It’s probably bad form to admit this, but I was never a big fan of Mac Miller. I mean, I liked some of his songs — but not enough to make me go all the way down the rabbit hole, you know? And based on the snippets I’ve heard of his upcoming posthumous album Balloonerism, I don’t think it’s gonna float my boat. Unlike these other seven albums that are also arriving next week:
Willow Avalon
Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Originally from Georgia and now based in New York, Willow Avalon’s musical journey began with her first word: “Elvis.” She grew up playing piano in church and taught herself guitar at age 12, using songwriting as a form of escapism. She plays, writes and produces her music alongside a small group of collaborators, crafting a sound that refreshingly blends classic country and Americana sounds. A self-described lone wolf when it comes to songwriting, Willow has long used her lyrics as both an emotional outlet and a conduit for self-understanding. “My upbringing was so turbulent and I went through a lot of trauma that I still haven’t fully processed — but I process it more and more every time I write a song,” she says. “I hope that by telling my story it’ll help people to see that you don’t always have to play the cards you were handed; you can do whatever it takes to change those cards. That’s what I did, and sometimes it was scary and I didn’t know if I’d make it out OK, but it got me to where I am today. Now I’m releasing a body of work that I put so much love into, and I couldn’t be more proud of it. All of this music is so wholeheartedly me — it’s me with my heart on my sleeve.”
Victoria Canal
Slowly, It Dawns
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Victoria Canal’s debut album Slowly, It Dawns, is culmination of a lifetime of musical knowledge, experimentation and a fearless approach to her craft. The LP also marks a new chapter: A moment of newfound clarity about the artist she wants to be. Her 2022 EP Elegy found her working through grief, while 2023’s Well Well was the “wounded rebirth” that inevitably followed. With Slowly, It Dawns, she’s ready to step into the truest version of herself. “I’m trying to be honest and unapologetic about what I want to put out there, whether it’s wholesome, sexy, loud, quiet, if I’m being femme or masc; I don’t want to apologize for it.” Written over the course of the past three years and recorded between London and Los Angeles, the album captures this sentiment as much musically as it does lyrically. From the sun-kissed indie pop of June Baby and Cuban-inflected sizzle of California Sober, to the meditative instrumentals of Totally Fucking Fine and the cinematic desperation of Cake, Canal’s stunning range is on full display across 12 revealing tracks.”
CKRAFT
Uncommon Grounds
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “CKRAFT men are craftsmen of an elaborate and powerful sound, borrowing from metal its heaviness, from jazz its shout for freedom, and from Gregorian repertoire its immortal melodies. The band’s atypical musical lineup brings the listener face to face an aggressive power trio with the frenetic blast of tenor saxophone and an accordion augmented with electronic sensors. For example: The single Misconstruction of the Universe refers to the various interpretations humans make of the universe. CKRAFT mimics this idea with a complex rhythmic motif that develops into a sharp riff, and uses the Gregorian chant Universi Qui Te Expectant as the main lead melody for this piece. The original Latin lyrics of the chant translate to “Of all those who have their expectation in you, none will be confounded… make me know your ways, teach me your paths.” The paths of all mysticisms and religions are all more or less similar, but always esoteric, they come from the Middle Ages and beyond and offer a certain interpretation of the universe, to which Science and modernity oppose. Old beliefs, modern beliefs. One question remains: which one survives?”
Delivery
Force Majeure
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Force Majeure — rarely does a title so aptly describe the contents — opens with the controlled explosion of recent single Digging The Hole. The track is three and a half minutes of precise forward motion that’s heavy enough to do serious damage, brilliantly breaking down into a percussive middle eight before one final burst of fireworks that feels powerful enough that it could propel the listener through a brick wall. The second single Operating At A Loss starts with a rumble of drums and predatory bass before it explodes out of the speakers with the kind of punk rock / new wave kick that feels like it might be preparing to propel the listener through a brick wall (extra points earned for managing to both nod to Magazine’s Shot By Both Sides and for an extensive rant about coffee in the second verse). At the points where the foot is taken off the gas, the band enter post-punk territory on The New Alphabet (think Television shooting empty Victoria Bitter tins off the back porch) and the wonderfully Wire-ish What Else. Across the whole record four voices sing, walls of guitars bite and scratch, the rhythm section locks behind them in perfect time and the listener grabs on for dear life and just tries to keep hold.”
Godzillionaire
Diminishing Returns
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Fronted by legendary singer, poet, and artist Mark Hennessy from grunge-band also-rans Paw, Godzillionaire are known for creating focused music equal in ferocity and lovelorn sensitivity, and for bringing raging, emotionally intense live performances. Hennessy is joined by Ben White (guitar), Michael Dye (bass) and Cody Romaine (drums) as well as vocals, in creating music with focus and intention, rooted in human experience. Diminishing Returns sees the band exploring new, intriguing, yet familiar sonic territory, perhaps the most eclectic release of their career.
Join them, won’t you please?”
Luther Russell
Happiness For Beginners
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Happiness For Beginners is the seventh solo record by Los Angeles singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Luther Russell. Luther is also one half of Those Pretty Wrongs, along with drummer Jody Stephens of the legendary power-pop band Big Star. Russell’s first solo album since 2019’s Medium Cool, Happiness For Beginners features 10 jangled-out 12-string Rickenbacker guitar-driven love songs. It delivers a rush of dark romantic songcraft, with a hint of Stiff Records power-pop and a nod to the classic era of post-punk college rock of the early ’80s.”
The Weather Station
Humanhood
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Humanhood, the most arresting album Tamara Lindeman has ever made as The Weather Station, was written during one of the most difficult periods of her life. Working through a crisis of meaning, she wrote from within the confusion of the experience to create the songs that would ultimately become Humanhood, a narrative album that transcribes the journey from dissociation back towards connection. It was recorded over two sessions in fall of 2023 with drummer Kieran Adams, keyboardist Ben Boye, percussionist Philippe Melanson, reed-and-wind specialist Karen Ng, and bassist Ben Whiteley. The songs were left open; Lindeman and co-producer Marcus Paquin wanted to hear the sudden sparks made by these new encounters, to witness everyone react in real-time to the songs and sketches she supplied. They all dropped into the fugue, shaping the hazy unease that is so endemic these days into tangible sound. Other friends eventually added their own pieces, like old-time updater Sam Amidon, ace guitarist James Elkington, and textural magus Joseph Shabason. Textures repeatedly shift between organic and synthetic; synths merging with sax, electronic drums shifting into banjo, as songs coalesce and then disintegrate in a direct echo of the emotional experiences that inspired them.”
