Hello again dear readers! This week was massive for the brits and annoying people who pay close attention to their musical scene, like myself. It was a fairly indie focused week so anyone who’s really excited about getting to wear cardigans and hasn’t stopped talking about Charm by Clairo since it came out this summer, the joy you’re feeling this week is likely unmatched. Without further ado though, let’s start with those British bands……
We Have to Talk About The Windmill.
The New Sound by Geordie Greep
“The king is dead, long live the king” is an ever enduring statement because of its ability to describe the ever shifting state of who can be considered the most important or powerful person within an individual or context. The area of what could be described as: post punk post hardcore with math rock and jazz fusion notes (meaningless drivel, I’m aware) or more coquially: The Windmill scene, has been dominated by three bands, most prominently Black Country, New Road but with Black Midi, and Squid both existing nearby with similar levels of popularity. Fans of indie rock were thoroughly shaken when it was announced that Black Midi had broke up, but with it came the announcement of a Geordie Greep (the band’s frontman) solo project. The New Sound is a worthy successor of the Black Midi mythology. That can be very safely and easily asserted by the end of the first song alone. Blues is an absurd opener, and gets everything you could love about an album like this right. The perplexing rhythms, ever shifting composition, the absurd lyricism with elements of jazz and other genres rearing their heads in doses that are palatable to fairly mainstream audiences while still sounding distinctly fresh. His very distinctive English accent resonates heavily throughout the album, being somewhat difficult to palette if that’s not something you often listen to. Another thing that immediately drew my attention is the very heavy samba influences. Tracks like Terra as well as Holy, Holy and most prominently: the fully instrumental title track The New Sound. It’s very danceable if those styles of dance are second nature to you, and gives the album a distinct layer of style to compliment the more rough edges of the punk sound its notable for. The effortless blending of elements of Jazz and Latin influences with distinctly British punk makes The New Sound an absolute MUST listen for anyone who considers themselves a fan of any jazz adjacent genres (besides maybe cool jazz) and any punk. This album sounds like a car crash that immediately sends you into a dream sequence in Las Vegas where you’re attempting to pull of a heist while being in a continually moving hallway a-la Inception.
Break the Tension by Maruja
The Windmill Scene is usually meant to describe the aforementioned specific bands mentioned prior, but now is an all encompassing categorization for the bands in and around England that fuze elements of jazz and punk (and any of its derivative genres) and rose to prominence in the past around 5 years. Another band has been often branded with that label, our jazz punk kings Maruja. Having been around since 2016 but not truly breaking through into the underground until 2023, Maruja is a band defined by the dramatic. Their music videos are artsy and pretentious, with a distinctive film filter over a number of them. Their cover art often depicts cultish or generally unsettling imagery, which accompanies the brooding and ever shifting rhythm of their music very well. I first became aware of them in April of this year with their ep Connla’s Well as I was searching for music similar to early Black Country, New Road. It wasn’t a great time for me. This band however, is great! Break the Tension is another in a line of distinctly energetic singles they’ve putting out, as anticipation continues to grow for their debut album. The track shares much in line with the aforementioned EP, and Geordie Greep album, so if you’re a fan of jazz punks from England you’ve probably been on unbeatable adrenaline high this past week, which is certainly commendable. Maruja is absolutely a band to watch though, as when their debut releases (whenever that may be) it’ll like ly be a big disruption to the indie rock scene as we currently understand it. This single also sounds like a car crash that immediately sends you into a dream sequence in Las Vegas where you’re attempting to pull of a heist while being in a continually moving hallway a-la Inception. If I had a nickel…….
The Other Things You Should Care About
A Fragile Thing by The Cure
Oh yeah. In my last column about The Cure two weeks ago I conflated the first single from their forthcoming album Songs of a Lost World to many of the albums from earlier on in their career and to what is their (in my opinion) magnum opus, Disintegration. In retrospect, that comparison seems to be both very apt but also completely off. This song is Disintegration to its core. Despite beginning with a somewhat cheap sounding piano, the song doesn’t waste its time and brings in the primary bass line and guitar riff less then 30 seconds in and OH MAN it is groovy. The bass line on this one is impeccable. As well, the delay and reverb on the guitar gives this song that signature Cure atmosphere. This one is absolutely amazing, maybe a slight step below Alone but still amazing. I have so much to say about The Cure, so if you haven’t already read the column about that last single, do yourself a favor and go read it. The Cure has no right to be this good so late into their career, but I am so happy that they are, and my excitement for this album continues to grow. Currently set for release on the 1st of November, do your ears a favor and put a reminder in your calendar (or just pre-save the album on your streaming service of choice.)
