The Milk Crate staff’s favorite tracks of the week, presented with blurbs worthy of a promotional sticker on a jewel case. Tune in Fridays from 2-3 EST to the Staff Pix radio show.
After hearing “The Loneliest Time,” by Carly Rae Jepsen and Rufus Wainwright, all I can say is I am ready to shake my booty. The song is the fourth single, and title track, released in anticipation of Jepsen’s up and coming album being released on October 21, The Loneliest Time. In its purest form, this is a pop song, but beneath the simplistic layers of today’s pop music there are shades of funk, disco, and R&B running through the veins of the song. Jepsen and Wainwright’s collaboration was quite the surprise, but a very pleasant one. Their voices blend together smooth and sweetly. Aside from the sugary, light vocals and lyrics, the instrumentals go absolutely bonkers. The synth and strings take front and center on this extremely danceable track, adding to the delicious funky vibe. This song has had very mixed reviews across social media, but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the album and listening through before making my final judgment, as should everyone.
Known for her indie pop ballads like “i miss u, i’m sorry” and “Rockland,” Gracie Abrams has become one of the more prominent musicians within the “bedroom pop” genre. Released on Oct. 7, “Difficult” is true to Abrams’s form. Sorrowful lyrics contrast an upbeat tempo and bright chord progressions. “Difficult” chronicles Abrams’s struggle to understand her own emotions and actions. She despises herself for pushing people away but can’t identify ways to stop her self-sabotaging. In the second verse, she sings, “To name this feelin'/Would take a hundred thousand years, some kind of grievin'/But over what I never had, so I've been speakin'/To my therapist, I call her every weekend, hmm.” This single is a perfect addition to any indie/bedroom pop or alternative playlists. Hopefully this single indicates Abrams’s intent to release a new EP some time soon.
Korean band wave to earth released their new single, “dried flower”, on October 11th. While the group originated in Korea, they have once again come out with an English written song, and it has not disappointed. I usually listen to wave to earth while relaxing on a sunday afternoon or catching up with some work on a quiet night. Consequently, their recent single creates the perfect soothing vocals and chord progressions for occasions like this. The combination of the tranquil electric guitar, quiet percussion, and melting saxophone notes produce the ideal sensation of a warm-hearted calmness that can only be fulfilled late at night with a warm cup of tea by your side. While it is undeniably comforting to listen to this song, the lyrics emote a complete opposite feeling by singing “We're lost / The scent of love has been dried out / The words you gave me has been already dried up”. The ability to simultaneously project these contradicting feelings in a song is what distinguishes wave to earth from other indie groups. While hearing their coolheaded music, there is another layer of heartache underneath it all. Nevertheless, “dried flower” will be another addition to my fall nighttime routine alongside a cozy sweater and a blanket.
Boston rapper kei quite literally goes “berserk” in her latest single. kei’s fiery persona and kickass lyrics have caused her to take the New England music scene by storm. Fresh off of the release of her EP Baby Steps and her single “terrible twos,” kei adds “berserk” to her roster of phenomenally energetic 2022 releases. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Rico Nasty, kei raps with ferocity and power, and takes a top place in the league of up-and-coming female rappers.
If the London band’s debut album 925 is a sardonic representation of rock-star tropes and toxic romance, their latest release Anywhere But Here is its bitter and sincere follow-up. Leaning more on classic 70’s pop sounds in this project, Sorry still maintains their same off-kilter alternative sound, the disaffected and almost creepy tone of their instrumentation that hooked me in the first place. Vocalists Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen sing of a landscape of heartbreak, a topography of fragmented emotions, with new vulnerability. In the standout track “Closer”, their voices harmonize in simultaneous terror and ambivalence in the face of mortality: “Closer to my mother/Closer to my end/Closer to getting/Closer to doing it all over again.” It all builds up to the expansive swelling of guitars at the last minute, which then cuts off to a few forlorn notes right at the end—the effect is gut-wrenching.
Natalie Mering, known professionally as Weyes Blood, has established herself as a hauntingly beautiful artist submerged in the watery depths of her own bedroom. Her latest album, Titanic Rising has been marked as a cultural staple since its release in 2019. Since this is the ever-so-personal Staff Pix, I’m not embarrassed to disclose that a twenty-three inch poster of Titanic Rising is plastered perfectly above my bed, and its opening song “Andromeda” permanently adorns my right forearm. When I noticed the release of her new song, “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody” around a month ago, I was astonished by her perfect timing. The lyrics perfectly explained the way I felt at the time, as I had just moved back to Boston after a magical summer with those I love most. “Grapevine” was added to the single a month later, building up to her new LP, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow. In the song, Mering’s deep yet light voice floats above rhythmic guitar and the signature nostalgic strings that grace the plupart of her music. It takes place along the stretch of Interstate 5 in Southern California, where stale lovers blindly pass after a long-forgotten relationship, entangled in open wounds and trails of the past. It leaves me at peace with sweet that's turned sour. She always gets me that way; I don’t know how she does it. I could compare Mering’s work to that of Jeff Buckley or Hope Sandoval, but Weyes Blood is its own revolutionary addition to the sad and the sapphic.
