Tag Archives for new music September 2024

The Rundown: September 2024

Hello, and welcome back to another edition of me writing way too many words about albums you’ve already formed an opinion on! If you’ve stumbled on this, I’ve been doing flash reviews of (almost) every new album I listen to this year. Some of the previous posts have been, well, long, but this was a different month. I spent two weeks in September on a nice vacation, my ears far away from any streaming services. Still, I’ve got 27 flash reviews for you – and a lot of these are utterly fantastic albums. 2024 has spoiled us greatly. Below, we’ve got a ton of excellent new indie albums, a pair of post-hardcore releases that will be near the top of my AOTY list, some solid metal, and a predictably great country release. I hope you find some gems for yourself in here! Let’s get cracking.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God

I’ve mentioned a few times that this exercise has mostly become me showing my own ass, and here I must do it again: I am not very familiar with the Nick Cave catalog. I’ve listened to (and loved) his earliest and most recent records, but there’s 20 years in the middle I haven’t heard. In my limited experience though, I’ve realized the best Nick Cave songs are ones where there’s just minimal piano or static noise and Cave talking lyrics. He does that a lot here. There’s also songs that have full-band with choir backups, and they’re just as stunning. It’s unbelievable that Cave still stuns this much, but every track on this album works well. Most of them work tremendously well. Cave is one of music’s premier storytellers, and this is another legendary release. It’s one of the best albums of the year. No question. I’m in awe. 

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 8/30/24

Tycho – Infinite Health

This one is pretty tough to grade, because listening to this record served much more of a purpose than the sheer entertainment value of every other record. This album was hand-selected as background music for me to sleep to on a grueling, intercontinental flight. This sounds like an extreme backhanded compliment, and maybe it is, but it did the trick. Not to say that this boring, it’s an album that’s mentally stimulating but peaceful enough to nod off to. I’ve never been super into Tycho, because it’s not necessarily for me, but they’re a great band. It’s all instrumental post-rock that marries complex and layered rhythms with a fun and playful aura. When you’re listening to it while 75% asleep with your head on a hard plane window, it’s a fun stimulation; it’s tougher to tell when one idea ends and the next begins. Will I ever give this one a chance while I’m alert? Probably not – but if funky post-rock is your scene, you can’t go wrong here.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/30/24

DIIV – Frog In Boiling Water

This one kinda hurts to write. I really like DIIV, or at least I really like the idea of them. There’s no other band out there like them, a shoegaze-inspired psychedelic band doing tons of cool guitar noodling while still somehow firmly indie. “Doused” is easily one of my favorite songs. But the band’s fourth album was, to me, very limp. I respect bands taking new approaches, and I seem to (thankfully!) be in a tiny minority here, as the record is getting rave reviews. The music is denser and slower, with the fun noodling replaced by droning chords. It’s alright in practice, but an album full of it gets tedious quickly. I think the parts are better than the whole, as the album needed some songs of other tempos either quicker or slower. It didn’t click with me. Then again, this isn’t the first time DIIV hasn’t clicked with me – so maybe someday it will. For now, it’s…fine.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 5/24/24

Good Looks – Lived Here For A While

Alright I’m way behind and I don’t remember this album completely clearly so let’s be quick – this is a wickedly fun indie album, mostly standard indie but with some threatening shoegaze elements. I think I was just in the right mood for something like this, because it scratched an itch that I didn’t realize I had. There’s a handful of great songs here, and nearly all of them are inherently listenable. Very fun stuff!

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 6/7/24

Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown

I’m not overly familiar with Portishead, what I’ve heard I’ve liked, but it isn’t music I feel any nostalgia for personally. I’m even less familiar with solo endeavors from their singer, Beth Gibbons, who dropped her first proper solo album 33 years after the first Portishead record. It’s a gorgeous album, one that starts innocently before expanding into something grander. The cover implies a folksy affair, and at most times it is. It’s brooding chamber pop, sometimes soft but sometimes sinister, like slipping back into a nightmare. It’s also usually acoustic, but when the guitars kick in, they really kick in – some of these songs drone and shout loudly, unexpected explosions after multiple songs of slumber. It’s a gorgeous record, one of both extremes, yet often just restrained chamber pop. We expected nothing less.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 5/17

Oceanator – Everything Is Love and Death

I love Oceanator for the same reason I love illuminati hotties – basic, effective indie-punk. And like IH, Oceanator is much more indie than punk, just with some occasional punk flares. There isn’t much to say here, it’s another very standard but very fun record. There’s something very comforting about Elise Okusami’s music: it’s warm and inviting even as she sings about interpersonal differences. This isn’t really any different than previous Oceanator records, but hey the system still works. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/30/24

Aborted – Vault of Horrors

Now here’s something you don’t see every day – a death metal album with full collaborations. Every song features a different guest vocalist, so the full effect is one that’s far more unpredictable than a standard death metal release. It’s fun throughout, the songs rarely fall victim to normal death metal trappings. I will say, there isn’t really a standout song; they’re all good, but none are great. But considering how repetitive the genre can be, we’ll call it a win. Riffs, drums, screams, and massive ridiculousness, what more could you need?

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 3/15/24

Beeef – Somebody’s Favorite

Bear with me, because there’s a few blast reviews I didn’t get to before leaving for a two-week, offline vacation. This is one and it is just no longer fresh in my brain. But, Beeef is one of Boston’s most prized groups right now, and Favorite showcases why. The band plays patient indie, nostalgic tunes about regional memories. The songs are conventionally appealing, but don’t have a forced alignment to radio structures. Some songs barely hit two minutes, some stretch past six. There’s a maturity here well beyond their goofy band name. Beeef has been great for years, and this only elevates them further. Please, check them out. This Beeef has some mustard on it.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 9/6/24

Kal Marks – Wasteland Baby

Kal Marks are one of my favorite Boston bands, even more so than Beeef, and yet this album still obliterated my expectations. The Kal Marks wheelhouse is midtempo post-hardcore that’s very bass-y in both music and vocals. Generally, their songs are ones that are heavy and divisive, but not exactly inaccessible. Here, they branch out a bit, introducing some poppier elements and some more optimistic lyrics. There’s plenty of just heavy shit, too, though; it’s a well-rounded record. Quite frankly, it’s one of the best heavy albums I’ve heard all year, local bias or not. Nearly every song floored me in some way. If you’re into a variety of post-hardcore bands like METZ or Protomartyr, then add this one to your list. They’ve done it again. This will absolutely be one of my year-end favorites. Finally, a good album with the name “Wasteland Baby.”

