Monthly Roundup March 2018
This has been a great month for music! So many interesting releases! One of the best albums of the year so far came out! Lots of new returns for old artists! Check below for the highlights of the highlights!
New and Amazing:
Superorganism give us one of the best albums of the year with their insane kaleidoscopic pop that's filled to the brim with ideas. This album is bursting at the seams with creativity while remaining one of the catchiest pieces of music of the year! Think of something along the lines of Lorde or Lana Del Rey fronting Animal Collective.
Both Jack White and Julian Casablancas(Lead singer of The Strokes) gave us potential career ending albums. Both of their releases seem to spit in the face of popular taste. The artists gave us albums that truly represent what they wanted to release. There was no artistic compromise made in the pursuit of the almighty dollar with these two albums. Jack White gave us a messy, stubborn and ugly album that is fully his own voice and Julian Casablancas did the same with his band the Voidz. Both of these albums are ugly but should be celebrated for their artistry.
The Garden released yet another great collection of songs. This time getting both more serious and sillier at the same time. The songwriting is very strong this time out and their sense of melody is even more refined than ever without sacrificing one bit of their singular artistic voice.
A band that has been around for a while but for some reason never appeared on my radar, Jukebox The Ghost, released a very solid Indie Pop album. Very much owes a debt to Queen and the first Fun. album. One might call it a ripoff but I say, well Queen don't write new music anymore so the more copycats the better.
I am very un-experienced when it comes to Mamba music and Afro-Cuban Jazz but I was completely floored when I heard Orquesta Akokan's self titled debut for Daptone. Normally I can't stand Daptone releases(they are too retro in a way there seems to be no originality) but this release knocked it out of the park. Highly recommended!
Lastly, the best new release is an excellent dark country album from Lindi Ortega. She had been a veteran of the country scene for a few years but didn't see too much success. She moved to Canada and recruited the excellent Nashville instrumental duo Steelism(who's album Ism was one of my picks for last years bests) and made this amazing slice of dark Americana.
Old rockers return:
Oneida laid down a really kick ass new record after quite a long hiatus. Their energy seemed to have not diminished one bit!
Hot Snakes returned after a 12 year silence to release their kick ass new album onto the world. Couldn't be more pleased with their return. It's more of the same but then again that's what we all wanted!
Royce Da 5'9" and DJ premier returned with the second installment of the PRhyme project and it is a fresh faced return to old school production with amazing results. Veterans of the scene coming back to kick a little ass.
Who would have thought? Stone Temple Pilots returning and it's good? Well sometimes when you recruit a new singer they turn out better than the original. This sounds like a solid Queens Of The Stone Age record. It's definitely better than the last 2 Queens records. So yeah, this is not a glitch, I am recommending a Stone Temple Pilots album.
Yo La Tengo released a solid return to form with their new album. This time they succeed by going back to the laid back pseudo ambient sounds of their 2000 album "And then Nothing..." This approach does well for them as they always succeeded in making nice "night time" albums. Throw this on the "good" pile of their extensive catalog.
Out of left field after a whooping 18 year hiatus and left with only 2 of the founding members The Squirrel Nut Zippers return with an amazingly unique and interesting new album. This one is darker and more mysterious than their past releases. Which should come as no surprise as this is a concept album about New Orleans.
MF Doom who has been pretty washed up in recent years actually put out something solid. He has teamed up with Czarface to create something akin to his Madvillain days. The rhyming is loose and the beats are tight just like a good MF Doom related project should be.
And last but definitely not least, Max Tundra has broken a 10 year silence by producing the awful British pop duo Daphne and Celeste. This would be unlistenable teeny bopper crap if it werent for Max Tundra providing all the music and effects to turn this into something pretty great. This is as weird as pop gets. If you are a fan of Max Tundra already just know that this album sounds like a full album made of the songs he made with his sister on his debut album.
