Past Releases

Versus "Ex Voto (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)"

Light a candle to whoever the patron saint of returning indie rock legends is, because Versus is back baby! Ex Voto (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) picks up pretty much where we last heard the band nearly ten years ago. All of the trademark Versus moves we’ve come to love are here–the trading of vocal duties between Richard Baluyut and Fontaine Toups. The angular guitars. The exquisite drum work. The choir of penguins…. Ok. Fine. I made the penguin bit up. But I’m not making up how heavy this album is thematically. I’m also not making up how much you are absolutely gonna fall in love with it instantly. Check out “Mummified” before you yourself are wrapped in rags and sleeping in a sarcophagus. So, I mean, you have plenty of time… but why wait?

Alexander Tucker "Guild Of The Asbestos Weaver (Thrill Jockey)"

I have never been an asbestos weaver, let alone in the need of a guild dedicated to just such a craft (I try not to light my books on fire without the need of such a group, thank you very much!  But if I was such a person I’d be pretty chuffed that Alexander Tucker dedicated his new album Guild Of The Asbestos Weaver (Thrill Jockey) to me and my brethren. An expansion to Tucker’s already wide breadth of sounds that lies somewhere between modern experimental electronic music and modern classical music. Here we find Tucker dropping the word “Dreampop” in the PR for the album, and he certainly isn’t wrong. So check out the dreamy, surreal “Energy Alpha.”

Fruit Bats "Gold Past Life (Merge)"

“Fruit Bats makes existential make-out music, but you’re also welcome to dive into it deeper if you want. Good pop music should be sublime like that.” So says Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats in the PR for the excellent retro-pop blast that is Gold Past Life (Merge). This may be the feel-good record of the summer. With Eric’s unique falsetto and ‘80s George Harrison guitar vibes all over the place, it’s nearly impossible to wipe the smile off your face when the tunes kick in. So give yourself over to “The Bottom Of It.”

Hatchie "Keepsake (Double Double Whammy)"

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the full-length release from Hatchie ever since our buds over at Double Double Whammy released her EP Sugar & Spice. Well, the wait is over and Keepsake is everything we were hoping it would be. Expanding her sound to include some ‘80s new wave textures to her already intoxicating sonic palate, her sound is somewhere between the more shimmering releases from The Cure and Alvvays. Check out the soaring “Stay With Me.”