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 9/13/24

Uranium Club – Infants Under the Bulb

This one came via recommendation from someone who I believed referred to it as punk; the band name and song titles certainly indicated so. It took me a few songs to really vibe with the style, which is really more post-punk than anything, but not really in the same style as other bands I’ve covered this year like Cheekface or Guppy. This band has a lot of energy and spunk, they just present it in an odd way. The talk-sung lyrics didn’t really work for me at first, but I wasn’t expecting something like it. Once I got more into it, I found some stuff to appreciate. The band has boldness and humor in their lyrics. My two favorite tracks came back-to-back, “2-600-LULLABY” and “Abandoned By The Narrator.” Stick around for the comically named “Big Guitar Jackoff In The Sky,” which aptly has some of the finest guitar work of this year. Fun stuff, but some of it is just a head-scratcher.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 3/1/24

Chromeo – Adult Contemporary

Another release that I jumped into blind, hell it wasn’t even really the genre I was expecting. I’ve definitely always lumped Chromeo and Chromatics together in my brain even though they’re not (particularly) similar. This was slight but ultimately fun funk music. The duo has been around a while and it’s clear this album is not meant for the youth – it’s a record about staying funky into middle age. There’s some tongue-in-cheek stuff (check the title!) but it’s also mostly played seriously. It’s very 2010’s, and it sticks to one gameplan. What starts as a fun record gets pretty played out by the midpoint, and less inspired. The duo is high-energy, but playing it very safe, which is fatal to the record’s back half. Still, throw on the first couple tracks for a quick lil dance party. We finally found the white boys bussin it down sexual style. 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 2/16/24

MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks

Let’s not mince words – this was my most anticipated record of 2024. The first single off this album, “Rudolph” was one of my favorite songs of 2023. The second single, “She’s Leaving You,” is easily making my 2024 list. Lenderman’s primary band, Wednesday, handily won my Album of the Year mark in 2023. I really set my sights too high on this one, as it didn’t quite deliver, but that’s on me – it’s one of the best records of the year. Lenderman’s solo music bridges the gap between Neil Young and Kurt Vile; it’s off-the-cuff guitar playing and talk-sung vocals, with intricate and specific lyrics that detail American loneliness. Lenderman’s previous album focused on the grungier side of those artists, and this one is heavier on the Americana side. There’s enough Southern gothic here to make Flannery O’Connor happy but, predictably, there’s a lot of humor and just unpredictable references that make these stories entertaining. I don’t think Neil Young ever sang about Ferraris, Guitar Hero or the Cars film franchise. I always love specificity in lyrics even if it makes the songs less applicable – to me, it shows personality and care. Lenderman is always all about that. Only complaint here is that the energetic/somber balance is off in favor of the latter, but it’s a minor complaint. This guy is just on a different level from everyone else.

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 9/6/24

Tierra Whack – WORLD WIDE WHACK

Ever since releasing a 15-song, 15-minute album, Tierra Whack has established herself as one of the more ambitious and exciting acts in rap. WWW follows the artist’s signature short songs, with only one song over three minutes here. The livelier songs that kick off both halves of the album are easily the best – namely “MS BEHAVE” and “X,” high-energy ditties that don’t settle for any conventional rap sound. Most of the songs are more template – sometimes frustratingly so, but often they’re still quite enjoyable. It isn’t Whack’s finest work, but it’s fun top-to-bottom, and it’s over as soon as it starts. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 3/15/24

Sheer Mag – Playing Favorites

Sometimes you just need some good ol’ rock & roll. I was raised on classic rock and I will always have a deep appreciation for it. I love all of it, but the bluesy hard-rock of ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Foghat, etc, is music I particularly like. That’s what Sheer Mag has always done at least somewhat, and they lean way into it here. Good old guitar rock. The song “Eat It And Beat It” – an obvious play on “Hit It And Quit It” – will certainly be the best straightforward rock song I hear this year. It’s fun as hell. The best songs on the album are. There’s a lot of complacency here too, to be fair – a handful of rock songs that don’t really bring the heat and just exist. They prevent this from being an excellent album, but it is still a very good and fun one. In fact, it helps them align even more with classic rock bands – it’s all about the singles.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 3/1/24

Uniform – American Standard

Uniform’s first few albums were solid but I kept waiting for a breakout release. 2020’s Shame was that release, a mix of industrial guitars and guttural post-hardcore that seemed to come out of the same catacombs on that album’s cover. The band’s newest album is impossibly even bleaker, complete with a smog-heavy cover of smog-plagued rural anywhere. The band also sounds even bleaker, and stretches themselves way out of a comfort zone. That comfort zone is reasonably-lengthed songs. Side A of this record is one, 21-minute song. Side B is only three songs. By stretching their songs out, the band can hammer home the innate misery of their music. This is angry, humorless stuff, just the absolute depths of unhappiness. Uniform is not an easy band to classify musically, even harder here because they stretch into doom-metal for the first time. But this isn’t really metal, and not really post-hardcore. It exists in its own dimension, a hell dimension of some sort. This is not something that’s appealing to most people, but I love this band and they crushed my highest expectations.

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 8/23/24

Einstürzende Neubauten – Rampen (apm: alien pop music)

This project has mostly resulted in me showing my ass a lot, and here I must do it again: I’ve listened to very little Einstürzende Neubauten in my time. It’s not like there’s little to listen to, this is the band’s 13th album in a 40-odd year career, plus tons of other releases. Although the industrial pioneers initially started by making super abrasive music, they’ve cooled off over the years. This is the only later-career album I’ve heard, and I got what I expected – mostly very chill music with an industrial background. Some of these songs stretch a bit (or fully) into ambient territory, although the better ones are more melodic. It’s never really heavy, opting instead for balanced rhythms. The opening two songs are quirky and fun, the two best on the album. There’s way too much, at 15 songs and 74 minutes, and a lot of it can feel like bloat. But, it’s a great workday record, surprising for a band that used to be so aggressive!

