Sondre Lerche once again puts out a compelling video for Siamese Twin. Shamir addresses "white washing and queer bating in media” with his intimate video for Straight Boy. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton has an equally impactful video for Legend of the Wild Horse.
Bonus: ANOTHER Jon & Roy video. I just can’t get enough of these guys.
I (still) totally agree.
"Albums still matter because they tell the unique story of who a band is at a specific moment of time that one or two singles just don’t have the ability to do. Imagine if the songs from Nick Drake’s Pink Moon or The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were released one at a time over the course of a year. Yes, the songs would still be incredible, but the meaning of these hugely important albums would be far less impactful. Whether it’s a concept album or not, good albums feature some sort of story or larger narrative whether it’s in the lyrics or instrumentation. Singles can’t tell the stories albums can."
Fischerspooner is back (!) with a new video for Togetherness feat. Caroline Polachek from Chairlift! MGMT is finally back with a new video for Little Dark Age, and hopefully some new album details soon. Bomba Estéreo has a fun video about traveling the world with Internacionales.
Bonus: People have been talking about this Disco Tits by Tove Lo, and I can see why (NSFW).
After stopping by the Lou Harrison Centennial performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, it was fun to pivot to a whole different experience at Negative Space. We weren’t there long, but was able to catch Formwave. Definitely some unique stuff. Was glad to finally make it to Negative Space for a performance as well!
So there was a last minute decision to stop by the Cleveland Museum of Art’s at Gartner Auditorium to see the Lou Harrison Centennial, and I’m glad we did! Very much in the new music strain that I’ve been enjoying, and it was fascinating to learn the story about the composer and the instruments! Gorgeous stuff. Here’s a couple sneaky pics I grabbed (no video though).
After a charming first album, Wild Ones are back with a new album and video for Standing In the Back at Your Show. Little Dragon teamed up with Faith Evans for this non-album track, Peace of Mind. Estelle is coming back, and hopefully with an album soon - until then we’ll have to be satisfied for a Love Like Ours (feat. Tarrus Riley).
Bonus: No word on a new album yet, but this split-screen video for First Aid Kit shows us how It’s a Shame sometimes.
I can’t believe it’s been nearly 10 years since last seeing Wolf Parade at the Beachland, and nearly 13 years since seeing them the first time with Modest Mouse. I dove back into their limited catalog and was reminded of how much I love these guys - and also discovered how good their new album is! I was a little surprised to see them at the House of Blues this time around, as I’m guessing was the audience (which was lacking at HOB). Still, the energy of the band, the light show, and their sound being in top form made for an excellent night. Keep the albums coming guys (and the side projects too!).
Generationals have a new single and video out for Catahoula Man, with no apparent full album release on the horizon. I’m not sure what’s going on in this new Ezra Furman video for Driving Down to L.A., but I’ll take it. St. Vincent releases a burner, with this new Los Ageless video.
Bonus: I can resist Big Freedia and I'm glad to see she’s still Queen.
This past Saturday I was at the Cinematheque to watch this amazing documentary on the New York Public Library, called Ex Libris. It was over 3 hours long, but very much worth it. Rather than going straight home, the University Programming Board of Case Western Reserve University was hosting a band at the bar on campus - the Jolly Scholar. I’ve been to some of these shows before and they’re never great. Same thing this time. The band, the space, the audience… none of which appealed to me, other than it being right next to my Library and on my way home. Still, I post.
Perfume Genius knocks it out of the park with another great video, this time for Wreath. Jon & Roy are back again (!) with an animated video for How The Story Goes, which is great because I just can’t get enough of these guys. ibeyi has been everywhere lately, most recently putting out this video for Me Voy feat. Mala Rodriguez.
Bonus: Sam Smith is Way Too Good at Goodbyes in this gorgeously shot video.
