Today is Friday, the most wonderful day of the week for music lovers because it’s the day when new albums are released. Let’s celebrate by highlighting some of today’s new records.
The Decemberists
I’ll Be Your Girl (Capitol)
When considering indie music and the acts that define the genre, probably the fifth or so band that might come to mind is The Decemberists. The Portland group is so ubiquitous within the music subtype that they are sometimes used as a caricature of the culture itself. Whether it’s their thesaurus-invoking lyricism, their rootsy sensibilities, or their fondness for period-specific costumery, they’ve become so tied to indie “hipster-ism” that it warranted a Simpsons episode. And as odd as it sounds, the folk-rock veterans have earned their right to be part of a running joke. They’ve been a staple of the indie world for almost 20 years because they have consistently put out solid material for the duration. Sure, they’ve tweaked their sound a little from one album to the next, but they’ve never strayed too far from their root intent of making smart, intricate music that tells stories and crafts melodies. Frontman Colin Meloy, also a published novelist, has been weaving tales of complex characters and their adventures since The Decemberists formed. In their 2015 effort, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, they fleshed out their sound with horns and strings, which enveloped weighty themes like the death of innocence and guilt found in happiness. The group’s latest, I’ll Be Your Girl, has them shifting again into something new with a solid dose of synth. The radio-perfect single “Once in My Life” is typically sentimental and enchanting with an easy strum, while the beats of “Severed” could soundtrack a dance hall. In the end, I’ll Be Your Girl is eclectic but not at all gimmicky. The indie stalwarts ride again.
Listen on: Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
Dungen & Woods
Myth 003 (Mexican Summer)
Scandinavian prog rock craftsmen Dungen are experts at genre blending, with one distinct constant being a penchant for psychedelia. Low-fi folk indie act Woods share a similar point of view. The two groups go back a few years and have toured together; after commingling again at the 2017 iteration of the Marfa Myths festival, they decided to make it “collaborative album official.” Myths 003 affectionately harkens back to ’60s-era psych, with its own modern twist. Opener “Loop” is a spacey instrumental track with warm guitar distortion and a variety of earthy percussion, from wood blocks to xylophones. That song grows and flourishes into the second track “Turn Around,” which immediately conjurers up a bucolic haze reminiscent of the summer festivals that both bands like to frequent. The two groups’ buttery smooth collaboration sounds completely meant to be. Myths 003 drops just a few days before spring and is a fitting way to usher in the sunny times ahead.
Listen on: Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
Hot Snakes
Jericho Sirens (Sub Pop)
Hot Snakes are punk virtuosos who have the genre’s sound honed expertly: Their brief, blistering tracks feature low-tuned guitars, a thrashing rhythm section, and shouted lyrics that are unintelligible save for the occasional line of scathing commentary. Even stronger and snottier than their sound is their attitude, the backbone of their music that cements them as a formidable force not to be fucked with. They are what they are and you can listen or leave. So when the decided to call it quits in 2005, they didn’t bother to justify it. Likewise, when they abruptly reassembled more than a decade later to tour and put out another album, it was what it was. Jericho Sirens is Hot Snakes’ first release in 13 years, and they pick up right where they left off. The guitar that tears the album open at the start of “I Need a Doctor” is also a tight melodious hook at the root of “Six Wave Hold Down,” and singer Rick Froberg waxes morbid in “Death Camp Fantasy” as the band’s dual drummers pummel away relentlessly. The group has always been a frequently revolving cast, and most of its members have worked on other projects over the years. But their relationship within this band is unique, and Jericho Sirens is a burst of pent up energy and gleeful aggression. They may be pushing 50, but the men of Hot Snakes will never lose their sneer.
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