Last Week’s Jams (1.19 – 1.23)
It was a short week, and we tried to cover as much as we could, getting up a fresh batch of 15 songs (technically 16, but Mt. Fog isn’t on the DSPs) to get you through this cold day. RayRay loved the new madfolk single, but I found some solace in some local jams, as the Living Set brought us another incredible gem. Van Chamberlain had another stunner too, and we were also introduced to Season 2 (the band!). Found my way back to some folkier moments too with new Bill Callahan and Natalie Jane Hill. There’s a lot to dig through, so tune in and crank it up!
We covered a ton of ground last week, though our playlist is missing some of my favorite jams…the new Special Friend and the Leaf Library aren’t on DSPs at the moment. Still, there’s great pop music on here, like the first singles from the forthcoming Maureens and Fort Not LPs, deliciously kicking things off on our playlist. Got big named hitters in the mix too, like Kim Gordon; I got some good noise in too with new Trauma Ray and Dog Chocolate, so the playlist is all over the place, in the best way. If you weren’t reading or didn’t have the time, jump in below.
My goal this year is to cover as much new music as I can, while clearly staying in my lane and straying from the folks rinsing and repeating PR blasts. Walked a fine line last week, bringing in tons of new stuff. The big news for me was that a new record from Heavenly is finally announced, not to mention a long-awaited new LP from the Twilight Sad. There were some good Austin connections via Pullman, Winged Wheel, BS and Daily Worker too, with bands and labels from our town. Big hitters like Cate Le Bon, The Orielles and Dry Cleaning also had new singles comes out, so you’ll find those lurking in here too! Dig in and kick back.
Okay, okay. So we didn’t crush it this last week, but I still feel like if you’re looking for a pound for pound playlist of solid hits under an hour, our coverage is primo. We’ve got brand new stuff from We Are Joiners, featuring one of my favorite chorus moments of the last several months. Plus, if you haven’t heard Lola, which I hadn’t, you should fix that before it’s too late. Like me, maybe a subtle guitar pop tune from the New Tigers makes your week, or maybe you want to get swept away in the synth pop of Pet Owner. I’m not sure where to lead you, but I promise there are worst places to spend an hour of your Monday.
While the previous week seemed like the music biz was doing their typical song and dance, closing down releasees to focus on the lists and what nots. But, this week picked up, at least on my end, as we covered tons of new releases and new singles. There were a couple of out-of-the-blue announcements that I was grateful to enjoy, like brand new Just Joans and Kiwi Jr, both of whom just dropped some straight bangers into my mix. I really loved the new Pansy single, as its one of the more special tunes in the mix this week…and that Hirons single had its own way of captivating too. Along with all that, it was good to see Natalie Jane Hill back in the fold, as well as Emma Russack. Little bit of everything for you, so dig on.
During this time of the year, there’s slim pickings in terms of what’s out there, as labels and bands prepare to kind of whole up for the Winter, but we still have a really solid collection of jams for you. For starters, B. Gray and I met long, long ago at a Twilight Sad show at the OG Emos here in Austin (not the blasphemous new spot), so their new song gets precedent to show our love. We were really stoked to see our Internet pal Matt Kivel, currently of Austin, drop a single form his forthcoming LP, so that, of course, shows up. Then there’s just quality hit after hit, with Diles Que No Maten and Twin Shadow and Vilde and Devin Shaffer (sorry for the polysyndeton). There’s a little bit for you all!
Not sure what it was, but for some reason, just didn’t get a ton of new stuff out into the world last week, though I’ll admit, sometimes life takes precedence. We were fortunate enough to grab some new tracks from our favorite Austin acts like Annabelle Chairlegs and Daphne Tunes, not to mention a little show coverage for Nations of Language/Deeper over at Mohawk too. There was some new stuff I thought was really special from No Lonesome and Hush, and then Optic Sink dropped a slow burner that I’ve had on repeat for a few days now. Feel like last week was very much a quality over quantity, but you be the judge.
There was a lot of really great music, and in all likelihood, we’re nearing the end of the yearly cycle, where I expect to kind of see a flutter of singles then the lists will pop up! On our end, we covered a lot of the ATX this week, with new stuff from Jet Cemetery, Don’t Get Lemon, Gus Baldwin and Living Set. There were some new tunes that really rocked me, like Deathcat‘s pop punk masterpiece, not to mention the new Winged Wheel noise pop piece. Even managed to find some room for old favorites like Living Hour, Pia Fraus and Bubblegum Lemonade among the masses! Crank this playlist up, as it starts with a banger from Possible Humans.