As much as I don’t feel done setting up shop here, I’ve had to put off writing about the music of this year so far too many times now and more keeps coming. I’ll just make a list and preserve the single-album typing olympics for December.
January
Ella Red – It’s Not Real: Catching a clip of “He Asked For It” last year sold me. The 4-song run between that and “Aphrodite” has been a favorite this year. If you have any tolerance for pop rock, especially with a feminist if not a bit sapphic tone, do the thing. It’s committing all the known musical attributions to pop but a 90s-00s dance number, so comparisons feel flimsy, but Chappell Roan fans would probably like this.
February
Puscifer – Normal Isn’t: Given my history, it’s an easy guess that I would like this album at least a little bit, and that’s what I was expecting. A little. That I’d shrug at it. Turns out it hit album-of-the-year territory for me. There’s a lot of year left and it now has fair competition, but, for the past couple of months, this album has been played more than any other. I’ve had all of the songs stuck in my head. They definitely buried the lede with earlier released “Self Evident“. I don’t imagine current or former fans of the bands one would arrive to this one from give a shit about my opinion and likely prefer to go in without spoilers, so if for some reason you missed this, do the thing. But yes. If you like songs like “Jerk-Off” and “Ticks & Leeches” for their lyrical content, you’ll enjoy this one.
Converge – Love Is Not Enough: I’ve had better initial experiences with new Converge albums, but eventually this was working for me. The YOB moment on “Beyond Repair” got my attention, “Gilded Cage” has earworm potential, and the final track “We Were Never the Same” has become a favorite. The High On Fire-esque drumming on that last song against the heavy bass, *chefs kiss*. Even though I still feel like a Converge n00b nearly 20 years out from the first time I heard them, real glad Converge is still around.
Peaches – No Lube So Rude: Perhaps it goes without saying, but I fucking love Peaches. I was borderline anxious listening to her music for the first few years when I largely just had her Lost In Translation contribution stuck in my head, feeling the stark contrast between what she was singing about and what my experience of sexuality vs society actually looked like. But I got older, had more and different things going on and learned the world was even more backwards than I knew it before, and now I reflect back grateful she was there to create that tension and keep me on my toes. This album goes straight to the point talking about ageism from lyric one before curtailing to the usual witty sexual rap one fully expects from Peaches, and I hope I’m as fun and brazen when I’m 60. PS. I just watched the title song video, and holy shit. NSFW by all stretches of the imagination.
March
Witchcraft – A Sinner’s Child EP: Witchcraft just released an album, so this felt speedy, but I’d say it’s an easier, more concise version of where the band is right now – largely stripped down and a bit more Swedish than before. I saw a live thing they did here recently and it was a reminder of how “Queen of Bees” is one of the best songs of all time ever. I don’t have the date in front of me, but I think this year marks 20 years of listening to this band for me, and I’m glad to know Magnus is still Magnusing it up.
Ladytron – Paradises: This is the first album I’m typing about today that I haven’t listened to straight through (yet?). Ladytron is still providing some wonderful novelties but the album was too much for where I was when I went to hear it – perhaps it’ll make more sense to me when I’m in a less present, less scattered, more aimless Attention Kmart Shoppers mood. “I Believe In You” and “I See Red” have been individual stand-outs so far.
Neurosis – An Undying Love For A Burning World: My local internet freaked the fuck out about this surprise release. Most of us thought Neurosis was effectively dead after a certain former member was vacated from the band a few years ago for being a piece of shit, but it turns out they just needed a sprinkle of new magic from sludge whisperer Aaron Turner (with assistance from mister “distort everything” Scott Evans). I’m curious to know what the hell happened with their drummer between the selling of gear posts and this coming together. Regardless of who or what or when, the album is obviously a stand-out for this year. I’m not a Neurosis fanboy but I was in tears on listen one by the end. The three-song run starting with “Untethered” got me in my head about everything these last six years. “Last Light” is an incredible song. If you’re a long-time Neurosis meh-er, but you otherwise enjoy sludge, doom, and heavy prog, do the thing.
