I have a tendency to get caught up in things. If there’s something new or exciting I find myself diving in deep without a second thought of overdoing it. It’s not necessarily a bad trait but it can lead to some ill-advised decisions. I almost made this note 100% about Death From Above 1979 - my favourite tracks, my favourite album, my favourite TV show appearance (which is obviously their 2005 performance on Conan where E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg joined the duo), it would have been all DFA 1979, all note. I haven’t done that. But it was close.
👀 Goings On About Music
Let us take a look at some new(ish) albums and singles…
💿 Albums
Death From Above 1979 - Is 4 Lovers ( Apple | Spotify )
I rarely tweet with my personal account but I tweeted about this album at 12:09AM, nine minutes after it was released on the streaming services, because I was amped. Death From Above have put out four albums - including three in the last seven years - so it shouldn’t be such a huge deal for an album to come out but I think the 10-year gap between their first and second album is my lasting impression and has caused me to treat each new album with the same relief and excitement that the second one brought. If you like Death From Above 1979 then you will like this album. It’s familiar in the best kind of way - this is clearly Death From Above music but it doesn’t sound like a collection of b-sides from previous albums. I’m partial to their non-stop chugging bass and danceable-four-on-the-floor drum beats that never let up but if you have liked some of their, relatively, more adventurous tracks on the last two albums, then there are even some tracks towards the end of the album for you.
Whitehorse - Modern Love ( Apple | Spotify )
Aside from our country’s obvious musical success stories, I continue to struggle with understanding how well known Canadian bands are beyond our borders. Despite a smattering of Juno and Polaris Prize nominations over their career as Whitehorse (never mind their previous solo efforts) and - at least to my ear - a very accessible folk-rock sound, my Google searches for reviews of Modern Love turned up one from Exclaim and few from smaller blogs but nothing from the usual suspects of music reviewers. I liked listening to this album… it feels slow but intentionally slow - not boring or meandering. They’re right on top of the beat the whole time but it’s laidback. Not unlike the Death From Above 1979 album, if you’re already a fan of Whitehorse then I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t enjoy listening to this.
🎵 Tracks
Born Ruffians - Heat Wave
After releasing two albums last year, JUICE and SQUEEZE, it looks like the Born Ruffians will be releasing a dont-call-it-a-collection-of-leftovers album appropriately named - PULP. If the tracks are as enjoyable as Heat Wave is then I suspect they could have gotten away without mentioning the true nature of this upcoming release.
Half Waif - Party’s Over
I can’t decide which I prefer most about this track - the cutting vocals or the sparse but dark music. It reminded me of a less upbeat and happy Feist.
Dave Monks - Love
Though not his first foray into non-Tokyo Police Club music - with EPs in 2015 and 2020 and a side project named bandcalledmax last year - the current (former?) Tokyo Police Club lead singer brings his unmistakable vocals to this steady-but-mellow track that answers the question, “What would happen if you set a run-on stream-of-conscience sentence to music?”
🎧 In My Queue
The song from FRITZ was released as a single last year but the album came out earlier this year. It almost made it into a previous note. The Arrow track seemed to fit with the vibe of the rest of the music this week… Michigander released an EP a week ago that I listed to, enjoyed, and then found I was still going back to it this week. Ok is pretty indicative of the rest of the EP so if you like, check out the rest of the tracks… Tash Neal is one of the tracks that stuck in my weekly New Music Mix on Apple Music. It’s got that Black Keys-ish bluesy-rock quality that’ll get you tapping and nodding along - I will have to check out their album… and, as usual, songs from the singles and albums noted above.
Death from Above 1979 - One + One
Whitehorse - Run Run Run
FRITZ - Arrow
Born Ruffians - Heat Wave
Dave Monks - Love
Tash Neal - Catching Up
Michigander - Ok
Half Waif - Party’s Over
Subscribe to the In My Queue playlist on Apple Music or Spotify. It’s updated weekly with the new tracks.
Check out my profile Apple Music or Spotify for links to the playlists from previous weeks.
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