Amoeba Music

Andy Shauf’s Norm is a multi-layered album that’s a masterclass in storytelling. This is woozy, lovesick pop that feels like you’re tuning into an AM gold station in an alternate universe. The tracks possess a strange yet dreamy quality that feels both familiar and understandable--and that’s the brilliance of the album. Because beneath the well-trod ground of forlorn love songs lies something deeper and darker. In the tradition of Andy Shauf albums, Norm is a concept…where the concept feels like one of those self-proclaimed nice guys who aren’t, after all, so nice. It’s a testament to Shaun’s skills as a songwriter that these tracks feel so downright easy-breezy, so beautiful in their own pastel-hued way that their unsettling quality lurks on the sidelines until you’ve already welcomed them into your heart.

Sub Pop has released early career works from British actress, model, and singer Suki Waterhouse. The Milk Teeth EP is a collection of songs Waterhouse has called “witness to a time when I felt like I was drowning and I needed to connect on a profound level in order to stay afloat.” That explains the driving sense of desperation and desire underlying these tracks. A little grittier and more urgent than her most recent music, the tracks on Milk Teeth nonetheless still possess Waterhouse’s indelible songwriting sense—just with a little bit more shadow to accentuate the light.

Philly four-piece Soul Glo have created a beast of an album with their first for Epitaph, Diaspora Problems. This is hardcore in the purest sense of the genre: all rage, frenetic riffs, abrasive vocals, relentless percussion, and incisive takedowns of politics, society, and oppression from a Black punk POV. The record isn’t just radical politically, it’s also radical in its vulnerability and its honesty. Loud, fast, and infuriated, Diaspora Problems is one of the year’s best.

Dawes’ sound continues to evolve on this new album, which dials in jazz, prog and jam band elements to their ‘70s influenced rock. The opener segues neatly from funk rock to a proggy instrumental to a rock ballad. Arrangements are clever and intriguing throughout.

Together, Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield are Plains, and their debut album, I Walked With You a Ways, is filled with back-to-back country heartbreakers. Whether the duo is singing of broken romances or finding the grace to carry on, their songs are suffused with the beauty and fragility of the human experience, all conveyed with honey-sweet harmonies that linger in the mind. Williamson and Crutchfield’s work as a pair calls to mind the pop-country divas of the ‘90s, but imbued with an authenticity and grit that give these songs an emotional resonance beyond your standard chart-topper.

Together, Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield are Plains, and their debut album, I Walked With You a Ways, is filled with back-to-back country heartbreakers. Whether the duo is singing of broken romances or finding the grace to carry on, their songs are suffused with the beauty and fragility of the human experience, all conveyed with honey-sweet harmonies that linger in the mind. Williamson and Crutchfield’s work as a pair calls to mind the pop-country divas of the ‘90s, but imbued with an authenticity and grit that give these songs an emotional resonance beyond your standard chart-topper.

Bad Suns deliver plenty of hooks and sunny melodies on their new album Apocalypse Whenever. The title track is an immediately infectious tune, seemingly crafted for driving around in summertime. “Maybe You Saved Me," a collaboration with PVRIS, is a catchy dance track that highlights Lyndsey Gunnulfsen’s and Christo Bowman’s complementary vocals. Then there’s the effervescent "Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me." These are well-produced pop songs designed to create good times all around.

Soccer Mommy returns with another softly powerful collection, the poignant and pensive Sometimes, Forever. As always, the songs showcase Sophie Allison’s ability to create deceptively simple, unforgettable melodies steeped in hope and longing, with lyrics guaranteed to lodge in your heart. This time around, though, Allison has recruited producer Daniel Lopatin, known for the dark sheen of his work on the Uncut Gems score and The Weeknd’s Dawn FM. This partnership adds texture, intrigue, and at times, a moody, gauzy atmosphere to Soccer Mommy’s usual raw downbeat authenticity. Together, Lopatin and Allison amp up the exact qualities that have made Soccer Mommy such an indie world success while adding interesting new sonic directions that push the songwriter’s work forward in compelling ways.

She & Him’s seventh studio album is a covers collection that pulls off the rare feat of adding something fresh, distinctive, and delightful to the conversation about an artist’s work. On their newest album, Melt Away: A Tribute To Brian Wilson, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward turn their talents toward the revered Beach Boys singer and solo artist, tackling songs from the obscure to the omnipresent. The duo stays true to the original spirit of the tracks while adding their own spin, with throwback layered vocals, dreamy harmonies, and retro-referencing instrumentations. Melt Away is a total charmer of an album and a pure delight to hear.

Written during quarantine and with a title inspired by an auto-corrected text message about Sublime (classic auto-correct), Joyce Manor’s 40 Oz. To Fresno is rife with boundless energy. There’s a real desire for freedom underlying these tightly-constructed, short-but-sweet punk tracks and that lust for life is infectious. So are the choruses. Whether Joyce Manor’s getting gritty or reveling in hook-laden, propulsive punk, these tracks were meant to be turned up loud, meant to be your new anthem. This is the good stuff—pure punk rock with roots in power pop, college rock, and real deal DIY ethos.

