Welcome to the second installment for our 2024 quarterly playlist! Having Canada D’eh and Independence Day during the same week had some of us partying hard. Feel free to jam while reading what participating staffers had to say about their picks. Tell us what your favorites are in the comments, any new artists you may have discovered here, or let us know what we missed!
Tracklist:
Arooj Aftab – “Aey Nehin” Night Reign
Perhaps the most heatproof antidote I’ve heard this year to everything sweaty and inconvenient about summer, Arooj Aftab’s stellar new record opens in a revelation of cleansing harp tones and dusky croons. Her hazy weave of textures effortlessly trots out everything palatable you could ask of a current-year chamber jazz, earning a rare for all music fans badge of approval from practically anyone whose opinion you should care to ask. Literally better than sunscreen. –JohnnyoftheWell
ARTMS – “Virtual Angel” <DALL>
Charli XCX might be sitting on pop’s most obvious AOTY ticket, but this right here is the flyaway headrush single of (maybe) the year, affirming everything gauzy and effortless about pop, living and dying on the sheer gratification of breezy production and the featherweight delivery of knockout hooks. If that’s not enough (and your Korean is up to it), ARTMS’ lyrics offer a wholesome take on…
Hey everyone! Welcome back to Weekly Releases. Below is a list of notable new releases set to premiere on July 12th, 2024. Feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors. Cheers!
– List of Releases: July 12th, 2024 –
Amorphis – Tales from the Thousand Lakes (Live at Tavastia) Genre: Melodic Death Metal Label: Atomic Fire Records
Ani DiFranco – Unprecedented Sh!t Genre: Alternative Rock / Indie Rock Label: Righteous Babe
Black Lava – The Savage Winds to Wisdom Genre: Blackened Death Metal Label: Season of Mist
Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer Genre: Indie Pop / Indie Rock Label: Dead Oceans
Cigarettes After Sex – X’s Genre: Dream Pop / Ambient Pop Label: Partisan
Clairo – Charm Genre: Indie Pop / Folk-Pop Label: Self-Released
Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace) Genre: Hip-Hop Label: Shady / Aftermath / Interscope
Future Utopia – Django’s High Genre: Psychedelic Rock Label: 70Hz Recordings
Graphic Nature – Who Are You When No One Is Watching? Genre: Nu-Metalcore Label: Rude
Hannah Mohan – Time Is a Walnut Genre: Indie Rock / Indie…
Happy American Independence Day. Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 5th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 5, 2024 –
Aeons: The Ghosts of What We Knew
Genre: Progressive Metalcore Label: Sliptrick Records
Akhlys: House of the Black Geminus
Genre: Black Metal / Ambient Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Fink: Beauty in Your Wake
Genre: Alternative / Downtempo Label: R’COUP’D
Horned Almighty: Contagion Zero
Genre: Black Metal Label: Soulseller Records
Kasabian: Happenings
Genre: Indie / Psychedelic Label: Columbia Records
Kiasmos: II
Genre: Electronic / Ambient Label: Erased Tapes Records
Kokoko!: Butu
Genre: African / Electronic / Alternative Label: Transgressive Records
Liminal Shroud: Visions of Collapse
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal Label: Willowtip Records
Nyktophobia: To the Stars
Genre: Blackened Death Metal Label: Napalm Records
Sput has had a Youtube channel for nearly 4 years! Feel like I don’t do enough to plug it and make people aware we have one, exacerbated by the fact there’s an inconsistent flow of content on there. Anyway, I saw Wormrot last night at Barrow-In-Furness’ Funeral Fest 2024 and they were excellent; here’s some footage from their face-melting set. Shock-horror, the drummer is fucking insane and their set was a nice balance of old and new stuff.
Follow the channel, and if you’ve got any ideas for content on there, I’m more than open to hearing suggestions.
Here’s an appetizer of new releases for June 28th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors; in addition, feel free to add to the list by letting the people know what else should be on the community’s radar.
Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Knocked Loose have nothing left to prove. The Louisville quintet are one of the most successful mainstream hardcore acts out there, even playing sets at major festivals like Coachella. And yet, despite all the success and attention, they cranked the aggression up to eleven with You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, while still including some unexpected experimentation which separates them from their peers in the genre. For example, when’s the last time you heard a dang reggaeton beat in the breakdown of a hardcore song? Knocked Loose created a fantastic record that’s 27 minutes of catchy, moody, and aggressive hardcore. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is everything a fan could’ve wanted – and then some.
