Aug/Sept Music Roundup

There have been a bevvy of exciting new releases over the past couple of months so we wanted to highlight some of the albums that we had been anticipating.

David Byrne - Who is the Sky? (Matador)

Even though he's riding a wave of momentum from his American Utopia album / tour cycle, David Byrne is still very much a legacy artist, so new albums are graded on a curve. Is it as good as his work with Talking Heads? No. Are the songs good enough to make me excited to see him in November? Absolutely.

Even though the album is produced by Kid Harpoon, best known for his work with Florence and the Machine, Harry Styles, and Shawn Mendes, this isn't David Byrne trying to make an album that fits in with the pop trends of the present day. There's South American music influences, a lot of percussion, and David Byrne musing over things like moisturizing cream.

Even though he's been on stage with many pop stars over the past couple of years, only Paramore's Hayley Williams, and Annie Clark aka St. Vincent make appearances here.

Big Thief - Double Infinity (4AD)

Nicole is a fan of Big Thief so I asked her to review it. After listening to it, she declined.

"Unfortunately I'm just not into it at all. There are WIND CHIMES, Ryan"

Chance the Rapper - STAR LINE (Self Released)

It's really disappointing how quickly Chance the Rapper's spark has fizzled out. I was a huge fan of his 2014 mixtape, Acid Rap. Coloring Book was pretty great, and then The Big Day flopped, even though his song with Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie was pretty good. I didn't expect STAR LINE to rival his earlier projects, but it's not especially memorable.

Blood Orange - Essex Honey (RCA)

I've been a casual fan of Dev Hynes since his 2016 album breakthrough album, Freetown Sound, though I've kind of slept on his last release. This album calmly washes over you and it's gorgeous. I just with it had more bangers like "Best to You" from Freetown Sound.

He's collaborated with the likes of Solange, Danny Brown, and The Avalanches in the past 10 years, which is pretty impressive company to keep in my book.

Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place (Matador)

Between listening to the K-Pop Demon Hunters Soundtrack on loop and whatever Disney song my kids are obsessed with, there's not a whole lot of time to discover new music! I found Water From Your Eyes on accident - lead singer Rachel Brown has been working part time as a correspondent for Stereogum. I'm not sure how to explain the WFYE sound, other than it's kind of experimental but digestible.

Kaytranada - AIN'T NOT DAMN WAY! (RCA)

I've been a fan of Kaytranada since his debut, 99.9% in 2016. That album had collabs with Anderson Paak, Vic Mensa, Phonte, & Little Dragon, a bunch of artists that I was a fan of at the time. I caught him at Outside Lands 2017, and I enjoyed his set, even though he was just DJ'ing with no specials guests.

His work since has been less collaboration heavy, and more cohesive. Each subsequent album has sounded like a DJ mix, with the occasional guest making a cameo, but not overwhelming the song. It's great driving music, and while I won't get to see him on this tour, I'm excited that his star is still on the rise.

Spoon - Chateau Blues / Guess I'm Fallin in Love (Matador)

Spoon dropped these 2 singles on the same day that I saw them in concert, and to my surprise, they played both of the songs! While I miss Rob Pope's low end, Spoon is still firing on all cylinders. They're working on a new album and they dropped these singles to give us a taste of what's to come.

The new record is being produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, best known for his work with Beck, Nine Inch Nails, Paramore and Jimmy Eat World.