On All of Us Flames, singer-songwriter Ezra Furman unpacks her own experience with religion, gender, and life in a voice reminiscent of Television’s Tom Verlaine, her passion and storytelling creating a sincere intimacy with the listener. Whether it’s finding a connection with an ‘80s film star (“Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club”) or a rousing anthem to her trans community (“Lilac And Black”), Furman cements her heart to her sleeve and blazes ahead.

Ibeyi’s Spell 31 is vibrant, urgent, and (yes) spellbinding. The French Afro-Cuban twin singers Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz possess lovely, dexterous voices that seamlessly shift from otherworldly highs to earthbound lows. The music itself pulls from such a vast array of influences that it feels like the duo has crafted a genre all their own: futuristic, globally-influenced, percussion-driven, experimental soul. This is a gorgeous, powerful release that you need to hear for yourself so you can understand why artists like Beyonce, Angelique Kidjo, and Erykah Badu count themselves as fans.

El Mirador is the evocative, imaginative new album from cross-cultural indie rockers Calexico. The band conjures the beauty and romance of the desert through their usual blend of Americana, rock, cumbia, and Tejano genres, this time throwing in a bit of a mid-century lounge vibe at times. The album feels both celebratory and searching—a fitting mix for a collection of songs the band has described as a response to the way the pandemic highlighted our human need for connection. The music of El Mirador feels vibrant and alive, richly textured with the small beauties and heartaches of life, each made more beautiful through their relationship to one another.

Allison Russell’s Outside Child is so assured it’s hard to believe this is the Montreal singer-songwriter’s debut album. Russell fuses Americana, blues, and soul to create a sometimes haunting, sometimes joyful sound uniquely her own. In this way, the melodies mirror her lyrical concerns as well as the overarching themes of the album—namely transcendence, healing, and hope, all springing from a place of deep-rooted trauma. Powerful, moving, and devastatingly beautiful, Outside Child marks Allison Russell as one to watch.

UK metalcore titans Architects are back with a monstrous new album. Mixing in industrial, electronic and post-rock elements with insanely catchy Rammstein-like machine gun riffs, they have leveled up on tracks like lead single “when we were young” and “tear gas.”

Architects performed their 2021 album For Those That Wish to Exist live at Abbey Road Studios, adding a healthy gravitas to their metalcore sound. The orchestral elements on the live tracks lend a dramatic airiness to the crushing choruses on “Animals” and “Impermanence.” “Little Wonder” maintains its urgency but takes on a haunting atmosphere. Fans of the British band should enjoy comparing these heightened live tracks with the album versions.

Gothic Luxury is the striking new debut from Meechy Darko of Flatbush Zombies. Working with Dot Da Genius (Lil Nas X, Kid Cudi, Jhené Aiko), the production is ice cold, the lyrics incisive, the overall vibe cathartic. It’s a powerful, hard-hitting album, written in the aftermath of Meechy’s father’s killing by the Miami police in 2020. Gothic Luxury is compelling from beginning to end, filled with nuance, emotion, and impact.

Cass McCombs’ Heartmind is a warm, intimate album that displays some of his best lyrical storytelling yet. These are the types of songs that sneak up on you and haunt the mind long after the last note has rung out; although the melodies are seemingly easy-going and gentle, the lyrics have teeth, and when combined, these folk-tinged numbers pack a punch. “Unproud Warrior” chronicles a veteran’s return from war and the emotions he grapples with as he tries to make sense of his own actions and how they fit into great societal narratives. “Karaoke” is a clever, moving look at whether a connection is real or just the facsimile of a connection. Heartmind is a slow burner with great emotional depth and lovely melodies.

City and Colour's new album, The Love Still Held Me Dear, features some of Dallas Green's most intimate, electrifying songwriting to date. Written as a way of processing the loss of his best friend, Green shares his journey through heartbreak, grief, and eventually finding comfort and hope. Elements of blues and country add sweeping emotion, grit, and fierceness to these well-crafted tracks. The songs feel like old friends, even on first listen, which is a testament both to Green's musicianship and to the real inspiration behind these songs. Fans will treasure this one.

This Must Be the Place is Apollo Brown's first instrumental album since 2014's Thirty Eight. It's a warm, summery collection of songs with a nostalgic sheen, imbued with beauty, love, and hope for a brighter tomorrow. Brown crafted these songs from compositions solicited from his colleagues, chopping, looping, and deconstructing their original work to create yearning jazz-funk numbers and hazy, dreamy soul pieces. This Must Be the Place is cinematic and striking, the soundtrack to a place and a mood you'll want to revisit again and again.