Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

When the vocal chorus hits on Bug Like An Angel, exploding out of what’s otherwise a solo acoustic tune... chills, mate. This album feels like the most comfortable that Mitski has yet been within her own potential as a musical artist (which is saying something), with that vision aided by orchestral arrangements from Drew Erickson who also cast his wand upon works last year’s magnificent Weyes Blood record. Gorgeous musical accompaniment to such finely crafted tunes... yet in an ironic twist most of these songs seem to be about doubt and insecurity and fear. Outward music for inward emptions. Mitski isn’t afraid to tackle those vast unknowable ideas about the inherent loneliness in the human condition but she also realises that in the end it’s not about finding answers it’s about understanding that we’re not alone. As inhospitable as we may be.

Julian Temple Band – Tunnels

Dunedin’s JTB have been doing their garage rock things for a decade, steady as she goes, though this album got some extra hype on the back of the stonking lead single No Evil which just rocks the damn house down. There isn’t another track here that bangs like that one. JTB familiars will know that Temple’s standard tempo is somewhere in the middle with his menacing growl atop a plethora of kick-drums. That’s where Tunnels mostly hangs out. It’s like The Veils went DIY. The title track is a cool one. Blind As A Bat and Little Blood also. Deffo catch this lot on tour around Aotearoa if you get the chance.

Caught Inside - 5 Star Shag

Nothing hits like hearing 'honey can you roll me a durry' from the second track of Caught Inside's new project '5 Star Shag'. Such precise lyrics feature in abundance throughout this tightly-packed project of six tracks which wiggle through jazzyy, punky and folksy sounds. All of which lays out an intriguing canvas for lead singer Frankie Smith who provides brutal yet lovely vocals. This works through a slower vibe on 'Hot Moss', a more ruckus sound on the title track and finishing with two tracks in 'Burn That Breath' and 'She's Dancing' which are exquisite. Caught Inside appear to be a a group of youngsters who have oodles of growth ahead of them and given how impressive 5 Star Shag is, stay tuned for what is next.

Tyler Childers – Rustin’ In The Rain

There is one issue with the Kentucky King Tyler Childers’ latest effort and that’s that the album isn’t long enough. This is a seven-track self-produced stunner that includes two covers and doesn’t even make it to the 30 minute mark. The covers are impeccable: Kris Kristofferson’s Help Me Make It Through The Night and SG Goodman’s Space & Time. One all-time classic and one modern classic (Goodman is a fellow Kentuckian and features on the track she wrote – do yourself a favour and check out her two albums if you enjoy this ripper of a tune). The others are fresh Tyler originals delivering modern perspectives on timeless country sounds. Like the slow-shuffling weeper Phone Calls and Emails that sounds like something that could have spawned from the 1960s except for the digital media references (it’s a song about getting ghosted lol). The highlight is Luke 2:8-15 which takes a Bible verse about an angel heralding the birth of Christ and gives it the point of view of a shepherd who mistakes the vision for the dawning apocalypse. The ‘is it a bird, is it a plane!?’ line is obviously apocryphal but it’s also hilarious. Tyler Childers is out there doing his thing and he doesn’t care who doesn’t like it. He’s a true New Traditionalist. This one’s yet another stompingly good record from Brother Ty.

Mike, Wiki & The Alchemist - Faith Is A Rock

Every collaboration with The Alchemist is hitting the spot and the latest offering features New York City's Mike and Wiki. Al once again delivers lots of enticing samples and minimal drums, with all sorts of other sounds filling the void of various drums. This suits the delivery of Mike and Wiki perfectly as they slowly tell stories of NYC living as well as their growth. Despite the alignment towards the slower tempo, both Mike and Wiki find flows that weave delightfully through groovy pockets. Mike epitomises the slow-mo-flow on 'Bledsoe' and Wiki offers a similar wav on 'Thug Anthem' as he delivers industry advice. They also exchange poetry on a few tracks like 'Mayors A Cop' as well. FIAR is another top-notch release from The Alchemist and if you're in tune with your own emotions, you'll be nodding along non stop.

