New Music Report – February 5, 2021
Really getting into some good new releases in 2021 so far. One trend I’m noticing so far though, is a lot of surprise releases. I think I’ve seen more surprise releases so far in 2021 than the entire year last year, including two this week (Hayley Williams and Loathe). And I suppose that can be chocked up to artists making music outside of their normal album cycles due to the shutdown, but whatever the reason, it’s lead to some really cool, creative albums that we definitely wouldn’t have heard otherwise, so if that’s the one positive thing to come from all this, I’ll take it.
Loathe – If you’re unfamiliar with Loathe, they were the band that topped my Album of the Year 2020 list. They’re an absolutely sensational new band from the UK that makes, well, the best way to describe it is Deftones-core. And the fact that they put out my favorite album of 2020 only raises further questions, like how did they manage to come up with another album so quickly? Well, the answer may upset a few people. As a caveat, this album was released with little notice and little marketing, but naturally fans were going to get excited. This is not exactly a full album, in reality, it’s an ambient album filled with absolutely brilliant, beautiful soundscapes. That “Deftones-esq” aspect of their sound requires a very strong ambient foundation to create the mood of the music. And this album focuses entirely on the details that you may miss when listening to the band as a whole. Being a fan of ambient in the first place, I absolutely love it, and I encourage Loathe fans to check it out, if only to hear some of the most important yet overlooked parts that makes this band so special in the first place.
Cult of Luna – Cult of Luna is another all-time favorite band of mine; I’m actually wearing my Cult of Luna hoodie as I write this. Speaking of album of the year lists, Cult of Luna was very near the top of my AoTY 2019 list with the remarkable A Dawn to Fear. It marked an even larger, more polished, and heavier direction for Cult of Luna, and I think it can certainly be argued that it was their best album yet. This new EP is intended to be sort of a transitionary piece, from the sound of A Dawn to Fear as a segue into their continued progression of their sound on the next full length. And just the concept of that alone is incredibly captivating. It not only wraps up the current phase of the band but leads the way for speculation on what we may be able to expect next, all while being a wonderful standalone piece of music regardless of broader impacts. Truthfully, it feels more like a B-side to A Dawn to Fear rather than a clear path forward, or even a bridge, but I’d hardly say that’s a complaint. It’s another excellent installment in Cult of Luna’s discography that has me excited for the future of the band.
Flowers for Vases/Hayley Williams – Now to get this out of the way, I love Hayley Williams so much. I’m not really a huge Paramore fan, if I’m honest, but Williams is an excellent musician with a very interesting and unique yet incredible accessible style of songwriting, and it’s always fun to follow her progression and new projects. She put out a solo album last year under the moniker Petals for Armor, and this seems to be a complimentary/juxtaposed release to that. Petals for Armor had a more abstract and experimental yet dance-y vibe, while this album is MUCH more sedate and melancholy, and so naturally, I love this album so much. This is probably my favorite release of her entire back catalog. It’s a fairly simple, lightweight album, but the execution and careful songwriting is stellar. Her voice is somehow both gentle and incredibly powerful over the carefully composed and sparse, yet beautiful melodies. Overall, it’s a gorgeous record with a new perspective on a wonderful musician, and I’m a huge fan.
Singles – Every Time I Die (the GOAT), Erra (AOTY-tier Metalcore, trending kinda numetalcore), The Armed (Noise Punk?), Signs of the Swarm (Deathcore), Cannibal Corpse (Death Metal), Sentinels (Metalcore), Death From Above 1979 (Indie), Julien Baker (Indie/Singer Songwriter), Tetrarch (Numetalcore), Thousand Below (Post Hardcore), EyeHateGod (Sludge Metal), Void of Vision (Metalcore), Earth Groans (Metalcore/Deftones cover), VCTMS (Numetalcore)