so much music, so little time.
Lauren Early – “Good Girl Bad Boy”
Lauren Early is back with her first new music since 2019’s Patience EP and it was worth the wait. “Good Girl Bad Boy” is Early’s catchiest and most clever song to date and the first off her forthcoming album Don’t Take My Dream Away. “Good Girl Bad Boy” is not only a great name, but a genuinely fun time. The song is paired with a self-directed video Early described as, “if John Waters directed a Die Antwoord video”. Listening or watching, you can’t miss.
Nightbus – “Mirrors”
If you’re not familiar with So Young Records, they don’t miss. Every artist on their roster is so carefully chosen and uniquely special and Nightbus is no exception. The visual identity they’ve created on the music video for “Mirrors” feels perfectly in-sync with the band musically — zoomed in, dizzy-ing, bathed in blue. The bassline rules this track and keeps a grounded, driving quality through the haziness of it all.
Black Country, New Road – Live at Bush Hall
There we have it — the new Black Country, New Road for those of us who have not seen them live yet. I really enjoyed this. There are obvious similarities, but it also feels like a different project in a lot of ways. “Up Song” almost reminds me of an Ingrid Michaelson tune in some of its elements. It’s one of those releases where it’s best listened to wandering around the world and just absorbing it. Very happy to have it, excited for the next BCNR chapter to continue. Also they sound pretty flawless live.
Wednesday – “TV in the Gas Pump”
Wednesday are very skilled at capturing nostalgia, tucked away memories, unlocking feelings or memories you’re not entirely sure why you have. “TV in the Gas Pump” was a song written on tour and it sounds exactly like that in the best way. If a melody could feel like the warmth of the sun streaming through the windows and the soft squeal of feedback like dehydration and a nagging headache, then this is it. There’s a melancholy and a lightness to it. A sleepiness. I don’t know how else to say all the things this track makes me feel but it’s a lot and it’s a great one.
Slow Fiction – Slow Fiction
Ok so this isn’t that new, but you know life happens and this didn’t get the shoutout it deserves. Front to back, this is a great EP. “In the distance, where it doesn’t matter” is a perfect album opener. This is opening-title-sequence-type, establishing the world shit. The band is really skilled at creating these emotional builds with their music where there’s this release and payoff and it’s just super satisfying. I think a lot of that has to do with their editing in regards to space within the songs — when to pull it back, when to drop out, when to go full throttle. The transitions from track to track and the interlude of “Take Four” add to the overall atmosphere of the EP. As a whole, it feels like a snapshot of a soundtrack. We get a glimpse of the world of Slow Fiction and very excited to see what the larger story continues to look like.
