It wasn't until I subscribed to Spotify last year, and started to look at their weekly lists of recommended listening that I began to appreciate the scale, the flood, of new music being released every week. I subscribe to 2 music magazines, look at Metacritic frequently, and generally try to pay attention to new music. Why have I never heard of so many of these artists?
Has it always been like this? Or has the fact that anyone with a laptop and the right kind of software can now quite easily record reasonably professional sounding music and release it into the world with one click resulted in a vast surge in the amount of music available? And this doesn't even take into consideration what's on Soundcloud and Bandcamp, and unique content on other streaming services.
These are times, after all, when, for example, Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest could record and release 12 albums, by the age of 21, via Bandcamp, before even signing a recording contract. Similar scenario with (Sandy) Alex G, who released multiple bedroom-recorded albums via Bandcamp, from a young age, before signing a recording contract. It's no longer necessary for everyone in your band to work dreary jobs while saving everything they can to pay for studio time to record demo tapes - then send them off to record companies, DJ's, music magazines, anyone else they can think of, and hope for the best.
Despite the ease of access, it's obviously impossible for anyone to navigate the deluge of new music and pick out all the good stuff. Reviews are only useful up to a point. With the advent of Metacritic, it's clearer than ever that it's often simply a matter of opinion, and that can vary enormously. Recommendations from a friend remain as good a way as any to guide you towards what new music you should spend your time listening to next.
So, here's a list of music I've been listening to during April to June 2017 (not necessarily all released during that time). Hopefully someone will find something new here to love.
Albums
Folk Uke - Starfucker (issued Sept 2016): Folk Uke are U.S. country/ folk duo Amy Nelson and Cathy Guthrie, who, almost incidentally, are the daughters of, respectively, Willy Nelson and Arlo Guthrie. Although in existence since 1998, they seem to be aiming for the Blue Nile approach to swamping the airwaves with recordings: this is their 3rd album (the 1st one wasn't until 2005, the 2nd 2011), and it's an 8 track mini-album lasting less than 24 minutes.
It's old-school country/ folk in the best way, completely lacking in modern Nashville glitz, with the USP of a tendency towards non-radio friendly language (which their website describes as 'both heartfelt and occasionally indecent lyrics'), all the more effective for the sweet harmonies and frequently minimal instrumentation. Far more striking than the casual cussing of any rapper. Notable tracks include the title track, and 'BJ to a DJ'. Funny too, but just incidentally funny, and not to be dismissed as a novelty.
Their profile presumably increased by about 10,000% last year after their track 'Motherfucker Got Fucked Up' was used over the closing credits to an episode in the 2016 Netflix series Orange Is The New Black. It certainly got our attention in our house. With luck, the OITNB factor remains in force, and will continue to bring them the attention they deserve.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The French Press: Issued (in the UK at least) little more than 3 months after debut mini-album Talk Tight, it's the turbo-charged Go-Betweens again, with a 2nd mini-album, this time on Sub Pop records. More of the same, which is a good thing - for the moment anyway. And any band who merit comparison to The Go-Betweens is already something special.
Craig Finn - We All Want The Same Things: 3rd solo album from the singer with The Hold Steady, arguably one of the top two greatest bands ever to regularly be compared to Bruce Springsteen. And Finn's lyrics are certainly chief amongst the reasons why they should never be left in the shadow of Bruce. A classic American short story writer who happens to work in the medium of pop/rock (I'm certainly not the first to make this observation), it still seems like a wonder every time to find a songwriter whose lyrics are actually worth paying attention to. As a quick illustration of the aptitude for literate lyrics, listen to the mostly spoken 'God In Chicago'.
It's all fairly mainstream American rock'n'roll of course, which wouldn't sound out of place in any decade from the '70's until now, but it's so accomplished, full of wit, soul and good tunes, that it doesn't sound retro in any way. Not necessarily the sort of thing I would normally give a lot of my time to, but who else is doing it so well?
