cash money presents fish fry
plus the week's best from YHWH Nailgun, more eaze/claire rousay and more!
I feel surrounded by Millennial-targeted San Serif fonts and soft, neutral colors all day on the subway, so let me tell you the Cash Money-style chaos of this local flyer hit HARD when walking my dog yesterday. I missed the chaos of Pen and Pixel rap album covers, and the clashing fonts, textures and depth of field are more exciting than any “good” design ever could. It reminded me to watch the amazing Vice doc about Pen and Pixel (starring the late Matt Schoen!), and why 9/11 might be to blame for why the covers fell out of fashion. But anyways, take a moment with the poster. I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me on this Tuesday afternoon.
Hey what about these Good Links???
K Popped – Jon Caramanica writes about the scene at the (likely) final New Jeans show, and how the cost of the K Pop machinery occasionally peeked through onstage
Natty Dreadnought – I’ve been loving digging into the tracks in Andy Thomas’ piece on records where folk traditions meet dub and reggae sounds for Bandcamp Daily
Heart Shaped Blog – Matthew Perpetua’s writing on his favorite 90s alt rock radio staples felt extra potent this week, especially his thoughtful takes on why Everclear and Gavin Rossdale got short-changed at their peak
On to the best of the week. As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
YHWH Nailgun – Iron Feet
Guitars(?) sound like a dying whale. The vocals are unintelligible screaming. The drums are mixed like junkyard metal.
Record of the week.
more eaze & claire rousay – The Applebees Outside Kalamazoo, Michigan
Fuck the forgettable Brian Eno Apple Music exclusive – this is the week’s best new ambient record. No Floor swaps Rousay and Mari Rubio’s usual found sound & field recordings for studio sonic manipulation, but their breathtaking sense of space is still present, with flutters of pedal steel and violin giving each track a floater of heartbroken Americana.
Japanese Breakfast – Honey Water
For Melancoly Brunettes ( &Sad Women) is billed as Japanese Breakfast’s ~romantic~ record but it's more important to know it's their long outro record. A long outro record is the signature of a victory lap after a huge press cycle – clearly what this record is after the explosion of Jubilee and Crying in H Mart. Long Outro Records are the quiet luxury of an artist on the other side of a breakthrough; for Japanese Breakfast it's in the contrast of plain, expensive sounding vocal performances with a tasteful smattering of studio wizardry and lush strings. The fuzz guitar duet that closes “Honey Water” is a Wilco-esque end to the hushed shoegaze of the rest of the track. There are fun weird choices all over the record – though why is Jeff Bridges on it?? – and it's nice to hear Michelle Zauner Let each song simmer, studio budget be damned!
Snapped Ankles – Smart World
If you’re curious about the sonic midpoint between early Devo and peak Harmonia, this record is absolutely for you.
Sharp Pins – You Have A Way
Like Mo Troper, Sharp Pins seem to have ingested all of power pop history and have a firehose of tracks that reinterpret it in fractured, multilayered DIY pop. Their new LP Radio DDR is a 14-song GBV-style showcase of endless British Invasion hooks and perfect choruses – it was hard to pick a best track, so just put on the record and let the brilliant fuzzy choruses wash over you.
throwback
Bishop Luther Dingle & Voices of Pentecost – Lift Him Up
My friend Joe found this record while trying to figure out why a chunk of Nostrand Avenue was named after Bishop Luther Dingle. What he found was a gorgeous gospel soul record from 1979 recorded by the Bishop and his backing band that includes family members and congregants. Recorded and released by local gospel imprint VOJ Records, the live record showcases the Bish and band running through an impressive array of gospel originals – from the disco-tinged first track “Lift Him Up” to the syrupy Motown ballad of “Praise His Name,” the playing and writing are as sharp as they are devotional. I’m dying to know more – the B side of the album isn't even available online – but it's the type of gem that makes staying on this hellscape of the internet still worth staying on. Amen.