After a slow first quarter, I started picking up on more music that appealed to me. Much of it came from my almost-daily listening to KEXP, of course, but there were also several reissues and best-ofs that started showing up. And as always, many of these albums ended up as writing session soundtracks.
Suzzallo, The Quiet Year, released 2 May. Rocky Votolato was known in the PNW area as a member of the punk band Waxwing but also solo records and showing up on various friends’ albums, but after a personal tragedy he chose to start a new project. There’s a distinct Radiohead feel to his music here, full of tension and discomfort but retaining a deep sense of melody and mood.
Preoccupations, Ill at ease, released 9 May. This is a band I know I like and yet don’t listen to nearly as much as I should. They lean heavily on the 80s’-era post-punk like The Chamelons and Comsat Angels with a bit of dreamlike Cocteau Twins moodiness thrown in. A surprisingly strong and enjoyable record.
Peter Murphy, Silver Shade, released 9 May. This album snuck up on me, and I’m glad I saw it when I did, because I feel like this is Murphy’s strongest album in recent years. Past solo records were good yet very experimental and meandering, whereas this one feels like he’d return to his earlier sound of Love Hysteria and Deep, both albums I’d played incessantly back in the day.
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke, Tall Tales, released 9 May. One half of Global Communication and the leader of Radiohead? Of course I’d gravitate to it! Strange and peculiar and yet still lovely to listen to.
Sparks, MAD!, released 23 May. You can always count on the Brothers Mael to deliver yet another album of oddball-yet-catchy pop music that gets stuck in your head. Good to know that this band is still going after all these years.
Orbital, Orbital 2 (The Brown Album Expanded), released 23 May. I’d been a passive fan of this band since the early 90s, having heard “Halcyon” on WFNX every now and again (and later with their brilliant single “The Box”). Their recent reissue program has only made me want to catch up on more of their music, reminding me just how electronic music used to sound in the 90s — it might have always been danceable, but there was much more of an element of otherworldliness to it, like you were listening to something alien and futuristic.
Sea Lemon, Diving for a Prize, released 30 May. An interesting album of quiet dreampop that takes you on a hazy trip. This one also features the great single “Crystal” that features Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie.
Garbage, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, released 30 May. Each album from this band always seems to go in an unexpected direction, and this one provides an element of anger and annoyance that had always been somewhat muted on their previous records. It never takes away from the music, however, it only makes it that much more intriguing.
Pulp, More, released 6 June. Their first new work since…2001?? It’s been quite a long time, but it’s been well worth the wait. Jarvis and Co. pick up right where they left off, channeling the peculiar Britishness of Different Class (which got a great reissue this year as well) and expanding from there.
Blushing, Blushing reissue, released 13 June. I’m still not sure how I managed to skip this dreampop band from Austin until this reissue popped up on my radar. The album is full of all my favorite things: soaring guitars, quiet/LOUD song structures, wandering melodies, and walls of reverb. I ended up downloading the rest of their discography from Bandcamp soon after!
Steve Queralt, Swallow, released 13 June. A third member of Ride finally shows up with his own solo album, this one going in very interesting and unexpected directions with its sonic experimentation. Lush’s Emma Anderson shows up on a few tracks as well, adding to the mystique. Another favorite during my writing sessions.
HAIM, I quit, released 20 June. It’s always interesting when a band like this one, known for its radio-friendliness (I still hear “The Wire” on the radio and elsewhere), decides to further their career by bravely heading in more experimental directions. While this one doesn’t seem to contain that kind of chart hit, it’s just as catchy and fascinating.
GoGo Penguin, Necessary Fictions, released 20 June. One of my favorite finds of the last decade comes out with yet another electronic-tinged jazz album that’s perfect for my writing sessions. As always, I highly recommend checking them out.
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More to come…
Walk In Silence 