It has been unforgivably long since I offered up a pair these playlists—I honestly don’t even want to check to see exactly how long. Sometimes things just get a little busy over here in the (imaginary) Racket office. So let me deliver a bonus edition of 20 new tracks—10 local, 10 non-local—before the Thanksgiving weekend, with a promise to get back on "track" in the future.
Local Picks
Master improvisors Jeremy Ylvisaker, Michael Lewis, and J.T. Bates moonlight as hard rockers with this trio, and this instrumental builds off a truly ugly (complimentary) riff which it adorns with electronically tricked up guitar, saying everything it means to in barely two minutes.
As much as this trio plays out, I somehow failed to catch them live until a few weekends back, when they turned out to be a surfy good time and then some. That spirit is captured here as Corinne Caouette’s chattery vocals and trebly guitar surface from within a bottomless echo, anchored by Pamela Laizure's skeletal bass.
This standout track from bugsy's terrific new EP, Now I Spend All of My Time Alone, starts a little muffled then breaks into a full indie raver as Emily Schoonover vents their story of “sweat, spite, & boredom” over top.
Citric Dummies, “I’m Gonna Kill Myself (At the Co-op)”
There are so many great, brief barrages to choose from on Zen and the Arcade of Beating Your Ass (14, to be precise), but I selected one to honor the Dummies' mastery of the titular parenthesis—see also “I Don’t Wanna Be With No One But Myself (Tonight)” and “I Don’t Wanna Live (Anymore).”
English Majors, “Customer Service”
I'm pleased to hear a little early Feelies in the lead track from this band's new album, Milhouse, particularly in how the contained nervousness of those trepidatious guitars fret along in time with a quiet but swift drum gallop.
The title track from this funk eccentric's latest album sets a fire on the dancefloor, with layered melodic horns, acid Isleys-style guitar, and cool vocals.
PRGRPHS, "Resplendent Entropy"
Instrumental postpunk that doesn't make the lack of vocals feel like an absence, but an opportunity to let the music breathe.
Shrimp Olympics, “Pierre’s Gift”
Austin Lombardo reconfigures ’60s guitar pop with willful chord shifts that recall the Elephant 6 M.O., but without the canned whimsy. Compulsively relistenable, this one.
Solid Gold, “Start Again, Feel the Same”
After a dribble of singles in the past few years, these trippy synth-rockers assure me that they're "finally back to 'normal' band activity," with a new album slated for 2024. And the first taste of their new normal is just like old times—immersive, tuneful, and groovy.
Katy Tessman feat. Jillian Rae, “Vines”
There’s an edge to the folk purity of Tessman’s voice, softened just slightly by Jillian Rae's harmonies, that adds a forthright thorniness to her string-adorned. guitar arpeggios.
Non-Local Picks
Aesop Rock, “Infinity Fill Goose Down”
The veteran indie rapper’s latest album, Integrated Tech Solutions, crams plenty of wordy rhymes over jagged beats in his inimitable overstuffed style. Sample promise/threat here: "Yep, I can introduce you to another realm/Help you with the move/But only you can go fuck yourself."
What I hate most about her social media presence (which, the errant slur aside, I tend to love) is that it overshadows her music, which you might wrongly suspect has devolved over the years. Here's proof that it hasn't. As the lady says, "If you got a problem, I'ma make it a dilemma."
Bbymutha, “Gun Kontrol”
A Gucci Mane disciple from Chattanooga you could ID as such just from listening to how she slurs "I do whatever I want" over a staccato keyboard. She's learned her lessons well.
Yaya Bey, “The Evidence"
Woozy Brooklyn R&B singer returns with a simple message of “Hold on, hold on, hold on,” and a piano hook that gives you something to hold on to as synths and voices whirl around you.
Cloud Nothings, “Final Summer”
Shoegazier than is Dylan Baldi’s norm. Or maybe I just mean his vocals, floating through a nyah-nyah playground melody, are mixed below the gnatty guitars. Or maybe I just mean he isn't shouting his way over them this time.
Hurray for the Riff Raff, “Alibi”
“You don’t have to die if you don’t want to die,” rootsy anthem-crafter Alynda Segarra promises with typical hopeful verve at the start of what she confirms is a love song with the final line of the chorus: “I love you very much/And all that other stuff.”
Ashley Monroe, “Over Everything”
Tough-minded country romantic Monroe hooks this dreamy track to a very subtle pun. She doesn't want to get over everything—she wants to soar over it like a bird
Weakened Friends, “Awkward”
From that other Portland, quavery-voiced guitar-pop adept Sonia Sturino delivers this crushed out message of hope: "We still have time to fuck this up."
Tierra Whack, “Chanel Pit”
The ever-clever Philly rapper's visual sense is so dazzling you can forget how impressive her skills on the mic are, so make sure you listen to her boast “What is that shit I smell? Me.” over tinkling synths and deep bass before you check out the video. And then, of course, check out the video.
This Leeds quartet rocks the kind of postpunk that aspires to dance music rather than the kind that flaunts its own rhythmic deconstruction, and I'm happy to report that it ups the funk quotient with each new single.
Wanna get a local song considered for the playlist? To make things easy on both of us, email keith@racketmn.com with WEEKLY PLAYLIST in the subject header. (Don’t, as in do NOT, DM or text: If I’m in a good mood, I’ll just ask you to send an email; if I’m in a bad mood I’ll just ignore it.)
