I Got Heaven- Mannequin Pussy
The arc of musicians who started making music that could reasonably be described as challenging for any number of reasons before gradually softening their edges with a more populist sensibility is one of the most tried and true that I can think of, but few have pulled it off in the past decade as superbly as Mannequin Pussy. From their searing self-titled 2014 debut to their pristine third LP, Patience, in 2019, the Philly 4 piece progressed from hardcore to noise pop-rock over the course of 3 increasingly assured and singular sounding records thanks in large part to the dynamic singing and songwriting of frontwoman Marisa Dabice. While many artists tend to lose their idiosyncrasies to make room for a more palatable sound, MP have only become stranger, and harder to pin down with each increasingly accessible subsequent record. MP’s recently released 4th LP, I Got Heaven, is the latest record within this progression, and to the surprise of no one who’s been paying attention, it’s the band’s most adventurous and well-realized record to date.
IGH isn’t a dramatic stylistic leap for MP, but it’s easily the most potent and refined their music has ever sounded, particularly on the album’s four singles. “I Got Heaven” and “Sometimes” are masterclasses in building /sustaining tension and balancing abrasion with immediacy, with the former gathering steam towards a coda seething with catharsis, and the latter simmering along a groove that flips from sugar to shrapnel on a dime. 2nd single and highlight “I Don’t Know You” transitions from understated bubble-gum pop to their definitive shoegaze anthem with seamless precision, while the trip-hop informed final single, “Nothing Like”, is their purest pop moment to date, and the sort of propulsive juggernaut that would’ve absolutely dominated MTV back when they championed guitar-based music. And while the singles showcase the most significant growth, “Softly” and closer “Split Me Open” are just as tuneful as anything else here. There are songs from past releases like “Drunk II” and “Perfect” where they’ve superbly distilled their pop instincts, but none of their past work is quite this ambitious. The scope of these songs and the performances on each are consistently striking, and they represent the pinnacle of MP’s dynamic songwriting to date.
While most of the songs on IGH suggest that MP have completed their metamorphosis by shedding their hardcore identity, there are still a few hardcore songs scattered throughout the back half that prove that MP aren't interested in completely forsaking their roots just yet. “OK? OK! OK? OK!” barrels along a propulsive rhythm perpetually in a state of flux, giving it an uneasy, unpredictable allure as Marisa brandishes some particularly nasty snarls, and it’s the best of the bunch. “Of Her” features some nimble drumming and a sublime guitar tone on its 2nd half, while “Aching” is another tight showcase of Marisa’s snarls, but neither feel essential. The hardcore offerings are good, but they aren’t anywhere near as compelling as the songs on side a, and 1 or 2 of them could’ve been cut without really disrupting the flow or force of IGH on the whole. It’s not so much the overall impact of the hardcore songs in general as it is the sequencing of the record that particularly suffers from their inclusion. The first half rides one glorious peak to the next while some of the momentum on side b falters when the last few hardcore cuts begin to bleed into each other before closer “Split Me Open” swoops in to end the record on a satisfying resolution. But even these minor gripes don’t diminish how strong the vast majority of this music is.
Marisa’s writing has always struck a visceral, politically charged chord, and while IGH is no exception in this regard it features more than its fair share of her sharpest lyrics yet with a heightened focus on love and lust. Opening song and title track “I Got Heaven” lays it all out with the already iconic “And what if we stopped spinning/And what if we’re just flat/And what if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch” within the context of a rallying cry against the institution of weaponized Christianity, and the rest of the songs on IGH sustain the impassioned tenor conjured here. While there are songs like the title track that find Marisa baring her fangs, on the other side of the spectrum lies “Nothing Like”, which exudes the ecstasy of new love with an almost overwhelming, delirious desire “Nothing like the taste of you/I whisper into words I won’t admit”. The magic of IGH reveals itself in the multifaceted range of Marisa’s songwriting, which delivers volatile blow after blow even in moments of relatively quiet reprieve. On “Split Me Open”, Marisa seems to seek an intimate connection but only if it adheres to her terms and nothing less, with each incessant “Nothing’s going to change” landing like an increasingly fatal body blow amidst the bright, wordless harmonies and infectious guitar riffs surrounding it. After a decade of being a great punk band, it’s extremely satisfying to hear MP continue their evolution into something far bolder, but just as compelling.
