Music for 9/24/26!!! Beth Orton

@@@ Beth Orton: The Ground Above (Partisan Records, 2026). Also off the Clash Magazine best of 2026 thus far, though we’re closing in on the end of this shithead year defined by cruelty, racism, and domination. That’s certainly not Beth Orton’s fault that America is going through a fascism phase (another) but it does effect the listening environment. I like her voice a whole bunch and by the time the drums come in this could be a Emmylou Harris record, or another getting on in years spacious record of world weary rock. I like her voice more than I like the band, but that’s just me. Oh wow and 8.5 minute opening track is brave for sure, I didn’t make it through, I need a quicker hit to pull me in. The first track is very important to the rest of the record in my dumbass opinion. The second track is 6.5 minute shot across the bow and the whole record is 8 tracks clocking in at 47 minutes. My feeling is that these tunes are too long and there could be more adventuring, I’m grateful to hear and interesting bassline in the third tune, to me this could use more interesting sonics than relying mostly on her personality/voice to get it across the finish line. This is most definitely a rock record and rock is a hard sell for me, but she coulda used a bit more fire to go with the sadness and the emotion, they’re not fully apart from each other, I’m both sad and angry most of the time, how about you out there? How you doing with this ride we’re on?

Music for 9/23/26!!! Genesis Owusu

@@@ Genesis Owusu: Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge (Ourness Party Ltd, 2026) I got to this record via the best of the year 2026 from Clash Magazine. I’ve found a couple of bangers on that list, most of all GENA a electro funk record I recommend. This is a topical, political record, I’m down with that, and it unfolds within an electronic music/rock sound palette (mostly) which isn’t super common. I’m super into this third tune, HELLSTAR, it’s got a slinky feel and a formula that I can get with bigly, this is looking mostly like a mixed bag leaning towards I like it and the spirit going here. The tunes where he goes with the New Wave flavors are less appealing to me, and other superficial references to punk music don’t work for me, but when he goes funky his shit is funky and I feel those tunes. Would I take a 100% funk record with super political lyrics, oh yeah I would. Is that what’s on offer? No it is not. There are moments where he really hits hard and then other parts where he brings in pop and mainstream musical ideas and I’m just confused and less satisfied. Other folks don’t think like me, once in a blue moon somebody will make a record that jumps around and I’m like I get that, I get that. This is not one of those records, unfortunately cuz full funk and I would shit my pants.

Music for 9/21/26!!! Beck

@@@ Beck: Ride Lonesome (Capitol, 2026). I’ve never been slack, I’m opposed to slack, I like fire, I like passion, so take that into consideration because Beck is slack personified. Even when he rocks it’s snoozy. As expected it opens lush and slack as fuck with country feels. The second tune Run Away is worse than the opener, these are huge slow halfway to rockers, I guess they’re designed to comfort folks during the difficult time and I’m the outlier cuz I’m not feeling it. First off, way too much reverb on his voice at certain points. The production is slick and it kinda works against the tunes a bit, they’re just so manicured and inflated I notice it, I shouldn’t have to notice it. The third tune, In the Night, brings in the predicted string sounds and the fourth tune brings in the piano ballad, I’m sorry I can’t get with it because it’s just too mushy and soft and without contrast, it’s a bowl of sweetened oatmeal it is most definitely some high end oatmeal I’ll give him that and even though oatmeal has a reputation for really filling you up I’m super hungry for something more here.

Music for 9/20/26!!! Black Meteoric Star

@@@ Black Meteoric Star: Wet ( , 2026) I got to this electronic queer manifesto via this week’s Pitchfork 10 best reviewed albums of the week. The opener is electronic but also quite grizzled in the bass with distorted vocals and it has a distinctly punk sound. I appreciate the raucous nature of the opener, let’s peep more. The second tune 5am Open Air Sunrise pulses with urgency and I don’t miss the vocals, it’s got a circular repetition to it but I don’t super mind that. The third tune is where the queer manifesto part comes into it’s called Buttplug Thumb Drive, not sure what we’re in for. It’s another instrumental, it’s a dancefloor banger, but not typical, the beats and the basses are impactful and not lo fi but certainly not presented with the clinical cleanliness of a lot of techno which prides itself on being sharp and accurate. Okay well that track wasn’t very gay, it had no words, it was a pleasant toss off. The record is 9 tunes over 55 minutes with two 12-13 minute bangers chewing up a huge chunk of the running time. Is this record making me jump up and down? Not really. But is it a super analog retro punky electronic set of tunes with energy and flavor. I dig it, it doesn’t sound like a ton of electronice music out there. Great synth patch selection here, skilled.

