Feb 2023 - Art-Pop, Art-Rock, Art-(Hip)-Hop
Albums
Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B
A band’s name isn’t always a great indicator of what they sound like. In the case of Jockstrap, it would be tough to come up with a name that captures all the different things they have going on in a word or two, but even so, like, I usually associate jockstraps with machismo and… I dunno, that feels pretty distant from their sound?
Anyway.
A lot of writers will tell you that Jockstrap is one of the most exciting new bands out there. It’s a brand of art-pop that incorporates everything from electro to metal to folk… but not in a hyperpop way where everything is kind of hyperactively jumbled together. No, this is a real melding of influences that allows them to effectively bring you from quiet rumination to overwhelming menace within a couple bars, in a way that captures how a human might actually feel when they’re sitting alone with their thoughts.
I have to admit that I didn’t immediately see what all the fuss is about, and I think it has to do with that “sitting alone” thing. The first few times I heard this album, I was doing something else at the same time. Driving, playing a game, filling out job applications, whatever. That’s how people listen to music a lot of the time these days, and when I did that, I was disappointed. I wanted it to sound like their incredible 2022 single “50/50”, a scorching and disorienting take on industrial/techno that works just fine in the car. I Love You Jennifer B is not like that. I needed to do what I finally did: come home drunk, sit alone in the dark, and put this on the living room stereo at a volume that was just barely acceptable for 1am in a Somerville apartment.
It’s an album that deserves to be sat with. Take your time with it and you’ll be rewarded.
Little Simz - NO THANK YOU
The last few months have been big for all-caps album titles.
Little Simz is one of my favorite rappers working today. She’s one of the few who regularly use this kind of stripped-back old-school beat. It really lends a feeling of intimacy to her sound. You’re listening to her voice, and the beat is there to carry it along, not the other way around. It’s particularly refreshing for her because her delivery is (compared to a lot of other rap), kind of subtle, almost flat. She doesn’t do a lot of ad-libs, shouting, singing… it’s Little Simz talking to you.
Her subject matter isn’t particularly unusual for modern rap - she talks about her personal history, talks about her experiences in music, throws in a bit of bragging here and there, and talks about some things she learned in therapy. That last one is where she really differentiates herself, I think. It’s not terribly uncommon for rappers to talk about their emotions anymore, particularly in the UK where you have guys like Dave really letting loose with their trauma and pain, but Little Simz is doing something a little different. She wants to tell you about things she’s learned, rather than about the agony. And going back to her stripped-back sound, it feels honest, like a conversation with a human being.
See also: Grey Area
Leila Moss - Internal Working Model
This art-rock album builds an interesting kind of tension for me in that the tempo is always about 10% slower than I want. I feel like I’m walking somewhere in a hurry and the person in front of me on the sidewalk is just moseying along, staring at their phone. And yet I keep coming back to it. So often that I have to conclude that I actually like that about it.
Now, for one thing, that’s a feature of this kind of theatrical art-rock in general. Kate Bush takes her time with you, just like Bat for Lashes and Bjork (when she feels like it. Bjork does what she wants). Going slow gives an artist time to hold big, long, majestic notes and harmonies. But Leila Moss is particular in that seemingly everything she does is in half-time, and she refuses to fill the negative space with instrumentation. She makes you sit and listen.
This is probably my favorite album she has, but she’s a pretty consistent artist. Check out Who the Power or the single “Turn Your Back Around” or even her previous band, The Duke Spirit. It’s all got a similar sensibility.
Also of note: Internal Working Model has a cameo by Gary Numan. Just wanted to point that out.
The Soft Moon - Deeper
When someone says “industrial music,” there are actually a few different things you that might come to mind. It could be a kind of rock music with loud distorted guitars. It could be a kind of techno with loud distorted square waves. It could be a kind of avant-garde music with micro-samples smattered disorientingly all over the beat.
But, whatever it is that comes to mind, you’re probably imagining something inhumanly aggressive and abrasive. Or if there’s a humanity there, it’s twisted by angst or fury. The Soft Moon is all of those things. A loud wall of sound, delay pedals on the vocals making the vocals twist with angst, cutting cymbals and relentless one-note bass beats.
