YO LA TENGO This Stupid World (Matador) — Yo La Tengo has been kicking around for so long that it’s easy to take them for granted, especially because they’ve been so prolifically great over the years. Certainly since the back-to-back … Continue reading Medium Rotation — This Stupid World; Breaking the Balls of History
SUNNY WAR Anarchist Gospel (New West) — Sunny War was based in Los Angeles for several years, but she was born in Nashville and spent many of her formative years in that storied music city. Not so long ago, she … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Anarchist Gospel; Eye of I
THE WAEVE The Waeve (Transgressive) — Maybe no one out there was wishcasting into being a pairing of mad-genius musician about town Graham Coxon and former Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall, but their debut together under the name the Waeve is … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Waeve; New York City
MARGO PRICE Strays (Loma Vista) — The guest appearance of vital Heartbreaker Mike Campbell on Margo Price’s fourth album, Strays, maybe gives a little idea of what she’s up to. The track he plays on, “Light Me Up,” is wholly … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Strays; Honey
VARIOUS ARTISTS Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album (self-released) — Starting with the surprise inclusion of 7-inch with two new tunes in the complete-discography box set Start Together as means of teasing their comeback, the second coming … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album; CAZIMI
CARLY RAE JEPSEN The Loneliest Time (604 / Schoolboy / Interscope) — It’s well established by now that the Carly Rae Jepsen pop music factory is about as dependable as they come, every new widget of hooks and beats heaved … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Loneliest Time; Love Me Forever
PLAINS I Walked With You a Ways (Anti-) — I Walked With You a Ways is the sound of kinship. Katie Crutchfield, the heart, soul, and everything else of Waxahatchee, and Jess Williamson bonded over the soulful country music that … Continue reading Medium Rotation — I Walked With You a Ways; Shufflemania!
ALVVAYS Blue Rev (Polyvinyl/ Transgressive) — Rev is a reasonable potent alcopop that’s been a staple of questionable choices for Canadian youth since the turn of the millennium. The beverage is offered in a range of colors, including blue, presumably … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Blue Rev; Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet
THE BETHS Expert in a Dying Field (Carpark) — Elizabeth Stokes, frontwoman for the Beths, describes her band’s output as ““sweetly sung melodies and super-depressing lyrics.” That’s not only a very suitable description of the Beths’ material, particularly on the … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Expert in a Dying Field; Cool It Down
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Bleed Out (Merge) — Presumably, John Darnielle has somehow eradicated the need for sleep. A Nobel is surely forthcoming. How else to explain the amazing output in recent years from the previously prolific and now practically omnipresent … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Bleed Out; 2007; Natural Brown Prom Queen
Coffee for Two 