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 4/5/24

Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition

I always have trouble writing about death metal, so much of it is so similar that it can be difficult to separate bands, even if the albums are differing in quality. So excuse me when I just say – this is good ass death metal. I’ve loved Gatecreeper for a few years now, and this just rips. It’s not the most interesting Gatecreeper album, I think some previous ones have been more ambitious or exploratory. But, there’s nothing wrong with playing the basics when you’re this good at them. Sometimes, you just need the ground-pounding albums like this.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 5/17/24

Chick Corea & Béla Fleck – Remembrance

I am but one man who mostly loves garage rock, so I simply don’t keep up with modern jazz like I wish I could. Imagine my surprise at seeing two of my favorite jazz artists collaborating, hit immediately by the shock of remembering that the former artist has passed. This record is technically a compilation, a mix of studio songs, improvisations and live tracks, but it doesn’t feel like one. Everything is coherent and similar, and the smatterings of applause throughout signify a captive, sometimes nonexistent live audience. With Corea on piano and Fleck on banjo, you likely know what you’re going to get – and there’s a lot of it. It’s a beautiful set of collaborations, often just the two men alone, together. Very pretty and very fun music for any jazz fan.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 5/10/24

Kim Petras – Slut Pop Miami

I contain multitudes. Listening to this a day after Corea/Fleck was a whirlwind. This mini-album is both a parody of and the logical end to the 00’s pop scene, a set of short songs that are as sexually explicit as humanly possible. Gone are the metaphors, gone is even something like “If You Seek Amy,” replaced by songs like “Butt Slutt” and “Can we fuck?” On the one hand, the songs are fun, even if repetitive and simplistic. On the other hand, you have to wonder what the point is. Petras has made a name for herself in the same simple, bubblegum pop, so if this is satirical, then it starts in the wrong gate. More importantly, does this require this level of analysis? Hell, “Anal Y Sis” could be a track on this very album. It’s fun! 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 2/14/24

Kate Nash – 9 Sad Symphonies

I’ve been saying for years how unfair and unfortunate it is that Kate Nash fell out of the zeitgeist. I maintain that her previous album, 2018’s Yesterday Was Forever, is deeply underrated. Unfortunately, her comeback album just doesn’t have the juice. The indie singer has always had a flair for punk, even recording with bands like FIDLAR, but this record dilutes that energy. These are standard, template indie songs that are inherently pleasing but little else. The string-based opener feels like a red herring, but it isn’t. These tracks just don’t have the fitful spunk that set Nash apart from her contemporaries. If it were a quiet year for indie, this might be one to check out. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Grade: 6/10   Initial release date: 6/21/24

Big|Brave – A Chaos of Flowers

Big|Brave are a fascinating trio. They belong to the same circle of extreme metal like The Body and Full of Hell, and they belong to the same circle of Gothic folk like Chelsea Wolfe and Marissa Nadler. They’ve carved out a niche with practically no contemporaries. Flowers is a beautiful album, the songs are as haunting and gorgeous as the band has ever recorded. Every now and then, they remind you that they can get heavy and deeply inaccessible, but often they keep it quiet. Sometimes these songs edge on pure minimalism – the band works to hit both sides of the spectrum, and they do so very successfully. This isn’t a metal album, but it’s an album best appreciated by metal fans. A fascinating record by a fascinating band.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 4/19

Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All

Like any true metal band, Darkthrone has petered out into legacy status. Darkthrone were instrumental in the foundation of black metal, though they were just as quick to abandon it. In the years since, they’ve remained active as a duo, releasing albums meandering around concoctions of black, doom, and speed metal or even hardcore punk. This release is largely doom-metal based, although not exclusively. I’ll be honest, the first song is irritating. It’s boring doom with off-key vocals. But some of these songs rip, especially the ones that hide energy or have tempo changes. Darkthrone doesn’t really have anything to prove to anyone these days, but they’re still making solid metal records. 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 4/26/24

Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk

I was hesitant to even put this on my list because the list is so clogged and I wasn’t sure I’d get around to it. But rave reviews of both professional and personal manners convinced me – and it’s fun as hell. A loaded but never bloated indie-pop record, this one is not afraid to take chances. One song might be bouncy, standard indie-pop a la Charly Bliss, the next might be jazzy indie. The duo jump into 70’s ballads and drone guitar on a whim. A curated tracklist means the more ambitious tunes elevate the more standard tunes, so they all bounce off each other rather than seem like filler. It’s nearly an hour and yet there isn’t a skippable moment. I’m not sure if I ever heard their debut album, but this sophomore release feels like a true mission statement. Don’t sleep on this one. 

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 8/23/24

Fontaines D.C. – Romance

The previous Fontaines D.C. records were inconsistent in how much they grabbed my attention, but they were consistent in that the songs all kinda sounded the same. The (very) Irish post-punk band has had a relatively standard sound prior to Romance. Well the book’s out the window. This record actually has a majority of songs that are ballads, but the band hits the highest energy of their career too. They rap, there’s punk, and there’s tender love tunes. The band has always sounded a little inauthentic in their emotions previously; not here. This is earnest and real from a band that has never sounded so ambitious or energized. Don’t go in expecting the high-octane energy of the singles, but do go in expecting what is easily the band’s best album to date. This will go down as a highlight in a stacked indie year. UPDATE: Shockingly, they picked up a few Grammy noms for this. Well deserved, lads.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 8/23/24

Chastity Belt – Live Laugh Love

I was a fan of Chastity Belt’s early work before the band went a little too soft for my taste. I’ll admit that I haven’t really kept up with their output but the album title and cover combo grabbed me, as did a general desire to see where the indie-punkish ladies were at. The soft-indie turn has mostly continued, although the album does offer some surprises. Early track “Funny” has an ominous drone quality, effective and unexpected. Other early tracks are fun and bouncy, but the back half suffers. Side B is mostly very uninspired, just routine indie. It’s a shame because there’s some good stuff here, but it gets very tedious. 

