Wavves You’re Welcome
I couldn’t stand Wavves’ debut album, nor their more popular sophomore King of the Beach: the overblown guitars and vocals proved more grating than punk rock. Here on You’re Welcome, the band writes some melodic tunes, slows the pace a little to leave room for a little empty space between distorted down beats. The fuzz shows up in full on many tracks, but the mixing and mastering make this my favorite Wavves project.
Standout Track: “Come to the Valley”
Perfume Genius No Shape
Mike Hadreas performs as Perfume Genius, and his fourth album delivers on beautiful vocal arrangements from haunting to sullen to gleeful. Some of the songwriting reminds me of Ra Ra Riot, but the styles don’t stick through the album, and No Shape‘s title begins to describe the album itself.
Standout Track: “Slip Away”
(Sandy) Alex G Rocket
Speaking of having no shape, Alex G has released Rocket this month, and the singer-songwriter has collected tracks in whatever genre suits his fancy. There’s quiet, folky tunes all the way to the noisy “Brick,” which is an industrial…rap…tune?
Standout Track: “Brick”
Swet Shop Boys Sufi La
Even the B-sides of MC Riz and Heems’ debut album Cashmere from 2016 stand out as forward-thinking rap music in a saturated trap scene. The southeast Asian samples do lots of the heavy lifting on this EP, and Heems gets into his most goofy on “Birds,” but the tracks continue a much-needed political heaviness for a 2017 world.
Other Solid Releases: Mountain Goats Goths, Jlin Black Origami , Daddy Issues Deep , Pet Symmetry Dream
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