1.Injury Reserve S/T
Arizona-based rap trio Injury Reserve made it their mission to bring back Crunk from the 2000s on their previous full-length project FLOSS back in 2016. Their other projects have expanded their sound and scope, and this new project features strong production from house producer Parker Corey that draws from the industrial rap soundscape of acts like Death Grips. Comedy has always been a part of the Injury Reserve cocktail, and the social commentary of “Jawbreaker” and the self-skewering “Rap Song Tutorial” provide some hilarious moments. The group also expands their guest list with an impressive roster: Freddie Gibbs, Cakes Da Killa, Amine, JPEGMAFIA, DRAM, and Rico Nasty.
Standout Track: “Jailbreak the Tesla (feat. Amine)”
2. Tacocat This Mess Is a Place
Seattle fem-pop punk group Tacocat released their 4th LP, and their debut record for Subpop, which functions as a emotional and rhetorical response to the post-election world. Songs like “Hologram” and “The Joke of Life” take an anti-establishment stance now that the establishment is a serious threat to feminism, LGBTQ citizens, the non-white, the non-rich. Like all of Tacocat’s records, the band creates its own positivity to fight back against the abyss, which are most directly felt on songs like “New World” and “Rose-Colored Sky.” Dance life’s horrors right out of the room with This Mess Is a Place.
Standout Track: “The Joke of Life”
3. Alex Lahey The Best of Luck Club
Australian Singer/Songwriter Alex Lahey just delivered a killer pop-rock album with The Best of Luck Club. Lahey utilizes big guitar bar chords to pack a punch of sound to support her dark and humorous lyrics. The self-depricating opening track “I Don’t Get Invited to Parties Anymore” sets the mood for the entire project: wistful, sardonic, and cathartic. There is a clear break-up narrative throughout the project that finds its climax with “Isabella,” a piano-pop tune like 2009 Sara Bareilles. Juxtaposed with the sugar-sweet, is the gut-punching punk of “Misery Guts.” Lahey’s musical pulls create a dynamic and fun project for your summer playlist.
Standout Track: “Misery Guts”
4. Carly Rae Jepson Dedicated
While Taylor Swift took a significant step backward from 1989 to Reputation, Carly Rae Jepson has only penned stronger and stronger pop records, surpassing her peer in the art of the boy-meets-girl narrative pop song. What makes Dedicated a step forward from the near-perfect Emotion is the expanding pool of genres utilized for the track list. The 1980s are still mined for synth patches and drum programming, but they get a modern polish that brightens each track.
Standout Track: “Want You In My Room”
Other Solid Releases: Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride; The National I Am Easy To Find; Stickup Kid Soul Drive; Pip Blom Boat; Versing 1000
The Sketchy Sketch Blog 