Everything about Troper’s style is designed to deceive and confound; it’s difficult to take what he sings about at face value but, in all honesty, that’s where the fun lies. Consider that he named his latest album Dilettante, a word which means, “A person with an amateur interest in the arts without real knowledge.”
The four songs come from the Emphatically No writing sessions, culled when the band wanted to create a good flow for the full-length. There might not be anything as mesmerizing as ‘“Listen to Your Heart.” “No.”’ but that’s not to say there’s no charm to be found in the B-sides; charm is something that comes to Cheekface effortlessly.
While Audio Drag is not a perfect distillation of their live act, Gustaf’s debut is still great fun as the band leans on its storytelling ability to explore the various anxieties, desires, and fears of the titular "ego slob." Lydia Gammill gladly makes herself the joke, inhabiting a narcissistic narrator that is both self-absorbed and needy.
Styrofoam Winos is a shimmering quilt of folk, rock, post-punk, soul, pop, and country, stitched together by three incredibly strong and worth-listening-to Nashville singer-songwriters: Lou Turner, Trevor Nikrant, and Joe Kenkel. These are incredibly versatile, never in danger of sounding bland, never at risk of repeating themselves.
The Aisles EP finds Olsen journeying away from her usual songwriting and into the world of covers. Specifically, it features covers of songs from the 1980s: everyone’s favorite mullet and big sleeve decade. Everything from the songs chosen to cover art—which features Olsen sporting a mullet and bright blue eyeshadow—oozes 80s nostalgia.
Happiness’ approach to “the slow” has been touted as a “90s Chicago throwback,” which is not too far off in terms of general description of their approach to sludgy slowness. The trio stretch their perpetual sonic muscles, remapping an indie lineage that feels further drawn out of frame. Every track becomes its own little sonic nugget.
The unrelenting force that is Full of Hell has returned with their latest album, Garden of Burning Apparitions, showing why they are the biggest band in grindcore right now. In only twenty minutes, the band packs idea after idea without letting up for a single second. The riffs, the vocals, the percussion, everything is as intense as ever.
Hovvdy, the indie duo featuring Charlie Martin and Will Taylor, has released their fourth record in five years, True Love, which, cliché as it sounds, is a perfect fall record. There’s something about open tunings and vocal harmonies on a delightfully slow-fi record that pairs well with the transition from warm to cold.
Zelma Stone, fronted by Chloe Studebaker, is notable for her disarmingly vulnerable lyrics and dynamic arrangements. The Best explores themes of loss, discovery, and evolution; the project is sonically reminiscent of artists like Sharon Van Etten, with poignant lyricism comparable to the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Adrienne Lenker.
Two feels as exciting as a live music experience, full of intricate surprises and clashing dynamics in their genre of experimental rock. They utilize the constraints of long-distance art-making to create multi-layered unique sounds, weaving different ideas into melodies and patterns that often feel like entering different colorful rooms of the same colorful house.
How do you collect the essence of modern Americana music from various sources and then present it as your own vision of what music should sound like? If in doubt you might consult Philadelphia’s Sheridan Frances ‘Francie’ Medosch, who goes under the artistic name of Florry and take a deeper listen to her latest album Big Fall.
Shot Clock King recalls the cypher, inspiring breaths of life, communally shared for the respect, preservation, and progress of the art and broader art across humanity. One might just as well feel comfortable playing this music in a public setting, with the adaptable lyrical content offering something for everyone.
