New Music Reviews (8/11)

Album Reviews
08/12/2024
KEXP

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 beabadoobee, Dark Chisme, dogworld, and more. 


beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves (Dirty Hit)
On her third studio album, Beatrice Laus takes listeners on an uninhibited emotional journey through her distinct guitar pop lens. This Is How Tomorrow Moves features her signature sweet vocals and infectious melodies, blending elements of bossa nova, 60s-pop and 90s alt rock for an eclectic and engaging listen. –CS

Dark Chisme - Dark Chisme (self-released)
The debut album from this Seattle duo founded by Chicago-raised Latina DJ, electronic producer, and vocalist Christine Gutiérrez and joined by multi-instrumentalist Erik “E” Schneider is a fantastic set of propulsive, addictive, anthemic dark wave that blends industrial, synth-pop, EBM, post-punk, techno, goth, Latin, and house styles into its intoxicating brew. Featuring intense, enveloping, 80s-tinted beats and perfectly accented by Gutiérrez’s cool, commanding, charismatic vocals, Dark Chisme ride the wave of their standout early singles to deliver a knockout debut record. -AR

dogworld - RANGE EP (self-released)
The debut EP from Melbourne outfit dogworld is a thrilling set of sludgy post-punk, blending elements of shoegaze, indie-rock and art-punk. With powerful guitars, vocal harmonies and booming drums, the quartet masterfully balances hard and soft, frenzy and intent, noise and melody. –CS

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Flight B741 ((P)Doom)
The 26th album from prolific Australian psych-rockers finds the outfit taking their cues from 60s and 70s blues infused psych rock, showcasing big hooks, vocal harmonies, and of course plenty of harmonicas, ripping guitars and synths. Forever shapeshifting, Flight B741 continues their tradition of evolution, offering a dynamic journey before they take another sharp turn for album #27. –CS

Osees - SORCS 80 (Castle Face)
The 29th studio album from the ever-prolific LA-outfit Osees finds John Dwyer & co incorporating heavy synths, samplers and saxophone into their lo-fi, scuzzy, psychedelic punk fever dream. The result is a hard hitting, urgent whirlwind of killer riffs, catchy hooks and plenty of fuzz. –CS

Parannoul (파란노을) - Sky Hundred (self-released)
The new surprise album from Seoul’s Parannoul is a kaleidoscopic fusion of shoegaze, post-rock, emo and chamber pop. Epic walls of sound are built with powerful drums, droning guitars, melodic keys and glitch effects. The expansive and immersive songs on Sky Hundred make it hard to believe that this is a one-man bedroom project. –CS

The Belair Lip Bombs - Lush Life (Third Man Records)
The Belair Lip Bombs are a Melbourne quartet fronted by Maisie Everett (formerly of the band CLAMM) who are newly signed to Third Man Records, marking the revered Nashville label’s first Australian band to grace their roster. Originally released on a small Melbourne label in 2023 and now reissued digitally via Third Man with a limited-edition vinyl arriving October 18th, their debut album is a bold, confident, and catchy blast of punchy indie rock with a breakout turn from Maisie that recalls the magnetic urgency and charismatic energy of 2000s and early 2010s indie rock bands while also nodding to formative pre-millennium New Wave, post-punk, and alternative rock styles. -AR

LA LOM - The Los Angeles League Of Musicians (Verve)
The debut album from LA-based trio LA LOM is a vibrant fusion of the sounds and cultures of Los Angeles, including cumbia, boleros, chicha, psych and soul. With melodic and fuzzy guitars, intoxicating drums, and pulsing bass, LA LOM crafts an infectious and groovy soundscape that is as rich and diverse as the city that inspired them. –CS

Louis Cole (with Metropole Orkest & Jules Buckley) - nothing (Brainfeeder)
The fifth studio album from LA-based Louis Cole is a bona fide cinematic opus. Collaborating with the Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley, the ensemble delivers an undeniably fresh blend of jazz, funk, classical and pop that straddles the line between retro and contemporary. The larger-than-life nothing is truly something to behold from an ambitious and multifaceted artist with boundless creativity. –CS

Manners Manners - I Held Their Eyes, I Kissed Them All (20/20)
The debut album from this queer Baltimore-based trio is a solid set of scrappy noise-pop infused with garage rock, power pop, and New Wave influences. -AR

Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding - Milton + esperanza (Concord)
The stunning collaboration between legendary musician Milton Nascimento and renowned composer/musician esperanza spalding is an expansive jazz collection inspired by Brazilian sounds. Featuring new originals, reimagined Nascimento classics, and intriguing covers like The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”, this album ranges from avant-garde to catchy and melodic. The sixteen tracks on Milton + esperanza showcase a beautiful friendship between two visionary talents. –CS

Quivers - Oyster Cuts (Merge)
On their fourth album and Merge Records debut, the Melbourne-based quartet presents a captivating collection of guitar-driven indie pop. Featuring emotional lyrics, lush harmonies, singalong choruses and irresistible guitar riffs, Oyster Cuts is a bright and reflective new beginning for Quivers. –CS

Thee Marloes - Perak (Big Crown)
The debut album from this Surabaya, Indonesia-based trio fronted by Natassya Sianturi is a stellar set of transfixing soul music with a vintage psych-pop flair that’s right at home on Big Crown, yet stands out through Sianturi’s bilingual lyrics — sung in her supremely smooth, honeyed vocals — and the band’s subtle infusion of traditional Southeast Asian elements into their timeless backdrops. With its expansive range from funky burners to blissful slow jams, Perak proves that soul music is universal.  -AR

Belong - Realistic IX (Kranky)
Their third album and first new offering in 13 years, Realistic IX is the latest powerful statement from revered New Orleans duo Belong. Continuing to evolve upon the rock-leaning strains introduced on 2011’s Common Era, Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones once again immerse the listener in an enveloping, propulsive, instrumental-heavy wall-of-sound that quickly establishes an intense deconstructed shoegaze aesthetic with hints of power noise and motorik-tinted drone. Swirling, shadowy, and absorbing, Belong are still dedicated to creating washed-out soundscapes to get lost in after all these years. -AR

Flamingo Pier - Supro EP (Soundway)
The latest EP from this New Zealand trio is another fresh, fun, slinky set of colorful vocal-enhanced dancefloor grooves that vibrantly fuses disco, boogie, funk, house, Balearic, and psychedelic styles in lively fashion. -AR

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