The Albums You Need to Know About Every Week
Justin Vernon’s side collaboration with Collections of Colonies of Bees, Volcano Choir, released their second effort this week after four years. Repave maintains the experimental style of their first, yet extends and smooths out the sound, resulting in something graceful and entirely their own. The forever epic Neko Case released her sixth solo record this week centered around her intense struggle with depression, which resulted in a gorgeously honest, incredibly strong, slightly dark, confessional new work.
Texan Americana rockers, Okkervil River, presented their seventh nostalgia-driven record this week that plays like a loose living room jam session amongst old school buddies — good, good stuff. Experimental roots-rockers, Califone, are back at it after four years with an intricate and inspired melancholic sound.
Though they released their debut, self-titled effort just a little over a year ago, Sweden’s Holograms have returned with a second, equally aggressive post-rock sound on Forever. It’s somehow both messy and clean, subtle and anthemic — listen and see what I mean. Here with their debut LP, the Brooklyn-based Celestial Shore have crafted an album of great interest. A bit eccentric, a whole lot wonderful, 10x is fully deserves a very attentive listen.
King Khan & The Shrines hits hard with their latest garage-soul outing, which Khan has explained was a part of a healing process after losing several dear friends. Idle No More is messy and psychedelic, a perfect display of the raw state of being in between grief and hope. Chelsea Wolfe’s fourth full-length, Pain Is Beauty, is actually self-descriptive being literally gothic yet gorgeous, this time around more electronic-leaning than ever before.
Lastly is The Julie Ruin, who I can’t mention without grinning. Bringing Riot Grrrl vibes back to the scene, Kathleen Hanna re-formed her former side-project to remind us that she’s still alive and kicking so much ass.
