This is fine.
As you’ve likely seen, I raved and raved all year about the new Lower Plenty album, No Poets. So, we were fortunate enough to catch up with Al Montfort, toss him a few questions, plus get a most excellent Dahl recipe that you can try out on your own time. Take a read, get to know the band, and if you’re super-inclined, be sure to grab No Poets LP from Bedroom Suck Records.
Felt like no one would be up in the morning, so why not pull what the big blogs do and schedule a jam for you all to run before I’m even awake! Honestly, I’m still waiting to hear the entirety of the new Idles record. But, employing James Murphy (among others) for backing vocals seems like a step to move outside of the established sound…which can be wearisome nowadays with the various imitators. This has the same bite, but with a little bit of a new flex to keep the band moving in new directions. They release Tangk in February of next year courtesy of Partisan Records.
Wanted to start your day off with some solid pop rock, courtesy of Vancouver’s Autogramm. The band specialize in modern sounds, with an homage to classic pop hits Ric Ocasek might have been crafting behind the scenes. In the opening, there’s this huge playing riff, setting up this futuristic stomp that runs through the track. They then turn to this brilliant melodic pop delivery, reminiscent of great 90s alt radio sounds; it’s soaring charms with just the right amount of boogie to make your toes tap away. If you dig it, they’ll be releasing Music That Humans Can Play on November 14th via Stomp Records.
A few years removed from the excellent What’s Growing, New Zealand’s Wurld Series are back with a fresh record! And, like only Wurld Series can, they offer us two singles, and in that, offer us two ways to look at the new LP. Opening track, “The Giant’s Lawn Part 1,” is more of an experimental bit of pastoral folk, almost an oddball bit of atmospherics and horn blasts before settling into a meditative introduction to the album that will follow. There’s even a nice little accompanying felt video HERE, if you’re inclined. On the other head of the beast you get “Lord of Shelves,” which smashes in with a fuzzy bit of lo-fi pop. It reminds me in spots of GBV, having both a penchant for noise and melodic alike, making it hard to differentiate between the two. Excited for The Giant’s Lawn, out on November 17th via Meritorio Records and Melted Ice Cream.
There’ve been lots of little breadcrumbs in the past few weeks leading to today’s announcement that there’s a fresh Teenage Tom Petties LP headed our way in November. Originally an outlet for Tom Brown of Rural France, the first record set the scene for fast-paced slacker rock, the sort that ripped through the speakers of your freshman dorm room. Now a full band, they’ve returned with that same ferocity, perhaps with a touch more sheen on the vocals and recording. Don’t get me wrong, the heavy-handed riffs are there, but this opening single from their new LP offers a lot more melody to listeners on its initial runs; the chorus has this calmed cool to it while you can hear the rhythm single waiting to break free from its leash and bound through the room. Hotbox Daydreams will be out on November 3rd via Safe Suburban Home/Repeating Cloud.
Among the many reliable indie labels of the lands, Meritorio always fashions themselves as purveyors of great pop music, or as I see it. Today, they’re sharing a fresh track from Dutch outfit the Maureens, bringing back a sound that certainly harkens to the early days of Beatlemania. Light strums open the tune before a sharper lead cuts into to divvy up the guitar mixture; the vocals are layered atop one another, adding in these harmonies brimming with joyous spirit. Guitars continue to lightly jangle while the rhythm section kicks in an understated groove, leaving you to fill yourself up on the smorgasbord of pop goodness that comes in the chorus. The band will release Everyone Smiles early next year!
The minute this goodgrief song entered my headspace, I’ll honestly say it took me back to 2022 in a cabin in Yellowstone listening to Control by Pedro the Lion. You can hear the track working around a simple folk structure, but Ezekiel Rudick’s powerful voice is like the distant cousin of Bazaan, throaty and comforting at once, belting out note after note. Still, the folk structure gets smashed up a bit, offering a nice little bit of grit and attitude to a genre that can oftentimes get stuck under its own feet. If you’re digging the jam, then check out the whole of Love Birds, the new record.
Berlin based Grimson has really been catching our ear over in the ATH offices as of late. Already we’ve been treated to two new singles over the last few months, and now we have the entire new album to stream below! Climbing up the Chimney is a showcase of all the things that make the young Aiden Berglund a true spotlight of a songwriter in the game today. He has a delicate nature to things with folk inspirations and light hints of brightness throughout the entire album. Check out this beauty below and also consider picking up a physical copy via bandcamp.
Just as I thought the year couldn’t have spoken to me anymore, musically speaking, Bedroom Suck Records went in and snuck a new Lower Plenty LP into my listening schedule. It’s interesting that the timing of the release coincides with Spring down in Australia, as it almost feels like you can hear the rustling of the leaves as the breeze washed between Winter and budding trees. It’s dominated by a really strong and steadied strum, with layer upon layer upon layer of vocals building the song’s depth. There are these little “oohs” that lurk in there too, leaving you with this really special nuanced charm that has me grinning from ear to ear. Look for No Poets to drop on October 6th.
We’ve heard a few new tunes from Helena Deland recently, hinting that there was a new album coming…and today is the day she announces Goodnight Summerland. This song was penned shortly after Deland lost her mother, and my favorite piece of commentary on the track is that it left the concept that our interactions with others can lead to “life-affirming purposefulness.” Musically, I’ve really appreciate the move into more open musical spaces in comparison to what we got on Someone New; those tunes felt magical in a sense, like an adventure into a well-scored dreamland, but the newer tunes open Helena to this striking intimacy that makes it tough for you to pull yourself away. Looking forward to hearing all of the new LP when it drops on October 13th via Chivi Chivi.