For further investigation: some time after The Hold Steady's breakthrough 2006 album Boys and Girls in America, they appeared on Jools Holland's Later. Watch their performance of 'Stuck Between Stations', then 'Chips Ahoy!', on YouTube. They look like just about the uncoolest looking band ever. Even more than Hot Chip. Singer not exactly in the Jon Bon Bovi school of front men. A couple of them with particularly unfortunate hat/ hair combos. Keyboard player, with upturned waxed moustache, who looked like he should have been running a pretzel stand in Coney Island in the '50's. A few days later we watched the recording again when a friend came to visit. My wife said: 'they look like your high school teachers formed a band, and somehow they were brilliant'. One of the greatest performances in the entire 25 year broadcasting history of Later.
Also, a particularly great couple of lines in 'Stuck Between Stations': 'She was a damn good dancer but she wasn't all that great as a girlfriend', and 'She was a really cool kisser but she wasn't all that strict as a Christian'. In light of that, can anyone explain to me why anyone pays any attention at all to Ed Sheeran?
Lydia Ainsworth - Darling Of The Afterglow: 2nd album from Canadian artist, which apparently moves some steps closer to mainstream appeal from 2014's debut Right From Real. She describes it herself as "a marriage of Enya and The Weeknd". Other comparisons have been made to such as Kate Bush, Bat For Lashes, and FKA Twigs, though I suspect it may be the Enya factor which has prevented me from playing it more often. I'm impressed all over again each time I do though.
Blaenavon - That's Your Lot: Long-awaited debut album from young English indie trio, who formed while still at high school. Great things have been expected of this, and are pretty much delivered: there are plenty of tracks which will remain crowd favourites on reunion tours in 30 years time. Listen to the acoustic version of 'My Bark Is Your Bite' (available only on iTunes and Spotify) as proof of the strength of the songwriting.
They should now be poised to inherit the audience from the recently-departed Maccabees, and attract upcoming generations drawn more to indie than pop (my 15 year old daughter's friends are big fans).
Whether Blaenavon capitalise on that, or veer off into Radiohead-style experimentation, is going to be fascinating to watch. Terrible album title though. The sort of thing you might have expected from a second tier Britpop act like Dodgy.
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy: 12th highest scoring album on Metacritic at mid-year, FJM's critical acclaim isn't slowing down any, and I have enjoyed a lot of his work throughout recent years. Last year's one-off track 'Maybe, Sweet One, You Won't Have Nightmares Tonight', displayed his twisted sense of humour to fine effect.
But my wife dismisses him entirely as sounding too much like Elton John (not considered as praise in our house), and it's hard to deny she has a point.
The Big Moon - Love In The 4th Dimension: Who would ever have guessed we needed a Britpop revival? Anyone else should only attempt the same thing if they can achieve equally fantastic results as The Big Moon have achieved on their long-awaited debut album though. The fact they sound like they're having a great time being in a 21st century guitar pop band just adds to the appeal.
Girlpool - Powerplant: Girlpool are L.A. based indie rock/ folk punk duo Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad. Average scores for their career to date on reviews aggregator website Metacritic are remarkably consistent. 79 for 2014's debut Girlpool EP, 79 for debut album proper Before The World Was Big, and 80 for this year's Powerplant. This is a duo who emerged with an immediately distinctive sound, built around primitive guitar and bass and joint vocals, which has grown in confidence ever since. Compare the early-guitar-lessons guitar sound and sneery teen punk vocals of 'Blah Blah Blah', opening track on the Girlpool EP, to the fuller band sound of '123', opening track on Powerplant. It sounds like they don't have to sneak a glance at their hand each time they change chord any more, and the vocals are now less off-putting to the casual mainstream listener. At times there's even a shoegaze element to the sound, as if Kimya Dawson joined Lush. So: bigger sound, wider audience appeal, but the initial charm still mostly intact.
Perfume Genius - No Shape: Perfume Genius is Seattle-based solo artist Mike Hadreas, and this is his 4th album. Debut Learning was released in 2010, and was immediately notable as the work of a unique artist, albeit one destined for cult appeal only. The pace is almost painfully slow throughout, with skeletal melodies and spectral vocals, often sounding like something found on cassette amongst the effects of someone who lived alone, had no friends, and, after their suicide, was discovered to have been quietly writing and recording weird songs at home. It sounds like no one else.
'Mr. Peterson', one of the key tracks, is about an inappropriate relationship with a teacher, or other responsible adult. Here are some of the lyrics: "He let me smoke weed in his truck, if I could convince him I loved him enough." and "He made me a tape of Joy Division, he told me there was part of him missing/ When I was 15, he jumped off a building."