Mar 2nd:
Andrew W.K.-You're Not Alone(Red Music)
Genre: Hard Rock, Power Pop, Spoken Word, Piano Rock
The Breeders-All Nerve(4AD)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Noise Pop
Camp Cope-How To Socialize And Make Friends(Poison City/Run For Cover)
Genre: Indie Rock, Emo
Anna Von Hausswolff-Dead Magic(City Slang)
Genre: Neoclassical Darkwave, Drone, Ethereal Wave, Ambient, Experimental Rock
Lucy Dacus-Historian(Matador)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock, LO-FI, Slowcore
Gwenno-Le Kov(Heavenly)
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Synthpop, Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop
Dick Stusso-In Heaven(Hardly Art)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
Superorganism-Self Titled(Domino)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Glitch Pop, Indietronica, Indie Pop
Suuns-Felt(Secretly Canadian)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Art Rock
Jonathan Wilson-Rare Birds(Bella Union)
Genre: Soft Rock, Piano Rock, Heartland Rock
March 9th:
David Byrne-American Utopia(Nonesuch)
Genre: Art Pop, Alternative Dance, Electronic
Eric Chenaux-Slowly Paradise(Constellation)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Avant-Folk
Gloria-Oidophon Echorama(Ample Play/Howlin' Banana)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Neo Psychedelia
Albert Hammond Jr.-Francis Trouble Vol. 1(Red Bull)
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock Revival
Ministry-Amerikkkant(Nuclear Blast)
Genre: Industrial Metal, Nu Metal
Nap Eyes-I'm Bad Now(You've Changed/Paradise Of Bachelors/Jagjagwar)
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop
No Babies-Someone To Watch Over Me(Upset! The Rhythm)
Genre: Art Punk, No Wave
Oneida-Romance(Joyful Noise)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Krautrock
Phonte-No News Is Good News(Foreign Exchange)
Genre: Southern Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Neo-Soul
Whyte Horses-Empty Words(CRC)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop
Young Fathers-Cocoa Sugar(Ninja Tune)
Genre: Neo-Soul, Indietronica, Alternative R&B, Experimental Hip Hop, Art Pop, Noise Pop, Glitch Pop, Gospel
Mar 16th:
Caroline Says-No Fool Like An Old Fool(Western Vinyl)
Genre: Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Indie Folk
Creep Show-Mr. Dynamite(Bella Union)
Genre: Synth Funk, Electronic, Synthpop, Electro
Dungen/Woods-Myths 003(Mexican Summer)
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Essaie Pas-New Path(DFA)
Genre: Minimal Synth, Minimal Techno
Hot Snakes-Jericho Sirens(Sub Pop)
Genre: Garage Rock, Post-Hardcore
Mount Eerie-Now Only(P.W. Elverum & Sun LTD)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk, Avant-Folk, Indie Rock
PRhyme-PRhyme 2(PRhyme)
Genre: Hardcore Hip Hop, Boom Bap
Stone Temple Pilots-Self Titled(Rhino)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Grunge
Dean Ween Group-rock2(Schnitzel)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Funk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock
Yo La Tengo-There's A Riot Goin On(Matador)
Genre: Ambient Pop, Indie Rock, Dream Pop
March 23rd:
American Pleasure Club-A Whole Fucking Lifetime Of This(Run For Cover)
Genre: LO-FI, Noise Pop, Indie Folk, Electronic
Courtney Marie Andrews-May Your Kindness Remain(Fat Possum)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Americana, Country Soul
Black Milk-Fever(Mass Appeal)
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip Hop, Nu Jazz, Experimental Hip Hop
Bonny Doon-Longwave(Woodsist)
Genre: Folk Rock, Indie Rock
Guided By Voices-Space Gun(Guided By Voices Inc.)
