No pre- or post-amble in this issue as there is a lot to dig into below.
š Release of the Week
My too early to really say favorite album of the week
š½ James and the Cold Gun ā James and the Cold Gun
I havenāt gotten through all the releases, but Iām digging this quite a bit. It reminds me a bit of a few different bands; Iām imagining Queens of the Stone Age meets The Academy Isā¦ meets Jet, maybe? The guitars remind me a bit of QotSA, with a slightly early aughts emo alternative deal, and some heavy sounding, but hooky choruses.
š¦£ Big Guns
Releases from the big names in the games
š½ The Ballad of Darren ā Blur
Tense, manic strings chop away at the languid celebration, presaging a gathering storm of noise that reaches its peak only to be plunged abruptly into silence. No neat resolutions here, folks. Onwards. ā Clash
š½ Magic 2 āĀ Nas
I talked about my depression around the current state of hip hop so when one of the goats, even when heās not one of my guys, releases an album, you have to give it some spins.
š½ Columbo ā Bruno Major
This isnāt really up my alley, given the slower, soulful, R&B-ish singer-songwriter deal he has going on, but itās worth checking out the album artwork animation on Apple Music regardless. Mesmerizing and cool to see all of the pieces come together cohesively.
š½ Starcatcher ā Greta Van Fleet
I know we are supposed to hate on these guys given the Zeppelin resemblance, but that first EP was still pretty slick. I was going to say this was their shot to make a comeback after a disappointing full length debut, but apparently this is their third album and I just completely missed the secondā¦ (and Starcatcher doesnāt seem like itās really going to do much eitherā¦)
š¦ Small Fries
The other full length releases
š½ Outside Problems ā Andrew Bird
I mean, Andrew Bird is definitely worthy of the Big Gun moniker, but given this is basically a completely instrumental (thereās some hummingā¦) follow up to Inside Problems, I figured less people would be interested in it.
š½ Nothing For Free ā The Kaleidoscope Kid
Some fun hip-hop adjacent alternative that is right up my alley. Excited to give this one a thorough listen through.
š½ MID AIR ā Paris Texas
Itās an assured debut full-length, committing to weird impulses and catchy choruses in equal measure, and even at 16 tracks it never feels unwieldy. ParisĀ Texas make chaos look inviting ā theyāre the eye of one very exciting storm. ā Loud and Quiet
š½ Cut Worms ā Cut Worms
NYC singer/songwriter Max Clarkeās self-titled project tells all the right stories of an eternal, American pop identity with the ease of an old-timer and the fresh eyes of a modernist āĀ Paste
š½ Journey to the Moon and Beyond ā Mort Garson
I donāt delve into electronic music too much, but the album artwork pulled me in and the music was funky and weird enough to keep me intrigued.
š½ Purple Pie Plow ā SLW cc Watt
This is the most out there album from some folks Iāve never heard of. From the artwork to the (24) tracks, it definitely feels like this is a true low budget indie record.
š„Ø Snack Time
EPs, singles, and other bits and bobs.
š½ Front Door Confrontations ā The Criticals
This is the EP that has me most excited for a full length album out of this bunch.
š½ The High Life ā Bloc Party
š½ KLEPTO ā spill tab
š½ Take My Spirit Now ā Death Bells
š½ Childhood Eyes āĀ Yellowcard
Plus some solid new singles from MJ Lenderman, Nahko And Medicine For The People, and Better Than Ezra.
As always, stay sane,
ā humdrum