Author: nathan.lankford

Last Week’s Jams (8.14 – 8.18)

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Okay, so I’m back in school and coaching women’s volleyball, which of course meant we couldn’t dare draw near the 40 or so tracks we covered the week prior. But, that being said, there were some really special tunes, and some of my favorites popping up in here. Blue Ocean and Seablite announced new LPs, while the Smashing Times dropped another stellar single to whet our appetites. Local favorites Single Lash and Sun June both announced new releases too, so it was a pretty solid week. Oh, and that Optic Sink jam was so good, we might have accidentally overlapped and posted it twice! Stream below!

The Native Cats Announce New LP, Share My Risks is Art

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I was really stoked when the Native Cats got their whole back catalog up on the DSPs, but I honestly wasn’t expecting Chloe and Julian to jump out with a fresh record too! If you’re new to the band, you’ll hear them as the kindred spirits of modern post-punk, or maybe as a band looking back on that classic era of club punk from the early 2000s. For me, I find them straddling that territory, and as ever, making it entirely their own. It’d be easy to pull off the Rapture and throw frantic cymbal work all over this…and I’d love it. But, I love it more that that’s not where they travel; they seem more intent on using Chloe’s vocals to stake claim to the risks one takes as an artist, and more importantly, as a human being you can’t file or label. It’s bewildering and powerful, immediately making me run back and play it just to get it in my head again. They’ll release the Way on is the Way Off via Chapter Music on November 10th.

Mope City Share Eat Yr Promises Single

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Mope City has long been one of those little secrets, but as they look forward to Population: 4, its time everyone else gives the group a listen. They would likely be filed under slowcore nowadays, mostly due to pace. This new single, however, continues the ominous push they’ve made shared with us this year, toiling in that sort of experimental hardcore territory, tied to the shores of melody. Discordant notes and heavy riffs intermingle here, though the vocals feel like a young Kim Gordon beckoning you to come into the band’s recording space where they pummel you with those riffs all over again. And, just as you thought you couldn’t take it, they tease you with one more melodic tickle of the ear bones…and we’re done. If this is something you’d dig, Population: 4 is out via Tenth Court on October 13th.

Slumberland Records Sign Blue Ocean

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I got turned onto Blue Ocean a few years ago when the group put a few of their EPs together for Paisley Shirt/Dandy Boy…and today they get a further stamp of ATH approavl with the announcement that the band have signed on with Slumberland for their first LP. It’s incredibly difficult to pigeonhole the project; they create these layered textures, all working in unison, yet seemingly fighting against one another. At times my ears get drawn towards the crashing wave of screaming distortion; the rhythm section seems to work against that angst, coming in more playfully, almost bouncing; it all swirls together like this Captain Planet of DIY indie rock! All of that’s accomplished before we get swept up in the indifferent cool of the vocals. Absolutely in love here. Fertile State will be out on October 13th.

Cochlear Kill Share Rumiscent Single

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Being quiet for nearly ten years, Melbourne’s Cochlear Kill returns with this sparkling bit of dark pop. Upon pressing play, your ears are immediately met with these cascading riffs, some of them hitting on that crystalline note that feels like it’s a bit of glass shattering in a haunted house. Twisting and churning, the song creates this shimmering pop wash; it leaves plenty of space too, letting the vocals paint themselves softly atop the musical backdrop. At times the track feels like this huge black hole, swallowing you in heavy riffs, but then the vocals lead you on with this faint promise hanging in the distance. Looking forward to hearing more from the group in the future.

Seablite Announce Lemon Lights

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Another day and another dollar I’ll likely have to send to Mt. St. Mtn., particularly now that they’ve announced a fresh new LP from Seablite. Although they’ve sprinkled in some singles and an EP, we haven’t had a proper LP since 2019, so I’m excited to hear what’s finally coming our way. And, after spending several minutes running through the new single, I really like how they’ve come out. Sure, there’s some dreamy/gazey moments that are still wrapped in there, but something about the vocals really has me leaning towards those 90s alternative rock vibes. It’s a nice twist, allowing the band’s murkiness (also there in the video) to hang in the air, while still driving home this pop aesthetic they seem to have perfected, letting the hip kids indulge from all the various angles. Lemon Lights is out on September 29th!

Sonny and the Sunsets Share Androids Single

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The opening thirty or so seconds of this new tune from Sonny & the Sunsets immediately had me hooked; I honestly let my mind drift to the Aussie scene a bit, as it has this heavy yearning attached to the jungle. When Sonny comes in, aided by softened backing vocals, the track begins to build on that vibe, adding a melodic resonance to it. At times, the tickling of the guitar strings hits exactly, doing a little playful jin inside your ear; it always feels like coming home, like “it’s alright.” Self Awareness Through Macrame is out on September 1st via Rocks in Your Head.

Mint Field Announce Aprender a Ser, Share Video

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Seeing as I spent a lot of time with Estrella del Sol‘s LP earlier this year, I can definitely hear where Mint Field‘s sonic shifts in sound might have sprouted. But, that being said, even their psychedelic rock from their early releases felt like it was touching on more of an explorative or ambient brand of the genre. This single embraces this sort of musical dispersion, like you’ve immersed the notes in water and they begin to drift towards the edges of the track. Yet, they’re all tethered by this tribal beat, echoing, thumping in the distance, holding the song in place. All of this space is there, setting up the mystic tones of the vocals, almost like the last gasps of air, which may tie into the track’s title “El Suspiro Cambia Todo.” They’re taking a breath, so it seems, letting the music take them whichever way it can go; this is what we’re to expect from Aprender a Ser, out on October 27th via Felte Records.

The Smashing Times Share Monday in a Small Dull Town

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I’m really frustrated with the Smashing Times; I had already decided what my favorite LP of the year was going to be, and here they are, wrecking my life with another great single from their next LP. There’s crisp jangles, warm melodies, a little bit of warbling in the vocals to add some distinction…and it’s all tied to this artistic video with a bit of a hazy wash to it. For me, there are two really incredible things that I love here. The first, it reminds me (in jangles and harmonies) of a really stoned version of Literature, whose record we put out years and years ago, like if they were playing an afterparty and didn’t want to wake the neighbors. The second thing is the way there’s this use of patience and space in the middle, letting the song breathe a little bit, which is completely delightful. This Sporting Life is out October 30th via K Records/Perennial Death.

A Beacon School Share KITM Video

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While it may have been a few years since A Beacon School dropped a proper record, my ears are telling me that that was time perfectly spent. This tack is teases you second by second, you spend the first 45 seconds drifting with Patrick Smith’s floating voice, like that feather from Forest Gump just fluttering in the foreground. Then, the 45 second mark drops and the track begins to build, pulsing as the tension gradually builds. A quick stutter at the 1 minute mark and the tune buoyantly zooms off into this shimmering dream pop work. A little sonic toying comes into play, working with the great visual piece to tie it all into a nice little structured pop masterpiece. Uh. That euphoric eruption around 3 minutes is just this magical moment you won’t be able to pass up. Totally worth the time here, and we can likely expect the same from yoyo when it drops on October 13th via Grind Select.

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