WIBLT: Fall Edition
WIBLT: Fall Edition
What I've Been Listening To, 10/06/21
‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ is a bi-weekly series that highlights 8 projects, 1 song, and 1 video that have been on repeat for me. Be sure to follow the ‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ playlist that is always up to date with the eight standout tracks from all of these posts in 2021.
For those keeping track at home, this post is a week late. My sincerest apologies.
The Mutt’s Nuts - Chubby and the Gang
15 tracks, 43 minutes
Released: August 27th, 2021
From: London, UK
Genres: Punk, Hardcore
Recommended For Fans Of: The Ramones, Idles
The furiously raging UK punk outfit Chubby and the Gang return here to follow up their 2020 debut album Speed Kills. That album plowed through thirteen tracks in less than thirty minutes, living up to the name. The Mutt’s Nuts is a touch longer, with a handful a songs over three minutes (a non-occurrence on their last album), and even an entirely acoustic song in the tracklist (Take Me Home To London). This time around, the project is more of a celebration of their sound than a race to the finish line. It’s like they won you over with an opening set the last time they were in town and are now back to give you a proper headliner. Chubby and the Gang’s trademark rowdy and infectious energy is still present, as it undoubtedly earned them fans who are itching to see them live after discovering their 2020 debut. They describe that specific energy on Bandcamp as, “a casual ‘fuck it’ on one side, an active ‘fuck off’ on the other.” When I say there’s an old-school punk attitude to this project, I really mean old school. Charlie Walker (aka Chubby) doesn’t even own a computer. “I’m not bothered with that stuff,” he told The Guardian. “I don’t want to get home from work and sit in front of a computer. I just want to be left alone to make music.” If it leads to more projects like this, let’s continue to leave him the fuck alone.
Standout Track: Pressure
this is no longer a dream - anaiis
12 tracks, 37 minutes
Released: September 10th, 2021
From: London, UK
Genres: R&B
Recommended For Fans Of: Demae, Zilo, Fans Hues
“If you asked the label, they would tell you this is my debut album. If you asked my collaborators, they would tell you this is my sophomore project. If you asked me, I would tell you this is just a ~body of work~” anaiis said in an Instagram post on her latest project this is no longer a dream. Call it what you will, but it will likely be an album that stays in your rotation for a long time. The French-Senegalese artist (currently based in London) had released the project darkness at play in 2019, and had two separate COLORS performances prior to the rollout for this album. On here she comes through with a quaintly present vocal performance that sits nicely within the delicate production. She told NRM magazine that the songs here became necessities after hardships she faced in the past years, “In any hurtful situation we find ourselves in, there’s a way we can interpret things in hindsight– How can I change my perspective and shift to an empowering and enlightening meaning?” If you enjoy this, check out anaiis’ short film Spirit Moves, which reimagines tracks form this album as the score.
Standout Track: chuu (With Topaz Jones)
If U Want Me Dead U Better Pray 4 Me - Whu Else
11 tracks, 27 minutes
Released: May 28th, 2021
From: Detroit, MI
Genres: Rap, Pop, New Wave, Electronic
Recommended For Fans Of: Teezo Touchdown, Prince
Why Else came on my radar after a 2020 Pigeons & Planes cosign for his 2020 album Big Brain Man, and the addicting track “I’m Not Daddy.” Now in 2021 he follows it up with his longest project to date, If U Want Me Dead U Better Pray 4 Me. Sure, Whu Else is rapping on here, but his sound almost owes more to Prince than it does any rapper. The drums take up much less space in the mix than you’d expect from hip-hop, allowing more focus on Whu Else’s unique raspy vocals and melodies. You never quite know what you’re about to get as you go through this tracklist. The bright originality anthem “Whu-Tang” is followed up with an interlude that sounds like you’re going through the tunnel of terror from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It’s this uniqueness that fuels Whu Else’s music “When someone listens to Whu Else I want them to feel empowered and inspired to make declarations of their own. To draw a line and stand behind it," he told Pigeons & Planes.
Standout Track: Double Think
Favorite Son - Gully Boys
5 tracks, 20 minutes
Released: September 10th, 2021
From: Minneapolis, MN
Genres: Rock, Alternative, Garage, Pop-Punk
Recommended For Fans Of: Pinkshift, Pom Pom Squad, Bully
Gully Boys’ latest EP starts off with a bang via the single “The Way.” A wailing chorus of “I hate it here” channels teen angst energy into more mature emotional revelations. “The lyrics for this song were built around the first line that was written with the melody, ‘Isn’t that the way it goes/Isn’t that the way it almost always goes,'” the group told Alternative Press. “From there, it became a lamentation of feeling unable to escape your own habits and ways—like there are two versions of yourself in your head, and one is an insatiable toddler.” The whole project feels centered on heaviness, both in the lyrics and the explosive energy of the instrumentals. Gully Boys are a three piece Minneapolis group founded in friendship, pride, and mutual aid - which sees the EPs themes of overcoming grief through “exultant self-reliance” translate beautifully into the real world. Favorite Son is the band’s second EP, and first release on Get Better Records.