Grade: 6.5/10   Initial release date: 3/29/24 

Bat For Lashes – The Dream of Delphi

What a year it’s been for mature, legacy indie artists. I haven’t really kept up with BFL, but as a human with ears and a heart, I love her early albums. Delphi is in the same realm; at its best, these are dreamy and warm indie songs, almost hallucinatory. The title track – presented as both the opener and the closer with an extended version – is one of the most engaging and haunting songs I’ve heard all year. Other points on this album hit a volume so low that I had trouble even hearing anything on the train – not the ideal listening situation. Indeed, there’s a little too little here, the true structured moments are too far in between. But the great songs are great, and worth the price of admission on their own.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 5/31/24

Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well

There’s been a few examples this year of artists I love rebounding from weaker albums (Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, ScHoolboy Q). Add Kacey to the mix. Coming off her breathtaking and Grammy-crushing country album Golden Hour, Kacey turned to a more pop-focus for Star-Crossed, and it was, bluntly, meh. For Deeper Well, she’s gone back to the atmospheric country that made her an arena star. It’s a welcome return, as the whole here is excellent. It’s a dreamy album, the same summer-y camping vibes as before. She’ll probably never make another record as good as Hour, but that’s an immense bar to clear. This one doesn’t really have standout songs like that record did, but the full product is wonderful. She’s also shifted her lyrics into a more serious zone. So many of her previous songs coupled breezy music with lyrics about wasting time and days spent milling around. Here, she’s quitting weed and strengthening her relationships. This serves as both a sequel and companion piece to Hour. Loved it.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 3/15/24

And that’s another month down! I hope you perused this and found something that sounds interesting to you – or potentially something to avoid. Check back in next month, I’ll be going over some great death metal, a couple of my favorite rap records of the year, a ton more great indie, a wild African album and, unfortunately, what’s probably my most disappointing record of the year. All that and more!

The Rundown: August 2024

Don’t adjust your TV sets, it is indeed October. I’ve spent the better part of the summer preparing for and going on a massive 2-week vacation, and I haven’t been able to give my blog the attention it deserves. If you’re stumbling across this post, I’ve been doing flash reviews of (almost) every new album I listen to this year, from Ariana Grande to local hardcore bands. This month, I actually have 42 albums but for the sake of my sanity and yours, I’m going to cap this post at 35.

Coming up below, we’ve got a handful of indie-pop artists, some experimental African music, some iffy dance music, the only album this year I haven’t bothered to finish, and a lot of good old-fashioned garage rock.

Jack White – No Name

I sometimes forget how much I love Jack White. Across his works with the Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Dead Weather and solo, there’s only four albums I would say I dislike. He’s always been an impatient songwriter, but his records have had measured levels of ambition. No Name might be his most down-to-earth set since the middle of the White Stripes run – just a good ol’ collection of no-frills blues rock. It’s the most White Stripes album since, to be honest, Get Behind Me Satan. There’s some of that garage-punk energy, a lot of bluesy riffs, and just compact songwriting everywhere. Some of the back half gets a little repetitive, there is a bit of an itch for some of Jack’s more ambitious stuff to be had. But overall, this is just a slambang rock record. “It’s Rough On Rats” into “Archbishop Harold Holmes” into the manic “Bombing Out” will go down as one of the best three-song runs of any 2024 album. And the closer “Terminal Archenemy Endling” – maybe the only patient song on the album – may be better than all of them. Another critical strike against the tedious and harmful “Rock is dead!!” crowd. 

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 8/2/24

Liquid Mike – Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot

You can’t please all the people, and similarly, you can’t always be pleased. Despite my efforts to like all genres, there’s a couple I just don’t – and pop-punk is at the top of the list. It’s a marriage of two genres I love, one built entirely on contradictions and an inherent insincerity that can only come from combining two directly opposing forces. Anyways, I liked this about as much as I can like a pop-punk album; it’s low-key and it’s got some spunk. It’s more punk than pop, with enough energy and fuzz to separate it from some lamer counterparts. The related artists pages for these groups are all interchangeable bands in Carhartt beanies, but Liquid Mike might be one of the more fun ones. Not bad, if not really for me. 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 2/2/24

MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball

From a Liquid Mike to a very solid one. I’m generally not into rap that’s on the more lowkey side, but when it’s as effortless as this is, then it’s undeniable. I’ve never listened to MIKE but I keep seeing his name as a critical darling, and for good reason. Pinball is a masterpiece that doesn’t feel like one; quiet and short tunes that hide their bluntness in plain sight. Only three of the eleven songs are over two minutes, tunes that feel more like daydreams and out-loud musings. There’s a run in the middle of the album that’s just extraordinary. Great lyrics, great beats, great ideas. Real winner here.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 3/6/24

A. G. Cook – Britpop

Yowza. It’s already bold to name your album after a mostly defunct genre, and much more so to make a triple album. I don’t know much about Cook, and went into this with only a rough idea what to expect. The three mini-albums played out pretty much as I anticipated, and on the whole he justifies the length. The first disc marries the two ideas that will populate the subsequent albums, a mix of electro and indie. The songs on disc 1 are by and large very fun, and very thrilling dance songs. As if the album isn’t already both bold and long, Cook kicks it off with a track just shy of 10 minutes. It’s also one of the best songs across the whole marathon. Disc 2 is certainly the weakest, and the one that I would stereotypically enjoy the most – the indie disc. It’s a collection of loved but ultimately worn and rote indie tunes that are pleasant to listen to, but don’t pass any sort of longevity test. They’re a majority guitar-based, which does offer a nice interlude between electro influences. And yes, disc 3 is a majority electro tunes. They’re also very fun, but much closer to straight dance music than disc 1. The indie elements are largely drained out in favor of a full dance party, and a party it is. It’s a very fun way to close out the spectacle, especially after a more timid centerpiece. I listened to this as three distinct discs across three weeks, and I’d recommend that approach – at 100 minutes, it’s too much of a good thing for one sitting, even if the ‘good thing’ is multiple things. But as chunks, it’s a lot of fun. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 5/10/24

JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

I’m sorry that I’m the flavor of caucasian who loves Peggy specifically but I am, and this is his finest set since Veteran. It’s also the most manic thing he’s ever released, closer to hyperpop than anything else. It’s absurdly beat-heavy, dense, and thrilling. Peggy even gets somewhat lost in the front half, in songs that focus heavily on the bass beats. He shines through on the more measured back half, with some songs that get much more earnest. His guests on this album are Vince Staples and Denzel Curry, two guys known just as much for their intense and mainstream-eschewing rap. So you know what you’re gonna get – paranoid and catchy music that’s too abrasive to play on the family speakers. One of my favorites of the year. I think Knocked Loose still has the best album with a cross on the cover, though.

