Hovvdy "True Love (Grand Jury)"
Since recording their last album, 2019’s Heavy Lifter, Austin duo Hovvdy has settled down. Charlie Martin and Will Taylor both got married; Taylor had a kid. They also put out some music — Martin released a lovely solo album just a couple months ago and they spent the pandemic covering leaks of Coldplay and Paramore. And today Hovvdy are announcing a new full-length, True Love, with its bright and ringing title track, which reflects their newfound happier circumstances. It retains the group’s nostalgic warmth but also sounds driven by hopes and dreams for the future, especially in its rousing last minute as the lyrics repeat: “Do you believe what I said? That I am the man I say I am.”
Solemn Brigham "South Sinner Street (Mello)"
Across its 14 songs, South Sinner Street argues for Solemn Brigham as one of the most exciting artists in underground hip-hop, a technical virtuoso who also happens to be one of the genre’s most surprising, most deeply personal songwriters. The album evokes the feeling of climbing onto a house’s roof to survey the nearly-burning city around you, with all the peril that entails––but also all the possibility.
Sophie Hutchings "Echoes in the Valley (Universal Music Operations)"
Sophie Hutchings is a deeply authentic artist that is affected by her surroundings. This directly correlates to Sophie’s rationale around the carefully selected location where she recorded her new works. Nestled in the dramatic valley of the Byron Hinterland mountains, Echoes in the Valley, was organically born. The creation of the solo piano release saw Sophie intentionally remove herself from the chaos and building trauma the world was experiencing. This effort has led to a body of work that finds complete solace in pure simplicity, stripped back to an exposed minimum.
Bummer "Dead Horse (Thrill Jockey)"
Kansas City trio BUMMER mirror the absurdity of modern life with a balance of dark humor, dejected nihilism and righteous fury. Their music spills out in torrents of skull-crushing riffs, gargantuan bass and caustic howls delivered at breakneck speed with gleeful abandon. Following their split 7” with longtime friends The Body which teased a more focused, lean sound for the group, Dead Horse hones BUMMER’s auditory desolation and scathing gaze to laser-point precision. In eleven short vignettes the trio lay waste to everything in their path, penning a vitriolic overview of life in the American Midwest, a surprising blend of one-star Trip Advisor review and insightful cultural critique.