HHBTM Records
Model Minority
Mariah Parker is on a roll. Model Minority may have only bumped her last EP up to a wider audience, but that’s all the incendiary MC needed to catch the eyes of the New York Times, NPR, and others at SXSW. And then, as if throwing down bars to empower and enlighten her comrades wasn’t enough, she campaigned for County Commissioner and shook the world by swearing in on Malcolm X’s autobiography. Model Minority proves, then, that Parker won’t disappoint her progressive allies in office, with songs that tackle addiction, the stigma of abortion, and crippling depression. – LA
Read the full review.
Human Sounds Records
Artificial Flavors
For such a short effort, the EP covers a lot of ground, thanks in most part to Grace Repasky’s gentle pirouettes between soaring vocals and plaintive lulls. This dichotomy works especially well on “Slowdown,” an insistent, cascading track which chronicles the confusion, uncertainty, and isolation found throughout life and relationships. Echoes of Au Revoir Simone and Warpaint are scattered throughout the record, but Lunar Vacation’s sound is more bright and sprightly than most of their dream-pop compatriots. Unlike so many records that rely on lush instrumentation and not much else, the density of Artificial Flavors demonstrates Lunar Vacation’s subtle aptitude for pushing the art form beyond easy fodder for coffee shop Spotify mixes into something more sophisticated, but just as tranquil. – RR
Read the full review.
Irrelevant Music
Leather
It’s been a massive couple of years for Material Girls, who, after a few lineup changes and a grimy four-track EP, have just released one of the best local LPs of 2018. Leather demonstrates the band’s ability to pretty much do whatever they want while weaving irresistible pop hooks into their lair of repulsive macabre. Each member is a consummate performer and there’s no shortage of opinions in the band, which is why it’s so amazing that there’s no overplaying or jockeying for control on the record, just five sleazy babes getting weird with some fiery post-punk and languid rock and roll.– RR
Read our interview with Material Girls.
Song in the Air
Mighty
We’ve had no shortage of terrific rock records over the past couple of years, and Mighty’s eponymous first full length sits well near the top of the heap. Consistency and dynamism are the keys here as Angelo Fiaretti and company show themselves to be just as handy with a smart pop melody as they are with a blistering, no-holds-barred riff. Overall, it’s an impressive display of sure-handed songwriting with enough hairpin turns and high-powered explosions to keep the listener on edge. – GC
Friendship Fever
Maybe Later
Whenever I write about the Athens/Atlanta dream team Neighbor Lady, some past trauma always cracks open, like a scab ripped too soon. Emily Braden croons about classic dilemmas of desire and trust, with enough honey to lure you in and enough grit to rub your skin raw. Meanwhile, the all-star band—which features members of Semicircle, Dana Swimmer, and Reptar—simmers underneath, slow-cooking Braden’s songwriting until the meat falls off the bone. – LA
Read our interview with Neighbor Lady.
Geographic North
Even
Since post-punk morphed from an offshoot of new wave into something less bound by generation but more nebulous as a whole, artists have been utilizing the colder elements of the genre to expose the emptiness of consumerism and to push back against the bankrupt neon hues of success and progress. On the second EP from Night Cleaner, All the Saints guitarist and vocalist Matthew Lambert focuses these social queries into an analysis of sound and self. The name conjures visions of fluorescent hallways and patterned carpets in deserted office parks, but the isolation and introspective longing of Even lend themselves to his focused meditation. Though these six tracks channel the same anti-commercial desperation of ‘80s post-punk, Lambert digs further into the psyche of the individual, and as a result, Even reflects the endless motility of mind and body.– RR
Read the full review.
Z Tapes
Yellow House
Perhaps one of the unlikeliest stars on this list, Thomas Howard found a warm welcome for Orchid Mantis’ blurred nostalgia this year at Slovakian cuddle cult Z Tapes. Of course, that’s no mere coincidence—Yellow House showcases Howard’s ever-growing knack for building woozy daydreams out of breezy bedroom pop. The baked-in fuzz lends a strange sense of de ja vu, as if you’re having flashbacks of someone else’s childhood home; yet, with a Boards of Canada-like touch, muted beats and Howard’s honeyed voice allow us to drift serenely between past and present. It’s a beautiful suspension that Orchid Mantis has been working toward for years, and Yellow House finally nails the balance. – LA
Self-released
A Picture of Your Family
From a thematic standpoint, I can’t really provide a better analysis of what makes this this album tick, at least not from the time I’ve had to spend with it. I will say, however, that at it’s core this is a storyteller’s record, one that embraces a vintage form of Americana as an avenue to paint intimate portrait of places and people caught in the existential chaos of life and living. Much as in the past, the group utilizes an extensive palette to create their vignettes and character sketches, blending American folk traditions with driving top-down rock, ‘70s AM pop, and more. On the whole, the record is cleaner, gentler, and more refined than previous efforts, but toe-tapping highway jams like “Live & Breathe” and “Mile Marker Dance” prove Pony League can always cook when the mood suits them. – GC
Read the full review.
Self-released
Celebrity Pets
Watching Post Hunk cavort around the crux of our times is fun, sure. But a whole album of such antics would barely stand in an era where bands are now clamoring to tap their finger on the modern malaise. Fortunately, Celebrity Pets balances the duo’s manic satire with some equally strong pop tunes, like the Costello-esque lead single “Sleep.” Of course, even in these relatively calmer moments, Pierce’s keen eye on the crowd doesn’t falter; when he twists an old nursery rhyme into “first comes love, and now the hesitation,” I at least can immediately recall a thousand times that I almost reached out to someone and couldn’t, even before Facebook or Twitter. Could our carefully segmented social spheres hold us back from the marriage and the baby carriage? Or were some of us just stuck in a rut to begin with? – LA
Read the full review.
Self-released
Conversations (1-4)
Jordan Reynolds’ latest batch of airy folk songs could’ve easily been a failed experiment, a hit-or-miss collection tethered to a conceptual framework that bogged the tracks down too much rather than letting them drift into the ether. Instead, Reynolds utilizes the framework (each song on the EP is based off a past conversation Reynolds engaged in) to craft some of her most memorable and moving work. If the gentle bossa nova sway of “No. 1” doesn’t get you, the dreamy shimmer of “No. 4” certainly will. – GC