Standout Track: The Way
Beginnings - Prudence
11 tracks, 37 minutes
Released: May 28th, 2021
From: Paris, France
Genres: Synth Pop, Electronic
Recommended For Fans Of: Allie X, Aluna, Robyn
Beginnings is truly that, as the album marks Olivia Merilahti's first ever solo project after ten years in the Finnish-French indie pop duo ‘The Dø’ with Dan Levy (no, not that one). “Prudence is a modern creature who also speaks of freedom and emancipation. It is my bubble, my shelter, my planet. This is a home where I want to welcome you,” Merilahti said for Sony Music. In her Spotify bio, Prudence refers to herself as “a modern Rachael from Blade Runner,” and it’s easy to imagine some of these songs being played in clubs from the movie’s dystopian Los Angeles. The project features production from Xavier de Rosnay (of Justice), Surkin (M.I.A.), Stelios Phili (A$AP Ferg), and more, who all create bubbling electronic backbones to these songs. Retro synth pop oozes throughout this whole project, but Prudence’s vocals add a modern touch. Billie Eilish recently cited The Dø as a key influence on her Apple podcast ‘Me & My Dad Radio,’ and time will tell which future stars might be influenced by this next phase of Merilahti's career.
Standout Track: City On Fire
Don't Know What I Am - Alien Boy
11 tracks, 38 minutes
Released: August 20th, 2021
From: Portland, OR
Genres: Alternative, Emo, Punk, Shoegaze
Recommended For Fans Of: Wednesday, Surfer Rosie, Nothing
Self-proclaimed “loud gay band” Alien Boy returns with their third album Don’t Know What I Am. The group is from Portland, and that’s a fact they take great pride in, with the band name being a reference to a track by punk rockers/hometown heroes, The Wipers. Alien Boy is lead by guitarist and songwriter Sonia Weber, along with drummer Derek McNeil, and a “rotating cast of Portland, Oregon scene stalwarts.” Churning with chorus pedals, reverb, and layered guitars, this album has a lot going on, but never feels too busy. My standout track, “Dear Nora,” is a response to an older Alien Boy track, and the changes Weber has experienced since then.
“Dear Nora is a love song and a call and response to our song Somewhere Without Me on the last record. When I first started writing for ‘Don’t Know What I Am’ I was feeling pretty shut down about what to write about so a few times throughout the years of writing this record I would prompt myself using the old songs. If I felt this way back then where am I now? I was falling in love again, and this song is about that—being adored and totally wrapped up in someone new and how hot, amazing and confusing it can feel.” Weber via Paste Magazine.
Standout Track: Dear Nora
The Serpent & The Tiger - Cartel Madras
10 tracks, 27 minutes
Released: August 19th, 2021
From: Calgary, Alberta
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Mother Nature, M.I.A., Sugg Savage
Cartel Madras are the hip-hop duo of sisters Bhagya "Eboshi" Ramesh and Priya "Contra" Ramesh. Together they make what they call “Goonda Rap," with Goonda being the term for a hired criminal in India. While not every song quite sounds like criminal music, the project does feel unique enough to merit it’s own unique characterization. Coming up off mixtapes and Soundcloud releases, The Serpent & The Tiger marks their first full length release, and comes under Sub Pop Records. The project slides neatly between hard abrasive beats and smoother tracks over house inspired production. While their bars demand that you take them seriously, the duo’s playful attitude is still able to shine through on these songs. If you can’t hear it for yourself, take a trip to their website and see how many clicks it takes you to be redirected to a google image search for “young steve buscemi.” The song linked below features fellow Canadian artist Backxwash that I featured back in June.
Standout Track: DEEPINTHEJUNGLE (Feat. Backxwash)
Horror Head - Sindy
9 tracks, 23 minutes
Released: April 23rd, 2021
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Genres: Alternative, Shoegaze
Recommended For Fans Of: My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth
When crafting his first album under the moniker Sindy, Tom Serner knew he wanted it to be, “a love letter to the nineties influences he grew up with,” per Bandcamp. Horror Head follows up Sindy’s first EP, Hits For Kids, which set the groundwork for that 90s sound he goes all in on here. Sindy’s sound pulls from alt rock, some grunge, and shoegaze with thin and breathy vocals akin to Elliott Smith or Alex G layered on top. Blending those warm darker sounds with his relatively brighter vocals plays into the themes that lead him to the album’s title. “I totally understand that thing of finding the beauty in horror,” he said in the Bandcamp description. “That’s where I get a lot of my creative energy - somewhere in between the soft and the hard, the dark and the light, the difficult and the easy. The sound that comes out of that is usually melancholy. It’s very therapeu-tic.” I’m a little late to posting about this in that he’s recently released an extended edition of the album since I’ve had this writeup ready to share.
Standout Track: Phantom Limb
A Song
It’s All Over - Sad Park
Heard a mix of this song last year and have been anticipating the release ever since. Shoutout Sad Park!
A Video
Tiny Desk (Home) Concert - Rico Nasty
I know this is kind of cheating because I normally post music videos in this section, but I can’t express how badly I want to be in a mosh pit while Rico performs a full set with this band.
Thanks