Lav's Music Corner

Beach Fossils are a New York dream pop band who have been going for well over a decade now. Their 2010 self-titled debut is seen by many as an influential release in the development of the lo-fi beachy sounds of indie music in the decade following. Bunny  is the band's 4th record and comes after a long 6-year gap in studio material. Review by Lav: I've always enjoyed Beach Fossils' music and I was pretty excited for this record following the first two singles. I had a vision of what the record would be like going into it but my biggest question was whether it would drown in a haze of sameness or if the songs would work together to be more than the sum of their parts. Turns out it's the latter, I like the record even if none of the deep cuts wowed me as much as I might have hoped.  There are some songs on this record like Tough Love , (Just Like The) Setting Sun , and the closer Waterfall  that fail to completely distinguish themselves. Thankfully the tracks are all vary...

5.  Run To The Moon  - Beach Fossils Beach Fossils are back and they've pumping out blissful indie and dream pop with lethal efficiency. Once again they've delivered a sweet cloudy haze whose lyric on the hook "it feels like I'm living in another world" is thoroughly appropriate. What it lacks in punchy soundplay it makes up for with enveloping bliss.  Listen 4.  Chasing Spirits  - Jess Williamson Another Jess single and another hit. While I may not love the song as much as its predecessor it's good for all the exact same reasons. Jess continues to be a striking performer that is made perfectly for this country-flavored brand of folk music and her lyrical diatribes are continually interesting. The sound and style of this song are pretty much exactly what I was hoping for.  Listen 3.  Rains  - The Antlers For a band that is already well known for being almost impossibly reserved and patient in almost every element of their music, this is an act of ...

Late again, sorry I was on vacation, take some deep breaths and enjoy. 5.  Weedkiller  - Ashnikko I think Ashnikko might have out-Dorian Electra'd Dorian themselves this week. In what is easily my favorite single from this new Ashnikko era so far they're getting cutthroat and living up to the song's aggressive title. While it's mostly the strong hook that wins me over I also have to say some of the clever vocalizations and stretching of their range as a singer pay off big time.  Listen 4.  Fallin'  - Joey Bada$$ If you had Joey trying his R&B side out on your 2023 bingo card, you're probably well on your way to winning. You'd be in even better shape if you correctly predicted that the results would actually be kind of good. As is often the case with crossovers like these, the hook suffers with singing that is sufficient but needs a bit more to help sell it.  Ultimately, I'm kind of surprised the sound and sentiment of the song are pulled off so well ...

5.  Talkback  - 6lack Even if using the same Sting sample as Lucid Dreams  only a few years after it was a smash hit is a bold idea I also think this might be my favorite 6lack song in quite a while. All of his swagger as a performer and versatility between singing and rapping comes through to make the song pretty irresistible. You basically know what you're getting with this one but that's not a complaint.  Listen 4.  Failed At Math(s)  - Panchiko A few years ago I would have never believed we would get Panchiko reunited and recording new music but here it is. While their new single didn't exactly blow me away it did something just as important, maintained some of the stylistic motifs of the music that broke the band through in the first place even though it's been over 20 years since then.  Listen 3.  My Cosmos Is Mine  - Depeche Mode This might be the darkest new Depeche Mode song in a while at least in terms of soundplay and I actually li...

Six albums that you should be excited for this week. Singles are coming from Lorde, The War On Drugs, Radiohead and Arcade Fire so don't let these projects slip past you. 1. Alt-J - Relaxer Alt-J have two good albums under their belt and after three different sounding singles there's no way to tell how this thing will sound. But there's one thing thats to be expected, it'll sound good. And it'll be the first album I'm playing at midnight this friday. 2. Roger Waters - Is This The Life We Really Want Waters Pink Floyd legacy or past solo work didn't get him to this position. I'm surprised anyone is talking about it excited for a Roger Waters album in 2017 but here we are. Singles "The Last Refugee", "Deja Vu" and "Smell The Roses" are where all the excitement comes from. They're a varied and interesting trilogy of political and passionate songs. If the rest of the album can maintain this quality then we're i...