Genre: Indie Rock, Power Pop
The Messthetics-Self Titled(Dischord)
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Jazz Fusion
Sidi Toure-Toubalbero(Thrill Jockey)
Genre: Songhai Music, Mande Music
Squirrel Nut Zippers-Beasts Of Burgundy(Southern Broadcasting)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Swing Revival
The Sword-Used Future(Razor & Tie)
Genre: Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
Jack White-Boarding House Reach(Third Man)
Genre: Blues Rock, Experimental Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Art Rock
March 30th:
Amen Dunes-Freedom(Sacred Bones)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Singer/Songwriter, Americana
Chris Carter-CCCL Volume 1(Mute)
Genre: Minimal Synth, Progressive Electronic, IDM
Frankie Cosmos-Vessel(Sub Pop)
Genre: Indie Pop, Twee Pop
Czarface And MF Doom-Czarface Meets Metal Face(Silver Age)
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Abstract Hip Hop
Daphne And Celeste-Save The World(Balatonic)
Genre: Glitch Pop, Electropop, Synthpop
Donovan Wolfington-Waves(Community)
Genre: Indie Rock, Emo, Post-Hardcore, Punk
The Garden-Mirror Might Steal Your Charm(Epitaph)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Synthpunk, Zolo, Experimental Hip Hop
Jukebox The Ghost-Off To The Races(Caroline)
Genre: Indie Pop, Power Pop, Glam Rock
Major Murphy-No.1(Winspear)
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Neo Psychedelia, Alternative Rock
Media Jeweler-1 800 Succeed(Fire Talk)
Genre: Indie Rock, Math Rock
Naked Giants-Sluff(New West)
Genre: Garage Rock, Power Pop
Orquesta Akokan-Self Titled(Daptone)
Genre: Mambo, Afro-Cuban, Charanga, Rumba
Lindi Ortega-Liberty(Shadowbox/Soundly)
Genre: Americana, Alt-Country, Indie Rock
Sons Of Kemet-Your Queen Is A Reptile(Impulse!)
Genre: Afro-Jazz
D.A. Stern-Aloha Hola(Slumberland)
Genre: Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
The Voidz-Virtue(RCA/Cult)
Genre: Hypnagogic Pop, Synthpop, Synthpunk, Art Rock, Experimental Rock, Noise Pop, Alternative Dance, Noise Rock
New and Amazing:
Superorganism give us one of the best albums of the year with their insane kaleidoscopic pop that's filled to the brim with ideas. This album is bursting at the seams with creativity while remaining one of the catchiest pieces of music of the year! Think of something along the lines of Lorde or Lana Del Rey fronting Animal Collective.
Both Jack White and Julian Casablancas(Lead singer of The Strokes) gave us potential career ending albums. Both of their releases seem to spit in the face of popular taste. The artists gave us albums that truly represent what they wanted to release. There was no artistic compromise made in the pursuit of the almighty dollar with these two albums. Jack White gave us a messy, stubborn and ugly album that is fully his own voice and Julian Casablancas did the same with his band the Voidz. Both of these albums are ugly but should be celebrated for their artistry.
The Garden released yet another great collection of songs. This time getting both more serious and sillier at the same time. The songwriting is very strong this time out and their sense of melody is even more refined than ever without sacrificing one bit of their singular artistic voice.
A band that has been around for a while but for some reason never appeared on my radar, Jukebox The Ghost, released a very solid Indie Pop album. Very much owes a debt to Queen and the first Fun. album. One might call it a ripoff but I say, well Queen don't write new music anymore so the more copycats the better.
I am very un-experienced when it comes to Mamba music and Afro-Cuban Jazz but I was completely floored when I heard Orquesta Akokan's self titled debut for Daptone. Normally I can't stand Daptone releases(they are too retro in a way there seems to be no originality) but this release knocked it out of the park. Highly recommended!
Lastly, the best new release is an excellent dark country album from Lindi Ortega. She had been a veteran of the country scene for a few years but didn't see too much success. She moved to Canada and recruited the excellent Nashville instrumental duo Steelism(who's album Ism was one of my picks for last years bests) and made this amazing slice of dark Americana.
Old rockers return:
Oneida laid down a really kick ass new record after quite a long hiatus. Their energy seemed to have not diminished one bit!
