Courtney Barnett – Depreston
Courtney Barnett is a gem of a musician and performer. She’s not afraid to be vulnerable, and she invites you in with her cards all on the table, but keeps her guard up through her wry wit. Her rambling, but endlessly smart lyrical style has her twisting and turning phrases to create memorable lines that she sneaks by you, thanks to her deadpan delivery.
Her first album, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit, came out this week, and it’s everything you’d want from a debut record. Barnett’s brilliance is on full display. On the standout track Depreston, she tells a sad tale of house hunting and self-reliance. It sounds silly, and sometimes it is —”now we’ve got that percolator / never made a latte greater / I’m saving twenty-three dollars a week” she sings — but it’s just as poignant, as Barnett fills the empty space in the song in the same way she tries to fill an empty space in her life.
Laura Marling – False Hope
Laura Marling just dropped Short Movies, the follow up album to her critical smash hit Once I Was An Eagle, and it picks up right where the last record left off. False Hope carries all the momentum of the 2013 release, placing Marling’s sugary sweet voice atop an electric rhythm that churns. Marling maintains composure as she sings lyrics that make it seem like her mind is racing. “Is it still okay that I still don’t know how to be alone?” she asks at the start of the song, before spending the rest of it searching for the answer.
Action Bronson – Easy Rider
Action Bronson is one of the most interesting characters in hip hop. The respected chef-turned-rapper has lived quite the life, and his personality is undoubtedly his calling card. It’s on full display in Easy Rider, a single off his new record Mr. Wonderful. He rides through a dusty, electric beat, spitting his off-kilter bars before repeating his simple hook, “Ride the Harley into the sunset.” It’s a quintessential Bronson track, which might not appeal to everyone, but is to be respected regardless.
Lightning Bolt – Mythmaster
Providence noise rockers Lightning Bolt have struck again with the release of Fantasy Empire, the duo’s eighth album. For a two-person outfit, the band sure knows how to make a lot of noise. They crank it up as loud as it can go on Mythmaster, a track that shows the group’s commitment to metal is a permanent influence. Turn on the track, and you’ll feel like you’re in the pit, surrounded by glaring guitar riffs that are directed right at your face. It’s overwhelming, brutal, and exactly what you need sometimes to release any frustrations.
Chastity Belt – The Thing
Have you seen John Carpenter’s The Thing? The 1982 horror classic about an alien life form that comes to Earth could have very well used Chastity Belt’s The Thing in its soundtrack. The Seattle post-punk foursome weave together a psychedelic sound that makes you uneasy with a powerful, shredding guitar. It creates a startling track that will keep you on edge, and keep your head banging. It’s a metallic melody that is the perfect fit for the film that shares its title.
