Lately January 27th

Recap of January so far

Hello!

Thanks so much for reading Lately. I’m working away each week combing the internet to find new music releases that speak to me, as well as sharing the music that I’ve been into lately. Sorry it’s been so long since the last Lately, not much really came out in December and even January has been a bit barren for music releases. But some exciting stuff is in the works so we’re back on the horse listening to new music!

New Releases

A$AP Rocky - Don’t Be Dumb

First major release of the year is the very good new A$AP Rocky album, his first since 2018’s TESTING. This one starts good but really picks up some speed at “NO TRESPASSING,” where it just feels like A$AP really comes alive and is present in a way that wasn’t as imposing in the first few tracks. I’ve always been a big fan of his voice, I feel like he carries so much authority in his delivery that really makes you lean in and listen. Other standouts are “ROBBERY” and “DON’T BE DUMB/TRIP BABY,” the latter I was totally convinced samples the production Frank Ocean’s “Futura Free” but I can’t find reference to it anywhere so maybe I’m wrong. But the descending synth arpeggio and chord progression sounds nearly identical so I’m convinced there was some big time inspiration there. I want to be intentional about coming back to this release because there’s a lot here to like and I hope it doesn’t get lost in the fog of January, where a lot of albums often get forgotten about by the end of the year when they’re released so early.

Searows - Death in the Business of Whaling

I have to admit I initially wasn’t all that excited for this new Searows album as I didn’t love the first two singles, but once he released “Dirt” I was back on board and all ears for it. This is Alec Duckart’s second album as Searows, and he’s got a lot more resources here than 2022’s excellent Guard Dog, which was entirely self-released. While things are sounding cleaner and shinier here, I’m not sure that totally works in his favour. His lyrics and melodies are so so strong, but some of the instrumentation here feels a bit meandering to the point where it distracts from his songwriting excellence. It almost feels overcomplicated in an unnecessary way, and I think some of these songs would hit harder without any bells and whistles (granted, the bells and whistles are simple things like drums or an extra electric guitar, but compared to the beautiful simplicity of his prior work it feels like a lot). All that said, I’m still really enjoying this album and recommend it, and think it will continue to grow on me. His lyrics are so beautiful and visceral, and he has a real knack for developing his melodies in a surprising and emotional way. I just think his songwriting is obviously his strongest suit, and I just don’t think it shines as much due to some of the arrangements here.

Harry Styles - Aperture

I wasn’t totally sure what to make of Harry Styles’ new single at first. I do really like him and was excited to see what he would do next, but something here just wasn’t quite sitting right. It kind of felt like he was trying on a shirt that didn’t quite fit him but he went ahead and bought it anyway, if that means anything? Still, I kept thinking about this track and going back to it, and now I’m pretty sure I like it. I think the general vibe of the production is fun but in practice is maybe a bit thin, but I like that he’s taking a bit of a swing here even if it’s not a grand slam. The mix on his vocals is very cool, the tone is really cool with how subdued and low key they feel for most of the track. I’m weary of him doing a whole album that’s like this; we saw with Tame Impala’s Deadbeat that an electronic crossover album can grow very tired very quickly if not handled with care, so I’m very curious to see what the next single will be like.

Charli xcx - Wall of Sound

New Charli xcx track that will be on the upcoming Wuthering Heights soundtrack, and I really love it. I’ve written about it before, but it’s so impressive how much autotune really enhances the emotion of Charli’s voice, it somehow makes it feel more vulnerable and bare in a way that logistically makes no sense but emotionally hits every time. Her voice is so powerful and I love the way she builds her vocal melodies and hooks, it’s really unique to her and has this intangible quality to it. Not sure if I’m excited for this movie because I hated Saltburn and the whole thing just reeks of some weirdness but I can’t wait to hear the rest of the soundtrack!

