We’re going to be doing things a little bit differently going forward on Undrcurrents. We’re still going to be writing longer album reviews, but we also want a forum for celebrating and discussing more music. May we present a return to the earliest days of the site, Weekly Roundups: each week we’ll publish a list of music we’ve been enjoying. It may feature new or old music, but it’ll always highlight something worth your time.
For our inaugural entry in this version of the series, we’ll shout out some releases from last week that have been in constant rotation (some for weeks and others for days).
Astrid Sonne – Great Doubt
Much like the music of her compatriot ML Buch, Astrid Sonne’s latest record defies expectations. Sonne’s previous albums have been purely instrumental, but Great Doubt twists her sound into warped avant-pop. A comparison I’ve seen is to Tirzah, but to be honest I don’t quite see it. Though both take a skeletal approach to pop forms, Tirzah’s music exudes a warmth that Sonne’s doesn’t. Don’t take that as a knock; while there is an icy, almost alien veneer to these songs, part of what makes them so interesting is the contrast with the intimacy of her lyrics. “Do you wanna have a baby, do you want to bring people into this world” she coos on “Do you wanna”; elsewhere she quietly implores “say that you love me”. Robyn sang about dancing on your own, but this is truly the sound of it: just you and the thoughts in your head, waltzing together for eternity.
omilgop – a trail of fading
On Thursday evening I’ll often spend some time browsing music websites, making a list of new releases to check out. I ran across a trail of fading somewhere and was instantly taken with the album art: sparse, geometric, a little mysterious. The music follows suit. A lot of my favorite music coming out of the Korean underground draws on the fuzzed out sonics of shoegaze (think Parannoul, Brokenteeth, Asian Glow) but omilgop is a slightly different beast. The music’s narcotic pace is clearly influenced by slowcore, but they’re a little more Red House Painters than Low; there’s a delicate, dreamlike quality to songs that are built from little more than a slowly repeated riff and a whispered vocal. But much like the other artists mentioned here, omilgop is a world builder. This is music that is easy to get lost inside.
The Umbrellas – Fairweather Friend
Despite its transformation over the last few decades into a tech-bro mecca, as of late the San Francisco Bay Area has been fostering one of the most exciting music scenes in the country. Documented by local labels like Paisley Shirt Records and Slumberland Records, much of the music mirrors the famous fog that blankets the city: sweet pop songs that blur around the edges. However, there’s nothing foggy about the sophomore album from The Umbrellas, released on the aforementioned Slumberland. They’re twee pop though and through, their music cut through with buoyant melodies, boy/girl vocals and a tinge of melancholy; hell, singer Matt Ferrera’s voice even reminds me of Calvin Johnson in his Beat Happening prime. What elevates it above mere pastiche is the attention to minute details that breathe new life into familiar sounds: carefully controlled guitar feedback on “Gone” imbues the track with a sense of tension, a gentle viola melody amplifies the ache of “Say What You Mean”. This is a pitch perfect pop music, point blank.
A Few Other Albums Of Note From Last Week