Lav's Music Corner

Straight Line Was A Circle - The Beths I was late to The Beth's rock-solid 2022 album Expert In A Dying Field , something I still regret. That's why, going into this album cycle, I was paying close attention to the singles, something that paid off. The New Zealand indie rockers conjured hazy, dreamy, catchy bliss one time after another, starting with the sentimental "Metal." That same indie punk zeal pops up on the delightful "No Joy" whose verses have been drilled into my head for weeks. But the band also showed off a more sentimental side on songs like the gentle "Mother, Pray For Me" and the deep cut "Mosquitos."  The opener and title track, "Straight Line Was A Lie," is a punky tongue-in-cheek opener that sets up some of the punkier themes of aimlessness that the record explores in depth and does it with an irresistibly sweet guitar riff. Just like it starts on a strong sequence, the album ends strongly, starting with my fav...

  Review by Lavender:  Bon Iver is one of the most acclaimed indie folk artists of the past 20 years. Helmed by Justin Vernon, the band's first two albums were beloved folk darlings of the indie blog era. Their next two albums in 2016 and 2019 were much more divisive, largely on account of their interpolation of electronic elements. Personally, though, I MUCH prefer those two records to the band's colder, sleepier early work. Their 5th album SABLE, fABLE  brings these two styles together while also introducing a sunny optimism and saccharine sweetness they've never had before. The result may very well be the best crop of Bon Iver tracks yet.  I'll start this review off by saying that the album's first four songs are excellent. They include the wonderful single S P E Y S I D E  that dropped last year and was released alongside the other songs that start the record off as an EP. I'm skipping a full breakdown of the songs here because I reviewed that EP last year, ...

Tyler showed up earlier this year with credentials as a photographer and tagged along through most of 2020 penning judgement on the quality of each of the album covers accompanying the albums and EPs I reviewed for the blog. So just like I'm recapping the year musically Tyler put together a list of his 10 favorite album covers of the year for Day 2 of List Week 2020.  10. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. 3 I like this cover. Knowing the previous aesthetics of the sisters, I think this fits in well with their indie vintage photo style and it encompasses what their style is and has been for a while. It has a lot of detail packed into the simple photo and it takes time to look into all the background gems. I appreciate that the sign in the back is used as the title and it adds itself into the composition rather than sitting on top of it. Overall I think this is wildly successful and adds to the list of the other very strong covers in their discography. 9. Moses Sumney - Grae This cover is gr...

Taylor Swift is a pop artist who at this point needs no introduction. After racking up a decades worth of hits and massive commercial success in the late 2000's and 2010's Taylor finally reached a place of critical success earlier this year on her indie inspired Aaron Dessner produced 8th studio album folklore . Just a few months later Taylor is following this up with a second album in a similar vein. Much like it's predecessor evermore  is an indie folk inspired record with a similar set of collaborators that was also surprise announced and dropped with no singles. Review By Lav: I have never been a big fan of Taylor Swift, see my Lover  review here . While her first few records are just as utterly intolerable today as they were when they first came out she has had a few points where it felt like she was moving slightly in the right direction. 2012's Red  was easily her best album to date but she followed it up with the middling mediocre 1989 . 2017's Reputation  w...

HAIM is a trio of sisters who have been essential voices in the world of indie rock since their 2014 debut record. Making contributions to last years Vampire Weekend comeback record fittingly led to Rostam, formerly a member of Vampire Weekend, producing a large part of this, the bands third record.  Review By Lavender: On their debut record Haim's fun jammy indie rocking was so instantly catchy that it took the music world by storm. While their second album Something To Tell You  wasn't quite as acclaimed the band seems to have not missed a step commercially as their trio of singles last year would indicate. However those tracks are merely bonus cuts on this record and the bulk of what's here is a sonic collage of influence that took me a surprisingly long time to nail down.  The whirlwind of sounds the record has to offer started with the trio of singles released this year. I Know Alone  is the most electronic of the three with a punchy beat that could work as part...

