The other day on the way back from Costco we’d heard her single “Retributions of an Awful Life” from her 2023 EP A Comforting Notion and it occurred to me that she’s definitely someone I should listen to more often. Why? Because she somehow manages to capture what goth and post-punk sounded like in the late 80s and early 90s — a good ten years before she was born, mind you — and embraced that sound fully. Sometimes she sounds like mid-80s Siouxsie & the Banshees, and sometimes she sounds like early Garbage. And sometimes she sounds like Liliput. It’s all a wild mix of that cold and dark post-punk that I still gravitate to all these years later.
This band has been around for a bit now and gotten some play on KEXP (some years ago they did a great cover of Delta 5’s “Mind Your Own Business”), but it’s their new release Is It Now? that’s been getting a lot of play here in the office.
They’ve definitely got that early-eighties post-punk vibe going on with their stark production and twitchy beats, kind of coming across like a mix between Joy Division at their perkiest and Tones On Tail at their goofiest. [I recently learned that there’s an actual connection with the latter — drummer Lola Dompé is actually the daughter of Kevin Haskins, who was in ToT, Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. Their style is very similar in places.]
While I do enjoy the title track, it’s “Mercury” that’s been getting stuck in my head lately, which also gets a lot of play on KEXP.
Definitely worth checking out if you’re into that classic post-punk sound.
I was just thinking earlier yesterday about how some of my music listening habits tend to be on the fleeting side these days, and how that sometimes bothers me as it feels like don’t allow myself to resonate with these songs as I once did.
It’s definitely not that I’m just not into anything new these days, far from it. My obsessive listening to KEXP (both online and its local terrestrial outlets) has me latching onto new bands and songs all the damn time. No, it’s the sheer volume of it all that distracts me from letting it burrow deep and stay in my head for months at a time. My music brain can only work one way or the other, it seems.
During my ongoing review of my Bridgetown Trilogy playlist, I noticed that may just be the case, especially when it comes to the mixtapes I made at the time. Many of the songs on those tapes from nearly a quarter century ago still play crystal clear in my mind. And why is that? Because this was stuff that got a high amount of repeat play.
It wasn’t just during my writing sessions in the Belfry, either. It was also on my commutes to and from work at Yankee Candle — an almost exact thirty-minute drive from driveway to parking lot meaning I could listen to most of side one of a mixtape or a full album on cassette. It was also during my weekend road trips around New England, whether it was my weekly visits to Boston, local bookstores, or just driving around the back roads in central Massachusetts.
Alas, this is something I haven’t really been able to do all that much these days. Mind you, I am certainly not complaining that my current commute is ten minutes/eight blocks on foot (and shorter if I take the car or bus), but that doesn’t leave me time to listen to my mixtapes or albums I want to listen to.
Instead I’ve been trying to retrain myself to latch onto songs that capture my attention and keep them there for a while. I’m essentially relearning how to listen to the music I love so much, and it’s turning into an interesting experience, to be honest. Not everything completely clicks, but a lot of it is starting to burrow in there like I hope it will.
Making the new Re:Defined mixtapes have definitely been an interesting experience, as I’ve given myself a reason to work not just with tracks that are getting a decent amount of play on KEXP but deep cuts that catch my attention when I’m listening to the albums at other times. I think I’ve finally hit a groove with this mix, as there’s a certain vibe that I hadn’t reached in quite some time. Have fun and give it a listen!
Track listing:
SIDE ONE 1. Hinds, “Boom Boom Back” (feat. Beck) 2. Mavis Staples, “Worthy” 3. Orcas, “Under the Milky Way” (a lovely cover!) 4. Cassandra Jenkins, “Delphinium Blue” 5. Liam Gallagher & John Squire, “Just Another Rainbow” 6. DAIISTAR, “Tracemaker” 7. The Softies, “23rd Birthday” 8. Jane Weaver, “Love in Constant Spectacle” 9. GIFT, “Going in Circles” 10. Bastille, “Emily & Her Penthouse in the Sky” 11. Ride, “I Came to See the Wreck”
SIDE TWO 1. Orville Peck & Beck, “Death Valley High” 2. deary, “Selene” 3. BADBADNOTGOOD, “Last Laugh” 4. GIFT, “Later” 5. Quivers, “Apparition” 6. Yannis & the Yaw with Tony Allen, “Rain Can’t Reach Us” 7. Wand, “Mistletoe” 8. Glass Animals, “Wonderful Nothing” 9. The Softies, “I Said What I Said” 10. beabadoobee, “Take a Bite” 11. Iress, “Mercy”
I’ve been hearing songs from this band on KEXP for a while now and I know almost nothing about them other than they’re originally from Galway, Ireland but relocated to London, and that they were signed to Alan McGee’s Creation23 Records a short while back. And hot damn if I REALLY want them to come out with an album soon!!
They definitely check a hell of a lot of my favorite alt-rock tick-boxes when it comes to their style: bright and jangly sound, intelligent yet often witty lyrics, catchy-as-hell melodies, and a consistently driving energy behind the songs that makes you believe they’d kick all kinds of ass live.
