(Some) Albums I Currently Adore

The other shoe hath dropped. It' been over a month since I uploaded anything, the big project I'm working on has ground to almost a standstill, and my conative ability has dropped unceremoniously through the floor. I would very much like to not lose all of my drive entirely. Thus, here are -as the title may suggest- some albums that I like quite a bit.

The title to this post was originally "Albums You May Enjoy," but I remembered after writing a bit under that phrase that I kind of hate it when the title of a piece addresses me directly like: "Things You Didn't Know About ___" or "If You Like ____, You Should Check Out ____" or "Four Things You Absolutely Need if You Don't Want to Look Like a Troglodyte to your Houseguests" -for whatever reason it feels manipulative. Like, chill- you don't know me and don't assume that your opinion has any bearing on me as a human being at all.

Whatever, here are albums I like right now, whether or not you choose to check them out, and if you disagree with me, that's great! Genuinely! Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts, apparently that's a thing you can do on this godforsaken site.

Images from bandcamp.com, discogs.com, applemusic.com, and spotify.com.

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New Music and Big Pop - Another Michael

Genres Indie Folk, Folk, Indie Pop

Time 35:01

Recommended Songs "New Music" "Big Pop" "What Gives?"

Though it may be a relaxing, acoustic listen, New Music and Big Pop has a quality to it that makes me stop what I'm doing in favor of experiencing the music on a deeper level. Comforting melodies, complex structures, and beautifully layered vocals, these songs give the impression of being produced to perfection- no aspect of them sticks out jarringly or feels out of place, the composition feels wonderfully aligned to a steady vision of the completed work. To me, the songs give a feeling of pensive calm but with a stylistic spin that is somehow evocative of garage rock or even punk. Also- listen to the whole thing.

Growl Pop - Dan & Drum

Genres Alternative, Indie, Experimental

Time 41:48

Recommended Songs "Wanna Ride" "Interlude, Pt. 2" "Mona Lisa"

This one I was confused by when I found it. Dan & Drum make music that, while entirely entertaining and often melodically masterful, could really belong to a genre of its own just called 'Confusing.' Generally acoustically supported with some digital effects and various production quirks, the songs on Growl Pop can vary melodically so far within each song that it can be genuinely difficult to pin down what the main carrying melody may be, if there is one at all. The odd vocals and really cool harmonies also give each tune a very variable feeling.

Some of my favorite lyrics:

"I know better, it's mind over matter, yeah, it's mind if it's matter, it's a matter of time" - "Wanna Ride"

Decide - Djo

Genres Synth, Synth-Pop, Pop, Alternative, Hypnotic, Aggressive, Dance

Time 36:03

Recommended Songs "End of Beginning" "On and On" "Slither"

This is one of those albums where the "Recommended Songs" section above is pretty much irrelevant. I think the entirety of this one absolutely rocks. Reminiscent of Daft Punk, reminding me of STRFKR and Video Age and Hall & Oates and even David Bowie or the Talking Heads, it feels like Djo has listened to all of my favorite music and taken all of that as influence, and then confidently produced the most powerful possible usage of elements from all of the above. This album is appealing to me to the greatest degree- sometimes dark, sometimes passionate, sometimes bouncy, sometimes explosive, I absolutely love it. Honestly it's so appealing that it makes me wish Djo kind of went a little weirder with the songs here- the potential for something groundbreaking is present, but for now it's just rad in all the right, if familiar ways.

Digital Spool - Jazz Emu

Genres Comedy, Funk, Synth-Funk, Lyrical

Time 38:20

Recommended Songs "Still Waiting" "You Would Never" "Tonally Inconsistent?"

Comedy music can be a difficult genre for many to enjoy, especially when the current musical consumption climate makes each individual's music taste a point of scrutiny and something to base one's ego around- when any song you listen to has its main value in someone else hearing you listening to it and thinking highly of you, you tend not to want your sense of humor dissected as well. If you can't relate to that, congratulations and I'm happy for you. In any case, Jazz Emu has blessed us with a treasure trove of songs absolutely spine-tinglily funktastic, with lyrics that get me smiling every time. Emu has this way of weaving the comedy into the music as well as the lyrics, which is more than most others braving the genre are able to do, and I commend him heavily for that, as well as how this album deftly and ridiculously satirizes modern internet culture, even delving into issues of contemporary masculinity, insecurity, and the odd state of being a "content creator." The rare moment of sincerity is made even more powerful after you've heard the song that has a whole section of fart noises.

From 2 to 3 - Peach Pit

Genres Alternative, Indie Rock, Acoustic, Indie Folk

Time 37:54

Recommended Songs "Up Granville" "Look Out!" "Everything About You"

Peach Pit returns, in this album, with a pretty folk-y feel, much more than previous albums. It feels like if the songs from 2018's Being So Normal were teenagers, the songs from From 2 to 3 are adults. That parallel may just be me projecting, as the former album came out and had a great impact on me when I was, in fact, a teenager, and the latter arrives with similar importance in my burgeoning adulthood, but It's not totally without base. The songwriting in question has much less garage-rock angst (not that angst is a bad thing), the metaphors are much more refined, it really feels like Peach Pit's style has settled into a very comfortable era where nothing feels forced and the style is solid without being monotonous. An album like this could, in a very personal way, frame my decade.

Color Theory - Soccer Mommy

Genres Alternative, Indie, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Rock, Dark

Time 44:13

Recommended Songs "lucy" "circle the drain" "royal screw up"

Dark and brooding, powerful and brooding, heartfelt and brooding, you get the idea- Color Theory falls in line with the movement in modern music of seemingly very sad, wonderful women, singing their hearts out in gut-wrenching rock and roll irreverence. Artistically, Soccer Mommy very regularly knocks it out of the park for me, I envy the raw ability that she has to convey feeling directly through the medium of sound, and this album is no exception. Many of the hits here were previously released as singles, but when put together in an arrangement like this, they are made all the more powerful.

Modern Johnny Sings (Songs in the Age of Live) - Theo Katzman

Genres Rock, Indie Rock, Pop Rock, Funk, Indie Funk, Jazz

Time 1hr 25min

Recommended Songs "My Heart is Dead (Live)" "The Death of Us (Live)" "Lily of Casablanca (Live)"

Modern Johnny Sings: Songs in the Age of Vibe, the 2020 studio album, is a masterpiece in its own right. In fact, I do even like some of the songs on it more than their versions in this Live album, but the reason that the latter is featured here is that to miss the back and forth of Katzman and the audience, the absolutely incredible keyboard solos, the times where the vocals match up perfectly to what would otherwise be called instrumental improvisation if it hadn't been immaculately practiced, and the absolutely vivid joy of performing would be a disservice to no one but yourself. A Live album like this, that makes the listener feel as though they can see the action in front of them, is a gift. There are a few too many vocal embellishments for my taste, but regardless this work is one you shouldn't pass up.

Not sure if anyone's still reading, but here's hoping I keep writing.