{"id":9893,"date":"2023-05-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=9893"},"modified":"2023-05-04T14:07:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T18:07:50","slug":"music-update-april-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/04\/music-update-april-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Music update, April 2023."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Whew, that was a very strong month, or maybe I\u2019m just finding more music every time I do this. I actually cut a few tracks (two were from Deeper and Beach Fossils) and we\u2019re still at 26 songs and 100 minutes. Anyway, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/0dEOQVI36J5elXn2gTOBY9?si=a8814fad0e994495\">you know what to do<\/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\u2019s April 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\/0dEOQVI36J5elXn2gTOBY9?si=1fee8ca1600a4cbf&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dexys Midnight Runners \u2013 I\u2019m Going to Get Free.<\/strong> Yes, that\u2019s the same band that produced \u201cCome On Eileen\u201d forty years ago, and I feel reasonably certain this is the best thing they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speedy Ortiz \u2013 Scabs.<\/strong> Welcome back to Sadie Dupuis and company, who\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pynch \u2013 Tin Foil.<\/strong> 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 \u201cI\u2019m saving up for the apocalypse\/Because there\u2019s gonna be deals\u201d still makes me laugh every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WITCH feat. Sampa the Great \u2013 Avalanche of Love.<\/strong> WITCH were pioneers of what is now called Zamrock, but hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Blondshell \u2013 Salad.<\/strong> 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 (<em>The Guardian<\/em> posted a rave review). It\u2019s 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 \u201cSalad,\u201d it\u2019s really compelling and separates her from the huge class of female singer-songwriters mining similar thematic territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pinkshift \u2013 to me.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chappaqua Wrestling \u2013 Need You No More.<\/strong> I assumed these guys were from New York when I first heard this track, but they\u2019re from Brighton and do a sort of mashup of Britpop and \u201890s American alternative. The laconic vocals would usually bother me, but they contrast so well with the high-energy guitars behind them I\u2019ll forgive the delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LA Priest \u2013 It\u2019s You.<\/strong> 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\u2019s an entirely different artist, named Sam Dust, who just works in a similar musical vein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DEADLETTER \u2013 The Snitching Hour.<\/strong> A ska-tinged post-punk act from London with a Yard Act-like approach to their vocals. Good luck getting the \u201cLove thy neighbor\u201d chorus out of thy head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Altin G\u00fcn \u2013 Su Siziyor.<\/strong> Another great track from this Anatolian rock act, with heavy psychedelic vibes over a strong rock foundation, from their new album <em>Ask<\/em> (which should have a cedilla under the s). Strongly recommended for fans of Khruangbin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jessie Ware \u2013 Begin Again.<\/strong> I don\u2019t tend to go in for \u201csophisti-pop,\u201d and there\u2019s definitely something carefully constructed about this track from Ware\u2019s latest album (the empty lyric \u201cGive me something good that\u2019s even better than it seems\u201d might as well come from ChatGPT), but man does this thing bang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arlo Parks \u2013 Blades.<\/strong> I can\u2019t wait for Parks\u2019s sophomore album <em>My Soft Machine <\/em>to drop on the 26<sup>th<\/sup> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jorja Smith \u2013 Try Me.<\/strong> Smith\u2019s debut album <em>Lost and Found<\/em> made my top albums of 2018, but since then it\u2019s been all EPs, collaborations, and one-off singles like this one, which showcases her incredible, sultry voice over a jazzy drum-and-bass backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Romy \u2013 Enjoy Your Life.<\/strong> That\u2019s Romy of the xx, who also has provided vocals on Jamie xx\u2019s standout track \u201cLoud Places.\u201d She\u2019s 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\u2019s \u201cStrong\u201d I have to think a full-length LP is coming soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hatchie \u2013 Dream On \u2013 Country Girl.<\/strong> Another bonus track from the deluxe edition of last year\u2019s <em>Giving the World Away<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Beaches \u2013 Everything is Boring.<\/strong> This track from the Toronto quartet reminds me a bit of the Aces mixed with the California pop-punk vibe of artists like Bleached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MUNA \u2013 One that Got Away.<\/strong> 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\u2019m old. Sorry.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Japanese House \u2013 Sad to Breathe.<\/strong> 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\u2019m very here for singer-songwriters who actually let it rip a little on the microphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bloc Party \u2013 High Life.<\/strong> Kele Okereke and company appear to be taking a victory lap on this celebratory track, their first since last year\u2019s <em>Alpha Games<\/em>, which in turn was some of their best work since \u201cBanquet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SENSES \u2013 Drifting.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The DMA\u2019s \u2013 Everybody\u2019s Saying Thursday\u2019s the Weekend.<\/strong> 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\u2019s more towards their rock origins but with some electronic elements and a more mainstream feel. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll get back to the heights of \u201cFor Now\u201d (which was #76 on my top songs of the 2010s), \u201cToo Soon,\u201d or \u201cDawning,\u201d but the new album is solid enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Teenage Wrist \u2013 Sunshine.<\/strong> I don\u2019t know what to call the sort of \u201890s alternative music that appeared in the wake of grunge and leaned more into that genre\u2019s noisier elements \u00e0 la shoegaze \u2013 shoegrunge? Okay, that needs work. I especially think of bands like Hum, who seemed like they were going to be huge after \u201cStars\u201d became a massive alternative radio hit and captured something about that moment in music as pop\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Siracuse \u2013 Saviour.<\/strong> If you played this for me and told me it was from 1993 from a Mancunian band that opened for the Charlatans, I\u2019d believe you. Anyway, Siracuse is from Cheltenham, and I don\u2019t think they were even born when <em>Some Friendly <\/em>came out. I\u2019m old, in case you didn\u2019t catch that before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rival Sons \u2013 Guillotine.<\/strong> Rival Sons do an unapologetic riff on \u201870s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Divide and Dissolve \u2013 Blood Quantum.<\/strong> Divide and Dissolve \u2013 D&amp;D, I suppose, although that acronym may be spoken for \u2013 are new to me but have been recording since at least 2017. They\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Godflesh \u2013 NERO.<\/strong> I\u2019ll never forget the <em>CMJ <\/em>review of Godflesh\u2019s seminal debut album <em>Streetcleaner<\/em>, which read in part, \u201cGodflesh knows what scares you.\u201d That LP, released in 1989, defined the genre of industrial metal and remains a landmark in extreme metal in general, with \u201cChristbait Rising\u201d still their best track. They\u2019re still going, even around a seven-year breakup and now a six-year gap since their last album, with number nine, <em>Purge<\/em>, due to drop next month. Singer\/guitarist Justin Broadrick is back to his death growls, but it\u2019s the grinding gears below the vocals that really shine here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whew, that was a very strong month, or maybe I\u2019m just finding more music every time I do this. I actually cut a few tracks (two were from Deeper and Beach Fossils) and we\u2019re still at 26 songs and 100 minutes. Anyway, you know what to do. Dexys Midnight Runners \u2013 I\u2019m Going to Get [&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":[1328,359,757,852],"class_list":["post-9893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2023-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-metal","tag-music","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893","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=9893"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9895,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893\/revisions\/9895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}