heatwave slacker rock
Plus PJ Harvey makes a great Knife single
HELLO I hope everyone is surviving the heat. If you squint and ignore all historical data, it’s still a pretty good time and in no way the sign of a coming climate disaster!
Keeping it short this week as there’s a special edition coming tomorrow about the new Tiny Gun record and the song I’ve been trying to write for 20 years.
But of course, we have LINKS for you:
They’re not musicians, but they’re revealing how they make money work for making art so we’re all on the same side.
Is your music being used to train AI? You can join the likes of Kenny Beats, who is just THRILLED about it.
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update (usually) every Tuesday(ish) along with the newsletter. Enjoy.
Ultra Lights – Bad Feeling
Atlanta’s Ultra Lights join 2026’s class of exceptionally good rock records (hello, Mod Lang, Robber Robber, Station Model Violence!) with a jolt of scuzzy slacker rock anthems on their upcoming LP Pleasure’s All Yours. “Bad Feeling” is accurately captured in Chris DeVille’s profile of the band as sounding “like Stephen Malkmus agitated to find himself morphing into Julian Casablancas.” The song’s lackadaisical lean is effortlessly cool, but there’s nothing slacker-ish about the songwriting – everything feels steeped in familiar sounds revived by the band’s energy relentless hooks.
PJ Harvey – Voyager
Welcome back, Polly Jean! Who knew PJ Harvey and an arpeggiator would add up to the closest thing to Silent Shout-era Knife I’ve heard in a decade. No shade to Fever Ray or Olof’s solo work, but “Voyager” has the spectral simplicity that made the Knife’s peak output feel impossibly glacial and perfect.
Enphamus ft. Project Pat – Secret Indictment
If you’re having a socialist Knicks fan who loves soccer summer, then “Secret Indictment” is the hard-as-fuck walking soundtrack you need in your life. Put your hand in the cash register, their money is your money, comrades!
Team Work – horse eating an apple
If hard rap isn’t your vibe this summer – hey, it’s hot, we all have bed rotting to do – then Team Work’s Shaggs-meets-Young Marble Giants deconstructed pop might be more up your alley. Bass lines zig when they should zag, and there’s nary a backbeat to be found, but the group’s charming sense of melody breaks through.
Alex Amen – California Blues
I’ve loved Alex Amen since catching him at Outside Lands last summer – the alt-country trappings (yes, a pedal steel) didn’t feel like window-dressings as he was playing stunning country rock worthy of all the fixin’s. His new LP Sun of Amen came out the other week, and I found myself locked in with “California Blues,” which sounds like a lost peak Neil Diamond hit.
throwback
K.L. Hamilton – I’m Trying
Essential summer backyard party music found via the dollar bin breaklord Snoobz, and reissued by the legends at Numero Group. Stick around for the break and scat/guitar solo at the one minute mark!