As far as I know, they’ve dropped a handful of singles — they only have one listed in Discogs, but Amazon does carry some their tracks — but yeah, I need an album from this band as soon as possible.
What’s this, you say? Am I returning to blogging twice a week again? Maaaaybe? Gonna try it out again and see how it pans out.
ANYWAY! A few weeks late here, but there’s my playlist for May, in which I’m surprised by unexpected new releases by classic bands, pleased by new albums of recent favorites, and of course a few great new finds!
Hooverphonic, Hidden Stories, released 7 May. Wait, new Hooverphonic? Sweet! New album with the return of their most popular singer Geike Arnaert? EXCELLENT! And I had no idea they were also a Eurovision entry! This album definitely sounds like their early 00’s albums like The Magnificent Tree and Jackie Cane, and I love it!
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, When God Was Great, released 7 May. These guys have been bopping along for decades now, and they’re still fantastic. They still sound like they did back in my Boston days!
Morcheeba, Blackest Blue, released 14 May. Another band that’s been around since the 90s, and they’re still amazing with their laid back grooves and Skye’s quiet, sultry vocals. This is a great chillwavey album perfect for relaxing to.
Fightmilk, Contender, released 14 May. I’m glad I follow KeithTOTP on Twitter (yes, his stage name is Keith Top of the Pops…he produced Art Brut’s first couple of singles and is buddies with AB’s Eddie Argos — both of them are hilarious and complete nutters), as he’s been hinting at this new Fightmilk album for a while now. And it’s worth the wait because it’s REALLY good! Kind of late-90s Britpoppy (don’t tell him I said that). Definitely worth checking out.
Art d’Ecco, “That’s Entertainment” single, released 19 May. Art d’Ecco is kind of hard to pin down; she’s kind of brash like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with the bloopy disco-y dance of LCD Soundsystem. Purely retro and yet not…? Either way, she dropped a wonderful spot-on cover of one of The Jam’s best songs.
Ducks Ltd, Get Bleak, released 21 May. Jangly lo-fi alternapop hinting at early eras of The Church and the Go-Betweens? Of course I couldn’t pass this one up! This is the sound of 80s college radio for me, to be honest. It’s a wonderful mini-album, and I’m looking forward to more.
Gary Numan, Intruder, released 21 May. Numan continues in the NIN-style industrial sound that he’s mastered over his last few albums, and it’s a perfect fit for his bleak dystopian style.
CHAI, WINK, released 21 May. This foursome from Nagoya, Japan has evolved in such odd ways yet they remain catchy and poppy as ever. The new record veers much closer to light electronic grooves than their previous more punky sounds, but they’re still just as off-kilter fun.
Bachelor, Doomin’ Sun, released 28 May. A project between Ellen Kempner of Palehound and Jay Som, this is an irresistible alt-pop gem. “Stay in the Car” has been an earworm for me lately, thanks to KEXP!
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Okay! Now that I’m somewhat caught up, hopefully I’ll be able to give you June’s playlist on time in a few weeks! Stay tuned!
First off, I should say that 1) I’m quite the latecomer to K-Pop. I’ve been well aware of it, but never paid all that much attention to it until relatvely recently, and 2) I am so not a gamer, so I have little to no background or interest in League of Legends.
That said, I cannot seem to get enough of the LoL virtual spinoff band K/DA (its name of course being a reference to a player’s kills, deaths and assists), as a part of Riot Games’ plan to include more original music in the LoL universe. It features Miyeon and Soyeon from the k-pop band (G)I-DLE as well as soloists Madison Beer and Jaira Burns playing the in-game characters Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai-Sa respectively.
The 2018 single “Pop/Stars” came to my attention due to a few gifs of featuring a masked Akali (the tomboyish ninja assassin) rapping in a subway car, and after falling down the YouTube rabbit hole, I found the video and was blown away by the creative animation.
Sure, they’re eye candy for the gamer boys, but damn if this song didn’t get stuck in my head on a daily basis! I’d put it on my mp3 player that I brought to the gym and found myself playing it on repeat. It wasn’t just a great video, it was a damn fine pop song with some tight production work. It sounds absolutely amazing in headphones, so I imagine it would sound great on high-end speakers as well. It ended up on my end-of-year mix and I still throw it on now and again. And yes, it got me interested in (G)I-DLE as well!
League of Legends continued to release a few more tunes and videos to coincide with their World Championship event (2019 saw the badass track “GIANTS” by True Damage, and 2020 featured “Take Over” by Worlds 2020), but apparently the K/DA track proved to be so popular that it was announced they would release more music as a virtual band.
In late August of this year they dropped the news that a new EP would be released, and released the lead single “The Baddest” soon after. And wouldn’t you know, this song got stuck in my damn head as well! While it’s merely a lyric video with minimal animation, it’s still a great track and has already gotten over a million watches on YouTube.
