Lav's Music Corner

Parannoul is an anonymous Korean student who released music on Bandcamp for years before finally breaking out under the pseudonym Parannoul with their album To See The Next Part Of The Dream  in 2021. The record received heaps of critical acclaim and drew comparisons to other indie musicians who drew acclaim for their lo-fi digital releases. Since then Parannoul has kept busy, releasing an ambient album under the mydreamfever side project early last year and following it up with an EP of Dream  B-Sides and a collaborative project with Asian Glow. Review by Lav: To say that To See The Next Part Of The Dream  won me over instantly would somehow still be an understatement. While some of the falling over myself I did in order to praise this record when it came out does seem kind of silly in retrospect one thing that hasn't wavered is just how much I actually love listening to it. I can easily call it one of my favorite albums of the decade so far, which made this one of my mo...

RUSH!  - Maneskin Maneskin are interesting for a number of reasons. Not only do they have the potential to be one of the biggest crossover stars in Eurovision history, but their brand of trashy cocaine-influenced glam rock hasn't been represented by anyone in the mainstream for almost a decade. Following the breakout success of their cover of Beggin'  this debut album was their big chance to make an impression and commercially it seems to have worked, but the quality of the record runs the full gambit. With 17 tracks that run over 50 minutes the band is trying on a lot of different ideas and the execution is inconsistent. Make no mistake though there is plenty to like about the record. It kicks off with a roar on the track OWN MY MIND  and the deep cut READ YOUR DIARY  is one of the slickest songs I've ever heard the band record. Against my better judgment, I like GASOLINE  quite a bit too. While the epicness of the track may be pretty obviously manufactured I c...

5.  Selfish  - Slowthai On Selfish , Slowthai is lashing out. While he focuses on his internal battles and those he is responsible for the entire world around him calls him selfish, which makes the dramatic and dark instrumental make a lot more sense. Continuing to show off his versatility, Slowthai shines on the song both at his most intense and most reserved. The instrumental journey of the track alone makes it worth hearing.  Listen 4.  Pray It Away  - Chloe I never really "got" Chloe x Halle they just felt like inessential players in R&B from the moment I first saw them pop up at an award show without ever hearing anybody who knew their music. But if this is what Chloe's new solo album will sound I am all the way it. Even with it being major Beyonce worship she lives up to that comparison with great vocals and a fusion of the sexual with the spiritual that doesn't isolate or favor either side. Great song. Listen 3.  Kandy  - Fever Ray The hype ...

John Cale is one of the most interesting and innovative voices in art-rock and avant-garde and has been for six decades now. After being a founding member of The Velvet Underground John Cale embarked on a long career of solo work and behind-the-scenes efforts that includes dozens of legendary artists and collaborators. MERCY is Cale's first studio album since 2016's M:FANS  and his first album of new material in over a decade. Review by Lav: If you pay attention to the opinions I express online then it's probably no secret to you that I'm a pretty big fan of The Velvet Underground. But what I've done a poor job expressing in the past is just how much I value John Cale, not only his solo work but what he contributed to the velvets and his work with other artists like Nico and Patti Smith. If you want a place to start, his album Paris 1919  is an underrated classic of the 70s. But MERCY  may be a big first step if you're trying to get into Cale, and not one that...

Ice Spice is a New York drill rapper who blew up last year on the back of a breakout viral hit song Munch . She responded to the attention quickly with this EP which pairs a trio of singles including Munch  with three new songs. Review by Lav: Let's get this out of the way early, I like Munch . It was one of the most divisive songs of last year as men with rap-themed Instagram accounts whined ad nauseum about any publication which gave Ice Spice credit for the hit. Even if the song was bad the backlash would be silly and it's something pretty much every female rapper deals with these days when they break out. But as I heard the track more and more times it start to grow on me and there's something entrancing about Ice Spice's presence as both a rapper and an artist. So other than Munch , what is here. Well, firstly there are two singles which I'm split right down the middle on. In Ha Mood  opens the EP on a high note and the song just sounds better and better the mo...

Mac DeMarco is one of the defining indie artists of the 2010's. Across the decade he carved out a niche combining indie folk with psychedelic pop that then exploded into its own entire style of indie malaise. As his career goes on Mac's music has become increasingly patient with his previous album Be The Cowboy  unfolding slower than any before it. Review by Lav: Like many longtime fans of Mac DeMarco's music, I was pretty unimpressed by his 2019 album Be The Cowboy . After reviewing the record and listening to both the demo collections released following it, it was very clear to me that Mac wants to be making music with a gentler hand than he has in the past. While there are moments like the wonderful lead single Nobody  where that works, listening to it for an entire album kind of made me forget why I was ever such a fan of Mac's in the first place. This instrumental album does less to quell those fears and more to shift them. The long absence didn't initially wor...

