On their first full length album, Big Girl vs God, Big Girl front-person Kaitlin Pelkey delivers wonderful insight into their self and a sense of wonderment that shines even through the most haunting moments of self doubt and regret. Her cohorts in Big Girl bring a massive sense of pomp in the best way possible.
Squid Ink Sky is the second full length from the New York based Goo, a record that pushes their sound further than ever. Beck Zegans brings a unique, fresh, and open approach to songwriting that really shines. The album brings a melodic wallop, colored with sweeping and woozy keys which add a little more force.
Without giving consideration to the future or lack-there-of, it’s safe to say that Squitch have made their best record to date with Tumbledown Mountain, a collection of songs both personal and inherently complex. It’s an album that deals with the finality of things but as the band know, “it’s not the end.”
Califone essentially began as Rutili’s solo project derivative of his former band Red Red Meat and has positioned itself well within the experimental rock and folk scenes since, now a full-fledged musical project with regular contributors. Villagers is Califone’s most dignified and emotionally liberating project thus far.
Pardoner have hit their stride. The SF quartet is known for guitar-driven tunes that straddle the line between pop-rock anthems and sludgy punk screed. Peace Loving People, their fourth LP, fully captures their singular sound built around the infectious interplay of the guitars and vocals of the main songwriters Max Freedland and Trey Flanigan.
PetroDragonic Apocalypse sees the Aussie lads return to “thrash metal.” In a sense, nothing but the seeming violence of thrash will do the trick in stressing the importance of environmental awareness. In their new record, King Gizzard achieve this, with an even more brutal approach than their first full foray in Infest the Rats’ Nest.
On Nothing You Do Matters, Ganser split the difference between the immediate and an emotional distance to create some of their best tracks yet, ending up with a dancey, atmospheric take on post-punk. Composed primarily by Ganser’s rhythm section, the EP diverges stylistically from the more caustic material on their last LP.
Genuineness is the prime moral characteristic that defines Feeble Little Horse. The Pittsburgh quartet have stuck to an ethos of controlling every part of the creative process themselves. This DIY mantra plays through on Girl With Fish with its crushing shoegaze backbone interlaced with elements of sentimentality, gleaming with personality.
Ain’t shit pretty about Currency // Castration and that’s the beauty of it. The band’s third album is ensnared in filth and dissonance, at home amid the depravity, for better or worse, this is where we’re at and Geld aren’t delusional. Rather than collapse under the weight of it all, they chose to decimate, creating something that feels relevant and timeless.
On last year’s excellent Danger Mouse collaboration Cheat Codes, the Philadelphia native cemented his place among the great MCs. Now with Glorious Game, a collaboration with Brooklyn soul artist and producer Leon Michel (aka El Michels Affair), he’s able to step back and take a look back at what got him there in the first place.
For a debut record, You Can Do It All demonstrates tremendous balance. For every dense and gritty riff, there is a bouncy pop vocal melody, with a focus on blending basement-jam sounds, catchy verses, and choruses. In lyrical content, the band spirals through all of the hallmarks of young adult life.
Like many of their contemporaries, Squid have drifted into a sound that’s less direct and angry with more prog rock influence. While Black Midi and Black Country, New Road have veered hard into theatricality, whether it be through absurd virtuosity or intense emotionality, Squid make the move in a way that retains more indie-rock dejection.
Protomartyr have returned with their strongest and most optimistic album yet. At least, optimistic for Protomartyr. Formal Growth in the Desert is their way of expressing art finding its way in a world increasingly infertile for creativity. It’s a testament to art’s ability to spring forth in spite of the ever-tightening economic restraints.
The LA indie rocker’s debut Don’t Take My Dream Away is an album full of contradictions - everything is bittersweet, she’s both a Good Girl and a Bad Boy. Over thirteen guitar driven tracks, Early dissects crumbling relationships, all-consuming crushes, and dreams deferred with the wisdom only experience can bring.
