MELOMANIA begins Month 3 with a post that we think (hope) is excellent music.
MELOMANIA begins Month 3 with a post that we think (hope) is excellent music.
It's all here to be enjoyed - each one in its entirety.
ACT I SCENE II
Starting the third month of the year and sad to say the hits are few and far between. This week in particular was one full of soundalikes. One too many artists who clearly have talent but are possibly being pushed to either write or sound like the most successful artists of today. Let us say, with four weeks to go in Q1 - a handful of 2023 releases remain in heavy rotation. The rest are sadly drifting off. So in tribute to our friend at Recommended Listen, who reviewed more quality stuff this week than ANYONE and then briefly hung up his spurs - we offer this brief summary of music we think you should be listening to.
Yeah, we said “should,” because it is about what is not only worth your money - but your time.
Kräm - När ska vi fira livet [LP](PNKSLM/Redeye)
ROZI PLAIN - Prize [LP/CD](Memphis Industries/Redeye)
PEARLA - Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming [LP/CD](Spacebomb)
JOHN KEEK - Do You Love John Keek? [LP](PLZ Make It Ruins)
INDEX FOR WORKING MUSIK - Dragging The Needlework for the Kids at Uphole [LP](Tough Love UK)
SHAME - Food For Worms [LP/CD](Dead Oceans/Secretly/AMPED)
OOZING WOUND - We Cater To Cowards [LP/CD](Thrill Jockey/Redeye)
IBEX CLONE - All Channels Clear [LP/CD](Goner/The Orchard)
Still holding on fresh albums: Algiers - Shook (Matador,) Big | Brave - Nature Morte (Thrill Jockey,) and @-Mind Palace Music (Carpark.) In addition, this week brings out a pair of promising releases in Kali Uchis - Red Moon on Venus (Geffen) and Object of Affection - Field of Appearances (Profound Lore.)
We also wish to add this scintillating pair.
WEVAL - Remember [LP/CD](Technicolour NED)
SynthPop is not supposed to be this seductive. The Amsterdam duo Weval restlessly combines a Portishead-like “noir” mystique with exotic new creations of sound. “Everything Went Well” is a typical Weval track. Subtle. Mysterious. Vocals are heavily effected and a brilliant mix isolates the almost-dry rhythm tracks up front so that vocals and synth ideas can bounce around drenched in effects. “Everything Went Well” weirdly echoes the striated funk of Laundromat but with less interest on structure. Their epic “Don’t Lose Time” kicks off like a slow-building dance jam. The gated strikes and synth bellows are fresh and new. Weval lets it all spill over into a cascading song that carries the immediacy of Tame Impala adorned by Musik Kosmiche and Acid House ideas. Listen to “Losing Days” as Weval brings their drum sounds out of weird loops and then lets the subterranean organ part reverently and slowly introduce the central part of the song. Add the alluring vocals and Weval could become the EDM/Electronic version of Sault. As far as a single goes, “Is That How You Feel It” comes out of nowhere first drawing you closer and then enticing you with its beat. This kind of song could be on “Euphoria” one week and set the charts on fire the next.
AUGENWASSER - The Big Swim [LP](Les Disques Bongo Joe SWI)
Switzerland’s Elias Raschle pulls a bit of Bryan Ferry together with a reverse Alex Cameron on this synth-drenched personal examination of love and its aftermath. There is no formula for Augenwasser, but with surprisingly few instruments (guitar, bass, drum machine, and sax) “The Big Swim” has a lot to say. For example, “Real Time” washes in almost optimistically with a purring dance beat. Raschle ruminates on time but the track changes behind him. Weirdly, he remains unchanged against it always hitting that word “time” in his stentorian bellow. His low croon really meets its match on the epic “One Sad Morning” where Raschle expertly rearranges bass to play chords and guitar to drone. As it evolves in a wild Synth-Pop-meets-Psychedelic way, “Morning” and its “voids opening wide” border on the Freak Folk of Wet Tuna with Raschle achieving a near Hip-Hop style of delivery. The way Raschle smartly enunciates his title makes one think of The Jesus and Mary Chain circa “Darklands.” Later on when he encourages himself to “Keep It Together,” the rhythm patterns mimic the train ride and the return to everyday life. Still, nothing makes sense to Raschle, a fact that is weirdly soothed by the hollow saxophone that is clearly saying what cannot be expressed in words. “Write your own history.” Raschle says…and does.
Again, we could have overlooked one or still work on a release that needs more time to grow. A week to digest and develop opinions is far too short a window. So we sincerely hope that by limiting the choices, you are discovering something as artistic and enjoyable. However, we remain open-minded and have so many others that are just bubbling under this list. We hope these are more interesting and stimulating. In the quest to make music that stands out in a world where it has become so de rigueur, too much (ourselves included) can be devoured and revisited as comfort food.
As always, we hope this is time well spent. Thank you for your support.
Please support the small music critics and writers out there.
There is a method to the madness we promise. To us, the best playlisting songs come two ways:
1. When you are just skimming an older playlist/segment - see a track - and it starts playing in your head.
When a cut surprises you. When you are listening to the random array run together and that song plays that makes you race over to find out what it is.
So thank you for reading, listening, subscribing, and supporting the artists we introduce via this online platform.
T-BONES Records and Cafe is a full-service fast-casual restaurant and record store in Hattiesburg, MS. We are a Coalition of Independent Music Stores member. We are the longest-running record store in the state of Mississippi. If you have questions - we have answers … and probably a lot more information just waiting for you at:
tbone@tbonescafe.com
Visit our website for more information and shop in our ONLINE store if you wish.
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