i tried to review every song on spotify's new music friday

plus the week's best new music from Lucius, Q, J.T. IV, Oren Ambarchi and Phoenix!

Really thought I had a leg up on the content machine last week when I had an idea: holy shit I’ll review every song on New Music Friday.

But halfway through the five hour, 100 song playlist, I realized I just couldn’t do it.

I wasn’t trying to review it in the YouTube reaction Guitar Uncle “kids these days” way. Guitar Uncles are content-creating fellas all over YouTube here to talk to you about that One Compression Trick The Pros Use, somewhere in between a Blues Lawyer and the guy in this sketch. I had an IRL Guitar Uncle who once trapped my bandmate to talk about Rick Wakeman for an hour at a family function. They used to jam, they don’t anymore, but they’re stoked someone’s still out there for the TUNES.

So approaching it snark-free, on its own terms - what did I learn after 50 songs? Mostly that I am 100% not the intended audience for this playlist. “New” as a unifying flavor means listening in order is a peanut butter and tuna combination of tastes, even if almost every song on the list has its rough edges sanded off for maximum playlistability. It’s not jarring or gross as much as confusing.

The playlist’s highlights - the Check Your Head-isms of BROCKHAMPTON’s “Big Pussy,” the Sufjan bloom of quinnie’s “itch” - were exceptions to the rule, where the artist’s personality was framed up by equally unusual musical ideas. Otherwise, lots of post-pop punk choruses, and an obscene amount of XX-style guitars. Someone get Romy Madley Croft a check! Either way, it was a bad idea and I won’t try listening to the whole thing again.

RIP Mimi Parker

The Good Links

• Blue Christmas, Guaranteed - Want to double that seasonal affective disorder ASAP? Louis Peitzman’s sad Christmas playlist has you covered!

• Gimme More Shelter - Because I’m a sucker for isolated vocal tweets, here’s Merry Clayton’s amazing isolated vocals for the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”

• Tastes like Sparks - I was looking for a long-lost XXXChange remix, which led me to this wildly of-the-era 2007 Beats In Space mix from the man himself. It’s almost too on the nose with the song selects, but if you’re in the mood for nostalgia, it goes down smooth.

And now, on to this week’s tracks - as always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter.

UNSKIPPABLES #59

Lucius - Muse

Lucius nail a perfect Virgin Suicides vibe on their latest track produced by Brandy Carlisle - the lilt of the wiggling mellotron sound, the ache of the major-minor chorus, the perfect amount of spring reverb on the snare. It blooms and wilts at the same time, over-sweet perfume lingering in dead air.

Q - Today

Extreme quiet storm vibes all over this song - which I’m all here for - but the chords were eerily reminiscent of “Dreaming of You” up top? The Head Hunters-style bass drop in the middle lavishes the song in fur-lined squelch, but I was really thirsting for ice-cold 80s soprano sax and Linndrum. More importantly, the vocal performance and writing is so strong nothing here feels costume-y - it’s laid back, confident and luxe.

Oren Ambarchi - I

This record isn’t exactly fresh off the racks - it dropped in late September - but this is a really delightful instrumental record from guitarist Oren Ambarchi. It’s equal parts Terry Riley, Battles, and post-rock - but that doesn’t do the album’s pointillist, glacial beauty justice, which has it sneaking into my top albums of the year list. Don’t believe me? Jeremy Greenspan also dropped it into his Guardian listening diary, alongside the amazing revelation that he’s listened to “Kid Charlemagne” every single day since he was 12. He *is* a champion in our eyes.

J.T. IV - Fat Lady of Limbourg

A rare Brian Eno cover, and a fun grimy one at that! Taken from J.T. IV’s upcoming The Future, his version of “Fat Lady of Limbourg” adds some dirt and menace to the hushed strangeness of the original - and it’s great!

Phoenix - After Midnight

I just really love the new Phoenix album. The whole thing is compact, crisp, and maybe the best distillation of their charms since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Everything feels pared down to its essential parts, and they remain the kings of wooshing, dreamy middle eights that feel as elegant as they do transformative. “After Midnight” might have the best hooks and guitar parts of the record, but all of Alpha Zulu is as breezy and masterful.

THROWBACK CORNER

Karl Blau - That’s How I Got To Memphis

I routinely get into arguments with my wife when I tell her about a song that she had, in fact, shown me years ago.

This is one of those songs. She was right, it’s a great cover. And what an opening line! Sorry Lindsay!

That’s all for this week, folks. Please subscribe if you’d like these opinions straight in your inbox. See you next week!