Essentials: “I Don’t Know You”, “I Got Heaven”, “Sometimes”
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A few weeks ago Kamasi Washington released a new single called "Prologue", which is the first single that he's released since "The Garden Path" in 2022, alongside the announcement of his upcoming LP, Fearless Movement. "Prologue" is the sort of snappy, propulsive jazz that Kamasi has made his signature since the release of his grand, aptly titled 2015 debut LP, The Epic, with its rollicking grooves and lush melody that seem to be in conversation with funk, r&b, and hip-hop in addition to the spiritual jazz that his work generally seems to be in the lineage of. Kamasi's lane is colorful, chaotic maximalism, and he's still thriving in it.
His saxophone playing is still extremely impressive but it's far from flashy. Aside from the occasional solo, he folds his saxophone into the framework of the composition like any other element, and the music is better served for it. The production here is simply immaculate, with rich sonic flourishes accentuating the synth arpeggios and the motorik polyrhythms, that sound just as informed by the work of bands like Tortoise and The Sea and Cake as it does the formative jazz greats that he's so often compared to. "Prologue" is both an excellent entry point and expansion of Kamasi's sound, and it gives plenty of reason to believe that FM will have been well worth the 6 year wait since Kamasi's last full-length, Heaven and Earth.
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A few weeks ago This Is Lorelei (the side project of Nate Amos, who is also 1/2 of Water From Your Eyes) released a new single called "Dancing in the Club", which is the first taste of his upcoming LP, Box For Buddy, Box For Star. "Dancing in the Club" is more immediate than anything that WFYE have released, but it retains that band's playful penchant for unpredictability even as Nate's auto-tune saturated vocals lead to a hook swelling with euphoria. Some may find the pervasive auto-tune grating, but to my ears it's a tasteful choice that complements the rest of the sonics on display. The real draw here is the infectious keyboard melody that ties everything together, whether it's the lone element in the mix or joined by the synthetic strings or vocals.
The pathos of heartbreak "I lost your love today/In a lonely summer breeze/I was dreaming all my dreams/Yeah, I'm my own worst enemy" is matched by a tongue in cheek riff on card suites "And I know it's only cards/But I feel your love in spades/While you were dancing in the club/I gave all my diamonds away", resulting in the same irresistible blend of irreverence and sincerity that Nate helped perfect on last year's excellent WFYE album, Everyone's Crushed. Given that this is one of Nate's projects, "Dancing in the Club" could be a feign for completely different sounding record, but if it's a fair indicator of the quality of BFB, BFS than we're in for something special.
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Favorite Releases of February 2024
Compassion- Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, & Tyshawn Sorey
Essentials: “Overjoyed”, “Tempest”, “Ghostrumental”
Rooting for Love- Laetitia Sadier
Essentials: “Proteiformunite”, “Don’t Forget You’re Mine”, “The Inner Smile”
What Now- Brittany Howard
Essentials: “Every Color in Blue”, “What Now”, “Prove It To You”
Where we’ve been, Where we go from here- Friko
Essentials: “Get Numb To It!”, “Chemical”, “Statues”
PHASOR- Helado Negro
Essentials: “I Just Want To Wake Up With You”, “Best For You and Me”, “Wish You Could Be Here”
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PHASOR- Helado Negro
There are very few artists who I’m aware of that have cultivated such a perpetually chill sensibility that they’ve managed to make fresh and wholly their own over the course of multiple records aside from Helado Negro. Since 2009, the Brooklyn to Asheville-based, Spanish-American singer-songwriter/producer has carved out a striking lane for himself by juxtaposing Latin-folk, pop, and experimental electronic music into an evocative, enveloping sound. His music has become increasingly electronic (and well-realized) over the years, culminating in his 2019 opus, This Is How You Smile, which was essentially a collection of auto-biographical vignettes wrapped in warm synth-pop. TIHYS was a true breakthrough, the sort of wildly ambitious statement of purpose that he had been building towards since the beginning, and the sort of record that you can’t help but dream of your favorite artists making. His 2021 follow-up, Far In, had a nearly impossible task laid out before it, and while it’s a very good record, the magic that Negro had been channeling throughout TIHYS was somewhat lost in its eclectic sprawl. Helado’s recently released 8th LP, PHASOR, rekindles the delicate, dreamy magic of TIHYS while conjuring its own highly specific appeal. It’s easily one of Helado’s best records to date, and one of the best records that I’ve heard this year so far.