Grade: 8.5/10   Initial release date: 8/1/24

The Hope Conspiracy – Tools of Oppression/Rule by Deception

Long live Boston hardcore. This post is probably going to end up being very long and there isn’t much to say so let’s keep this short. The Hope Conspiracy are legends, and this is a legacy album. Good solid hardcore, it doesn’t really have anything new to say but it’s all grit and well-established political lyrics. There’s a million other Boston hardcore records like it – including a few by this band themselves – but if you’re like me, you’re always down for a bit more.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 5/31/24

Clairo – Charm 

Boston has always been a hub for all things punk and indie, and it only makes sense that the city would claim someone to rule over the current indie-pop movement. A lot of the over-produced, saccharine indie-pop can get repetitive easily, but Clairo’s new one is genuinely beautiful. I wasn’t super into her last album, but this one is full of small, pretty and balanced songs. The production is minimalist, avoiding the trappings of many of Clario’s cohorts. Instead, the focus is on her gorgeous vocals and the threadbare instrumentation. I need to give this one a second listen – the back half was hampered by getting on a train full of inebriated boomers going to a Journey concert and I could earnestly barely hear the album. And yet – it grabbed me fully.

Also, please check out the music video for “Juna.” While I am not in the video, it was clearly filmed before a wrestling event I went to. Most of these wrestlers are local ones that aren’t known outside the area, and now there’s millions of eyes on them. My little wrestling boys are in the stars!

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 7/12/24

Frances Forever – Lockjaw

While Clairo may have claimed the Boston indie-pop throne, Frances Forever is still putting up a fight. Though named after a Mitski song, their music much more closely resembles that of beabadoobee or even Girl In Red, indie-pop that’s beat-heavy and produced to the max. It puts them at a disadvantage, because it is tough to disentangle this album from an already oversaturated market. The advantage here though lies all in the lyrics. “Mr. Man” is an outright funny response to a creepy older man hitting on them. There’s an unfiltered quality to the lyrics that intentionally spar with the largely innocent music. This is evident in the bluntly titled songs “Weeb” and “Monica Gives Me Lockjaw.” While there’s already too many of these pleasant, overproduced indie-pop albums, this one scrapes by on words.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 6/28/24

Yumi Nu – BLOODY

Given the album’s lo-fi and pink cover, I went into this thinking it might be some kind of glitchy or even vaporwave type of thing – but it’s more of the overproduced indie-pop similar to Frances Forever. This album isn’t particularly interesting or unique, but at only 7 songs and 23 minutes, it isn’t too much either. Instead it’s a healthy dose of indie-pop, a fun sample even if it falls far short of unique. Two songs on the back half, “Former Life” and “Pink Chalk” are the best on the album, two fun indie ditties. Nu is, for what it’s worth, the niece of Steve Aoki, and seems to be eschewing nepotism or automatic points in favor of doing her thing, which is cool. 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 5/24/24

Melvins – Tarantula Heart

This is one I was saving for an opportune time. As it turned out, that time was a morning hype-up for a big training at work I had to lead. I’m no diehard Melvins guy, but I love their bigger works. The pre-grunge kinda-doom metal is so up my alley, and this album mostly works. I feel like Melvins had a quantity-over-quality period for a few years and it’s good to see them wean themselves off of it. The opening track here is bold, even by Melvins standards – a nineteen minute odyssey that’s a lot calmer and melodic than anyone would expect. It’s also the longest-ever Melvins album cut, at least that I can find. Side B is just classic Melvins though; brutally loud and heavy stoner-metal that isn’t interested in being glacial. “Working the Ditch” and “Allergic to Food” are absolute rippers, in line with Melvins classics. On the whole, it’s a curious listen, because the first half is just one instrumental, experimental track that maybe isn’t worth the time but maybe is. It’s only five songs total, but there’s only so much Melvins you can take at once. There’s some classic old school stuff here. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 4/19/24

Cola – The Gloss

Either there’s quietly a post-punk revolution happening, or these albums just happen to keep falling in my lap. Earnestly, I think it’s the former. Like Omni, Cheekface and GUPPY before them, Cola’s new album is metrical guitars and spoken lyrics, as much B-52s as it is Gang of Four, but softer than either. I’ve listened to a Cola album or two in the past, finding that I pretty much always like the songs without loving any of them. That trend continues on The Gloss, a disarmingly soft record that’s nonetheless Cola. Everything feels a little muted, and it makes for an inviting listen, even if it is often a bit tepid. It does need a bit more oomph at times, the whole affair feels a little lackluster by the end. But the approach is interesting, and bigger fans of the band might be super engaged with this.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 6/14/24

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flight b741

I came into this one with a lot of worry – I’m a King Gizz obsessive, one of the Gizzhead cult members, but I’ve never been much into their groovier stuff. I had heard that this one was a spiritual sequel to Fishing For Fishies, the penultimate entry in my ranking of their 26 albums. This was a lot of fun, however. KGLW had a few years where they got a bit lost in the quality v quantity debate, but they’ve now delivered three straight winners – in metal, krautrock and boogie, no less. This album is funky and bluesy, and often very spirited. A lot of Gizz’s lighter albums have been partially or fully improvised, but this album benefits from a locked-in band playing songs they’ve already jammed on before. This won’t go down as one of the best KGLW albums, but it’s one of the better recent ones – and certainly the best of the groove ones. No two Gizz fans will ever fully agree, so you probably don’t feel the same. I saw them a few days after the album’s release, and they played three cuts from this album – they ripped live.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/9/24

