Lav's Music Corner

Aeon Station is the newly minted solo project of Kevin Whelan, former bassist and co-vocalist of New Jersey indie rock and emo band The Wrens. In the nearly two decades since their last release they garnered a reputation as a legendary live act, found universal acclaim for their third record Meadowlands  and then seemed to fade into the background. In an interview earlier this year Kevin expressed that Aeon Station was the result of frustration with the inability to get Wrens songs released and that a number of these tracks were intended for an unreleased 4th Wrens album.  Review By Lav: Oh how I've waited for this. Okay maybe I haven't waited as long as some people considering I was some level of musically ignorant preschooler when The Wrens released Meadowlands . But somewhere between then and now I fell in love with the record and really the bands entire catalog, right about the time that waiting for a follow-up started to seem silly. But wait I did, and while the wait hasn...

Below are the best new singles released this weekend: 5.  Queer  - Arca (Feat. Planningtorock) Arca being on this list feels like a necessary weekly occurrence at this point but I'm always excited for a Planningtorock appearance. The song is a weird slightly industrial and incredibly surreal banger that take on queer identity headfirst. If Arca really does drop three albums in December there will be a myriad of highlights in the bunch but I feel pretty safe in saying this will be one of them.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ropCEgWpdQ 4.  Stop That  - Saba Saba continues to impress not only as a wordsmith but also as a confident and technically proficient rapper. While the beat on this one is just okay it really does enough for Saba to jump on top and deliver a smart and instantly memorable performance on both the verses and hook. The only issue I have is that at just over two minutes it feels like it stops before it uses all the momentum it built up.  ht...

The five best new tracks released this weekend below: 5.  Big Energy  - Latto Latto's most recent banger is built around a feature of Tom Tom Club's Genius Of Love , yes you heard that right. It uses the songs indelible key phrase as the base for an impressively sung hook while Latto attaches her trademark charisma to the verses all themed around the title concept. It's like a more mainstream and more danceable version of Shygirl's BDE  from earlier this year.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8GpG8C0YzA 4.  Nightfall  - Explosions In The Sky The best track so far from post-rock outfit Explosions In The Sky's new PBS affiliated soundtrack album is a short dreamy cut. It kicks off like a lullaby before driving into a wonderfully slinky and atmospheric conclusion, all in under two minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FghKzKLgBlU 3.  U+Me  - alt-j Despite their extended break alt-j still sound just like themselves with an exciting and instr...