April
Angine de Poitrine: And speaking of internet phenomenons… this band caught a sudden wave of broad-reaching attention and now I have two new albums to ponder over. The brand new one came out in April, hence the headline it falls under. It’s strange to be familiar with a wide array of music over my life and not find their approach to musical creation all that interesting by itself while watching people freak out about the details. It’s very “dude what if Lateralus different order tho (bong rip)”. If you like weird and jazzy approaches to sound, or maybe you might say Primus sucks, or maybe you miss Battles, then you’ll get something out of this. The aesthetics are definitely attention-grabbing and the band & music feel fresh and fun, so yay. More rock-based phenomenons pls.
Nine Inch Noize: And here’s the album that finally got me to type these words. I checked and I posted the remix of “My Moon My Man” by Boys Noize (and Feist, originally) on the blog in 2008, which felt like a “that’s it?” situation given how “& Down” and “3 Bass” were on repeat that year. Fair enough, I was making attempts for novelties in my first full year writing exclusively about music. The fact is, now, I’m familiar with Boys Noize, and I’m beyond familiar with NIN, and this felt like a very logical collaboration. They got me with the “live”(?) sound at the beginning and otherwise dispersed through the album – I thought I’d fucked up somehow – but it’s a studio recording. Some of the 2000s-era songs could certainly use a refreshed take, so good for that. So far “Parasite” is my favorite (oh you mean the song with the prominent heavy bass? Who knew). My original notes here made jokes about “Closer” that were so detailed I’ve had this song stuck in my head for days but I think I need to save that for a time I can expand on the ridiculous idea I had. For now, this was fun, but familiarity with NIN cuts the dopamine effect of new stuff down a notch. Looking forward to eventually watching their Coachella sets.
Madonna: I got word last year that Madonna was creating “Confessions on a Dance Floor pt 2” according to my notes, and sure enough, her new song “I Feel So Free” (warning: flashing lights) very much reminds me of that era of her music. It also happens to be my favorite era, with the Confessions tour video being remarkable to the point of making me angry it didn’t come here and I might not have gone for what I was prioritizing in life at the time anyway. I noted the new song online and the next day I had a singular like from an unfamiliar account. I checked and it seems it was a like entirely in earnest by a bear account (read: lots of gay porn). That felt so incredibly appropriate. Exactly what I would have expected, had I considered it.
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol: “Peaches” (no relation) was put out today. Apparently it will be attached to an album later this year, but no official announcement of said album yet.
May and Beyond
Rhododendron (out 5/15): “Firmament” is available to hear now, and it was a reminder that I miss when I was super active and aware of what Portland had to offer. The video comments include a comparison to Russian Circles, which is fair. The other already-out song is more aggressive, and if we’re going there, maybe in the more recent “FUCK YOU, DAD!” era of Russian Circles. That’s not a comment on age, for the record, but one might focus on how young this band was fifteen minutes ago and wasn’t 1999 yesterday… but that’s an old people problem, I suppose. Glad to hear music like this is still happening from a younger-than-me generation. [PS. This is a band I technically work for by proxy so, you know, grain of salt.]
Monolord (out 5/29): Speaking of bands I technically work for, Monodork is still alive and kicking. “Yay?” I thought. Then I listened to “You Bastard” and the question mark subsided. I always seem to forget that I really, really enjoy heavy music. Finger in every pie but that damn cheesecake gets me every time. It’s hard to be this close to the source, seeing a band’s enthusiastic crowd, and balance all that noise against personal taste, but this breed of heavy is effectively my personal elevator music at the end of the day.
Elder (out 5/29): “Through Zero” can be heard today. I’m just now listening to it for the first time, and yep, that sounds like music. They’re going the way of Rush here. I think I just solved a mystery of why Elder’s fanbase is the way it is. Nuuuuurds! And now I feel unconvinced by my spurious statements here and will reflect for the next six months to no conclusion.
