{"id":9816,"date":"2023-03-02T08:38:47","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T13:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=9816"},"modified":"2023-03-02T08:38:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T13:38:48","slug":"music-update-february-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/02\/music-update-february-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Music update, February 2023."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>February spawned a lot of great music, as it turns out, enough that I have 82 minutes of new tracks for you here. As always, if you can\u2019t see the Spotify widget below, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/4M4KRE8Sult44D0G77uzCx?si=bd6f9dcda36240ee\">access the playlist here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Klaw&amp;apos;s February 2023 music update\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/playlist\/4M4KRE8Sult44D0G77uzCx?si=0587a861a8f2436e&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Temples \u2013 Cicada.<\/strong> I seem to like whatever Temples puts out, at least for their singles; their take on psychedelic rock, often with the kind of influences from Asia and north Africa that gave us Led Zeppelin\u2019s \u201cKashmir.\u201d I love the interplay between the guitar and vocals in the frantic chorus here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fucked Up \u2013 Cicada.<\/strong> What are the odds of two great songs called \u201cCicada\u201d dropping in the same month? Technically this came out in late January on these Canadian punk\/post-hardcore stalwarts\u2019 sixth album, <em>One Day<\/em>, and if you told me this was a lost track from H\u00fcsker D\u00fc I\u2019d believe you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Geese \u2013 Cowboy Nudes.<\/strong> This is the first new song from this young Brooklyn band (including Mets fan Dominic DiGesu on bass!) since their standout debut album <em>Projector<\/em>, and it sees them expanding their sound substantially. It\u2019s less dissonant, better produced, and definitely more art-rock than anything on <em>Projector<\/em>, which was an incredible throwback to the heyday of post-punk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CHVRCHES \u2013 Over.<\/strong> A one-off single from the Scottish trio, who just signed a new deal with Island Records, \u201cOver\u201d goes back a little in time, with a sound reminiscent of \u201cClearest Blue\u201d from <em>Every Open Eye<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Altin G\u00fcn \u2013 Rakiya Su Katamam.<\/strong> I didn\u2019t know Anatolian rock, also called Turkish psychedelic rock, was a specific subgenre, but I\u2019m extremely into it after stumbling on this track by this Amsterdam-based outfit. The \u201ci\u201d in the song\u2019s title should be the Turkish character ?, without the dot on type, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll display properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brooke Combe \u2013 Black is the New Gold.<\/strong> Combe is just 22, from Midlothian, Scotland, and this is the title track from her forthcoming mixtape. The hook was stuck in my head for days, and I like both her singing voice and the slight syncopation (here, stress on the third beat of each measure) that gives the track its subtle groove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Caroline Polachek \u2013 Blood and Butter.<\/strong> Polacheck was half of Chairlift, who produced two of my favorite tracks of the last decade (\u201cI Belong in Your Arms\u201d and \u201cCh-Ching\u201d), but her solo stuff has left me pretty cold. This is my favorite of her songs since Chairlift broke up, as it has a much stronger melody while still showcasing her impressive voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John-Allison Weiss \u2013 Tell Me to Go.<\/strong> Another strong single from <em>The Long Way<\/em>, Weiss\u2019 first album in over seven years and their first since coming out as trans and non-binary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bartees Strange \u2013 Tisched Off.<\/strong> One of two tracks on a double-sided single from Strange as part of Sub Pop\u2019s singles series, along with a song featuring Daniel Kleederman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>STONE \u2013 I Let Go.<\/strong> The first new song from STONE after their 2022 EP <em>Punkadonk<\/em> is a raucous rocker that\u2019s less punk and more hard-edged rock-and-roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>bdrmm \u2013 It\u2019s Just a Bit of Blood.<\/strong> This British act takes an experimental approach to post-punk and shoegaze, releasing this as the lead single ahead of their second album, <em>I Don\u2019t Know<\/em>, due out in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Squid \u2013 Swing (In a Dream).