Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Soccer Mommy is the singer-songwriter alias of Nashville's Sophia Regina Allison. She's released 4 albums under the moniker and each have been met with a hefty helping of acclaim, highlighted by 2020's sample-heavy Color Theory . In my time covering Sophia's music I've thought she is consistently good but never really separated herself from her many indie folk singer-songwriter contemporaries. Tbat was different on her 3rd album Sometimes, Forever  in 2022. She teamed up with Oneohtrix Point Never on production for a record that takes a few bigger swings. But the result is a similarly mixed bag that serves up some of my favorite songs of her entire career, but also some of my least favorite.  Through that lens Evergreen  seems like a record that hones in its focus. It's also one I was pretty excited for after hearing the 4 singles. They start off good, "Lost" kicks the album off soft and swaying in the same way many a Soccer Mommy t...

Review by Lavender: Pharmakon is a New York experimental noise project spearheaded by Margaret Chardiet. Though she's developed a reputation for blistering live shows, MAGGOT MASS  is just her 5th studio album and first in 5 years. Through that lens, it's been a while since she dropped a project that I really loved in 2017's Contact  and a full decade since her best work Bestial Burden . But after a dynamic ripping lead single I was optimistic going into MAGGOT MASS . On the record, Margaret clearly has a lot to say, though how she says it and the presentation surrounding those themes can sometimes leave a bit to be desired.  Let's talk about that great lead single "WITHER AND WARP", which may still by my favorite song here. It lives up to its name dishing out 8 minutes of brooding music that, well, withers in certain places and warps nearly beyond recognition in others. In between, Margaret dishes out these dragging gritty refrains over distant booming percus...

Some HIGH profile new singles dropped this week, see how they shake out against some underground favorites.  5.  Afterlife  - Sharon Van Etten I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical from the moment this song kicked off with its anthemic drum beat and even after I heard the fluttering keys backing Sharon's chorus. While you would think inherently that the grandeur would rob her music of the power it has in its intimacy, she seems to have taken a queue from some of her singer-songwriter contemporaries who impressively expanded their sonic range. This track isn't perfect, but her writing and energy shines through.  Listen 4.  Noid  - Tyler, The Creator Tyler's newest single has justifiably been met with quite a bit of acclaim for both its sound palette and compositional dynamism. Even if some of the altered vocals and MANY of the song's lyrics leave quite a bit to be desired, there's still plenty here to grab onto as potential green flags for Tyler's new a...

Review by Lavender: Kelly Lee Owens is a singer and producer who has received acclaim dating back to her 2017 debut for her fusions of electronic music with her own presence as a singer-songwriter. She has 4 albums under her belt now and in my opinion they get better with each new release. Her last effort LP.8  significantly increased the scope of her experimentation and made for a pretty interesting release. While Dreamstate  is less experimental by comparison, it feels like she brought those ambitions and that knowledge back to her core formula and assembled a collection of thumping electronica songs with her always beating heart at their core.  I had a feeling this album was going to be good based on two singles in particular which pop up back-to-back in the album's first half. "Love You Got" was the lead single and I absolutely love it. The track manages to deliver a well-textured glistening array of punchy instrumentation while also serving up refrains that are extre...

I love shoegaze and that's no secret. So in addition to some of the shoegaze records I've already covered from 2024, I wanted to hone in and catch up with a few I missed.  my anti-aircraft friend  - julie LA-based shoegaze outfit julie didn't start out 2024 as one of my most anticipated new bands. But after a few singles where they seemed to drown themselves even more in vintage shoegaze and noise pop styles that I've long found irresistible, I started to look forward to their debut album my anti-aircraft friend  more and more. While a song like last year's "catalogue" surely helped, it was their best song to date "clairbourne practice" that really sold me on the band. Even as parts of it feel like classic shoegaze worship it's one spoonful of Slowdive and one spoonful of My Bloody Valentine. Splitting that difference perfectly is what brings the band to their most interesting points.  That contrast pops on deep cuts like "tenebrist...

Review by Lavender: Bon Iver is the beloved indie folk project of Justin Vernon which has been a magnet of critical acclaim for nearly 20 years. The project's 4th album I,I  dropped in 2019 but Bon Iver hasn't exactly been quite since then. In addition to two singles that dropped in 2020, Vernon has popped up as a producer and collaborator for a variety of other artists in the meantime. The most notable of the bunch are Taylor Swift and Travis Scott, but he's also collaborated with Zach Bryan, The Japanese House, and most recently Charli XCX. But now Bon Iver is back returning to the format where they once made a smash with the critical darling Blood Bank  EP all the way back in 2009. The EP has a short intro, but its bulk is made up of just three songs. Let's start with the single S P E Y S I D E which lands in the middle of SABLE. It's an absolutely wonderful song I've loved since the moment it dropped. Not only is it catchy in the same way Vernon's best w...

5.  First Rodeo  - Kelsea Ballerini Kelsey Ballerini's vulnerabilities continue to be the highlight of her music. While the track does have a gentle swaying instrumental and a pretty memorable chorus it's really the bearing of her soul that she displays through second-guessing and pure admiration that fully sells the song.  Listen 4.  the cost of giving up  - Poppy While Poppy has become pretty damn hit-or-miss since a great 2020 effort, you can't say she doesn't occasionally hit the mark. It's the songs where she manages to slice directly between her girlish dreamy pop side and her crushing dark metal instincts that hit the hardest. the cost of giving up  throws it back a few years in her discography to when she had that sound even more honed in and it's all the better for it.  Listen 3.  Defense  - Panda Bear (feat. Cindy Lee) I'll be the first to admit that this song may not have lived up to the impossible level of excitement generated pur...