The best record of the week is a slo-mo pop triumph
Rozi Plain, The Drin, Molly, Hadren, and Belle & Sebastian
Hello! The year continues its slow but determined grind towards the heat death of the universe and these are the best songs to listen to while facing the inevitable.
But first, some links!
This Cale Don’t Wilt - John Cale remains cool as shit in this NYT profile
Still sure I don’t say their name right - check this five and a half hour early 90’s mix from Autechre via Mix Mag
Ethics? In Music? Journalism??? - As someone who makes and writes about music, I found some of the hand-wringing in Ryan Reed’s piece on journalist/musicians a bit extra, but it’s an interesting look at the different ways in to spend time with music you love
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.
UNSKIPPABLES #65
Rozi Plain - Help
The best indie pop songs feel like a secret, a low-stakes conspiracy between you and the artist. Rozi Plain’s new LP Prize is stunning synth-folk-indie pop, fluttering and warm like a barely remembered dream. Each song’s arrangement take unexpected turns while remaining direct and inviting, a heartwarming meal presented plainly but confidently. I’ve seen the record reviewed as “folk” but that label ignores the album’s biggest strengths: the surprising Plantasia-like synthesis that gently wraps around each song, blooming in slow-motion, closer to Jessy Lanza than any folk music. The album is quiet and delightful, low in your ear but thrilling like a charming confidant.
Truth Cult - Heavy Water
“Heavy Water” is heavy, endearing post-hardcore offering from Baltimore’s Truth Cult’s upcoming Walk The Wheel LP, produced by Jawbox’s J. Robbins. It’s lurching, riffy and charming - the dual vocals from Paris Roberts and Emily Ferrara lifting the song’s churn into just enough sunshine. If this doesn’t make you want to run to your nearest basement DIY venue, I don’t know what will.
The Drin - Venom
Driving butthead garage rock from Cincinnati’s The Drin, delivering just the right tape saturation and driving groove to make the song’s menacing monologue sound twenty feet tall. The guitars sound like they’re on a bender, and the whole song has the desperate drive of early Can, but powered by a watery, domestic six-pack.
Hadren - X PL CCC T
A little late to this one - it dropped in December - but I was stunned by “X P L CCC T” on this playlist from NYC artist Slic. It sounds like a heartbroken ballad thrown into a blender, taped back together, and then replayed by a sadboi ChatGPT. It’s strange but also deeply human, and it’s over before you can quite figure out what’s the verse and what’s the chorus, because everything is an earworm.
Belle & Sebastian - When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall
Belle & Sebastian’s surprise new LP Late Developers continues their hot streak from last year’s A Bit of Previous, and though new experiments and sounds about, the highlight for us olds who cherish their initial run of classic EPs, the newly-recorded “When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall” hits hard. From Marc Hogan at Pitchfork:
“When the Cynics Stare Back From the Wall,” a previously unreleased song written circa 1994. Ambling chamber pop with guest vocals by Tracyanne Campbell, of much-missed Glasgow band Camera Obscura, it has the feel of a lost classic: a B-side or soundtrack selection that you somehow slept on for 25 years.”
THROWBACK CORNER
Raymond Scott - Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
Reading Dan Charnas’ Dilla Time is worth it even if you’re not a fan of the Detroit producer - and even better if you dig into his accompanying listening guide. The book not only had me rethink the sly innovations of Slum Village and Dilla’s work with Common, but it reminded me to revisit the work of synth pioneer Raymond Scott, whose Manhattan Research Inc. compilation is a must-hear collection of early synth works from the pioneering musician.
That’s all for this week, folks. Please subscribe if you’d like these opinions straight in your inbox. See you next week!