a perfect rollerskating jam and a big, anxious country hit
men i trust, the juan maclean, jason isbell, yo la tengo, and big tunes at the chicago auto show
Hi! Are you doing ok? Make sure you’re drinking water! Go take a walk! February’s almost over!
There’s something really satisfying about this old Sunn Amplification ad featuring Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi: the man *conspicuously rocked NEW BALANCES* while making the absolute finest heavy metal of all time??? Even Satan can’t help you with arch support!
On to this week’s best tracks! As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter.
Militarie Gun - Do It Faster
What if Turnstile covered Guided By Voices???? But good?????
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Death Wish
“You ever love a woman with a death wish?”
There’s something really satisfying about a song that lays out everything in the first couplet, chorus-first as if the idea can’t wait around for a verse to finish. “Death Wish” will be part of Isbell’s new album Weathervanes, and it avoids the obvious moves in favor of a nerve-y, searching build-up. The track returning to the chorus as strings slowly surge in at the margins, amplifying its hungry energy.
The Juan Maclean - Low Trance State
Just a slate-grey machine crusher from Mr. Maclean. “Low Trance State” is from a new compilation from Playground Records as part of their 9th year anniversary, and there are no vocals, no italo flourishes, just a thick synth bass crawling its way through the track.
Men I Trust - Ring of Past
A tight, funky single from Canadian trio Men I Trust. The video, comprised of footage from the 1979 film Love on Wheels directed by Ben Low & Ian Rankin, is a perfect fit - the track’s breezy, coasting groove is a pure rollerskate jam.
Yo La Tengo - Miles Away
I don’t have anything meaningful to add to the discourse around Yo La Tengo’s excellent new album This Stupid World other than it is indeed their best in years, but the closing track “Miles Away” keeps pulling me back in. Most of This Stupid World is YLT doing what they do best, but “Miles Away” is a strange and dark coda, a bleak shoegaze-y ballad that sounds like it’s hiding from the light shined on it. If the rest of the record feels like a call from an old friend, “Miles Away” sounds like the cost of time and old age creeping in.
throooowback
Cajmere - Percolator
Had never heard of this 1992 Chicago dance classic when I stumbled on the Tweet below, and I’ve never wanted to visit an auto show before but if I did, it’d be this one. Going this hard in fluorescent lighting? Incredible.
