Short Reviews of Recent Albums #2

Palehound, Grian Chatten, brdmm, and others!

Howdy, and welcome to the music newsletter formerly known as Paramore For Dummies. I recently rebranded and am writing about just, like, music in general. If you originally subscribed for Paramore updates, don’t worry—I do have more Paramore content lined up!

Here’s a new thing I’m occasionally doing that I’m going to call Short Reviews of Recent Albums. It’s exactly what it sounds like.

Palehound - Eye On The Bat

Dare I say this is one of my favorite albums of the year so far? The songs are punchy and ardent, telling poetic stories revolving mostly around a breakup, it seems. They’re not all windows-down bangers, and that’s fine, but the first four tracks certainly are, and I love them for it. When I saw that there was a song called “Head Like Soup,” I’ll admit that my first thought was: how twee. However, the lyrical gut punch “I live to fill you up and I burn unwatched” had me happily changing my tune. Phenomenal album.

Grian Chatten - Chaos For The Fly

Persistent drum machine beats create a framework for wistful strings, guitar strums, and Chatten’s rich, sharp vocals on these nine gorgeous songs. I don’t know what this says about the single “Fairlies,” or about me, but when I heard it on the radio, my first thought was, “What is this Smiths song that I actually like?” It’s that charming British Isles pseudo-despondence, minus the problematic politics.

bdrmm - I Don’t Know

Like the band’s name suggests, this music makes me feel a bit like I’m in a bedroom. By which I mean: it’s contained; cozy at times; feels familiar in a nice way, not an overly indulgent way. In its mellower moments, like on “Be Careful,” the album channels Radiohead’s layered rhythms, while its louder songs bring in heavy shoegaze guitar strums. In any case, this is a record that oddly feels like home from the jump.

Josaleigh Pollett - In The Garden, By The Weeds

Pollett plays with haunting, ever-so-slightly-distorted sonic textures on this album that elevate it beyond just another soft indie endeavor. These songs drape existential dread in electronic trappings, framing the musings of a singer-songwriter exploring their overgrown inner garden—at times uneasily, but always thoughtfully.

Shamir - Homo Anxietatem

In a bright, unsettling addition to his eclectic discography, Shamir channels the melodies and vocal explorations of weird, crunchy early-aughts indie like Cursive and at times even Sunny Day Real Estate (the guys with the wacky voices, basically), tying his oddities together with overtones of that same era’s movie-soundtrack pop. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it does, especially for “The Beginning,” “Oversized Sweater,” and “Our Song.”

Fiddlehead - Death Is Nothing To Us

The guitars are guitaring. The drums are drumming. This is a nutritious meal for the hungry post-hardcore enjoyer. Personally, I think it strikes a really great balance between polished and rough, especially on the singles, “Sullenboy” and “Sleepyhead.” Recommended if you like early Thrice and the like.

Genesis Owusu - STRUGGLER

I saw this album described somewhere as post-punk—and since I’m notoriously bad at adhering to genre definitions, I won’t argue with it. In his more upbeat moments, though, Owusu evokes rock-rap (again, don’t come for me if this isn’t the right term) like Run-DMC or the Beasties. Throughout, he uses bold beats, riffs, and bars to paint an often brash, always groovy picture of an outsider coming into his own.

Being Dead - When Horses Would Run

When I say Being Dead have some surf-rock elements, I mean like, if a surfer was on performance-enhancing substances and couldn’t stop hopping up and down on the board as it whizzes through the waves. The disjointed time signatures play chaotic-good with sunny melodies and the duo’s warm, effortless vocals. Plus, they’re from Austin and supposedly live in my neck of the woods! Howdy, neighbors!

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I’m going to have to do another one of these very soon because there’s a lot of stuff that’s getting released over the next couple of weeks. And thank God; lord knows we need all the new tunes we can get in these trying times.

Stay safe out there,

Katie

P.S. What’d I miss in this list? Let me know in the comments!