5.  Same Problems?  - A$AP Rocky While Rocky has been far from silent over the past few years. this song's live debut last month and the serious nature of its subject matter feels like the biggest sign of future endeavors since Rocky dropped 2018's Testing . That's exciting enough on its own, making the song's meditative style an interesting choice, but one that grew on me as the week went on. Ultimately, how much I enjoyed the messaging of the track and how well it fits the presentation won me over.  Listen 4.  brrr  - Kim Petras Like a lot of recent Kim Petras singles there are things I don't like about the track, they're just overpowered by the things I do. The instrumental here is basically a "we have SOPHIE at home" type beat, though if I wasn't so familiar with Sophie's work I might be a bit more interested in the beat because it really does match the song's icy demeanor. What really sells me on the song as usual is Kim's confiden...

Review by Lav: HOPEUROKAY is a hyperpop duo that I had the pleasure of stumbling upon through Twitter. Last year I got the chance to interview them for Ringtone Magazine and while I left that experience excited for what they were going to do next, even I didn't expect it to come this soon. But there's something else I didn't expect about this record, how emotional it gets.  Despite maintaining the occasionally bubbly demeanor and shimmering synth lines of their debut, You Are Killing Our Relationship  is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a much more dejected and self-reflective listening experience. Songs on the album like thousand x  and fittingly enough insight  work to inform a lot of the feelings and real life situations that inform the sound and themes of the record and they're neither light nor casual. The record gets off to a wonderful start that does a great job of showing how HOPEUROKAY balance their high-energy textural hyperpop style with their newfound emotional w...

Margo Price is a Nashville via Illinois country singer who released her first two albums on Jack White's Third Man Records. Between her second and third albums, she shifted to Loma Vista and Strays  marks her second project put out on that label. Review by Lav: Margo Price has been a beacon of country music for a number of years now. I fell head over heels in love with her debut album Midwest Farmer's Daughter  and while I didn't love either of her next two records quite as much I still enjoyed her genre fluidity and the unique flavors she brings as a songwriter. I bounced back and forth on some of the singles from Strays  and while it might be her most inconsistent project to date, it also has thematic throughlines that make it worth listening to in its entirety. The record was teased with three singles and I'd like to just skip right to what I and pretty much everyone else seems to agree is the best song on the album. Change Of Heart  kicks off with a Black Keys-st...

For the first time in 2023 and covering the first two weeks of the year, let's recap the best tracks of the week.  5.  Sideways Skull  - The Hold Steady Part of me is a little bit scared of dishing out praise to yet another witty, reference-heavy bar-rock anthem from The Hold Steady since they've been doing this for a LONG time now, but sometimes they just do it well. Aside from the messy guitar lick that sticks around for almost the entire song, this is another Craig Finn lyrical expose that will require some googling for even the music nerds. Once the keys rush in on the equally wordy hook it strikes a level of catchy that the band is capable of when at or around their peak.  Listen 4.  Flowers  - Miley Cyrus Color me surprised. One of the early treats of 2023 from Miley Cyrus who I'm not normally the biggest fan of musically. While this disco-flavored self-empowerment anthem could be argued as Jessie Ware-lite, it's still a style that's new for Miley and...

  Puzzle is the solo project of Fletcher Shears, better known as one-half of indie punk duo The Garden. The project dropped an EP in 2020 but has been quiet since then until the lead single for this record dropped. The Rotten Opera  follows The Garden's new album Horseshit On Route 66  from last year. Review by Lav: I've never paid THAT much attention to Puzzle save for a handful of songs here and there but after The Garden released their best record to date last year which grew on me every time I heard it, I was craving anymore of the twins that I could get. That came sooner than I expected with this record, though I'm not complaining. This record is short, but that doesn't mean there's not much going on, in fact more than a few songs here are built specifically around that perceived chaos. The lead single to the album love is a place to hide  took longer than I'd like to connect with me which is unfortunate because as soon as I heard it on this record the extr...

After the chaos of the year-end lists I took some time off the blog, went to the beach with my friends and even started a new job. But it's time to get back to my favorite pastime, reviewing records. The first week of the year was surprisingly lucrative in terms of new releases and while there's a record or two I plan on covering in full, here are the ones I wanna run through real quick. Ambient 23  - Moby Moby isn't shy about releasing a LOT of music and he kicked off the year with a big ambient project in Ambient 23 . The 16 tracks here run almost two and a half hours and they really do feel like a throwback to some classic ambient music. That's because Moby deliberately used older instruments to record the album and also mentioned that it's intended to throwback to some of the early days of ambient like Brian Eno and Jean-Michelle Jarre. He wasn't kidding about that because I could have easily placed this project somewhere in the late 70s or early 80s if I di...

I've said a few times this year that it's been a kind of interesting year for albums. While there wasn't the same pile of records absolutely blowing me away this year that there had been in years past, I was pleasantly surprised by how deep the field was. There were definitely albums cut from this year's list that could have comfortably made it onto one of the last two years' editions. Ultimately, I think that's a good thing. If I had to choose between the two I would take more good albums. But if the praise seems particularly quick compared to other lists and other years, there's a reason. Enjoy <3 ( This list was originally posted on January 1st, 2023 but was remade due to formatting errors) 100. Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl While Rina failed to impress me with some of the songwriting and in particular the hooks on her new record, the production of Clarence Clarity and her imposing personality are enough to carry this record through with its memorable ...