Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Ichiko Aoba is a Japanese folk singer whose music dates all the way back to 2010. Her back catalog received a ton of retroactive acclaim in the wake of her critical breakthrough, her masterful 2020 album Windswept Adan . That record introduced many, myself included, to her gentle voice, beautiful arrangements, and naturalistic songwriting. All of that is VERY present on its follow-up 5 years later. Though Luminescent Creatures  won't be as awe-inspiringly fresh as its predecessor for most listeners, it achieves a similarly remarkable beauty.  That beauty was predicted by the singles, all three of which I loved. "Luciferine" came first last year and wow was it astonishing to hear it again in its full beauty after a few months when playing the album. The production in the song's densest moments is just perfect, giving every piece of lush instrumentation its own place to breathe and fly. It also features what I think may be the catchiest set of refrai...

 Review by Lavender: Darkside is the project of prolific singer and producer Nicolas Jaar alongside multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington. The project's inception actually dates back to the earliest days of Jaar's acclaimed career and the pair's debut album together was released in 2013. Following a long dormant period, the band returned in 2021 with a second album called Spiral , which I thought was every bit as good as their debut if not better. That's why I was excited to see the wait for a third release taking just half the time and went into Nothing  expecting the pair to keep all their momentum up.  Darkside has always been a strange and difficult to define project. They're probably best described as art rock but with a production and sometimes even compositional slant inspired by Jaar's more electronica-oriented projects. But even with that premise, Nothing is by FAR the pair's weirdest and most difficult to define album yet. The project jumps all ov...

Had 30 songs on the shortlist this week, wish me luck.  5.  Driver - Soccer Mommy While Soccer Mommy has never really consistently dazzled me the way some of her singer-songwriter peers do, she is pretty good at delivering something consistently solid. That's the case with her second single of the year which features a punchy instrumental marked by brash cymbal clashes and a great guitar solo on the bridge. But even more than that, it's her killer vocals on the hook that really sell the song.  Listen 4.  Ballet  - The Garden After loving the most recent Garden album WAY more than anything the eccentric pair had done before I'm glad to see them keeping their momentum up on this new single. They once again combine punk snarl, synthetic drums and dizzying production to serve up a short but incredibly memorable song that's just as punchy as it is catchy at every moment.  Listen 3.  Dancing In The Flames  - The Weeknd While this may not have been the m...

After a week where the best new tracks were limited to just a video segment, they're back in written format in addition to the video this week.  5.  Bright Lights  - The Killers Is this a sort of corny heartland rock epic from a band who just seemed like they were past this kind of thing on their surprisingly great last album, yes. But much like the record that preceded it the band continues to prove that being corny absolutely does not prevent you from being good. With nostalgic and life-affirming crescendos this is exactly the kind of song that makes The Killers who they are and they do it expectly.  Listen 4.  Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy  - NAILS If you're familiar with Nails and their history, or you've even just heard some of the other singles from their forthcoming new record, you know what you're getting. The chugging heavy metal riffs drive through a short two-minute composition hardly ever stopping for a second and are accompanied by hef...

Another ironically long shortlist for the best new tracks of the week this week, but narrowing it down didn't turn out to be all that tricky. 5.  Scarface  - BABii On BABii's second single with Iglooghost and co on board, the princess of electronica delivers on her promise of hard-hitting glitchy beats with sugary singing. It's a combination that won't be a reset for anyone's expectations of what BABii is capable of but a song whose refrains and grinding dance beat are steps ahead of most of her contemporaries.  Listen 4.  Superstar  - Hinds I haven't been crazy about the pop-punky indie rock of Hinds in a while but this track reminds me of why their effortless fun and bottomless wit clicked with me in the first place. It's an attitude-soaked takedown of a local superstar with all the details and snark you'd hope for but the band manages to wrap it up into a catchy and concise package for their best single in years.  Listen 3.  I'VE BEEN EVIL  - S...

Another stacked week of new singles, let's get into it.  5.  So Lo  - Pond I went back and forth on this track a bit because it really it so indebted to specific styles of 80s synth pop and new wave that it's almost parody. But it's almost like they've combined inspiration from many different places all into one and that attempt sort of forms its own originality in its wake. What results is something impressively catchy even if I can't shake the fact that every moment feels like I've heard it before.  Listen 4.  Frogs  - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds With a decade of releases that can be seen as often solemnly focused by Nick Cave Frogs  is a reminder that he can be as theatrical as anyone. This soaring and anthemic cut features belting to the rafters backed by dramatic sweeping baroque instrumentation and a chorus of supporting vocals guiding the songs ebb and flow. He continues to be remarkably interesting and refreshing even this late into his caree...

I'm actually early this week to make up for the past two, enjoy <3. 5.  Ark  - KMRU & Kevin Richard Martin With two singles under their belt, I'm becoming incredibly excited for prolific ambient producer KMRU's upcoming collaborative record with The Bug's Kevin Richard Martin. This second single deals in spoken word samples and thick walls of gritty haze that give the track a distinctive texture. It's the louder of the two singles so far and yet in some of the methodical repetition and pure haze of it all I find the song more soothing than its predecessor.  Listen 4.  Sexy To Someone  - Clairo Clairo fans will be the first to tell you I haven't been nearly as crazy about her music thus far as many other critics but I've seen glimpses. That's why I'm surprised by how much I like this song. It's crafted in the image of some of my favorite up-beat tracks of hers to date with a vibrant instrumental now free of Jack Antonoff's touch. What r...