UK dance sensation TSHA delivered her highly anticipated debut Capricorn Sun last week, and “The Light'' serves as the album’s official introduction to the incredible dance music within. TSHA’s name has been garnering buzz since getting co-signed by fellow British producer Bonobo in 2020, and a slew of EPs and singles have allowed her to curate a fanbase that is all her own. “The Light '' sounds like a joyful proclamation of that growth, and utilizes all of its 5 minute runtime to cathartic perfection. The track is built around a pitched up vocal sample that screams with electrifying passion into the reverberating wall of sound TSHA builds around it. The drum rhythm is steady but never dominating, and it’s the more melodic flourishes in the track that are given the chance to shine. There’s a gorgeous splashes of steel drums, which reappear every time you start to miss their inclusion. A keyboard riff at the song’s midway point serves as the unofficial chorus, and everything here builds in a perfect harmony that makes dancing to it feel like an emotional experience. By the time all the rhythm fades away and it's simply the steel drums carrying the song’s atmospheric outro, you’d be forgiven for needing to wipe a few tears from your eyes. The pure feeling of this track is palpable, and it carries that ethereal versatility that only the greatest dance records can pull off; an addictive tune feels as at home on a dance floor as it does on a “Cry Myself to Sleep” playlist. TSHA’s greatness is just getting started, and if “The Light'' is anything to go off, dance fans have some incredible releases to look forward to in the future.
As a longtime fan who also had the privilege of speaking with the artist himself , I couldn’t be more excited about joe p’s newest basement brew, French Blonde, his second EP to Emily Can’t Sing (2021). “Color TV” is a reimagined version of the original, previously recorded with Joe’s old band Deal Casino in 2018. The 2018 version was more stripped down and far moodier than the version Joe designed for the EP, with less instrumentation and a dragging tempo that gave the song a significantly more depressed sound. “Color TV” ‘s 2022 revamp comes complete with stronger vocals, more emphasis on drum breaks and musical experimentation, and sounds that make you nostalgic for the big, black box that used to be a television - the static, the hushed speaking voices of characters in a show or anchors on the news. The rewiring that “Color TV” received was much needed and well executed, as I have a new appreciation for a song I had overlooked before.
King Gizzard’s third album of 2022 Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava, released October 7, features their iconic psychedelic sound, yet with more jazz undertones, as heard in “Iron Lung,” the sixth track on the album. Coming in at just over nine minutes, “Iron Lung” has plenty of lyrics and guitar refrains, featuring various instruments like the flute and trumpet, not necessarily unusual for King Gizz’s eccentric sound. Not to mention the song’s content; for those of us who don’t know what an iron lung is (myself included), it’s a massive machine that is fitted on medical patients for artificial respiration. Like the iron lung machine, “Iron Lung” emits dark and moody tones sonically and lyrically. With lines like “ Wrapped in iron, deathless purgatory” and “Yet darkness permeates, wallows my toes, burdens my chest/My brain is pressed with an iron chest,” King Gizz tells a story about being trapped in your mind, bogged down by bad thoughts with no escape. Living in this iron lung of sorts is being trapped in not only your own personal world, but one of medicalization and machinery; life is hard but being in an iron lung is even harder. King Gizz’s solution, however, is found in the last song of the album, telling its listeners to act in community with each other and understand that there is a cycle of life that is precarious but precious.
Maisie Peters came out with her new pop track “Not Another Rockstar Friday the 7th. The song is quick and upbeat, with Maisemoving from melodic vocals to punctuated lines. Known for her storytelling, Maisie talks about her past relationships, making fun of herself and the boys she’s dated. She remarks on her tendency to keep going back to the same type of boy, singing, “Funny I could pick ‘em in a line up… / A little self obsessive and I sign up.” She also adds some humor into the song by describing an unknown boy: “Caught you rippin’ your jeans, and that’s when I knew / You’d leave me dead if it set you apart / And I’m like, ‘Oh, goddamn, not another rockstar.’” The song has a positive feeling despite the regret she has in her past relationships. She makes it clear this song is for her, not her exes, saying in an interview “I hope everyone comes out of this song realizing the true rockstar was in fact me. Obviously.”
Though it may be simply billed as an original song attached to the upcoming White Noise adaptation, this new LCD Soundsystem single is much more than James Murphy’s attempt at nabbing an Oscar for best original song. With stripped back, loud, metallic production, the song feels like a throwback to the band's first, much more stripped back, album. Though not the band's best conceptual work, that feral, paranoid, energy was something that could never be achieved as well with the slicker production of the records that came after it like Sound of Silver or This is Happening. In a way, this back to basics approach makes LCD sound fresher than they have in years. With loopy lyrics driven by a pounding synth bassline, James Murphy reflects on consumerism, brands, and how we want (or maybe being made to want) to change everything about ourselves. All of this builds to a sweet B-section where the main melody changes and Murphy, singing “Go into the light”, brings the instrumental into the soft unknown, letting the guitar feedback fade naturally.
