Lav's Music Corner

Agriculture  are an LA black metal band who erupted onto the scene with a challenging but visceral self-titled debut in 2023. While I enjoyed that record, what I enjoyed even more was the Living Is Easy EP that followed it up and contained one of the band’s best songs to date, “In The House Of Angel Flesh.” With even stronger singles leading into their sophomore effort, The Spiritual Sound , I was expecting another outside-the-box black metal experience. That's exactly what I got.  The album is essentially split down the middle by a titular instrumental interlude, and everything that comes before it is pretty great. That includes the staggering single “The Weight.” I still think it's one of Agriculture’s best songs yet, and the way it builds to an absolutely pummeling peak across 5 minutes should be studied. The way it concludes is so eerie and suspicious, it's just irresistible.  As a whole, the record is often unsettled, both in its compositions and influences. The bes...

Yet another busy week with a lot of exciting contenders, let's get into it.  5.  Baddy On The Floor  - Jamie xx (feat. Honey Dijon) Even though Jamie xx's drops haven't hit with the most consistency in the years since his stellar solo debut album, his high potential makes them a must-hear moment the second they drop. While Baddy  once again failed to utterly knock my socks off I think this is one of his stronger cuts in the past few years with an irresistibly fun beat straight out of Daphni's Sizzling . It's a punchier and more direct dance cut than I expected but it didn't take much to fall into its whims. Listen 4.  Raat Ki Rani  - Arooj Aftab The announcement of Arooj Aftab's upcoming new album immediately shot it up near the top of my most-anticipated records of the year. That's both because I've enjoyed her output this decade so far, but also because I think this is a strong lead single and increased industry embrace of her music is well deserve...

This week was headlined by a major new release in the electronica world. See where it laded among a series of promising indie singles.  5.  Point Him Out  - That Mexican OT (feat. DaBaby) I was late coming around to That Mexican OT's big hit Johnny Dang  last year but eventually, the song grew on me a lot as I continued to hear it on the charts. So far this year he's shifted away from the faster and more slick flows that made the track so unique into something harder-hitting. I wasn't crazy about it on his first new single but it works better here with an assist from DaBaby who fits right into this style.  Listen 4.  Sideways  - JT On her second solo single JT continues to experiment with a colder and less expressive demeanor than much of her City Girls music. On Sideways  it's even more of an embrace without some of the confident interludes and attention-grabbing jokes involved.  But what results may be an even more focused and impressive di...