{"id":9936,"date":"2023-07-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=9936"},"modified":"2023-07-02T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T14:12:45","slug":"music-update-june-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/02\/music-update-june-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Music update, June 2023."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>These lists just keep getting longer, and still I feel like I\u2019m probably missing a lot of great tracks. June saw some outstanding new albums \u2013 Queens of the Stone Age, Godflesh, Django Django, Protomartyr, Portugal. the Man to name a few \u2013 but my favorite was Geese\u2019s <em>3D Country<\/em>, the sophomore record from the Brooklyn post-punk band whose <em>Projector<\/em> was such a surprise back in 2021. So this month\u2019s playlist has 32 songs and runs over two hours, helped by two tracks that run over seven minutes each, but I just couldn\u2019t bear to cut anything else. As always, here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/0dTkH8uAH1LOvqES2Ml8DG?si=95ddddd084584575\">the link to the playlist<\/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 June 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\/0dTkH8uAH1LOvqES2Ml8DG?si=19b9c3a8e55b4d37&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pip Blom &amp; Alex Kapranos \u2013 Is This Love?<\/strong> I wasn\u2019t familiar with Pip Blom, a Dutch indie-pop band named for its lead singer, before this track; Kapranos is, of course, Franz Ferdinand\u2019s lead singer\/guitarist. This collaboration might be the best pure pop song I\u2019ve heard all year, and the chorus is very early FF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Beck w\/Phoenix \u2013 Odyssey.<\/strong> A one-off single ahead of the two artists\u2019 joint tour this summer, representing Beck at his most pop and Phoenix continuing the same vibe as last year\u2019s <em>Alpha Zulu<\/em>. It should be the feel-good hit of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speedy Ortiz \u2013 You S02.<\/strong> Man I am glad to have Speedy Ortiz back. This is the second straight single that\u2019s peak Speedy, and \u201cPlus One,\u201d which they just released on Friday, is too. <em>Rabbit Rabbit<\/em>, their first full-length LP in five years, is due out in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Mysterines \u2013 Begin Again.<\/strong> I loved most of the Mysterines\u2019 singles and EPs prior to the release of their debut album <em>Reeling<\/em> in March of 2022, but that record didn\u2019t include any of their best songs to that point; the sound was there, but the hooks were a little lacking. This is the first single from their as-yet untitled and undated second LP, and I like the melody and the sultry vocals, even if it doesn\u2019t quite rock out the way the band can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Louise Post \u2013 What About.<\/strong> Sound familiar? I\u2019ll give you a hint \u2013 the seether\u2019s Louise. (One, two, three, four!) That is indeed Veruca Salt lead singer Louise Post, who just released her debut solo album, <em>Sleepwalker<\/em>, on June 2<sup>nd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Queens of the Stone Age \u2013 Paper Machete.<\/strong> I\u2019ll say two things about the new QotSA album, <em>In Times New Roman<\/em>: I hate all the punny song titles (\u201cCarnavoyeur,\u201d \u201cObscenery\u201d), and I think it\u2019s a good record that reflects Josh Homme\u2019s age and increasing interest in melding more pop songs with the traditional QotSA crunch and even his stoner-metal roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Weird Nightmare \u2013 She\u2019s the One.<\/strong> Alex Edkins (METZ) records as Weird Nightmare, and this latest track is more jangle-pop than his last album was, leaning even into late 60\u2019s pop music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sprints \u2013 Adore Adore Adore.<\/strong> I love how the chorus here channels rage into a great earworm. No word on a new album from these Irish punks, although they\u2019re touring with Suede later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BLOXX \u2013 Runaway.<\/strong> The second single this year from this London punk-pop quartet, a step up from \u201cTelevision Promises,\u201d as we await word on a new album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tame Impala \u2013 Retina Show.<\/strong> The better of the two unreleased demo tracks from the <em>Lonerism<\/em> sessions, released now on that album\u2019s tenth anniversary. The breakbeat here behind the music pairs so well with the psycheledia in the guitar and the overall production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>STONE \u2013 I Gotta Feeling.<\/strong> STONE put out their first EP <em>Punkadonk <\/em>in November and keep churning out high-energy singles, this time with spoken-word lyrics \u2013 not exactly rapped, thank goodness \u2013 in advance of their performance at Glastonbury last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ghost of Vroom \u2013 Still Getting It Done.