New Music Friday!

August. Listened to the most in a month this year.

🔥
  • Ka - The Thief Next to Jesus [the man's pen is one of the best in the underground. Soul, blues, and gospel samples aplenty, and tastefully used. Ka calls out the hypocrisy of religious institutions, hip hop's labeling and sexualization of women AND especially women in hip-hop, and questioning if freedom really exists at all. He doesn't let up, and yet it's all masked in a cool, composed spoken delivery. He isn't your average firefighter]
  • Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk [this sophomore effort is a gargantuan 53 minutes and change. A fully realized psychedelic synthpop concept odyssey. Matt and Mica delivered on all of the lofty expectations from the singles. My favorite song has changed with each listen. One of the best pop records of the decade. I can't stop magging my bay since last Friday coupled with the anticipation of seeing them for a second time next week EEEEEEEEEEEE]
  • Nails - Every Bridge Burning [it's like they never left. Much more of a metalcore approach in contrast to their grindcore roots. If you've got 71min free, you can listen to their entire full-length discography 😂]
  • SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE - YOU'LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING [very impressive. Chaotic and underpinned with sounds that might accompany a bizarre dream sequence, with a wave of neo-psychedelia throughout. They are one of the most interesting bands from Philadelphia in recent years. I caught those Tatsuro Yamashiita (山下達郎) and "Green Bird" samples the first go round; clever clever!]
  • Rafael Toral - Spectral Evolution [magnificent. This can be equated to turning on the Discovery Channel and viewing an ecosystem at large in slow motion. It is a dense array of instruments soloing with wild abandon over a thick carpet of slowly moving chords, growing increasingly chaotic yet always fastened to the lush harmonic foundation. Standout ambient/experimental release (Maybe just mmmaaayyybbbeee, the best ambient of 2024)] {Released in Q1}
👍
  • Clairo - Charm [first Clairo album that I find enjoyable. The genre adaptation into sophisti-pop tropes elevates this substantially]
  • Coco & Clair Clair - Girl [not so confusing]
  • Fontaines D.C. - Romance [like with Clairo, this year's Fontaines D.C. release is the first that has left a positive impression. Some of these songs have palpable Joy Division and old school Smashing Pumpkins leanings. Cold, callous, yet dreamy...I like it]
  • Hakushi Hasegawa (長谷川白紙) - 魔法学校 [it's crazy yet refined]
  • Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer
  • JPEGMAFIA - I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU
  • Kishi Bashi - Kantos [a city pop influenced direction! Or at least, it clearly is on "Chiba Funk," "Lilliputian Chop," and "Analógico Brasil" and maybe hints elsewhere. Instrumentally, it's clunkily boisterous at times and there isn't enough violin]
  • Ravyn Lenae - Bird's Eye [a noticeable step down from HYPNOS, methinks]
  • Luna Li - When a Thought Grows Wings [one of the producers on this record also held down the production for both of the most recent L'Rain records. For the first half of this record, that sound is very recognizable; lush, far-reaching, and with a handful of experimental detours. Luna Li herself brings her multi-instrumentalist talents to this record with flute, harp, bass, guitar, and violin throughout. A little familiar and ordinary in the second half]
  • Melt-Banana - 3+5 [just shy of gr8, with relentless jet fuel-powered instrumentals. It is blisteringly intense and does not let up for any longer than a few seconds at a time. The vocals are like that of an anthropomorphic rodent who once held an occupation as an end of commercial terms and conditions VO, and they are challenging to tolerate sometimes. Also fairly short, but so it goes with these kinds of experimental punk releases...]
  • Oval Angle - Figures of Speech [another W for a local Portland ambient/experimental label]
  • Scarcity - The Promise of Rain
  • Tinashe - Quantum Baby [not as consistent as last year's BB/ANG3L, but still enjoyable. "Nasty" is 2024 song of the summer. "No Broke Boys," despite the criminally brief runtime, is going to be a future anthem of hers. I do think that this was slightly undercooked with some songs, especially considering their length, being likely aimed at the TikTok/memes crowd. One more album to go in this trilogy...can't wait 2 c u in November bb ❤️]
  • Jack White - NO NAME [Third Man dude plays guitar good]
🤷‍♂️
  • Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet [the most enjoyable of the "🤷‍♂️" listings. Her double-entendres paired with spoken singing switchups work favorably in her music...my favorite instance is on "Bad Chem." Some pretty vocal performances here and there. While there are more songs than I expected to enjoy, there are about as many ho-hum fillers and country-leaning ballads (also ho-hum)]
  • Horse Jumper of Love - Disaster Trick [some passable shoegazey slowcore]
  • Megan Thee Stallion - MEGAN [we get it Megan, ur a weeb]
  • Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei [best SP release in the past decade or so. Not saying much though...it's just OK instead of insufferably terrible. The first three tracks had me oddly optimistic with a back-to-fundamentals Y2K stoner/alt rock approach, but Corgan just can't get out of his own way with his absurd lyrical diatribes on the backend of the record]
  • toe - Now I See the Light [outside of a few somewhat engaging tracks, this doesn't really elicit much of anything out of me. Very uninspired artwork]
👎
  • beabadoobee - This is How Tomorrow Moves
  • Charly Bliss - Forever
  • Glass Animals - I Love You so F***ing Much [these guys are dangerously close to Imagine Dragons in relation to enjoyability. Just shy of avoiding the bottom tier, by virtue of being boring in contrast to annoying]
  • illuminati hotties - POWER [no bite, no energy, no fun. Just another humdrum indie pop/rock record. Where's the personality that permeated throughout Let Me Do One More?]
  • Normani - Dopamine [undercooked and sounding VERY behind the times for how delayed it was]
  • Zeal & Ardor - GREIF [I am not a fan of this band, and this is probably the worst release of theirs I've come across so far. So much mid across the entirety of the tracklist]
🤮
  • Ice Spice - Y2K! [I don't understand her appeal. Zero fervor in flow of bars, zero personality, and zero (from what I have seen on TV) live stage presence. Encountering Gunna in the feature list didn't help. Help me to understand]
  • Kanye West x Ty Dolla $ign - VULTURES II [if you listen closely, you can hear the N2O molecules flowing through Kanye's head]
 