Here’s an intentionally non-exhaustive list of new releases for June 21st, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors; or, let the people know what else should be on the community’s radar this week.
– List of Releases: June 21st, 2024 –
Alcest – Les Chants de l’Aurore Genre: Shoegaze / Post-Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
The Aquabats! – Finally! Genre!: Third Wave Ska! / New Wave! Label!: Gloopy Industries!
Been Stellar – Scream from New York, NY Genre: Shoegaze / Post-Punk Revival Label: Dirty Hit
Black Veil Brides – Bleeders (EP) Genre: Alternative Metal Label: Spinefarm
Cavalera Conspiracy – Schizophrenia Genre: Thrash Metal / Death Metal Label: Nuclear Blast
Here’s a sampling of June 14th, 2024 new releases. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors; or, let the people know what else should be on the community’s radar this week.
– List of Releases: June 14th, 2024 –
$uicideboy$ – New World Depression Genre: Hip-Hop Label: G59 Records
Bad Breeding – Contempt Genre: Noise Rock/Hardcore/Post-Punk Label: One Little Independent Records
Black Country Communion – V Genre: Hard Rock/Blues Label: Mascot Label Group
Bored At My Grandmas House – Show & Tell Genre: Bedroom Pop/Shoegaze Label: Clue Records
Crypt Sermon– The Stygian Rose Genre: Doom/Heavy Metal Label: Dark Descent
The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again Genre: Indie Rock/Folk Label: YABB Records
The Early November – The Early November Genre: Emo/Alt-Rock Label: Pure Noise Records
Eivør – Enn Genre: Folk/Art Pop/Experimental Label: Season of Mist
Fax Gang and Parannoul – Scattersun Genre: Hip-Hop/Electronic Label: Topshelf Records
Fellwarden – Legend: Forged in Defiance Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal Label: Napalm Records
Fu Manchu – The Return to Tomorrow Genre: Stoner/Desert Rock Label: At the Dojo Records
Isobel Campbell – Bow To Love Genre: Singer-Songwriter/Alternative Label: Cooking Vinyl
Jelani Aryeh – The Sweater Club Genre: R&B/Indie Label: Imperial
John Cale – Poptical Illusion Genre: Rock/Pop/Experimental Label: Domino
Here’s a sampling of June 7th, 2024 new releases. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors; or, let the people know what else should be on the community’s radar this week.
If there has ever been an, uh-huh, point to the KILL or KEEP series, odds are it’s been to dip into controversies still simmering, tracklists still disorganised, arguments still raging, and offer some passing aggregated opinionated stab at a Decisive Verdict – and if not a firm verdict on this/that/the other should-should-not be here, then at least a decisive snapshot of an argument still ongoing elsewhere in the world and (one hopes) interesting enough to be worth snapping to begin with.
This band/album/songwriter package has absolutely none of those. Nobody argues about Steven Wilson and the Porcupine Trees anymore. Everyone has chosen sides. The received wisdom of how much to listen to it if inclined (sparingly but intently) or if not (not at all, or else psychedelic ’90s years only!) is very received. The man’s music does not have the charm to sway indecisives – you either take it on his terms, or not at all. We all know what this means with prog rock. In Absentia was Wilson’s first metal album and has one of his stupidest concepts (I think we can all rejoice that auteurs tend no longer to mistake serial killer narratives as a cheap supplement for artistic clout). Here are thoughts.
Rules
The starting team was johnnyoftheWell, Koris and TVC.
