First Listen: New Releases for 17 March 2023

Artist: Black Honey
Album: A Fistful of Peaches
Quick Thoughts: Been a fan of Black Honey for a bit, but wow, this album just blew me away. Lots of great rock songs from top to bottom and really not a bad listen in the bunch. In a heavy release week, this would be worth your time, never mind being one of the best of the spring.
Songs of Note: "Heavy," "Out of My Mind," "Rock Bottom," "Cut the Cord," "Weirdos"

Artist: The Van Pelt
Album: Artisans and Merchants
Quick Thoughts: I wanted to highlight this album because it's a very interesting listen this week. The best way I can describe it is if The War on Drugs was influenced more by 1980s/1990s college radio. It scratches a very specific itch for me, and I'm glad Ken sent it over to me. Really enjoyed this one.
Songs of Note: "Artisans and Merchants," "Grid," "Cold Coconuts"

Artist: Angel Snow
Album: Yesterday is Here
Quick Thoughts: Angel Snow is a folkie type that we love here, with gorgeous and accessible songs that feel ethereal and light where other artists might trend a little darker. I was really into this listen, with song after song after song that impressed, and it deserves some time in your rotation this week.
Songs of Note: "Hold On," "Jayne's Blue Wish," "In Between Love," "Make It Rain," "Yesterday is Here"

Artist: Yves Tumor
Album: Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
Quick Thoughts: Yves Tumor is an act I've struggled to get into over the years, but I got hooked on "Jackie" from his 2001 EP and was excited for what came next. This album? Their best yet, with a confident alt-rock sensibility that sets it apart. The first three songs, especially "Lovely Sewer" and "Meteora Blues," set a tone that carries through the entire record, and it makes it one of my favorites of the week.
Songs of Note: "Lovely Sewer," "Meteora Blues," "Operator," "Echolalia," "Fear Evil Like Fire"

Artist: 100 Gecs
Album: 10,000 Gecs
Quick Thoughts: I shouldn't like 100 Gecs. I am An Old Person, part of The Problem, and 100 Gecs makes hyperpop (or, well, approaching/adjacent to hyperpop) music that is weird and strange and unlike anything else out there. 10,000 Gecs is by far their most accessible set of songs yet, but that isn't saying much - it's harsh and all over the place, but it works and that's critical. Yeah, sometimes it feels like a funhouse ska revival, and maybe you're over the blown-out speaker sound, but you're unlikely to hear anything quite like it. Worth your time.
Songs of Note: "Dumbest Girl Alive," "Hollywood Baby," "One Million Dollars," "I Got My Tooth Removed"

Of note:

* deathcrash - Less (Gloomy and doomy in all the right ways.)
* The Band of Heathens - Simple Things
* Holy Moly and the Crackers - Solid Gold
* Death and Vanilla - Flicker
* Ailbhe Reddy - Endless Affair
* Moon Boots - Ride Away
* The Lost Days - In the Store
* Gretel Hanlyn - Head of the Love Club
* Flyying Colours - You Never Know
* Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V
* M83 - Fantasy
* Danny G and The Lasso - ASCENSION
* Genevieve Artadi - Forever Forever
* Emiliana Torrini and The Colorist Orchestra - Racing the Storm
* Fargo - Geli
* Matweeds - Hooligans in the Vestibule
* Quiz Show - Quiz Show

EPs:

* Lake Haze - Coordinates of a Decaying World
* Tomer Baruch - Intercellular
* FIDLAR - That's Life
* kendall lujan - kendall lujan
* Django Django - Off Planet Part 2
* Daoi Freyr - I'm Making An Album 1/3
* Rachael Dadd - The Bridge
* Starcrawler - Acoustic Sessions
* Jodie Langford - Chaos of Time
* Brooke Bentham - Caring
* Ni'jah - Swarm
* Princess Nokia - I Love You But This Is Goodbye
* Tei Chi - BAD PREMONITION
* Jayla Kai - The Short Song Project II
* Maruja - Knocknarea
* Nuha Ruby Ra - Machine Like Me

Live albums/Compilations/Reissues:

* GA-20 - Live in Loveland
* Moderat - EVEN MORE D4TA

Also out:

* Daddy Long Legs - Street Sermons

The Van Pelt - "Image of Health"

The Van Pelt are one of those bands I remember from my college radio years, but mostly more in name than anything else. But, that's the way it seems to be with legendary indie rock bands. The New York City band are set to release their first new album in twenty six years, and there's a new single we can check out from that album. "Image of Health" is just pure post-rock and post-hardcore. I seem to remember The Van Pelt getting lumped in with a lot of late 90's emo bands, but "Image of Health" is much more along the lines of Mogwai and Slint than The Promise Ring. This is spoken word over some of the most lovely indie guitar rock you've heard in years, and it sounds like it could have come straight off 1997's Sultans of Sentiment. It may be a little slower and more mellow than The Van Pelt were in their heyday, but not by much.

Frontman Chris Leo says of his band's new music:

"I'm a middle-aged man now. Straightforward, cutting to the point dialogue speaks much more to me than circuitous lofty rants. I knew a lot when I was young and what I didn't know I wasn't afraid to propose as arguments in unwinnable fights for the sake of pushing discourse into novel realms. Now that I'm halfway through a century though, there's been this need in me to touch home base, revisit basic tenets with wiser eyes and a worldview humbled by it being smashed to pieces over and over again. So many of my modern lyrics need no Cliff's Notes. They are so clear and direct that they only require the listener to bring their own humble vulnerability to the table as well. Addressing these lifelong elephants in the room feels more apt to me at this stage in life than dissecting astrophysics." 

You can listen to "Image of Health" below. Artisans & Merchants is due out March 17 on Spartan Records, and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp. For more on The Van Pelt, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram.