Upper Wilds "Mars (Thrill Jockey)"
Building on the sonic landscape they forged with their 2017 debut, Upper Wilds are back with Mars (Thrill Jockey). The trio, made up of Dan Friel, Zach Lehroff, and Jeff Ottenbacher, are pushing the boundaries they set last time. Guitar Mudyle 2017 was very synth heavy, but this time around Dan is instead sending vocals through a pile of guitar effects to create a noisy, otherworldly sound. Check out the space exploration noise-pop of “Mars.”
Kinski "Accustomed To Your Face (Kill Rock Stars)"
Judging from the cover of their latest LP, Kinski has fired John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands and gone back to their original lineup. I kid, I kid! 20 years into their career and Kinski show no signs of slowing down. Accustomed To Your Face (Kill Rock Stars) is full of searing guitars and rock riffs, krautrock-inspired rhythms, and all-around blistering energy. This is one album to get up and go to school with! Check out the sub-two minute power of “Guest Girl Vocalist.”
Lando Chill "Black Ego (Mello Music)"
Mix in equal parts ‘90s trip-hop, early West Coast rap, gospel, funk, modern indie and hip-hop, and you’re starting to get to the heart of the excellent Black Ego (Mello Music), the latest full-length from Lando Chill. Teaming up again with multi-instrumentalist and producer The Lasso they are here to follow up their beloved 2017 album The Boy Who Spoke To The Wind (#26 on Bandcamp’s Top 100 Albums of the Year). The beats and the vocals are as smooth or as raucous as they need to be, and every guest-verse is a meticulously crafted beaut. Take, for instances, the head-nodding “Peso” which features turns by Quelle Chris & REY along with Lando.
The Dodos "Certainty Waves (Polyvinyl)"
While the members of The Dodos were re-learning all of the songs from their 2nd album to play in its entirety during some live shows, they remembered how much electric guitar they used to have on their recordings. That epiphany completely changed the direction of the songs for Certainty Waves (Polyvinyl), their 7th album. So if you feel like its been a while since The Dodos rocked and/or rolled, then do I have some good news for you (and who couldn’t use good news these days, eh?) Sure, the drum led interplay is still here, but so are some killer electric guitar lines. So for a band that is so often thought of as acoustic guitars and drums, this is a breath of fresh (and plugged in) air. This is the duo at their most post-punk. Think Liars meet Walkmen meet The Dodos in “midlife crisis” mode (their PR). Check out the cacophonous, jangly first single “Forum.”