Creeping towards the end of the year, things are a bit slow again this week when it comes to albums, but there are once again a lot of great tracks to carry you into the weekend and beyond. Earlier this year, PinkPanthress made when she teamed up with Ice Spice for “Boys a Liar Pt. 2” and today she drops her full-length debut that will surely see a lot of plays before the year wraps up.
Long-time brass band aficionado Zach Conden, better known by his stage moniker Beirut, returns with a new record today that feels classically in line with his previous work with ornate, baroque orchestration and melodies.
D.C. hardcore legends Scream storm back today with their first new album in thirty years, however it sadly comes just after the passing of their long-time drummer Kent Stax who drummed for the majority of the band’s existence, with the exception of the few years when he was replaced by a teenage Dave Grohl who left the band to join, well, Nirvana.
Post-emo math rockers Moondling drop their new album today as well which follows several singles that weave together brooding hooks and interlocking rhythms that give their genres much needed new life and energy.
Brooklyn’s Polluted Mind shared their debut EP this week and it’s a pummeling hardcore experience full of blistering guitar and ferocious drumming. One of the heaviest recordings of the year and also one of the most pure forms of extreme music that hits hard without pushing it beyond the bounds of entertainment. A killer release that you can probably finish before the end of this newsletter.
Indie legends Yo La Tengo released their best album in over a decade this past winter and this week they shared a surprise EP of live recordings which features four tracks from their latest record as well as another highlight from their illustrious career.
Icons Sleater-Kinney are gearing up to release their eleventh studio album in January and this week they shared the record’s second single “Say It Like You Mean It,” a howling track that really transcends in its final moments. Earlier this year, Sheer Mag announced they’d signed with Jack White’s Third Man Records and this week they announced a new album and shared their latest single “Playing Favorties” which captures their killer spark of all thrills and no frills.
It’s been a great year to be a Jai Paul fan. After finally making his live debut at Coachella and playing some one-off shows shortly after, he has shared his first new song since 2019 and it’s a soulful, crooning duet with his protege Fabiana Palladino. In addition, Arlo Parks shared a cover of Paul’s standout track “Jasmine” as part of the deluxe edition to her latest album My Soft Machine.
Guitar wiz Mary Timony is perhaps best known for her work in Helium and Ex-Hex, but this week she announced a new solo record and with that came a new track called “Dominoes” which finds the star in full-form. It’s been almost two years since Tierra Whack released a trio of EPs, her last original new music, and it’s been five years since her audio visual album Whack World, but this week we got a new one-off single from the rapper and it actually pre-dates all of her other work. Her debut is expected to finally drop next year and she says she’s sitting on tons of old work.
It doesn’t feel like years since pop star Dua Lipa released her earth-shattering record Future Nostalgia, but alas it’s already been a few years. Now, riding high from her stellar single from the Barbie soundtrack, she’s dropped her new single (featuring the star-studded writing team of Kevin Parker, Danny L Harle, and Tobias Jesso Jr) and it’s a maximized pop banger that could come from no one else.
The wistful dream-pop vibes of Yumi Zouma have a bit of a softer glow on their new single, “Kicking Up Daisies,” but it still emits the lovely charm they’ve come to display through their effortless chill. Also on the more meditative side is the latest track from Jonah Yano who is back with a subdued, easy-going tune perfect for winding down and basking in softer melodies.
Albums:
PinkPantheress | Heaven Knows
Beirut | Hadsel
Scream | D.C. Special
Moondling | Moondling
Cannons | Heartbeat Highway
Polluted Mind | Polluted Mind [EP]
Yo La Tengo | The Bunker Sessions [live EP]
Songs:
Sleater-Kinney | “Say It Like You Mean It”
Sheer Mag | “Playing Favorites”
Hovvdy | “Jean”
Mary Timony | “Dominoes”
Fabiana Palladino / Jai Paul | “I Care”
Dua Lipa | “Houdini”
Arlo Parks | “Jasmine” [Jai Paul cover]
Infant Island | “Another Cycle”
Yaeji | “easy breezy”
Tierra Whack | “Chanel Pit”
Yumi Zouma | “Kicking Up Daisies”
Jonah Yano | “concentrate”
Ty Segall | “My Room”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!