New Music Post – February 19, 2021
This was a really cool week for new music for me. I’m a huge fan of all of these bands and honestly, they couldn’t possibly be any more different from one another. I always like to think I have a pretty diverse taste in music but really, most of these albums I write about are metalcore or some variation of that. This week, however, changes it up quite a bit, so I hope you can find something you enjoy here as much as I do.
The Hold Steady – I found The Hold Steady years ago via a recommendation from my late-best friend – who I got all my best music from – while I was in that deep americana-punk rabbit hole after I discovered The Gaslight Anthem. The pure, classic americana instrumentals and a fusion of that theme continuing into the lyrics while also being met with modern thematic issues told through incredibly vivid storylines, all crooned out through an incredibly unique a quirky vocal delivery by brilliant front man, Craig Finn. Sure, they can be mentioned in the same breath as their contemporaries in bands like Lucero, but there is no mistaking The Hold Steady for anyone else. And it’s this distinctive and eccentric style mixed with a deep honesty and ability to be sympathetic with the listener on an incredibly personal and identifiable level that makes this band one of the absolute best. And this new album feels even more personal, reminding me somewhat of Finn’s solo work, while maintaining the grandiose composition of a typical Hold Steady album.
Mogwai – Last week, I mentioned in my God is an Astronaut review that Mogwai is one of those household names in post rock that are pretty much guaranteed to put out a top tier album every single time they try. One of those bands that are really only judged against themselves and their back catalog cause anything else would just be unfair. And for a band like Mogwai, with over 25 years in the game making everything from genre-defining albums to movie soundtracks, that’s simply an amazing accomplishment. And with this new album, I’d say it stacks up incredibly well, sitting among their best. It doesn’t feel as revolutionary as Young Team or as emotional as Happy Songs for Happy People, for example, but this might just be their most cohesive and communicative album to date. It feels incredibly familiar while also reaching new levels of maturity without losing their edge. It’s incredibly special. This is one of those albums that you want to fully ingest; it deserves your full attention from start to finish, and I encourage everyone to take some time and really experience this album.
Harakiri for the Sky – Now from genre builders to one of the most underrated bands in their respective genre. Harakiri for the Sky are, in my very strong and not so humble opinion, the most criminally underrated post-black metal band out there. Their last album set an incredible foundation and really polished the band’s songwriting and helped them find their own sound, but in a few very important ways it, sort of fell short of true icons of the genre. It showed incredible promise though. Promise that became fully realized with their newest album, Maere. This feels like the pinnacle of what the band had always set out to do, a remarkable, creative, thoughtful piece of post-black metal that absolutely deserves to be mentioned in the same circles as band’s like Alcest (whose front man/songwriter Neige endorsed this project with a guest spot). This is an incredibly massive undertaking, clocking in at about an hour and a half long, driven by blast beats and signature black metal shrieks mixed with immense post-metal arrangements, all combined to create an absolutely immense, beautiful album.
Singles/Other Albums – Agent Mulder (EP, FFO The Chariot), Stick to Your Guns (EP, Acoustic), August Burns Red (Live album), Gojira (Metal), Genghis Tron (Cybergrind), Eyes Set to Kill (Metalcore/Post-hardcore), The ’68 (Noise punk), To the Grave (Deathcore), Ov Sulfur (Deathcore), Ghost Iris (Metalcore), MouthBreather (Mathcore), Hail the Sun (Post hardcore), Manchester Orchestra (Indie), The Crown (Thrash/Death metal), Senses Fail (Super special fuck Rush Limbaugh track)