<\/strong> Squid are even more experimental, with a post-punk underpinning but a very definite bent towards the dissonant and the offbeat, but the chorus here is a complete earworm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>wilt \u2013 puberty. <\/strong>wilt are an LA-based quartet who\u2019ve released just three songs so far, including this most recent one, which has a slow burn to a big finish with giant guitar riffs that reminded me of the band Hum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>beabadoobee \u2013 Glue Song.<\/strong> A cute two-minute acoustic number from beabadoobee, not one of my favorites from her but a solid showcase for her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Beck \u2013 Thinking About You.<\/strong> I generally do not love Beck\u2019s slower acoustic tracks, even though they tend to garner him more critical acclaim. I also didn\u2019t like this song the first time I heard it, but then I went back, and I liked it more the second time, and even more the third time. So here it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Black Honey \u2013 OK.<\/strong> I include just about every single Black Honey puts out at this point. Their third album, <em>A Fistful of Peaches<\/em>, comes out on March 17<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Girl Ray \u2013 Everybody\u2019s Saying That.<\/strong> A North London trio that started out as an indie act and pivoted towards pop around 2018-2019, Girl Ray just released this funk-tinged pop track right at the start of February, with a great hook in the chorus and a prominent bass line that makes this a hell of a dance song too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>swim school \u2013 delirious. swim school describe themselves as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/readdork.com\/features\/swim-school-september-2021\/\">Tesco-value Wolf Alice<\/a>,\u201d which isn\u2019t that apposite to this particular track, which is way more shoegaze than Wolf Alice\u2019s cheerier indie-pop\/rock style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Inhaler \u2013 Just to Keep You Satisfied. <\/strong>Inhaler released <em>Cuts &amp; Bruises<\/em>, their second full-length, two weeks ago, and I think they\u2019ve stalled; this is more of the same from the Irish quartet, but even a step back in the quality of their melodies. Inhaler has a sound, and that only gets you so far without some hooks like their first album had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Depeche Mode \u2013 Ghosts Again.<\/strong> I mean, if you want to go back to the sound of the \u201880s, you could just listen to one of the bands that made that sound. This is the first song from <em>Memento Mori<\/em>, the band\u2019s fifteenth album and their first since the death of longtime band member Andy Fletcher. The album drops March 24<sup>th<\/sup>, and it sounds like it will be a melancholy affair, which isn\u2019t really my favorite flavor of Depeche Mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>San Cisco \u2013 Lost Without You.<\/strong> The first new song from this Australian trio since their 2020 album <em>Between You &amp; Me<\/em> is a typically bouncy alt-pop track with witty lyrics that offer a dark contrast to the music. The video, which stars the three in a <em>Sting<\/em>-like gangster film, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/HIm9JG-kmwY\">is worth a watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Demob Happy \u2013 Voodoo Science. <\/strong>I was unfamiliar with Demob Happy, who\u2019ve been around for fifteen years, before hearing this track, but I love the guitar riffing here, which reminds me of Porcupine Tree\u2019s heavier moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>shame \u2013 The Fall of Paul.<\/strong> This London-based post-punk band\u2019s <em>Food for Worms<\/em> dropped last month and the highs (\u201cFingers of Steel,\u201d \u201cSix-Pack\u201d) are high but there\u2019s too much filler where the band sound like they\u2019re just fucking around, unfortunately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>slowthai \u2013 Feel Good. <\/strong>British rapper slowthai\u2019s third album, <em>UGLY<\/em>, which supposedly stands for \u201cU gotta love yourself,\u201d drops on Friday. I find his music more interesting than appealing, as he\u2019s crossing and mashing up a lot of genres but his technical skill as a rapper isn\u2019t his strength. This is one of the better songs of his that I\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February spawned a lot of great music, as it turns out, enough that I have 82 minutes of new tracks for you here. As always, if you can\u2019t see the Spotify widget below, you can access the playlist here. Temples \u2013 Cicada. I seem to like whatever Temples puts out, at least for their singles; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1328,359,1191,167,852],"class_list":["post-9816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2023-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-hip-hop-2","tag-indie","tag-music","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9817,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816\/revisions\/9817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}