Hot Snakes returned after a 12 year silence to release their kick ass new album onto the world. Couldn't be more pleased with their return. It's more of the same but then again that's what we all wanted!
Royce Da 5'9" and DJ premier returned with the second installment of the PRhyme project and it is a fresh faced return to old school production with amazing results. Veterans of the scene coming back to kick a little ass.
Who would have thought? Stone Temple Pilots returning and it's good? Well sometimes when you recruit a new singer they turn out better than the original. This sounds like a solid Queens Of The Stone Age record. It's definitely better than the last 2 Queens records. So yeah, this is not a glitch, I am recommending a Stone Temple Pilots album.
Yo La Tengo released a solid return to form with their new album. This time they succeed by going back to the laid back pseudo ambient sounds of their 2000 album "And then Nothing..." This approach does well for them as they always succeeded in making nice "night time" albums. Throw this on the "good" pile of their extensive catalog.
Out of left field after a whooping 18 year hiatus and left with only 2 of the founding members The Squirrel Nut Zippers return with an amazingly unique and interesting new album. This one is darker and more mysterious than their past releases. Which should come as no surprise as this is a concept album about New Orleans.
MF Doom who has been pretty washed up in recent years actually put out something solid. He has teamed up with Czarface to create something akin to his Madvillain days. The rhyming is loose and the beats are tight just like a good MF Doom related project should be.
And last but definitely not least, Max Tundra has broken a 10 year silence by producing the awful British pop duo Daphne and Celeste. This would be unlistenable teeny bopper crap if it werent for Max Tundra providing all the music and effects to turn this into something pretty great. This is as weird as pop gets. If you are a fan of Max Tundra already just know that this album sounds like a full album made of the songs he made with his sister on his debut album.
Mar 2nd:
Andrew W.K.-You're Not Alone(Red Music)
Genre: Hard Rock, Power Pop, Spoken Word, Piano Rock
The Breeders-All Nerve(4AD)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Noise Pop
Camp Cope-How To Socialize And Make Friends(Poison City/Run For Cover)
Genre: Indie Rock, Emo
Anna Von Hausswolff-Dead Magic(City Slang)
Genre: Neoclassical Darkwave, Drone, Ethereal Wave, Ambient, Experimental Rock
Lucy Dacus-Historian(Matador)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock, LO-FI, Slowcore
Gwenno-Le Kov(Heavenly)
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Synthpop, Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop
Dick Stusso-In Heaven(Hardly Art)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
Superorganism-Self Titled(Domino)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Glitch Pop, Indietronica, Indie Pop
Suuns-Felt(Secretly Canadian)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Art Rock
Jonathan Wilson-Rare Birds(Bella Union)
Genre: Soft Rock, Piano Rock, Heartland Rock
March 9th:
David Byrne-American Utopia(Nonesuch)
Genre: Art Pop, Alternative Dance, Electronic
Eric Chenaux-Slowly Paradise(Constellation)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Avant-Folk
Gloria-Oidophon Echorama(Ample Play/Howlin' Banana)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Neo Psychedelia
Albert Hammond Jr.-Francis Trouble Vol. 1(Red Bull)
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock Revival
Ministry-Amerikkkant(Nuclear Blast)
Genre: Industrial Metal, Nu Metal
Nap Eyes-I'm Bad Now(You've Changed/Paradise Of Bachelors/Jagjagwar)
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop
No Babies-Someone To Watch Over Me(Upset! The Rhythm)
Genre: Art Punk, No Wave