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Radar List, 6th September 2024
  • 400 Lonely Things — The New Twilight (Dark Ambient / Drone / Electronica)
  • Eldamar — Astral Journeys Pt. I : Creation (Black / Atmospheric / Ambient)
  • John Zorn — The Hermetic Organ Volume 13: Biennale Musica Venezia (Avant-Garde / Jazz)
  • Laetitia Sonami / Éliane Radigue — A Song For Two Mothers / OCCAM IX (Dark Ambient / Drone / Metal)
  • Max Richter — In A Landscape (Classical)
  • Vilde Frang, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin & Robin Ticciati — Elgar: Violin Concerto (Classical)
 
Friday 8.30.24 was, if I am remembering correctly, the best release day Friday for me so far this year.

Two bands put out their first albums in 8 years: Nails dropped one of the best metal albums of the year (albeit only 18 minutes long), and Anciients latest was a very solid project, picking up right where they left off in 2016.

Another standout metal release was the latest from Austrian post black metal outfit  Ellende.

Jónsi's newest was one of the most beautiful releases of the year.

Frontwoman Courtney Swain and the gang are back as Bent Knee with what I would clearly say is their best release yet. The alternative, experimental, art rock album was apparently influenced by Phoebe Bridgers, Prince, and Rainbows-era Radiohead (according the the band's Bandcamp page).

All of these aforementioned albums have aoty list potential for me at year's end. That being said, one other album stood out to me above all of these, and that was Jon Hopkins' latest, Ritual. It's a 41-minute piece divided up into eight parts, and it's absolutely meant to be listened to as the entire 41-minute piece. The calm, the build up, the energy, the crescendo, and then the calm once again. Absolutely stunning. And to top it all off, the album ends with a cat's purr. A Top5 album for the year for me as of right now.

