Pylon - beabadoobee
Genres: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
RIYL: Paramore, Mitski, Olivia Rodrigo
This is the first beabadoobee project I’ve listened to, and I quite enjoyed it to be honest. There’s a contrast throughout this album between the grittier rock instrumentation and beabadoobee’s beautiful singing voice, and they work off of each other surprisingly well. She comes through with a lot of great choruses and melodies on here, and she also blends both grungier and angsty cuts and more subtle acoustic moments very easily as well. It’s a great project, and one I recommend checking out if you’re a fan of indie rock at all.
-Brian
Melodie - Slow Pulp
Genres: Indie Rock, Dream Pop
RIYL: Wishy, Snail Mail, Lunar Vacation
Though I much prefer normal speed Pulp (Pulp is an amazing Brit Pop Band), I found myself really enjoying the slow and dreamy atmosphere this album creates. After my first listen, I felt as if I was in the Jello house from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but if it was blue instead of orange. This is an album that can leave you completely idle, suspended without any way to get out, but it's ok for some reason. I didn't expect too much from this album, but I would absolutely recommend you listen, especially to slow down such a busy time of year.
-Z
Ride Lonesome - Beck
Genres: Singer-Songwriter, Alt-Country
RIYL: Bruce Springsteen, Big Thief, Waxahatchee
Beck used to be great at writing choruses. He's just ok now, but if you're a huge fan of his voice or smacking a jukebox and hearing random a random country song, you might like this new album.
-Jake
"Elderberry Wine (DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ Remix)" - Wednesday
Genre: Deep House, Alt-Country
This song is extremely fun. I could have never anticipated the crazy crossover this is, a colliding of worlds from one of my favorite rock bands and one of my favorite electronic artists. “Elderberry Wine” is one of Wednesday’s most palatable songs, one you would show your mom to win her over after she hated “Bull Believer”, and fits perfectly with DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ’s deep house style. Infusing Karly’s vocals over a laid-back, nostalgia-infused beat, the remix transports me straight back to 2025 and makes last summer feel like ages ago. I love the way the last chorus is extended into the last three minutes of the song. It feels like a victory lap for both artists, coming off of the best albums yet in their careers.
-Rhett
c - Lucy Baroque
Genres: Rage, Digicore, Experimental Hip Hop
RIYL: slayr, Jane Remover, Ken Carson
I kind of wish I connected with this more, considering I generally like the overblown rage/electronic style Lucy Baroque typically operates in, but there’s a good amount of bangers to make the project worth checking out. Baroque does a great job of weaving earworm melodies into these distorted and chaotic electronic beats, and really I do think that’s their strong suit, as they aim to create some kind of melodic line even when the instrumental tries to overpower them. On that note, I think more credit should be given to hip-hop’s rage scene in general for how maximalist, immediate, and genuinely impressive the instrumentals can often sound, and Baroque flows over these kinds of beats very well on here. c leans more into being a stereotypical rage project than I would like, but there’s still a lot of quality to be found.
-Brian
Be The Divine - Split Silk
Genres: Post-Hardcore, Screamo, Noise Rock
RIYL: Unwound, Gouge Away, Dream State
Atlanta's very own "Sadgirl Post-Hardcore" band, Split Silk, has finally released their first full length album after three amazing EPs. This is one of those rare records that I just had to listen to on repeat when it came out, it's unflinchingly emotional, but also aggressively hopeful. As a pretty long time fan (I played them on Loser Radio last year and earlier this year on my new show Face For Radio), I had some expectations going in, but they were all blown out of the water. I absolutely recommend that you listen to this record!
-Z
No Rest For The Wicked - AZ Chike
Genres: West Coast Hip Hop, Pop Rap
RIYL: YG, Kendrick Lamar, Ray Vaughn
AZ Chike seems like a promising name in west coast hip-hop right now, with collaborations with both Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator further pushing his visibility at the moment. No Rest For The Wicked shows a lot of potential, even if it’s far from AZ Chike’s first record. Tracks like Lamb Truck Keys, Mercy and Rock Bottom show Chike’s rapping ability and his ability to carry your attention for a full song, while his collaborations with Tyler, the Creator on here (particularly Look Like My Mama) are fun listens. I wish the project did more to stand out and give AZ Chike a more definitive sound though, and it could definitely be more consistent by cutting down some more forgettable tracks. Still, it’s a good listen, and I think particularly if this many big names are working with him, AZ Chike is someone to keep an eye on.
-Brian
