Rick Larson: Mannequin Pussy is among the most thrilling bands in the U.S.A. Its 2019 album, Patience, was one of, if not the best, of that year. As a live act, the four from Philadelphia rip the roof off wherever they happen to be. We’ve had to wait, but their next full length LP is finally coming in March 2024. They released a single though in October, ‘I Got Heaven’ which has certainly wet my appetite for more. Missy Dabice is spitting fire in the verses and the chorus reveals again that this band can write a killer tune. If they appear in a club near you, drop what you’re doing and go.
James Spearing: I don’t want to curse it, but October started to seem like the month where 2023 finally pulled its finger out. Taking the bad with the good, this means I’ve got an extra long list of highlights to reel off to you.
Folly Group and Elkka have both got albums due soon(ish) and they’re setting out their stall with new singles/EPs to give us a flavour of what’s to come. Elkka’s output continues to be super reliable combining club beats with more thought provoking melodies and vocals. She’s top of my ‘must see’ list for 2024. Folly Group are back and drawing on a range of 80s influences from Squeeze to The Teardrop Explodes to early Spandau Ballet, but excite me most when they tap into my nostalgia for Silent Alarm. I’m somehow resistant, still bearing the scars of landfill indie, but I’m starting to think a Bloc Party influence can only be a good thing.
The new Jorja Smith album was a bit of a mixed bag but I loved the Balearic jazz vibe of ‘Little Things’ which stood out for me amongst a few other quality tracks. Less J Hus next time though please.
The more Caroline Polachek subverts everything you think you know about pop, the better the pop she makes. It’s ridiculous that a one-word-two-note hook is that infectious but coupled with superb production, ‘Dang’ might become the song of the year.
Finally two albums worth a listen: Madres from Sofia Kourtesis which like Kelly Lee Owens‘ Inner Song a few years back is the perfect dose of electronica to ease the pain of the oncoming dark, rain and cold. Second is V V Brown’s Am I British Yet? which tackles subject matter we’ve heard lots over the last few years yet does so in an original and refreshing way.
Tom Burrows: The album I’ve probably listened to most in the last month is Lahai, the long-awaited new Sampha record. In honesty I was a bit disappointed. It feels like a very personal album, but that doesn’t necessarily make it more than middling for its majority. It has two great tunes though: ‘Only’ and ‘Dancing Circles’, both of which feature lovely production and a surprisingly decent ability to rap from the softly-sung polymath.
Better is the new Mitski album, The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We. As Rick pointed out in his review, it is brief and subdued, which makes it a bit of a grower (it’s far less immediate than her best album, Be The Cowboy for instance). But there’s a subtle profundity in her quiet melancholy which has stayed with me.
Finally, underground UK rapper CASisDEAD released his debut album Famous Last Words after a decade of dribs and drabs of activity. With his predilection for cinematic narratives and synthy, Italo-disco beats, it’s a fun ride – even if an underlying message or meaning feels hard to grasp. Of the new songs, ‘Matte Grey Wrap’ is my favourite.
Matt Paul: Well it’s been a busy month. I think my album of the month (well end of last month) has been the Tirzah record trip9love…??? It’s a nice step on from their debut, with some even more stripped back pseudo R&B. It’s a simple and murky affair, full of an unsettling melancholy. And it has it’s hooks in me.
I have also been enjoying the reworking of Paramore’s most recent album in Re: This Is Why. Though I am not a big fan of covers, each artist adds to the original track, creating new slants on songs that I already like. And they have a great collection of artists working on the project: Foals, Romy, Bartees Strange etc. Though I would still put the original album on 9 times out of 10, it is a fun artistic experiment.
Last but not least is the new IDLES single. With drama-fuelled guitars and an LCD soundsystem feature bringing a poppy shout-along chorus. They are getting me excited for the forthcoming album.
Sam Atkins: What a month, so much music I could talk about, so let’s start with the biggest moment of them all, Madonna’s Celebration Tour at the O2 Arena. I’ve seen Madonna before and each time it has been amazing to see the daring, often baffling but always exciting Queen of Pop deliver her live show. This one felt different, a slew of the best pop singles of the last 4 decades, interspersed with personal favourites I never in my life thought I’d witness live. I’m not sure anything at any gig in the future will capture the feeling I had screaming along to ‘Don’t Tell Me’ in a packed out arena.
There have also been a number of big albums too, albums from Bad Bunny, Sampha, Mitski, VV Brown and Margo Price have been getting heavy rotation this month, while the ‘Taylor’s Version’ of Swift’s best full length album 1989 has been a joy to hear.
I’d say Jorja Smith’s Falling or Flying is the album thats surprised me the most of the last few months, I enjoyed but wasn’t enthralled by her debut and this feels like a massive step up in quality. ‘Little Things ‘is one of the best songs of the year, but the title track and ‘Broken Is the Man’ are equally great.
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