Lav's Music Corner

the rest  EP - boygenius Earlier this year Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker released their long-awaited debut album as Boygenius. The album itself was, fine. It features some big highlights like Not Strong Enough  but I definitely had my issues with the album which I talked about in my full review. That's why I wasn't particularly thrilled to dive into the leftovers from the album, but given the pure talent of everyone involved it felt worthwhile.  The project leads off with Black Hole  a song whose instrumentation is roughly assembled in a pretty compelling way that I didn't anticipate the band experimenting with. While I think it fits Julien's fragile vocals on the first verse more than the harmonizing on the second I was still surprised to enjoy the song every time. Voyager  is a pretty solid Phoebe Bridgers-led ballad that reminds me of deep-cut Punisher  highlights like Halloween . Yes, it does fall victim to some of her songwriting "quirk...

5.  Cobra  - Megan Thee Stallion Okay, this feels like a song we're gonna be working through for a LONG time. Firstly, the track sees Megan getting VERY raw about her mental health and how her fame and success haven't helped. If anything after the second verse it feels like it's all making her even more paranoid. She delivers a LOT of interesting thoughts to chew over on the song, but the presentation really hasn't changed much from almost any other Megan banger. It seems worth asking if this sonic style if the best way to deliver her message. I can't not talk about this song though. Listen 4.  i got the fear  - Torres The second offer from Torres' forthcoming album is a ballad which achieves a bit of a creeping aesthetic with the physicality of the acoustic guitar really seeping its way into every single strum. It also unfolds in a very patient manner that isn't afraid to use space between the refrains and work in a distant synthetic drum that feels like a ...

MWAH <3 5.  And Still  - Peter Gabriel In total the collection of new material Peter Gabriel has released hasn't exactly been consistently satisfying. But he's managed to shine through a handful of times and this song sounded better and better to me every time. I love the sweeping compositional style and consistently catchy refrains throughout. I still have no idea what to make of his upcoming new album though.  Listen 4.  Brick By Brick  - Conway The Machine & Wun Two Okay, consider me surprised. My expectations were not high for Conway crossing over with lo-fi hip-hop beats artist Wun Two. What seemed like nothing more than a reason to release new material is actually off to a great start with Conway delivering some of his characteristically hard-hitting lines in appropriately lethal fashion. They pair great with a vintage-sounding instrumental highlighted by fluttering keys.  Listen 3.  Why? - Matmos Leave it to Matmos to show up on this list...

Another big week of new releases, let's get it. <3 5.  Let Them Live  - Death's Dynamic Shroud DDS release about 9 albums and 200 songs a year and generally, I'm pretty iffy on them but this single really works for me. I love the versatility of vocal samples throughout. I also love the very vibrant and futuristic beat which builds and builds and eventually gets these wiry guitars right at the end it's a very focused and well-executed rendition of their sound.  Listen 4.  N/Y  - The Haxan Cloak It has been 10 god damn years since this masterful dark ambient project last released new material. What he returned with is sonically very different, but honestly I'd be more surprised after all this time if it sounded the same. With stuttering drums and distant booming electronica this feels closer to something Prurient was doing around the last time we got new Haxan Cloak music. It trades out nuance in between the cracks for pummeling intensity and comes out the othe...

This was meant to be posted last night but I was eepy. 5.  Munitions  - Forest Swords The new Forest Swords songs have been getting creepier and creepier with each new release. This haunting piece of disturbing but not discordant electronica makes use of space and metallic distortion to really fry my brain. The feeling that everything is being blasted at you from a dark tunnel you can't see the end of is just icing on the cake.  Listen 4.  Out Of Luck  - Tkay Maidza (feat. Lolo Zouai & Amber Mark) This song had me pretty excited on promise alone. I've enjoyed music from both Tkay and Amber a LOT in the past few years and the crossover has immense potential. While it doesn't exactly knock my socks off like some of Tkay's best R&B moves, the song is still pretty solid. I think the styles of everyone involved come together well even beyond just their vocal chemistry. The song has a warm undertone that feels a lot like Amber Mark's debut album from last year...

5.  Gem & I  - Animal Collective This may be the simplest of AnCo's new singles yet. That isn't just due to its composition which certainly arrives more slimmed down than the 21 minute epic they led off their new era with. But even thematically and sonically what you see is what you get with the song. Thankfully, I find the refrains very compelling and the gentle indie folk flourishes are pretty satisfying even on repeat listens.  Listen 4.  Motorbike  - Poppy Right out of the gate, I'll say I know that this song does have a kind of critical flaw, the lyrics. To call this clunky would be an insult to a lot of embarrassing songwriting I've described in those terms in the past. It's unfortunate because this song has a chorus that I find absolutely intoxicating and it's been stuck in my head since the moment I heard it. I also think the track has thematic elements that work really well. The sleek and sensual worship of motorcycle girls is pretty easy to get beh...

Day late, whoopsie I was swimming. For the record new songs from Timbre Timber, Faye Webster, Little Dragon, and Lyrical Lemonade could have made this list in a weaker week. 5.  Shy Boy  - Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen songs basically have a spot reserved on this list but Shy Boy  pushes that presumption more than most. The snappy dance beat and memorable lustful verses will sound VERY familiar for anybody whose enjoyed Carly's music before. My only real issue with the song is the singing on the hook which is clearly a stylistic choice but one that I think fractures the songs otherwise very good vibe. Ultimately it's the supplementary vocals in her normal register that save things and keep the song on the list.  Listen 4.  BABY HELLO  - Rauw Alejandro & Bizzarap Consider me surprised. Not because I didn't know what these artists were capable of individually. Rauw Alejandro first impressed me on one of his biggest hits Todo De Ti  before joining...