Lav's Music Corner

5.  the slab  - Slowdive The often-teased third single from Slowdive's new album opens with an arrangement of glittery jangly guitars that fans of shoegaze acts molded in their original image will be familiar with. While the instrumental of the song is wonderfully cloudy I will say I think the vocals could be improved. "Impact" often isn't the point of the singing on a shoegaze song and yet on this track is takes a while for them to have any real presence in the song either.  Listen 4.  Wait For Me  - Stillblue I haven't talked about Stillblue since last years Flora  EP but that hasn't stopped the band from continuing to export their melancholic indie folk. Even now on a single which has a newfound and quite definitive jangle to it, the haze of sweet guitar tones and romantic desperation in the lyrics give the song a distinctly somber presentation. In a week dominated by good new indie folk songs they couldn't be left out. Listen 3.  Summer Windows ...

One month into the year and we've had three VERY solid release weekends as far as new singles go. This one didn't exactly shine as bright but there are still tracks worth hearing.  5.  Layla  - Unknown Mortal Orchestra For the second single in a row I'm not blown away immediately by a new UMO track and for almost the exact same reasons. There's some very solid songwriting here and sounds that I would imagine could craft immaculately textured vibes if they came from a different era in the band's career. But like Captain Cook  before it the instrumentation here is pretty raw and scant. I could see the refrains here winning me over with time but I'm not sure the song has anything like the intimately plucked strings that eventually changed my mind on their last single. Listen 4.  Forbidden Doors  - Tennis Tennis isn't really a band I'm ever expecting to show up and drop one of the best singles of the week. While I've enjoyed a LOT of their material in th...

I've had a busy few weeks but this was yet another massive release weekend on top of the hundreds of albums I already feel like I have to play catch-up on. So hopefully there will be a LOT of rapid fire reviews coming soon. SPARK  - Whitney I've been a fan of pretty much everything Whitney has done since they first started out. Their very raw debut album turned up the folk influences and ciphered it through their own eccentricities, giving the impression of a true local band gone international overnight. Their sophomore album was another treat even as it shifted their sound into a much more familiar and polished brand of indie folk. In fact, the first inclination I had that I might ever actually not like a Whitney record was when I heard the lead single from this album, which seemed to predict a sea change I wasn't really vibing with. But after a parade of singles that reinforced to me why Whitney are who they are I was excited for the record all over again. That excitement...

After the first time this year that there were so many good songs I had to include an honorable mention, we've got the second week in a row of less than stellar results. So be it, there are a lot of good albums coming out recently and going forward to fill in the gaps.  5.  One Twenty Two  - Botch Remember Botch? Probably not as it's been like 20 years since the heavy metal band last released any new material. This new song won't necessarily explain the absence or push their sound forward into anywhere crazy or unpredictable it is raw as fuck and the repetition helps sell the catchy refrain it's built around. In a year where Gospel came out of nowhere to become a new critical darling, it isn't that farfetched to imagine a similar fate for Botch. Listen 4.  All You Do  - Magdalena Bay When B-Sides make the singles list you know it's been a slow week but that's just how the cards fell this week. This track which wasn't good enough to land on their somewhat...

Two weeks of early posts, one week late. As it comes, so it goes.  Enjoy <3 5.  Touch The Sun  - Cryalot If Sarah Bonito's second solo single as Cryalot doesn't click with you on purpose, try sticking with it because I had the exact same reaction and it's growing on me. The allegorical comparisons to Icarus start to add up and the hook is much stickier than it might get credit for on first listen. But it's really the song's dramatic sonic build-up to a sun-kissed and heavily distorted finale that sold me on its effectiveness.  Listen 4.  Copening  - Benjamin Clementine There aren't many artists who I was more excited to hear from in 2022 than Benjamin Clementine and what he delivered was a pair of songs that feel very within his wheelhouse. The first is this eerie chamber ballad with echoing piano and gentle but utterly commanding refrains. It may not be as expansive as his best work but it proves exactly why it was such an anticipated return.  List...

Whitney is a Chicago indie band who wowed in 2016 with their debut record Light Upon The Lake  which featured a unique low-fi indie sound that mixed in elements of folk music to create a brand of indie rock truly their own. Review By Lavender: I really enjoyed Whitney's debut album a few years ago and had the chance to catch them live to experience their unique approach to indie music which was a fantastic experience. I have been anticipating another record from the band for quite a while now and after a few solid singles I had high expectations for the album and now that is is here I'm mostly happy with it. Forever Turned Around  is a true sequel to Light Upon The Lake  in that it is about as consistent and features an incredibly similar sound. It also falls for for one of the same flaws as the first record with repeating a lot of sounds and making the record a cohesive but repetitive sound. That's why some of these songs serve better as singles and had me very ...

1. XXXTETACION - Royalty (Feat. Ky-Mani Marley, Steffelon Don & Vybz Kartel) Over a year after his tragic dead X finds himself back on top of the charts with a fan favorite snippet finally making its way into a finished product featuring some of its original collaborators. 2. Charli XCX - Gone  (Feat. Christine And The Queens) Charli drops yet another single from her collab heavy upcoming album this time recruiting the services of Christine and The Queens, its safe to say hype is successfully built up. 3. Wilco - Love Is Everywhere (Beware) Legendary indie band Wilco is back after a three year absence with the lead single to their album coming later this year. 4. Whitney - Valleys (My Love) Whitney got their new era off to a hot start with their excellent first single and they hope to follow it up with this track as the release date of their sophomore record approaches. 5. Four Tet - Dreamer After dropping a record to criminally low profile last year Four Tet drops...

1. Bon Iver - Hey Ma Bon Iver takes a strong number one with a highly anticipated return single that picks up just where 22, A Million  left off.    2. Whitney - Giving Up Whitney starts the era for their second album with a much anticipated lead single that comes three years after their debut album made huge waves. 3. Kim Petras - Clarity Coming off one of the years premiere sex bops Kim Petras snipes the highest charting spot of her career as she continues to release single after single in preparation for a studio album. 4. Blanck Mass - House Vs. House Blanck Mass add to the 2019 debut singles this week with another much anticipated return coming off 2017's excellent World Eater . 5. Madonna - Dark Ballet Madonna finally drops a solo single and after a rough start to her new era rides her namesake to the #5 spot. 6. Big K.R.I.T - K.R.I.T Here K.R.I.T turns around quickly and attaches his name to yet another song and project here. 7. Goldlink - U Say  (...