New Music Reviews (10/28)

Each week, KEXP’s Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases. See what's coming up this week below, including reviews for new releases from Great Grandpa, The Shivas, Dogbreth, and more.

Great Grandpa – Four of Arrows (Double Double Whammy)
This Seattle band’s powerful second album finds them mostly moving beyond the ‘90s slacker-rock of their debut in favor of a more expansive, subtly rendered sound with a greater variety of instrumentation including lush strings, synths, piano and more on songs ranging from anthemic, hook-filled power-pop and tortured emo-grunge to delicate, dreamy folk-pop.

The Shivas – Dark Thoughts (Tender Loving Empire)
This Portland band’s fifth album is a potent set of visceral garage-rock inflected with psych-rock, surf, blues-rock, doo wop and other styles, combining buzzing guitar riffs and energetic rhythms with haunting harmonies and a variety of memorable song hooks.

Dogbreth – Ever Loving (Asian Man)
The fourth album from this Seattle-via-Phoenix band led by Tristan Jemsek is a well-crafted set of hook-filled power-pop with jangly guitars, soaring harmonies and buoyant melodies.

Cigarettes After Sex – Cry (Partisan)
The second album from this New York trio led by Greg Gonzalez is another strong set of atmospheric dream-pop with a spare sound featuring gently shimmering guitars, dreamy keyboards, languid rhythms and nostalgic melodies accompanying Gonzalez’ hushed croon and intimate lyrics of love and sexuality.

Teebs – Anicca (Brainfeeder)
The fourth album from this LA-based producer (aka Mtendere Mandowa) is an often-transportive set of dreamy atmospheric grooves with occasional guest vocals from Sudan Archives, Panda Bear, Anna Wise and other notables.

Iguana Death Cult – Nude Casino (Innovative Leisure)
This Dutch band’s second album is a potent set of energetic post-punk inflected with New Wave, funk and other styles, combining buzzing guitars, organ, synths and spiky rhythms with boisterous vocals and anxiety-ridden lyrics.

Mikal Cronin – Seeker (Merge)
This LA-based artist’s fourth album is a darker, more subdued, at times folk-tinged take on his power-pop sound with songs revolving around destruction and rebirth.

Yeule – Serotonin II (Bayonet)
This Singapore-born, London-based artist’s debut album is a well-crafted set of dreamy electronic grooves with an atmospheric sound combining hazy synths and dark textures with ethereal vocals.

Geowulf – My Resignation ([PIAS])
This London-via-Australia duo’s second album is a more polished and produced take on their breezy electro-pop, combining bright keyboards and atmospheric guitars with soaring vocals, dreamy melodies and often-melancholy lyrics.

Young Guv – GUV II (Run For Cover)
The fourth Young Guv album from Fucked Up guitarist Ben Cook is the second half of a double album (the first was released earlier this year.) This one’s a bit more diverse, ranging from psych-tinged power-pop to R&B-inflected yacht-rock, but whatever the style, Cook delivers some memorable song hooks.

Songhoy Blues – Meet Me In The City EP (Fat Possum)
This Malian band’s latest release is a five-song EP featuring two different versions of a new song featuring lyrics by Will Oldham (with music by Songhoy Blues and Matt Sweeney) along with two versions of the Junior Kimbrough title song and a cover of Fela Kuti’s “Shakara” featuring Fela’s son Femi Kuti.

Thunderpussy – Milk It EP (Stardog/Republic)
This Seattle band’s latest release is a four-song EP ranging from driving hard-rock to a soaring acoustic ballad.

Water From Your Eyes – Somebody Else’s Song (Exploding In Sound)
This Brooklyn-via-Chicago duo’s latest album is a well-crafted set ranging from driving electro-pop with dreamy synths, hypnotic, sometimes motorik rhythms and wistful melodies to some intimate, acoustic-oriented folk-pop.

Steve Hauschildt – Nonlin (Ghostly International)
The Chicago-based former Emeralds member’s latest solo album is another evocative set of hypnotic ambient electronic pieces ranging from vaporous ambient tracks to more rhythmic selections with sometimes arpeggiated synths.

Bad//Dreems – Doomsday Ballet (BMG Rights Management)
This Australian band’s third album is a diverse set of visceral rock ranging from aggressive, sardonic post-punk and anthemic garage-pop to brooding, psych-tinged rock.

Anna Of The North – Dream Girl (Honeymoon)
The second album from this Norwegian artist (aka Anna Lotterud) is a solid set of R&B-tinged electro-pop combining sparkling synths, lush strings and gently propulsive rhythms with lyrics of moving on from a relationship.

Neil Young with Crazy Horse – Colorado (Reprise)
The first album pairing Neil Young and Crazy Horse since 2012’s Psychedelic Pill slides right into classic Crazy Horse-sounding grooves, while the songs are a bit more of a mixed bag, ranging from earnest love songs to environment-minded political broadsides.

Sleepertrain – A Gift EP (Hush Hush)
The debut release from this London-based pianist/producer/vocalist is an evocative six-song EP of dreamy ambient soundscapes with haunting piano lines, lush, sampled ambient textures, spare beats and wordless vocals.

Eli Moon – Bodies EP (Meridian)
This London artist’s debut EP is a solid six-song set of brooding R&B with dark, murky synths and ominous beats accompanying his supple vocals and lyrics of lost love.

Steve Mason – Coup d’etat EP (Domino)
The former frontman for The Beta Band’s latest release is an EP comprised of three new recordings along with a remix of another from his last album. It’s a fine set of dance-friendly post-punk with buzzing synths, propulsive rhythms and hypnotic song hooks.