similar all of their songs sound and the occasionally shortcomings of their lyrics.  Review By Lav: While I've never been crazy about Pinegrove I'm also far from a hater. They have a greatest hits album worth of spectacular songs which I've reflected in my year end lists over the past five years. As much as I hate to play into stereotypes however, listening to the band for an entire album has never been something I'm a huge fan of. With so much instrumentally familiarity you really have to be invested in two things, the progression of each song and the lyrical vision. If both or even one of those is executed well they can create very compelling songs, but much like all of their records that isn...

This was definitely one of the best weeks of the year so far and there was some competition for the top 5. Between the new Weather Station single, Tove Lo's surprisingly great Euphoria  song and a Charli/Rina collab there were a lot of new songs worth hearing, but these were the best of the best over the last 7 days.  5.  The Smoke  - The Smile Round two of new music from the Radiohead meets Sons Of Kemet super group is a much more reserved track than the lead off single but just as satisfying. Thom Yorke proves he is still the master of extracting feeling out of gentle falsetto vocal harmonies and the steady instrumental palette behind him works in impressively quiet but high impact form. Another hit from The Smile.  Listen 4.  Walkin  - Denzel Curry Denzel Curry's highly anticipated return wasn't quite the pure banger that some fans were expecting but that's nothing to hold against he song. Walkin  is an incredibly slick two part spacey rap tune...

Foxtails are an American screamo band from the northeast who have been around for almost a full decade with 4 albums under their belt. They've received attention from both critics and fans in the hardcore underground for their fusions of screamo with genres like classic post-hardcore and contemporary emo.  Review By Lav: I feel like I've been aware of this band for a while and have heard buzz about their singles or records here and there but this is the first time I've taken a deep plunge. It also felt like in my head that this was a relatively new band but I blinked and suddenly their four albums deep so I had to do a little bit of catching up before doing this review. But now I'm here and I can say for certain that I appreciate some of the unique things the band does among their hardcore contemporaries. I can also say that this is my favorite of their records to date and the increase in buzz among critics is appropriate.  The thing that really sold me on this record a...

Anxious is a Connecticut emo band who have been turning heads in the underground for a year or two and signed to Run For Cover records last year. They've released four singles in the past year leading up to this, their debut album. Review by Lav: Last year I was turned on to the music of Anxious by a Brooklyn Vegan article and I've been following them ever since. When they signed to Run For Cover records and started releasing singles for the lead up to their debut album I got increasingly excited for what the band was capable of delivering. While the record is definitely a mixed bag as the band looks for their sound, there are plenty of bright spots along the way.  The record gets off to a solid start but generally the first half is quite a bit weaker than the second half. Your One Way Street  is the opening track and the band wastes no time getting into the thick of things with this up-tempo two minute pop punky opener. It has a tight groove and a short but memorable hook and...

Boris is the long running and prolific Japanese experimental rock band who have released dozens of studio albums and collaborations in their 25+ years as a band. W  comes as a spiritual successor to their previous album NO  which was the result of writing sessions during pandemic isolation. Review By Lav: I'm finally gonna review Boris. While I heard and publicly discussed their past 3 or 4 studio albums and their collaborative album with Mezrbow, I just never found the time to sit down and properly review their material. Now early in the year with my to do list less clogged than usual it's finally time to talk about W . If you're new to this band it can be quite difficult to catch up, trust me I did so in 2015 and still sometimes feel like I'm missing key pieces. But their recent string of records take a slightly less industrial and drone themed sound than some of their past acclaimed works and instead interpolate much more post-rock and pseudo ambient passages. Despit...

Another week and another round of indie dominating the list. Maybe all of 2022 will be like this and we'll witness an indie renaissance that's talked about for decades. Or maybe it's just been a good few weeks, TBD. 5. Watercolor Eyes  - Lana Del Rey In case you've been living under a rock there is this HBO show called Euphoria  that a lot of people have been talking about. One of the shows points of influence is the music its characters engage with and that it interpolates both diagetically and non-diagetically. The upcoming episode features a brand new Lana Del Rey song which fans got a taste of early and it's pretty good. While an artist like Lana has difficulty topping herself, she clearly has the focus to execute on the promise of her music consistently. Listen 4. Ecdysis!  - Darkside Darkside just keep getting it done. Nic and Dave are back with a new song from the same sessions as last years Spiral  album and it delivers experimental electronic sound palettes...

The Wombats are a British pop rock band who emerged in the back half of the 2000's with an art school image and a strange fluke hit in the UK alternative scene with their song Let's Dance To Joy Division . To this day it's the bands most well known track though they've carried on releasing music regularly to pretty consistent commercial success. In recent years they have attracted some social media attention with a handful of their songs, most notably Greek Tragedy  generating attention on Tik Tok and Instagram. Review By Lav: I'll start this review by saying something that might surprise you, I like The Wombats. Even though they have a pretty inconsistent discography and have never really been a critically acclaimed act I consider myself somewhat of a fan of their generally fun attitude and simple, hooky approach to songwriting. Maybe it's because I didn't hear them in their original element as merely one in a sea of generic British indie bands and instead ...

