Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Kelly Lee Owens is a singer and producer who has received acclaim dating back to her 2017 debut for her fusions of electronic music with her own presence as a singer-songwriter. She has 4 albums under her belt now and in my opinion they get better with each new release. Her last effort LP.8  significantly increased the scope of her experimentation and made for a pretty interesting release. While Dreamstate  is less experimental by comparison, it feels like she brought those ambitions and that knowledge back to her core formula and assembled a collection of thumping electronica songs with her always beating heart at their core.  I had a feeling this album was going to be good based on two singles in particular which pop up back-to-back in the album's first half. "Love You Got" was the lead single and I absolutely love it. The track manages to deliver a well-textured glistening array of punchy instrumentation while also serving up refrains that are extre...

This week featured some familiar faces that have popped up on the best new tracks segment all year, see if they made it again. <3 5.  Ruby Rosery  - A$AP Rocky (feat. J. Cole) So we're officially back in an era where Rocky is releasing music regularly and it's brought us to the reserved, J. Cole-featuring Ruby Rosery . Like Cole's appearance on Metro Boomin & Future's album earlier this year it's a more reserved moment than anticipated and yet his intimacy works well in this format. Both Rocky and Cole are casual but confident and as slick as ever on this memorable crossover.  Listen 4.  I Walk  - Mount Eerie It's been a noticeable few years off for Mount Eerie since Phil Elverum returned to The Microphones with a unique and conceptual project in 2020 that sought to tell the story of how the project evolved with one single album-length track. Now he's back as Mount Eerie with a sonic palette that still exists within the intimate folds his music always...

5.  Gold Coast  - Moses Sumney Moses Sumney's immense talent has persisted through basically everything he's ever done. That's why it's nos surprise that he once again delivered a hit on a second consecutive single. With  Gold Coast  he dials things back a bit with a near whispered tenor met by some fluttering strings. But underneath it all the track is still a beautiful, swaying and irresistibly elegant R&B jam.  Listen 4.  Electra  - Public Service Broadcasting The incredibly strange career of Public Service Broadcasting has taken the sample-driven and largely instrumental rock outfit to all kinds of strange places. But this time they're going back to something we all know they can do well, a song about a plane. Much like one of their breakthrough tunes  Spitfire ,  Electra  is a beautiful and fittingly soaring tribute to aircraft that comes with all their emotional instrumental poise and perfectly selected samples.  Listen 3....

Real Cultural Shit  EP - Channel Tres Channel Tres is an artist I've been trying to get into for a long time because a lot of my friends who are more casual about their music diets absolutely adore him. Despite that, I never really found much in either of his studio albums or even his essential 2018 self-titled EP. But that didn't mean I was going to give up on his sound, primarily because I've seen some pretty overwhelming praise sent the way of his single 6am  which appears on this EP. One thing I will say for this record is I think the quality of the instrumentals has improved. Channel Tres has always been a genre-blurring project and there are elements of dance, funk, soul, and even some pop and electronica in the mix here but I think they sound better than on previous projects. Unfortunately, I think too many of these songs fails to stick the landing compositionally, delivering about one tik tok's worth of catchy refrains before playing it out in a very awkward way...

This weekend's (or possibly week's by the time I finish) rapid fire reviews will cover a few records I've really wanted to talk about mostly because they have something strikingly unique about them that at the very least you won't hear anywhere else in 2022.  Enjoy <3 LP.8  - Kelly Lee Owens I think both of Kelly Lee Owens first two records are both quite solid but in the back of my mind I've also always held onto that belief that she has a classic record in her. Her willingness to adventure into compelling sonic directions compared with her vocals talent which thrives over sparse electronic landscapes makes for a great combo that reminds me a lot of what initially made James Blake so appealing. This album is far and away Kelly's most experimental yet trading a lot of conventional song structure out for atmospheric haze and methodically repeated phrases that echo out into the void. It's an artistic choice that I think makes a lot of sense coming off a rec...

Natalia Lafourcade - Un Canto por Mexico, Vol. 1 Natalia has been one of the leading voices in the world of Mexican folk revivalism with her pair of Musas  releases both of which received massive critical acclaim including from me. While UCPM isn't quite the same concept the sounds will be familiar to people who have been following Natalia recently and he executes it well. The set of tracks here are raw but extravagantly performed and lushly arranged which means that even when moments blend together the minute to minute sound of the record is exciting. While it clearly won't be for everyone if you've enjoyed her music prior to this then the album is yet another can't miss entry. 7/10 Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas This album completely slipped under my radar despite the fact that I was a fan of Lianne's debut Is Your Love Big Enough?  around the time it came out. Given that it was one of the records I was most excited to finally get a chance to listen to my expec...