This is fine.
Cliche as it may be, when it rains, it pours, and the musical gods have been kind to us, pouring down with great records to run with today. Slumberland and Skep Wax teamed up to drop us a couple of gems, while there are some more under the radar records I’d love for you spend time with, like Ryli, Tom Henry and Gelli Haha. There’s a few words on each hanging below. Read more
I felt like I had to make up for missing out on some key hits the prior week, so I doubled down and the team and I brought you 27 brand new tunes. BGray was in love with the new Nations of Language, who he also caught up at the Kilby Block Party. Me?? Well, I fell in love with the women in the music scene, even getting into some new voices like Star Moles who I hadn’t been acquainted with before new singles hit me. Old ATH faves the Mary Onettes returned with a new single, so that was nice to hear…plus a new Pot Pot record is on its way via Felte. Oh…and did anyone write a better song than the opener from the Jeanines on this playlist? Indulge my friends.
If you didn’t order a copy of the new Lightheaded LP that drops next Friday, you might want to get on that right now. The group are very much a modern pop act, but if you listen to their latest single, “The Garden,” you get the feeling that their sound is rooted in the history of the underground. There are some girl-group style harmonies, but also this sort of underlying psychedelia that offers up enough edge to make their sound more than mere homage. Listen to the way they set you up in the first 20 seconds before switching into a bit of swing; you’ll want to grab Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming from Slumberland/Skep Wax now!
If you just look at last week’s collection in our Album Streams post, you can see it was certainly a busy week out there; there were no fewer than six albums that I adored, whether it was new Gotobeds or High Water Marks or Artificial Go, there was plenty to browse through. But, that was just the albums, and didn’t even cover the great music that popped up on the single side of things. I mean, there was new Jeanines, Ryli, Lightheaded and Whitneys Playland...all of which should have you cranking up your speakers. Some good Austin (and adjacent love) for acts like Little Mazarn, San Gabriel, Gustave Ochoa and Adrian Quesada, so doing our part on the local scene. There’s just too much good stuff out there, thus, you’re required to press play and space out for an hour.
Badassery usually doesn’t need a lot of extra hype, especially with the pedigree of Slumberland Records, but I’ve been all about Lightheaded since their 2023 EP first caught our attention. This group’s ability to spin classic girl-group pop music into a modern day spectacle still catches me every time, and even when it feels like they’re not doing much, you’re still completely under their spell; you’ll understand when the melodic middling of this track comes to light. The vocal bits are short and punctuated, perfectly pieced together at opposite ends to make sure you start and end with pop swoon. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming will be out on June 27th.
A fairly busy week as we got a little more back on routine writing last week, and we were especially excited for all the pop fans out there. New stuff from Jeanines, the Perfect English Weather, Lightheaded, and Lost Film had what cures the ills, and man, were there some special tracks mentioned above. Circled around to hear some Austin, and Austin adjacent stuff with Little Marzarn, BS and former ATX resident Lauren Green and Tan Cologne. Plus, M. Maly gave us a peek at what’s in store for Pscyh Fest, throwing in some coverage with King Hannah being highlighted on the playlist. Plus, great new albums from the Convenience and Mythical Motors rounded the week out properly. What was your fave?
What!? You thought Skep Wax and Slumberland were done with pop announcements today!? Nope. They’ve doubled down with more LP news today; this time the two powerhouse labels team up for a new Lightheaded record, with the group aiming to build on the underrated Combustible Gems. Not sure anyone can argue, but this New Jersey lot come out of the gates with a masterful pop swoon, mastering the art of combining girl-group harmonizing with a modern vision that embraces a world where chamber pop is king. You’ll hear tons of touchstones throughout this singular song, but for me, the arrangements in the back perfectly texture their striking sound. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming will likely be a personal favorite when it hits on June 27th.
If you didn’t get into Mt. Misery back when they dropped the phenomenal Once Home No Longer, then now is your perfect chance to dive headfirst into one of the great pop acts from the UK. Today, they’re dropping a brand new single as they prepare for a brief UK tour with Lightheaded (Slumberland). Immediately, the brightness of the guitars peek through like the sun creeping through the slits in your windowpanes. There’s a steady bounce that adds a certain snappiness that’s adds a bit of a hook factor, though they’re careful not to overindulge in the sweetness. To be fair, it does have some nostalgic feels, akin to the Lucksmiths, with just a bit more boogie to it. Such a joy to hear the band back at it, and hopefully this tour gets them excited to record more!
After what felt like a down week, things really took off over here, with another collection of great singles and albums we were stoked to hype up on our end of things. The Austin contingent came strong, with new tunes from Genuine Leather, The Sour Notes, Holiday Music, Letting Up Despite Great Faults and Gus Baldwin/the Sketch. Some long time favorites like Club 8, Nada Surf, and Icarus Phoenix made the cut too! Our pal Michael Maly added some words and photos on Slowdive, so of course we included their classic hit. A lot of great pop stuff too from Sad Eyed Beatniks, Laughing and This Is Lorelei, thus you’ll need to keep your focus when you spend some time below!
This is one of those crazy Fridays when its possible there’s just too much music to digest; I think we’ve done a solid job of covering most of the stuff leading up to today, except maybe the brand new Crumbs Video! There’s not a great need to wax poetic, as you can trace these records to our coverage the last few months. All you need to do is dive into the listens and see what you need to buy!
Crumbs – You’re Just Jealous (Skep Wax)
Lightheaded – Combustible Gems (Slumberland Records)
Mountain Movers – Walking After Dark (Trouble in Mind Records)
Zero Point Energy – Titled Planet (Danger Collective)
Matthew J. Rolin – Twos (Dead Currencies)
