WIBLT: Back To School Edition
What I've Been Listening To, 8/18/21
‘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.
Welcome back to another collection of projects I think you need to hear
Beige - flozigg
6 tracks, 12 minutes
Released: August 3rd, 2021
From: Florida
Genres: R&B, Indie, Alternative
Recommended For Fans Of: bLAck pARty, Steve Lacy, Q
Florida artist Flozigg recently followed up his 2020 debut EP Burgundy with this new project, Beige. Simple yet full production provides the backdrop for this lovely R&B EP that’s more colorful and vibrant than the name would suggest. Across 5 tracks (and a brief intro) Flozigg laments on life and love alike, describing the lead single Mutual as, “supposed to sound like how cocoa butter smells like.” Tracks like Serious show the singer’s range as he kicks it up an octave for the chorus, and the Eimizah feature on Inner Piece is not to be missed either. The sound on here is prime for any fans of the indie-R&B wave that started to take over mid 2010s -ish with The Internet.
Standout Track: Mutual
Dun Dun - Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo
11 tracks, 20 minutes
Released: April 16th, 2021
From: Philadelphia, PA
Genres: Electronic, Glitch Pop, Hip-Hop, Experimental, Indie
Recommended For Fans Of: Body Meat, Slauson Malone
My friend Chanell who’s working with Steven Perez (a.k.a. Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo) for Citrus City Records got me hip to this project in the past week. It’s not like anything I’ve heard lately, which is what keeps me coming back to it. If song titles like Stuck In The Crib, Pause For A Second, and What Is Going On didn’t make it obvious, this project (like many new releases) was created under the backdrop of COVID-19’s cultural unrest and worldwide confusion. That’s about the only similarity it has with the onslaught of other quarantine albums, as the sound on here stands out from the crowd. Perez pulls from salsa inspired percussion, pop and shoegaze tinged acoustic guitars, samples that sound like they were plucked straight off a vinyl, and much more for this self written, produced, and recorded sophomore album. Though they take their experimental electronic sounds in different directions, this project’s not too different from fellow Philly artist Body Meat, who I covered previously this year. They even have similar names, as ‘Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo’ roughly means ‘Piece of Meat with Eyes.’ You’re going to need a full listen through to really grasp the extent of this project’s vision, no two songs sound alike. I ended up latching on to the track below, that to me perfectly encapsulates losing sense of time during isolation.
Standout Track: What Is Going On?
Mss Thang - Black Haüs
4 tracks, 10 minutes
Released: October 11th, 2020
From: Greensboro, NC
Genres: Alternative, Indie Rock, Pop, Punk, Surf
Recommended For Fans Of: Spencer., NNAMDÏ
Somehow, Soundcloud just this week was able to direct my attention towards the excellent Black Haüs EP from the tail end of 2020. Singles dating back to 2018 prefaced the release of this debut, Mss Thang. The four-piece band met through music while all attending the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Their bio describes them as having, “no genre boundaries, no artistic limits, no conforming,” and they deliver on that promise. As a band, they cultivate all sides of rock music from alt-rock, surf rock, punk rock, pop rock, while even throwing in some R&B/House influenced tracks like So Slow and Rich Petty. Early EPs are all about finding identity as a band, and here the group shows how their identity could shift in any shape or direction they choose. The sky’s the limit. With cosigns from Essence, Lyrical Lemonade, Afropunk, and their addition to the Fender family, big things are undoubtedly in store for Black Haüs.
Standout Track: Removed
Lover / What’s Your Damage? - Jealous
9 tracks, 37 minutes
Released: August 13th, 2021
From: Berlin, Germany
Genres: Punk, Rock, Garage
Recommended For Fans Of: L.A. Witch, Low, Boy Harsher
The Berlin via Tel Aviv band makes a major arrival with their debut double EP Lover / What’s Your Damage?. The group describes their sound as, “70’s Glam rock, Punk, Garage, Country, and Post-punk, with a touch of 90's Riot Girl,” and it’s hard to deny that concoction sounds accurate. There’s a very old-school punk approach here that makes you think this album would make waves whether it was released today, in the ‘70s, or any time in between. This release builds on them making the most of the last year of live touring, opening for acts like Viagra Boys & The Black Lips as they performed over 70 shows across 2019. Their double EP is the first release on the label Dedstrange, founded by Oliver Ackermann, known from the band A Place To Bury Strangers and his effects pedal company Death By Audio (nice name).
