Lav's Music Corner

Headlights  - Alex G For over a decade now, Alex G has been a consistent presence in indie music, popping up every few years with a new acclaimed project that critics tend to enjoy a little more than I do. I thought that might not be the case with Headlights , because I enjoyed a few singles going into it. While "Oranges" pops up on the record's far more boring second half, and fits in, the first two singles really worked. "June Guitar" is a gentle, dreamy cut that still sounds just as infectious as it did when I first heard it. The lead single, "Afterlife," is even better and still stands among my favorite Alex G cuts to date. But honestly, I can't really think of a single deep cut that inspires the same level of interest. "Real Thing" is probably the closest the record comes. Even though the song itself isn't quite as sticky, the lyricism is a big highlight, and the way he deploys the metaphor of the "Real Thing" is worth ...

Mac DeMarco is one of the defining indie artists of the 2010's. Across the decade he carved out a niche combining indie folk with psychedelic pop that then exploded into its own entire style of indie malaise. As his career goes on Mac's music has become increasingly patient with his previous album Be The Cowboy  unfolding slower than any before it. Review by Lav: Like many longtime fans of Mac DeMarco's music, I was pretty unimpressed by his 2019 album Be The Cowboy . After reviewing the record and listening to both the demo collections released following it, it was very clear to me that Mac wants to be making music with a gentler hand than he has in the past. While there are moments like the wonderful lead single Nobody  where that works, listening to it for an entire album kind of made me forget why I was ever such a fan of Mac's in the first place. This instrumental album does less to quell those fears and more to shift them. The long absence didn't initially wor...

Mac DeMarco is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has become one of the most popular figures in indie music this decade. He has received critical success and increasing commercial presence with each of a line of his last three project. 2012's 2  was his breakout success and he followed it with the indie darling Salad Days  in 2014 and found even more increased commercial success in 2017 with the long and personal This Old Dog . After leaving his label with rumors of creative conflicts he has released a series of singles that seem to point towards an album that is more stripped back and slower paced than ever before, but his fans appear to have followed.  Review By Lavender: I've had a pretty consistent and solid relationship with Mac over these past few years. While I think his first two projects may be a touch overrated Salad Days  showed me his full potential and became one of my favorite albums of 2014. Since then I enjoyed 2015's Another One  mini p...