New Music Reviews (5/6)

Each week, KEXP’s Music Director Don Yates (joined this week by DJ Alex) shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases. See what's coming up this week below, including reviews for new releases from Vampire Weekend, Versing, Big Thief, and more.

Vampire Weekend – Father of the Bride (Columbia)
This New York-bred band’s fourth album (and first in six years) is an inventive double album of expansive indie-pop incorporating elements of folk, country, flamenco, ska, lounge-pop, prog and much more on songs with colorful textures and sunny melodies  often-contrasted with anxious lyrics revolving around relationships and community. — DY

Versing – 10000 (Hardly Art)
This Seattle band’s second album is an excellent set of guitar-driven post-punk reminiscent at times of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and other ‘90s touchstones, combining dynamic song structures and adventurous guitar work with politically charged lyrics. — DY

Big Thief – U.F.O.F. (4AD)
This New York band’s third album is a masterful set of beautifully crafted and subtly rendered folk-pop, combining an understated, often-mysterious sound with Adrienne Lenker’s hushed vocals and finely chiseled lyrics of love, loss, nature and mortality. — DY

Dead Bars – Regulars (A-F)
This Seattle band’s second album is a strong set of anthemic Replacements-style punk. Produced by Jack Endino, the album combines surging guitar riffs and energetic rhythms with gang choruses, soaring song hooks and lyrics countering anxiety and isolation with hope, resilience and community. — DY

MorMor – Some Place Else EP (Don’t Guess)
This Toronto artist’s second EP is a strong set of atmospheric indie-pop combining a hazy sound with melancholy melodies and anxiety-fueled lyrics. — DY

Grace Ives – 2nd (Dots Per Inch)
This New York artist’s debut album is a strong set of intimate, dance-friendly electro-pop with a mostly spare sound featuring atmospheric synths, propulsive rhythms and anxiety-fueled lyrics. — DY

ALASKALASKA – The Dots (Marathon Artists)
The debut album from this London-based band led by Lucinda Duarte-Holman is a promising set of playful, jazz-tinged indie-pop ranging from propulsive post-punk to atmospheric ballads. — DY

Filthy Friends – Emerald Valley (Kill Rock Stars)
The second album from this Northwest supergroup comprised of Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney), Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks, etc.), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, etc.) and Linda Pitmon (The Dream Syndicate, The Baseball Project) is an at-times exciting though somewhat uneven set of expansive, politically charged rock ranging from fiery garage-punk to jangly power-pop and brooding folk, with lyrics decrying environmental devastation, gentrification and income inequality. — DY

Barrie – Happy To Be Here (Winspear)
This Brooklyn-based band’s debut album is a well-crafted set of dream-pop with atmospheric synths and guitars and piano accompanying Barrie Lindsay’s ethereal vocals. — DY

Combo Chimbita – Ahomale (ANTI-)
This New York-via-Colombia group’s second album is an often-fiery blend of cumbia and other Latin styles with psych and hard-rock, combining a busy, colorful sound with Carolina Oliveros’ impassioned vocals. — DY

Pile – Green and Gray (Exploding In Sound)
The seventh album from this Nashville-via-Boston band led by Rick Maguire is a potent set of expansive post-hardcore with a dynamic sound that shifts from gentle, contemplative passages to raging noise-punk. — DY

Drahla – Useless Coordinates (Captured Tracks)
This British trio’s debut is a potent set of spiky post-punk with angular guitar riffs, occasional skronky sax, driving rhythms and hypnotic song hooks. — DY

L7 – Scatter the Rats (Blackheart)
This LA band first reunited in 2015, and now they’re back with their first album in 20 years. They sound as vibrant as ever with a potent blend of grunge, metal and garage-rock, combining scuzzy guitars, pounding rhythms, catchy song hooks, deadpan vocals and catchy song hooks. — DY

Maverick Sabre – When I Wake Up (FAMM)
The 3rd full-length album from Irish North London-based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Michael Stafford (aka Maverick Sabre) is an impressive set of brooding UK-steeped soul/pop infused with rich undertones of R&B, hip-hop, rock, blues, reggae, dub, and psychedelic flavors. While his strong seasoned vocals, dynamic productions, and at times politically-charged lyrics dominate the spotlight, Jorja Smith and Chronixx make solid guest appearances. — AR

Flamingods – Levitation (Moshi Moshi)
This London-based band’s fourth album is a solid set of psych-tinged dance-rock combining fuzzy guitars, bright synths and a variety of traditional instrumentation from around the world with propulsive rhythms and catchy song hooks. — DY

An Horse – Modern Air (Lame-O)
This Australian duo’s third album (and first in eight years) is a fine set of rousing indie-rock with crunchy guitars, emotive lyrics and anthemic song hooks. — DY

Body Type – EP2 (Partisan)
This Sydney, Australia band’s second EP is another potent set of surf-inflected post-punk with ringing guitars, driving rhythms and buoyant melodies. — DY

Marble Arch – Children of the Slump (Géographie)
The sophomore album from this French band fronted by Yann Le Ravazet is a solid set of widescreen guitar-pop that dips into gauzy shoegaze, propulsive dream-pop, and slinky synth-pop territory. — AR

Lafawndah – Ancestor Boy (Concordia)
The debut full-length album from this frequently nomadic but currently NYC-based Egyptian-Iranian musician is a thrilling set of maximal experimental pop and progressive electronic/R&B jams that pairs her stunning voice over adventurous,blockbuster, club-minded productions.While at times reminiscent of Kelela, M.I.A.,and Gang Gang Dance, Lafawndah's futuristic global pop is tough to pigeonhole as she strives to create a visionary pop aesthetic devoid of boundaries. — AR

Wilma Vritra – Burd (Bad Taste)
Wilma Vritra is the collaborative project from Los Angeles-based rapper and Odd Future co-founder Pyramid Vitra alongside UK producer Wilma Archer (fka Slime). Their debut album is a sweet set of adventurous hip-hop that pairs Pyramid Vitra's cool West Coast flow with Wilma Archer's richly-textured beats that boast a soulful, classic, orchestral flair. — AR

Lena Raine – Oneknowing (Local Action)
Seattle-based composer/producer Lena Raine has become one of the biggest names in the world of video game soundtracks, specifically through her soundtrack to the indie video game Celeste which became a massive underground success and racked up numerous awards at last year's Game Awards. While her video game soundtrack and scoring catalog runs deep, Oneknowing is her self-dubbed solo debut album and it's a wonderful balance of lush, soothing, crystalline ambient passages with dreamy vocal-laced synth-pop that recalls downtempo legends Air and Zero 7, yet is notably distinguished by her use of Vocaloid (a singing voice synthesizer software) that sings in a made-up nonsensical language. — AR

Holy Ship – Event Horizon EP (Declared Goods)
The debut EP from this Stockholm-based artist (aka Jonatan Westh) is a well-crafted blend of shoegazerish dream-pop and psych-tinged dance pop with fuzzy guitars, atmospheric synths, driving rhythms, half-buried vocals and hypnotic song hooks. — DY