I have high hopes for 2024's remaining release day Fridays 🤞
 
musicjunkiegreg said:
Frontwoman Courtney Swain and the gang are back as Bent Knee with what I would clearly say is their best release yet. The alternative, experimental, art rock album was apparently influenced by Phoebe Bridgers, Prince, and Rainbows-era Radiohead (according the the band's Bandcamp page).
Click to expand...

I'm still mega partial to Shiny Eyed Babies as my fave from them for a variety of reasons, but I do love the new one quite a bit also.

Also for anybody who hasn't seen 'em live, they're absolutely worth it!
 
Radar List for 9.6.24


Nina Sinephro – Endlessness
Max Richter – In A Landscape
Masayoshi Fujita – Migratory
King Crimson – Sheltering Skies (Live in Fréjus, August 27th 1982)
Cuff The Duke – Breaking Dawn
PHI-PSONICS – Morning Sun / Arrival
Jaubi – A Sound Heart
Monolake – Studio
Ishmael Ensemble - Rituals
Bremer/McCoy – Kosmos
Patricia Brennan Septet – Breaking Stretch
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – High and High and Mighty
Mercury Rev – Born Horses
Emapea – Mixtapea
John Zorn – The Hermetic Organ Volume 13: Biennale Musica Venezia
God Is An Astronaut – Embers
Jerry Foucault – The Universal Fire
Midwife – No Depression in Heaven
Party Dozen – Crime in Australia
Magdalena Hoffmann – Fantasia
Claude Fontaine – La Mer
George Strait – Cowboys and Dreamers
David Gilmour – Luck and Strange
Lollise – I Hit the Water
Elephant Tree – Handful of Ten
 
avecigrec said:
Radar List for 9.6.24


Nina Sinephro – Endlessness
Max Richter – In A Landscape
Masayoshi Fujita – Migratory
King Crimson – Sheltering Skies (Live in Fréjus, August 27th 1982)
Cuff The Duke – Breaking Dawn
PHI-PSONICS – Morning Sun / Arrival
Jaubi – A Sound Heart
Monolake – Studio
Ishmael Ensemble - Rituals
Bremer/McCoy – Kosmos
Patricia Brennan Septet – Breaking Stretch
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – High and High and Mighty
Mercury Rev – Born Horses
Emapea – Mixtapea
John Zorn – The Hermetic Organ Volume 13: Biennale Musica Venezia
God Is An Astronaut – Embers
Jerry Foucault – The Universal Fire
Midwife – No Depression in Heaven
Party Dozen – Crime in Australia
Magdalena Hoffmann – Fantasia
Claude Fontaine – La Mer
George Strait – Cowboys and Dreamers
David Gilmour – Luck and Strange
Lollise – I Hit the Water
Elephant Tree – Handful of Ten
Click to expand...
How can one man listen 🎧 to so much music 🎵 🤯
 
mgp said:
New MJ Lenderman (Wednesday guitarist / Waxahatchee collaborator / popping up all over the place) album Manning Fireworks is out tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Great profiles on MJ in the New Yorker (and NY Times) this week. I'm also a Wednesday fan - you definitely need to catch them live - and on that note...
MJ and Karly broke up, but he is still in the band - and they are still moving in together?
www.newyorker.com

MJ Lenderman Keeps It Raw

The artist discusses resisting the neutering effects of technology, his breakup with a bandmate, and his new album, “Manning Fireworks.”
www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com
 
I enjoy Wednesday and MJ both a great deal now that MJ and Karly have broken up and MJ’s solo career has blown up, I wonder if there will be much More Wednesday beyond what is already in existence. I wouldn’t be surprised if Karly ends up going out on her own or if Wednesday kind of evolves into a Waxahatchee type moniker for her music.
 
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