Weekly Roundup: September 14 - 27, 2024

 

Calliope Music Weekly Roundup

September 14 - 27, 2024

Reviewed Albums

Nala Sinephro - Endlessness

7/10

Best Tracks: Continuum 1 -- Continuum 2 -- Continuum 6

    Serenity in the endlessness of space.

Ticking synth clicks, dotted Electronic snaps, and easy saxophone calmy saunter in capacious environments. Serene scenes are painted as the modular groove of Progressive Electronics meets lush Jazz spirits. While its minimalism can seem lifeless in its flattest moments, the record moves with a cosmic grace, floating along a starry path in the vastness of space. It is this elegance and finesse of cathodic Jazz that allows Nala Sinephro to breathe life into the emptiness of what lies above the sky.

Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor

6.5/10

Best Tracks: Keep On Dancing -- Like I Say (I runaway) -- Method Actor

Sleek Indie Rock emerges from the pitter-patter of downtempo drums, grungy guitars, and warm keys. Nilüfer Yanya sinks into a wistful style, as her bittersweet vocals lie low over soft strings and shaded synths. This sophisticated plaintiveness is the main attractor of the record, endorsed by Yanya's vague but luring lyricism.

The issue is how the album paces itself, leaving the catchier and more complex tracks at the beginning. Then, the 44-minute record falls into a subtle complacency, becoming subdued and repetitive. My Method Actor doesn't entirely recover from this complacency, but its alienated introspection and slick melancholy are quite pleasant in the current Indie Rock space.

Hello Mary - Emita Ox

6.5/10

Best Tracks: Float -- Footstep Misstep -- Courtesy

A straightforward Indie Rock sound, Emito Ox is as solid as they come. While not an inventive route, Hello Mary's authentic mix of frizzy guitar, heavy bass, and clever drums provides consistent comfort. Sorrowful tunes of lost trust expand as gentle melody merges with emphatic instrumental refrains. Sprinkle in timely piano and delicate electronics and the band finds a heartened depth, solidified in an endearing warmth of Indie colors.

Colin Stetson - The love it took to leave you

7/10

Best Tracks: The love it took to leave you -- The Six -- Malediction -- Strike your forge and grin

Saxophone taken to its absolute limits, The love it took to leave you is an apocalyptic monster of wind and fire. Mixtures of heavy-blowing sax and undulating breathy notes surge as dark drones siren an impending doom. While some elements linger too long in their minimalism, burly percussion adds to a ghastly atmosphere, permitting dramatic excursions of epochal brass.

Jamie xx - In Waves

7/10

Best Tracks: Treat Each Other Right -- Baddy on the Floor -- Life

Buzzy, brisk, and bouncy, Jamie xx is back with a full House release. While its concepts are not new to the genre, In Waves displays its title well, ushering hypnotic progressions through springy bass, sultry synths, and spinning vocal samples. It is the playful and interworking environment that makes this record especially fun, despite a stock base.

Other Notable Releases

Suki Waterhouse - Memoir of a Sparklemuffin

4/10

Genres: Pop Rock, Indie Rock

Best Track: Gateway Drug

Joba - Russel Boring

5/10

Genres: Piano Rock, Art Pop

Best Track: Embryo

Ginger Root - SHINBANGUMI

6/10

Genres: Hypnagogic Pop, Synth Funk, City Pop

Best Track: All Night

julie - my anti-aircraft friend

6.5/10

Genres: Slacker Rock, Shoegaze

Best Track: feminine adornments

Foxing - Foxing

6.5/10

Genres: Art Rock, Noise Rock, Indie Rock

Best Track: Greyhound

Papangu - Lampião Rei

6.5/10

Genres: Progressive Rock, Zeuhl

Best Track: Rito de coroação

The Voidz - Like All Before You

4.5/10

Genres: Neo-Psychedelia, Art Rock

Best Track: Prophecy of the Dragon

Floating Points - Cascade

6.5/10

Genres: Tech House, IDM

Best Track: Fast Forward

Katy Perry - 143

2.5/10

Genres: Dance-Pop

Best Track: ALL THE LOVE

Blu & Exile - Love (the) Ominous World

5.5/10

Genres: West Coast Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop

Best Track: Gold

ØKSE - ØKSE

6/10

Genres: Avant-Garde Jazz, Experimental Hip Hop

Best Track: Amager (feat. billy woods)

Тощо [Toshcho] - Косметика

5.5/10

Genres: Glitch Pop, Indietronica

Best Track: Бюро

Alexander Gregory Kent - Teaches Dust to Reason

6.5/10

Genres: Drone, Post-Rock, Ambient

Best Track: Horse Goes to Heaven

See Website For More Reviews: Calliope Music