Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

There’s something a little different about Wolf Alice on this new one. They sound like a band with that freeing feeling of not having anything to prove. It’s a record that feels slower and more reflective, full of hard-earned wisdom after a bit of a whirlwind last half decade or so. There’s a recurring theme of the fresh young dreamer in the big city... and the comedown that tends to follow soon after. The dynamics are huge, although maybe the group doesn’t rock as hard here as they do in live renditions of some of these songs (the live version of Smile is a belter). The lush production mutes a lot of that... but it also supplies those dynamics so it’s a bit of give and take. And the songs are superb. So good. They get better each listen. It does need a little more grittiness in the mix but mate this is still gonna be one of the premier rock albums of the year, don’t even worry about it.

Evidence - Unlearning Vol. 1

The process of unlearning is one that exists within growth. Much of what has been passed down to us hinders, hurts or holds us back and elevating yourself beyond that requires unlearning those traits. That's the story Evidence tells on his first project that diverts away from weather related themes, with the Dilated Peoples rapper bringing glorious underground hip-hop vibes to the forefront. As undergroundy and insightful as 'Unlearning Vol. 1' is, a certain polish takes this project further as Evidence sets the tone early via multiple flow switches on the second track Start The Day With A Beat and while telling his story of unlearning, Evidence excells in exploring all sorts of funky pockets within his music.

Production is varied with Evidence himself laying down beats, along with 'Step Brother' The Alchemist. There's also work from Nottz, Daringer, V Don and plenty more hearty hip-hop staples as well as features from Boldy James, Murkage Dave, Conway the Machine, Navy Blue, Park Jams and Fly Anakin. Whether it's Boldy's slow-flow aligning with Evidence, Conway flexing all over his track with high quality bars or another strong feature from my favourite right now Navy Blue; the unlearning journey is matched with a strong collection of verses.

This one's for the hip-hoppers.

Troy Kingi – Black Sea Golden Ladder

Here we are at number rimu on Kingi’s 10/10/10 project. Halfway there and no signs of running out of ideas any time soon. We’ve had a guitar jam album, a space funk album, a reggae album, a 70s soul jam album, and now it’s a folk effort with Delaney Davidson popping up to act as a co-writer and, according to Kingi, shrink. Coz he’s not kidding when he says these are personal songs. The concept here is life itself. Big yarns. From birth to childhood to coming of age to falling in love to adulthood to retirement to death. The full circle, each song addressing a different stage of being alive. In terms of music, you can guess from the folk thing that acoustic guitars are pretty prominent and if you’re familiar with Mr Davidson then tunes like Fork In The Road and Hunt Down Happiness will sound very familiar (that kick drum, dude). It’s not the dancefloor filler that Freddie Cesar was but that’s the whole point of the 10/10/10 thing. What you get instead are moments of tenderness and vulnerability that have never been this present in Kingi’s music before. A sweet and poignant album by a man who always delivers regardless of genre.

Lucy Dacus – Home Video

It seems like two of the main things that set Lucy Dacus apart from an ever-crowded indie rock scene are: clarity and a backbeat. Her songs have a piercing simplicity to them which allows her to write these really vulnerable, honest, reflective tunes – this third album here is like a coming of age concept about being a bisexual teenager discovering one’s self in turn of the millennium Christian middle-American. Plus while she’s certainly capable of stripping it all back to an acoustic guitar or a piano... songs like Brando, VBS, and First Time here speed along with firm rhythms in the forefront. It’s a beautiful album. Really encapsulating a time, a place, and a mentality in such a vivid way. Profound. Dacus’ coming of age experience might not be yours but we all grow up with structures around us that feel confining, limiting, belittling until we find freedom in our own wide-open potential.

Mike - Disco!

Mike has quietly grown into one of the funkier forces of hip-hop, specifically the fresh New York wave that is deeply rooted in avant-garde vibes. Disco! is 17 tracks of insightful bars, that tap deep into an introspective pocket all while riding a flow upon DJ Blackpower's minimal, sample-heavy production. DJ Blackpower is actually Mike himself but in production mode and wiggling through Disco! left me wondering if anyone else would be able to shine on such production - the benefits of a multi-talented artist.

There is joy to be had in just absorbing the production. A track like 'at thirst sight by Assia' doesn't have Mike delivering his poetry, yet his production serves as an uplifting mid-point of the project and a break from the bars. Dive deep enough into the listening experience and you'll feel a touch of inspiration, uplifting energy from Mike's reflections and Disco! also serves as a funky collection of music that feels perfect for a rainy day. Chuck it on for some exercise or a car trip and you'll enjoy jams that somehow maintain high energy while stuck in heavy topics.

