New Music Reviews (5/13)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Dehd, Amen Dunes, Jess Locke, and more. 

Dehd - Poetry (Fat Possum)
The fifth studio album from Chicago trio Dehd finds the outfit leveling up their fusion of indie-pop, post-punk and garage rock. Poetry boasts impeccable hooks, bright melodies and Emily Kempf and Jason Balla sharing lead vocalist duties with sing along choruses. Nearly ten years into their career, this confident trifecta just keeps getting tighter with their potent, multifaceted indie-pop/rock with no signs of slowing. –CS
 
Amen Dunes - Death Jokes (Sub Pop)
On his sixth studio album, and first in six years, Damon McMahon delves into a new intriguing  world of lush soundscapes. Lyrically he explores the complex duality of juxtaposing forces coexisting through artful, experimental electronic-folk music with layered samples, piano, horns, strings, intricate percussion and distortions galore paired with his signature vocals. Constantly evolving, Amen Dunes continues to shine in this new era with these interesting, expressive, expertly crafted arrangements. – CS
 
Jess Locke - Real Life (Dot Dash)
The latest studio album from Melbourne-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is a dystopian reflection on the modern world through her infectious indie-rock lens with excellent guitar licks and memorable pop hooks. If the world is coming to an end, might as well have a musical escape from that reality. – CS
 
Jordan Rakei - The Loop (Decca Records/Verve)
On his fifth studio album, the New Zealand born, Australia raised and UK based singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist builds upon his soulful jazz with orchestral arrangements and choral flourishes, as lyrically he gets personal about friendship, love and loss. The resulting thirteen cinematic tracks are sonically rich and lyrically intimate as Rakei flexes his sultry vocals and dynamic compositions.  –CS
 
Les Savy Fav - OUI, LSF (Frenchkiss Records)
On their sixth full length and first new album in nearly fifteen years, the legendary art-punk outfit reignite the fire they first kindled in the late ‘90s. Frontman Tim Harrington is armed with a tongue as sharp as ever as the quintet traverses through an electric set of hard hitting, theatrical, bizarre post-hardcore jams that are an essential addition to their legacy. – CS
 
Loren Kramar - Glovemaker (Secretly Canadian)
The debut album from LA-based Loren Kramar is delightfully unhinged. Recalling ‘70s piano driven pop embellished with strings and horns, Kramar has crafted an imaginative, theatrical, lively and lush collection of dream-filled songs that take the listener on one hell of a journey as he showcases his commanding voice and witty lyricism. – CS
 
Shannon & The Clams - The Moon Is In the Wrong Place (Easy Eye Sound)
The latest album from these prolific garage rock darlings was born out of a time of profound grief for frontwoman Shannon Shaw, who had just lost her fiancé in a horrific car accident. While steeped in sorrow, The Moon Is In the Wrong Place is a testament to resilience and hope as the Bay Area outfit utilizes their brilliant fusion of garage, surf and doo-wop to process loss and love on this explosive seventh album. – CS
 
Slum Village - F.U.N. (Ne’Astra Music / Virgin Music Group)
Legendary Detroit hip-hop group Slum Village make a triumphant return with their tenth studio album, and first in nearly a decade. F.U.N. is exactly that, with impeccable production, lively horns and synths, energizing beats and effortless flows. – CS
 
Lunchbox - Pop and Circumstance (Slumberland)
The latest album from this veteran Oakland-based band led by the core duo of guitarist/vocalist Tim Brown and bassist/vocalist Donna McKean is a gleeful, jubilant, and wonderfully messy set of lo-fi bubblegum garage-pop steeped in a love for the 1970s UK mod-revival, the jangle of 1980s British indie pop, and the rush of 1990s power-pop. Packed with buoyant instrumentation, euphoric hooks, winsome melodies, and plenty of kaleidoscopic earworms, Pop and Circumstance showcases a band 30 years deep into their career mining their deep knowledge of underground pop for their own infectious DIY sound. – AR
 
mary in the junkyard - this old house EP (AMF Records)
The debut EP from this London-based trio is a delectable exploration of moody, emotive, experimental rock goodness. Effortlessly weaving melody into the chaos, their intricate arrangements with haunting keys and viola elevate Clari Freeman’s distinctive vocal performance on this impressive first outing. – CS
 
Pokey LaFarge - Rhumba Country (New West)
The latest album from veteran Illinois-born singer, songwriter, and bandleader Pokey LaFarge (aka Andrew Heissler) finds him continuing to expand well beyond his roots-rock origins for a consistently joyful set of eclectic, soulful, folky pop steeped in his love for mambo, tropicália, rocksteady, classic soul, and mid-century American rock-and-roll. Written and recorded after making the drastic life change of moving to Mid-Coast Maine to work 12-hour days on a local farm, Rhumba Country carries a rejuvenated throwback tone throughout that’s playful, celebratory, and downright charming. – AR
 
Potatohead People - Eat Your Heart Out (Bastard Jazz Recordings)
The fourth album from Vancouver, BC-based production duo Potatohead People (Nick Wisdom & AstroLogical) is another sharp display of their deft ability to fuse hip-hop, R&B, jazz, funk, boogie, and smooth synth-heavy electronic flavors into a sleek cohesive sound that yields luxurious instrumental cuts and flexible foundation for an array of guests that includes Redman, Ivan Ave, Shafiq Husayn, Moka Only, T3 of Slum Village, Abstract Rude, Diamond Cafe, Frank Nitt, Reggie B, Kendra Dias, and Kapok. – AR
 
youbet - Way To Be (Hardly Art)
On their sophomore album and debut for Hardly Art, Brooklyn-based Nick Llobet delivers an earnest and understated collection of intimate indie-rock with complex arrangements, distorted guitars and a delicate vocal delivery as they get deep into their personal experience with growing pains, queerness, self-discovery and reinvention. – CS
 
IS U IS U - Melter EP (Mad Decent)
The debut EP from this new collaborative project between Brooklyn-based electronic producer Chrome Sparks (aka Jeremy Malvin) and London-via-Perth electronic producer Kito (aka Maaike Kito Lebbing) is a magnetic set of sleek club-primed grooves full of hypnotic pitch-shifted vocal samples, shimmery synths, propulsive rhythms, and a sharp pop sensibility. – AR
 
No Windows - Point Nemo EP (Fat Possum)
The second EP from Edinburgh-based outfit No Windows is an emotive set of indie-rock infused bedroom pop. The up-and-coming teenage duo excel with solid song structures, layered instrumentals and sweet vocal harmonies, as they ready their highly anticipated full-length debut, which will hopefully arrive sooner than later. – CS