Lav's Music Corner

It's that time of year when I apologize to some of the more outside-the-box music genres for focusing a little too much on pop, rap, indie, rock, and R&B. Let's give both hardcore and screamo, and some records that exist within the folds of both, a chance.  Persona EP - Gel Last year Gel rode in a huge wave of hype to deliver one of my favorite debut album of 2023. When they the pummeling single Mirage  earlier this year it made it seem like they would continue climbing that mountain whenever their next project arrived. That next project is Persona , a 5-track and 13-minute EP that's only a few minutes shorter than the album that preceded it. The new project serves up songs like Martyr , a similarly short but surprisingly versatile and unrelentingly fiery two minutes that would have fit in well on Only Constant . But it's the very shoes the EP has to fill that handicap it from hitting as hard as it should.  Take a track like Shame  whose vocal layering should mak...

5.  New Species  - Iglooghost Earlier this year Iglooghost released a song that I didn't exactly see the appeal of. In a sense, I can kind of identify a similar issue with this frenetic banger if I think about it for too long. But I consider thinking about this for too long to be a cardinal sin. The song is a high-tempo pummeling of wiry electronic that was always happy to hear in the moment. Listen 4.  Like I Say (I runaway)  - Nilufer Yanya It must just be a heavy week. Nilufer's album indulges with sound in a way many singer-songwriters don't want to and she managed to do it without getting the way of her poetry. Now the sounds are even louder and even at moments when it feels emotionally overpowering, it's magnetically aligned. She continues to sound not only unique, but vibrant.  Listen 3.  Mirage  - Gel Last year Gel used subtle interpolations of different genres and styles to add meaningful flavor to their brand of hardcore. The debut album that...

Another late-night best new tracks from your nocturnal angel girl. Enjoy <3 5.  Silence  - Cloud Nothings Once again I think this single will fall short of blasting fans of early Cloud Nothings punky bombast away. But I think the band has settled into a punchy indie style that still carries more weight than most of their contemporaries. The combination of crashing drums and sticky refrains isn't rewriting anything but it's a formula I still find compelling.  Listen 4.  B2b  - Charli XCX When Charli claimed that her new album was going to be for the clubs, she wasn't kidding. In the absolute most literal interpretation of that promise possible, she delivered two singles this week tributing the genre's classics and one of its most beloved styles of performance. For this song, she recruits Gesaffelstein a combination the feels almost too good to be true. His pulsating contributions make this the darkest and murkiest club vibe Charli has served up yet even in spi...