*INTERESTING* NEW RELEASES: FRIDAY DECEMBER 6TH, 2024
We didn't do a post last week because it was Black Friday and nothing tickled our earbones....
Greetings from Little Rock Arkansas, where I am sitting at my Airbnb with a passel of my internet friends from the Postcard From Hell, we got gullets full of migas that I whipped up earlier and we've so far spun Chappaquiddick Skyline, Waxahatchee, and we just wrapped up MJ Lenderman (someone else played it...so before you assume anything about my undying love for all things Jake Lenderman...)
Though the year is coming to a close, there are still a few things to note that were released today, Friday December 6th, 2024.
Weekly Reminder: I've created monthly spotify playlists to aggregate all the links shared in this running thread. I'm making a conscious effort to improve wheat:chaff ratio of these playlists this year. ProTip: Save these playlists in your Spotify app for easy access. Since it's December, there's a new playlist below. Take note!
January 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 01
February 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 02
March 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 03
April 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 04
May 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 05
June 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 06
July 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 07
August 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 08
September 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 09
October 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 10
November 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 11
December 2024 Spotify Playlist: 2024 - 12
I also migrated my blog (The Strangers Almanac) over to Substack where I plan to cross-post these lists each week. This way, you won't have to go back searching through multiple 100+ post threads looking for albums and descriptions and replies. Substack includes an archive where you can easily access each list from each week. You can also subscribe to have these lists emailed directly to you if you don't always keep up with your postcard emails.
Now, then, check out this week's releases and let me know what I missed.
::THE KNOWNS::
Angel Olsen ::COSMIC WAVES VOL. 1:: From Olsen's Bandcamp: "A few years ago, Angel Olsen quietly formed somethingscosmic, a new imprint and a home for Olsen to have “the flexibility to release when and how I want to with the help from my longtime partners at Jagjaguwar.” Somethingscosmic’s second release, ‘Cosmic Waves Volume 1’ is a compilation reimagined as a dialogue; side A features artists chosen by Olsen, with each artist choosing their own song for the collection. Side B is a collection of songs from the same artists, but chosen by Olsen and recorded by her. Each song, unsurprisingly, illuminates a new artist Olsen finds spectacular. Hearing Olsen refract the artists’ songs back to them reveals the depth of Olsen’s imagination, while spotlighting multiple exciting artists at work."
Hepcat ::SCIENTIFIC DUB SPECIAL:: Bdrrrrrrrrrap!!
Lucinda Williams ::LUCINDA WILLIAMS SINGS THE BEATLES FROM ABBEY ROAD:: I'll let y'all make your own judgements about this... I'll say that the music on "Don't let Me Down" sounds incredible. Just sampling songs considering how bold a move this is, it's surprisingly not cringey. I've never been Lucinda's biggest champion, but damn.
::THE NEWS::
Advance Base ::HORRIBLE OCCURRENCE:: Interesting keyboard-driven bedroom/lo-fi indie from Owen Ashworth, whose prior outfit Casiotone for the Painfully alone had been active since 1997. I hear bits of Hayden and Mark Kozalek (without the bullshit), but with a more casio-keyboard-based palate.
Low Harness ::SALVO:: Low Harness answers the question "What if all the best aspects of The National, Interpol, and Rural Alberta Advantage came together under a dynamic female vocalist?" Digging this!