Lav's Music Corner

Posting this at the last possible minute. (She did not actually post it in time anyway.) 5.  Auguries of Guilt  - The World Is A Beautiful Place & I'm No Longer Afraid To Die  I was inclined to like this song out of the gate because they shout me out by name in the first verse. I will say this song may not have the explosive conclusions and dramatic tension of The World at their absolute best work but it's openly sentimental in a way that my heart is just barely warm enough to enjoy.  Listen 4.  To every squirrel who has ever been hit by a car, I'm sorry and I love you  - Fire-Toolz The best single from prolific digital screamo outfit Fire-Toolz upcoming new album so far is this hilariously named 6-minute odyssey. She continues to combine distant blood-curdling screams with maddeningly glossy splashes of cloudy synths in a messy but surprisingly grounded haze. This song takes that to a compositionally expansive conclusion and I'm happy to go along for t...

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die is a Connecticut based band/collective who have been commonly placed under the emo label even though they have interpolated numerous indie and experimental rock genres to their sound over the years. Their first three records blended genres and were met with critical acclaim and while it's been four years since their last studio album they released a compilation of assorted tracks back in 2019.  Review By Lav: I don't know if you guys have heard of websites like Twitter, Rateyourmusic or 4Chan's /mu/ board, but emo music is kind of a big deal in those places. While I can't keep up with literally every up-start emo project that gets hyped up by 6 people on rym I was pretty early on TWIABP. Heartbeat In The Brain  completely knocked my socks off the first time I heard it back in 2013 or so and I've heard pretty much everything the group has done ever since. While it can be a bit hard to narrow down their...

Best new tracks released this weekend: 5.  Good Ones  - Charli XCX With her new era Charli promised to leave experimental pop behind and pivot to more conventional pop concepts. On Good Ones  she delivers on that promise with a dancefloor bop full of early Gaga worship that rounds in just over 2 minutes. It's a simple, catchy electro pop cut with hit potential, all of which are major flashbacks to some of Charli's earliest projects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjAuUXdSFaM 4  Sit Around The Fire  - Jon Hopkins (Feat. Ram Dass & East Forrest) This week electronic musician Jon Hopkins announced a new album entitled Music For Psychedelic Therapy  and it's safe to say the lead single delivered on that promise. The 8 minute lead single features an ambient like haze over which Hopkins places a meditative guide from Western spatiality guru Ram Dass. The results are a relaxing and sonically compelling experience that experimental music fans are sure to appre...

The five must hear singles of the week: 5. Blue Heaven  - Public Service Broadcasting (Feat. Andreya Casablanca) The longtime instrumental rock band are returning next month for their first new album in three years and this single further displays the change of sound they set up with the lead single earlier this year. Gone is the sample heavy mostly instrumental rock palette as this is the second single to features a guest vocalist who handles much of the track. The track has an almost dance pop like flare but with the crescendos the band have always been known for worked into the mix for a quite triumphant finale.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv2CGLIj0t0 4. In Blur  - Deafheaven Deafheaven continue to embrace their shoegaze and dream pop side on a fittingly blurry third single just two weeks before their highly anticipated new album. While the change in vocal style has certainly been a controversial once amongst fans the heavy walls of sound and blistering instrument...

The World Is A Beautiful Place is a Connecticut based indie rock project that has gone through a number of line-ups and stylistic approaches throughout this decade. After three positively received records across this decade, the band saw fit to release a collection of unreleased material and B-Sides during the long break between records they've been on. Review By Lavender: I have always been a fan of The World Is A Beautiful Place since I heard their first record Whenever, If Ever . I also enjoyed their most recent album Always Foreign  in 2017, so I was excited to hear a lot of these songs. Despite my enjoyment of the bands work I did go into this record with my expectations low. B-Sides collections are typically randomly collected collages of tunes often left on the cutting room floor for other records and with not much care to their order or arrangement. Despite this I think there are a lot of pretty solid tracks that help prove how fantastic the creativity of the group i...