MELOMANIA falls in line with 10(!) new releases that run the gamut of emotions
and still leave you happy.
MOREISH IDOLS - Float EP [LP](Speedy Wunderground UK)
With its Parquet Courts-meets-Shame swagger, Falmouth/London’s Moreish Idols burst out with four new tracks that swim in the low emotion (the subtle crooning/arpeggiated guitar on “When The River Runs Dry”) and rev up paranoia/menace for the high performance (a savage single in “W.A.M.”) What sets them apart from all the others? A spirited almost No Wave use of saxophone (the Black Midi jump of “Hangar”) and smart lyrics (“It’s supernatural/it’s super lateral/Chaos collateral” belongs in a Hip-Hop verse.) Jude Lilley and Tom Wilson Kellet are excellent at mixing and matching their vocal styles, but the guitar parts' mixture (the chord switches at the beginning of the furious “Speedboat” beautifully cool it down) and inventiveness here bode well for another higher-profile release.
FAKE PALMS - Lemons [LP](Hand Drawn Dracula CAN)
Toronto’s Fake Palms use their immediacy (and familiarity) to evoke classic Strokes and the driving Post-Punk of the early Eighties. While very minimal, Fake Palms’ best feature is their song structure. “Visions” is a standout that while sounding tinny and lo-fi subtlety introduces a wealth of different parts and sounds keeping it ever-changing around the song’s Punky base. “Satellite” has a bit more swing in it than most Post-Punk and two sparkling choruses. Only a duo with Michael le Riche and Ben Reinhartz (with some help,) Fake Palms would likely thrive in a major studio. The drama building up and release on “Civil Liberties” benefits from a tense verse and a chorus that would land them on MTV if this was 1982. “Lemons” has a tough sound, but Fake Palms already prove themselves fantastic at hook placement. Definitely looking forward to what they make next.
BEST MOVE - Relational Memory [LP/CD](Park The Van)
Best Move’s slow, evocative Pop is a bit like a Seventies band playing nothing but their most lovelorn ballads. The Sacramento trio’s standout “Tipping Pitches” floats on the beautiful near-falsetto whisper of Kris Anaya. Its closest antecedent is Elliott Smith’s “XO” (check that Mellotron-swollen chorus) but Best Move’s sadness is so elegantly arranged you feel it most in the instrumental parts and Anaya’s wordless emoting. That juxtaposition casts Anaya’s voice and lyrics as the gaze of hope (“A Lullaby”) in diminishing light. As he says “just practice how you phrase do-do-da-doo.”
AU SUISSE [LP/CD](City Slang/Redeye)
SynthPop is rarely understated because it normally depends on humanizing itself with a monster hook or some defining melodic characteristic (Philip Oakey’s deep booming voice in The Human League or Jimmy Somerville in The Communards.) However, those expectations can also be confining. Morgan Geist and Kelley Polar are already veterans of Electronic/Dance music production. Au Suisse is a project that seeks to envelope you in their synths and gently bathe you with lush, whispering harmonies or voices. That is not to say it is not danceable. “Thing” dares to be Heaven 17 funkish, but keeps it on a Deep House/Pop end with streams of synths coloring it. “Pain & Regret” actually gets a little gritty over its driving beat before the synths and drums give it that winning Scritti Politti-ish feel. Au Suisse’s biggest plus is its accuracy in sound. Most acts would embrace that Eighties production motif for either ironic nostalgia or camp (looking at you John Mayer.) Au Suisse reassembles the mix to be more spacious and modern. As a result, “Au Suisse” is a grower that demands attention. (A good point of reference is Fischerspooner’s cover of Wire’s “The 15th.” It reformulates the minimalism of the original and works hardest to maintain the level of tension within the song.) Finally, on an album as vast yet familiar as “Au Suisse” - the single was extremely hard to choose. While “Control” and “Thing” definitely open the album with a bang, the sinuous Depeche Mode-ish groove of “Savage” is a fantastic testament to using repetition and ongoing Electronic ebb and flow to achieve a cut that would have been a natural fit for makeout tapes circa 1986. “Au Suisse” does it all with striking lyrics (“Vesna”) and songs that are so cool you might not even notice their craft.
YOUNG JESUS - Shepherd Head [LP/CD](Saddle Creek/Redeye)
John Rossiter’s Young Jesus is never the same band twice. Even in the middle of their albums. The Post-Rock of their debut album “The Whole Thing Is Just There” grew much softer and spiritual on “Welcome To Conceptual Beach.” “(un)knowing” called up memories of the languidity of Red House Painters with an MBV-swirling peak. The rest could get a little disjointed (“Meditations”- still cool though) and perhaps too artsy. “Shepherd Head” is far more distinct and direct leading you across their boundaries like a journey into the unknown. Over eight songs, Rossiter blends operatic drama and Eighties Pop (“Rose Eater,”) a circus-like Bon Iver-esque emotional merry-go-round (“Shepherd Head”), and lo-fi EDM (“Gold Line Awe.”) However, those are only the side dishes, the twin wonders of “Shepherd” The closer “A Lake” brilliantly uses taped voices, Eno-esque piano, and an undercurrent of percussion to loop a benedictory cut that winds it up so perfectly, you will start it again. While the single “Ocean” is one of those songs that makes you feel one set of emotions listening to it on its own and a whole different set in the context of “Shepherd Head.” It does sound a lot like “un(knowing”) but the Caribou-ish loops mixing with the pastoral Iron & Wine feel are beautiful. The whole experience is made even more enchanting thanks to guest vocals from Tomberlin. When she and Rossiter join forces on the gently building chorus, “Shepherd Head” takes flight.
