Ooooooh boy. What an absolute beast of a week this was for music. We had four final contenders for Coolest Album of the Week this time around, and yes, I’m using the Royal We here. Is it because I caught Kate Middleton Conspiracy Theory Fever? Yes. But do I also view this column as a shared vision and experience where we all profit in great music recommendations? Also fucking yes! It’s both! Equally!
Every album on this list is a contender for Coolest, but the ULTIMATE contenders this week were Gouge Away, Chester Remington, C Turtle annnnd… the band who actually came away with the victory. But any of those could have won if I were in a slightly different mood when choosing. Nevermind that three of the four are on the post-punk/noise-rock spectrum and the fourth is quite noisy as well. I obviously have a type when choosing Coolest of the Week. That’s how I also nearly picked another French band (Chester Remington) this week. I… have… a… type.
HOWEVER, I assure you, much like theories about what has happened to Kate Middleton, my recommendations this week (like every week) are oozing with variety. It’s just that the ooze is seeping out of wounds of bands on the post-punk/noise-rock spectrum.
I don’t care if that doesn’t make sense, let’s move the fuck on to…
The Coolest Stuff of The Week | March 20th
Vaguess – Thanks // No Thanks
Genres: Punk, post-punk, garage punk
C Turtle – Expensive Thrills
Genres: Alternative, lo fi, indie rock
Szymon Wildstein – Tssss
Genres: Ambient, experimental, jazz
Bronson Arm – S/T
Genres: Noise rock, punk, sludge
Cusp – Thanks So Much
Genres: Indie rock, indie pop, alternative
Ubiquitous Meh! & Height Keech – Only Blood
Genres: Garage rock, minimal wave, experimental
Low Flung – Full Stop
Genres: Field recording, soundscapes, modular
Chester Remington – Almost Dead
Genres: Noise rock, post-punk, indie rock
no phase – tired
Genres: Post-punk, indie, shoegaze
EXT MEDS – Taking Meds
Genres: Post-punk, math rock, emo
JJ And The A’s – Eyeballer
Genres: Punk, hardcore, garage punk
Sweet Pill – Starchild
Genres: Punk, indie rock, emo
yoo doo right – The Sacred Fuck
Genres: Krautrock, post-rock, shoegaze
Sunday Cruise – Art of Losing My Reflection
Genres: Pop-punk, alternative, indie
Healers – High Tide
Genres: Post-punk, indie rock, shoegaze
Sick Day – Overexposure
Genres: Indie rock, rock, garage rock
PLAY DEAD – Fly On The Wall
Genres: Punk, garage punk, rock
Gouge Away – Deep Sage
Genres: Hardcore, noise rock, punk
NERVES – Glórach
Genres: Noise rock, post-punk, shoegaze
I love this whole album. If I didn’t, the fucked up little guy to the left wouldn’t be holding its arms out looking for a hug from the members of NERVES. But a lot of times, races are a matter of inches, or in the case of Coolest Album of The Week, moments. A single moment that put this album over all the others on this stacked-to-hell list we put together this week (I brought back the Royal We… no WE brought back the Royal We) and over the other finalists WE narrowed this list down to.
That moment comes partway through the third song, “Leigue”, when things get a little abstract and weird, the song unraveling on itself like a fucked up photoshop full of AI glitches and hair zippers and children doing weird things with their fingers for no other reason than we are watching reality unfurl in front of our damn eyes. Yes, WE.
You see, this is more than just a noise rock album full of anguished screaming, discordant guitars, and the obligatory dope rhythm section, this is an adventure in the surreal.
These songs come apart and come back together again, hanging on by a stand or two that weaves a throughline down a song, the album; the band. Somehow in all this mix of chaos and bliss, they never drop their groove. And they do all of this without this unraveling feeling extraneous or forced or out of touch with the hookier aspects of their songs or album.
That’s the kind of wild thing here. I’ve spoken a lot on the artier aspects of the band and the noisier aspects, but this thing has hooks in it. If they wanted, they could make something more overtly accessible — maybe something akin to The Murder Capital (who I love dearly — that’s no diss). They’d probably be pretty good at it, too, but sometimes you just listen to a band (WE just listen to a band) and you know what you’re listening to is their true voice.
What makes NERVES special is the blend of noise and abstract and groove and hooks. It’s how all those elements combine where it’s hard to notice where one part ends and the other begins. It’s like when Photoshop is done by a true expert — not some amateur on Mother’s Day weekend experimenting with stuff. And you can’t tell what parts of the photos came from where because it all looks original. Like a real snapshot. Everything is perfectly, seamlessly blended together. And even when you catch a hair zipper or weird finger, when it’s an expert who puts it in there, you swear it’s meant to be there.
I have no idea what I’m talking about. Let’s listen to this album, shall we?