Standout Track: Slaughterhouse 3000
Thanks for reading
OMNI - Kevin Holliday
6 tracks, 19 minutes
Released: August 11th, 2021
From: Brooklyn, NY
Genres: Pop, Alternative, Funk
Recommended For Fans Of: Ric Wilson, Pharrell
If there’s one thing you need to know about Kevin Holliday’s music, it’s that it’s always going to have a groove. Here he channels his unique brand of funk-tinged pop music into his latest EP OMNI. While Holliday has forged his own sound, this project was also influenced by music he grew up hearing like Gap Band, Prince, and Rick James. “I wanted to create something that felt like my childhood, but was also uniquely me,” Holliday told Lyrical Lemonade. From the opening seconds of Regrets, you’re going to want to dance to this project that is littered with feel good jams tailor-made to blast outside. But Holliday is still able to show off his softer side on tracks like Liar! and Dynamite. Whether you call it pop, anti-pop, or anything in between doesn’t matter. As long as you also call it one of the most fun EPs of the year. OMNI follows up his 2019 EP Space Cadet, and he feels that he was able to use that first project to build confidence going into this one.
“Space Cadet was me figuring out everything that I like. It was me throwing ideas at the wall. Whereas with OMNI, I was really focused on the execution. With my vocal delivery and my cadence, everything sounds more confident. I think it really comes through in the music.” -Kevin Holliday for Interview Mag
Standout Track: Dynamite
Laughing & Eating Cake - Lip Talk
10 tracks, 32 minutes
Released: August 4th, 2021
From: Brooklyn, NY
Genres: Alt-Pop, Experimental
Recommended For Fans Of: Ian Sweet, Half Waif, Kalbells
Not to be confused with the band LIPS from a previous installment, Lip Talk is a singer/songwriter and producer from Brooklyn coming through with her second album, Laughing & Eating Cake. For the most part the pop tracks on here keep the production minimal, making an example of how to say more with less. Select instrumentals sound like they could have been forgotten demos from Solange’s When I Get Home. And don’t be alarmed if the generally soft vocals suddenly twist and contort through autotune akin to Charli XCX or Caroline Polachek. The Bandcamp writeup cites writing exercises and ‘song-a-day’ challenges as an integral part of the album’s process (I wrote about nasimiYu taking up a similar habit in the making of her latest project as well. Perhaps they were in the same group?). Needless to say the habits resulted in a triumphant project. The album also features contributions from Cautious Clay, lending his talents on Marie, and Alwyn Robinson dropping some Bon Iver esque harmonies on King.
Standout Track: Precious
Overthinking - Allyn
7 tracks, 16 minutes
Released: August 6th, 2021
From: Sacramento, CA
Genres: R&B
Recommended For Fans Of: SZA, Mariah The Scientist
Allyn’s musical journey started at age 3, when she became involved with local choirs and orchestras. That foundation lead to learning instruments, working in studios, releasing two albums, and writing music for TV shows like ‘Empire’ and ‘Sista’s’ before arriving at Overthinking. I can’t help but be reminded of SZA’s early projects when listening to this. There’s a particular honesty and vulnerability in the lyrics that wouldn’t be possible without the overthinking this project is named after.
“I was in the pandemic like we all were and I was in my apartment. I didn't know what was going on with my life, I didn't know what was going on with my music career, I wasn't dropping music, I was just sitting there literally overthinking my entire life. That's where I got the name overthinking because it was just so honest and vulnerable. I feel like that's the best kind of music. When you're not only being real with yourself, you’re being real with your audience.” - Allyn for Trutuyou
While she’s previously worked with artists like Mozzy, Cozz, and Casey Veggies, this project forgoes features and leaves with you just Allyn, putting everything on the line to give you a project that’s fully herself.
Standout Track: Upside Down
Lucky - Nel
12 tracks, 41 minutes
Released: May 14th, 2021
From: London, UK
Genres: Electronic, Soul, R&B
Recommended For Fans Of: Jai Paul, Blood Orange, Paul Institute
My friend Christian recently tuned me into this project, Lucky, released earlier in the year. There’s definitely Jai Paul influence in the sound, and possibly in the demeanor too, as Nel seems to enjoy keeping a low profile. They’re difficult to search for, have a minimal social presence, and as far as I could tell had no press around this release. But from what I could find, it seems that Nel is a couple from the UK making beautiful electronic R&B out of their home. This album is a collection of past singles, along with two brand new tracks (but if you’re like me and went into this unfamiliar, then they’re all brand new). The beats on here pulse with energy, as if they’re in sync and breathing with the vocals, which paint pictures of relationships and the intimate moments they hold. The vocals were done perfectly in the sense that they sink into the beats and become one with them, but the tender deliveries make them still feel close to the listener, like you’re having a private conversation. On this debut album, Nel proves themself as an artist you’ll want to converse with again and again.
Standout Track: Brown Eyes
A Song
all dogs go to heaven - glaive
I’m always a sucker for some good gang vocals, and the end of this track explodes with them. Particularly drawn to one of the vocal takes that’s higher and sounds detuned (it’s in the first chorus as well), which adds a lot to the emotion and uncertainty of the song. Little details make all the difference.
A Video
This Fractured Mind - Nation of Language
This is like Talking Heads covering an LCD Soundsystem track. The new album can’t come soon enough!
See you again soon