ICYMI is a series featuring new and notable releases you (and we) may have missed
Art by Enne Goldstein, you can find more of their work here
dad sports – “name & place”
The cottage-core picnics you’ve been seeing on your instagram feed, Euphoria season 1, and an 80s coming of age film had a baby and gave us dad sports’ new music video for “name & place”. The dream-pop single is the band’s first release with New York label, Grand Jury, and a great introduction to the band at that. I could easily see dad sports scoring an A24 film or becoming the next viral tiktok sensation. The video is beautifully shot and gives a solid dose of nostalgia for when life was fun, but also bittersweet. Remember the pain of feeling and experiencing things? Or was that all a dream.
Navy Gangs – “Sometimes”
Sitting at home on a gloomy day, I felt myself sink into the emotional caverns that Navy Gangs’ “Sometimes” opens up. On this new song, the band has kept some of the same fuzzy sound that struck a chord on their previous releases, while also exploring a new vulnerability and depth of content. Considering the track length coming in at just over two and a half minutes, the band hooks you in quickly, and leaves you wanting more. “Sometimes” kicks off with driving, almost Interpol-esque guitar, giving off a very forlorn post-punk feel. The vocals that emerge later on tell a story of disenchantment with the world, delivered through emotive descriptions of the struggle to maintain relationships over time. For myself and for so many others, it’s been hard to process the changes that the pandemic has made to our lives, and I think this track fits that narrative pretty well, while also proving to be a stunning introduction to what Navy Gangs has in the works.
— Jake Abrams
Wafia – “Good Things”
“Good Things” flips the burn book on its head and gives us a joyful, celebratory, early 2000s style collage tribute in its place. This is exactly how I want my pop music — fun, free, and feel-good. A lot of shit is really sad right now, so if you need to snap out of it, try dancing around your room to this.
Flying J & The Dripsters – “Supposed To”
I love when a music video brings a song to new life in the creation of a visual world and the video for “Supposed To” does just that. From the eviction notice, to the motel straight out of @decorehardcore, the quick cuts, cigarette butts, and a tense moment with a toaster, the visual element of this song makes it all the more memorable and elevates it to a new place. I want to live in this motel and watch more videos like this, please.
LAMPS – Horse Cow Goat Pig Dog
Since Sabbath weren’t the radical feminists we needed, at least we have Denée Segall screaming “I’m fucking powerful!” amongst full distortion and fuzz in 2020. For fans of Ty Segall (he recorded and mixed), The C.I.A. (another project of Denée’s), and of course LAMPS circa 2012 (their last release) this is a welcome track to help us get through our dark days without live music and pretend as if that wasn’t the case.
