Lav's Music Corner

2024 is wrapping up and as I start working on year-end content we need to do a few quick round-ups to make sure we're prepared. I've reviewed a few dozen EPs so far this year and I plan on counting down the 10 best in a few weeks. But first, we need to take a look at a few projects with a very strong chance of landing somewhere on the list. Let's do it. Six Desperate Ballads  EP - The Garden After being pretty mixed on California weirdo-punk duo The Garden for a while, I was quite fond of their last record. Combined with some solid entries into their solo projects and the ever-expanding Garden-adjacent universe and I had no reason to think this EP wouldn't be a riot. Even as I was a little mixed on the lead single "Filthy Rabbit Hole" I've warmed up on it especially with how propulsive of a start it is for this EP. I also loved the other single, the short but incredibly memorable "Ballad" which serves as the EPs wonderful closer.  In between ther...

Was on vacation this week but I'm cooking up plenty of good stuff for the next week, let's do it. 5.  Vanessa  - Midwife If you're familiar with the brooding cloudy slowcore Midwife typically serves up then you basically know what you're getting with Vanessa . Across a full 6-and-a-half minutes Midwife makes use of swaying repetition to slowly weave together an impressively spellbinding cut that will swallow you whole if you give yourself to it.  Listen 4.  Garmonbozia  - Flying Lotus  I think everyone was anticipating a return from Flying Lotus, but I bet most people weren't expecting something like this. He returns by taking over lead vocal duties on a reserved and murky jazz number backed by his usual fluttering electronics. The slow pace and dark demeanor of the song actually plays to his strengths as a vocalist, even if its plodding pace feels a tad dry by FloLo standards.  Listen 3.  Shake It Like A  - Frost Children (feat. Danny Brown)...

Each of these artists fit the "hyperpop" label to VERY different degrees. But I want to cover all of them before the year is out so lets get to it.  Perfect Picture  - Hannah Diamond Hannah Diamond is perhaps the member of PC Music's inner circle that feels the most equipped to transcend hyperpop to something resembling genuine stardom. While she's flirted with it in the past, it also feels like she's never had her definitive moment. That's not to say I didn't enjoy her 2019 album Reflections , it just felt like it came late to the party to capitalize on the legitimate hype swirling around the distinct hyperpop sound it dabbles in. With the label itself now formally coming to an end, this feels like a potential swan song for one of the definitive acts to shine the brightest. It got off to a pretty great start too. I absolutely love the lead single Affirmations  which sees Hannah at her peak pop instincts crafting a song that is both bubbly and fun but subt...