Melt-Banana – 3+5

Japan’s Melt-Banana served as my intro to noise music. They were the first, and for a long time only, noise band I really heard and digested; I’ve been a huge fan for almost 20 years now. Although the duo has gotten older and quainter, their hyper-aggressive punk is no less gnarly. Their first album in 11 years is short, and the songs are neither the experimental seconds-long chunks of Cactuses Come In Flocks nor the longer, more developed tracks of Cell-Scape. They’re the closest thing to true punk songs the band has done, and they absolutely rip. Every song rocks, and nearly all have the expected 1000BPM. Easily one of my favorite albums of the year, the duo was going to have to work hard to not make that cut. Also, I finally got to see them this spring – best show I’ve seen all year.

Grade: 8.5   Initial release date: 8/23/24

Four Tet – Three

I’ve always had an appreciation for electronic artists like Four Tet, but save a couple key artists (Depeche Mode, LCD Soundsystem), it’s only been recently that I’ve started to learn to really enjoy it. I say this to say that there’s a handful of electro-indie artists I’ve slept on, and I’m not overly familiar with Four Tet. By the commutative property, I assumed this would be something akin to Hot Chip, but it was much more ambient. It’s peaceful music, relaxing without being too calm or uninspired. As commuting music, it didn’t work too well, but I could see it being great working/studying music – it’s light but mentally stimulating enough to engage with. Not fully me music, but, I get it.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 3/15/24

Oso oso – Life Till Bones

Oso oso exists right on the line of indie and pop-punk where I tend to find bands I like, despite not liking the latter genre much. I’ve enjoyed all of their albums, this one no different. The band has a way of hiding some devastating stuff within simple, conventional music. These are quaint indie-ish songs, mostly unassuming, like a lot of the current wave of pop-punk. But beneath the surface is innate self-awareness and distressing truths far beyond most bands. It’s a personal record, and still not within humility and humor – with one of my favorite covers of the year.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/9/24

Cults – To The Ghosts

I was obsessed with Cults first hit, “Go Outside” in 2009 – it was the year I entered college, and I was bumping all the indie-pop I could find. But it was only recently that I realized that they’ve been scoring other hits this whole time and maintain a sizable fanbase (I’ve somehow missed their continued popularity and thought they were relegated to one-hit wonder). So I’m not incredibly familiar with most of their albums, but I think I can thread the needle, because this sounds pretty identical to 2009 Cults. The formula still works – dreamy, overly-feminine vocals and catchy guitar-pop. But the album slogs on with too many similar elements. It’s a fun listen, but there’s nothing here you haven’t heard before.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 7/26

The Smashing Pumpkins – Aghori Mhori Mei

Billy Corgan always has something to prove. The Pumpkins were always on the heavier side of the “grunge” spectrum, and had the side effect of producing some of the much, much worse post-grunge bands. Not content to be lumped in alongside Staind, Corgan kept pushing his band to be great (as a side note, I remain the only Zeitgeist stan). Now as the subject of memes, a wrestling promotion owner and a Qanon whacko, he’s still fighting. Even if this album isn’t a big notch in their catalog, you have to admire them for remaining ambitious. This album is a nice return to form after a few years of heady, conceptual nonsense – just a no-frills pseudo-metal album that rips more often than not. The two 6+ minute songs that kick the album off threaten more proggy stuff, but after that it’s just radio metal throwbacks. On the whole, a lot of the tunes are not actually all that interesting; however, the album has a signature sound that is unique from other Pumpkins albums. Also, a couple songs go hard as hell. The opening and closing songs, “Edin” and “Marnau,” are bonkers. Ultimately, it’s a mid-tier Pumpkins album. But considering their longevity and how many of their contemporaries have hit the complacent stage of their careers, that alone is worth celebrating.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 8/2/24

Stalefish – Stalefish Does America

Alright I need to come clean about this one. I heard a song from this band on the weekly SiriusXMU countdown and misheard the DJ, when he said it was an Austin band I heard a Boston band. I may not have bothered with the album had I heard him correctly, but I’m glad I did. As a debut, it’s still pretty green, but the band has a cool approach – 90’s style fuzzy indie rock, but with three lead singers. And they smartly kick the album off with one song apiece. It’s ultimately hit-and-miss, but I appreciate any 90’s throwbacks. Watch this space for more on them, they’ve already pumped their second album out too.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 1/12/24

Avalanche Kaito – Talitakum

I have no clue where I pulled this one from, and I wonder if I stumbled on it while forgetting the name of Hiatus Kaiyote. I put this one on completely blind, and my god, I loved it. It combines two things I love – noise music and African music – into one. Traditional African rhythms are deployed courtesy of singer Kaito Winse, while he’s backed by a noisy duo from Belgium. The result is a downright thrilling and unpredictable album that stays on the fun side of experimentation without sacrificing energy. This is the type of thing designed exactly for me, and I can’t wait to dig into their previous albums. It’s tough to talk about highly experimental music like this, but if it sounds up your alley, then it probably is. Definitely one of the better releases this year.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 4/12/24

WILLOW – empathogen

I haven’t kept up with Willow’s music at all, but I heard some buzz around this one and hey, new music is new music. I didn’t know what to expect but I certainly was caught off-guard. The young singer’s sixth (!) album is disarmingly pretty and quaint, some soft and emotional songs that drift through rock, R&B and jazz influences. It’s all very natural and effortless, her vocals smooth and the music heavenly. It’s a fine record, and in a less packed year it would be a standout. It’s fair to say that Willow wouldn’t have had a crumb of this much success without having world-famous parents, but don’t consider this to be nepo baby music – this is genuine stuff.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 5/3/24

