New Music Friday!

I was disappointed because they released 5 songs before A Way Forward was released last time and the rest of the album fell flat. This time they did the same thing but I only listened to the first single to not make the same mistake.

I had a hard time engaging with this new one. I'm glad I persevered through the first couple tracks because I find it gets better as the album builds. Not as many strong moments throughout anchoring this one for me like the last two - Sightseer/Stumbling Still was one of those for me but it's on the back end. Surely I Can't Wait was the closest to one of those moments on the front end - maybe on second listen it'll click. Anyway, the album is low key but still definitely interesting. I think it'll grow on me since I'm such a sucker for well-crafted synthpop. We'll see how I feel about it after a few more plays. There's still a good chance I get the vinyl LOL.

EDIT: I think I might have lost track of the song titles while I was listening... I think the moment I liked on the backend was Stumbling Still/A New Goodbye. Anyway, doesn't matter, I'll play it again tonight or tomorrow.
 
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 RBF Alert ⚠️

Just discovered the band Great Falls and their new album Objects Without Pain. This is noise/hardcore/sludge at its absolute finest. This thing is a relentless beast of fast-paced, pummeling aggression. I'm reminded a lot of the band Chat Pile here. Probably one of the strongest extreme metal albums of the year for me 🤘

 
I had a hard time engaging with this new one. I'm glad I persevered through the first couple tracks because I find it gets better as the album builds. Not as many strong moments throughout anchoring this one for me like the last two - Sightseer/Stumbling Still was one of those for me but it's on the back end. Surely I Can't Wait was the closest to one of those moments on the front end - maybe on second listen it'll click. Anyway, the album is low key but still definitely interesting. I think it'll grow on me since I'm such a sucker for well-crafted synthpop. We'll see how I feel about it after a few more plays. There's still a good chance I get the vinyl LOL.

EDIT: I think I might have lost track of the song titles while I was listening... I think the moment I liked on the backend was Stumbling Still/A New Goodbye. Anyway, doesn't matter, I'll play it again tonight or tomorrow.
Agreed that the second half of the album is much stronger. I especially like "Sightseer", "Stumbling Still" and "A New Goodbye", the latter being a more dancy track, but "Swimming in the Shallow Sea" is the real album highlight for me as it's a more of a shoegazey distorted slow burn ❤️‍🔥
 
Tim Carman Trio live was not on my list, but is great stuff. Glad I followed them on Stupify so it showed up in my updates!
 
Radar List 22/09/2023

Fred Frith & Ensemble Musiques NouvellesSomething About This Landscape For Ensemble (MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT)
John MetcalfeTree (MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT)
The Pitch & Julia ReidyNeutral Star (MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT)
ColleenLe jour et la nuit du réel (MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT)
Laurel HaloAtlas (MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT)
 
Radar List for 9.22.23


Dominique Fils-Aimé – Our Roots Run Deep
Federico Albanese – Days Of Passage EP
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – Afro Futuristic Dreams
Wajatta – Waiting For the Get Down EP
Grails – Anches En Maat
Kiefer – It’s OK, B U
Mykki Blanco – Postcards from Italia EP
Lydia Loveless – Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again
Sally Anne Morgan – Carrying
Various Artists – More Than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith
Brent Cobb – Southern Star
Laurel Halo – Atlas
Soccer Mommy – Karaoke Night EP
Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders – New Earth Seed
Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
Das Koolies – DK.01
Loraine James – Gentle Confrontation
Jayli Wolf – God Is An Endless Mirror EP
A Certain Ratio – 2023 EP
Dead Feathers – Full Circle
Radian – Distorted Rooms
Colleen – Le jour et la nuit du réel
 
Returning to my old employer has been the best thing for my new music listening consistency. Who would have thought?