Music for 9/17/26!!! Gelbart

@@@ Gelbart: TK-745 (Kitchen Leg Records, 2026) Garage rock out of Berlin out on a tape label, you go fellas, for real. It’s an interesting formula cuz there are stretches where it’s noisy and garage-y and other spots where it sounds like some sort of robot straight jazz with processed vocals, a little skittering drums and lots of random improvised bleep bloop action. Now we’re entering into a I don’t know what it’s called in classical music but it’s a lot of the same notes played really fast very dramatic, not melodic sort of atmospheric wow these guys don’t give a fuck. Okay track 2 has kicked off and it’s a big garage rock beat with space laser blasts, not dancefloor more just weapon-y sounding. It’s fresh for sure, I’m on track 3 and they’re smashing together nerdy synth sounds and slashing noisy punky guitars, it’s like a soundtrack to a William Gibson movie, bouncy and disturbing though the Gibson novel I read was very slow and stifling in atmosphere. Yowsa, I think they’re reaching their peak with this fourth track, Katsu Funeral Heartbreak, where the guitars and the synths are much more together, it’s a super cool tune and they bring in some spooky vocal-ish type sounds. I respect this outfit for making this record, I really appreciate it, it’s got a lot of contrast between the sounds and I’m feeling that. Punk guitars and video game synthesizers, who woulda thunk it? Well, they did! When you hear something fresh and new it can be a bit disorienting, the opposite of pop music, I’m going to circle back on this record. The more of this I hear the more I like it, it’s going in my library, this is one of the most interesting rock records I’ve heard in a long time.

Music for 9/16/26!!! Russian Circles

@@@ Russian Circles: Nine (Sargent House, 2026) An instrumental trio playing hard rock/metal/punk flavored heavy music that I got to via the Pitchfork 10 most reviewed albums of the week. Thus far, stylish tones all around, super big heavy buzzy bass sound, drums high up in the mix, I like the opener a whole bunch, let’s peep more. The third tune, Eluvial, opens with a nerdy, proggy arpeggiated synth but I anticipate it’s an intro before the crush comes. It does come and it sounds banging on my headphones, this record sounds great and their arrangements are tighter than a nun’s vajeen. Tight but without sacrificing hardness and passion, they just execute their tunes really well. The third tune climaxes with a guitar storm crescendo joined by the drummer going batshit, they bring it. The point of these records is not particularly intellectual, it’s supposed to be a visceral reaction and I feel the tunes, it’s not a technical performance I’m listening and feeling the heaviness and the power of the sounds. I don’t know how many motherfuckers out there are geared up for instrumental rock/metal like this but that shouldn’t take anything away from these guys, they kill it. Don’t sleep on this it could be on my year end list.

Music for 10/15/26!!! Margento, Bitchin Bajas

@@@ Argento: Miraggi (Music from Memory, 2026) An electronic release off this week’s Pitchfork’s 10 most reviewed albums of the week. This group is out of the Netherlands a country that has an established history of electronic music and the record consists of 10 tracks that span 35 minutes. When I pull this record up on Apple Music it is labelled downtempo music. It opens up super fluffly and unfortunately New Age-y. Next track! Same formula here, medium funky rhythms, soft suburban piano patches, wind patches, whooshes and cloud synth patches on top. Not aimed at me and not welcome in my world.

@@@ Bitchin Bajas: Isle Peaks EP (Drag City, 2026). Another quick listen off this weeks’ Pitchfork’s 10 most reviewed albums of the week. The record is two tracks totalling 26 minutes and Pitchfork has it labelled as electronic while Apple Music has it labelled as psychedelic. The first track is 16 minutes long. It’s got jam rock and jazz feels with an African thumb piano and some jammy sax playing. I skipped ahead and it gets a bit more energetic but doesn’t shed its jammy origins, what else would you expect from a 16 minute track and a 10 minute track. I like it okay, it might be great live, it feels a bit background-y to me but that’s just me.