WHY? – The Well I Fell Into

I’ve always had a weird relationship with the music of WHY?, an indie rock group fronted by rapper Yoni Wolf. A lot of their/his early music is experimental in a way that doesn’t click with me, and some of the output in the mid 2010’s I find shockingly terrible. But in between comes a couple of good albums and EP’s, including the genuine five-star classic Alopecia. Now in his mid-40’s, it seems Wolf has stopped letting his ambition get the best of him, a symptom of his best and worst albums. This album is quaint, personal songs that tone down the music. With relatively minimalistic, adult music and rapped lyrics, these tracks come off more like poems or notes read aloud. The whole isn’t fantastic, as there’s just a little something missing, but it’s refreshing to hear something so grounded from a man hell-bent on left turns. This is definitely the most accessible WHY? album, just not among the greatest.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 8/2/24

Los Campesinos! – All Hell

I feel like I’ve grown up with Welsh indie lifers Los Campesinos! Truthfully, I have. You look at the bouncy, quirky and goofy indie they were doing in 2009 and compare it to this record. I’ve been around since day one, and it’s so great to see the band come back to take a victory lap like this. This is the most mature they’ve ever sounded, a healthy mix of bombastic songs and quiet burners, an expected mix of lyrics that are both tongue-in-cheek and brutally emotional. The band has always been openly left-wing politically, but they’re unfiltered here, to great success. They’ve shaken off the directly catchy, vocals-and-bells rhythms of yesteryear in favor of indie that’s patient and introspective. That’s been the case for a while, but even more so here. The band sounds both calmer and angrier, an effect of maturity. But don’t think that’s all a serious affair, we’ve still got songs like “Adult Acne Stigmata,” “Hell In A Handjob” and “The Coin-Op Guillotine.” Yet another winner from one of the strongest catalogs out there. 

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 7/19/24

Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady

Man, what are we doing here? Even when I absolutely hate an album, I always finish it. I turned this off after three songs. I’ve never been an Em fan beyond a few of his serious songs; he’s technically proficient, sure, but I’ve never cared about what he has to say. He used to be edgy but this is just….sad. The ‘real’ Eminem is older and more mature, denouncing Trump and coming off as more moralistic. Part of this journey involves “killing off” his alter ego that says offensive stuff. But he allows one last, hour-long gasp from Slim. It’s an excuse to be offensive again that is, well, slim. He comes out of the gates with some transphobic jokes that would’ve been weak from Greg Gutfield in 2014. What comes after that? I couldn’t tell you, I turned it off. Who is this for? Is Em trying to bring back a conservative fanbase? It’s not like he’s got anything pertinent to say. The minimal amount of this that I listened to made Em sound like that 45-year-old guy who still talks about high school, the guy who has Doritos as a lunch, the guy who still says “le epic” in earnest. After years of quietly cultivating a more specific audience, Em does everything he can to offend and agitate his listeners. It’s an unbelievable, tactical, unforced error. In killing off Slim Shady, he may have killed off Marshall Mathers. Who gives a shit.

Grade: DNF   Initial release date: 7/12/24

 

Tonnerre – La Nuit Sauvage

Between Gojira playing the Olympics and this stellar album, it could be a big year for French metal. Tonnerre – who are actually Canadian, I’m just doing a false equivalency here – are styled after old-school hard rock, a la Blue Oyster Cult. I have a lot of love in my heart for these bands, and Tonnerre do a real fine job emulating them. There’s a thin line between cool 70’s hard rock and skidmark 00’s radio rock, and Tonnerre smartly never cross it. It’s a calm and collected rock record. With lyrics entirely in French, it’s easy to get lost in the music. I do wish they let loose a little more, they stay needlessly restrained. But, I had a blast listening to it too. It’s like Deep Purple is fresh and young all over again. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 4/5/24

Thee Oh Sees – SORCS 80

I’m a diehard Osees fan and even I can’t keep up with the lore. The band changes genres as often as they change the spelling of their name (long live Oh Sees, The OCS, The Ohsees, etc). Jon Dwyer particularly lost his mind during COVID, releasing a bunch of deeply experimental, mostly unlistenable solo records before looping back around to garage rock. Now, he’s doing a full punk album with no guitars. It sounds like a writing exercise. The album is centered around grimy synth and samples, and it’s mostly effective. Like a lot of Dwyer records, the best songs are the biggest bruisers. Some songs lose their way in midtempo land, but the punchy screamy punk tunes just rock. I’m not sure why he decided to ditch the guitars to write songs that sound like guitars anyways, but I can’t explain most of what Dwyer does. I’m just along for the ride. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/9/24

Ty Segall – Love Rudiments

For a few years, Ty Segall and Osees worked hand-in-hand as the two prolific monsters of garage rock. But while Dwyer lost his mind, Segall cemented his. Over the last few years, his output has slowed way down and his music has gotten more mature. He still dabbles in experimentation, though, and his second release of 2024 cashes in some saved up checks. Love Rudiments is four tracks, but really many small segments, and comprised of (almost) entirely percussion. I’m a huge sucker for percussion music, so naturally I loved this. It’s fun and jazzy, never getting too heady or too “Moby Dick” freakout, just pleasant drum music. It is interesting that there are still distinct Segall rhythms in there. Some of the segments manage to sound like traditional Ty despite having no guitars or vocals. As much as it is experimental, it’s not a total left-field jump, just a different extension of his sound. It isn’t as inaccessible as it sounds, and I welcome anyone to listen to it who likes, well, drums.

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/30/24

Justice – Hyperdrama

I’ve always liked what tidbits of Justice’s music I’ve heard, but it’s never grabbed me like it has many of my peers. It’s also never grabbed me in the same way as say, Daft Punk or Aphex Twin. The French duo hasn’t exactly been prolific over the years, which makes this album all the more disappointing. While the opening two tracks set a blistering dancehall pace, much of this album feels designed for the Coachella stage. Light, somewhat generic beats dominate much of this album, with little else to grab on to. I’m sure these songs are mesmerizing live, but as something to just listen to casually, it leaves a lot to be desired. The album ropes back into some cool stuff towards the end, but the middle half is a bloat of unambitious dance tracks that sound less like Justice and more like the middle manager EDM fest bands that have tried to feebly imitate Justice. 

