Gold Soundz: July 7, 2023

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

The second half of the year is here and like the rest of the country, music releases are on a bit of a hiatus this week. However, just like the service workers who keep the country running during holidays (solidarity with everyone who doesn’t benefit from corporate capitalism!), there are those that have delivered while the rest of us took a breather.

Back in 2017, Julie Byrne released her stunning album Not Even Happiness which was a transcendent record that captured her alluring voice and whimsical melodies. Today she returns with the long-awaited follow-up The Greater Wings, which has been led by mesmerizing singles that steers down the ambient path, giving more glowing buzz to her already majestic tunes. An elegant soundtrack for deep, meditative thoughts or one to get lost in while escaping the physical world.

PJ Harvey’s latest album is an intriguing collection of songs that continues to operate in the mode of “expect the unexpected,” a true trademark of this singer who has always played to her own heart and never the collective conscious. As usual, this one is another left turn in her roundabout career, but yet another notch in her impressive catalogue.

The vocal work of ANOHNI and the Johnsons has always been a focal point of her music and based on the singles for her upcoming album, we should expect nothing different here. Her booming voice sends shivers down the spine while the music around it creates worlds of its own, encapsulating something very much her own. We’re lucky to be invited inside to hear these wonderful creations.

Recent Matador signees Lifeguard have been getting a lot of buzz as an up-and-coming band making straightforward guitar rock that sounds like the ‘90s. Today the label has reissued last summer’s EP by the group and paired it with a new one featuring five unreleased songs recorded in the same studio as its predacessor. Local Natives are back this week too with a new album of straight-forward indie rock that hits that sweet spot and acts like a crutch for those still longing for mid-aughts guitar music.

MUNYA announced her new album is coming this October and shared the opening number, “Hello Hi,” as well as the vivacious “Un Deux Trois,” which sounds perfectly suited to enjoy in a lush setting, preferably with a refreshing drink in hand. Tkay Maidz has teamed-up with Flume for the electro-pop banger, “Silent Assassin,” which explores hyper-beats with dexterous flows.

Korea’s Say Sue Me are about to tour the US and ahead of those shows, they’ve shared the new track “Mind is Light.” It’s another throwback to shoegaze indebted indie rock that marries fuzzy guitar with jangly melodies that leaves behind a swirling haze. Post-punk icons Bush Tetras will release their third album this year and this week they dropped “Bird on a Wire,” a song full of wiry guitar and grumbling bass.

This fall The Darkness are reissuing their landmark 2003 album Permission to Land which gave a much needed blast of fusing power and hair metal into something totally cool and rocking. This week, we were treated to a demo version of the scorching “Black Shuck.”

As I’ve done since 2015, I shared my favorite songs and albums of the year (so far) on OMG!NYC earlier this week. Once again, it’s been an incredible time for new music and this list is only the beginning of the great new tunes we’ve heard this year. I look forward to hearing what the rest of 2023 has in store.

Albums:
Julie Byrne | The Greater Wings
PJ Harvey | I Inside The Old Year Dying
ANOHNI and the Johnsons | My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
Lifeguard | Crowd Can Talk + Dressed In Trenches
Local Natives | Time Will Wait For No One

Songs:
MUNYA | “Hello Hi” / “Un Deux Trois”
Say Sue Me | “Mind is Light”
Tkay Maidza | “Silent Assassin” (ft Flume)
Megan McCormick | “Rake Me Over the Coals” (ft Jenny Lewis)
Bush Tetras | “Bird on a Wire”
The Darkness | “Black Shuck”

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