The average Ed Sheeran fan doesn't want to hear about things like that.
So it's been a marvel to watch him develop as an artist ever since. The new album is his most fully-realised work to date: an important album by one of the most significant writer/ performers working today.
PWR BTTM - Pageant: News stories about the band immediately after the release of the album were dominated by allegations of sexual misconduct, directed at member Ben Hopkins, and posted on a private Facebook group by the accuser. The band issued a statement strongly denying everything. Following the allegations, the band were dropped by their U.S. and U.K. record labels, touring members of the band pulled out of any commitments, touring partners have cancelled, and festival bills have dropped the band.
So, is it possible to disregard all of that and concentrate only on the music on the album?
I haven't yet heard their 2015 debut Ugly Cherries (also well received by critics), and, based on photos and the description as 'queer punk', I was expecting a fairly unsubtle glam punk racket. But, although there are plenty of glorious pop/ punk tunes, there are at least as many quieter, sensitive tracks too, reflecting life as a young gay person ("I know that I'm naive/ When you are queer you are always 19", from 'LOL'). You don't have to be gay to like it, but I expect it adds to the appeal. With this, and Perfume Genius, May looks like it was a good month for fans of artists writing about gay life in modern times.
Withered Hand - New Gods (issued 2014) and Good News (issued 2009): These passed me by when first released, and I only know about them now after meeting a very rare type of person: the owner of an independent record shop, who told me they have been amongst his biggest sellers throughout recent years.
Withered hand is Edinburgh-based singer/songwriter Dan Willson, who was brought up as a Jehovah's Witness in Scotland, and also Bishop's Stortford, and may still be in recovery from that (check 'Religious Songs' from Good News). He has been affiliated with the now defunct, Fife-based Fence Collective, so the music has an acoustic folk basis, most evident on Good News, but with a strong pop sensibility too, which has grown dominant by New Gods. There's a touch of the Neil Young/ Wayne Coyne quavery voice thing going on (again, most pronounced on Good News), if that's off-putting. All fine with me though. Many of my favourite singers would probably be laughed off the opening rounds of The X Factor.
Amongst the finest new Scottish music I've heard for years, and New Gods in particular has been my most-played album throughout recent months.
The Mountain Goats - Goths. I've dipped in and out of the music of the Mountain Goats for years, mostly attracted by the lyrics of John Darnielle. 'No Kids', from 2002's Tallahassee, has been a long-term favourite: surely the most vitriolic, and funniest, song about the breakdown of a marriage ever recorded. Darnielle is such a literary writer he has a parallel career as a critically acclaimed novelist, with his first novel published in 2014, and 2nd earlier this year. However, his first book was Black Sabbath Master Of Reality, which was published in 2004 as part of the 33⅓ series, which, unlike the other non-fiction entries in the series, is a novella inspired by the Black Sabbath album.
Presumably as a device to provide a focus for his writing, Darnielle has been working with loose concepts for recent MG albums. 2012's Transcendental Youth is described on Wikipedia as "The album focuses on outcasts, recluses, the mentally ill, and others struggling in ordinary society". 2015's Beat The Champ is about professional wrestling. The concept for Goths is probably given away in the title...
Goth was primarily a U.K., post punk music movement, which, like every youth movement, hasn't ever entirely gone away. The MG's album is littered with references to Siouxsie and the Banshees, Robert Smith of The Cure, Gene Loves Jezebel and more. One of the best tracks, 'Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back To Leeds', is about the singer from '80's goth originators The Sisters Of Mercy. Did that require explanation? Darnielle explains nothing, and certainly doesn't talk down to his audience. The song not only doesn't explain who Andrew Eldritch is, but also makes no reference to The Sisters Of Mercy. Do youthful Mountain Goats fans in the U.S. know all this stuff already? Are Alien Sex Fiend, Flesh For Lulu, Sex Gang Children, and other denizens of '80's London goth nightclub The Batcave more fondly remembered in Middle America than you would expect? (Inevitably, The Sisters Of Mercy are still going, though I had to check that on Wikipedia.)