🔥
  • Puma Blue - Holy Waters [this one's immersive in a mediocre year for R&B overall. Thanks, @DownIsTheNewUp]
👍
  • CHAI - CHAI [:)]
  • Eartheater - Powders [Caroline Polachek and FKA twigs fans might want to give this a try]
  • Laufey - Bewitched [she has a lovely voice, no doubt. There are some magical, Disney fairytale-like moments. Does this album truly grab me, I wonder?]
  • MIKE, Wiki & The Alchemist - Faith is a Rock [Alc barely has to lift a finger; anytime I see his name, 90% of the time it will be at least 👍, as far as I'm concerned. Production on point, as usual. Both hip-hop emcees trade off solid verses on this short project]
🤷‍♂️
  • Loossemble - Loossemble (EP) [no new tricks here in the K-pop pantheon]
  • Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We [she's never been my favorite. I chalk it up to being a "me problem" like with several other beloved indie darlings that are cherished here and on P4K]
  • Mutoid Man - Mutants [not exactly mind-blowing stoner rock/metal, but competent. The album cover was a dead giveaway to my enjoyment of this record...it'll be like all of the other dime-a-dozen stoner/doom/sludge bands that have surfaced in the past few years. I was not let down from that prediction. Not a unique bone in composition to their brethren]
  • Buffalo Nichols - The Fatalist [I can recognize that there is talent behind the music, but this does absolutely 0 for me and thusly holds no replay value]
  • soccer mommy - Karaoke Night (EP) [on this covers EP, "Soak Up the Sun" is the clear highlight. It works seamlessly with Sophie's bedroom pop aesthetic, as I had anticipated. However, none of the other covers jump out at me as anything other than ordinary. I saw her perform "Dagger" two years ago and she was much better in that raw, solo moment]
👎
  • Explosions in the Sky - End [some of the most uninteresting, trite post-rock I've heard in a hot minute. Outside of "All Mountains," there was no stretch of compelling musicianship. Annoyingly mid]
  • Vagabon - Sorry I Haven't Called [generic lyrics, unconvincing production (outside of "Do Your Worst" and "Made Out With Your Best Friend"), and shockingly lifeless vocals]
🤮
  • Doja Cat - Scarlet [ugghhh...not much redeemable. If Doja Cat didn’t feel the need to promote this record like the biggest edgelord in existence, it might've gone over for the better. As it is, most of the songs are awkward, tacky, and half-cooked. The run from "Demons" to "Fuck The Girls (FTG)" is among the lowest of lows I've heard this year. Even "Paint the Town Red" is precisely the textbook example of TikTok trends I had hoped her music would shy away from. Although she's in her flop era, it's OK guys; Miley went through the same thing on Dead Petz... and has made tolerable music since, no reason Doja can't do the same with her talent/musical identity]

Second opinion: Tinashe - BB/ANG3L 👍➡️🔥 [it's sexy, well-produced, and a pocket of futuristic R&B excellence. NathanRicaudCore, no doubt (if you're out there, please validate this!). What this is making me further realize is that there is a treasure trove of R&B/neo-soul girlies that are far too under the radar. "Tightrope" is one of my favorite songs of the year, and "Treason" is as if Steve Reich had a hand in the production lmao. Anxious for the sister project!]
 
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I find the new National marginally better than Frankenstein. I just don't find them that interesting anymore. They are fine. They have their lane and they are just sticking in it. I have Boxer and High Violet when I need them.

I’ve not heard the new new one but the two before it were sad middle aged dad snoozy time lullabies.
 
Chill Friday release for me, which is good, because I need to dig in deeper with a few things from previous weeks like Nation of Language, Ruby Haunt, and especially Sparklehorse.

Anyway, albums I'll be checking out from Grails and Fielded have already been mentioned, but I also gonna check out these four today:

Bleach Lab - Lost in a Rush of Emptiness (dream pop)
Slaughter Beach, Dog - Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling (indie rock)
underscores - Wallsocket (not sure)
Al Menne - Freak Accident (indie rock - singer from Great Grandpa)
 
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