Monthly Album Recap - August 2026
Whittled down the backlog during August, but almost wish I just stayed with tried and true albums. Some good. Some bad. Few great. Such is life; always there to disappoint us all.
New Spins
No Cure - It Is Going To Get Dark // Metal
Just in your face in the best way. Finally found another band that hits the Knocked Loose itch.
Quicksand - Bring On The Psychics // Post-Hardcore
Is this Deftones? I refuse to look up and differentiate.
Arca - XXXXX // Electronic
Yeah, these are sounds.
Shearwater - The New World // Folk Rock
I can’t get that his voice sounds like all 70s and 80s folk artists at once and it bugs me.
Ceremony - Tell Me Your Dream // Rock
Idles, but worse.
Luluc - Sweet Thief // Folk Rock
Lush sounds to the point of being boring.
Mallory Hawk - Chinook // Indie Rock
Had some serious moments of good, mixed with middling.
Cheekface - Podium // Talky Rock
People really into Cake and pretension (redundant?) are creamin' their jeans.
Smirk - Speculative Fiction // Post-Rock
Like a combination of Parquet Courts and Occupations. Grimy. Needs another listen.
La Securite - Bingo! // Indie Rock
Weird indie twee.
Citizen - Halcyon Blues // Post Emo
Post-grunge meets power pop? Good singles, messy album.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw - Cannonball // Indie Rock
Faux art rock is the new rage.
mary in the junkyard - Role Model Hermit // Post-Rock
too much whispering, moaning, warbling for my taste.
Phoebe Bridgers - Lost Weekend // Singer Songwriter
She doesn’t miss. Always hits the spot for wistful, existential dread.
L'Rain - fata morgana // R&B Pop
This has great, instantly forgettable vibes. Loved my time with it, could not tell you what song actually stuck out.
Sweeping Promises - You Say I Romanticize // riot grrrl
Sick bass lines. Feels like a sweaty basement in a great way.
Hovvdy - Big World // Indie Rock
Earnest slacker indie rock should have died with Mac DeMarco and Kurt Vile
Black Marble - Life in Small Spaces // Alt Pop Rock
This woulda killed in the 80s. I assume at least.
Brandon Flowers - Thrasher // Country
Nothing like a midlife crisis country album. Kinda rips, kinda too honky tonk.
Chelsea Wolfe - The Dark // Art Pop
Moody pop is here for fall, y'all. Guess what? It's all just okay.
Jorja Smith - What Are The Odds // Pop
This is like a poor impersonation of Rihanna's ANTI.
Denzel Curry - ii // Rap
This was enjoyable and made me want to listen to more Denzel Curry. Will I? No. But the thought was there.
Julia Holter - Materia // Chamber Pop
Living in this lush world is nice, but too sleepy for me to want to engage on a more material basis.
Celestial Power - Celestial Power // Doom Gaze Metal
This ripped. Just droning metal with swells of sick riffs.
Kevin Copeland & The Big Net - Only Love Songs // Folk Rock
Intimate with a pleasant voice. See Tommy Goodroad.
Lambchop - Punching the Clown // Singer Songwriter
I see the appeal. Do I like it? No. Way too slow and intimate for my liking.
Plum - Bodies in Motion // Alt Rock
This is Black Keys-ass music and I have no interest.
Squirrel Flower - Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going // Singer Songwriter
Like a stripped back Ratboys. Works for like half the album. Then I just want to nap.
Tommy Goodroad - Goddammit // Americana
Fun little twangy album that belongs on a playlist I will never build.
Weezer - Weezer (Gold Album) // Rock
I have yet to meet someone who loves post-Pinkerton Weezer. Also, surprised to see Wednesday on this album. The one stalwart.
Westside Cowboy - It Goes On // Indie Rock
I get the hype. It sounds good and is a good time. This is critical analysis.
Wild Pink - Still Coming Down // Americana
Jeff Tweedy with more reverb.
Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming // Southern Rock
I am a sucker for Brittany Howard and all the things she brings to the music world.
Mastodon - Marrow Deep // Metal
I love the production of metal but could always do without the angry dad singing style
Re-Spins
This is just a sampling of previous records I enjoyed to see if they still held up with a closer listen. Turns out, I have good taste.
Charmer - Downpour // Modern Emo
I keep coming back to this album. Good blend of pop punk and modern emo sounds.
Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow // Jazz Fusion
What if Kamasi was a white woman.
Cloudkicker - Beacons // Experimental
One of the first instrumental albums that I remember just adoring. Still holds up.
Cantilever Listens
This new streaming service was passed along to me by a friend and it's such a neat concept. Every two days, they "release" an album picked by a music journalist. It comes with a write-up of the album that gives additional context to the piece of art being shared. The albums eventually disappear, but the music discovery feels curated like old music blogs.
Bruno Berle - Sem Fronteiras // Singer Songwriter
Sung in, what I assume is Portuguese, but that doesn’t matter. Lush vibes, good finger pickin' and wildly good times from a Brazilian artist that I would have never listened to before.
Herbert & Momoko - Clay // Lounge Pop
It feels like I'm stuck in an 80s dreamscape.
Naima Bock - Below a Massive Dark Land // Singer Songwriter
feels like acoustic Tune Yards.
Mal Waldron - Candy Girl // Jazz
Had some fun, but just didnt hold my attention.
Shards - Find Sound // IDM
The more albums I check out from here, the more I think it's just telling me pretentious people like artsy sounds.
Ryan Sambol - Gestalt // Country Western
Stripped down country that was endearing and a good summer hang.
The Pastels - Illumination // Rock Pop
The production is great and has some great little flourishes, but holy shit the voices. They annoy me.
Jessy Lanza - Love Hallucination // Indie Pop
This was a fun little pop album that had some slick production and good moments. Lost to the ether of time now.
Julianna Barwick - Healing Is a Miracle // Experimental
Some good loops and soundscapes
Catalogue Visitation
The Smiths
Apple Music basically states that the Smiths are a band I should care about because they brought a "fresh approach to guitar-based pop in the mid-1980s" Which, I get someone has to be the first, but that doesn’t make it a necessary listen, does it? Is this just me settling into my take that all pre-2003 music is not as good because we have just learned how to do all of this, gestures vaguely, better. I have bad opinions and the Smiths seem ripe for them.
The Smiths // 7.6
Initial thoughts:
- Morrissey's voice is annoying. Production is the saving grace.
- I hated Miserable Lie because I am pretty sure my kids make the same noises to annoy me
Songs that caught my ear:
- Pretty Girls Make Graves
- The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
- What Difference Does it Make
Meat is Murder // 7.2
Initial Thoughts
- Eye rolled at the album title before listening.
- A lot of the songs on this album really start off strong but turn into some pretension rock.
- Rusholme Ruffians is on some country western bullshit.
- Barbarism Begins At Home is art kid bullshit. Sick bass line, though.
Songs that caught my ear
- What She Said
- Meat Is Murder (much to my chagrin)
The Queen is Dead // 8.1
Initial thoughts
- Immediate impression: This is the best sounding album so far. Consistently groovy and engaging with all aspects of the production.
- There's really no variance in how Morrissey sings, is there?
Songs that caught my ear
- There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
- I Know It's Over
- Boy With a Thorn In His Side
Strangeways, Here We Come // 8.2
Initial Thoughts
- Strongest start to an album out of the four. Feels like they really rounded into form with production and singing here. Hope it works out for them!
- This is the most variance on singing and leaning into the production that Morrissey seems to do. It suits them well and gives credence to great jams.
Songs that caught my ear
- I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
- Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
- Paint a Vulgar Picture
- I Won't Share You