I'd Apologize For All The Metal, But It's Good Shit
Up Top
Let's get this started with some housekeeping, yeah? I've switched things around on Spotify. Now there's a single playlist that will get updated every week. You can still find the archives on my profile, but this way you can just add my playlist to your library and get a head start. I usually complete the playlist about 2-3 hours before the newsletter is done, so you east coasters will likely appreciate this.
Also, I'm working on some ideas to allow all of you to contribute to a secondary playlist every week. More to come on that once we hit 50 subscribers, I think.
The first track on the playlist is the last thing I write about today. Probably a bad move on my part, but I found I had some things to say and didn't know where else to put them.
Bandcamp Friday
It's Bandcamp Friday again, which means that anything you spend on there will go straight to the artists without the platform taking a cut. It's a great time to catch up on all the vinyl and Bandcamp exclusive releases that you've been holding out on. I'm especially excited for Pheobe Bridgers' cover of Bo Burnham's That Funny Feeling, as well as this Pat The Bunny covers compilation that benefits Trans Lifeline. There's also the Deltarune OST and something new from David Bazan, but I'm not pulling those links right now because I don't want to.
My Big Highlights
Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp
There are a few really notable releases this week that I want to talk about in depth. Since it's a long playlist, I won't be covering everything today, but really think these deserve an extra dose of attention.
If you're a fan of prestige shows on HBO, you're probably familiar with the name Ramin Djawadi. This is the composer who brought us Game of Thrones and Westworld as well as films such as Iron Man, Pacific Rim, and Marvel's upcoming film The Eternals. Needless to say, he's a fantastic composer. Today he brings us Surreal, the score for... a water feature at Expo 2020 Dubai? Okay. Admittedly this is a non-traditional score for something that you'll almost certainly never see, but goddamn if it doesn't stand on its own. Close your eyes and let it sweep you away into a thousand imagined cinematic worlds. You'll thank yourself.
Fuck. Seriously, go listen to that album. It's really moving. When you're done with that, move on to Explosions In The Sky's majestic new score for the PBS nature documentary Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas. It's fantastic in completely different ways from what Djawadi did on Surreal, so you shouldn't get too burnt out on dramatic strings.
I want to note the new record from Yes. I've never been a big fan of this flavor of prog, but this is so notable that it simply must be mentioned. If that opening note on The Ice Bridge doesn't make you feel anything, I don't really know what to say. There's also a new EP from legendary comic duo Tenacious D. It's mainly demos of tracks we know all too well, so I've featured a remix of Explosivo instead of one of those. I think some of these demos might actually just be from the HBO series? Weird choice, IMO.
illuminati hotties is back with their second studio release Let Me Do One More following a mixtape last year. At this point, I think we can confidently conclude that this indie/alt-rock project an unqualified success for songwriter Sarah Tudzin. Here, she brings her dose of humor and lightness to the table, with a side of sass and chaos that'll make even the most stone-faced of you crack a smile. This is Tudzin's first release under her own imprint at Hopeless Records, which I take as an indicator of great and ambitious things to come.
I'm not gonna talk about the Gaga & Bennett album, since they frankly don't need the publicity of my words. If you want another record of jazz standards, you know where to find them. Similarly, I won't be talking about the new track from The Rolling Stones or the John Mellencamp & Bruce Springsteen collab. Neither will I even think of mentioning Stevie Wonder and Elton John's first ever collaboration, even though it features The Sunday Service Choir. No siree. None of these massive stars need my paltry words, so I shan't even mention them in passing. I'm sure you understand.
Finally, there's a new radio-ready metalcore record from now-veterans Wage War. Despite only being 11 years old, this band has cemented themselves as one of the giants in the scene and this fourth record does nothing to disabuse me of that notion. It's big, hooky, unchallenging, and full of the type of breakdowns that make you want to hardcore dance alone in your bedroom. Full Of Hell's new album is also great, but it's uh... for a different audience. Just wanted to shoehorn it in somewhere.
Oh, right. There's also a new album from queer country goddess, Brandi Carlisle. I'm probably going to have more to say about this one down the road, since I haven't actually listened to any of her stuff outside of The Highwomen and am very excited to dive in here.
