Nothing about the Grammys here! Are you big mad at awards from a 71-year-old organization? Sorry man!
Here are some excellent links to distract you from the pain:
“Cirque Du Soleil: Buckcherry:” The p4K 2.0 review of Maneskin means Jeremy D. Larson going beast mode on the dunks, guaranteed to brighten your day.
Fitzmaurice, New York Writer: A great interview with Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on their excellent run of new albums and their canceled tour in Last Donut of the Night
TEN years ago?? Steven Hyden on the 10th anniversary of the surprise release of m b v, accurately described as a rare “good day on the Internet.” This album holds up! Have you listened to it lately?? We didn’t deserve this good of a record then, we definitely don’t now - but it’s on streaming as of last year so go! Listen!!
And now 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.
Parannoul - Polaris & Lil Yachty feat. Daniel Caesar - REACH THE SUNSHINE
A HUGE week for gigantic, swelling, emotional outros! “Polaris” is an effective statement of intent to open Parannoul’s excellent 2nd LP After The Magic, while “REACH THE SUNSHINE” closes out Lil Yachty’s “psych-rock” album LET’S START HERE — both deliver massive, cinematic Hail Marys at the end of these two tracks, to deliver an incredibly satisfying slice of the sublime.
Yves Tumor - Echolalia
The major-to-minor flip at 1:00 is the best chorus move of the week, and thanks to the serpentine bassline, it’s also the week’s coolest groove. “Echolalia” is so glacial and reserved that it took me a few listens to catch how much is going on within the song’s seeming simplicity - really excited for Yves’ new LP in March.
The Altons - Float
An excellent new single from Daptone imprint Penrose, produced by the legend himself, Bosco Mann! The song’s string-laden, velvety drama is served well by the tight, edgy harmony of its two-part vocals, bringing an almost Studio One Rockers-esque heartache to the track. Is that just the spring reverb talking? Sometimes, that’s all it takes. Dramatic, deadly, delightful. Put it on every playlist you’ve got.
The Go! Team (feat. the Star Feminine Band) - Look Away, Look Away
The Go! Team are still at it, making technicolor afternoon special theme songs, and their latest record Get Up Sequences Part Two is filled with surprisingly effective new offerings from the band’s fuzzy bucket of bright primary colors. Opening track “Look Away, Look Away” features the teenaged seven-member Beninese vocal group the Star Feminine Band, giving the song a shouty, infectious playground energy. The song hits the sweet spot where the Go! Team use nostalgic sounds as a springboard into something fresh, interesting, and effortlessly cool.
throoooowbaaaaack
Kate Bush & Cocteau Twins - Fruitopia commericals
In 1994, Coca-Cola commissioned original music for the launch of the Fruitopia drink line, hiring Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins to create sonic accompaniments to their psychedelic ads. It’s truly wild hearing the cinematic, weirdly emotional tracks they wrote for the ads, which wouldn’t be out of place on some of their best-known albums. Advertising — good?????
That’s all for this week, folks. Please subscribe if you’d like these opinions straight in your inbox. See you next week!