Arlo Parks - 2SIDED

New Arlo Parks single to announce her third album Ambiguous Desire out in April. I’ve always liked Arlo Parks but have just never really clicked with her music in a strong enough way that keeps me coming back. This is a great single though, I absolutely love the production; the gated vocal chops in the back, the growling bass stabs, the big synth chords, it’s got a really darkly rich quality to it that I love. Really looking forward to this album.

Fred again.. & Young Thug - scared

I thought Fred’s USB project was complete, but he’s just released a new track that he’s tacked on to make this a massive 35 tracks. This one is great, some of the tracks get a little bit lost in the shuffle but this is definitely a standout, Fred’s drums continue to be absolutely bewildering. Even though a lot of these tracks are so different, he really has captured a similar vibe between all of them which is really impressive. Even though this project came together as piecemeal, it feels cohesive somehow.

Snail Mail - Dead End

I’m a big Snail Mail fan and have been waiting and waiting since 2021’s Valentine for her to release something new. She’s finally announced a new album, with this track as the lead single, and I’m tremendously disappointed. Her voice sounds completely different here, it sounds engineered to high hell and her delivery is devoid of all character. The lyrics are rough here too, really uninspired and like something out of a Disney channel original movie, from the words themselves to the phrasing and tone. To top it all off it ends in probably my least favourite thing a song can do which is a round of “na na na na.” I don’t know what’s going on but I’m so sad about this, I really hope it’s a one off and the rest of the album is great, but this for me is mostly unlistenable. Which sucks!

What I’ve Been Listening To

Over the past month I’ve gone through a few different listening phases, the first of which was digging back into early high school, which means lots of The Fray and John Mayer (even though both of their pivotal albums came out 4 years before I was in high school). "Look After You" by The Fray is a genuinely lovely song, with a gorgeous string arrangement and a very sweet chorus. I honestly think Isaac Slade was a great songwriter and vocalist, the guy knew how to write a hit that felt emotional and catchy, and was also a great piano player. I say “was” because he’s left the band and they’re now a trio with the guitar player (name???? who knows) singing lead not because he’s dead. They actually just put out a new song last Friday and it’s uhhhh not good, but both their debut and sophomore albums have held up about as well as they could have. A lot of their songs have some vaguely religious overtones so I looked up whether they were hardcore Christians and came across this quote:

“The band decided against being an entirely religious group because they believed that God had called them away from the "Christian music genre and into a secular market"

and I laughed and laughed about how God told them what music market to go into.

I was also listening to Continnum by John Mayer every day in Grade 10, which I don’t feel the need to use as many prefaces when praising it as I do The Fray. Granted he hasn’t done much for us lately, but after Continuum he could put out circus music for all I care. He’s got to be the best guitar player of his generation, there are plenty of better guitarists before him but I doubt you can name a better guitar player within his age range. Who has written more iconic guitar riffs than John Mayer in the last 20 years? He’s so talented and he can be a really great songwriter, I just don’t know if he always uses his powers to their full potential. Still, Continuum is completely undeniable and has more hits than not.

The second listening phase I went through was digging back into a lot of the instrumental and neo classical music I love, inspired by the new Wilding soundtrack by Jon Hopkins. I absolutely love Jon Hopkins, his ability to build emotional tension and use texture is astounding. He has such a respect for space and knows how to use it so effectively, and he never does too much or too little on a track. He’s obviously an incredibly talented producer, and I love all of Immunity, but I especially have so much reverence for tracks like “Abandon Window,” that just rely on these perfectly thought out piano chord progressions. He just always knows what a track needs, his instincts are so dialled in. I’ve also been listening to tons of Ólafur Arnalds, who I’ve written about on here probably more than anyone else. While Jon Hopkins is masterful at layering and atmosphere, Arnalds is a genius when it comes to extracting as much emotion as he can from the simplest compositions. It’s such a talent to be able to have the kind of restraint he does; a track like “saman” is pretty much just inverted triads over and over, but he builds such a captivating two minutes out of them it’s amazing. I wasn’t listening to this kind of music as much over the last year but I think it’s going to be a big year for it as I try to finish some projects of my own that have a similar sound palette.