Gold Soundz: August 25, 2023

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

Aug 25, 2023

The last full week of August comes bearing the gifts of many great new tunes. On the albums front, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet are back with their first new album since reuniting last year and it marks their first album since 2008’s Get Awkward. The singles have been a true return-to-form of the group’s Garage Punk roots and make this one of the defining guitar-rock records of the year.

Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((world war)) is the posthumous album from the late jaimie branch, the avant-guard trumpeter who passed suddenly last year and marks the first release since her passing. It continues to paint the picture of the visionary world branch created and gives us one more glimpse into their brilliance at work.

Blurring psychedelic swirls with some wicked wordplay, SPELLLING has been dazzling audiences for a few years and today she returns with a new album SPELLLING And The Mystery School giving new light to old favorites. I Told Them… is the new album, and seventh overall, from Nigeria’s Burna Boy. It follows last year’s Love, Damini and features guests from 21 Savage, J Cole, GZA, and RZA.

Big Thief’s Buck Meek has a new studio album out today and it follows his main band’s trajectory of folk rock, but really feels like a solo endeavor that brings his quirky vocals front and center. Long before he became a producer for the Black Keys, one-half of Gnarls Barkley, or even that guy who mashed up The Beatles and Jay Z, Danger Mouse put out a record with Jemini and today their long-shelved follow-up finally sees the light of day.

Mitski is gearing up to release her new record and this week she shared not one, but two new singles. The glacial tracks are more reserved than her previous bombastic singles and instead shed more light on the new sounds we can expect from the full record. L’Rain’s new album I Killed Your Dog is coming soon and this week the artist shared another glowing single from the record. Over a synthy-guitar line, the singer brings out more of a rock element than we’ve heard in the past with big drum rolls filling the space and launching her into the next phase of her already impressive career.

Shabazz Palaces last released an album in 2020, but this fall they’ll beam back down from the cosmos to offer up a new record and the lead single is the as-expected delirious and dense new track “Binoculars” featuring Royce the Choice. The post-punk trio Patio is also readying their new album and the third single, shared earlier this week, continues to find the band at their starkest and rawest moments as ragged guitars and clanging percussion come together for striking and humbling rock that brings forth steady and serious confidence from a band ready to take on the world.

Post-rock legends Explosions in the Sky have a new album coming soon and the second single from the record again captures the band doing what they do best: crafting rocketing songs that erupt with solid build-ups after long moments of unnerving tension. Slow Pulp will release their sophomore record next month, but this week they shared the twangy tune “Broadview,” a slow and meditative song with breezy vocals, harmonica, and a slowed, crawling beat.

Brit-pop greats Blur just released their solid and somber reunion album The Ballad of Darren and now they’ve dropped another song from the recording sessions, “Sticks and Stones,” which is included on the Japanese release of the album.

R&B dynamite Al Green dropped his first new song in five years this week. It’s a cover of Lou Reed’s timeless classic “Perfect Day” and it sounds just as remarkable and moving as you’d expect from the legend, giving it an emotional charge with some stunning electric piano and Green’s unwavering voice. Up and coming indie rockers Lifeguard also paid tribute to a classic this week with a cover of The Jam’s killer tune “In the City.”

If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!

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