The 9 songs on PHASOR unfurl with a patient, unassuming disposition, but they’re among his most focused and direct music to date. Negative space plays a prominent role in these songs, and the amount of breathing room these instruments are given is extremely impressive when considering just how much detail is packed into these songs. PHASOR is 35 minutes long, and its 9 songs flow together with such sharp peaks and valleys, varied dynamics, and tight sequencing that it’s best experienced as 1 continuous suite of music despite the natural inclination to cherry pick for playlist fodder. The music is some of Helado’s boldest, and best-realized to date, whether we’re talking about the penultimate drum & bass highlight “Wish You Could Be Here”, the psychedelic rock opening cut “LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)”, or the springy bossanova workout “Out There”, and the same can be said of his vocal melodies. Aside from career highlight “Running”, nothing in his discography reaches the tender, expressive heights of “What’s Best for You and Me” or the dreamy, psychedelic-tinged euphoria of “I Just Want To Wake Up With You”. The sonic ingenuity on display here impresses at every turn, but it’s never at the expense of the pure pleasures of pop, and Helado has become incredibly adept at writing dynamic pop music that doesn’t sound like the work of any other artist.
While there are a few particularly revelatory songs that take Helado’s music to new heights, the music is still immensely arresting in its quieter moments. The mid-tempo marimba march of “Colores Del Mar” begins like an understated transitory piece as a comedown from “Best For You and Me” and then it develops into a satisfying, subtly funky piece with some of the best drumming on the entire album, while the following song, “Echo Tricks Me”, would flow like an ambient dirge if not for the double time cymbals that imbue a sense of urgency into the drowsy cocktail of chimes, lumbering bass, and soft, multi-tracked incantations. “Flores” achieves pure ambiance through loops of gentle guitar strums, bright synths, and Helado’s echo-laden vocal harmonies that, when eventually accompanied by a colossal, half-time snare, radiate a transcendent glow, while closer “Es Una Fantasia” begins with a minute of nothing but sparse acoustic guitar strums and Helado’s voice before congealing into a serene but springy jaunt propelled by nimble drumming and Helado’s impossibly tender vocal melodies. While Helado is a widely celebrated artist, I still don’t think he’s given enough credit for his production, which, on PHASOR, is so consistently immaculately-rendered that he should be regularly producing the music of other musicians.
The sentiments expressed in these songs (musings on family, community, identity, self-realization, etc) are themes that Helado has touched on many times throughout the years, but it’s still disarming to hear something as vulnerable and sympathetic as "Best For You and Me", a piano-led reverie centered around his parents' divorce. Its placement is particularly jarring following suit immediately after "I Just Want To Wake Up With You", which is one of the breeziest and blissful sounding celebrations of the habitual joys of a romantic relationship that I've ever heard. When taken together these songs form record's tonal extremes, with everything that follows suit flitting between these poles. The mesmerizing ambiance of "Echo Tricks Me" unfolds like Helaldo's approximation of a bad trip as feelings of paranoia creep into the frame, while the weightless electro-acoustic daydream "Flores" belies its lumbering arrangement with an urgent desire for physical embrace. PHASOR quickly reveals itself to be a record about connections, mostly missed or fraught ones, and the desire to either mend or move on. The penultimate "Wish You Could Be Here" succinctly sums the record's thematic thrust up in 4 lines "I'll be asking you, my friend/Where to Lay It Down Again/Trees begin to hold us still/Living wounds won't heal themselves" with tight but tender precision befitting the ingenuity of the arrangement. The emotional and sonic generosity of PHASOR feels boundless, like an audio balm steeped in hard fought wisdom and an omnivorous musical appetite alike. It's one of the most satisfying statements yet from an artist who, at this moment, feels completely in a lane of his own.
