CACTI
BILLY NOMATES
Billy Nomates is over it all. The nom de plume of English singer-songwriter Tor Maries, Nomates hits a cynical sweet spot that draws on a variety of excellent reference points. Her alt-rock songs about modern dejection, sparks fading, self-sabotage, and showing up to shindigs out of spite are somewhat reminiscent of peak Liz Phair, but with more blunt force impacts over seething acidity. The instrumental backings blur the line between synth pop blares and punk raggedness, and her vocal delivery falls somewhere between Courtney Barnett's caustic talk-singing and a more snarling folk-rock crooner. Cacti lavishes in its bitterness — it's a collection of tunes for the worn and weathered who haven't fully packed it in yet.
COMPLETE MOUNTAIN ALMANAC
COMPLETE MOUNTAIN ALMANAC
It's easy to see a record self-described as "an album about climate change in 12 suites, representing the 12 months of the year and the inherent healing cycle of nature" and think wow that sounds incredibly pretentious. But Complete Mountain Almanac pulls it off with grace on the group's self-titled debut. The pairing of Nordic singer/composer Rebekka Karijord and American/Italian poet Jessica Dessner (along with assists from her brothers Aaron and Bryce, The National's guitarists) come together to craft a dozen songs of minimalist, baroque chamber folk meditations on nature and the cycle of life that are beautiful to the point of being haunting.
DESIRE, I WANT TO TURN TO YOU
CAROLINE POLACHEK
To be honest, when I saw Caroline Polachek live at Pitchfork Festival 2020 in Chicago, I did not get the appeal. But listening to Desire, I Want to Turn to You, it now makes sense. Polachek's voice possesses a forever lightness that makes each song drift high among the clouds while exploring electronic pop realms a bit like Grimes (who features on the album), minus the technophile fixation. Distincet colors splatter across the album's canvas — the opening distorted vocal wails of "Welcome to My Island," the Latin flair of "Sunset," the stripped down acoustic guitar and sparse beats of "Butterfly Net," the chill dance-floor jam "Bunny Is a Rider" — and she never lets the listener get fully comfortable within her musical ardor. Throughout the record, Polachek explores strains of desire not like a heartsick kid but like a composed cynic ready to fully give into the manic blissful nature of such passion.
DOGSBODY
MODEL/ACTRIZ
There is a sliver of my mind that thinks Model/Actriz has a chance to be the non-mainstream band of 2023. The debut LP from the Brooklyn industrial art punk act is the most explosive thing I've heard so far this year. Dogsbody remains ever on the razor's edge, tweaking with menacing glee at every turn. Singer Cole Haden indulges in pure sinister, provocative fun; his intensely charismatic spoken/sung lyrics carry the tone of an unsettling Cheshire grin. If I hadn't seen the band perform these songs live at Treefort Fest, I would've assumed a lot of the anarchic noise created here was electronic in origin, but really it manifests from guitarist Jack Wetmore and bassist Aaron Shapiro playing their instruments in wildly atypical and experimental ways — kind of like Rage Against the Machine but filtered through Nine Inch Nails and the dark dance grooves at the most wonderfully grimey gay bar in town. Which is to say: Model/Actriz f—-s.
THE LAND, THE WATER, THE SKY
BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT
It's a rare thing for a rock record full of distorted guitars to feel like a calming and soothing balm for one's soul, but Black Belt Eagle Scout achieves that on The Land, The Water, The Sky. BBES (aka Swinomish indie singer-songwriter Katherine Paul) moved back to her tribal land in northwestern Washington in 2020, and this new album finds her serenely sorting through the emotional complexities of returning home, dealing with grief, pain, and solitude, reconnecting to her roots, and finding joy and purpose in natural majesty. The Land, The Water, The Sky offers a deeply centering listening experience.
MIRACLE-LEVEL
DEERHOOF
It sounds weird to say that a San Francisco band switching to singing all its lyrics in Japanese would result in maybe its most accessible album to date, but that's the case with Deerhoof's Miracle-Level. The indie noise rock veterans tend to thrive in a state of honed instrumental chaos, but singer/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki singing this whole album in her native Japanese has opened up the playful, dreamy pop side of the band more than ever before. There are still times when the instrumental attack feels like a harsh swirl whipping the listener around, but there's an underpinning optimistic joy of creativity that pulsates across the record.
NEWFOUND OXYGEN
STEADY HOLIDAY
There's a fascinating contradiction inherent in Steady Holiday's discography. Most all of the songs possess a retro indie pop veneer that feels like sleepwalking through a daydream, but the words Dre Babinski seemingly cheerily delivers are wrestling with that feeling that she's sleepwalking through her own life. Few songwriters as effectively tap into the mental states of low-key dread that you might be totally disconnected from yourself. But her composure in the face of this thought makes Newfound Oxygen feel like an inhale of fresh air when you're desperately grasping for a breath. Whether it's accepting the gaps between dreams and reality ("The Balance") or being harshly honest about not being able to truly love someone who cares for you deeply ("Can't Find a Way"), Steady Holiday sorts through it all with an easy sway.
THE RECORD
BOYGENIUS
The first LP from Boygenius unsurprisingly offers up a stellar collection of gorgeous indie folk tunes, but the real selling point is the effortless chemistry that exists between Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Each ranks among the best singer-songwriters on the planet, but the way they totally check any ego at the door for Boygenius shines through. It never feels like they're taking turns leading songs, as they weave their voices in and out of one another's sonic spaces with a completely natural grace. The songwriting is rich in small, emotionally resonant details whether the songs are Bakers' hollering rockers ("$20"), Bridgers' sad contemplative meditations ("Emily I'm Sorry"), Dacus' love tunes ("True Blue") or one of the standout tracks where they split the lead vocal duties ("Cool About It"). The Record stands as a testament to the type of musical magic that can only happen organically and the tenderness of creative friendship.
THIS IS WHY
PARAMORE
Paramore might not be pop punk kids anymore, but the band certainly still is in the business of misery. Always evolving and never content to be a nostalgia act, the group dips its toes into the pool of the early 2000s post-punk revival (there's more than a dash of Bloc Party) on This Is Why. Lyrically, Hayley Williams finds herself in a paranoid, hyper-overthinking pandemic era mindset. While not all of her social and political lines cut with a razor's sharpness, but at least she's swinging big, and the jazzy, mildly angular instrumental backing she's singing over stays jaunty for the whole engagement.
UK GRIM
SLEAFORD MODS
Sometimes it just feels good to vicariously vent through an extremely pissed off British bloke. Sleaford Mods delivers that with Jason Williamson's caustic post-punk raps knifing their way through the mire over Andrew Fearn's minimal electro-punk beats. It's rant music, dwelling on the utter shite state of British politics, tech vapidity and whatever else has crawled into Williamson's craw at that given moment. It's like downing a pint of bile at a pub — it might leave you feeling a bit hungover, but at least it offers a decent way to blow off some steam. ♦
ALSO DON'T MISS...
Blondshell - Blondshell
Continue as a Guest - The New Pornographers
Cracker Island - Gorillaz
Endless Summer Vacation - Miley Cyrus
Life As Projection - Frankie Rose
Lobes - We Are Scientists
Loneliness - MAITA
Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) - Yves Tumor
The Price of Progress - The Hold Steady
We're Still Here - The HIRS Collective