End Up Gone-ian
America’s favorite? Least Favorite? Most ambiguous? Most Hated? Ian is a lot of things, but whenever he releases something you’re gonna hear about it whether by choice or not. This is my formal apology for continuing to propagate his existence. I’m ambivalent on this one. In-between the last song he released and this one, Ian caught a lot of flack from many rap fans when Tyler, the Creator was discussing an unnamed white boy who was heavily cribbing Future and other Atlanta trap artists. All signs pointed to Ian, so all and all he needed something strong to return with. This might be that? End Up Gone is to me, the most derivative I’ve seen Ian at. This is just Chief Keef or Gucci Mane with extra steps. I dislike the usage of the term “mid” in musical discourse but unfortunately I think it’s the most accurate descriptor for a song like this. I find myself frustrated, because he released songs like Hate Me with Lil Yachty over the summer, and while I liked the snippet more (the final version has some weird mixing, takes the thump out of the song) this is quite the downgrade. If you feel like bumping some Ian that isn’t from Valedictorian just go listen to Keep Me Aware. The song is atmospheric and fits into a very distinct vibe that I find myself enjoying significantly more. Hopefully the new album is good but I’m anticipating disappointment for right now.
Gold-2hollis
This one I didn’t know was coming out, but man I am glad it did. I, not unlike a number of others, was lucky enough to catch 2hollis when he opened for Ken Carson back in August. Though I felt that I was gonna die in that pit, the show went absurdly hard thanks to songs like this. 2hollis is currently still riding high off the release of Boy earlier this year, and a series of superb singles in the back half of 2023 (Jeans, I’m talking about Jeans. Song is amazing.) and this continues sonically in the tradition of hardstyle songs like I saw it flash before me off his aforementioned album. That song was singlehandedly the highlight of his set, being a loud and violent banger in every sense of the word. Gold looks to continue in that realm, and succeeds without effort. 2hollis stands out to me because despite the fact that he is to some extent a rapper, he effortlessly weaves elements of other genres (most notably electronic dance music) into his songs without having to contort himself around it. Gold shows he’s still in the realm of rap, as songs like Crush were distinctly less rap, but this still definitely has those elements. 2hollis is an absurd live performer, please let him come back………please 2hollis…..
Past, Present, and Future Tense
What’s This Again?
If you aren’t already familiar, this section exists because I value keeping a lookout for what’s coming out soon (or super recently, depending on time of publication) but I also desire to add a section at the tail end where we 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 seeing renewed interest. I have one song I really would like to talk about, and then we’ll get into stuff to keep your eyes peeled for, and finally everyone can go home.
Witchcraft by Lucki
Well this one hurts. The reason I’ve been thinking about this one again is because I’ve seen a lot of discourse about what the best Lucki song is, which is a complicated question. Earlier this year I partook in my first listen to Alternative Trap which is for my money, one of the most influential cloud rap projects of all time, so I had gotten a bit more familiar with the early works of Lucki. I cannot remember if I saw a TikTok or a Youtube Short about Lucki, but I saw debate about what his best song was, which is when I was reminded of a frankly spooky song from earlier in his career. You probably could consider Witchcraft a Halloween song, however you would probably need very urgent mental help if that’s where you’re at. Lucki is at his best when he’s storytelling, and I find myself drawn most to his early work because of how harrowing his portrayal of life on the streets is. Songs like Cocaine Women from Alternative Trap are probably more impactful indictments of drugs then anything the D.A.R.E. program could wish for. Witchcraft was getting brought up in conversation and being agreed on as his best song. Is it? That I’m not so sure of but man, this one is so good. There’s something special about X and Body High where you see a different stage of Lucki, but maybe a better one? If you’re a fan of deeply melancholic rap with floaty production then give this one a try.
Wrapping Up the Wrap Up
So this is (seemingly) another one of those fairly boring weeks for music. We have the Brat remix album which I’m sure the nearest gay person is likely to be over the moon about thanks to the Troye Sivan feature and a number of other people about certain other ones. It’ll give me an excuse to listen to Brat again though, so we’ll be happy to see that. Other then that, I’m probably gonna spend the next week trying to watch some horror movies or going full on goth in preparation for the next Cure album. If something else good comes on my radar, I’ll be checking that out, but if not then don’t bother me I’m watching Pearl…. Well, Until then, thanks for checking in, and I’ll see you next week!