Gold Soundz: April 19, 2024

This week's suggested new music, curated by omg!nyc

Apr 19, 2024

Tomorrow marks the latest edition of Record Store Day, an event that started almost two decades ago as a way to promote independent record stores across the country as an attempt to lore people away from big retailers and back to the small shops that supported indie artists. As time as passed, the day feels more like a cash grab and an excuse to buy records that are purposefully exclusive and wind-up reselling online for astronomical amounts that do little to actually support the stores as intended. Despite my somewhat bitter feelings, I do think there are still some good intentions and love that some stores do see a benefit. I just wish major stars could leave it for those who really need the sales.

Today’s release date is going to be dominated by Taylor Swift’s latest album and while I do admire her prolific output, I’m not sure the music always warrants the extreme attention. Her achievements are indeed remarkable, her fandom is fiercely loyal, and she can clearly write a banger. However, while her songs may be important, they’re not all very interesting or groundbreaking. The synth-pop mega-ballads of The Tortured Poets Department are cohesive and sound like quintessential Taylor, her bruising hits packing punches, but feels rather stagnant at album length.

At one time, Pearl Jam were considered to be the biggest band on the planet and throughout the ‘90s, they became the torch-bearers of grunge and alt-rock, but through no fault of their own, they’ve taken on the baggage of “dad rock” as their audience has aged along with them. Today they’re back with their heaviest album in decades and one that will hopefully resurface the feelings and emotions that were paired with their early days hoping to prove that old flames never really die.

Post-emo indie rockers Cloud Nothings return today with their latest collection of up-tempo jams that pair big riffs with crisp rhythm section blasts. Straight-ahead indie rockers Local Natives also have a new album out today that keeps their sonic trajectory firmly in place as one of the more reliable bands in their category, keeping their tight guitars and steady rhythms firmly in place.

For years, Claire Rousay has been releasing ASMR-indebted ambient music that bends into swirling abstracts, but sentiment feels like more of a grand statement and one of her strongest works to date. Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell has been releasing music for decades and his warm tones always make a for bright spot in the world of stringed jazz and this collection recalls sweeping orchestrations and lush film scores.

It’s been almost a decade since Jamie xx released his lone solo album In Colour, but he’s stated that a new one is indeed on the way and hopes to have it our by the end of the year. This week he shared his second song of 2024, the sizzling “Baddy on the Floor” which features Honey Dijon, and it’s a blissful number with some joyful disco undertones.

After releasing her stunning album An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, Cassandra Jenkins was ready to step away from her solo career, but after the much deserved praise, she’s back with a new album full of sophistipop glow and ambient jazz grace as highlighted on the mesmerizing new song “Only One.”

Fusing the sounds of shoegaze and black metal isn’t as novel as it once was, but Alcest have been pioneers of this sound for decades and with a new album coming in June, they’re showing no signs of moving away from the swell guitars and crushing drums that make them such a captivating band and “Flamme Jumelle” is just the latest in their sprawling arsenal.

Blurring the lines between post-rock and black metal, Mono are back with another atmospheric triumph of blown-out waves of guitar music that will surely lift spirits with its towering gaze. Gothic synth-wave heroes Cold Cave also have a new, dark jam that brings alluring mystic to their blackened sound while still offering up something that takes the edge of the usual industrial sonics.

Summoning deep growls and extreme double-bass blast beats, the surging new track from Inter Arma is a sinister death metal track that the band says is their attempt at straightforward “metal” and it’s an absolute beast of a song. Black metal newcomers Agriculture also shared a pulverizing new song this week which will be featured on next month’s LP Living Is Easy / The Circle Chant which is a combo of a 2022 release in addition to one featuring new material.

Taking queues from shoegaze and hazy trip-hop, Winter has announced a new EP and shared the track “Sallow,” a down-tempo jam full of smokey grooves subtle rhythms. Folk rockers Blitzen Trapper have a new album that’s due next month and this week we were gifted the fourth single from the record, the breezy “Planetarium” which the band describes as finding comfort and peace in learning to see the self as the cosmos and the cosmos as the self.

Can are in the midst of an impressive reissue campaign that wrangles up some of their live performances from back in their hey day and the latest comes from the late ‘70s and features the killer “Aston 77 Vier,” a high mark from the band’s later output and an essential jam with maximum grooves.

If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2024) here!

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