It’s overwhelming and incredible. I saw him perform over the winter, and I’ve never seen a better use of a metal trash can on stage.
Tracks
Desire Marea - Tavern Kween
The vocals on this track are so haunting. They play nicely with the electronic instrumentation, and even the (gasp!) saxophone. It’s a beautiful track that goes a number of different places in composition, in spite of being pretty consistent emotionally.
Mire. - Bury
Let’s go hard for a moment, and enjoy this buzzing industrial track from the fantastic EP, A Meaning of Love
Todrick Hall - Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels
Sometimes this is what you really want: someone working it. Or rather, importuning you to work it. It’s a fantastic groove, and honestly I could listen to Todrick Hall talk for a very long time. Shablam for me.
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ04gPb4LlY
UNKLE - Do Yourself Some Good (The Reflex Version)
Thanks to L-Train at Radio Ninja for this one. Fantastic cowbell, fantastic use of both trance-style bell samples and bluesy vocal samples.
If you don’t know Radio Ninja, check it out.
Akira Akira - Sneakers
Apart from idiosyncratic artists who are tough to categorize, there are really only two bass music subgenres that I really miss: trap, and glitch hop.
I still love you, glitch hop. (See: Opiuo’s 2016 album Omniversal)
And yes, the sneaker sound effects are pretty fun.
Epoch - Midori Eyes
As a rule, I think that soundtracks don’t really make very much sense when you listen to them apart from the film or video game or whatever they’re from. That’s certainly no different for “Midori Eyes”, which I’m certain many of you will despise :)
It’s here for a couple reasons - First, it gives me an opportunity to tell you how amazing the game Paradise Killer is, which presents a cohesive vaporwave universe in which a story about political intrigue, multiple murders, demon summoning, and mass ritual sacrifice is contrasted bright colors, beach paradises, and - yes - music like this. The other reason is that I legitimately like it. It’s a callback to an era of jazz in the late 70’s where the rules were still being written about how to incorporate synthesized keyboards and drums. Also, these are pretty good solos!
Zamilska - Fragile
For something much moodier, Zamilska is a dark, aggressive industrial musician whose stuff would feel right at home in a goth club or in a 16 year old’s bedroom. All her stuff is good. Pick a Zamilska track out of a hat and you’ll be headbanging.
Jack Stauber’s Micropop - Deploy
Jack Stauber is probably best known for the shorts he does for Adult Swim (which makes sense), but he also has a very active music career under his own name. That’s not this. He releases music as Jack Stauber, and Jack Stauber’s Micropop is his “other music.” I think the story is that he wanted to release the tracks he did for TV and most of them are only like 25sec long, but it’s hard not to notice that the stuff released under the name Jack Stauber is considerably more restrained. For me, I prefer the all-out insanity of the Micropop version, thanks.
Quasi - Back in Your Tree
Listen to that fucking guitar tone. I can’t say no to that. It’s also got a nice efficient verse/chorus cycle that really pumps things along. Maybe too efficient? I kinda wish they’d let the verses spin out a little longer. But, hard to deny this track one way or another
Feater - Blood Moon
What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good bassline and a lady talking in French.
Hifi Sean & David McAlmont - Happy Ending
This is a lovely track with a great bassline reminiscent of some of Air’s early stuff, a cinematic violin part, and a beautiful melody. It’s from a very good album of the same name.
Skrillex, Fred Again.., Flowdan - Rumble
Flowdan specializes in this kind of apocalyptic dub music - loud, bassy, oppressive. In this case, it’s a little less depressing than on some of his other tracks, and a little more danceable. A little.
Wah Mui Orchestra - Killing Me Softly
Um, so… I guess one would have to say that this is a cover? Back in the day, we had a thing called “acid jazz” and it was an early attempt at incorporating modern electronic instrumentation and hip-hop beats into the world of r&b and jazz. Wah Mui Orchestra is definitely calling back to that sound - very warm tones and sharp, limited drums.