Lav's Music Corner

5.  Over  - Chvrches I've declared Chvrches back in the past just for them to turn around and drop another incredibly forgettable album so I'm certainly not gearing up to make that mistake again. What I will say for this song is that it has the infectious energy and hard-hitting synthetic beats of the band's best work. But the youthful energy is traded out for this more somber emotional response met with a more measured performance.  Listen 4.  Done (Let's Get It)  - Yaeji This is probably the one song this week that I wanted to like a lot more than I do. I like the sound of the song quite a bit and Yaeji as usual does quite a good job at making it functionally dancy while also finding a way to infuse her personality and a consistent message throughout. My main problem with the song is just the hook, which doesn't feel nearly as sticky as I was hoping for as a genuine climax to the song. Listen 3.  Nadja  - Unknown Mortal Orchestra Compared to the last...

Avey Tare is the pseudonym of David Michael Portner who has long served as a member of psych-pop and folk band Animal Collective. Since their massively acclaimed 2009 album Meriweather Post Pavilion  Animal Collective has struggled to match that level of critical success, while Avey Tare released four solo albums in the mean time. Last year the band released their most acclaimed album in over a decade in a year that also included acclaimed music highlights for other members like Panda Bear and Geologist. Now Avey is taking his turn with his fifth overall solo album. Review by Lav: I said that 2022 was the year of Animal Collective a lot, at least in indie music. Most of that was due to just how much I enjoyed their album Time Skiffs , but I also enjoyed pretty much anything the various members did on their own. That, combined with a very solid lead single is why I was so excited for this album, hoping that Avey could continue a period of high potential for everyone around the Anima...

Late Developers  - Belle and Sebastian There's a LOT of Belle and Sebastian music released over the years that I've enjoyed, it's just that not much of it has come out recently. I thought their 2015 album was just okay with the occasional big highlight and I felt pretty mixed on their trio of EPs in 2019 which I covered. I didn't even get the chance to review the album they dropped last year because I didn't have much to say about it and didn't see many people talking about it. Maybe it's just because it's early in the year, but this one seems to be attracting more attention so I didn't want to let it get past me. I did have a pretty negative reaction to the album when I first heard it last month but every time I revisited it I started to feel a bit more positive towards it one step at a time. The record's first two tracks are a good example, with the second one in particular, Give A Little Time , sporting an infectious guitar lead and some lovel...

Caroline Polachek is the former frontwoman for indie pop band Chairlift who changed her sights on a more synthetic style of pop music as a solo artist which featured a number of collaborations with artists from around the PC Music landscape. Desire  is Polachek's fourth solo album thought technically only her second under her own name in this phase of her career, following 2019's critical darling Pang . PC Music affiliate Danny L Harle, who worked on much of that album, returns on production for most of the songs on Desire . Review by Lav: Not reviewing Pang  was one of my biggest mistakes as a budding music critic the year it came out. The reasons I ultimately didn't cover it is that I thought it was just okay and in a sea of similarly monotonous coverage I felt like I didn't have much to add. In the years since Polachek has become a massive critical darling and frequent collaborator of a number of other artists whose music I really enjoy. So after liking some of the s...

Sometimes the best song of the week is very predictable, but there are still four more slots to fill behind it. Enjoy <3 5.  Gonna Go - serpentwithfeet While I'm not particularly impressed by this song in a weak week (ha ha) for new songs it slipped onto the list. I mostly just think it's a great idea for a song and I particularly love the recurring idea of "going back to your friends" as a mantra for turning someone down. With that in their pocket as well as the talent serpentwithfeet possesses the bassline for how good this could be was high.  Listen 4.  That Girl  - El Michaels Affair & Black Thought This track surprised me quite a bit and while I wish it was longer and I have some issues with the mixing I mostly just enjoy Black Thought really putting his all into just pouring his heart out for a woman. His creativity alongside that level of topical focus works perfectly.  Listen 3.  Pahrump  - Xiu Xiu This is a minimal and spacey but still ...

Paramore is one of the definitive pop punk bands of the 2000s collecting mainstream hits, critical acclaim, and beloved deep cuts. After a shift from the youthful pop-punkiness into a more colorful and dancy instrumental style on the band's 2017 album After Laughter  they've been quiet for years while frontwoman Hayley Williams recorded two solo albums. This Is Why was preceded by three singles which were met with mixed feelings from many fans. Review by Lav: My name is Lavender and I'm a Paramore hater. Wait, that's not what I meant, hold on let me start over. I've never been a big Paramore fan. When they were at their peak of popularity during my youth I wasn't sure why I didn't like them but in retrospect, I know exactly why. They've always felt like a band propelled by the unconquerable personality of their iconic frontwoman Hayley Williams but without many actual good songs to back it up. This came to a head on their awful 2013 self-titled album whi...

