Saturday Spin #1

Why hello there! It’s been a minute since I was spending time recommending music to all you fine folks. I miss writing about music and have heard that more than one of y’all is in a heavy music slump so by popular demand I am returning with your weekly Saturday Spin! Yes I know we’re all mostly listening via digital players which don’t actually require the rotation of any physical media but music is round and that’s a fact so trust me, this title makes sense. Turn your sound on and let’s get into it.

Bloc Party: Traps

First up: The triumphant return of Bloc Party, who will be releasing their first album in 6 years in April! Their sound has been dependably distinct across their whole discography and this latest offering is in that same groove – I can’t imagine mistaking Kele Okereke’s vocals for anyone else and every Bloc Party bassline makes me want to pick up my guitar and learn it. I’ve been after that with Traps and it’s an absolute RIPPER. 

See also: The Girls Are Fighting

Young Franco: Juice

If you’re like “why did Young Franco choose that name?” go look up a pic, he looks EXACTLY like a 20 year-old James/Dave Franco hybrid. Spooky. If there’s one element that will reliably get me into any track it’s an impeccable vibe, and this one has vibes for dayyyyyys. Listen to it back-to-back with Lizzo’s song of the same name and you’re getting a party started right there.

Brittany Howard: Baby

To make this new recommendation series more sustainable for me and make sure y’all get truly the best of the best noise to pipe into your earholes I’m not stressin’ whether any of this is new or not, so allow me to tell you for the 8millionth time that Brittany Howard is an absolute treasure. Her vocal performance on this track is so honest and expressive and so essentially human and all of that is what I mean if I ever say that this is “better” than an overproduced, hella compressed, auto-tuned top 40 pop vocal. And I don’t even have space here to get into her guitar playing, songwriting, or arranging.

See also: Stay High, 13th Century Metal

Sure Sure: Warm Animal

How about a sunny modern alt-rock bop? I can’t decide if Sure Sure referring to two people cuddling as “warm animals” is cute or weird but I feel happy when the guitar drops in at 0:33 so who cares.

Marian Hill: Back To Me

Marian Hill was everywhere a few years back with their song “Down,” and this track is on that same level. They skip the piano sample here and instead depend on the drum and bass to drive it, bring in Lauren Jaregui of Fifth Harmony for the second verse, and slice and dice the vocals into catchy stutters. Put it on repeat

Salt-N-Pepa: Shoop

I did say that not everything would be new! Salt-N-Pepa is (embarrassingly) somewhat new to me. I listened to very little hip-hop up until the past year or so and am always delighted to come across pre-2000’s tracks that are W.A.P.-levels of thirsty. Can’t knock that laid-back mood either! It’s Saturday, it’s 70 degrees here in the Mile High City, you can’t convince me you don’t want to spin this.

Liz Phair: Favorite

Here’s a song where Liz Phair uses a favorite pair of underwear as a metaphor for a love interest. That’s all I have to say about that.

Frank Turner: Demons

Hyper-positive music can easily come off cheesy and what I love about Frank Turner is he always manages to make it sound badass instead. A few of my favorite examples from this song:

If life gives you demons, make demands
You’re not delivering a perfect body to the grave
Time is not there to be saved
You won’t get everything you wanted, but you will never be defeated

See also: Get Better

Julien Baker: Hardline

Speaking of lyric mastery, Julien Baker‘s 2021 album Little Oblivions is a phenomenal piece of art and pretty much everything I’d like to achieve with my own writing and guitar playing. Also we have the same middle name so that’s a sign or something, right?!

Start asking for forgiveness in advance
For all the future things I will destroy
That way I can ruin everything
When I do you don’t get to act surprised
When it finally gets to be too much
I always told you you could leave at any time

See also: Faith Healer, literally everything else she’s ever released

PVRIS: Monster

PVRIS was a pandemic discovery for me and the absolute intensity of their music (the complete sweatiness of the video for this track is a great example) went strangely well with being isolated indoors, a sort of outlet for all the pent-up energy and anxiety. It goes equally well with actual activity too, pop this onto your workout playlist.

See also: Gimme A Minute

Overcoats: Leave If You Wanna

Overcoats is my favorite band with (sometimes) matching haircuts and they should be yours too! Obviously what you’re hearing involves some sick, slick electronic arrangement and production, but my first exposure to this band was their tiny desk concert. If anything they sounded even better that stripped-down format, thanks to some incredibly tight vocal harmonies.

See also: Leave the Light On

Superchunk: Endless Summer

I was still figuring out how to read words and ride a trike when Superchunk was taking off, and I’m always delighted by 90s bands who deliver modern hits while retaining their original sound and attitude. It’s a pleasant mix of nostalgia and the hit of dopamine that comes with hearing a great new thing. Also, as much more of a cold weather person and someone who’s properly stressed about the impending doom of climate change, this one hit just right.

Best Coast: Leading

Best Coast is just wonderful. I don’t think their sound totally breaks any mold or goes where music has never gone before or will never go again or that their sound is completely unique, and the thing is none of that needs to be the case for music to be great. Bethany Cosentino’s melodies make me want to sing along and Bobb Bruno’s guitar tone is goals. This track also features teen wonders The Linda Lindas, so extra bonus there.

See also: This Lonely Morning

Kid Sistr: Palpitations

Final track of the day: an airtight rhythmic motif that’ll be in your head until we do this again next week. Kid Sistr is just getting started and it’s a hell of a start.

See also: Little Sister Song

Thanks for coming along with me today! Naturally I wouldn’t leave you alone in the internet wilderness to track down these songs yourself, so link is in my bio to a playlist with all of these neatly lined up for you. Be back to spin some more for ya