Lav's Music Corner

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...

Let the listing begin. In the first and smallest year-end list I publish I take a look at the tiny projects that were packed full of good songs. While this list lacks some of the stunning high-end releases of previous years, it's a very deep well full of versatile and compelling projects.  These are my 10 favorite EPs of 2023. Enjoy <3 10. Jlin - Perspective  EP Kicking off the list we have Jlin's pseudo-return to dropping new music with this Pulitzer Prize For Music finalist Perspective . After being originally composed three years ago the material was re-recorded by Jlin and finally made it to the public, which I'm very grateful for. Despite moments that feel undersold relative to her normal textural bliss, there is ton of magnetic and distinctive electronic music present throughout this project. Jlin continues to have a sound that is not only easy to identify but easy to love.  Listen To: Derivative , Paradigm 9. Softcult - See You In The Dark  EP Canadian duo ...

Earlier this month I dropped part 1 of this series and promised another, here it is. Sorry it took two weeks, I'm moving. Enjoy <3 An Object In Motion  EP - Drab Majesty Drab Majesty is a California music project who have been carrying the torch for some distinctly 80s styles of darkwave and goth rock with a handful of shoegazey elements occasionally mixed in. Despite having a lot of affinity for the eras of music that the band pulls from, I've always thought they were just okay. That once again comes through on this project despite the attention-grabbing appearance of Slowdive's own Rachel Goswell. To be fair, the opening track that she participated in is the highlight of the project with it's most impressive vocals and instrumental palette. In comparison,  Cape Perpetua  is an instrumental cut that spends almost its entire runtime sounding like it's waiting to start without ever really doing so. It kind of sounds like the first 5 minutes of a really forgettable...

Between two busy release weekends I wanted to take the time to really quickly get my thoughts out about a couple of indie records that have been turning heads in the past few months. I was hoping to do a full length review of some of these but with even more high profile indie releases on the horizon I wanted to get them out quickly while they are still more or less relevant. Enjoy <3 Entertainment, Death  - Spirit Of The Beehive Spirit of the Beehive are a Philly based indie outfit that I've heard mentioned in passing a few times over the years and this is actually their 4th album. I saw this thing turning heads and getting some pretty good reviews when it first came out so I gave it a listen as well as some of their other work. One thing that is immediately obvious about this record going into it is that the band will unashamedly bounce between all different kinds of genres and sounds with ease. Even within the same song they are dabbling in harsh experimental rock sounds then...