<\/strong> Mike Doughty\u2019s new Soul Coughing-ish act has put out two new songs in 2023, this and \u201cPay the Man,\u201d with this song better both musically and lyrically, with more of that drum-and-bass vibe from his original band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jungle feat. Channel Tres \u2013 I\u2019ve Been in Love. <\/strong>The London-based neo-soul duo Jungle will release their fourth album, <em>Volcano<\/em>, on August 11<sup>th<\/sup>, with this the third single off the record, featuring guest vocals from American rapper Channel Tres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Satin Jackets feat. Panama \u2013 Alive. <\/strong>I\u2019m a Panama fan going way back to 2013\u2019s \u201cAlways,\u201d although now the Australian trio mostly collaborates with other artists, including several tracks with German producer Satin Jackets. This one sounds quite a bit like those early Panama tracks, all electronic pop with a great hook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cory Wong feat. Ben Rector \u2013 Ready.<\/strong> The ubertalented multi-instrumentalist Wong has lined up a huge collection of collaborators for his upcoming album <em>The Lucky One<\/em>, due out August 18<sup>th<\/sup>, including this soulful track with singer\/songwriter Rector, with whom Wong has worked and toured before, as well as another track \u201cHiding on the Moon\u201d with O.A.R.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grian Chatten \u2013 The Score.<\/strong> Chatten is the lead singer\/guitarist for the British punk act Fontaines D.C., but his solo debut <em>Chaos For the Fly <\/em>is a shocker, a lush, soft, acoustic-driven collection of subtle ballads and folk songs, led by this track, along with the previous singles \u201cFairlies\u201d and \u201cLast Time Every Time Forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Slowdive \u2013 kisses.<\/strong> Slowdive returned in 2017 to release their first new music in 22 years, then went dark again, but they\u2019re back with this new track and another album, <em>Everything Is Alive<\/em>, due out on September 1<sup>st<\/sup>. Slowdive have always found themselves lumped in the shoegaze movement, but at least since their return, they\u2019ve been firmly planted in dream-pop, and this shimmering song is another example of how they create lush textures combining music and voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Geese \u2013 3D Country.<\/strong> The title track from what might be my favorite album of the first half of 2023 comes from this group of NYC kids barely out of their teens, whose <em>Projector<\/em> was my #4 album of 2021. They\u2019ve expanded their sound in myriad ways, maintaining their experimental leanings but incorporating classic rock, country, and jazz with their previous take on post-punk. I see a lot of comparisons to Squid, but Geese\u2019s songs are tighter, still ambitious and even meandering (fitting with the album\u2019s concept) but always with purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Public Image Ltd. \u2013 Car Chase.<\/strong> Fresh off their fourth-place finish in Eurovision with their song \u201cHawaii,\u201d a tribute to John Lydon\u2019s wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s disease at the time and died in April, PiL have this new track that\u2019s much more in line with their traditional sound. Their first new album in eight years, <em>End of World<\/em>, comes out on August 11<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Protomartyr \u2013 For Tomorrow.<\/strong> I haven\u2019t gotten through all of their newest album <em>Formal Growth in the Desert<\/em>, but I\u2019ve liked several of the songs I\u2019ve heard already, and the song \u201c3800 Tigers\u201d includes a reference to Lou Whitaker, so how can I not love it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Portugal. the Man \u2013 Plastic Island.<\/strong> <em>Chris Black Changed My Mind <\/em>is a huge departure from <em>Woodstock<\/em>, way less poppy and less rock-oriented, this time with a wide array of guest musicians from different genres and even eras (Edgar Winter!). I think it\u2019s going to disappoint a lot of people who only jumped on the band because of \u201cFeel It Still\u201d but it\u2019s thematically in line with their two albums before that one \u2013 and I\u2019d guess a little bit of a rejection of mainstream success and airplay too. There\u2019s a lot to like but it\u2019s just a less accessible album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Christine and the Queens \u2013 Big Eye.<\/strong> Chris\u2019s new album <em>Parano\u00efa, Angels, True Love<\/em> is a sprawling 20-track record loosely built around the story of the play <em>Angels in America<\/em> with guest appearances from Madonna on three of the songs, and it can\u2019t help but be uneven in parts. It\u2019s also a broad departure from his prior mature-pop style, meaning there aren\u2019t the immediate \u2018hits\u2019 like \u201cTilted\u201d or \u201c5 dollars,\u201d but the record has some huge, soaring moments where his music matches his ambitions, like this seven-minute track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Romy \u2013 Loveher. <\/strong>Romy (of the xx) sounds incredible here on the latest single ahead of her long-delayed debut solo album, <em>Mid Air<\/em>, due out in September, although the music below the vocals is a little simple. Her voice just carries the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Django Django \u2013 Gazelle.