Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lav: Idles' first two albums get better every time I hear them. They were capable of conjuring a sheer blunt force intensity that felt completely unmatched and I got hooked on the adrenaline rush that came along with listening to their music. It's probably no coincidence that my favorite songs from their following two albums Model Village  and Car Crash , are the ones that most resemble that initial sound. To be fair to the band I don't think their 3rd or 4th albums are bad but too often it felt like their quest to expand their sound came up empty and the best moments saw the band relying on old staples. After coming away from the singles on this record pretty mixed I wasn't really sure what to expect from this new batch of tracks. Unfortunately, even though the potential they always flash is still there, this isn't exactly an improvement from the band. The trio of singles from this record left me pretty confused. Dancer  features James and Nancy from LCD ...

Eggnog hangover, or something like that I'm writing this weeks in advance so who knows what will happen. Assuming the world continues spinning as usual yesterday was Christmas and I dropped my first of 7 year end lists, here is part 2. This one's great because I don't have to do anything but assemble it. If you're not a regular reader I reviewed over 200 projects this year and right at my side was my little baby boy and also professional photographer Tyler Judson, who pens brief reviews of the accompanying album covers for all of them.  These are Tyler's top 10 album/EP covers of 2021 and in my kingdom, his word is law. Enjoy <3 10. An Evening With Silk Sonic  - Silk Sonic This cover, like the record itself, is smart and effective. Rather than going for photography this illustration has a timeless quality. It sets a theme of for the album and has a classic and easily identifiable feel to it. I love the drawing, it captures the personality of both artists involved...

IDLES are a British punk and post-punk band who spent the back half of the 2010's establishing themselves as one of the hardest hitters in the genre. The combination of their pounding percussion, fist pumping riffs, arena chanting refrains and frontman Joe Talbot's gnarly singing vocals they created a blend of chugging politically charged punk rock all their own. They leaned into this heavily on their third album last years Ultra Mono  which was the simplest and most commercial IDLES project to date. Review By Lav: I love this band. From the first time I heard Joe's snarling vitriol on Stendhal Syndrome  I was hooked and they expanded their themes and sound even further on their excellent sophomore record. On top of this I saw the band live recently and they absolutely killed, even if my shoes got pretty roughed up by the experience. While I was one of those people who wasn't crazy about the bands third album I still think it had it's highlights from a songwriting...

This weekend absolutely fucking ruled. I ended up with more then 15 songs just on the list for consideration for the best tracks of this week so please do yourself a favor and look around for all the great stuff that came out this weekend. The best new tracks of the week are below: 5.  Smokin Out The Window  - Silk Sonic This track relies on the one thing that Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars have in spades, charisma. On the surface it's a male music classic story of female money chasing and betrayal that comes from exactly as shallow a perspective as you'd expect. What makes it work is both their voices which can deliver narrative hooks and team up for beautiful harmonies on the hooks. If you can ignore the icky premise that the entire track is built on it's buttery smooth.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG7fLOmlhYg 4.  This Side Of The Sun  - Shame Shame have never been a gentle band but on This Side Of The Sun  they dig in on some of the best lyricism yet....

The best new tracks released this weekend below: 5.  The Unanswered Why  - William Doyle Following up his pretty solid album earlier this year former East India Youth frontman William Doyle announced a new EP this week and dropped a charming little lead single with this track. It ups the tempo from his standard outing but doesn't lose any of the poise with pleasant strumming electric guitar and sharp refrains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv1hF7dWYYI 4.  Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To  - Courtney Barnett Courtney's most recent single may be the most nondescript so far but that doesn't stop her from effectively capturing the breezy indie rock vibe that she's always been known for. The song has a slinky reverbed guitar lick and a swaying momentum that lulls you in from the very start.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTrdzqGHqu4 3.  Incendio  - Arca Arca came out of nowhere to drop a new track that deals in many of her typical stylistic lan...

Idles is a British punk rock band who first began to attract major critical attention with their 2017 debut album Brutalism  which introduced the world to their socially charged song themes and snarling lead vocalist Joe Talbot. They pushed their sound and societal critiques even higher on a critically acclaimed follow-up in 2018 before adjusting their style to fit a more conventional rock sound on their 3rd record. Review By Lavender: While I don't think either of the first two Idles records are masterpieces I did thoroughly enjoy them both and what the band offers is in short supply right now. Given the jump they made from album 1 to album to I was hoping that the band would take an even bigger step and drop one of the best albums of the year on Ultra Mono  but after a few singles I didn't have much hope left. The record isn't bad but it is seeped in awkwardness with awkward lyrics and chunky fist-pumping riffs that feel below the band after their first two records avoide...

The Streets is a British experimental hip hop project fronted by Mike Skinner. The project was responsible for some of the most essential and critically acclaimed British hip hop of the 2000's and its been 9 years since their last record. The band developed a unique sound that interpolated spoken word type vocal performances and downtempo electronica in its instrumentals.  Review By Lavender: Unlike most music fans living in the United States I am a huge fan of The Streets. Thanks to the internet I was able to access the bands first couple of records earlier in my life and I developed a string appreciation for the groups sound, particularly on their exceptional debut album Original Pirate Material . Now that the project is a solo effort of Mike Skinner nearly every single song here has one or more features from contemporary artists in the world of British hip hop and beyond. It took me all week of repeated listens to make up my mind on this album and while some songs still confuse ...

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 ...

1. Flying Lotus - More (Feat. Anderson .Paak) FlyLo scores the #1 single that FKA Twigs sniped a few weeks ago with the 3rd single in promotion of his new project. Topping a busy week the producer recruited an already legendary feature artist in Anderson Paak to drop a track that truly capitalized on the hype behind his namesake. 2. Denzel Curry - Ricky  Denzel Curry shows up with a bang for his first single in 2019 and barely falls short of #1 in a busy week but there is no reason to think he won't be back. 3. IDLES - Mercedes Marxist IDLES continue their prolific output with the attention grabbing title of the groups first single of 2019. 4. Carly Rae Jepsen - Too Much Carly gifts fans again with yet another single in the lead up to her first project in 4 years and after Julien  scored 3 weeks in the chart, expect to see Carly back here next week. 5. A$AP Ferg = Pups (Feat. A$AP Rocky) Ferg recruits Rocky for one of his most hyped up singles in years as fans hop...