Essentials: “I Just Want To Wake Up With You”, “Best For You and Me”, “With You Could Be Here”
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A few weeks ago Charli XCX released a new song called "Von Dutch", which is the first single from her upcoming 6th LP, Brat. "Von Dutch" is the sort of undeniable electro-clash heater that Charli seemed like she was moving away from on her more recent releases, but is nonetheless exactly the sort of thing that her voice sounds best over. The jittery kick/snare rhythm ignites almost immediately, the warped synths follow suit shortly afterwards, and 30 seconds later Charli's delivering one of the best hooks of her career to date.
While the nasty production on display courtesy of Easyfun is the most immediate draw, Charli's infectious vocal melody amplifies the potency of the arrangements, cementing the song's assertive allure. The less said about the lyrics the better, but not even several clunkers derail the high-octane momentum that "Von Dutch" sustains with ease. "Von Dutch" is the easiest contender for song of the summer that I've heard so far this year, and it's hopefully indicative of what we can expect more of on Brat.
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A few weeks ago Bully shared a new song called "Atom Bomb", that was recorded during the sessions for their 2023 opus, Lucky For You. "Atom Bomb" is a refreshing change of pace for Bully, as it swaps out Alicia Bognanno's trad rock band setup for piano and strings. But rather than feel like some kind of cheap, phoned in or forced gimmick, "Atom Bomb" simply reaffirms what has always been evident about Bully, but became increasingly clear on LFY; as strong as Alicia's guitar playing is, her voice is her most expressive and immediately appealing instrument, and she could probably wield it to compelling effect over a much wider plethora of instrumentation than we're used to hearing from her music as Bully.
And while the arrangements here aren't quite as dynamic as Alicia's guitar playing, her voice, which quakes, quivers, and absolutely soars within this song's modest sub 3 minute runtime, is in excellent form throughout. There's still a raw quality to Alicia's delivery, but her melodies have never sounded sharper, and the dynamics at play here really showcase how much she's developed as a vocalist since her first few records. While I don't think an entire record of songs in this mode would necessarily play to her strengths, a song like "Atom Bomb" is a welcome cap to a great album that thankfully retains so much of what made that record so striking.
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A few weeks ago Hovvdy released a new song called "Meant", which is the 5th single from their upcoming self-titled double LP. "Meant" is a little stranger and less straightforward than the prior 4 singles by virtue of its arpeggio synth chimes that are in perpetual flux in the background, but it's still imbued with the same melodic warmth that you can increasingly depend on this group for. The song progresses at a near crawl with its codeine-tinged boom-bap beat, and there isn't that much more happening in the mix aside from the drums, synths, and vocals, but the synths are so enveloping that they give the illusion of a much more maximalist sonic palette.
The synths eventually drop out save for a low-pitched droning synth set against the drums and vocals for a tastefully sparse second verse before the synths swoop back in for the subsequent hook. Right on the heels of that 2nd hook there's a gorgeous 30 second instrumental fade out that emerges to close things out. Like the preceding singles, "Meant" isn't likely to surprise anyone who's been paying attention to Hovvdy's progression, but it's yet another potent encapsulation of their strengths that amplifies the sense that their on the cusp of an artistic breakthrough with this upcoming LP.
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A few weeks ago Mdou Moctar shared a new single called "Funeral for Justice", which is the first single from and title track of their upcoming 7th LP. "Funeral for Justice" is the sort of frenetic, desert blues jam propelled by dazzling guitar lines that MM have specialized in, but there's a heightened level of urgency on display befitting the song/album title. Mdou's vocal phrasing here is particularly nimble, with lines that dart around the mix with a sly agility, and infectious, double-tracked lines that lend the music the feeling of an elongated, communal call and response.
The rhythm in particular is a real highlight, with drums and bass flowing in a jerky, start and stop sort of motion in perfect lockstep with one another that superbly complements Moctar's voice. Like the best MM music, "Funeral for Justice" is a thrilling surge of adrenaline that manages to sidestep any sense of hollow virtuosity by virtue of their incredibly expressive, adventurous performances. "Funeral for Justice" is a rousing yet succinct powerhouse of a single, and it bodes very well for MM's upcoming LP.