MUTTERING - Great [LP](Beth Shalom UK)
On their first album, the London trio cast a wide net for a young band. Vocalist/bassist Chaz Bush has a fantastic quivering emotional voice. On their most Nineties bashers (“Modern Living”) they really either drive hard or let it dissolve to only Bush’s voice. When Muttering writes a powerful song (like the Sonic Youth-esque opener “Soap Box,”) drummer Johnny Bennett pushes it along and makes all the stops. As Bennett controls the music, Bush is far freer to sing around the riffage. Most shocking though, is how American “Great” is. “Tallest Buildings” is reminiscent of Mineral with a crushing chorus (“your lies were a comfort,”) while “21st Century” carefully rides the waves of its Chavez-ian balladry thanks to guitarist Tom Hill. Treat Muttering as though they are from our Midwest - for that is their lineage. (Also, “Swim” from their 2021 EP is another standout for this young group.)
LAUFEY - Everything I Know About Love [LP/CD](Laufey/AWAL/AMPED)
Chinese/Icelandic singer/songwriter Laufey makes a convincing case as a counter to the constant sweeping of young female singer/songwriters into either Pop or Indie Rock. Laufey's music is Pop - but the old definition. She has a very understated voice (think the quieter Billie Eilish - who is a fan) and the Jazz instrumentation helps propel it out of the Bedroom Pop subcategory. "Beautiful Stranger" sounds like a standard, and she even sings it delicately but with all the 50s style vibrato. With mostly hushed guitar as her accompaniment "Just Like Chet" carries that Tin Pan Alley-esque sway ballads used to have. When the strings quietly enter, your heart is already breaking. Her closest song to single play is the bubbly Bossa Nova "Falling Behind" where Laufey's phrasing makes all the changes work. "Everything I Know About Love" may not become a hit, but with one or two famous admirers - but we definitely will be hearing more from her.
CATTNAP - TRUST [LP/CD](Monkeytown)
Don’t call it HyperPop. While Cattnap does prefer that robotic high voice like 1000 gecs and other noise-wielding artists, these beats are as hard as a new Hip-Hop album. “Trust” is an album-long dare. Bangers like “Need This” and “br34th3” are not just immediate but dense with other musical ideas that reveal themselves over multiple listens. On the clipped confession/ballad “In My Closet” (with help from Modeselektor,) Cattnap spins melody and rhymes through a barrage of sonic backdrops. The noises and skits also work perfectly. “Skukinunu” (with John Debt) plays the “getting exposure” myth for comedy, tragedy, and elliptical truth. While there is something so brash about “TRUST” in the hands of this Argentine female artist (O.L.I.V.I.A. also guests) that you want remixes (“Mess It Up” - please?) and a cassette from Deathbomb Arc or even Hausu Mountain, Cattnap stays true to herself throughout.
DEAR BOY - Forever Sometimes [LP/CD](Last Gang/MNRK/AMPED)
Some bands need all their time to mature. While others know that growing on your own is the best way to learn the art of refinement. Gestating in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years, the quartet Dear Boy finally is ready to let the world breathe in their silky, Nineties Alt. Pop. Like the smoother second-generation SynthPop Rockers, Dear Boy is all chorused guitars, hushed vocals, and gentle beats. The Roxy Music-meets-Cutting Crew ballad “Say When” gives them a chance to layer harmonies and slip a little grit in the dramatic sync-ready chorus. “Wet Clothes” is a little closer to classic Cure filtered through A-Ha with yet another anthemic chorus. Their standout has to be the love-drenched “(On My) Mind.” While the lyrics may be a little too clever for their own good (“How come I always sing when I’m stealing/and dream of things I used to memorize” may work as a conceit for songwriting or reminiscence - but there is no doubt that hitting “stealing” hard and “memorize” softer shows good technique) “(On My) Mind” is the closest Dear Boy gets to their own sound and implying the lingering pain of so many goodbyes.
MINDFORCE - New Lords [LP/CD](Triple B)
The East Coast is synonymous with Hardcore. Their bands have kept it alive for years and years. However, this new wave of bands is proving to be at their best when they maintain HC as it was but add a little more to the canon. Mindforce is a classic Punk Rock-ish scraping-shout metallic band. However, on numerous cuts, Mindforce is brutal at slow speed. “Words Fail” could be a Rage Against The Machine song as it lumbers into its crushing riff - it pops on the offbeat like a Funk song. “All Facts” chugs through typical HC, then descends into a Bad Brains squealing guitar solo, and ends with a chunky chainmail neckbreaker. However, Mindforce’s real muscle is flexed in “Survival is Vengeance” where they veer out of the HC bounce into TWO different absolute bumpin’ tempos. “New Lords” is the new Hardcore and Mindforce needs just 17 minutes to rip it apart and put it back together in their own soon-to-be-imitated style. With the right producer, Mindforce is going to decimate us all.
Well, another week, another list of several different styles and pursuits in music for you. Enjoy. Listen again. Share as you wish.
NEW RELEASES lovingly compiled for you from this very week!
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