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 4/26/24

Jane Weaver – Love In Constant Spectacle

You’ll have to forgive me because I’ve fallen way behind in my reviews, and this one won’t be getting the proper unconditional praise that it deserves. Like many albums this year, I tossed this on completely blind. The descriptions of Weaver toss around terms like “experimental” and “free jazz” but this is mostly woman-and-a-guitar music; if that sounds like denigration, it isn’t. I was floored by how beautiful these songs are. They’re minimalistic, a small sound in an open space, and yet captivating. Tons of singer-songwriters over the years have tried to capture the feeling of playing in the same room as the listener, and many would be jealous to do it the way Weaver does on every single song here. The rhythms are so simple yet riveting across the board. Some songs are certainly better than others – but the best ones propel this album into an elite territory. Some really special stuff.

Grade: 8/10   Initial release date: 4/5/24

X – Smoke and Fiction

I often wonder about what X would look like if they had stayed together all these years. Would they have gone the way of ‘sellout’ punk bands doing cross-brand merch like Green Day? Would they be conservative cranks like Misfits? Would they be liberal cranks who hate each other like Dead Kennedys? All bad outcomes, and none of any concern. X’s second reunion album – and final album – is a whirlwind of the same dual-singer rockabilly-punk that made them an 80’s staple. The reunion novelty isn’t as strong as it was on Alphabetland, but the songs are tighter and more focused. There’s nothing really extraordinary here, but it’s just cool to see legends go around one last time. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/2/24

Never Broke Again – Compliments of Grave Digger Mountain

Alright look I’m very far behind on reviews and I’m historically bad at writing about hip-hop, so let’s just say that you know what you’re gonna get with this one. I have a soft spot for NBA YoungBoy, who is featured on nearly every song. The album is credited to the label he runs, so while there isn’t a true lead artist here, there’s just a couple people throughout the whole album. It’s just very good trap; fun, blistering songs with minimal beats, but not so minimal that they feel minimal. I was vibing at work to this one pretty hard. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 3/8/24

illuminati hotties – POWER

My birth month was graced with new albums from a half-dozen artists I absolutely love, IH included in it. I’m a big fan of what Sarah Tudzie brings to the table, a hybrid of pop-punk and indie that allows for songs that always sound familiar yet differ album-to-album. POWER is definitely on the softer side of things, much more indie-based than some previous releases. I certainly prefer her harder-edged stuff, but there’s a lot to like here too. These songs are simple and catchy, nice little personal odes. Not to deliver a backhanded compliment, but Tudzie’s voice has always been somewhat plain – here that’s effective, because it sounds like she’s in the room with you, improvising a ditty. It’s a unique feeling, and the songs benefit from it. It isn’t the most exciting album, but it’s got a very broad appeal. 

Grade: 7.5   Initial release date: 8/23/24

Charly Bliss – Forever

What a gem! Charly Bliss’s first two albums cemented the band as a pop-heavy indie with some punk spirit, in the same realm as the Beths. After a brief break, the band is back – with pure bubblegum pop-rock. This record is the same overproduced, big beat pop that I was lamenting before, but it’s used to full effect here. This record is fun as all hell. The best songs are mostly the bangers, and they come early. But the back half has a couple sneakily exceptional ballads, too. This is truly exceptional pop music. For more on this one, check my concert review. 

Grade: 7.5/10   Initial release date: 8/16/24

So Totally – Double Your Relaxation

The shoegaze revival is alive and well! I already knew one song going into this but I was still caught off-guard. The best songs on this record are very dense, very heavy and cryptic shoegaze songs. They’re buried under lots of distortion and many moving parts. I wouldn’t recommend this for someone looking for Slowdive, it doesn’t have the atmospheric rhythms and it isn’t soothing. It’s a record to put on with headphones and dig into all the puzzle pieces you can find, to see if you can assemble a song. Where the album suffers is quieter songs – there’s a few, and they don’t accomplish much. The back half pulled me out some, it’s deflating. The quieter moments are critical to the album, but they come too late and stick around too long. That said, it’s a really unique listen, and some of the individual songs are brilliant.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 5/17/24

Zayn – Room Under The Stairs

History doesn’t remember that George Harrison was the first Beatle to release a solo album, and history likely won’t remember that Zayn was the first One Direction member with a solo record. Zayn’s solo career has been overshadowed by Harry Styles’s. But where Harrison came out of the gate with folk rock far more experimental than what his band was doing, Zayn has been stuck circling the drain of tepid R&B. His debut was stark in how quickly he departed from his group’s saccharine pop, but he’s now been doing the same album repeatedly. He’s got nothing new here, and he sounds like he knows it. Sure, his voice is great throughout, but he doesn’t sound like he’s enjoying himself. This is perfectly listenable, but there’s a reason why he’s gotten overshadowed by Harry. Too long, and much too boring.

Grade: 6/10   Initial release date: 5/17/24

Dr. Dog – Dr. Dog

Bear with me for a second, because this is a fun full circle for me. Indie-folk legends Dr. Dog’s 2012 album Be The Void was the first album I ever reviewed, back in my college paper. I didn’t know what I was doing, and didn’t really know the band, but knew I wanted to take over the music column. It was a dry run (or an application?), and obviously I passed as I’m still doing the song-and-dance today. So a big shoutout to Dr. Dog, despite me really not keeping up with their output, for letting this blog happen at all. 

Anyways – it’s a fine record, but I wanted to like it more. It sounds like it was pulled from a 2010 deep freeze, it’s got the same folksy, warm indie that the band was doing then. That’s not a complaint, these songs are super inviting. But a majority of them are a little too soft, a little too muted. That works for some songs, but a whole record of it gets somewhat drab. It’s got a specific audience – people just a bit older than me that planted their flag in 00’s indie and haven’t moved on. Again, nothing wrong with that – respectable, even – but it means the record is just another notch rather than something noteworthy.

Grade: 7/10   Initial release date: 7/19/24

And that does it for…..August. Thanks for reading any of this that you did! There will be fewer reviews in September – I was preoccupied with fun family stuff. But check back in a week or so for that post, there’s a lot of great albums in the pipeline.

Rock on!