Review by Lav: Before the mid-year point of 2024 I'm trying to catch up on some records I've been meaning to cover. Waxahatchee is up next after her new record somehow slipped through the cracks with me in a busy week earlier this year. I've been a fan of her music for a LONG time on albums like American Weekend  and Ivy Tripp . While I was surprised to not particularly enjoy her breakthrough album Saint Cloud , I was much more positive towards her Jess Williamson collaboration Plains and some of the singles from this record. That's why it's no surprise that I came away from this record with mostly positive feelings.  Let's start with the only place we can start, the lead single Right Back To It . The gorgeous swaying number features some of Katie's best vocals and refrains ever with subtle but impactful additions from MJ Lenderman. It's genuinely one of the best songs I've heard this year and I think it's among Katie's best songs ever.  That...

Billie Eilish is a unique pop singer who broke through into superstardom in 2019 and has been one of the biggest voices in popular music ever since. Her often whisper-quiet vocals give her a pretty recognizable sound whether it's being applied to murmuring dark bangers or gentle acoustic ballads. While plenty of critics out there have lumped praise onto everything she's ever touched, I can't say I've often felt the same. Her debut album really rubbed me the wrong way with some of the cringiest lyrics and song topics I've heard in pop in a long time and truly disastrous production from nearly start to finish. But since then I think Billie has slowly been improving. I thought her sophomore album Happier Than Ever  was better even if it carried over some similar critical flaws. Though singles like Everything I Wanted  and the spectacular What Was I Made For?  are among her best tracks to date, so I was optimistic.  HIT ME HARD AND SOFT  arrives with both less and m...

What a great week for new singles, let's get into it. 5.  New World  - Tindersticks According to Tindersticks themselves, this is a shift into a more poppier and accessible direction. Given this less-than-4-minute edit from the band is still a distinctly composed swaying chamber ballad it's not like they're exactly making an Imagine Dragons song or anything. But I see what they're going for and despite a slow start I appreciate where the song eventually ends up.  Listen 4.  Joker  - Porches Porches got my attention earlier this year with the great single Rag  which is probably why I was so open to this deeply strange follow-up. This weird indie-slacked jam that seems to meander through weird lyrics about getting a dog and kissing him on the mouth. I know it may not exactly sound enticing but there's something so effortlessly smooth about the songs rambling demeanor that I find pretty captivating.  Listen 3.  Oh No!  - The Decemberists This is...

This was just one of those week. Sometimes good releases pile on top of each other and there are at LEAST 10 songs I could have included. But for my own sanity here are the five best new songs I heard this week. 5.  Luna  - Stillblue Another inexplicably blissful new single from Stillblue. While it will certainly remind you of the band's other new singles from this year, they're starting to prove exactly why this is their sound. This track features an expansive second half that might be among the grandest things the group has done yet and it pays off all the poignant patience deployed up to that point perfectly.  Listen 4.  My Room   - Ty Segall Ty Segall showing up and dropping a song that sounds more like Radiohead in the 90s than Radiohead themselves did in the 90s was not on my 2023 bingo card. But honestly, I'll take it I love the sour wining guitar leads and as much as Ty can conjure with his voice at its loudest he manages to makes quite a bit of a r...

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...

Destiny  - DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ This album man. DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ has never been a project to limit itself and in one of the most indulgent moves they've undertaken yet they dropped this 41-track, nearly 4 hour record. Normally I would take that as an over-indulgence and look the other way entirely like I did with Mac Demarco's 200-track nightmare earlier this year. The difference is unlike Mac, DJ Sabrina are used to long, winding projects and I've enjoyed their material a lot in recent years.  So when I try to justify skipping this album I can't help but think of moments I like so much in it. Fan-favorite singles like Doubts  and Something New  or personal highlights like the future funk-inspired anthem of self-empowerment Get Over It . Though the music on this album is not directly trance-inspired and generally takes a much less methodical and sunnier approach, it is still very easy to become entranced by it. The long compositions and absolute mountai...

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...

1. The Drums - Try One of the weakest release weekends all year for singles is headlined by a well deserved #1 for The Drums, who dropped numerous great singles earlier this year that were blocked from the top spot. 2. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Organ Farmer Gizz takes the number two spot after a quick turnaround from a disappointing last record, and the announcement that their next album in just a few months will be a thrash metal release. 3. Juicy J - Three Point Stance  (Feat. City Girls & Megan Thee Stallion) Juicy J recruits hot feature City Girls and recently named 2019 XXL freshman Megan Thee Stallion for what will certainly be a grimey and inappropriate song. 4. Liam Gallagher - The River Liam follows up a surprisingly good lead single with the potential to drum up more hype than his brothers solo project this year. 5. The Soft Cavalry - Never Be Without You The Soft Cavalry takes advantage of the short week for their highest charting single yet...