Want Some More

It has been a while since I have written a Spins column. As I noted at some time prior, the fifth post was whatever tickled my fancy. Last time, it was John Carpenter in tribute to Halloween. Now, that means that we’ve got three weeks of recommendations to get through. We’ll get to that shortly after a quick—and I mean quick—diversion through the Obsessions.

The Obsessions

#BBLDrizzy

So, because my life is extremely weird, I have things randomly pop into my head. One such thing is a side story from the Kendrick Lamar—Aubrey Graham rap beef of 2024. Without going into an entire recap of that saga (there are plenty of timelines across the Internet if you weren’t hanging on every drop of it while it was happening like my household was), at some point Aubrey told Metro Boomin, a producer who is one of the architects of the Atlanta trap sound, to go make some beats. So he did, and the result was this:

Not only did he make a fire beat that takes direct aim at Aubrey, he told the Internet to go ham on it. And ham the Internet went. If you go on your social media app of choice, you can find a bunch of freestyles and verses over this beat insulting Aubrey with the absolute lack of respect one would both expect and desire. While it is not the main line of this particular rap beef, it was a heartwarming aside, a reminder that it wasn’t just Kendrick who was upset with Aubrey and his poaching ways.

“One Potato Two Potato”

I spent some time post college in the mid- to late 2000s listening to both a lot of Italian disco and garage rock. While I still think of the swaying synths of Valerie Dore’s “The Night” or Ken Lazslo’s “Hey Hey Guy” quite a bit, I think considerably more about The Mummies. If you are not familiar, The Mummies are the preeminent leaders in budget rock and roll. Hailing from the Bay Area, they do everything on the absolute cheap. Their sound is raw, dirty, and scuzzy. They are the platonic ideal of a garage band. They are probably best known for playing in mummy costumes, thrashing away as rags billow in the breeze.

I love this band. I listen to Never Been Caught at least twice a year. In addition to that, I, on occasion, watch a wild concert from them that ended up on YouTube. It is a half hour of the band performing on a cable access show called Counter Culture. They hammer through various hits like “Stronger Than Dirt” and “Come On Up,” but the true treat of this show comes when they do “One Potato, Two Potato.”

I honestly don’t want to describe this performance to you. You should take the two minutes to watch it. It’s amazing. It’s all you could ever want from a garage band: full commitment to the bit. If we have lost anything important from getting rid of cable, it is the ability to see absolutely weird shit like this when channel surfing. If you still have a cable hookup, turn on your local public access station and enjoy whatever madness it is serving to you.

I have other things that have popped into my head like Cam’ron’s beef with both Jay-Z and 50 Cent, particularly the latter one where he went around calling 50 Curtis, but I don’t really have anything more to say about them than remember when that happened. Let’s move into the Recommendations. Oh boy, this is going to be long and there are more albums that I still haven’t gotten to yet, despite my best efforts. Those will be for next time—assuming they aren’t trash.

The Recommendations

El Michels Affair, 24 Hr Sports

Because times are hard, there is a need to relax. When you are doing so, listen to this album. Leon Michels and his collaborators, which include Rôge, Norah Jones, Clairo, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, turn out 40 minutes of psychedelic soul informed by jazz, funk, R&B, Afrobeat, and other international influences. It is a smooth, easy listen, perfect when you need a groove for your day.

Hilary Woods, Night CRIÙ

On this outing, Hilary Woods crafts a brief album full of nocturnal soundscapes to get lost in. In these songs, Woods tells tales of faith, love, and loss. Her voice is lovely, and the sound is enveloping. If you’re familiar with the vibe of Sacred Bones Records, Marissa Nadler, or Emma Ruth Rundle, this should be up your alley.

claire rousay, a little death

claire rousay is nothing if not prolific. This would mean nothing if the work was not of a consistently high quality. This is her third release of the year, but her first solo one. On it, you’ll find her getting back to basics, twisting drones, noise, instruments, vocals, and field recordings into a hypnotizing set of tracks that ebb and flow, comfort and confront. I found this album very easy to fall into. Put it on a pair of headphones and take a twilight walk. It’ll be a lovely companion.