Anyway, another good Mountain Goats album, with several standout tracks.
alt-J - Relaxer: alt-J's debut An Awesome Wave was one of the few occasions when I actually cared who won the Mercury Music Prize, and their subsequent success was a gratifying thing to watch. Since then they seem to have followed their own eccentric path. Whether their audience has grown, shrunk, or remained the same since the initial surge of attention I have no idea. First impressions of the new one were of something too muted and indulgent to sustain interest, but the insidious appeal has grown with - admittedly less frequent than other music featured here - repeat plays. Another fine alt-J album after all then. If, for you, this is modern dinner party music, what kind of dinner parties do you have?
Charlie Fink - Cover My Tracks: Debut solo album by the former singer with Noah and the Whale is also paired with a stage play of the same name, created in collaboration with playwright David Greig.
Personally I always thought Noah and the Whale didn't get the attention they deserved, perhaps overlooked amidst the success of others who emerged from the same scene: Mumford & Sons, and Laura Marling. But NATW did have an interesting career path. 2nd album The First Days Of Spring is one of the great breakup albums (after Fink split from Laura Marling), and Last Night On Earth was arguably a more successful attempt to move into radio-friendly pop/ rock than Mumford's similar attempt to move beyond banjos and mandolins.
So, I was reasonably interested to hear a solo album from Fink. These are mostly stark, acoustic guitar led songs with some subtle orchestral arrangements. There is obviously no similarity in the vocal sound, but the inescapable comparison is to early Leonard Cohen (my 20 year old son recognised the debt owed within seconds, after walking into the kitchen while it was playing). Guitar sound, arrangements and vocal stylings could have been lifted direct from Cohen's first few albums. There are even several lines which appear to be direct references to Cohen lyrics. This should pretty much be considered as a good thing though. Try the single, 'Firecracker'. If you like that you'll like the whole thing.
Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up: 3rd album by the band, and the first since 2011's Helplessness Blues, a hiatus during which chief songwriter Robin Pecknold spent time obtaining an undergraduate degree at a liberal arts college in New York.
Fleet Foxes seem to exist in a tradition of harmony-driven, experimental folk unique to the U.S., and certainly with no U.K. equivalent that I can think of. Modern peers are the equally smartass likes of Animal Collective, Bon Iver, Joanna Newsom, and Grizzly Bear (another band due to return this year with a new album after a lengthy absence), though there are echoes in, amongst others, Crosby, Stills & Nash (the Crosby stuff basically) and early Simon & Garfunkel, before Paul Simon's affinity for pop tunes properly kicked in. That was from a time when the impression of Simon & Garfunkel might have been: 'Met at the Harvard Madrigal Society', rather than 'Bonded over a mutual love of Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry'.
This is not pop or rock music.
It's still gorgeous stuff, despite the complicated structures and copious esoteric references stuffed into the lyrics. You can enjoy it for the nice tunes, then, if so inclined, go on to write your final thesis unravelling what the songs are actually about.
Kevin Morby - City Music: 4 albums released since November 2013 is an impressive work rate by the standards of almost anyone other than King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (who are supposedly planning 5 albums for this year, and have already released 2 of them) or Ty Segall. The fact they're all great is all the more impressive. Obviously a man focused on building a career as one of the U.S.'s most distinctive singer/ songwriters.
City Music is less of a leap forward than 2016's breakthrough Singing Saw, but neither is it a lesser work. Track 3, '1234', is a bit of a curio, since it references The Jim Carroll Band's classic 'People Who Died', and basically seems to be a tribute to the Ramones. But everyone loves the Ramones, so the minor indulgence is forgivable. (As Charles Shaar Murray once wrote in the NME: "If you ever meet anyone who says they don't like the Ramones, just stare at them incredulously and walk away." Still as relevant now as it ever was.)
Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James McAlister - Planetarium: This project, a song cycle about the solar system which was originally commissioned by Dutch concert hall Muziekgebouw Eindhoven from composer and arranger Nico Muhly, has been germinating since 2011, toured as an extravagant stage production in 2012, and has finally made it onto record in a joint effort from Sufjan and chums - some of the busiest musicians on the planet.
I've been paying close attention to Sufjan Stevens' work since 2004's Seven Swans. During that time, 2004's extraordinary Come On Feel The Illinoise (best tracklist ever? look it up on Amazon or Discogs) and 2015's awesome Carrie & Lowell (my favourite of 2015) have been particular highlights. So anything with Sufjan's name on it gets my attention.
