Lav's Music Corner

These debut albums came from artists that people have had their eyes on for quite a while. With their first big swings some hit a home run and others completely struck out. This Could Be Texas  - English Teacher I remember hearing about a British indie rock band called English Teacher sometime around when their 2022 EP dropped. Somehow that attention got lost in the mix and when they dropped their debut album earlier this year it blindsided me. Without it worked into my plans a full review of the album fell by the wayside, that was at least until it surprisingly won this year's Mercury Prize. I had to grind everything to a halt and cover this record. But that framing isn't entirely true. I have developed a pretty strong familiarity with one of the record's singles R&B . Though I didn't encounter the thoughtful and ferocious indie punk jam until after the album was released, I like it so much I'm surprised it didn't inspire me to review This Could Be Texas  o

Review by Lav: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a legendary music outfit by almost any standard. Nick has been hard at work for over 4 decades now and as he's continued to evolve and wander through landscapes of new sounds he's continued to be a fascinating artist. Even decades into his career his sound has continued to evolve, channeling tragedy into chilling expanse on albums like Skeleton Tree  and weaving playful evocative poetry on 2021's Carnage , his previous record before Wild God . Despite the length of his career thus far, he continues to serve up records whose sonic and narrative progressions are fascinating to unwind.  The era of this new album got off to a really strong start with a pair of singles I liked quite a bit. Wild God  came first and delivered a vibrant series of descriptors telling the story of the titular "wild god." In my favorite point on the song it assesses the kinds of expectations that people have for a god merely because it's a

Review by Lav: Nala Sinephro is an artist I really should have known about sooner. Back in 2021 I was blindsided by the release of a new ambient jazz album from a new artist debuting on Warp records. Given my admiration for both the genre and the label I was thrilled to dive into it and the record lived up to my expectations. So this time around as Nala geared up to release her second album three years later, I was prepared. Once again, she's delivered an excellent outing.  The record starts off in familiar fashion with long ambient jazz compositions that are in line with what I was anticipating. The 7-minute opener Continuum 1  is simple in terms of instrumentation worked into the arrangement and yet it still makes it to some interesting places. While Nala's synths and the steady backing drums are omnipresent, it's most playful element if wandering saxophone. The sax dominates the attention of the track while it's around at both its liveliest moments early on and its s

This week featured some familiar faces that have popped up on the best new tracks segment all year, see if they made it again. <3 5.  Ruby Rosery  - A$AP Rocky (feat. J. Cole) So we're officially back in an era where Rocky is releasing music regularly and it's brought us to the reserved, J. Cole-featuring Ruby Rosery . Like Cole's appearance on Metro Boomin & Future's album earlier this year it's a more reserved moment than anticipated and yet his intimacy works well in this format. Both Rocky and Cole are casual but confident and as slick as ever on this memorable crossover.  Listen 4.  I Walk  - Mount Eerie It's been a noticeable few years off for Mount Eerie since Phil Elverum returned to The Microphones with a unique and conceptual project in 2020 that sought to tell the story of how the project evolved with one single album-length track. Now he's back as Mount Eerie with a sonic palette that still exists within the intimate folds his music always

Review by Lav: Duster is a California slowcore band whose original run of material in the late 90s and early 2000s went under-appreciated in its time. The band's catalog, in particular their 1998 masterpiece debut as Duster Stratosphere  has developed quite a reputation online for its nostalgic haze and swaying subtlety. In the wake of their surprising online success, the band reunited releasing a self-titled album in 2019 that I liked but wasn't head over heels for. Where the band really hit me was on their darker surprise-released 2022 album Together . Much like that record, In Dreams  arrives as a surprise drop, but by comparison, its attempts to channel what makes Duster unique as a band are more hit or miss.  That isn't to say it never works though. Opener Quiet Eyes  begins about how you'd think wading directly into somber slowcore with reverb-soaked nostalgic guitars and punchy timely drums. It pulls a punch that many songs on the record do of having a very long

It's that time of year when I apologize to some of the more outside-the-box music genres for focusing a little too much on pop, rap, indie, rock, and R&B. Let's give both hardcore and screamo, and some records that exist within the folds of both, a chance.  Persona EP - Gel Last year Gel rode in a huge wave of hype to deliver one of my favorite debut album of 2023. When they the pummeling single Mirage  earlier this year it made it seem like they would continue climbing that mountain whenever their next project arrived. That next project is Persona , a 5-track and 13-minute EP that's only a few minutes shorter than the album that preceded it. The new project serves up songs like Martyr , a similarly short but surprisingly versatile and unrelentingly fiery two minutes that would have fit in well on Only Constant . But it's the very shoes the EP has to fill that handicap it from hitting as hard as it should.  Take a track like Shame  whose vocal layering should make f

A variety of styles on this weeks list, but an extremely good collection of songs nonetheless.  5.  Exhilarate  - Sophie (feat. Bibi Bourelly) Sophie songs seem to so rarely have a "main character." Even Sophie herself often seemed like she was more of an orchestrator than a principal protagonist in her own music. That's why it was strange at first to see guest vocalist Bibi Bourelly taking over this song with her lyrics and melodies. Despite the surprise though, this is a warm electronic pop effort that I find pretty infectious and one that maintains Sophie's eccentricities, even if they come in a very muted manner.  Listen 4.  Summer Drop  - Cordae (feat. Anderson .Paak) 5 years ago Cordae and Anderson Paak teamed up for one of the smoothest rap songs I've ever heard on the former YBN affiliate's debut album. I haven't loved much of what Cordae has done since but this absolutely hits it out of the park once again. The pair are unshakably smooth together