For every bad album we get sent to the station, we get a whole bunch of good records that are more than worth the attention from your ears. From dream grunge jams to two counts of awesome female singer songwriters, here are some the best new arrivals that really made our music staff ascend into musical nirvana.
1 WEED – Running Back
Vancouver-based dream grunge rockers Weed may have the worst band name, but boy howdy do they have a great sound. This band is so good at taking really catchy, rock lines and riffs and making them devastatingly heavy and sloppy, satiating all those fans of shoegaze or sludge rock.
2 WAXAHATCHEE – Ivy Tripp
It feels like just yesterday that Katie Crutchfield released her first record under the name of Waxahatchee, American Weekend, and it totally devastated me. This album contains the same strong songwriting as her first two records, only takes them in a bold, confidence driven direction. With varied instrumentation and concise song lengths, this album is an overall winner.
3 TORO Y MOI – What For?
A definite departure from Toro Y Moi’s chillwave past, What For? is a guitar based indie pop record with some serious funk chops. Tons of sun baked guitar timbres and laid back vibes. It has all the traits of being a perfect summer album, so keep this in mind during upcoming trips to the beach.
4 LAURA MARLING – Short Movie
English female folk singer songwriter Laura Marling returns with an album similar to her other releases but with the addition of occasional electric guitar and forceful lyrics. For the most part it’s intricate finger picked guitars and delicate vocals with fantastic lyrics. For any fans of the slow, sad, female singer songwriter, add Laura Marling to your go-to list.
5 NADINE SHAH – Fast Food
In the vein of English singer songwriters, Nadine Shah takes the route made by brooding songwriters like PJ Harvey and Chelsea Wolfe on her newest album, Fast Food. The songs here for the most part are spare confessionals with slow building rock instrumentals.