Lately May 11
Recap of May 4-8
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.
New Releases
Charli xcx - Rock Music
Unsure how I feel about the new Charli xcx single; on some listens I think it’s fun and sincere and I find myself loving the stuttering production, and on some listens I think it’s a bit corny and grating? The more I listen though the more I like it though, however it still just feels good but not great. I guess she’s just been so busy since BRAT and it was such a breakout for her that she’s looking to switch things up, which I’m all for and I’m really curious to see what else she’ll do, because I don’t think there’s a ton more to explore in this particular soundscape.
MUNA - Dancing On The Wall
The new MUNA album hasn’t gotten stellar reviews, but I think it’s pretty good! The issue I’ve always had with MUNA is that they can be a bit inconsistent and they aren’t great at keeping my attention for as long as their albums are. Their highs are so high that the tracks in between, while still good, just feel a bit dull compared to an absolutely euphoric chorus like in “Dancing On The Wall.” This is definitely their darkest and grittiest music to date, it’s got a bit more texture and angst to it, and it suits them well. It definitely loses a bit of steam about 2/3 of the way through, as they just don’t really have enough ideas to hold things on, so if this was like a 9 track album I think it’d be killer. And I only say that because the first two singles were so strong that I wish the rest of the album held up a bit better, but still a good album!
Silvana Estrada & pablopablo - Antes De Ti
Silvana Estrada’s Vednrán Suaves Lluvias and pablopablo’s Cnaciones En Mi were two of my favourite albums from last year, and they’ve united to release this absolutely gorgeous track. This song bops along and seems like just a nice track, and then the orchestra comes in and brings it to this entirely new level. Their voices work beautifully together and I really love that they just sing the whole song together rather than singing in parts, the songwriting is lovely and the production is warm and bright, I love it and have been listening to it constantly.
Snorri Hallgrímsson - I Am Weary, Don’t Let Me Rest
Snorri Halgrímsson is in the orbit of Ólafur Arnalds as an Icelandic neoclassical composer with the very characteristic nordic string sound and soft piano compositions. He truly stands out from the crowd though, I love a lot of his work especially his two Landbrot EPs. He’s gearing up for an album release in 2 weeks that are live recordings of his existing tracks, which I’m really looking forward to. This one is from his 2023 album of the same name, and I really feel that this live recording has a lot more intrigue and presence to it that gives it an entirely different feeling. Really beautiful work.
What I’ve Been Listening To
Finally gotten around to listening to Angine de Poitrine, the absolute weirdo anonymous band from Quebec, and was pleasantly surprised! I’ve never really been one for gimmicks in music, but they really have the chops to back it up. Guitar work is really impressive here, drums are super tight, and they do a great job of being interesting but not crossing the line into unlistenable or unpleasant, which I think a lot of math rock bands tend to do. It’s definitely not for everyday listening but I’ve consistently found myself having “Fabienk” stuck in my head and going back to just ripping the whole album over again. If you go in with an open mind you’ll likely have a good time!
Ryan Beatty put out a few live recordings of some of the songs off his outstanding album Calico a few months after the album was released, and I’ve been going back to those consistently, especially the live version of "Bruises Off The Peach." His voice is outrageously good, an incredible amount of control in his vocals and these performances are mixed so wonderfully. It’s one of my favourite albums of the past few years and I really hope we hear from him soon because it’s been uhhhhhh too long!