All the Sufjan vocal sections on this are great, despite overuse of vocoder, auto-tune, and whatever other vocal effects they have at their disposal (see also the most recent albums by Lambchop and Dirty Projectors). Getting used to the classical and electronic sequences has been more challenging, but it's growing on me.
Perhaps not quite as left field a project as The BQE ("a mixed-medium artistic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway", comprising a film directed and written by Stevens and electro-classical soundtrack, originally presented as a live show in November 2007, and released as an album in 2009), but that's what you get when you're a fan of genuinely innovative artists.
Lorde - Melodrama: follow up to 2013's debut Pure Heroine from the (now 20 year old) benchmark for every teen pop/rock prodigy ever. A triumph. That such a fully-formed talent emerged at such a young age remains extraordinary.
Can you match this, rising teen prodigies of the U.K.? Declan McKenna, Rat Boy, Kirin J. Callinan, Let's Eat Grandma?
Marika Hackman - I'm Not Your Man: 2nd album from English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, this time recorded with The Big Moon as backing band. I gather this is a significant development from the alt-folk stylings of her debut. The Big Moon are clearly an adaptable band. Though some of it is consistent with TBM's Britpop-refreshed sound, the album also often reminds me of Warpaint. Good stuff, and getting better with closer acquaintance.
Laurie Cameron - The Girl Who Cried For The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Self-released album from 2015, and another recommendation from the record shop owner. I've only played it on Spotify a couple of times so far. Folk music, but with enough of a modern twist to attract interest outwith trad circles. Reminds me of The Unthanks, and there isn't much higher praise than that.
The Drums - Abysmal Thoughts: What a tonic The Drums were when their debut EP Summertime! appeared in 2009. A young band based in Brooklyn who counted Postcard-era Orange Juice amongst their major influences seemed to be taking an approach at odds with everyone else at the time, and they initially won a level of attention it all deserved. They had somehow produced the first good song celebrating surfing for decades ('Let's Go Surfing'). They had an instant pop classic called 'Don't Be A Jerk, Jonny', and had a pop sensibility which could stand comparison with early Jonathan Richman (they wouldn't have been out of place on the Beserkley Chartbusters compilation, alongside Greg Kihn, The Rubinoos, and post-Velvets Jonathan Richman/ Modern Lovers).
Somehow, although there have been a series of decent albums throughout subsequent years, they never seemed to fully live up to the early promise though. Things started to go wrong quite quickly, when, in 2010, guitarist Adam Kessler left the band - which, as I recall from interviews at the time, they viewed as a betrayal of the brotherhood. Singer Jonathan Pierce is now the sole remaining member (his childhood friend Jacob Graham having announced earlier this year that he had left the band - though that has been an amicable parting). Pierce takes full credit for writing and production of the new album, and it's something of a return to form, and critical acclaim has largely reflected that. They remain one of the best options for achieving an early Orange Juice mission statement: something to give you a lift, and make you feel better for at least a few minutes of your day.
Tracks
Tom Petty - Free Fallin': From his 1989 album Full Moon Fever. Heard it on the radio, and was reminded that 'American Girl' isn't the only Tom Petty track I like (though it isn't quite as good as that). Been playing it fairly often ever since.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Fireproof: Standout track from The Tourist, the band's first album since 2014's Only Run. Now with Alec Ounsworth as the sole remaining member. CYHSY never sustained the attention granted to their 2005 debut, but can still produce the occasional decent tune. Reviews for the album were a bit mixed, but with some very positive ones amongst them.
Xylouris White - Black Peak and Forging: Released last year, Black Peak was the 2nd album by Xylouris White, a collaboration between Greek singer and laouto player George Xylouris, and Australian drummer Jim White, best known as a member of the Dirty Three. These are the fast tracks on the album, and are absolutely thrilling. I'm less taken by the slower tracks.
RAC - This Song (feat. Rostam): RAC is Portuguese DJ and record producer André Allen Anjos, and this is the first track I heard from his new album Ego, after it appeared on a Spotify Recommends list. As with anything I've heard either by, or featuring, Rostam Batmanglij since he left Vampire Weekend at the start of 2016, it's perfect modern pop which stands comparison with anyone. Debut solo album Half-Light is due in September, and great things are expected.
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