The accompanying EP, All Out, was released this past Friday (11/6) and it features the above song as well as the follow-up single “More”, which returns us to another high quality virtual band setting and featuring another LoL in-game character, Seraphine, as a special guest. It’s another visual feast with all kinds of eye candy but also a lot of fun blink-and-you’ll-miss-it drop edits (such as Akali causing Serpahine to bust up laughing near the end). And just like the previous singles, “More” is a hell of a fine earworm. This one’s going on my year-end mix, of course.
The rest of All Out is just as fun and worth checking out if you have the time!
Every now and again I’ll hear a new song that will just floor me. Recently I’ve been grooving to this new single by the band Bob Moses called “Heaven Only Knows”.
It’s got that mid-tempo, low-range electronic groove that I love for many reasons: it’s great chill-out music, it’s got a gorgeous melody, it sounds awesome in headphones, and it’s perfect for my writing sessions.
Sometimes when I like a song that much, I’ll zip online and check out the rest of their discography. As it happens, their entire output is currently available on eMusic, so I was able to download it quite cheaply and add it to my collection.
Come to find out, I already knew one of their songs already! I recognized their 2015 single “Tearing Me Up” from hearing it on the various indie rock stations, but always forgot who it was until now.
I gave their EPs and album a good listen today and I can definitely say these guys are going to get some serious play in the next few weeks. It’s really great mood music for the writing projects I’m currently working on, and it’s also great to listen to during my Day Job hours. And they’ve got a new album coming out in two weeks! Woot!
Here we are, back again for another round of new tunage at the start of a new year! Since I’m doing a lot more streaming than impulse buying this year to save money and get my collection under control, a lot of these were bought not on their drop date but week or three later. These are the many of the titles that made the cut.
It feels like this month was stronger than previous, with a lot of solid albums that I’ve been listening to on repeat. So much so that I have to split it up into two posts! We’ll see the follow-up next Tuesday. So! On with the show…
BØRNS, Blue Madonna, released 12 January. One of those albums where the more you listen to it, the more you love it. My initial listen was ambivalent but positive; I thought it was pretty good. Upon repeated listens, however, I found myself resonating with a lot of it. It kind of reminds me a bit of early New Order mixed with the atmosphere of M83.
Typhoon, Offerings, released 12 January. I’d never heard of this Salem, OR band before, but I love what I’m hearing. One of those bands with an indeterminate number of members, with a sound that could be inventive indie rock or lower-level math rock, I’m not sure. All I know is that they sound great and I’m most likely going to search out their other stuff soon enough.
Jaguwar, Ringthing, released 12 January. Shoegaze is alive and well! Jaguwar’s latest is a lovely, blissful run full of fast and fun songs and a lot of reverb. It’s quite enjoyable, especially during my Day Job hours!
Shame, Songs of Praise, released 12 January. What you get when you cross shoegaze with Art Brut-like punk silliness. Dreamlike but with sometimes shouty, sometimes surprising, and often not-quite-on-key vocals. I kept coming back to this one.
The Neighbourhood, To Imagine EP, released 12 January. This band has surprised me over the last few EP releases. They’ve been heading in interesting, experimental directions, leaving the rap-surf-pop of “Sweater Weather” far behind. I’m definitely liking what I’m hearing.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Wrong Creatures, released 12 January. BRMC returns to a much darker, louder J&MC-esque sound that fits them like a glove. An album that’s just begging to be listened to at top volume.
Finding new music to listen to isn’t always easy. As I’ve mentioned before, commercial stations tend to have a set rotation so we hear the same core songs over the course of a few months, with maybe a new track popping up every now and again. But it’s rare for that new addition to the playlist to immediately get a lot of play right away.
In a way, the same can be said for listening to college radio. While those stations often don’t have the set rotation setup, they can also be a bit too leftfield, playing nothing but obscurities and outsider music. It’s fun to listen to if you like that sort of thing, but that sort of stuff doesn’t really resonate with me.
I tend to go somewhere in between; I’ll listen to college radio for part of the day (my home station lately has been Boston College’s WZBC, though I’ll slip over to my other favorite, Santa Clara University’s KSCU, later on), but then I might switch over to Boston’s RadioBDC or one of the SiriusXM stations. Somewhere during all that listening, I’ll catch a new song that will catch my attention.
I’ll also stop by some of the websites that are streaming new albums. NPR features an interesting selection, as do a few others. I’ll also check out albums that I can stream through Amazon Prime (one of the main reasons I signed up for it, actually); I actually use that site extensively on New Release Fridays to check out the new stuff and decide if I want to explore the bands further or not.
Interestingly, I’ve found some favorites via social media as well. Sometimes a random band will follow me, and I’ll always give them a quick listen and follow back if I’m interested. This is always fun, because these bands and musicians tend to be more low key yet absolutely fantastic. I’ve picked up a number of albums from bands this way.
Here’s a few of my favorite finds over the past year:
FiFi Rong (followed me on Twitter)
Of Verona (followed me on Twitter)
The DROiDS (followed me on Twitter)
Pia Fraus (suggested by AllMusic.com)
Cosima (suggested by Stereogum and The Line of Best Fit)
Walk In Silence 