Music update, April 2023.

Whew, that was a very strong month, or maybe I’m just finding more music every time I do this. I actually cut a few tracks (two were from Deeper and Beach Fossils) and we’re still at 26 songs and 100 minutes. Anyway, you know what to do.

Dexys Midnight Runners – I’m Going to Get Free. Yes, that’s the same band that produced “Come On Eileen” forty years ago, and I feel reasonably certain this is the best thing they’ve put out since then, a jaunty, bouncy, incredibly catchy track that recalls the same throwback sound they rode to the top of the charts when I was still in elementary school.

Speedy Ortiz – Scabs. Welcome back to Sadie Dupuis and company, who’ve been gone way too long. This is their first new track since 2018 and has the same sort of dissonant and off-kilter melodies that have made them one of my favorite artists of the last decade.

Pynch – Tin Foil. This British alternative act is about to release its first album, and I love the smartass lyrics within this post-punk envelope that sounds like Wire mixed with the Twerps. The line “I’m saving up for the apocalypse/Because there’s gonna be deals” still makes me laugh every time.

WITCH feat. Sampa the Great – Avalanche of Love. WITCH were pioneers of what is now called Zamrock, but hadn’t released any new material since about 1985. It turns out the band have been recording a new album, with this second single featuring their fellow Zambian Sampa the Great on vocals.

Blondshell – Salad. Sabrina Teitleman, who records as Blondshell, has been tabbed the next big thing by a number of publications, and just released her debut album under this moniker (The Guardian posted a rave review). It’s full of angsty, often indignant tracks about bad relationships and the misogyny of modern society; the lyrics and the melodies are pretty inconsistent in quality, but when she peaks, as she mostly does here on “Salad,” it’s really compelling and separates her from the huge class of female singer-songwriters mining similar thematic territory.

Pinkshift – to me. This Baltimore band released its debut album in October and return now with this one-off single, which sounds like Hole mashed up with some My Chemical Romance and a doom-inspired drum line.

Chappaqua Wrestling – Need You No More. I assumed these guys were from New York when I first heard this track, but they’re from Brighton and do a sort of mashup of Britpop and ‘90s American alternative. The laconic vocals would usually bother me, but they contrast so well with the high-energy guitars behind them I’ll forgive the delivery.

LA Priest – It’s You. I loved Wild Beasts, and when LA Priest first crossed my radar after that band broke up, I was sure it was their former lead singer or perhaps a lost track from one of their last albums. Nope, it’s an entirely different artist, named Sam Dust, who just works in a similar musical vein.

DEADLETTER – The Snitching Hour. A ska-tinged post-punk act from London with a Yard Act-like approach to their vocals. Good luck getting the “Love thy neighbor” chorus out of thy head.

Altin Gün – Su Siziyor. Another great track from this Anatolian rock act, with heavy psychedelic vibes over a strong rock foundation, from their new album Ask (which should have a cedilla under the s). Strongly recommended for fans of Khruangbin.

Jessie Ware – Begin Again. I don’t tend to go in for “sophisti-pop,” and there’s definitely something carefully constructed about this track from Ware’s latest album (the empty lyric “Give me something good that’s even better than it seems” might as well come from ChatGPT), but man does this thing bang.

Arlo Parks – Blades. I can’t wait for Parks’s sophomore album My Soft Machine to drop on the 26^th of this month, as her voice and lyrics sound as strong as they did on her Mercury Prize-winning debut but with a new direction in her music.

Jorja Smith – Try Me. Smith’s debut album Lost and Found made my top albums of 2018, but since then it’s been all EPs, collaborations, and one-off singles like this one, which showcases her incredible, sultry voice over a jazzy drum-and-bass backdrop.

Romy – Enjoy Your Life. That’s Romy of the xx, who also has provided vocals on Jamie xx’s standout track “Loud Places.” She’s been teasing her solo debut album for at least three years now, with no new news about its release, although between this and last year’s “Strong” I have to think a full-length LP is coming soon.

Hatchie – Dream On – Country Girl. Another bonus track from the deluxe edition of last year’s Giving the World Away.

The Beaches – Everything is Boring. This track from the Toronto quartet reminds me a bit of the Aces mixed with the California pop-punk vibe of artists like Bleached.

MUNA – One that Got Away. This trio dropped their third album last year and are already back with this pop gem, which has a little Human League to the music. (I’m old. Sorry.)

The Japanese House – Sad to Breathe. Another lovely track from Amber Mary Bain, with a balladesque beginning that leads into a soft electronic track, all of which shows off her vocals. I’m very here for singer-songwriters who actually let it rip a little on the microphone.

Bloc Party – High Life. Kele Okereke and company appear to be taking a victory lap on this celebratory track, their first since last year’s Alpha Games, which in turn was some of their best work since “Banquet.”

SENSES – Drifting. The debut album from this British band feels very post-Britpop, and while I wish this song had some more lyrics, the one line they repeat does get stuck in my head.

The DMA’s – Everybody’s Saying Thursday’s the Weekend. This Australian band has had quite the career track already, starting out as an Oasis-like rock band, then veering into electronica on their last album, now trying to find a sort of middle ground that’s more towards their rock origins but with some electronic elements and a more mainstream feel. I don’t think they’ll get back to the heights of “For Now” (which was #76 on my top songs of the 2010s), “Too Soon,” or “Dawning,” but the new album is solid enough.

Teenage Wrist – Sunshine. I don’t know what to call the sort of ‘90s alternative music that appeared in the wake of grunge and leaned more into that genre’s noisier elements à la shoegaze – shoegrunge? Okay, that needs work. I especially think of bands like Hum, who seemed like they were going to be huge after “Stars” became a massive alternative radio hit and captured something about that moment in music as pop’s hold on the commercial market was crumbling. Teenage Wrist have been around for about a decade, and this track has just that sound to it.

Siracuse – Saviour. If you played this for me and told me it was from 1993 from a Mancunian band that opened for the Charlatans, I’d believe you. Anyway, Siracuse is from Cheltenham, and I don’t think they were even born when Some Friendly came out. I’m old, in case you didn’t catch that before.

Rival Sons – Guillotine. Rival Sons do an unapologetic riff on ‘70s classic rock, avoiding the straight derivative nature of knockoffs like Greta van Fleet in favor of a broader approach that, here, sounds more like Audioslave covering Led Zeppelin.

Divide and Dissolve – Blood Quantum. Divide and Dissolve – D&D, I suppose, although that acronym may be spoken for – are new to me but have been recording since at least 2017. They’re an Australian-based doom metal duo comprising a saxophone/guitar player from the US who has Tsalagi and Black ancestry and a drummer of M?ori and white heritage, and those diverse backgrounds are reflected in their song titles and their occasional lyrics.

Godflesh – NERO. I’ll never forget the CMJ review of Godflesh’s seminal debut album Streetcleaner, which read in part, “Godflesh knows what scares you.” That LP, released in 1989, defined the genre of industrial metal and remains a landmark in extreme metal in general, with “Christbait Rising” still their best track. They’re still going, even around a seven-year breakup and now a six-year gap since their last album, with number nine, Purge, due to drop next month. Singer/guitarist Justin Broadrick is back to his death growls, but it’s the grinding gears below the vocals that really shine here.