100 words music reviews
The Wau Wau Colectif found each other when Karl Jonas Winqvist was stranded in Toubab Dialaw, an hour down the coast from Dakar. He encountered local musicians in a spirited artistic community and, when he returned to Sweden, traded Whatsapp notes until a debut was born. Mariage is their second record, pieced together without hiding […]
Glam-punk tends to reference characters who fight, fuck, self-destruct, and at some level, love. The various dichotomies across Endure inevitably become codependent: the glam doesn’t pour glitter over the punk and the punk doesn’t take a shit on the glam. They unite, and it works in a special way. The externally questioning half of this […]
An under-discussed aspect of slacker rock is its deep-rooted desire for spirituality. The genre is normally associated with passive, couch-dwelling underachievers, but these are people for whom meaning is a misplaced receipt waiting to be found. It is unsurprising therefore that dreams become an antidote to material dissatisfaction. Samira Winter’s own aesthetic is slow, studied, […]
Plains is the duo project of Waxahatchee and Jess Williamson. Several comments I’ve seen have insisted that this record is ‘pretty, but nothing special’. I disagree. IWWYAW certainly cooks to a recipe, but the final product is a meticulous, poignant collection of country tracks. Yes, I’ll be taking the boomer line that you don’t need […]
Yes, I’m aware it’s obvious, but the change we have collectively experienced post-1999 really is extraordinary. That said, since The Strokes released Is This It? and published a timeless recipe for guitar-heavy goodness, quality indie-pop has remained on its path like an arrow in a sandstorm. Alvvays know the formula so intimately that the colourful […]
This is the soundtrack to a documentary on factory farming and disease. In the face of crippling tragedy, its triumph is in staying rooted to the reality of its subject. Any shadow of hope is reduced to a slice of the sun creeping through the factory window and briefly implying an outside world. The magnificence […]
The cover of No Age’s latest album shows the aftermath of a minor accident: one or two bulbs swept up well, if not neatly. Together with the title, it paints an endearing scene of a helping hand. When the music arrives, it is uplifting and unpredictable—the sound of flowing creative expansion. The vivacious joy with […]
Two Sisters doesn’t march to the beat of a procession—Davachi conjures her own, singular atmosphere. Her nameless solemnity, drawn from centuries-old influences, gives rise to a kind of occult fear. The record manages to outlive fashion by incorporating such rich, untouched histories and arranging them below a spacious drone. The organs, for which the composer […]
No Rules Sandy’s most experimental moment comes with its closer: it’s a light, swaying acoustic track with strong vocals cloaked in a kind of timidness. The song is beautiful, but written with a stock palette. It is experimental because it is how the project, filled with sharp, quietly innovative arpeggios, chooses to say farewell. With […]
100 words music reviews 