Hello again dear readers! This week in music has been a great one for those whom are fans of the ethereal, dreamlike, surreal, and electronic. And Texas, frankly the South in the general. If you like the south you’re probably happy about this week’s drops. There’s much to talk about so let’s not waste any more time and talk some music.

Albums!

Indie: The Unwavering Hand by Flawed Mangoes 

Would you consider yourself a fan of ambient? That term may not have much specific meaning to you, or it may have a connotation of no lyrics and long, droning instrumentals with a piano note every 3 minutes. It’s a piece of the genre, Autechre, later Aphex Twin and later Nine Inch Nails are all great examples, but Flawed Mangoes has a fundamentally different take.  If you’re a fan of indie acts like Alvedon or Øneheart, or heard that song Killswitch Lullaby on or around TikTok, then do yourself a favor and check out The Unwavering Hand. His second album of the past 2 years, as well as the second of his more math rock adjacent style. Killswitch melodies offered a very deep and fulfilling experience, even when not just thrown on in the background. The new album has a color palette based around warmer tones, oranges and yellows, and that warmer tone and approach can be heard in songs like “Tunnel Vision” or “Signal Lost.”  Best enjoyed from sun fall to sunrise, as the tranquil beauty that emanates throughout his work is deeply reminiscent of the colors of twilight, and the smell of morning dew. It can also be described as “brain food,” so if you’re looking for music to do calculus review too, or maybe get around to finishing that AP CompSciJava homework you know for a fact you’re procrastinating on, then this is a great way to activate those neurons. 

Rap: MIXTAPE PLUTO by Future

Well it’s not as good as We Don’t Trust You. I don’t think anyone was predicting it to be, especially considering the step-down We Still Don’t Trust You was, title track, All to Myself and Show of Hands not withstanding. Show of Hands is amazing by the way, if you haven’t heard it yet, give it a listen. I almost dread talking about this mixtape since worse then a bad album, or a bad trap album in specific, it’s very rarely fun to just laugh at. Plutoski is a comically bizarre song, and I employed some expert, FBI level decryption experts in order to figure out what he was trying to say. It’s more bizarre then the end of his verse of King’s Dead by a country mile. Remember that song? The Black Panther Soundtrack? Kendrick, the drop cannot come soon enough. This mixtape isn’t bad. Don’t get me wrong. Certain songs are comically bizarre but can be laughed at, the rest? Eh… Cinderella is still one of my favorite songs of this year, and Future has a host of other, better mixtapes. Skip this. Go relisten to DS2 or Evol or Monster or We Don’t Trust You. Fell free to listen yourself and form your own opinions, but this is time I won’t be getting back, sigh.

Electronic: In Waves by Jamie xx

I was excited for this one, and rest assured it did not disappoint. The singles were absolutely fantastic, continuing in the groundwork laid out on In Colour (spelt wrong, due to his Britishness…), being very danceable, good sample flips, and just a worthwhile good time all around. This year has been fantastic for British electronic music, with a James Blake x Lil Yachty album earlier this year being good despite how under the radar it seems to be. Being 8 years out from his debut, it had pretty big shoes to fill. It fills them adequately. It’s not anything groundbreaking or revolutionary, but it’s a very enjoyable and energetic listen. For some reason I always imagine people playing tennis to his music, the rhythmic back and fourth coupled with the swelling of the drums creates a vivid, loud soundscape to me. An album that will likely best be enjoyed at the Coachella’s or other summer festivals of the world, it’s great but a little bit late to the party. Sorry Jamie. Still worth listening though if you’re savoring the temperature being above 68 degrees consistently still. I’m not. The winter cannot come soon enough.

Singles!

