Lav's Music Corner

Pile are a long-running, Boston-based indie rock band who have crossed over into other genres like post-punk throughout a pretty versatile career. I've touched on the band occasionally but never in a full review, something I knew I would have to amend after hearing the excellent trio of singles that preceded  Sunshine And Balance Beams . Even though the full record wasn't quite everything I hoped it might be, it still sports some of the best songs of Pile's already long and storied career.  That trio of singles pops up in the record's middle section, and what a run it is. "Bouncing In Blue and "Uneasy" are a stunning back-to-back punch. "Blue" has a brooding and plodding introduction that contrasts wonderfully with the high register singing. Even though the composition wanders around a lot, it manages to keep up its momentum and pay everything off with a satisfying finale. "Uneasy" deploys one of many great lyrical moments on the album...

Review by Lavender: Wet Leg is an English post-punk and indie rock outfit that first debuted back in 2022 to pretty enormous praise from critics. Their tongue-in-cheek revitalization of vintage post-punk struck a chord with a lot of people, myself included. I still love songs like their breakout hit "Chaise Lounge," and my personal favorite "Angelica." But when their debut album as a whole came out, I was a lot more mixed on it than most. But even then, I had a lot of excitement for the band's potential. Though it took a little longer than I anticipated, their sophomore album pays off in pretty much every way I was hoping for.  The singles for this album are among my favorite Wet Leg songs to date, none more than “catch these fists.” It's the perfect combination of the band's punchy energy with their unmistakable humor. Rousing drums on the hook are wrapped around an absolutely irresistible chorus, and their baiting calls for a fight are hilariously dry...

I am behind, big time. So it's time to hit the ground running and review as many notable releases from this year as quickly as I can before the halfway point of the year. Wish me luck <3. Wet Leg  - Wet Leg Wet Leg are the hot new band in indie rock coming off a 2021 that saw their first two singles Chaise Lounge  and Wet Dream  both become major indie darlings and fir Chaise  arguably even a hit song. I was quite as crazy about some of the bands earlier songs as other people were but if there's one thing you can't deny it's how funny they are. The girls clearly write with a brash but still incredibly witty style that gives their songs a ton of personality that their contemporaries don't have. Occasionally they can back these diversions up with some serious muscle on the instrumental side of things too. Unfortunately one of my observations on the singles that translated onto the record is that some of that intensity is clearly making up for simplicity. The record...

Of Monsters And Men is an Icelandic indie band that skyrocketed to stardom around the world in 2011 when their mega-hit Little Talks  took off and their debut album My Head Is An Animal  went platinum later that same year. Despite being met with critical acclaim the band took four years to release a follow-up and by that time much of their initial hype had died down. Making this even more of a challenge to the band was that their second record Beneath The Skin  was met with lukewarm critical reception. Now once again the band has taken four years between studio albums and have the opportunity to recover their reputation as an indie act of veteran status with two singles that were met positively leading up to this record. Review By Lavender: My Head Is An Animal  sounded so exciting in 2011, there were huge walls of instrumentation that enveloped so much of the tame alternative rock and folk inspired indie that dropped around the time. Not only did Of Monsters ...

Lux Prima is the first collaborative album between Karen O, lead singer of acclaimed indie band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and super-producer Danger Mouse who has worked with the likes of Cee Lo Green, MF Doom, The Black Keys, Aaron Dessner, and most recently Parquet Courts. The two are coming from very different places in their respective careers and their styles clashing should be of interest to musical fans of all kind given the pedigree of both artists. Review By Lavender: I would say on average I differ from most fans of both of these artists. I think indie fans like Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs more than I do and I think fans don't like Danger Mouse as much as I do. So maybe given that balance and the fact that the title track to this album was released as an excellent single, we can all meet in the middle and anticipate a record that should have some above average qualities pulled from its two collaborators. The album already had a pretty substantial headstart with its f...

Foals is a British indie rock band who blew up upon the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Anecdotes  in 2008 and have since been a consistent force in the indie rock world as they would drop three more popular records throughout the next decade that established them as one of the most popular and successful indie acts of their generation. It's been five years since the release of Foals last album What Went Down  and after dropping three quick and successful singles earlier this year excitement for the bands project is as high as ever. Review By Lavender: Foals has been a very solid and consistent member of the indie rock world for almost the entirety of the over 10 years they've been in existence. Any questions of their quality that a decent but not amazing first album may have brought up we're certainly fixed in 2010 when their second album, Total Life Forever  took the indie world by storm. But a few years later I was scared that the band may en...

Deerhunter are a mid 2000's indie rock band who captured our attention with 2007's Cryptograms  and have released a spree of successful projects since that help keep their name a recognizable one on the indie wire. Microcastle, Halcyon Digest and Monomania  make up a trio of solid releases where the band embraces the sounds of indie rock without really forwarding them. Even though they make music you can hear from just about anywhere they have done it with consistency. Unfortunately that consistency ran out with 2015's Fading Frontier  a seemingly hurried and uninspired follow up that found the band seeming more confused and behind the times than ever before, but after 3 singles of varying interest and success it was hard to pin down where the band would be in their newest full length form. Review by Lav: Deerhunter have always been AN indie band, but for me unlike many others they've never been THE indie band. Their music blends together blissful psychadelia with...