Wednesday, August 5, 2020

First Listen: New Releases for 31 July


Artist: Phoebe Ryan
Album: How It Used to Feel
Quick Description: Debut album from a great pop singer-songwriter.
Why You Should Listen: If you're into pop music at all, you probably know a handful of her songs already.
Overall Thoughts: She's worked with a lot of good names, but this is her first solo album after a number of really solid singles and collaborations under her name. I really enjoyed this one for a lot of reasons, and part of it is how subtly good a lot of this is. None of it is in-your-face pop music like so many of her contemporaries, but there's something here that sticks in a way a lot of other pop efforts don't. It's a relatively short week, so this might be a good adventure to go on if this isn't your genre.
Recommendation: Worth your time.


Artist: Dizzy
Album: The Sun and Her Scorch
Quick Description: Solid Canadian indie pop.
Why You Should Listen: This is like a nice breeze on these hot summer days.
Overall Thoughts: I liked Dizzy's first album because I tend to gravitate toward lower-key indie pop stuff from time to time, and this follow-up is just as gorgeous and interesting. There's a dynamic here that's missing from a lot of acts, and it shows through in songs like "Roman Candles," in particular. There are some layers to this, so it's worth a good listen this week.
Recommendation: A great album this week.

Of note:

* Mirah/Various Artists - You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This (Reissue with a second disc of covers.)
* These Liminal Days - Shapes of Heaven (Great ambient music.)
* Gillian Welch - Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1 (I've really liked these odds and sods comps from Welch.)
* Madeline Kenney - Sucker's Lunch
* Lauren Bousfield - Palimpsest
* Cold Beaches - Drifter
* NOFX and Frank Turner - West Coast vs. Wessex
* In Love With a Ghost - Playful Spirits
* Nelson Can - Solo Desire: Remixed Together, Vol. 4 (Electricks)
* Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death
*

Seven Song Albums:

* !!! - Certified Heavy Kats

EPs:

* Wye Oak and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus - No Horizon
* Jordana - Something to Say
* Halsey - Collabs
* ricky retro - 6-Pack
* Le Ren - Morning and Melancholia
* Oklou - Galore

Also out:

* Charley Crockett - Welcome to Hard Times
* Alanis Morrissette - Such Pretty Forks in the Road
* Alain Johannes - Hum
* The Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain
* Martha Rose - Undress and Dive After

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