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A few weeks ago Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) shared a new song called "Broken Man", which is the first single from her upcoming 7th LP, All Born Screaming. "Broken Man" thankfully finds Clark moving beyond the realms of the watered down glam and funk that plagued her underwhelming 2021 LP, Daddy's Home, in favor of an industrial-lite art rock pivot. There are plenty of tasteful touches throughout, like the juxtaposition between sparse electronic snares and analog drum rolls, and the understated, chugging synth bass that propels the bridge, that are more inspired than anything that Clark's released in years.
While it's a shame that Clark's guitar playing doesn't really emerge until a little over the last minute or so, her strutting riff is easily one of the nastiest lines that she's laid down in years, and it really ties everything here together. ABS will be Clark's first self-produced record, and the glossy, enveloping production style coupled with Clark's signature mezzo-soprano prevents "Broken Man" from lapsing into pure Nine Inch Nails pastiche. It'll be interesting to hear if ABS completely commits to full-blown industrial, but for now, "Broken Man" stands as a refreshing course correction.
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A few weeks ago Alcest returned with a new song called "L'Envol", which is the first single from their upcoming 7th LP, Les Chants de I'aurore. On "L'Envol", Alcest continue their pivot from the black gaze style that they helped pioneer nearly 15 years ago with a gorgeously rendered epic that lands somewhere between dream pop, post-rock, and prog. This is some of the straight up prettiest music that Alcest have ever made, and while there's still plenty of dense, distortion-laden guitar, it's not of the pummeling black metal variety, and it operates as a ballast in service of Neige's soaring vocal melodies. It's a lush, larger than life sort of song that finds the band sounding reinvigorated.
There are screams that emerge several minutes in, but only as an additional texture deployed for like a measure or so as the guitars continue to build steam. The last 40 seconds are downright angelic, and as potentially off-putting and seemingly played out as it might seem to have a band with black metal roots pivot to such a soft disposition, it's an extremely well-earned payoff that's executed with sublime precision. I'm not sure convinced that Alcest committing to a full record in this mode will be particularly satisfying (look no further than Deafheaven's latest), but "L'Envol" is a satisfying pivot that plays to the band's strengths without completely abandoning elements of what made them so striking in the first place.
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A few weeks ago Marnie Stern released a new song called "Sixteen", which was cut from the same sessions as her aptly titled 2023 comeback LP, The Comeback Kid. "Sixteen" is a noisy slice of math rock that features the sort of dazzling guitar work that we've come to expect from Stern, and like the best of her work it exudes a melodic playfulness that prevents the virtuosic playing from feeling gratuitous. Stern's still a phenomenal guitarist, but true to form, the playing remains in service of the song and not purely a showcase of talent within some half-hearted idea.
Stern's vocals unfold like a series of stuttered chants, and they congeal to form an infectious vocal melody that trails behind the guitar with a bouncy cadence. The cymbal bashing rhythm moves in perfect lockstep with the vocals, and there are some incredibly impressive rolls that emerge sporadically, but as always it's Stern's guitar playing that's the main draw here. Like the rest of TCK, "Sixteen" is a superb return to form that showcases so much of what's made her such a compelling artist, and it hopefully won't be another decade before her next full-length.
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Favorite Releases of January 2024
5. Little Rope- Sleater-Kinney
Essentials: "Say It Like You Mean It", "Hell", "Don't Feel Right"
4. Three Bells- Ty Segall
Essentials: "I Hear", "Eggman", "To You"
3. Obsidian Wreath- Infant Island
Essentials: "Vestygian", "Veil", "Clawing, Still"
2. Wall of Eyes- The Smile
Essentials: "Bending Hectic", "Friend of a Friend", "Under Our Pillows"
1. plastic death- glass beach
Essentials: "commatose", "cul-de-sac", "puppy"
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A few weeks ago Nourished by Time (the freestyle/ bedroom pop/r&b project of Marcus Brown) released a new song called "Hand on Me", and it's the first new song that he's shared from his upcoming Catching Chickens EP. Brown broke out last year due to the strength of his Erotic Probiotic 2 mixtape, and "Hand on Me" is a potent victory lap that retains the melodic, off the cuff charm of EP2 so thoroughly that it probably could have fit snugly on that record. The well-realized aesthetic and assured performances of EP2 were no fluke; this is Brown's sound, and he's in full command of it all.