1. PARTYNEXTDOOR - The News After a long absence of studio material and mostly silence on the social front from PND he has emerged with two new singles, hopefully on the way towards new material.  2. XXXTENTACION - bad vibes forever (Feat. PnB Rock & Trippie Redd) Even a year and a half after his death Jahseh is still turning heads wherever his name emerges and grabbing some contemporary trap stars to join in on posthumous material it seems the well of X's music isn't quite dried up yet. 3. Marilyn Manson - The End Marilyn Manson made headlines recently for performing at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival but he has emerged with a second cover in the last few weeks, this time of The Doors classic The End . Certainly an intriguing prospect released at a good time with his name already in the headlines. 4. Destroyer - It Just Doesn't Happen Destroyer dropped a second single after a return to form first release and is coming around with a second single on his...

1. Tame Impala - It Might Be Time Kevin Parker and Tame Impala grab their second number one of the year as he gears up to drop the long awaited fourth record from the critically acclaimed rock band. 2. Torres - Good Score Torres is finally back and as she is set to drop a new record in January of next year we get our first taste of what it may sound like and the first single from Torres since last years Two of Everything . 3. La Roux - International Woman Of Leisure La Roux is finally back after along five years since her last record to see if she can once again drop a record that is both sonically ambitious but incredibly catchy and successfully contemporary. 4. Vince Staples - Sheet Music Episode 2 of The Vince Staples show has been long awaited but his unconventional music rollout continues here with another song and video. 5. Pinegrove - Phase Pinegrove is leading up to their third record in five years and there hasn't been any indication so far that it won't b...

Charli XCX is a British pop singer who rattled off a big hit single as well as a huge feature with Iggy Azealia earlier this decade. Since then though she has mainly reserved herself for a devoted cult following as she receives moderate chart success but major critical acclaim. After having a busy and lucrative 2017 Charli geared up for the release of this self-titled record last year with a breakout lead single and by announcing a number of high profile collaborations leading up to the records release. Review By Lavender: As far as liking Charli XCX's music goes, I go way back. While her earliest MySpace stuff may have missed me by the time True Romance  came out in 2013 I was tuned in and enjoying it quite a bit. She took a big step up the next year with her breakout record Sucker . While the record may have only had one huge hit in the excellent Boom Clap , the album had a ton of worthwhile moments and was a standout in 2014. Since then Charli has been sparse about releas...

1. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors Angel returns with her first new single since 2017 and her first proper album since 2016 to top one of the best release weekends of the summer. The Asheville based singer finally broke through with her 2016 record and after a B-Sides records she is back in full force with All Mirrors  and a #1 debut. 2. Ariana Grande  - boyfriend  (Feat. Social House) After dropping two great records in the span of six months Ari took a well deserved break from releasing music, but once again has seen fit to release a new single with massive waves of hype behind it, falling victim to a highly anticipated debut that keeps it from being her second #1 of 2019. 3. Rapsody - ibtihaj  (Feat. D'Angelo and RZA) Rapsody returns after dropping a great album and single in Power  in 2017 and she returns to the chart here with some eye popping features in legendary and reclusive R&B singer D'Angelo and Wu-Tang member RZA. 4. Brockhampton - I've Been ...

Gessaffelstein is a French music producer who blew up after doing production work om Kanye West's Yeezus  in 2013. Since then he has collaborated with the likes of Phoenix, The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky and released two studio album, the 2nd of which Hyperion  was teased with 3 singles of varying quality in late 2018 into 2019. Review By Lavender: Gessaffelstein is talented, nobody is denying that, Black Skinhead  alone is a testament to his talent. But after releasing a debut album that didn't thrill me and doing some very average work in The Weeknd's My Dear, Melancholy  EP last year I was hesitant for this album. It's lead single Reset  at the tail end of last year grabbed me and brought me back into the excitement of a new project and its follow-up Lost In The Fire  with The Weeknd was a better collaboration then their tracks on his EP and really got me ready to hear Hyperion. This hype was dragged just a touch by the release of the very mediocre P...