Goth: Alone by The Cure

On the note of the winter, the second most important goth band of all time ladies and gentlemen, and others! The Cure’s alone is the group’s first new release in 16 years. That’s older then at least SOME of you reading, I hope. Either way, it’s been a long time coming. So the question must be demanded: do The Cure still got it? God. Yes. They still got it. This release has been a long time coming, being the track they opened their set at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 23rd 2023. It’s been a year. A long year. It’s been absolutely worth it though. Waking up this morning to see that The Cure had put out something new was a shock, but upon listening and feeling a deep sense of familiarity, I realized I had heard it before, but now in this finished state? It’s absurd. There are very few words that can be properly used to describe someone like The Cure. The closest comparison I can make is assorted tracks from Disintegration. This song recalls the long droning of that album’s title track, and the deep ethereal beauty of the album’s opener Plainsong.  Frankly, you could compare it to much of the group’s output around that album, namely Seventeen Seconds and their 1982 release which I cannot say the name of as this is a school newspaper. The song is slow and brooding, builds on repeated patterns until crescendoing into the end. I don’t think I can recommend this song enough. Trying to talk about it feels like spoiling an arthouse surrealist piece. If you’re reading this right now, drop everything and go listen to this song. It’s beautiful and I adore it. Might be song of the year depending on if the album comes out. I’m so unbelievably excited for their next project, and am gonna likely spend all of the winter months brooding and sobbing loudly alone in my room to this song. Don’t mind me.

Rap: ‘Bout It ‘Bout It and On the Map byBashfortheWorld

On a complete heel turn, let’s turn up a bit, yeah? Following the modest success of Darkest Before Dawn (you know, that one that’s like  “So what should I do?..Tell her come through…” ) Texas Rapper and mysterious man BashfortheWorld dropped a few above average singles. Third World goes quite hard, the flow is superb, and the whole thing sounds great coming out of a car. Though many of his best songs lie in Me, Myself & I (and its respective volume 2,) ‘Bout It ‘Bout It is one of his stronger songs since then. The production is definitely Memphis adjacent, being a more modern take on the sort of thing you’d hear Three Six Mafia rapping over. Project Pat would go crazy on this beat. Bash does his thing though. The flow sounds absurdly smooth and that chorus hasn’t left my head since I first heard the song a couple days ago. The flute and staccato violin also adds something different to the beat, giving it a mystical sort of vibe. The song is slightly dragged down by RoadRun Cmoe, whom I’ve never heard of prior to this song, and feel like he just didn’t fit here, feeling like he’s rapping off beat. It throws me off, not enough to say the song is bad though. Check back, it might grow on me. Switching focus though, On the Map I have a lot less to say about. Let the record show it’s just as good as the other single, but it’s a little bit less interesting. If you’re a fan of the simplistic Chicago-style horn & piano based drill beats then you’ll love this. Bash spits though, the flow is again strong and his delivery is absurdly hard. This song is gonna go absurd live, but until then I don’t have much more to say about the song. Check it out if you’re into current drill rap, fits in that tradition pretty well. 

Past, Present, and Future Tense

New Section: Who Dis?

So I wanted to add a section at the tail end where I not only talked about upcoming (or super recent, depending on time of publication) releases to keep a look out for, but also talk about something from months, years, or even decades past that has either been something I’ve personally been very deeply enjoying since the last installment, or has been on my radar an above average amount. I have one more album I want to cover, then we’ll get into stuff to keep your eyes peeled for, and everyone can go home.

Headlock by Imogen Heap

This is, for my money, one of the best pop songs of the 2000s, and if I had to put money on it, I think most people who’re listening right now haven’t heard it earlier then 2 weeks ago. Is this a problem? Not at all. I write a music column, I don’t gatekeep, it’s literally my job not too. Frankly I’m giddy that Imogen Heap is not only getting a minor resurgence following her brief refocus in 2022 for officially releasing A New Kind of Love, part of her collaborative project Frou Frou with Guy Sigsworth. Which is also ridiculously good by the way. This song is better. It’s not a Just for Now (which for my money, best Christmas song of all time, fight me,) or a Hide and Seek (that one that goes “Mmmmm whatcha say…) but it’s a deserved piece of that holy trinity of pop perfection. The elegant combination of ethereal, woodwind like synths mixed with a thumping electronic drum line makes for a great song for just about any vibe. Great song for walking from class to class with, I speak from experience. Imogen Heap is great, frankly check out everything she’s made, but this song especially. I think it’s getting a resurgence because of an edit with BRAT style text? Someone else will have to analyze this, I’m just the music girl.

Wrapping Up the Wrap Up

I’ll level with you all, this week is fairly unimpressive in terms of new releases, so if something exciting releases over the next few days, please let me know. Next week might have to deal with some more of last week’s new releases, you’ll know when you see it. 

Until then, thanks for checking in, and I’ll see you next week.