Ratboys – The Window

Chicago’s Ratboys have been steadily filling out their rootsy noise rock stylings for the best part of a decade, carving out a common ground between grunge and showgaze and country and that nebulous thing they call ‘alternative’ guitar band music. Printer’s Devil in 2020 was a culmination of that journey, their best album to date. Now they’ve taken that culmination and improved upon it with an even stronger set of tunes. If you dig the work of that band Wednesday then this one’ll go down swell (and vice versa). Every song sounds so big and bold on The Window. It’s Alive!, Morning Zoo, No Way... all great songs. As is the nine minute guitar workout Black Earth, WI which is just tremendous. If that tune doesn’t get you swaying them you must be bolted down.

Margo Cilker – Valley Of Heart’s Delighted

Really sharp song-writing in that Americana tradition, nicely suited to those of us who worship at the alter of the late great John Prine. Lovely to see that lineage of big ideas expressed in simple and poetic ways, with good-enough vocals, continuing unabated. Cilker is a Californian native of the northern, more rural until the tech bros turned up variety and her songs have an ease in them that stems out of that vast landscape – the album’s title is in reference to the Santa Clara Valley (as it used to be before it got gentrified). Her 2021 debut Pohorylle was a breakout statement of breezy grooves and clever words. This follow-up maintains the same musical formula (including most of the same band) and slaps just as hard. There’s a Bob Dylan shout out in one of the tunes (I Remember Carolina) and with that in mind it’s easy to hear the influence of the songwriter’s king... classic Dylan, sure, but also Time Out Of Mind era Dylan. She’s got that timeless quality.

K M T P - With Love

Kick back and have a jam of Aotearoa indie flavour with K M T P's new project 'With Love'. The 12 tracks feature K M T P sharing painful and joyous reflections upon a backdrop of quintessential sounds many will remember from previous decades. K M T P shines in expressing a wide range of vocals and music which can flow between slow-mo melodies to more ruckus sounds. Jams like 'Walk Out To Space' and '2:45 (Getting Old)' offer loud sing-a-long value, plus there are plenty of pockets to explore when listening back time and time again. You'll be swinging back around to this project a few times, perhaps when pondering your growth from a spell of the woes.

Oteil Burbridge – Lovely View Of Heaven

Look, sometimes you just have to lean into the reputation. Oteil has been the bass player for Dead & Co these past several years, the latest (and last!?) Grateful Dead post-incarnation. The one with John Mayer. They play slow but they play good and soulful and frankly Bob Weir can do whatever he wants these days anyway, he’s earned that right. Well, here’s Oteil away from the Dead scene putting out his own solo album with a different band of brothers and... it’s a collection of Grateful Dead covers. Specifically all Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter tracks so expect majestic words on top of spiritually affecting ballads, with an undercurrent of grief (the album is dedicated to Oteil’s late brother Kofi, as well as his mentor Col Bruce Hampton). No it’s not the same as Jerry playing these jams. But the band is tight and Oteil gives it everything he’s got and that’s a pretty substantial amount of juice right there.

Allison Russell – The Returner

You know that thing where artists take traditional genre ideas and then infuse them with fresh ideas? Yeah so this Allison Russell album kinda sounds like what would happen if Prince made a folk album. With a couple of Lauren Hill guest spots. And some Whitney Houston samples. Oh yeah, it’s a trip. And what’s even funkier is that it works so well. This album is a marvel of originality and creativity in which the risks pay off and the contrasts accentuate each other. Demons and The Returner are the two songs that stood out on first listen as absolute bangers but there’s so much to go back to again and again.

The Replacements – Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)

This is cheating because it’s actually an album released about forty years ago. Normally new mixes of old albums are just a sneaky way to re-release them and make some money but this is a rare case where the new mix is a goddamn revelation. The Mats were notoriously ragged and prone to self-sabotage. Their albums increasingly tended to sound swamped down in overproduction as they went along, a consequence of having too many cooks in the kitchen for too many troubled sessions (and then later on because Paul Westerberg’s song-writing had strayed into more of a solo context). Tim was always one of their great albums... but hear it in this context and sweet jeezus it’s so fresh and so clean and Bob Stinson’s guitar sounds greater than ever and there are a bunch of bonus tracks including a few early efforts at Can’t Hardly Wait that are magnificent. This is a column for new albums but an exception must be made for one of the finest rock and roll bands to ever walk God’s Green Earth. They may have fucked it up for themselves at every possible step (although getting banned from Saturday Night Live was a genius move decades before its time) but that’s why we love them. Fun Fact: Lorde covered a Mats song on the extended version of her first album, Swingin Party, which is from this record.

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