John Grant – Grey Tickle, Black Pressure
Grant’s new album kinda sounds like if Beck had decided to stick with the funky surreal route after Midnite Vultures. With ‘sick’ beats and real weird lyrics, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is a cool new album that’s sure to please anyone who misses the time when really strange stuff was popular (i.e., the 90s) or people who aspire to one day wear green sweaters and own a tons of cats.
RIYL: Midnite Vultures era Beck, The Czars, Magnetic Fields The Beastie Boys
Tracks: Voodoo Doll, Grey Tickles Black Pressure, Guess How I Know, Disappointing
Balthazar – Thin Walls
Dark pop seduction in a bottle. Made with the help and experience of Jason Cox (Gorillaz) and Ben Hillier (Blur and Depeche Mode producer). Vocal styles of two leads balance nicely, like a slurring Jekyll and reserved Hyde. The whole album is about when it’s late and you’re horny like wolf.
RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, Stand of Oaks, Lou Reed
Top Tracks: Decency, Then What, Nightclub
The Dead Weather – Dodge and Burn
Every year, Jack White proves he’s slightly less irrelevant than everyone thought he was. This year, he decides to once again crew up with rock supergroup The Dead Weather (featuring members of equally irrelevant bands The Kills and the Queens of the Stone Age) and create a fun, heavy album filled with catchy riffs and White’s signature high-pitched screech (coming from both his guitar and his voice). Definitely give this a listen, especially if you’ve enjoyed anything else Jack White has ever released.
RIYL: The White Stripes, The Kills, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, rock supergroups from the 70s
Tracks: I Feel Love, Three Dollar Hat, Rough Detective, Mile Markers
Dungen – Allas Sak
Disclaimer: I did not know who Dungen was until this album. I also don’t listen to Swedish music. Or Tame Impala. Regardless, I feel pretty comfortable with describing Dungen, or at least Allas Sak, as a “Swedish Tame Impala.” If you’re looking for a chill, ambient listen with lyrics you don’t understand because they are literally in another language, give Allas Sak a listen.
RIYL: Tame Impala (?), Swedish music, lying down
Tracks: Åkt Dit, Franks Kaktus, Allas Sak, En Dag På Sjön
Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness
This month singer/pianist/composer Julia Holter returns with her fourth album of dreamy pop. Anchored by Holter’s beautiful voice and elaborate arrangements, Have You in My Wilderness is an emotionally heavy album, full of intimate yet mysterious lyrics. Unlike her previous albums which occasionally veered towards more distinctly experimental and off-putting territory, this album is firmly in the realm of chamber pop pioneered by bands like Belle & Sebastian, making it a far easier, yet still incredibly engaging listen.
RIYL: Belle & Sebastian, Jenny Hval, Joanna Newsome
Top Tracks: Feel You, Sea Calls Me at Night, Everytime Boots
Spencer Radcliffe – Looking In
Classic mod emo indie, Strummy, raw, glistening. Like a neck craning eagerly. Content in being miserable. Spencer’s instrumental texturing is one of the most unique of all young lo-fi self-loathing musicians. Having formally recorded under Blithe Field, California Furniture, and Best Witches, this is his first full-length album under his own name.
RIYL: Alex G, Teen Suicide, Told Slant, Elvis Depressedly
Top Tracks: Mermaid, Mia
Superhumanoids – Do You Feel Okay?
Vibing electronic music with prominent vocals, thumping bass, and fidgety mid range. Great for the solo drive hope, or a social night out at the discothèque. Wouldn’t call it conscious listening music, more like it fills in the cracks and voids in your sonic atmosphere.
RIYL: Chvrches, Purity Ring, Drive Motion Picture Soundtrack
Top Tracks: Anxious in Venice, Norwegian Black Metal, Touch Me