I don't necessarily have any cultural or musical reasons for covering these garage-flavored rock and punk acts together, it just felt right that they had all dropped new albums early in the year. So without any further delay, let's rock. Enjoy <3 Say I Won't  - Bass Drum Of Death Even though I haven't really liked a Bass Drum Of Death album since their self-titled in 2013 I had a few reasons to go into this record expecting I might enjoy it more. The first of which is the simplicity of their style and appeal. It feels like they still have an idea of what made them sound so exciting in the first place and are still trying to channel some of that into their music. The second reason I had was the supernatural single Say Your Prayers  which hit with the churning rock riffs, soaring hook, and evocative instrumentation that I hope for from the band. Unfortunately, aside from that song and a solid opening track the first half of this record has very little to offer aside fr...

Kelela is an American R&B singer who experienced a critical breakout of sorts on her 2017 album Take Me Apart  which adapted the idea of a classic R&B romance into a strange electronica-influences power fantasy featuring collaborators like Arca and The xx's Romy. The album was lauded with critical acclaim but Kelela has been relatively quiet in the years since, but re-emerged last year with a line of singles leading up to this album. Review by Lav: I was late to get Take Me Apart . In a time where I was crazy for anything Arca, I don't think the electro-R&B love stories really spoke to me but in the years since Kelela slowly, then very quickly became one of my favorite singers in experimental R&B. Fast-forward to now, 7 years later, when Kelela has been releasing a string of absolutely excellent singles that have me majorly hyped for this project. With a set of collaborators from the electronica universe, including but not limited to KAYTRANADA, Shygirl, and Jun...

Yes this list is late, it was a busy weekend, let me live. Enjoy <3 5.  Sixers - The Hold Steady Am I gonna like this new Hold Steady album? For the second single in a row I feel like I should be docking points because it sounds so much like so many of their other songs but when push comes to shove for some reason the songwritery details Craig Finn weaves into everything just works on me. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the bar rocky piano finale to the song which feels even a bit too corny for The Hold Steady. Listen 4.  The Court  - Peter Gabriel I like parts of this song a LOT, the stark hook with its distant punches of echoing percussion is tailor-made for me to appreciate. While some of the song's intimate whispers can come off goofier than I think is intended I'm surprised just how much of this song stuck in my head after only a few times hearing it. It's not perfect but it definitely does enough.  Listen 3.  Swing   (In A Dream)  - Squi...

Just barely a month into the year, I've somehow already missed three pop records I planned on talking about for various reasons. Let's remedy that. Gloria  - Sam Smith Normally I wouldn't even be paying attention to a Sam Smith release, much less reviewing it. But then of course, Unholy  happened, not only the best single I've ever heard from them, but also their most interesting song to date. That meant I was obviously going to pay attention to this album to see if it was some kind of sea change for Sam Smith or at least a point where they would be offering more stylistic risks than on any of their previous efforts. Given the scant tracklist of just 11 full songs, almost all of which are quite short, I was hoping there would be some major swings at different styles one after another. But the actual result is a record that's still pretty tame and also pretty scant on top of it.  Thematically the album has a general tide of accepting yourself, coming to terms with yo...

One month into the year and we've had three VERY solid release weekends as far as new singles go. This one didn't exactly shine as bright but there are still tracks worth hearing.  5.  Layla  - Unknown Mortal Orchestra For the second single in a row I'm not blown away immediately by a new UMO track and for almost the exact same reasons. There's some very solid songwriting here and sounds that I would imagine could craft immaculately textured vibes if they came from a different era in the band's career. But like Captain Cook  before it the instrumentation here is pretty raw and scant. I could see the refrains here winning me over with time but I'm not sure the song has anything like the intimately plucked strings that eventually changed my mind on their last single. Listen 4.  Forbidden Doors  - Tennis Tennis isn't really a band I'm ever expecting to show up and drop one of the best singles of the week. While I've enjoyed a LOT of their material in th...

Lil Yachty has existed in the music industry for years predominately as a rapper, albeit one with a very unique style and cadence who does occasionally sing. After an up and down career by most measures thus far Yachty swung for the fences with Let's Start Here  a radical shift in sound into the worlds of 70s soul and psychedelic rock. On board are collaborators like Mac DeMarco as well as members of Magdalena Bay and MGMT. Review by Lav: I've covered Yachty many times on this blog, most recently with 2021's Michigan  themed project. So I feel pretty equipped to say Yachty is most commonly defined by his inconsistencies, though he's never been afraid of taking risks to sound different than the pack. But nothing in his entire catalog comes anywhere close to the level of artistic venturing that Let's Start Here  achieves, reaching into another universe of styles from where he originated. Unlike prior artists who tried to turn from hip-hop to rock in the most generic w...