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
Surf Curse — “Hour of the Wolf”
Surf Curse released the first single off their upcoming album “Hour of the Wolf” alongside an accompanying video. The video is dark and eerie, but not spooky (which is a very fine difference). While it’s obviously freaky to have Nick Rattigan coldly staring into your eyes while singing about feeling lonely, in a weird way, it’s thrilling to see him aggressively gnaw through the hand of an anonymous woman with blood spewing from his mouth while singing about the “bleeding moon.” It felt a little campy to me, while still hitting the raw emotional chord Rattigan tends to slam. The song itself is much less lighthearted than previous Surf Curse releases and personally reminds me more of Rattigan’s other project Current Joys. There’s no doubt that the album (due to be released September 13) will be an engaging melodic experience.
— Enne Goldstein
The 1975 — “People”
I never thought I would be saying this, but I actually heavily fuck with this song. While I had previously reserved “Somebody Else” as the only song in the band’s catalogue that was worth a listen and find Matt Healy’s claims that there are “no big bands doing anything as interesting as” his group insufferable and out of touch, the song actually slaps. It’s probably such a banger because it doesn’t sound like what you’d expect The 1975 to sound like. It’s much heavier and abrasive instead of flirting and floating in this weird, dreamy, tech haze they usually find themselves in. “People” is political and feels grounded in it’s lyrical simplicity and repetitive musical themes. If the next album is more in this vein, they might have converted a nonbeliever into a fan.
— Lauren Khalfayan
Squid — “Match Bet”
Squid has the same off-beat, twangy, mania that could be associated to Black Midi, but “Match Bet” is rooted much more in it’s melody than the work of their Speedy Wunderground counterparts. Told from the perspective of a Sonic Youth super fan living with mental illness (a regular that lead singer Ollie Judge met working his shop job), the song takes what could be a simple 90s-esque guitar riff and elevates it with sharp musical turns and a spiraling into madness.
— Lauren Khalfayan
SASAMI — “Take Care”
Maybe a big claim, but I think this is my favorite SASAMI song to date. It feels like one of those songs that has been playing in your head and soundtracking your life, but also like you’ve uncovered something beautiful and new — like you didn’t have the words to say how you felt before and you’ve just now discovered them. The self-directed video is equally as stunning as well. Centered around the elements water and fire and a compulsion for destruction, SASAMI is coming to terms with that aspect of herself by acknowledging and forgiving herself for it.
Friends at The Falls — “You Don’t Have to Be Alone”
Los Angeles by way of New York Friends at the Falls have released their first single since switching coasts, and their new location shines through in “You Don’t Have to Be Alone.” The track is filled to the brim with the fast paced stride of New York, but maintains a cool California pop filter. Similarly to their previous EP Wild in Our Ways, “You Don’t Have to Be Alone” is driven by a personal, carefully crafted touch and the reminder that everyone is going through something, it’s just easier to handle with your friends.
— Virginia Croft