All Them Witches (also out 5/29): OMFG nobody panic. I haven’t even heard the thing and I already suspect this album is going to be a top-whatever favorite for this year. “Red Rocking Chair“? God damn. “Starting Line“? I mean you could just go, the whole environment is enthusiastic consent, no need for the pretense of a beginning. Then today’s “The Welterweight“? Sirs, I’m trying to write about other bands right now. Been really grateful for this band these past eight years or so, so, yes, looking forward to this one.
Slift (out 6/5): I made grand statements about Slift the second Ilion came out, so I’m primed for this new one. That moment in time was big in my personal life and it’s strange to conceptualize that the gap between albums will be an entirely reasonable two and a half years. I hope I’ve worked through enough of that moment in my life to be able to appreciate the new album freed of that time. For the moment, the internet seems intent on comparing “A Storm of Wings” to the Melvins, and it makes me wonder for how much the Melvins has changed over time if every loosely related song ever could ultimately be chalked up to a Melvins remix.
Converge (out 6/5): MOAR! You break those rules, Converge. “Hum of Hurt” is out now.
Genghis Tron (out 6/12): We seem to be going all-in on this year, musically. “I Am All” reeks of Nine Inch Nails even down to the way Trent Reznor handles a mic, but that’s fine. Love this style of video.
And also: Placebo, Muse, Modest Mouse, and The Strokes all have new things coming in June. What a year for the 35-50 year old “it’s not a phase, mom” crowd. Suddenly defunct Livejournal communities of yore awakened to the new fascist day.
And More
From the earlier part of the year, I still haven’t heard: Sunn O)))’s new album, the Melvins/Napalm Death album, Crippled Black Phoenix, Gnod… I have heard a little of Truckfighters but not enough to comment on it beyond the usual “yay stoner rock”. I’m eventually going to watch some of the live Roadburn videos from last week but I think this post is long enough.
From last year that took me time to get around to: Trash Classic by Frankie and The Witch Fingers. Who could have guessed “Conducting Experiments”, a song about sexual freedom and/or having threesomes (hard to tell, a man is singing about a FFM situation so could go either way), would be a favorite here for me. If I were inclined to dance in the first place I would dance the fuck out of that song. The heavy sarcasm on Devo-worshipping “Economy” is great, too.
And finally, from last year but I only just grazed: Die Spitz. I just watched “American Porn” and holy fucking shit, everything about that house feels like a fever dream version of the house I grew up in. Was it designed by the same architect or built by the same company or what the fuck? There’s too much green going on outside to assume they’re in the neighborhood I grew up in. Even the outdoor furniture reminds me of a table/chair set we had in the 90s from who-knows-where. Musically I’m reminded of the 90s, attention towards Hole and L7 (vibe) and Soundgarden (video), but there’s something else there I can’t pin down. “Riding With My Girls” is quite Motorhead-coded. I just heard “Throw Yourself To The Sword” and lol, with a title like that, who knew my first impression would be High on Fire? Be cool if they ended up on tour with the band The Sword just for my personal funsies. Imagine the awkward confusion of that crowd having to deal with the idea of 20-something ladies doing “their” thing better. Maybe it’s changed in the wake of bands like Castle Rat, but, hm, I dunno. The Sword’s fanbase is a special one.
Alright, that’s enough for today. I’m sure I missed something, but this is plenty for an update until the next thing happens. If you’re still here and want a dose of irony, literally yesterday I was reflecting on how I didn’t want to become what I see a lot of in the heavy music scene and doubly so in the circa 40+ non-musician crowds, of being very stuck in the mud and insistent on ideas that came about before 20-30 years ago like history makes greatness and not greatness makes history. Even for the abundance going on here, the variety still tends towards well-traveled paths. I’m trying to keep shit interesting, at least.