Hope you’re ready for some great recs because we’ve got a good one but a weird one this week. Most of the picks are either highly experimental or especially poppy without a whole lot of in between. That should make for some interesting listens if you’re the type of person who checks out everything on the list and not just the genres that appeal to you most. Even more so if you listen in our semi-curated order below.
Obviously, Climax Landers were one of our brave finalists for Coolest Album of The Week, but you’re probably wondering what other weirdos had a shot. MACHIAVELLIAN ART’s chaotic and sometimes abstract noise rock was certainly in the mix. Park+Riot’s fun and intricate math-punk was up there, too. Sofia Bolt’s alternative art-pop-rock (is that thing? it is now) was really cool. All these bands, including the winners, were among the recommendations this week who strode the line between experimental and approachable the most, giving me both the catchy and the weird in one, neat little package.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for stuff that’s catchy or weird. Check out all that shit at…
The Coolest Stuff of The Week | May 15th
MACHIAVELLIAN ART – Population Control
Genres: Noise rock, shoegaze, hardcore punk
Amy O – Mirror, Reflect
Genres: Grunge pop, indie rock, alternative
Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – A Shared Sense of Purpose
Genres: Electronic
badtime – badtime vol. 4
Genres: Post-punk, synth punk, garage rock
W. Realrider & Kole Galbraith – S/T
Genres: Experimental, electronic, field recording
DEHD – Poetry
Genres: Indie pop, indie rock, rock
Park+Riot – Wise Words From Well-Fed Mouths
Genres: Mathcore, hardcore punk, post-punk
Conrad Schnitzler – Slow Motion
Genres: Electronic, krautrock
Sofia Bolt – Vendredi Minuit
Genres: Alternative
youbet – Way To Be
Genres: Alternative, indie rock, folk rock
DBR – S/T
Genres: Garage rock, post-punk, hardcore punk
Demersal – s/t
Genres: Hardcore punk, screamo, metal
Kathy Hinde – Twittering Machines
Genres: Experimental, electronic, field recording
Tendinite / Demon Juice – Split
Genres: Noise rock, garage rock, punk
Southtowne Lanes – Take Care
Genres: Alternative, screamo, indie rock
Splatter – Sounds For Families
Genres: hardcore punk, punk, sludge
Arcadia Grey – Casually Crashing
Genres: Alternative, punk, emo
Temir Alcy – S/T
Genres: Electronic, experimental pop, ambient
BLKLSTRS – This is not an album by BLKLSTRS
Genres: Indie rock, noise rock, experimental
Climax Landers – Zenith No Effects
Genres: Rock, indie-rock, freak folk
Imagine an insane genius poet, let’s call him Will Moloney, gets up on a stage and starts rambling a cryptic but captivating story. But he hasn’t come alone. Moloney has brought his friends with him and his guitar, and he’s rambling over some weird but catchy backing music. And now he’s singing and so are his friends, sounding like a cross between the Dirty Projectors, the Flaming Lips and Saturday Looks Good To Me without actually sounding particularly like any one of those bands.
On Zenith No Effects, Climax Landers accomplishes what Hold Steady did so masterfully on Separation Sunday — use music to heighten the lyrical and vocal turns of the lead vocalist no matter what insane direction they go.
Bassist Charlie Dore-Young urges these vocals on with bouncy lines that seem to be the center of every arrangement, an omnipresent, friendly grounding force. I listen to a lot of noise rock and heavy music where the bass is heavy and daunting (which is awesome, don’t get me wrong), so it’s really nice to hear it not only be so central but central and cheerful, perking up each arrangement. This is especially true when paired with rhythm buddy Ani Avry-Block, whose drums are particularly snappy and upbeat. Everything seems to pop with these two in lockstep, and it helps counteract the meandering vocals and guitars where the rhythm section and what we would consider the melodic section create symbiotic counterpoints to each other.
It’s truly impressive the lines lead guitarist Paco Cathcart is able to take throughout Zenith No Effects. While these lines go all over the place and are very busy at times, Cathcart at no point over plays. These arrangements just allow for some really weird riffs, and he goes for it and nails it, knowing as well when to recede into the background when the song needs it.
A lot of guitarists can play this cool, weird shit, but figuring out how to do so within the context of an arrangement is a whole other beast.
Everything here comes together in a way where each piece compliments each other but, like I said earlier, really heightens the batshit poetry of Moloney’s vocals. His lyrics and vocal turns would be cool anyway, but here, they really fit. There’s something joyful and communal about listening to them cocooned in these arrangements where listening to Zenith No Effects makes us feel like we’re joining in the commune ourselves. It’s a party album for people who just want to stay home and read instead, but I have no doubt these songs also play well to groups if you’re into actually communing. To each their own, this album rules either way.