Oneida-Romance(Joyful Noise)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Krautrock
Phonte-No News Is Good News(Foreign Exchange)
Genre: Southern Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Neo-Soul
Whyte Horses-Empty Words(CRC)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop
Young Fathers-Cocoa Sugar(Ninja Tune)
Genre: Neo-Soul, Indietronica, Alternative R&B, Experimental Hip Hop, Art Pop, Noise Pop, Glitch Pop, Gospel
Mar 16th:
Caroline Says-No Fool Like An Old Fool(Western Vinyl)
Genre: Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Indie Folk
Creep Show-Mr. Dynamite(Bella Union)
Genre: Synth Funk, Electronic, Synthpop, Electro
Dungen/Woods-Myths 003(Mexican Summer)
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Essaie Pas-New Path(DFA)
Genre: Minimal Synth, Minimal Techno
Hot Snakes-Jericho Sirens(Sub Pop)
Genre: Garage Rock, Post-Hardcore
Mount Eerie-Now Only(P.W. Elverum & Sun LTD)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk, Avant-Folk, Indie Rock
PRhyme-PRhyme 2(PRhyme)
Genre: Hardcore Hip Hop, Boom Bap
Stone Temple Pilots-Self Titled(Rhino)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Grunge
Dean Ween Group-rock2(Schnitzel)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Funk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock
Yo La Tengo-There's A Riot Goin On(Matador)
Genre: Ambient Pop, Indie Rock, Dream Pop
March 23rd:
American Pleasure Club-A Whole Fucking Lifetime Of This(Run For Cover)
Genre: LO-FI, Noise Pop, Indie Folk, Electronic
Courtney Marie Andrews-May Your Kindness Remain(Fat Possum)
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Americana, Country Soul
Black Milk-Fever(Mass Appeal)
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip Hop, Nu Jazz, Experimental Hip Hop
Bonny Doon-Longwave(Woodsist)
Genre: Folk Rock, Indie Rock
Guided By Voices-Space Gun(Guided By Voices Inc.)
Genre: Indie Rock, Power Pop
The Messthetics-Self Titled(Dischord)
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Jazz Fusion
Sidi Toure-Toubalbero(Thrill Jockey)
Genre: Songhai Music, Mande Music
Squirrel Nut Zippers-Beasts Of Burgundy(Southern Broadcasting)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Swing Revival
The Sword-Used Future(Razor & Tie)
Genre: Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
Jack White-Boarding House Reach(Third Man)
Genre: Blues Rock, Experimental Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Art Rock
March 30th:
Amen Dunes-Freedom(Sacred Bones)
Genre: Neo Psychedelia, Singer/Songwriter, Americana
Chris Carter-CCCL Volume 1(Mute)
Genre: Minimal Synth, Progressive Electronic, IDM
Frankie Cosmos-Vessel(Sub Pop)
Genre: Indie Pop, Twee Pop
Czarface And MF Doom-Czarface Meets Metal Face(Silver Age)
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Abstract Hip Hop
Daphne And Celeste-Save The World(Balatonic)
Genre: Glitch Pop, Electropop, Synthpop
Donovan Wolfington-Waves(Community)
Genre: Indie Rock, Emo, Post-Hardcore, Punk
The Garden-Mirror Might Steal Your Charm(Epitaph)
Genre: Experimental Rock, Synthpunk, Zolo, Experimental Hip Hop
Jukebox The Ghost-Off To The Races(Caroline)
Genre: Indie Pop, Power Pop, Glam Rock
Major Murphy-No.1(Winspear)
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Neo Psychedelia, Alternative Rock
Media Jeweler-1 800 Succeed(Fire Talk)
Genre: Indie Rock, Math Rock
Naked Giants-Sluff(New West)
Genre: Garage Rock, Power Pop
Orquesta Akokan-Self Titled(Daptone)
Genre: Mambo, Afro-Cuban, Charanga, Rumba
Lindi Ortega-Liberty(Shadowbox/Soundly)
Genre: Americana, Alt-Country, Indie Rock
Sons Of Kemet-Your Queen Is A Reptile(Impulse!)
Genre: Afro-Jazz
D.A. Stern-Aloha Hola(Slumberland)
Genre: Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
The Voidz-Virtue(RCA/Cult)
Genre: Hypnagogic Pop, Synthpop, Synthpunk, Art Rock, Experimental Rock, Noise Pop, Alternative Dance, Noise Rock
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