Weekly Release Spotlight
That one perfect album that we (and you) almost missed.
"The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers" by Valerie June
On Tennessee-raised singer/songwriter Valerie June’s successful 2017 album “The Order of Time,” she gained notable praise from the likes of Bob Dylan and The New York Times. Now, four-years later, June continues to be a beacon of hope for the depths country music can reach with her release “The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers.” From her voice to the album’s music, Valerie June both embodies on this release what country is all about, love, loss and achy breaky heartache, and yet completely defies mainstream country. Even the cover of “The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers” is a sleek grey-tone with June throwing a defiant look over her shoulder, decked out in a bold silver dress- a far cry from the sepia-toned cowboy studded cover you might expect. For those jaded to the offerings of popular country music, give this a shot.
By Emma Chekroun
“Smiling With No Teeth” by Genesis Owusu
Genesis Owusu is one of Australia’s emerging hip hop talents and Owusu’s avante-garde approach to the genre, and genre bending, makes “Smiling With No Teeth” surprising, while elements of funk keep the release danceable. Race and mental health are also incorporated throughout the ever changing chapters of “Smiling With No Teeth,” making for an album you can spend time peeling back the layers on.
By Emma Chekroun
"Believer" by Smerz
On their debut album “Believer,” Norweigan duo Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt, better known by their group name Smerz, transport the listener to a glimmering and daring audioscape. The title track “Girarriff” opens with fairy-like twinkling before incorporating heavier foreboding notes, then finally shifting into the pair’s R&B styled vocals on “Max.” Smerz’s trance-inducing mixture of synth, R&B, hip-hop, and classical music is reminiscent of U.S. Girl’s genre-blurring and merging 2018 album “In a Poem Unlimited.” The sonic scenes throughout “Believer,” are diverse and a treat to explore.
By Emma Chekroun
"Butter-Fly EP" by Lava La Rue
Lava La Rue's latest EP “Butter-Fly” is a smooth combination of R&B richness, bedroom-pop dreaminess, and hip-hop dexterity. “Butter-fly,” Lava says in press material for the release, was made during a time of transition. Most transitions come with their own growing pains, but the effortless sound of “Butter-fly,” thanks to Lava’s natural flow, lends the album a sense of self-assuredness not always found during times of change.
By Emma Chekroun
"Super Monster" by Claud
Like the album’s cover art, “Super Monster” is a vibrant self-portrait of Claud Mintz. The Chicago artist’s debut album feels like a coming of age story chock-full of love lost and found all set to a standard indie-pop soundtrack (Claud’s already signed to indie darling Phoebe Bridgers’ label Dead Oceans). “In Or In-Between” tells the all too relatable story of mixed signs while dating, and the album is full of other tunes dedicated to all the little crushes and heartbreaks that add up to a larger sense of self-discovery Claud fosters on this album.
By Emma Chekroun
"On All Fours" by Goat Girl
South London’s Goat Girl follow up their 2018 self-titled debut with “On All Four,” an offbeat look at the world’s injustices and social prejudices through sci-fi synthesizers and analogue drum machines. The sophomore album is dystopic at times while it grapples with environmental issues that are anything but fictional, through stunted stops she sings “Littered seas, feels like we're an infection” on the quartets’ second song “Badibaba.” The sound matches the dark and fantastical subject matter of the album, not fantastical in the sense that it’s fantastic but in that the darkness is overemphasized to give it a sense of fantasy. Like any good dystopian novel, “On All Fours” is gritty at times, such as on “The Crack” with it’s crunchy guitars. For a textural experience that combines a dark mystique with a techno powered sci-fi influence, give “On All Fours” a spin.
By Emma Chekroun