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Q's Compilations
Vol #161 – April to
May 2025
Well
we’re in mid-June already so this is late but aside from a trio of songs in the
middle, every track is from this year.
01)
The Jellybricks - Age of Stupid: I heard about this band, and their new record Dreaming
In Stereo because Doug Gillard appears on it. Formed in the late 90s, the
band are from Harrisburg, PA, this record hits all the trademark power-pop
sounds.
02)
The Dirty Nil - Gallop of the Hounds: Power-trio The Dirty Nil are set to
release their next album, The Lash on the 25th of July via
Dine Alone Records. This track is the lead single and opens the record and
sports a typical anthemic chorus.
03)
King Husky - Wish I Had a Dog: Vidar Landa is better known as the guitarist in
Norwegian metal band Kvelertak but he has gone solo as King Husky and produced
a quite delightful and self-titled indie-pop record.
04)
Indigo De Souza – Heartthrob: I’ve been a fan of Indigo De Souza since her
second record, 2021’s Any Shape You Take, her fourth record, Precipice,
is coming out on the 25th of July (the same day as The Dirt
Nil’s new album) via Loma Vista Recordings.
05)
The Beths – Metal: This is the first new Beths song since 2022’s Expert in a
Dying Field album, so hopefully a new album will be announced soon. We have
tickets to see them in December, this track reminds of The Cure when they do
pop, like it could be a b-side to Friday I’m in Love or something like that.
06)
Megan from Work - Life Into a Movie: I used Girl Suit on Q#158 which is
the title track of her debut album, this is a new track that came out in April
and is another banger.
07)
Beach Bunny – Chasm: Speaking of bangers, Beach Bunny just released her third
record, Tunnel Vision, which came out on the 25th of April,
which was the same day we saw the band play in Brooklyn. It was a thrill to
hear the new songs live for the first time, and the record shows off Lili
Trifilio’s songwriting chops to a tee once again. There’s a Rush-like quality
to this track, maybe it’s the arpeggio work in the chorus, but either way it’s
a near perfect record and they should be one of the biggest bands on the
planet.
08)
The Minus 5 - Words Birds: Scott McCaughey’s latest record as the Minus 5, Oar
On, Penelope!, came out on the 30th of May on Yep Rock Records
and as usual features Peter Buck of REM. No-nonsense great songwriting,
McCaughey is one of those workhorses whose discography and influence is hard to
quantify, (even suffering a stroke in 2017 seems to have slowed him down.
09)
Buffalo Tom – Summer: Boston greats Buffalo Tom just celebrated the 30th
anniversary of their Sleepy Eyed album with a handful of shows, I had the
pleasure of seeing them in New York. I’m sure I would have used Tangerine on
one of the early Q-comps so went for this track.
10)
Peter Bjorn & John - Objections of My Affection: It was hard to escape Young
Folks when it came out in 2006, filling the airwaves everywhere, but that
didn’t make Writer’s Block a bad album at all and the band are playing
it in full to celebrate the (almost) 20th anniversary. I was a fan
of the album at the time and with a healthy distance it still stands up and
having never seen them live before, I was really glad I got the chance.
Interestingly they played the album backwards, which does make sense since it’s
quite front-loaded.
11)
Unrest - Make Out Club: The final track in our trio of nostalgia, and another
30th anniversary. Perfect Teeth was Unrest’s final album, recorded
at Pachyderm Studio a few days after Nirvana completed In Utero. I was
unfamiliar with the band before the re-issue which is a shame but the next best
time to hear a band is now!
12)
Cory Hanson - Bird on a Swing: Wand frontman Cory Hanson is releasing his
fourth solo record, I Love People via Drag City Records on the 25th
of July. His previous solo record, Western Cum was one of my favourites
of 2023 but did feel like it could also have been a Wand album. Based on this
lead track, the solo record could be more of a return to acoustic
singer-songwriter tunes.
13)
Samia – Sacred: Samia’s third record, Bloodless, came out on the 25th
of April and there’s something about it that I keep coming back to. I’ve been a
fan since the debut which was perfect indie-pop, and I enjoyed Honey but it at
times felt a little over-produced, whereas this album has a low-key and more
organic feel.
14)
Hannah Frances - Keeper of the Shepherd: Newly signed to Fire Talk Records,
this is the title-track of a record she released last year, but just had a
digital deluxe re-issue and new vinyl pressing which is how I heard it since
I’m a digital subscriber to Fire Talk. The record is largely folk but there’s
an ominous overtone that runs throughout, almost like Fleet Foxes at times
without the beach-boys-esque vocals that brighten their songs up.
15)
Born Ruffians - Let You Down: Toronto’s Born Ruffians just released Beauty’s
Pride on the 6th of June, their ninth full length album to date
since their 2008 debut and first in four years. The album has a breezy, laid
back vibe which makes sense with the summer release date. We have tickets to
see them in October.
16)
Wombo - Danger in Fives: Another Fire Talk artist, Wombo’s new record, Danger
In Fives comes out on the 8th of August and is their first since
2022’s Fairy Rust. Apparently I haven’t used any Wombo songs on previous
mixes which is very surprising although I did see them in 2019 opening for
White Reaper.
17)
Pile - Born at Night: It was a bit of a shock to hear that Pile’s new record, Sunshine
and Balance Beams was not being released on Exploding In Sound Records, but
on Sooper Records.
The
change in label hasn’t brought a chance in sound, however, as this song
features Pile’s some of their hallmark textures and epic builds.
18)
Humeric - Seeking Darkness Pt 4: Listeners to this series will recognise the
name Parrannoul, the South Korean bedroom-shoegaze artist. Humeric is a
side-project which is more of a post-rock instrumental outlet, but it’s by no
means a set of throwaway materiel, in fact it’s one of the best post-rock
records I’ve heard in a long time.
19)
Cut Cult - Lame Horse: I’ve been a fan of Holy Fuck since 2007 and while the
band haven’t released any music since 2020’s Deleter, the band members
have kept relatively busy with other projects. Cut Cult consists of HF members Brian
Borcherdt and Matt McQuaid, along with original HF drummer Loel Campbell.
20)
Tunde Adebimpe - Somebody New: I opened Q#158 with Magnetic, the lead
single from Tunde’s debut solo album Thee Black Boltz, which was
released on the 18th of April on Sub Pop Records. Now that the
record is out I wanted to use another track and this felt like a good closer.
Anyway,
a little rushed as usual and a couple of weeks late this time, but thanks for
listening (or reading, or both?)!
As
always, Peace and Love - Q
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