Music for 9/14/2026!!! Alabama Shakes

@@@ Alabama Shakes: I Must Be Dreaming (ATO, 2026). The first Alabama Shakes album in 11 years, you gotta peep see how shit has changed and what they got going on. The opener is measured, it’s not the fiery Shakes of yesteryear. I don’t know if I was hoping for this set of feels but let’s peep more. The second tune, Another Life, cranks the classic rock/soul beat and I like the singer Brittany Howard, but this is borderline Republican business and very brunch-y, where are the guitars? where is the banging? the sonic disruption. A couple more tunes. OMG, the tunes keep getting slower, this is crazy, the guitar is tucked back in the mix, this is not what I need — to get down in my sadness and my feels with some aging rockers. I could take some of this but there should be some mix but this seems squarely aimed at coffee shop customers, unfortunately. If this sounds like something you’d be into have at it, but this doesn’t work for me, it’s a shame cuz I really think the singer is quite talented. I’m listening currently to the tune clipped below and it’s too dramatical where’s the fire?

Music for 9/11/26!!! More Eaze

@@@ More Eaze: Sentence Structure in the Country (Thrill Jockey, 2026). A record I got to via The Quietus, I’m on their free email list and I’ve been chewing the ass end of their summer published best of 2026 list thus far and it’s the best list I’ve encountered this year, I’ve found 3-4 records already on that bad boy. I guess The Quietus is teaming up with Thrill Jockey on some co merchandising of this record, whatevs, let’s peep. It’s like a piano singer/songwriter had a baby with an ambient blee blurp electronic record and then some. There’s singing and Apple Music has this record slotted as ambient music and without being a genre bitch I’m not sure you can call a record with extensive vocalizing and call that ambient. We all have our definitions and preferences. I like her singing, it’s not annoying it’s pretty plain, now this second tune brings on a kit drummer and we’re just blenderizing a lot of shit on this record. We’ll see how this record goes but as this third tune this is most definitely some of the most interesting indie rock music I’ve heard in a long bit. Fresh, I like fresh. This third tune Bad Friend is going more indie than electronic so I’m guessing these tunes are going to have differing amounts of the parts I like and don’t like and you know what that produces??? Mixed Bag City, we’re going to mixed bag city people. It is the next day and I’m going to peep a coupla tunes and call it a reviews starting with track 5, Biters. There is most definitely creativity going on here, I don’t love the indie tunes with electronic garnish I like the tunes where the electronic sounds dominate. Other people love indie music, mostly white people but if you like indie music and you like electronic music you might just shit your pants.

Music for 9/10/26!!! Black Door

@@@ Black Door: In the Shadows of a Funerary Gleam (Wolves of Hades, 2026). A highly regarded metal release at bandcamp for August 2026. Is now a great time to listen to heavy metal, fuck yeah, horns up ya shittaz! If you’re not disgruntled about where shit is at don’t read this blog, for real what’s wrong with you? After a funereal organ bit to open the record we descend into the thrash pits, I smell a wee bit of Motorhead up in here, I like that old school grind. That was obviously before the massive explosion of metal subgenres that I’ve never been able to get a handle on. What is the difference between black metal and death metal? I’m not sure I give a shit, I give a shit if a record bangs. The tempo is super caffeinated and the singer comes in as a reverbed overlord, like that bridge in the Lord of the Rings where Gandalf goes hat over ass down into the fire. Big space. This record is not an intellectual exercise, this is epic guitar tones, big drum sounds and a dark singer with some rock feels tossed in. I like it, no pretensions, it’s not a full meltdown record but it’s got stuff going on, some records don’t need a lotta prose, peep it like it don’t like it it’s like that. As usual, the record makes me a liar, I’m on track 5 and it’s a metallic storm, thrashing and moshing and epic distortion. I was watching the insanely creative animated show Adventure Time and there was an episode where there’s a knife storm that the characters have to deal with, this fifth tune, Sinister Musings of a Lamenting Spectre, is like that it’s an animated knife storm. Falling falling falling, with shredding and darkness.