New Music Friday!

Radar 📡 List
11.1.24

Let's be honest here, the only album I'm truly excited about this Friday is Songs Of A Lost World from The Cure. I've only listened to the lead single, the opening track, 'Alone', and right now that song is my frontrunner for song of the year. I am hopeful the rest of the album is as good as its opener. We shall see...

 
musicjunkiegreg said:
Radar 📡 List
11.1.24

Let's be honest here, the only album I'm truly excited about this Friday is Songs Of A Lost World from The Cure. I've only listened to the lead single, the opening track, 'Alone', and right now that song is my frontrunner for song of the year. I am hopeful the rest of the album is as good as its opener. We shall see...

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I'm with you, since the Cure is one of my top 3 bands of all time. But, I gotta add one more, since the new Haley Heynderickx also comes out on Friday. It'll be those two for me on Friday. I really haven't even looked at what else is coming, since those two will dominate my listening for sure.
 
blenoxsmith said:
I'm with you, since the Cure is one of my top 3 bands of all time. But, I gotta add one more, since the new Haley Heynderickx also comes out on Friday. It'll be those two for me on Friday. I really haven't even looked at what else is coming, since those two will dominate my listening for sure.
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Yeah, that's about it for this Friday.

As for the rest of the year, there's a few big albums for me on November 22nd that I'm excited for. Other than that, the year is wrapping up quickly for me. Starting early on my AOTY list (though I won't present it until sometime in December).
 
Radar List for 11.1.24


Haley Heynderickx – Seed Of A Seed
Willie Nelson – Last Leaf On The Tree
The Cosmic Tones Research Trio – All is Sound
Skye Wallace – The Act Of Living
Bishop Nehru – Solace in Shadows
Kokoroko – Get The Message
Neue Grafik – Dalston Tapes Vol.1
Sarah Neufeld / Richard Reed Parry / Rebecca Foon – First Sounds
The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
Various – Brown Acid: The Nineteenth Trip
 
October. Spooky.

