Rec
đż
If you want to feel like a Gregg Araki character, throw on âWillow,â the new single from Minneapolis dream rockers sheâs green. They wash pop music out until itâs something entirely different. The bandâs dense arrangements are like taking a warm bath, or sunbathing in a creek, or being half awake. Watercolor guitars support a story of evolving love, and the drums hint at the âgaze groupâs unpredictable range. Following the time-honored tradition of songs in this style, thereâs a less-is-more lyrical approach, pumped with air and stretched out lengthwise. It takes around six seconds to grandiosely amble through the word "metamorphosis." With so many references to Mother Nature, it feels both weeping and grounded.
- Madeline Frino
5d ago
Related Recs
Rec
âEWYT,â the new single by the North Carolina alt-folk artist Loose green, feels like stumbling upon a moment thatâs still happening. The lyrics open with either âletâs go to New York Cityâ or âitâs cold in New York City.â I canât quite make it out, but either way, Iâm transported into a scene that feels straight out of Inside Llewyn Davis. It hits like a forgotten demo from some 60s folk underdog.
Heavily inspired by older folk and rock and occasionally interjecting elements of noise, the project is the work of one artist playing every instrument and churning songs until the good ones come out. Earlier this year, Loose green released 7 Songs by Loose Green, a reflective, low-key record. You'll find similar moods running through both that and âEWYT.â Thereâs a certain heaviness in his voice that brings to mind Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon; the storytelling here is intimate and unfiltered. - J.vienberg
Heavily inspired by older folk and rock and occasionally interjecting elements of noise, the project is the work of one artist playing every instrument and churning songs until the good ones come out. Earlier this year, Loose green released 7 Songs by Loose Green, a reflective, low-key record. You'll find similar moods running through both that and âEWYT.â Thereâs a certain heaviness in his voice that brings to mind Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon; the storytelling here is intimate and unfiltered. - J.vienberg
Jul 16, 2025
Rec
Seven years ago The Ophelias made Always, the prettiest indie album ever.
This new album, produced by Julien Baker, isnât so pretty. The instruments are turned up and chaotic. Spencer Peppetâs vocals can be difficult to find in that loud mix when first listening, but theyâre there and theyâre urgent. Her lyrics are like poems with choruses. They arenât always the most rhythmic or musical, like itâs more important to get her thoughts out than to craft a perfect verse.
Theyâve tagged this album as âmermaid rockâ and ânature punkâ and I think youâll see that those are fitting descriptions!
Cumulonimbus is a good song to start with. Salome is a banger!
This new album, produced by Julien Baker, isnât so pretty. The instruments are turned up and chaotic. Spencer Peppetâs vocals can be difficult to find in that loud mix when first listening, but theyâre there and theyâre urgent. Her lyrics are like poems with choruses. They arenât always the most rhythmic or musical, like itâs more important to get her thoughts out than to craft a perfect verse.
Theyâve tagged this album as âmermaid rockâ and ânature punkâ and I think youâll see that those are fitting descriptions!
Cumulonimbus is a good song to start with. Salome is a banger!
Rec
âsnagged this album after listening to Dear Nora's Katy Davidson guesting on an old episode of Time Crisis. "flowers fading" in particular has this mellow, humble, grateful vibe that is addictive. "woke up from a dream about Lady Gaga / then took a whiff of my coffee beans" is a great way to open a song.
Jan 29, 2024
Top Recs from @ninaprotocol
Rec
HĂŒsker DĂŒ were in limbo in 1985. Their relationship with SST was starting to sour after the legendary Twin Cities bandâs release of New Day Rising, and by the end of the year they were in talks with major labels (Septemberâs Flip Your Wig stayed with Greg Ginnâs label, but Warner swept in soon after). Now, five live recordings from the top of 85, split between those aforementioned albums, were unearthed and freshened up by the archival titans at Numero Group, who also put out the groupâs 2017 box set Savage Young DĂŒ.
Donât expect a bootleg. The hometown show at Minneapolis venue First Avenue was recorded to 24-track tape for an intended release that never came to fruition. Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 1 highlights the bandâs brash, pop-pushing punk, proving that good things come in threes. Their raw presence surely silenced a few naysayers who, at the time, thought their melodic inclinations and genre bleed pointed towards a âcommercialâ sound. Some people donât know what theyâve got until itâs gone ⊠and then recovered by the label that introduced Duster to Gen Z. - Madeline Frino
Donât expect a bootleg. The hometown show at Minneapolis venue First Avenue was recorded to 24-track tape for an intended release that never came to fruition. Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 1 highlights the bandâs brash, pop-pushing punk, proving that good things come in threes. Their raw presence surely silenced a few naysayers who, at the time, thought their melodic inclinations and genre bleed pointed towards a âcommercialâ sound. Some people donât know what theyâve got until itâs gone ⊠and then recovered by the label that introduced Duster to Gen Z. - Madeline Frino
Jul 8, 2025
Rec
What if the entire Splice library was launched into the ether, prompting a Pokemon-esque scavenger hunt to catch âem all? This is what ear pulls off. And yet, the duoâs voices are the best instruments in the mix. Chopped notes and cheeky whispers and sharp breaths abound in their latest singles, âFetishâ and âValley Serpent.â A cut-and-sew craft project of a song, âFetishâ shows impressive restraint for as long as possible before mutating multiple times. Itâs not just a glazed ambient track, or bass-boosted electronic, or .5 speed breakcore. The disjointed lyrics are hypnotically aphasic, as if having a stroke could be a beautiful experience. âValley Serpentâ has the same structureless setup, shrouding a poignant piano ballad in blown-out artificial noise. For all they add, they know when to get minimal. The gentle recitation âfeels like a burdenâ is scripted to haunt. The most Lynchian release of the year!
- Madeline Frino
Jul 17, 2025
Rec
The Norwegian experimental musician HĂ„vard Volden has the CV of a lifer. For over a decade, he has played in the experimental rock band Moon Relay. For coming up on two decades, he has been a collaborator with the Norwegian singer and songwriter Jenny Hval. So itâs fitting that his new record is called Small Lives. Itâs full of jazzy, experimental guitar music that lives on the edges of multiple genres, which is also befitting of an artist whose seasoned approach to the guitar is accommodating of a variety of methodologies and traditions. As a whole, itâs a pleasant listen, its moderate dissonance taking on a vaguely ECM feel at times, its guitar playing nodding to folk and rock and drone, its tactile electronics dancing in the corners of the composition. What is the ideal listening environment for this record? Headphones and a couch wouldnât hurt.
- editorial
Jul 21, 2025