Every week an overwhelming amount of music is released. In Weekly Roundup, we highlight some of the new music that came out over the past seven days that we’re most excited to listen to this weekend (or, if we’re lucky, have heard already). Editors note: we’re not including The Cool Greenhouse or Jaime Wyatt since we reviewed them this week, but both are highly recommended
HIT TO HIT | 2ND GRADE A Philly supergroup of sorts (featuring members of Remember Sports, Free Cake for Every Creature and Yowler) the tunes on this album hit that indie rock sweet spot. Reminiscent of Quarterback’s classic self titled album, the songs on this album are short and to the point while still managing to get stuck in your brain. With 24 tracks in just over forty minutes, there’s a lot to explore on this one.
DUST WORLD | BANNY GROVE By our accounting, Nicey Music has never put out a bad album. With albums by acts such as Locate S,1, Mega Bog and Mark Cone, they’ve quietly amassed a slim but incredibly strong back catalog over the years. We’ll be excited about pretty much anything they release, and luckily the new Banny Grove album comes out today. From the description on Bandcamp, this release sees the band fusing pop music and electronics with “a touch of country-western flavor”. Couldn’t be more excited to dig into this one.
ALFREDO | FREDDIE GIBBS AND THE ALCHEMIST We literally know nothing about what this one sounds like; it was only announced Thursday afternoon! What we do know is that Freddie Gibbs is a rapper who cannot miss. Whether putting out solo releases or teaming up with Madlib for not one but two all time great albums, Freddie Gibbs can rap over anything. If history is the best predictor of the future, this one is gonna be fire.
SELF SURGERY | MRS. PISS Self Surgery is the debut album of a new duo made up of Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Dowry. With album art horrific enough to be censored on streaming services (we stuck the real thing here, straight from their Bandcamp page), you might be worried this album can’t deliver on what it’s selling. From the lead singles this doesn’t seem to be the case; “Downers Surrounded By Uppers” reminds me of Hole in their prime, and “Knelt” is a sludgy rocker. Can’t wait to hear the whole thing.
MY FAVORITE MISTAKES | ESTHER ROSE Esther Rose follows up 2019’s You Made It This Far with this four track EP of covers on Father/Daughter Records. There’s a homespun, intimate feeling to these songs; it feels like Rose is sitting right in front of you, singing directly to you. With songs originally performed by Sheryl Crow, Nick Lowe, Roy Orbison and Hank Williams covered, Rose both pays tribute to her heroes while making the songs her own. A perfect little release, this is a treat that will help tide us over until her next full length statement.