New Music Reviews (3/16)

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 Porridge Radio, Four Tet, Dogleg, and more.

Porridge Radio – Every Bad (Secretly Canadian) 
The second album from this British band led by Dana Margolin is a strong set of dynamic, mostly dark post-punk ranging from explosive noise-punk and propulsive indie-rock to brooding, atmospheric ballads, with the album’s often-bleak lyrics leavened at times with dark humor along with occasional glimpses of hope for better times.

Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans (Text)
The 10th studio album from this British producer (aka Kieran Hebden) is a beautifully crafted set of dreamy electronic grooves combining atmospheric synths, wind instruments, ambient textures, propulsive rhythms, occasional looped vocals, and twinkling melodies.

Dogleg – Melee (Triple Crown)
This Detroit band’s debut full-length is an impressive set of energetic, emotive punk reminiscent at times of Japandroids, combining buzzing guitars, urgent rhythms, anthemic choruses, angst-fueled lyrics, and soaring song hooks.

Vundabar – Either Light (Gawk)
This Boston duo’s fourth album is a stong set ranging from driving, hook-filled post-punk to wistful New Wave, combining ringing angular guitars and atmospheric keyboards with resilient lyrics and buoyant melodies.

CocoRosie – Put the Shine On (Marathon Artists)
This New York sister duo’s seventh album (and first in five years) is one of their most straightforward and strongest albums to date. It’s an expansive set of avant-pop inflected with hip hop, folk, opera, horror soundtracks, and more, combining an often-eerie, percussion-heavy sound with lyrics veering from anxiety and trauma to resilience and new beginnings.

Capsula – Bestiarium (Vicious Circle)
This Bilbao, Spain-based, Argentine-bred band’s latest album is a potent blend of energetic garage-rock, atmospheric psych-rock, pounding hard-rock, driving post-punk, and more.

Rookie – Rookie (Bloodshot)
This Chicago band’s debut album is a promising, ‘70s-influenced blend of buoyant power-pop, cosmic country-rock and more, combining jangly guitars, soulful organ, warm harmonies, and an abundance of sparkling song hooks.

Bacchae – Pleasure Vision (Get Better)
This DC band’s second album is a strong set of energetic, politically charged post-punk with buzzing guitars, driving rhythms and lyrics blending the political and the personal.

Dungen – Dungen Live (Mexican Summer)
This Swedish band’s latest release is an impressive live album with barely any conventional songs or vocals. Rather, the album’s mainly comprised of adventurous instrumental interludes extracted from a couple shows in Sweden, showcasing the more exploratory side of their blend of psych-rock, prog, jazz, and more.

Sweet Jesus – Memoria (self-released)
This Seattle band’s second full-length is a potent set ranging from heavy, blues-tinged psych-rock and driving garage-rock to simmering, atmospheric folk-rock, and jangly psych-pop.

Monophonics – It's Only Us (Colemine)
The fourth album from this Bay Area band led by Kelly Finnigan is a solid, ‘70s-steeped blend of atmospheric psych-rock and moody soul.

addy – Eclipse (Topshelf)
The debut full-length from this Richmond, VA band led by Adam Watkins is a promising set of folk-tinged dream-pop combining atmospheric synths with acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, strings, horns, steel guitar, and more.

Essam & Petty Pro – chapter20six (self-released)
Seattle rapper Essam teamed up with producer Petty Pro for his latest album, a well-crafted set of acapella hip hop combining a variety of beats comprised entirely of human voices with Essam’s hard-hitting rhymes revolving around poverty, gun violence, and racism.

Yumi Zouma – Truth or Consequences (Polyvinyl)
This New Zealand-bred band’s third album is a solid set of sleek electro-pop with shimmering synths, atmospheric guitars, bouncy rhythms, wistful melodies, and often-melancholy lyrics.

The Districts – You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere (Fat Possum)
This Philly-based band’s fourth album is their most expansive set to date, bringing a greater variety of instrumentation to a diverse set ranging from soaring post-punk and synth-soaked space-pop to moody rock and acoustic-oriented folk-pop.

Ultraista – Sister (Partisan)
The second album (and first in eight years) from this trio comprised of vocalist Laura Bettinson, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and drummer Joey Waronker is a solid set of moody electro-pop with dark synths, hypnotic rhythms, looped vocals, and haunting melodies.

Daisies – Cherries EP (self-released)
This Olympia duo’s latest release is a fine EP of psych-tinged, dance-friendly electro-pop with propulsive rhythms, bright keyboards, and dreamy melodies.

Hilary Woods – Birthmarks (Sacred Bones)
This Irish artist collaborated with Norwegian noise artist Lasse Marhaug for her second album. It’s a haunting set of dark, goth-tinged ambient-folk with an atmospheric sound featuring ominous electronic textures and sampled field recordings, mournful cello and sax, eerie piano, and ethereal vocals.

Peter Bjorn and John – Endless Dream (Ingrid)
This Swedish trio’s ninth album is a solid set of bright-sounding indie-pop with jangly guitars, glistening keyboards, and sunny melodies.

JFDR – New Dreams (White Sun)
The second album from this Icelandic artist (aka Jófríður Ákadóttir) is a well-crafted set of hushed folk-pop with an atmospheric sound combining dark keyboards and gentle acoustic guitars with her ethereal vocals, reflective lyrics, and often-wistful melodies.

Porches – Ricky Music (Domino)
The fourth album from this New York-based artist (aka Aaron Maine) is a solid set of melancholy, ‘80s-steeped pop.

Robert Shredford – Robert Shredford EP (self-released)
The debut EP from this Fort Collins, CO band led by Jessi Reed (formerly of Seattle band Tea Cozies) is a solid 5-song set of surf-influenced garage-rock.