Caroline Polachek lends her voice to a recording of “Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare,” from Last Days, a recent opera based on Kurt Cobain’s final days. The song is classical in nature, with compositions by Oliver Leith and instrumental accompaniment and performance by 12 Ensemble and Eloisa-Fleur Thom, and features Polachek’s reaching voice darting up to impossibly high ranges. Through a simulated crackling vinyl, Polachek delivers a unique and moving performance, aided by the lush movements of the strings. “Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare” is a modern take on Opera, with contemporary subject matter which might be considered by some a departure from classical opera ideals, and a quirky amalgam of performers. In anticipation of Polachek’s new song “Sunsets,” arriving this coming Monday, Polachek primes the musical pump with an unexpected but wholly appreciated performance.
Local indie pop rock band Copilot recently released their new song “You Were Nevah” in anticipation of their upcoming concert which they’re headlining at Brighton. The song is an ode to all those who were never meant to be the person you wished they would be. In a recent interview I held with the group, Ry talked about how they drew inspiration from a girl who was rude to him on Tinder (I think we can all relate to that experience). Between insane instrumentals tied with killer bass grooves and tight harmonies, “You Were Nevah,” is the perfect F-you ballad.
“Therapy,” the latest serving of pulp-pounded ear-candy from avant-metal group Melted Bodies, takes the hallmarks of their 2020 album Enjoy Yourself, a 50-minute meat cleanse from the stench of Los Angeles capitalism, and stuffs them with the palette of influences from 2021’s followup Enjoy Yourself With Friends, a remix album with guest appearances from Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), Machine Girl, and Xiu Xiu, to name a few. More avant-metal than avant-metal, “Therapy” previews an evolution in Melted Bodies’ off-kilter temperament and instrumentation, but maintains the same seething resentment of conformity and the banal evils of everyday cultural hegemonies.
Babe Rainbow released their new album The Organic Album today, October 14, and with it came a familiar yet refreshed sound from the group. While their past hit singles like “Johny Says Stay Cool” and “Love Forever” were bogged down with the weight of a canned surf rock beat, there’s a sense of a weight lifted off of their sonic shoulders on The Organic Album. This album is arguably their Sgt. Pepper. “Things are Different Now,” is a meditative manta, urging everything to “speed up, slow down.” The synth beat that ushers in the song is quintessential Babe Rainbow, with sixties psychedelia in full bloom. The synth gives way to a passive acoustic guitar as the song slows down to fulfill its intentions as a calming cantation.
“cough drops” was released on Oct. 5 and features a sound different from other songs almost monday has released. Unlike fan favorites “parking lot view” and “sunburn,” “cough drops” starts slow, then accelerates into the modern-beach-indie-pop genre almost monday has defined as their own. Hailing from California, I have no idea how they reached the East Coast, but I’m glad they did, as their sound is new, refreshing, and just enough West Coast-esque to allow listeners to reminisce on a summer-inspired beat.
Hozier is the master of quiet revolutions. Over the eight years and two albums that have spanned his career, we have come to understand that his sound is rarely straightforward, with stripped-back folk instrumentals and whispering vocals that belie lyrical devastation. It is a gift, in a way, for the ones who listen closely— messages of pain and hope and solidarity towards the disenfranchised and oppressed. So, too, his most recent single, “Swan Upon Leda,” offers itself as a simple and heartbreaking cry. Over an unpretentious guitar riff that gives way to lush, aching strings in the chorus, Hozier sings of women and land desecrated by the acts of men, framed with the Greek myth of Leda and Zeus. It is a lovely song to listen to, as painful as it may be to hear. And if nothing else, it serves as an undeniable affirmation: the Hozier that we know is back.
This new release by Billy Strings hit hard last night when I missed my stop on the Green Line and ended up having to run a mile through Brighton in the pouring rain. It’s chaotic but balanced at the same time – good fun. “Long Journey Home” was released as a single under Strings’ record label, bringing fresh sound to the fans that love his bluegrass most.
Willow Smiths newest album <COPING MECHANISM> dropped on October 7th, filled with pop punk angst. ur a <stranger> is the 8th track about WILLOW’s anger towards about someone being with her previous lover. The classic pop punk drums as well as the guitar are in a nice contrast to WILLOWs harmony, mixed with her muffled screaming /You’re a stranger when I see you I don’t speak!/ The artist has previously made pop punk tracks with “transparent soul” with Blink 182’s Travis Barker along with her album “lately I feel EVERYTHING” WILLOW’s sound is exciting and fresh to the pop punk scene, a genre that has been starting to revive.
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