@@@ Superorganism: Superorganism (Domino, 2018) I saw this outfit name checked on a Line of Best Fit email. Although Domino has a reputation for putting out truly weird music, this music has a mainstream accessibility to it. It is a bit of a sonic collage with a cut and paste feel but it is also very anthem-y and poppy. There are 8 doofi (the plural of doofus) on the banner of their Apple Music page so this is some sort of collective or self-advertised superorganism. It’s hipster pop with a pretty low IQ and fairly shallow sentiments. It’s gonna be huge, people love shallow sentiments!
@@@ Che Lingo: Charisma (TRIP, 2018) I saw this London artist featured on the same Line of Best Fit email. People are really hyping these garage/grime/hip hop musicians out of the UK but I haven’t been blown away yet. Not being a dick, I want to dig it. After a self-motivating spoken word intro it gets into a pretty standard hip hop arrangement — and updated Wu thing to my ears. Minimalist piano snippet, fat bass, and sparse funky beats. I’m on the third tune and I can’t really hear anything offered here that would make me attach to this record over an American hip hop record. He’s got somewhat different lyrics but he’s no Open Mike Eagle! The sounds are very solid but not super funky. Also check out J.I.D.’s never to hear what I say.
@@@ The Low Anthem: The Salt Doll went to Measure the Depth of the Sea (Joyful Noise, 2018) Boy these marketing emails really pack the artists in and I saw this record reviewed on the same email that triggered the listens above. I’ve heard this band before and really liked them so that certainly helps. It opens up intimately with close up vocals and a wavy keyboard part. The second tune remains stripped down but with an acoustic guitar instead of keyboards. Same vocal style. It’s going for a stripped down epic atmosphere. I like it all right.
YTD recordings listened to: 133
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 70
Not good music: 60
Best: 2
Honorable Mentions: 3
Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, The Ballantynes, Slidhr, The Chewers, Toxic Holocaust, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, Lenguas Largas, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Leviathan, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Janelle Monae, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Gentleman Surfer, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Magrudergrind, A Tribe Called Quest, Noname, Gouge Away, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, Forro in the Dark, RAM, Fiver, Dona Onete, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Irreversible Entanglements, Converge, Open Mike Eagle, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Melissa Laveaux
Deep In the Music 