Top Albums of 2024…According to Nathan

I love to wrap up the year later than most, mostly because my real job always has me swimming against the current. But, nonetheless, I’ve got a solid list of the records I loved this year…and you’ll notice a lot of the same stuff as my peers, with maybe a few tweaks here and there to throw my own flare into it. Not really sure how to write an intro into something that seems so opinion-based, so here’s the list of records you should already have purchased if you come to this site frequently!

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Lone Striker Share Dunno Single

All our favorite labels of love have their hands in this Lone Striker album coming your way, and this first single should establish the group as one of your favorites too. It should come as no surprise that we’ve also covered the project in various ways, as the lone striker himself, Tom Brown, is also part of great acts like Rural France and Teenage Tom Petties. So, here we are, with a debut single, seeing Brown relishing his role as a pop extraordinaire is immediately evident; the burst of horns in the arrangement set up his voice to kind of crest and cool in the middle of the mix. All of this chilled pop works around a lightly strummed jangle, sitting right alongside the percussive element, tapping toes and bobbing heads in the best way. For now, we can thank Repeating Cloud/Safe Suburban Home/Hidden Bay for getting this tune our way…the debut album is out next year!

Last Week’s Jams (4.22 – 4.26)

It’s been a strange few weeks if I’m looking at the numbers on our Last Week’s Jams; we’ve run 28 songs for the last three weeks, compiling a fun playlist that runs at 1.5 hours. Well, whatever, time’s on your side my friends. We were fortunate to premiere a couple of stellar tunes this week from the Ar-Kaics and Noelle and Deserters; one offers a crackling fire of psychedelia while the other is a bit more old school western vibes. And, there was the joyous return of Bad Moves! Of course, we also filled the pages with new stuff from Lightheaded, Laughing, Luma Fade, Lunchbox and the Laughing Chimes…you know, all the big Ls! Some Austin love as always via mentions of new records from Don’t Get Lemon and Hovvdy too. Sit back and get into Monday.

Friday Album Streams: Rural France, Joyer, Writhing Squares and More

Definitely a busy week on the album release list, and if I had more time, I’d be way into reviews. But, life always seems to be in the way, so the best way I can throw my weight behind great music is to give you a chance to stream some of the really solid albums that dropped on the Internet this weekend. So, just check out all the records below, and be sure to buy!

Writhing SquaresMythology (Trouble in Mind Records)

JoyerNight Songs – (Hit the North Records)

Maria Chiara ArgiroCloser – (Innovative Leisure)
Rural FranceExacatmondo – (Meritorio Records)

BabehovenWater’s Here In You – (Double Double Whammy)

HovvdyHovvdy – (Arts and Crafts)

Last Week’s Jams (4.8 – 4.12)

Apparently it’s that time of year when I just can’t help myself; I’m going full-time it seems, as we ran 28 brand new tracks this last week, plus some nods to albums we liked that dropped on Friday. We got some fresh premiere activity from the Wesleys and Max Blansjaar, then there were some recent favorites dropping in new stuff like Lightheaded, Neutrals and Autocamper. Me personally, I loved the new Gregor single, and that new CBVB plays into similar territory. This collection of songs, like my own catalog, is pretty random, though we always tend to aim for left of the left of the dial. Stream on.

Rural France Share Guideropes

We’ve received two pretty energetic tunes from Rural France thus far, all hinting at an exciting new record from the group. Today, there’s a bit more of a relaxed vibe in their work, playing with our expectations while also illustrating some of the differentiation we’re likely to find on the LP. The crunchiness of the guitar lines hints at an almost Pacific Northwest rock jam, but while burning up their amps, the band also remain tethered to their pop tendencies, using dueling vocals and overlapping melodies to provide that emotional connection. All things are pointing towards Exactamondo! being a knockout; it drops on April 26th via Meritorio Records.

Last Week’s Jams (3.18 – 3.22)

After a week where I felt we left our visitors down, due to some musical gather in Austin, we came back with a vengeance this week. We repped some hometown heroes, announcing that Eastside Suicides would be reissuing their debut, along with a new tune from our friends in Blushing. Perennial site favorites Rural France and Red, Pinks and Purples made their usual appearance with fresh tunes for you. I loved new stuff from Winged Wheel and Yea-Ming and the Rumours. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a bad song in this playlist, which duh, we get to hand-pick what we cover. Press play and enjoy.

Rural France Share Tag Along Single

Having fallen in love with the first track from Exactamondo, it only makes sense that we reinforce our love for Rural France by covering their new single today. While “Packhorse” felt clean and brimming with pop sensibility, “Tag Along” seems to be a little bit of a sonic shift, playing with noise in the background, layered to juxtapose the sugary center. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are still offering up their usual sweetness, so you can still be enchanted, but the edges feel rougher and maybe, dare I say, “lo-fi.” I like that we’re getting a peek at the variation we can expect when the LP finally hits; it’s scheduled for an April 26th release courtesy of Meritorio Records.

Last Week’s Jams (2.19 – 2.23)

With a holiday squeezed in, and some craziness on my own end, we maybe didn’t cover as much as I ideally would have liked to cover. Nonetheless, there was tons of great tunes running on the site, including a premiere from 40th Parallel, plus brand spanking new music from Apollo Ghosts…which I’m still listening to right now. Rural France is back too, so we included that in our coverage, not to mention the fact that we got a hot new Daniel Romano tune included. You can never go wrong either with new Reds, Pinks and Purples or En Attendant Ana…and those are included. It’s a 45 minute collection of solid rock n’ roll, so turn it on and turn it up.

Rural France Announce Exactamondo

I was a really big fan of Rural France‘s debut, RF, which in turn led to my fandom of Teenage Tom Petties…and now it seems that Tom Brown and Rob Fawkes have put aside time to lay down another delightful batch of tunes. At first listen, it seems like the jangles, while still present, have been turned down a bit in the mix, building more of a broad pop approach to the duo’s songwriting; it sort of feels like they’ve branched into Teenage Fanclub territory with these big riffs rocking throughout, though I’ll admit, their adherence to the melody is constantly delighting on this tune. Look for Exactamondo to drop April 26th via Meritorio Records.

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