As side hustles go, Young Guv is a nice one. Ben Cook used to play guitar for Fucked up and still serves as frontman for the group No Warning. He also scratches an itch for retro pop under the guise … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Young Guv, “It’s Only Dancin”

I’m not quite sure how the cultural tectonic plates shifted enough to make an LCD Soundsystem holiday special a viable endeavor for corporate investment, but here we are. A portion of the act’s yuletide cheer was delivered as the gleaming … Continue reading This Week’s Model — LCD Soundsystem, “Christmas Will Break Your Heart”

Katie Crutchfield keeps busy. Even as she’s continued to tour, tour, tour in pandemic-belated support of Waxahatchee’s first-rate 2020 album, Saint Cloud, she’s found the time to make new music, too. She cut a few new covers for a spruced-up, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Tomorrow”

As we sled into the part of the calendar which is meant to be filled with good cheer, it seems appropriate to turn over this workweek-ending feature to an artist that allows me to pilfer and post an Instagram snap … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Fresh, “Morgan & Joanne”

Indie kids know that the Christmas holiday season doesn’t begin with the annual Macy’s Street Takeover to Venerate Commerce, nor the stampedes of box-store customers. The first snowfall, Linus quoting scripture, colorful lights adorning city streets, inflatable Santas and reindeers … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Phoebe Bridgers, “Day After Tomorrow”

“Flush,” the new single from the Brighton-based band Thyla, is about the exploitative nonsense that happens online as bad actors fuel outrage for fun and profit. The very modern concern is given an appealingly retro sonic treatment, playing with the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Thyla, “Flush”

Listening to the new Cate Le Bon single, “Moderation,” creates the sensation of being set adrift. It’s not some gentle flow, though. It’s a smooth yet brisk cascade across waters with sunlight reflecting off it like paparazzi flashbulbs. Le Bon … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Cate Le Bon, “Moderation”

“Tend the Garden,” the new single from Australian band Gang of Youths, pops into with strident assurance. There’s a tight little drum fill and then a luxuriant wash of synth lines. Lead singer David Le’aupepe almost immediately murmurs the opening … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Gang of Youths, “Tend the Garden”

On her new single “Puppy and a Truck,” Jenny Lewis reaches a pinnacle of easygoing self-assurance. As a songwriter, Lewis forged her legend, alongside her Rilo Kiley bandmates, by crafting pointed, poignant, decorticating songs about living with depression. Her process … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Jenny Lewis, “Puppy and a Truck”

On her new single “Cleo,” Shygirl takes the groove seriously. Augmented by strings, the song locks in to a smooth house beat as Shygirl claims the name Cleopatra and coos “You got me feeling like a movie star.” The track … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Shygirl, “Cleo”