After the a few measures of synthetic brass leads, a ticking hi-hat, and some understated bass lines, "Hand on Me" jolts to life with a springy snare beat and a lush synth line that congeal with the aforementioned elements to form one of his sharpest melodies yet. Brown's vocals are reserved yet magnetic and they convey the kind of unbridled yearning that I'm just an absolute sucker for. It's still just as compelling to hear the kind of lo-fi shapes that Brown can conjure out of the sparsest of elements without ever repeating himself as it was on EP2. On "Hand on Me", Brown's heartfelt, minimalist songcraft continues to remain its own iconoclastic, insular retreat.
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Last year Armand Hammer (the New York based experimental hip-hop duo of billy woods and Elucid) released yet another strong record with We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, and a few weeks ago they returned with a bonus track called "Doves" featuring Benjamin Booker. While "Doves" was supposedly cut during the same sessions as WBDTS, it sounds like the work of an entirely different album, and almost an entirely different artist. On the nearly 9 minute "Doves" the duo's tightly-wound, introspective raps over decaying, jazz-flecked industrial backdrops are absent in favor of a drumless ambient composition that drifts along a comparable emotional wavelength as the work of Armand Hammer, but was constructed with a different tool-kit.
Wispy synths, field recordings, dissonance, droning vocal loops, and negative space envelop the mix, resulting in a disarming sonic cocktail that's more reminiscent of Earl Sweatshirt and Pink Siifu at their most avant-garde than Armand Hammer. Actual bars don't arrive until several minutes in, and they're delivered in an elongated, stream of consciousness style flow befitting the music on display. But when billy woods starts rapping, "Doves" starts to sound like the next chapter of the conversation that he and Elucid have been having since the jump. "Doves" is one of the most compelling songs that Armand Hammer have ever released, and while I don't expect this to be indicative of their next direction, I hope more of their music sounds like this moving forward.
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Wall of Eyes- The Smile
When The Smile released their 2022 debut, A Light for Attracting Attention, the conversation seemed overwhelmingly fixated on the band's perceived status as nothing more than a Radiohead side project steeped in the legacy band's shadow despite having their own specific appeal. Sure, ALfAA features many shades of Radiohead hallmarks (string-laden ambiance, topical but pessimistic thematic through lines, Jonny Greenwood's immersive guitar playing, Thom Yorke's show- stopping falsetto, etc) but it also incorporated elements of post-punk and afrobeats, as well as the snappy rhythms of Tom Skinner (the drummer of the defunct avant-garde jazz band Sons of Kemet), all of which gave the music its own distinctive flavor. The Smile's recently released follow-up, Wall of Eyes, is yet another spellbinding album that takes the band's artistry to satisfying new vistas, and it will hopefully put the reductive, dismissive comparisons to rest once and for all.
This time around, the trio of Johnny Greenwood, Thom Yorke, and Tom Skinner have opted for a more meditative approach that trades the eclecticism of their last record for a greater sense of cohesion. Whereas ALfAA felt like a showcase of everything that The Smile can do, WoE feels like the band honing in on where they want to go, which sounds like the sweet spot between krautock and prog. With the exception of the record's centerpiece, "Bending Hectic", which builds slowly but assuredly from stirring string arrangements into the sort of explosive, distortion-heavy crescendo that you'd be forgiven for assuming Yorke and Greenwood had left for good back in the 90s, these songs don’t lash out so much as they seethe under your skin. For the most part, the songs on WoE lull you into a disquieting sense of serenity before throwing you off balance with subtle dynamic and textural shifts. In some respects, it feels like the entire album is just building to the climax of "Bending Hectic", and then leaning on "You Know Me!" as an elongated cool down following the storm. While not every song here is as strong as the singles, there's nothing here that falls flat or feels like a case of the band lapsing into diminishing returns.