Jamie Lidell & Luke Schneider, A Companion for The Spaces Between Dreams

This album is a collaboration between electronic producer Liddell and pedal steel guitarist Schneider. The result is truly fascinating. As both men are not inclined to making straightforward music, the songs on this album drift and lilt as Schneider’s guitar merges with Liddell’s soundscapes. It is ambient music at its peak: exploratory and engaging, never dull.

Muriel Grossmann, Breakthrough

Again, with our world as tough as it is, it is great to have music that lifts the spirit. Muriel Grossmann always brings this to the table. On this album, Grossmann and her sidemen go on a journey for greater consciousness and understanding across four lengthy tracks. Just another phenomenal display of spiritual jazz from one of the current top practitioners.

Hannah Frances, Nested in Tangles

I got a lot of promo emails about this one from her label, Fire Talk, so I got intrigued. What I found on the album was Frances’s lovely voice and intricate lyrics being accompanied by music that is filtered through folk, jazz, chamber pop, and prog, with plenty of other details to keep you on your toes. If this sounds overwhelming, it is not. Frances keeps all of these disparate strains in check, creating a natural progression through the album. A great listen from back to front.

Kelly Moran, Don’t Trust Mirrors

There has been a lot of really excellent ambient music this year, as many producers have really worked hard to expand the genre recently and bring in fresh approaches. Kelly Moran is one such person. On this release, Moran uses piano, synths, and electronics to create complex, swelling soundscapes that wander, pulse, and soothe. The resulting album is elegant and perfect for our transition into the cold of winter.

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist, Mercy

When two of the best underground rappers working right now team up again with one of the best boutique producers in the game, one can only expect excellence. That is, in fact, what happens here. If anything, it is better than Haram, their previous collaboration. Alchemist tuned his style a little bit to fit better with the paranoia that invades the rhymes of billy woods and E L U C I D. Also, this album was going to end up in this anyway for insane rhymes such as this one: “One seed is a mazel/ Two seeds, ima grieve, three, we coming to rob you.” There are so, so many more.

Pale Blue Eyes, New Place

An interesting listen from this British outfit. They blend krautrock and shoegaze with electronics to create a dreamy, energetic sound that is all their own. If you have listened to Film School, Lush, or Slowdive, you’re getting into the ballpark of what this sounds like. I put this album on, and I immediately got what they were doing. And what they are doing is very good. Let it take you away and your day will be better.

Rosalía, LUX

You will not hear an album as ornate and maximal as this one again this year. Hell, it was the first time I heard such an album this year that wasn’t an orchestral recording. Rosalía, with the support of a veritable army that did include an orchestra (The London Symphony Orchestra, to be precise), created an ambitious four-movement suite in which she explores womanhood, herself, saints, and lust. This is an album that has grown in my estimation.

I listened to it once, and then swiftly listened to it again. The second listen was better than the first by a mile, and then I thought it was an excellent album. Now, with some time to think about it and having listened to other albums trying the same thing, I can say that this album is a masterstroke. The world wasn’t ready for a pop star to go fully operatic and have a cello play a reggaeton beat. The world will have to deal with it because it is here and it is amazing.

Mon Laforte, FEMME FATATE

Mon Laforte is a Chilean pop artist who is known for taking various forms on her records. On FEMME FATALE, she synthesizes big band jazz, 60s soul and pop, latin rhythms, and the blues to make incisive, moving music that explores many aspects of womanhood. I can’t say that I was super familiar with her before this recording, but I will now be getting much more familiar with her work.

Lord Huron, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1

I got put on this album by The Current, the indie music station for the state of Minnesota. The album is rooted in a psychedelic form of folk-pop/heartland rock. The first few tracks sound very folky, but even then, you can hear the echoing guitars and the heavily reverbed vocals telling you that this will not be a normal trip. Over the runtime, the band plays with different paces, travels across the states and the cosmic plane, and deals with affairs of the spirit. There’s also a guest vocal from Kristen Stewart, because sure? If you are in on the folk/Americana stuff I’ve been throwing out, this fits in with that very well.