Gatecrashers were welcome to this KILL or KEEP and we…
Here’s a list of new releases for the week of May 31st, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: May 31, 2024 –
Anna Tivel: Living Thing Genre: Indie Folk Label: Fluff and Gravy Records
Arooj Aftab: Night Reign Genre: Folk/Jazz Label: Verve Label Group
Ayra Starr: The Year I Turned 21 Genre: R&B/Soul Label: Mavin Global Goldings
Bat for Lashes: The Dream of Delphi Genre: Indie Pop/Folk Label: Mercury KX
Crowded House: Gravity Stairs Genre: Pop/Rock Label: Lester Records
Four Stroke Baron: Data Diamond Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal Label: Prosthetic Records
Half Waif: Ephemeral Being Genre: Indie Pop Label: Anti
IDAHO: Lapse Genre: Slowcore / Indie Rock Label: Arts & Crafts
King Hannah: Big Swimmer Genre: Ambient/Shoegaze Label:City Slang
The Marias: Submarine Genre: Indie/Dream Pop Label: Atlantic
Hello everyone! Checking in to report that everything seems fine and fully operational, but please feel free to let us know in the forums if you notice any problems and I’ll get someone to take a look. Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line, and your call will be answered in the order it was received. In the meantime, below is a list of some new releases for May 24th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews from staff or contributors.
– List of Releases: May 24th, 2024 –
Abysm – Shadow of Malevolence Genre: Blackened Thrash Metal / Melodic Death Metal Label: [self-released]
Andrew Bird – Sunday Morning Put-On Genre: Standards / Vocal Jazz Label: Loma Vista
Astrid S – Joyride Genre: Electropop / Alt-Pop Label: Universal / Island
Bass Communion – The Itself of Itself Genre: Musique Concrete / Noise / Ambient Drone Label: Lumberton Trading Company
Bess Atwell – Light Sleeper Genre: Indie Folk / Dream Pop Label: Real Kind
Bring Me The Horizon – POST HUMAN: NeX GEn Genre: Emo-Pop / Alternative Metal / Hyperpop Label: Sony / RCA
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 17th, 2024. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors.
– List of Releases: May 17, 2024 –
Ani DiFranco: Unpresedented Sh!t
Genre: Indie Folk Label: Righteous Babe
The Avett Brothers: The Avett Brothers
Genre: Americana / Folk Label: American Recordings
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft
Genre: Pop / Indie Pop Label: Interscope
Botanist: Paleobotany
Genre: Experimental Black Metal Label: Prophecy Productions
Cage the Elephant: Neon Pill
Genre: Alternative Rock Label: Sony Music
Celestial Season: Mysterium III
Genre: Doom Label: Independent
Elvellon: Ascending in Synergy
Genre: Power Metal Label: Napalm Records
From Indian Lakes: Head Void
Genre: Indie Rock / Dream Pop Label: Independent
Gatecreeper: Dark Superstition
Genre: Doom/Death Metal/Hardcore Label: Relapse Records
Jamey Jasta: … And Jasta for All
Genre: Metalcore Label: Perseverance Media
Jinjer: Live in Los Angeles
Genre: Metalcore / Progressive
To put it simply, In Vain’s newest album Solemn is a near masterpiece. It’s an absolutely seamless blend of epic and natural sounding progressive death metal and devilish black metal passages. People talk about albums sounding epic, but Solemn is the epitome of that very word. The way that these guys effortlessly float between these different subgenres not only showcases a cohesive unit firing on all cylinders, but also goes to show the amount of time and effort they put into the album. Solemn is an extreme metal opera that may ultimately go down as one of the best of the decade. Do not miss out!
Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between: welcome back to Weekly Releases! Below is a list of notable new releases set to premiere on May 10th, 2024. It’s quite a jam-packed and genre-bending list, so feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff and/or contributors. Cheers!
– List of Releases: May 10th, 2024 –
A. G. Cook – Britpop Genre: Electronic / Experimental Label: New Alias
Amen Dunes – Death Jokes Genre:Alternative / Folk / Singer-Songwriter Label: Sub Pop
Amy O – Mirror, Reflect Genre:Alternative / Indie Pop Rock Label: Tower Records
Anette Olzon – Rapture Genre:Power Metal / Symphonic Metal Label: Frontiers Records
Angus & Julia Stone – Cape Forestier Genre:Folk Rock / Indie Pop / Americana Label: Sony
Arab Strap – I’m Totally Fine with It Don’t Give a Fuck Anymore Genre:Indie Rock / Slowcore Label: Rock Action
Bibi Club – Feu de garde Genre:Indie Pop Label: Secret City Records
Bossk – .4 Genre:Post-metal / Sludge Metal Label: Deathwish
Bugzy Malone – THE GREAT BRITISH DREAM Genre:Hip-Hop / Grime Label: Ill Gotten Records
Conway the Machine – Slant Face Killah Genre:Hip-Hop Label: Drumwork