On WoE, The Smile remain an ideal vehicle for distilling Yorke and Greenwood's eclectic impulses outside of the cumbersome confines of making music under the Radiohead banner. It's not that these songs are any stranger or more experimental than anything Radiohead might release, but they're imbued with a looser, more off-kilter energy that feels like the closest thing we'll ever hear to any combination of these musicians adhering to a "first idea best idea" ethos. Which isn't to say these are sloppy or tossed off, but they're less fussy than they'd sound in the hands of Radiohead. The brisk, bossa-nova flecked title track, and the cinematic, dub-leaning highlight "Friend of a Friend" could've easily collapsed in on themselves with more overcooked, belabored production. The wispy "Teleharmonic" works wonders for the pacing with its lack of embellishments and emphasis on negative space, while the krautrock pulse of "Under Our Pillows" provides the perfect pick me up with its low-end strut that thankfully wasn't buried under layers of strings or synths. Whether burrowing further into the avant-garde, our delivering throwback punk rippers, The Smile's potency stems largely from a willingness to follow their muse unburdened by any sort of preconceived notion of what their music is supposed to sound like.
On WoE, Yorke remains as fatalistic of a writer as ever, but the sentiments that he conveys are imbued with a more overt, strictly political seeming bent. The disarming tuneful “Friend of a Friend” scans like commentary on the solidarity of political elites continuously prioritizing their bank statements above those they have an obligation to serve “All of that money/Where did it go?/Where did it go?/In somebody else’s pocket/A friend of a friend” while the nervy “Under our Pillows” reads like a statement on the pervasive diffusion of misinformation “Episodes wiped clean wiped clean wiped clean/This is major league make believe make believe”. And on the penultimate “Bending Hectic”, Yorke paints a vivid suicide by car crash scenario that depicts the gamut of considerations that arise in the moments leading up to both the decision to act and the crash itself “The ground is coming up for me now/We've gone over the edge/If you’ve got something to say/Say it now” that scans like the inevitable escape hatch being deployed after decades of hubris and greed. After decades of seemingly mining the veins of turmoil and paranoia dry, it still remains a pleasure to hear Yorke’s penchant for pessimistic, poetic musings well intact.
While I'd love to receive another album from Radiohead or Suns of Kemet, The Smile remains the best case scenario for the disintegration of those aforementioned groups. The Smile is less a power trio than a peculiar one, more fixated on exploring the possibilities of sound than in harnessing them in service of likeability. It's the spirit of limitless possibility that aligns The Smile with the aforementioned groups that their members came from more so than any specific sonic signifiers. While I do think it would be interesting for The Smile to try their hands at a record full of propulsive guitar jams along the lines of their excellent debut deep-cut “We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings", it's becoming increasingly evident that, wherever they decide to go next, their quality control won't allow for anything less than good. It still feels a little too early to say if The Smile is here to stay, but it'll be interesting to hear what these 3 iconoclasts continue to achieve under this umbrella.
Essentials: "Bending Hectic", "Friend of a Friend", "Under Our Pillows"
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A few weeks ago Four Tet released a new single called "Daydream Repeat", which is the latest offering from his upcoming LP, Three. "Daydream Repeat" is a propulsive, pastel-hued cut that weaves gorgeous harp textures that sound ripped from the Rounds playbook atop an infectious, rollicking techno groove. It's one of the prettiest songs that Four Tet has released in awhile, but true to form it's a potent balancing act between the club and the crib, and it unfolds like the best of both worlds. Four Tet remains the rare kind of producer who can extend a track beyond the 5 minute mark without anything overstaying its welcome, and "Daydream Repeat" is no exception.
The central melodic motif is strong enough to stand without any additional adornment, but Kieran envelops it in layers of tasteful strings, synths, and bells without smothering it. As usual, the mixing is just sublime, with Kieran's delicate touch resulting in drums that are visceral but light, and synths that are immersive but far from excessive. By now, the Four Tet sound is so well-defined that true surprises like last year's "Three Drums" are increasingly unusual, but it's still extremely impressive to hear how much novelty he can still glean from such well-worn forms. Based on "Daydream Repeat", "Three Drums", and "Loved", it sounds like Three is shaping up to be another unsurprisingly strong, eclectic record.
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