What I've Been Listening To, 8/20/20
What I've Been Listening To, 8/20/20
I guess y’all enjoyed the first one if you’re back again, thanks for coming. Please subscribe if you haven’t
Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 - Tkay Maidza
8 tracks, 27 minutes
Released: August 7th, 2020
From: Adelaide, Australia
Genres: Hip-Hop, R&B
Recommended For Fans Of: Kari Faux, Azealia Banks, Leikeli47
I wonder how many volumes of this she’ll have to make after 2020 ends. Maidza shows all her sides on this one with singing (You Sad), aggressive raps (Awake), and funky jams (Don’t Call Again). This is the second in a trilogy of EPs she’s releasing as she navigates the industry and decides what direction she wants to take her sophomore album. Listening to this, I can hear a lot of maturity in her sound from when I first starting listening to Maidza on her 2014 dance rap track U-Huh.
Standout Track: Don’t Call Again (Feat. Kari Faux)
Vidé - seeyousoon
14 tracks, 34 minutes
Released: July 31st, 2020
From: Florida
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap, R&B
Recommended For Fans Of: Brockhampton, Injury Reserve
Maybe one day society will evolve to a point where a young rap collective can emerge without ever getting compared to Brockhampton. Unfortunately for seeyousoon, that day has yet to come. While there’s certainly similarities, the group takes this album to show other sides to their sound as well, with tracks resembling Goldlink & Kaytranada linkups (Blue Chord), as well as slower R&B cuts (ICFWT). The group themself however would say they have more in common with Jadakiss and The Mars Volta. Take a listen and decide for yourself.
Standout Track: BEN AFFLECK
Soak - Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly
11 tracks, 27 minutes
Released: August 14th, 2020
From: Cleveland, Tennessee
Genres: Punk, Emo
Recommended For Fans Of: Dogleg, Japandroids, Sunny Day Real Estate
As far as I’m aware, this is the first emo album to incorporate Super Mario samples. The name Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly is apparently a reference to a scene from an anime called FLCL (pronounced Fooly Cooly in English), but don’t worry, you don’t need to know the scene to understand the music. Straight up this album rips from front to back, and doesn’t let up for a second. The three song stretch from “middle of night middle of night” to “Teens//Candle” is particularly strong.
Standout Track: middle of night middle of night
Smoke & Fly - NAYANA IZ
8 tracks, 20 minutes
Released: August 7th, 2020
From: London, England
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Little Simz, Lava La Rue, Ama Lou
Before landing on rapping, Nayana Iz honed her sound playing jazz and indie pop, both of which are reflected on Smoke & Fly. The jazz influence shows up in the production of certain songs, particularly the colorful keys on the track Walking, and the indie pop shines through her ability to craft sticky hooks. Iz was born in India, and is intent on returning, but was raised (and is currently based) in London. This project is her debut solo EP, and is inspired by her grandmother, who was the best Thang Ta sword dancer in southeast India.
Standout Track: TNT
Pink Elephant - Stand Atlantic
11 tracks, 34 minutes
Released: August 7th, 2020
From: Sydney, Australia
Genres: Pop-Punk, Rock
Recommended For Fans Of: Paramore, Waterparks, Neck Deep
This record is a fun one, packed with catchy hooks, massive drum sounds, and huge guitars. I’ve fallen pretty out of touch with the modern rock scene, but this album took me back to my first times listening to those early Paramore albums. I appreciated the moments where they would push boundaries as well. My standout track Wavelength ends with some autotune effects on the vocals (not super typical of the genre) that create a swirling effect during the final chorus.
Standout Track: Wavelength
INTÉRIMES - Adeline
7 tracks, 28 minutes
Released: July 10th, 2020
From: New York
Genres: R&B, Soul, Disco
Recommended For Fans Of: Ari Lennox, Lion Babe, Terrace Martin, Kyle Dion
R&B, soul, and disco intersect on this dazzling EP. The French-Carribbean singer titled this project using a combination of two French words that roughly translates to “In the meantime/In between the rhymes.” Previously, Adeline was in the NYC nu-disco group Escort, and was the bass player for CeeLo Green’s band. This EP is the follow up to her self-titled debut solo album released in 2018.
Standout Track: Twilight
Episodic - Drugs
10 tracks, 34 minutes
Released: August 7th, 2020
From: Long Beach, California
Genres: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Recommended For Fans Of: Palm, Deerhoof, Post Animal, DEVO
Drugs claim to exist as a deviation from a “sea of gentle singer/songwriters and derivative rock.” While I’m not sure I agree with their assessment of the scene, their music is certainly a breath of fresh air. Episodic is the Long Beach band’s debut album, released on Park The Van records. The group is incredibly self reliant, as they have their own studio for recording, and have been using a free trial of Final Cut Pro to make their own promo material for the album during quarantine. While the band name is annoyingly difficult to google, it does lead for some good bits, like this at the bottom of their Bandcamp page.
Standout Track: Paralyzed
Oblivion - Black Noi$e
13 tracks, 24 minutes
Released: August 14th, 2020
From: Detroit, Michigan
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Any of the featured artists, Mavi, Quelle Chris
Black Noi$e is a Detroit hip-hop producer, who enlists the help of friends for his own album, Oblivion. The feature list for this album reads like an all-star game roster of bubbling underground artists. Liv.e (featured last edition!), bbymutha, Pink Siifu, MIKE, Zelooperz, and more contribute vocals, all in addition to features from more well known rappers Danny Brown and Earl Sweatshirt. Black Noi$e has an ear for erratic sounds and loops that’s fully on display with this project. This is the first (non-Earl) release from Earl Sweatshirt’s Tan Cressida records.
Standout Track: Glitch (Feat. duendita)
A Song
The Greyhound by TRAAMS
More like a mini EP, but technically released as a single, TRAAMS has returned almost as mysteriously as they disappeared. The band has been largely radio silent since their last set of shows, opening on a 2017 tour with Car Seat Headrest. Their 2013 track Flowers was one of my go-to songs during my senior year of high school (Jesus Christ), but they’ve only released a 2014 EP and 2015 album since then, making this their first release in five years. The song was recorded over a brief hiatus (that was never announced as far as I can tell), and dropped with little to no warning last week. If you have a spare nine minutes, give it a listen and introduce (or reintroduce) yourself to TRAAMS.
A Video
IPHONE by Rico Nasty
RICOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I feel like Rico Nasty has dropped at least 5 projects since I first started listening to her (fond memories of my college roommate Christian showing me the iCarly music video). Despite the output, her upcoming project Nightmare Vacation is being dubbed as her debut album. Semantics about “what qualifies a project as a debut album” aside, this project sounds very personal to her, and IPHONE (presumably) serves as the lead single. If this Dylan Brady produced banger is any indication, we’re in for another switch up from the ever evolving Rico Nasty. As she says in the song, “this time won’t be nothing like the last one.”
Thanks again for subscribing and reading (if you made it this far). Any idea how I can get more people to read this?