Like A Burglar's Handbook
Let's give some context to some of the shit on here that you may need a way into, yeah? First up is Pressure Cracks' new track featuring James Hart (Eighteen Visions, Burn Halo). Pressure Cracks was started by Jason Butler (Fever 333, letlive.) as a more hardcore project than what his other work has allowed him to express. Next, we got a tease of a new album from Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, and Stephen Brodsky (Cave In). It's a massive collaborative undertaking that looks like it'll be topping some AOTY lists if it even half delivers on its promise.
Gina Birch (The Raincoats) pops up with Feminist Song. Birch is best known for her work in the British post-punk art space, but this track doubles down on the experimental side of her work, with synth fuckery and spoken word verses and some vocals that are so processed you don't even need to concern yourself with lyrics at all. The last one here that requires context is the new track from Lock Up. I won't be surprised if you don't know this grindcore supergroup, even if you're into that genre. After all, this is their first release since 2017. Here we get to see members of At The Gates, Napalm Death, and Pig Destroyer go absolutely hog wild (sorry, sorry, i'm trying to delete it) for two minutes of sheer joy. If that's something you're into. Listen, I'm just writing a newsletter here. You control the media playback.
Singled Out (no, not the chris hardwick thing (rest in piss, you rapist fuck))
New singles from a ton of artists, but I want to specifically call out the extremely funny track Wet Dream by Wet Leg, which features the lyric:
I was in your wet dream
Driving in my car
What makes you think you're good enough
To think about me when you're touching yourself?
There's also a new eerie, yet weirdly bouncy track from Swedish metal band Ghost, off the Halloween Kills soundtrack. IDLES and Mom Jeans. both have new tracks for those of you who like Alt Press adjacent music that's slightly more mature than what Alt Press seems to love. Magnolia Park is a POC fronted band that sounds like all the shitty pop-punk I loved in high school. An absolute must-hear in my opinion. Soccer Mommy and Kero Kero Bonito have a collaborative track with album art that features Wii avatars (don't remember what they're called. don't care to google it. fuck you.) It's a lot of fun. And Tori Amos does a lot of Tori Amosing on a new Tori Amos track that sounds like a Tori Amos track.
What else, what else... It's already 2:00 on the east coast, so I want to hurry up and publish this before y'all leave work for the day. There's new Punch Brothers from their upcoming record. Pretty excited for this, since honestly their last one didn't do it for me and this single seems to be more aligned with what I loved from earlier releases. Christine and the Queens covers George Michael and we've got even more new music from Serengeti, who doesn't know how to take a break.
Woolbright has a bright new happy emo-adjacent, pop-punk-adjacent EP that's probably best described as indie rock. Just listen, you'll like it. And then there's Hawthonn. This duo of artists, is focusing on field recordings and organic audio to build giant ambient soundscapes that support a delicate vocal line, easing you into a sense of uncomfortable security. No guitars to be found here. Just nightmares.
Hey, speaking of nightmares. There's a new Limp Bizkit song. Fuck you.
Wrapping Up
And now we've done all the writing I have patience for today. I'm gonna go play Beatsaber and try not to cry too much before therapy in two hours. If you like this, send it on to some friends and let me know what you loved this week. I really do love getting to hear what resonates and what doesn't, since I try to paint with a broad enough brush to anger everyone a little.
I should also call out the oddball from this playlist. I deliberately open on Janelle Monáe's track honoring female victims of police violence. There are a ton of artists who appear on this nearly 18 minute long track to honor 61 black girls and women who were unjustly robbed of their lives by a racist system. When you get to this one, really take some time to drink it in. Take some time to get angry that we've lost so many people, so many lives, so many stories to a system that actively seeks out the most vulnerable.
The BLM protests from last summer are gone, but the problem still remains and is as bad as ever. Keep talking to local politicians. Keep supporting efforts to remove power from the corrupt police force and unjust justice system. Keep getting fucking mad when you see thin blue line flags in your neighbors windows, on their cars, and in their approach to the world. We must keep working. Especially those of us who are white. This is our mess to fix and we can't waste time.
Monáe lists off 61 names in this track. Every day we wait to act is another opportunity for this list to grow.
We must defund the police. Invest in your community support systems. Abolition of the prison system for those unjustly imprisoned (that is, every single prisoner) is a necessity.
I keep thinking about what "by any means" looks like in practice.
I can't stop thinking about it.