September was a pretty wild month for new music. With summer ending and school starting back up, it seemed to usher in a new era of sound. But also, Bandcamp Friday was September 1st, so it felt like a lot of artists released music on that date both for the no fees and just because the first of the month was a Friday. I feel like I'm trying to catch up with music from August and I could pick five albums just from the first day of September for this!
Taking Meds "Dial M For Meds"
https://takingmeds.bandcamp.com/album/dial-m-for-meds
Taking Meds are the perfect sound between what was on the No Alternative compilation back in the 1990's (think Matthew Sweet) and what is more recent music under that emo/post emo banner such as Sorority Noise, but there are other names I just don't always think of as quickly. It's somewhat catchy and it's just a good overall rock album.
I must note that there is a line in "Life Support" about someone mistaking the band name for "Taking Bets" and I couldn't understand it (I still heard "Taking Meds") so I googled it and let's just say googling "taking meds life support" brings in some serious results. I feel like teens now can relate with this album because it reminds me so much of what I related to in my youth. I still really enjoy this sound as well and have to shout out Gin Blossoms.
Kristin Hersh "Clear Pond Road"
Kristin Hersh is a fucking genius and that is not up for discussion. I will listen to any music Kristin Hersh makes, but these are a special set of acoustic songs which go from being just lovely with strings to a more haunted and trippy feel on "Ms Haha". Sometimes an artist creates an acoustic album and you think it could've been electric, but this just rocks as it is and doesn't need to be changed at all.
The only reason why I'm putting this review in my Top 5 rather than doing a full review of the album is because I'm hoping most people already know how great this album will be without me having to tell them. If you need that little nudge or just didn't know this was out there in the world, that's what these words are for!
Eartheater "Powders"
Eartheater embodies the spirit of ambient beauty as these songs feel more spatial and very intimate. The sound could be best experienced through a personal means of stereo, such as headphones, but can also feel big enough to fill up the largest of rooms. Songs light enough to be acoustic, but dense enough to be with the heaviest of metals.
The surprise of this album is the cover of "Chop Suey" which I did not see coming. I knew this was a new Eartheater album and that's all that I needed to know to listen to it. Hearing this song come on caught me off guard, but in the most pleasant of ways. Some Flora Cash feels in here as well and this is just one of my all-time favorite albums now.
Slowdive "everything is alive"
Very few artists out there feel as much in their own world as much as Slowdive is. It's not that there aren't other artists who have a similar sound, but it's the way that those artists would be tied to Slowdive in the sense that they sound like Slowdive. Slowdive is the original, the influencer if you will.
Between dark gazes, music which is quite spatial and has a lot of music over lyrics, Slowdive has created such a beautiful album here. At times it can be dreamy but then you have a song like "andalucia plays" and it just feels so desolate. This is such a great album for when you need to feel like you're going fast but in slow motion at the same time.
Penelope Antena "James & June"
The music of Penelope Antena is cinematic. It has these big vocals with pianos and beats. At times it feels like hip hop but other times it reminds me of the singing from "The Wizard of Oz" before that tornado came and took Dorothy away. There is that sort of feeling where this is being played through a record player and the record is a little bit warbly.
Elements of Corinne Bailey Rae and existential questions can be asked such as "Am I loving you too much / Will I ever be enough". "James & June" just has this smooth feeling to it where you can listen to it while driving and never feel like you have to slow down or adjust your speed. It's just so steady and I love that about it.
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