Views has been out for over a month now people, it’s time to move on. Or at least take a break from Drake, for like a minute. Summer is already heating up with some impressive new music coming out of May, here are a few of Saucey’s favorite new-music releases.
Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
In his first release with Matador Records, Car Seat’s frontman Will Toldeo proves that teenage angst follows some of us well into our mid-twenties. But not in a whiny, self involved way that makes the older generations huff and puff about us as “millennials” – a term I think we all agree should die already. No, the album plays out like someone pouring over late night journal entries and the beautiful moments of clarity wherein, the lyrics are witty and bare boned. The sound doesn’t stray from Toledo’s DIY roots, gritty and manic at times, the way “indie rock” should always sound. 2016’s Seth Cohen would no doubt have this album on vinyl.
Our favorite track: Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales
Down In Heaven by Twin Peaks
If you’ve ever lamented not being born a few decades earlier and missing out on the Summer of Love and all that weirdness, you’ve probably been listening to Twin Peaks already. The guys of Twin Peaks released their poppiest and most laid back album a couple weeks ago and it’s been extremely hard to listen to anything else since. The guitar sound is cleaner than the albums before, catchy, and addictive. Vocalist Cadien James gives each track its own identity and the overall album the feeling that summer maybe could be endless after all. As it should, the band recorded the album at a friend’s massive lakeside estate in Western Massachusetts last summer, and they collectively agree was one of their best ever.
Our favorite track: Cold Lips
SEPT 5TH by dvsn
If you really can’t stray too far from the OVO Sound, dvsn is here to help. I was skeptical of the album as it was initially described to me as “alternative R&B” – there are a ton of ways that could go horribly wrong. But SEPT 5TH didn’t disappoint, rather the album was surprisingly enjoyable. The sound is atmospheric, sultry, powerful, and peppered with velvety falsetto. The duo behind dvsn are elusive at best, very odd that someone signed by Drake wouldn’t be blasting it out to everyone in the world, but that’s likely intentional. It adds to the overall sexiness of the project, for sure. Perfect for those hot summer night drives with the windows down, you’ll definitely be pretending you’re starring in a overly-produced music video. We all do it, it’s ok.
Our favorite track: Do It Well
Paradise by White Lung
White Lung has gotten some serious flack for their latest release. Frontwoman Mish Barber-Way has had to answer more questions about disgruntling the punk community than I’m sure she cares to answer, always followed by the dissection of her views on feminism. God forbid a female punk vocalist admit that she’d love to throw away her music career and run away to a cabin in the woods with her husband, or even worse – add melody and a different vocal styling to her newest album. White Lung doesn’t abandon their punk sound entirely, they’ve simply evolved and continue to explore what it means to be a “provocative” female. Punks can be hard to please it would seem, but the album is dang good. Sorry about it.
Our favorite track: Vegas
Mosey by Daniel Romano
If you are still convinced you hate country music, that’s probably because you assume it all sounds like Toby Keith singing about tramp stamps and sticking his boots where they don’t belong. The reality is that real country music isn’t the stuff on the radio, and Daniel Romano still kind of sits on the fringe where he may not always sound like a country artist even though he is. Romano moves away from Lee Hazelwood and into a little more Bob Dylan on his newest release and the shift is refreshing, folky, and a little haunting at times. Romano introduces more psychedelic loops and droning guitar solos than he’s used before, there is no better way to ease yourself into a love for country music. You really don’t know what you’re missing out on.
Our favorite track: I’m Alone Now