🔥
  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD" [ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. HUMAN ERASURE IS A TRAVESTY. CEASEFIRE NOW.]
  • Kelly Lee Owens - Dreamstate [welcome back, KLO. She's moving towards a house-centric zone here, and I'm all for it. "Air" is DJ ready! Just shy of Inner Song in instrumental highs, but she tops that effort from her vocals!! "Trust and Desire" is a fave in this department]
  • Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat [Laura commenting on the observations and experiences of motherhood is a new perspective to her well-established, mature songwriting. Feels like you're living through the changes in Laura's life as you proceed through her consistent discography. Her voice is still as gorgeous as ever]
  • Soela - Dark Portrait [beautifully understated (and probably reallllly under the radar) ambient interplayed with deep house. There's a hint of that Boards of Canada aura underpinning these ambient tracks which sounds simultaneously nostalgic and melancholic. This sophomore effort from the Russian-born DJ/producer is further proof that women in electronic music are powerful, powerful authors of this art form] {released in Q3}
  • Tyler, the Creator - CHROMAKOPIA [like others have mentioned, this is Tyler's most vulnerable album to date. Tyler's run post Cherry Bomb leaves so many takeaways to walk away with in terms of Tyler’s progression as an artist and a writer. I have no clue what "Chromakopia" is but I somewhat understand the intentions and characterization Tyler is going for from the lyrics. I noticed that title rhymes with "homophobia" but I am likely spending too much time reading into the pronunciation alone. "Sticky" will be in stuck (hehe) in my head for a few weeks, I'm sure]
  • V/A - Virtual Dreams II: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan (1993-1999) {compilation} [MFM rarely fails. Surprise surprise, they did not fail here. A very different, forgotten sound of house music back in the CD age in Japan, unearthed with stellar curation for many to enjoy. Radiates with a beautiful cosmic energy unlike the 90s IDM that entered the scene in the era, doubling as an outlet to destress and dance to. And what's that? Yet ANOTHER BNR from Pitchfork? Just like with the Japanese leftfield pop compilation Heisei no Oto (平成の音) and the first volume compilation of Brazilian electronic music Outro Tempo? MFM be cookin', considering that the excellent Total Blue dropped a few months ago. RIP, Jamie Tiller ❤️]
👍
  • Felicia Atkinson - Space as an Instrument [that 13min song is ethereally immaculate. The rest of the album, although good, did not reach that perfect atmosphere]
  • Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham - Cunningham Bird [charming!]
  • Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere [I've said what I've said about electronic influences bleeding into any subgenre of metal, and my stance remains. It impacts the enjoyment negatively, for my case. This is mostly great, thankfully]
  • Caribou - Honey [not as good as Dan's prior work, no question. "Campfire" alone was enough to ensure that this couldn't be in the top tier...what an awkward implementation of hip hop. The rest is still mostly enjoyable, and probably goes off live]
  • Charli XCX - brat and it's completely different but also still brat [most of these songs are entirely reimagined; they aren't just a guest feature substituting Charli's second verse or whatever. I'd say four are excellent, eight are good, and the other four are somewhere between bad/mid]
  • Chat Pile - Cool World [cool follow-up, bro]
  • Clarence Clarity - VANISHING ACT II: THE ULTIMATE REALITY
  • Elucid - REVELATOR
  • Geordie Greep - The New Sound [ambitious, yes. The Greep Man knows what his (mostly) gen-Z audience wants. Certainly a handful of exhilarating highlights. The problem I have with this however is that it is, in the span of one debut record, the musical equivalent of jumping the shark. Even with it being ~63min, it's too long and excessive for its own good. Once you start to see beneath the chaotic and "opera theater kid" nature of it all, it is markedly one-note, and the tricks wear out quick. I was flabbergasted when I saw the track length of "The Magician" on the first blind listen and couldn't wait for the album to be over by then. There's a reason why black midi is my least favorite of the "Windmill" trio, and this album unfortunately reinforces the problems I felt while listening to both Cavalcade and Hellfire]
  • Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor [her right hand position defies my understanding of ergonomics. Also this is my favorite of her output so far]
🤷‍♂️
  • 2nd Grade - Scheduled Explosions
  • Anna Butterss - Mighty Vertebrae
  • Half Waif - See You at the Maypole [hurts me to put this here. I like Nandi, and the conception of this album being a memoir of her miscarriage from two years ago is a brave admission. However, the tunes themselves are a mixed bag of enjoyment. Many are not exactly memorable or do much to separate themselves from others in the gargantuan 17-song tracklist. An hour of her music in particular is also a bit much, where her prior albums didn't even exceed 40min. One of those where the singles are likely the only songs I'd revisit. I think I still might see her next year tho cuz I ❤️ her dearly]
  • MICHELLE - Songs About You Specifically
  • soccer mommy - Evergreen
  • William Tyler - Future Myths
👎
  • Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness [no bite, no fire. The guitars and drums lack punch for a punk record in 2024. It seems that some corners of the internet now live rent-free in the band's headspace...with some of the lyrics reflect calling out haters in a laughable manner. Also LOL at the album cover; nothing more punk rawk than a censor bar]
  • Dua Saleh - I Should Call Them [bland production, generic beats, uninteresting songs. They showed promise on their most recent EP from a few years ago and this is not at all a progression. What could have been...]
  • Soul Asylum - Slowly But Shirley [if you told me that the lead singer was Corey Feldman but actually went to seek out passable singing lessons, I'd believe you. Ugh, this is audio wallpaper. Surely you can't be serious?]
🤮
  • Coldplay - Moon Music [this album should be fired to the moon. Hope you both got a bag, Jon Hopkins and Little Simz 💰]
 
Well, The Cure's Songs Of A Lost World was everything I was hoping (and expecting) it to be. Robert's voice sounds amazing, as did the production. The instrumentation is lush and full. The 8 tracks and 49-minute runtime felt just right. 'Alone' is still my favourite track (on the album and possibly of the year), but I felt that 'Endsong', 'And Nothing Is Forever', and 'Drone:Nodrone' were my other standouts after the my first listen. The only track I felt that was weaker than the rest was 'Warsong'. I'm sure this album will be on repeat for awhile. I'd say I fall somewhere in between being a casual to a big fan of The Cure over the years, but this new album seems like one of their best. I'm curious what those who are bigger fans of the band think about it. Regardless, however, I see this album surely making it on to my year end list.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
Merce Lemon’s “Will You Do Me A Kindness” is one of my favorite songs of the year. Disappointingly I am pretty sure she left the track off her new album for some reason. I plan on still giving it a listen but I was pretty bummed that amazing tune was omitted from the album proper.
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Definitely a great song. Her phrasing really engages me. I'm currently obsessed with the first two cuts off her new album, 'Birdseeds' and 'Backyard Lover.' Really great stuff, and maybe it's weird, but I'd say if you like MJ Lenderman, you'd really enjoy Merce Lemon.
 
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