<\/strong> The Djangos released an album in four \u201cparts,\u201d effectively EPs, called <em>Off Planet <\/em>in mid-June, to generally strong reviews that all seem to agree that it\u2019s too long (by length, it\u2019s a double album, although conceptually it\u2019s not). I\u2019ve stuck with the Djangos for a decade even though nothing they\u2019ve done has had the commercial or critical success of \u201cDefault\u201d and their Mercury-nominated eponymous debut album in 2012. I just like their general sound of psycheledic-tinged dance-pop, of which this is an especially good example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>D.A. Stern feat. Sarah Chernoff \u2013 Lovebird.<\/strong> Chernoff was the singer for the short-lived group Superhumanoids and I\u2019ve followed her solo career since they disbanded because I think she\u2019s one of the best vocalists I\u2019ve ever heard. Here she provides guest vocals for the LA-based songwriter\/producer Stern, finding her in more of a rock vein than anything I think she\u2019s done before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kyo feat. Coeur de Pirate \u2013 Derni\u00e8re danse.<\/strong> B\u00e9atrice provides guest vocals on one verse of this track by French rock band Kyo, who\u2019ve been around for a quarter century but of whom I hadn\u2019t heard before this, probably because they sing in French, and we just don\u2019t cotton to that sort of thing around here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Hives \u2013 Countdown to Shutdown.<\/strong> These Swedish rockers will release their first album in 11 years, <em>The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons<\/em>, on August 11<sup>th<\/sup>, and just like the first single from the record (\u201cBogus Operandi\u201d) this one has a very simple, loud, catchy guitar riff powering the track forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rival Sons \u2013 Mirrors.<\/strong> I admit that Rival Sons\u2019 sound isn\u2019t the most original, but they do come up with some great riffs that bridge the gap between 1970s rock like Led Zeppelin (their most obvious influence, I think) and the early 1980s metal bands that at least started out as Zep clones, even if they later asphyxiated on their own hairspray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Post Animal \u2013 Aging Forest.<\/strong> Well this certainly isn\u2019t going to slow the comparisons of Post Animal to Tame Impala. You can hear the Kevin Parker influence in the chorus, while the verses are more doom than psychedelica. As an aside, <em>Stranger Things\u2019<\/em> Joe Keery was in Post Animal when they recorded their first album, but left the band as the show took off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>King Gizzard &amp; the Lizard Wizard \u2013 Dragon.<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s nearly ten minutes long, although most of the songs on the new album, ridiculously titled <em>PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation<\/em>, are on the longer side, as the band goes back to the heavier metal sounds of <em>Infest the Rats\u2019 Nest<\/em> with a more open, jamband approach to the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Horrendous \u2013 Cult of Shaad\u2019oah.<\/strong> Horrendous\u2019 highly progessive death metal sound is still here, but the vocals are actually more shouted than growled for large parts of this track, off their upcoming album <em>Ontological Mysterium <\/em>(August 18<sup>th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Godflesh \u2013 LAND LORD.<\/strong> I include Godflesh here as much for their massive importance in the history of metal; they all but created the industrial metal subgenre, merging their now signature non-musical sounds with the detuned guitars and extreme riffing of the grindcore genre that was ascendant at the same time in the U.K. <em>Streetcleaner <\/em>was such a shock to the metal system, especially given the dominance of hair metal in 1989, and tracks like \u201cChristbait Rising\u201d and \u201cLike Rats\u201d still stand up exceptionally well. Their latest record, <em>PURGE<\/em>, is less overwhelming than their last two albums \u2013 both of which came after their breakup and re-formation \u2013 with a more open and, odd as it is to say, brighter sound, with the guitars up front and the bass &amp; drum machine produced a little towards the rear. Highlights include this, \u201cNERO,\u201d and \u201cARMY OF NON,\u201d which has a sample of a rapper saying \u201cCheck it out, y\u2019all\u201d that I think might be Slick Rick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These lists just keep getting longer, and still I feel like I\u2019m probably missing a lot of great tracks. June saw some outstanding new albums \u2013 Queens of the Stone Age, Godflesh, Django Django, Protomartyr, Portugal. the Man to name a few \u2013 but my favorite was Geese\u2019s 3D Country, the sophomore record from the [&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":[1328,359,167,852,787],"class_list":["post-9936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2023-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-indie","tag-music","tag-progressive-metal","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936","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=9936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9937,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936\/revisions\/9937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}