The Best

A joyously chaotic mess, a whirlwind cacophony of noise that a less discerning listener would call self-indulgent. It probably still is; the point is that it doesn’t matter. It’s a constant series of twists and turns and then floating dead in the water for a while, thinking the calm will last. It never does.

Passion. How long has it been since it fell out of fashion yet again? I remember the snobby Brooklynites turned on Arcade Fire sometime around The Suburbs, so it’s been about 13 years, I guess? More or less? Friko doesn’t sound like Arcade Fire. They just feel like Arcade Fire.

How can a long-running alt rock band on a major label that is known and loved by people I know in real life, including my 14 year old daughter, still be any good? I dunno, here we are, though.

Manages to out-IDLES IDLES in this brave year of our Lord 2024. Loud, expressive dance-punk that adds a heavy dollop of industrial crush to its post-punk joymaking.

They’re heavy as hell and hard to Google – folks, we’ve got a genuine obscure gem on our hands. If you’re into noisegaze and post punk you owe it to yourselves to check out this Austin band’s second record.

A producer with an unlikely name who turns out an interesting concept for a record: tracks done at 74 bpm that evoke a feeling of 1974, instrumentally. He delivers on this concept well, fusing evocative jazz passages with great beats. The features are another great draw; it’s a bit odd to me now that Quelle Chris, billy woods, Pink Siifu, Fly Anakin et al. are feeling like ‘the usual suspects’ to me, but that’s where I’m at these days.

The Rest

Quadeca – Scrapyard ★★★☆ (deadAir) Hip hop made out of gossamer folktronica, smoke, and thin air.

Yeat – 2093 ★★★ (Capitol) A little synthwave, a little industrial, a little future dystopia, but a lot to sort through.

IDLES – TANGK ★★★ (Partisan) The band loses further ground, not because they’ve gotten worse (they have) or because it’s a collection of love songs (that’s fine) but because they used AI to make a video and that is cringe at best.

Ifsahn – Ifsahn ★★★ (Candlelight) 20 years on from In The Nightside Eclipse finds Ifsahn pumping out orchestral arrangements for the grim parts of films.

serpentwithfeet – GRIP ★★★ All anguish and beautiful voices, but much like the last album.

Grandaddy – Blu Wav ★★★ (Dangerbird) A gentle and countryfied vision of Jason Lyttle’s music, good for arid sunny days.

Middle Kids – Faith Crisis Pt. 1 ★★☆ (Lucky Number) Bog standard indie pop rock songwriting that rarely deviates from the median.

Laura Jane Grace – Hole In My Head ★★★☆ (Polyvinyl) Laura Jane Grace, a little older, a little wiser, a little more covered in tattoos.

Lime Garden – One More Thing ★★★☆ (So Young) Boppy indie rock with a tight little beat.

El Perro del Mar – Big Anonymous ★★★ (City Slang) The word ‘ethereal’ is thrown around all too much today. Seriously. All too much.

Molly Lewis – On The Lips ★★★ (Jagjaguwar) This sounds like an Italian soundtrack. Oh, it’s supposed to.

Guerra / de Paiva / Hornsby / Konradsen – Contrahouse ★★★☆ (ULYSSA) Listen, I don’t know what popilepsy or toejazz are supposed to be, but this is a weird, odd kind of semi-ambient, sort of absurd jazz record.

Chromeo – Adult Contemporary ★★★ (BMG) Nothing new, but a relentlessly moving little bop of a record.

Bokassa – All Out Of Dreams ★★☆ (Indie) Mid tempo hardcore is always a choice, not always a great one.

Shadow Show – Fantasy Now! ★★★ (Stolen Body) Sleek and Sixties garage pop.

Levitation Room – Strange Weather ★★☆ (Greenway) All the hazy slacker sounds of neo psych with none of the bite.