Amber Mark, Pretty Idea

While this is not an album that will rock the foundations of R&B music, Amber Mark’s Pretty Idea is an extremely good listen. Her voice is lovely, and she doesn’t just sing over trap beats. She mixes it up, referencing old school hip-hop, neo-soul, acoustic country, 80s Prince, and other styles. She also sounds like she’s having a bit of fun, which is nice. The album is a refreshing mix-up from the constant treadmill of R&B singers doing the same stuff.

The Boojums, The Boojums

I’ve had my eye on this trio since they somehow found their way into my algorithm. In any case, the album proved that the promise of those early singles wasn’t misplaced. This trio, based in Nova Scotia, play a fast, melodic style of indie rock, one infused with strains of garage rock, punk, and noise pop. They get right to the point, and that’s what I like most about them. I’m sure they would put on a great live show. (And, yes, the aesthetic is intentional.)

Hatchie, Liquorice

After falling into the Sophomore Slump with Giving The World Away, an album on which she tried—and failed—to make her sound more pop oriented, Harriette Pilbeam, the woman behind Hatchie, went back towards what made her earlier music work: her dreamy voice combined with absolutely massive atmospherics. The thing that keeps her tethered to earth are her lyrics that connect to the real world. On this album, she explores the presence of love in her life in its varied forms. The result is a hazy, beautiful success. I’m glad to have her back.

Sessa, Pequena Vertigem de Amor

This is an extremely well done Brazilian pop album. Taking lessons from bossa nova, MPB, and tropicalia, Sérgio Sayeg sings lovely songs in Portuguese. His voice is phenomenal, soothing and dynamic in equal measures. It’s a lovely hang of an album. That’s honestly one of the best things I can say about an album in my book.

Cyrus Pireh, Thank You, Guitar

Cyrus is a friend of mine from here in Duluth and a generally chill dude, but that’s not why I’ve put him here. I put him here because his album is one of the best explorations of the limits and the power of the electric guitar. Using some amp mods, a Digitech DD5 delay pedal, and his excellent playing skills on a custom 9-string axe, this album will push your conceptions of what you can do with a guitar in the absolute best ways, riding a fine line between control and chaos at every second. The video isn’t a song from the album, but this is how I first experienced his work: him playing it live. It is how you should also first experience his work.

Cubzoa, Unfold in the Sky

A fully formed debut album for Jack Wolter, the musician behind Cubzoa. Pulling influences from art pop, Deerhunter, folk, and mid-career Radiohead among other places, Wolter creates an album that explores various structures and rhythms, speeding up and slowing down along the journey. The overall effect is trippy and hypnotic. If you want to listen to something a little weirder than usual, this should be up your alley.

Snocaps, Snocaps

Snocaps is a band involving the following people: Katie Crutchfield, Allison Crutchfield, Brad Cook, and MJ Lenderman. A couple of those names should be familiar to you. Katie is the woman behind Waxahatchee; Cook and Lenderman helped her make Tiger’s Blood, which still hits. Allison is not just an add-on to this whole affair; she has her own legacy with her beloved band Swearin’. All four of these folks came together to record some new music that hews closer to rock than alt-country while still featuring the lyrical incisiveness that we all expect from the Sisters Crutchfield. It’s always fun when a random side project is stronger than multiple albums that I’ve listened to in the past weeks.

Damn, I guess it has been three weeks after all. So, for the rest of the year (damn, how time flies), you’ll get one more dispatch from me. What will it be? I don’t know. I might try to finish working on the theme that I thought about a couple of weeks ago, or something else will strike my fancy. Anyway, that puts me on the 22nd. You won’t get anything from me for the week of the 29th; I’ll be hosting family for Thanksgiving and not writing.

For December, we’ll be in full reminiscence. The first post will finish the series with 2015. God, I fear for what was going on then. After that, the next three posts will be the wrap-up of the year. Each week, you’ll get a new four months of standout albums. You put them all together and they will be my personal top albums for the year. There won’t be one Christmas week, but it will appear before New Years Day.

As always, take care of yourselves and each other. And don’t forget to drink water. I know it’s cold out, but remember to stay hydrated. It’s important.