Gloria – Sabbat Matters

Dig a little French psych pop? Intensely catchy tunes and rhythms growing out of that 60s vibe and turning up the fuzzy guitars just a little. Lovely harmonies. More than a hint of occultish flirtation about it. Always rate those organ tones too. We’re not a million miles away from the soundtrack to, like, a Jesus Franco film or something here. Kitschy but sexy. Kaleidoscopic colours. Their first album, Gloria In Excelsis Stereo, gets equally excellent marks on the Good Vibrations Scale and although there isn’t a song as 11/10 stunning as Beam Me Up on this one it is a whole lot deeper and more consistent overall. Check out the title track, Holy Water, and Dance With Death for the taste-test. It’s a measure of the quality of these songs that the novelty never wears thin.

St Vincent – Daddy’s Home

Strange rollout for this one as Annie Clark seemed to play the villain in her press tour, bit of backlash for perceived arrogance there, and it didn’t help that the theme of this new album is her dad being released from prison for some white-collar finance crime or another. Also Jack Antonoff is involved as producer because if there’s an artsy-leaning female pop looking to make a record then he’s always involved. But dump the dumb stuff at the door because what this album really is, is a slick cosplay of 70s rock and roll in New York City. Funky Bowie. Bit of New York Dolls. Heaps of Lou Reed. And honestly it’s a heap of fun hearing St Vincent being this experimental, there are sitars on six different tracks! She doesn’t always stick to the mission (... At The Holiday Party sounds more like mid-90s R&B/pop) but no dramas there. The melodies are killer. Annie’s voice sounds great. Should have come up with a better title and marketed it better but here we have another excellent St Vincent album, just like all the others.

Vincent Neil Emerson – Vincent Neil Emerson

There’s a certain high lonesome feeling that you get from the bittersweet poetry of an outlaw with a guitar and VNE dishes it out in spades. His new self-titled record does away with the humour of Fried Chicken and Evil Women (silly title, great album) to zone in on those specific depths of emotion. To say that the spirit of Townes Van Zandt haunts this one would be an understatement. So, yeah, strap yourselves in for this one. It gets heavy – from rural aimlessness to suicidal ideations. But what someone like Townes was always able to do was to scrape those depths and return with an understanding of the beauties of life and of living. The small beauties and the huge ones. Getting high on gettin’ by to quote a song from this album. VNE is a brilliant lyricist in that deceptively simple country tradition. He’s a fine guitarist and singer too. And with this release he surely takes his rightful place in the top tier of outlaw country’s next generation.

Tyler, The Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost

The first track of Tyler, The Creator's latest album is 'Sir Baudelaire' and the name on the album cover is Tyler Baudelaire. I've never heard of Baudelaire and this first points to all sorts of deeper meanings, themes that can be dwelled on when absorbing albums over and over again. A quick squizz of the interwebs that Charles Baudelaire was a French poet from the 1800s and that's a cool jumping off point for anyone sniffing for deeper Tyler insights.

"My heart broken, remember I was rich so I brought me some new emotions, and a new boat 'cause I'd rather cry in the ocean'.

It's been a while since we last heard from Tyler and CMIYGL lives in the battle between success and lack of human vibes. There is tension between these ideas, specifically success and love that is pretty interesting to listen to itself, yet I couldn't shake how fun CMIYGL sounds. Whether it is the presence of DJ Drama adding his mixtape vibes, Tyler's raps or poetry tapping into numerous flows and styles or features that fit perfectly; this feels like a combination of early Odd Future and more recent explorative albums from Tyler. And that's why CMIYGL will keep getting plays for me. Tyler doesn't get lost in the emotions, instead he twists those among fresh sounds and poetry that cuts through. You'll be nodding along for sure.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – A Few Stars Apart

Lukas Nelson & POTR came up as a killer jam band going wild on smokey slashing extended explorations but in more recent times Nelson has settled down into the family lineage of writing tighter, gentler singer-songwriter stuff. This albums is very much that. Smooth and sweet, country-tinged stuff. Mostly love tunes. A couple of them, to keep it a hundy, are a little corny but the craft is there so clearly and Lukas is never anything but earnest... it’s right there in the name of his band. We’ll Be Alright, A Few Stars Apart, Throwin’ Away Your Love, and Smile all stand out as particularly sharp tunes. Defs wanna hear that band shred some more but that’s for a different album.

Pardoner – Came Down Different

Punk flavoured indie rock here blooming out of San Francisco, this is Pardoner’s third and best record. Stringy guitar lines which every now and then explode into a crunchy overflow of noise, working those dynamics, flipping between quiet and loud like pages of a book. That keeps the album nice and messy while they roll out these smartly written tunes that flex the influence of the likes of Pavement, Parquet Courts, Hüsker Dü, Yo La Tengo, Pixies, and Sonic Youth. You get the idea. There’s a disaffectedness to the lyrics that puts them very much in that slacker-core scene... if you dug that Dry Cleaning record from earlier in the year then you’ll probably like this one too. It’s an excellent guitar album. Increasingly catchy as it goes along.

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