The April Album Round-Up
Take Me Out To a Bar / What Am I, Gatsby? by Sarah Mary Chadwick
Out of all the countries I’ve listened through, Australia has been one that has forever alluded me. This is truly a reflection of my own intersection with the land down under – and yet for every artist that I’d fully appreciate I am stuck with the same collection of Amyl and the Sniffers, the Chats, and so on and so forth. That said, Sarah Mary Chadwick has answered these prayers and so much more with raspy ballad after raspy ballad. One could imagine that after the titular opener that the instrumentation would pick up to avoid listlessly sinking into an inky dirge of wallowing – and yet Chadwick steads the storm and without buckling remains flayed under the singular spotlight for all nine tracks.
E by Eliana Glass
Whether it’s the creaking pains in my neck making me feel extra curmudgeonly or the general plateau that we all face as intentional consumers and explorers of culture rearing its ugly head once again, the idea of being caught off guard by a record seems only rarer and rarer these days. Luckily amongst the Mark Kozelek crowd someone namedropped Eliana Glass as an artist who has a similar intonation to current-era Kozelek. On top of the novelty that Glass is another 1997 baby, it was refreshing and alluring to check out a recommendation that was an outlier to the usual comparisons to Lana Del Ray. Upon listening to through the record, the Kozelek connection (while visible especially with the more piano-centric line-up of All the Artists, the Jim White/Ben Boye collaborations, and Joey Always Smiled) was if anything the least striking part of the experience overall. Right from the get-go, many listeners (myself included) my drop the needle on the first track and wait for the “song” to “get started” and yet the whole album exists on the dangling edge. What you are left with are mementos swelling in a foggy pool of the past and a sense of closure that never comes before it is too late.
Sandpaper by Sovlscrapers
There is something hilariously on-brand for both myself as characterized by my peers as well as the nature of this website when I say that I found a band that are the Portuguese equivalent of Brainbombs. From the noise-drenched riffs and the laconic and monotone monologues of debauchery, the fact that someone is doing such a wonderful pastiche would make Steve Albini smile from the great beyond.
Reunion County Record by Clementine's Private Army
There may be some bias from the sheer fact that this band hosts free downloads of their music via neocities, but don’t think it is out of sheer pity Clementine's Private Army is on this list. There are flavorings of meditative psych like Brian Jonestown Massacre, the calculated panache and showmanship of Tony Molina, and noisier palates of projects like The Jesus & Mary Chain -- but at the end of the day what makes this album such a thrill is that you can feel the gushing singularity that comes from one-man-bands. Too multifaceted to be just a solo act, yet too enveloping of a vision to be anything but the creation of one mind.
Losin' by Colin Miller
I thought I was immune to the slick slacker sounds of the current alt-country trend, and yet here I am listening to Colin Miller. Thankfully I’ve managed to make to the other side of the record without adorning an ironically sincere Bass Pro Shop hat or indulging in the all-too decadent pastel americana the likes of MJ Lenderman (who appears on the record quite a lot both instrumentally and thematically) has crafted to capture the hearts and coveralls of the indie scene. Caricatures aside, this album is extremely palatable with flickers of less twangy favorites like Andy Shauf shining through to show this is more than just a cash grab. Does Miller have what it takes to release a record that doesn’t just comfortably slide down your back like the frothy stream of a freshly-cracked beer enjoyed on a back porch? Only time will tell. But either way I’ll probably returning to this light-hearted project a few times while the sun is still burning bright.
Natural Pleasure by Broncho
A rather amorphous yet hypnotic album. Just when you think it’s going to be tried and true dream pop a la Beach House, you’re hit with hypnogogic interludes that provide textural loops to catch one’s breath and really take in the curated atmosphere you’re being swaddled in. Makes me long for the days of tossing Pure X’s Pleasure into the stereo at work and the now tragic realization that I’ve since lost that CD.
On a Painted Ocean by Walt McClements
Discovering there's an accordionist making melodically rhythmic classical on par with Philip Glass wasn't on my bingo card this year but I am so glad it has ended up there.
Time Drifts by I am Oak
Resplendent and well-orchestrated collection of songs to lull you into through the joys of a still summer day.
...and still it flutters by life
Using its brevity to such thematic ends, this skramz record is ablaze with shrieked poetics that make you want to go back and soak in the lyrics again and again.
Godspeed by The Golden Dregs
If you’re looking for a Magnetic Fields record that isn’t afraid to meander down some lost footpaths, this might be the record you need for that next overcast morning you wished you never quit smoking.
Honerable mentions: I wish I had more records from this past month to talk about, though the majority of my listening time has been spent rolling through The Residents. Considering this is the second chronological deep dive I’ve done this year (the other being Frank Zappa), I hope to come away with enough thoughts to piece together a greater retrospective with my time in the sensory (and not to mention social) deprivation tank.