FKA Twigs is one of the most acclaimed voices in all of contemporary R&B music. Across two studio albums she has teamed up with a world class selection of producers to create a futuristic and off kilter style of R&B entirely her own and has been met with massive critical acclaim for almost everything she's done. Caprisongs  was carefully marketed as a mixtape rather than a follow-up studio album and trades out grander thematic concepts for shorter tracks that cover a wide variety of different sounds and styles. Review By Lav: Like most people on Earth who have ever heard FKA Twigs music I really enjoy it. A few years ago I called Magdalene  a top 5 album of 2019 and in that same year called her single cellophane  my single of the year. Her talent is absolutely whimsical and manages to display truly raw vulnerabilities but with a staunch and occasionally even intimidating confidence that is absolutely mystical. On top of that she has an ability to conceptualize pro...

Cordae is one of the most notable young voices in hip hop who became popular as a result of his critically acclaimed sound that blends together contemporary rap trends with classic hip hop lyricism and storytelling. He proved that he has an impressive amount of industry support backing him on his debut album in 2019 and since then had scored a number of high profile features while building up hype for this sophomore project.  Review By Lav: I really enjoyed Cordae's debut album. Not only did it show off the specific strengths we already knew about him as an artist, compelling narrative lyricism and command of flow, but it also introduced us to just how impressively versatile he is as an artist. He built even further on this with an impressive EP last year that saw him dabbling in hip hop sounds of both knew and old while also flexing some incredible singing vocals that I didn't even know he had in him. Even though I wasn't crazy about either of the albums singles, I was sti...

Earl Sweatshirt is a California rapper who originated as a member of internet famous rap collective Odd Future. After being a predominately commercial figure early in his career e firmly transitioned into the world of underground hip hop on 2018's Some Rap Songs . Since then the massive acclaim of the record and a number of high profile features have helped cement Earl as one of the premiere underground rappers of the 2020's. Review By Lav: Watching Earl's sound evolve has been fascinating. From the edgy but undeniably talented and intense early work to his more accessible but lyrically pointed debut album and then fully transcending into one of the darkest sounds of underground rap ever since, he's been fascinating at every point along the way. It's no secret that I really enjoyed Some Rap Songs  given that I gave it a 10/10 review and called it my 3rd favorite album of the entire last decade, so obviously I was excited to see what this project was going to sound l...

Last week indie got off to a ridiculous start in 2022 and this week it was raps turn to have tons of notable releases within just a few days. The only difference, these tracks average out to a MUCH weaker group and other genres of music still managed to sneak into the ranks of the best singles this week. With some major disappointments these are the tracks that still managed to rise to the top. 5.  Jackie Down The Line  - Fontaines D.C I've been one of the bigger critics of this band over the last few years but this may be their best single yet. The driving rhythms and monotone delivery make for a confrontational sound but I could never call the song overly aggressive or loud. This is also the first time I've thought the band used vocals in a really effective way to combine with the dark sound of the instrumental to create something really interesting.  Listen 4.  Surround Sound  - JID (Feat. 21 Savage & Baby Tate) This was a collection of talent that was al...

Gunna is an Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug's YSL Records label. He broke out a few years ago on a string of features alongside Young Thug and a successful collaborative album between himself and fellow 2018 up and comer Lil Baby. DS4EVER  is his 3rd proper studio album and comes two years after his first #1 album Wunna  in 2020. Review By Lav: I was late to Gunna. When I first heard him on the back of his affiliation with Young Thug I was so sure that his prescence would be a passing fad that I passed on reviewing some of his early mixtapes. It wasn't until his Lil Baby collab Drip Harder  which spawned the first big hit of his career that I realized I couldn't ignore him forever. The first highlight of my interaction with Gunna's music and his fans was when an intern from his record label called me "an LGBT" on Twitter and used that as an explanation for why I didn't enjoy Drip or Drown 2  which honestly still makes me laugh to this day. Believe it o...

The Weeknd has spent the last few years transitioning from an influential voice in commercial R&B to a full blown pop superstar. The massive success of his After Hours  album and its resulting singles in 2020 turned him into one of the biggest stars in the music industry and he looks to continue the upward momentum on this new album which was dropped with only one pre-release single and a week of promotion. Review By Lav: I've loved The Weeknd for a long time. For years the narrative surrounding his music was that of a singles artist, who had hit after hit but his albums never quite lived up to the quality standard of his original trio of mixtapes. He bucked those trends on After Hours  dropping a genuinely fantastic pop record with commercial high points and a deep selection of compelling album tracks. This combined with his excellent single last year Take My Breath  had me incredibly excited for what he would do in 2021. Turns out I didn't have to wait long because ...

Happy New Year babes. For the first time in 2022 we are looking at all the new singles dropped this week and highlight the best of the bunch. Normally this time of year its pretty slow all around but there are some great albums coming out in the next few weeks and the singles aren't lacking behind. Here are the five best new tracks this week: 5.  Hard Drive Gold  - alt-j The alt-j renaissance marches on with their most upbeat single of this new era. With a deep selection of wonky instrumentation and the charming vocal gymnastics we've come to expect from the band the track builds up to a rewarding chorus. It's all done in the kooky way that only alt-j can. 4.  Respirate  - Pinegrove If you know Pinegrove you pretty much know this song. The anxious observational lyricism with a boyish lo-fi charm and the simple indie instrumental which erupts into a detailed arrangement of backing drums and horns. This is exactly what the band does well.  3.  Titanic  -...