A Little Something For Everyone: Pardoner, Jayda G, and Julianna Hatfield Close Out One of the Strongest Release Weeks of the Year

This week was an embarrassment of riches - don't miss out on these three albums

We’re moving in on the halfway point of the year, and while there’s been some great new music, 2021 seems to be lagging behind last year in big-hitting releases.

Some Fridays have struggled to find something that stands above the rest, but that was not the case this last week. St. Vincent released the highly successful Daddy’s Home, a funky reflection on AOR’s 70s heydey, and Damien Jurado found new ways to explore fresh sounds on his 20th(!) studio album. Meanwhile, Sons of Kemet demonstrated once again why Shabaka Hutchings’ projects are the future of jazz, already here at your doorstep.

While these albums would have made a great week on their own, here’s three more records that you can’t miss this week.

Pardoner - Came Down Different

This year has been full of old alternative retreads, and most of it hasn’t worked. Enter Pardoner, a San Francisco band who are comfortable in the 90s but have a knack for making the chords you’ve heard a thousand times sound youthful.

Came Down Different finds the band exploring the very “alternative” themes of “hopelessness, money, and feeling good in a sick and seriously twisted world” while sounding like your favorite Sonic Youth and Parquet Courts records.

Pardoner’s work is often described as lazy and sloppy, but there’s a fine art to making slackers sound this good. There’s no better way to spend thirty minutes, and “Donna Said,” “I Wanna Get High to the Music,” and “Bunny’s Taxi” are great entries that make this one of the purest indie albums of the year.

Came Down Different is available on Bar None Records.

Jayda G - DJ Kicks: Jayda G (DJ Mix)

Fresh off her Grammy nomination for her single “Both of Us,” Vancouver-born and London-based DJ Jayda G is here with her latest mix.

DJ Kicks is the post-quarantine playlist you’ve been looking for to make your barbeque the best party on the block. Jayda G is known for incorporating disco and funk into her house sets, and this latest does a phenomenal job at blending the past with the present.

Jayda G spreads the celebratory warmth by starting with the Britfunk of “London Town” by Light of the World, a trumpet-driven dancefloor filler. Staying in the era, Aged in Harmony’s “You’re a Melody” is a Detroit banger that will have you wondering why you’ve never heard it before. Other classic funk highlights include “Invasion” by Atmosfear and “More Than Enough” by Universal Togetherness Band.

Jayda G seamlessly leads the set into house territory with a remix of Naomi Daniel’s early 90s single “Stars” while exploring the headier side of the genre with “In 10,000 Pieces” by Jennifer Loveless.

This 00s indie nerd enjoyed the chilled-out remix of “Homesick” by Norway’s Kings of Convenience on a record full of deep cuts and surprises. Singer Ada double tracks her vocals to give a soulful update to their Simon and Garfunkel crooning style.

DJ Kicks: Jayda G (DJ Mix) is available on !K7 Music.

Juliana Hatfield - Blood

Speaking of the resurgence of alternative music, one of the genre’s pioneers is back with her 19th solo album. Juliana Hatfield got her start by fronting Blake Babies before her solo career, and Juliana Hatfield Three made waves on MTV’s Buzz Bin back in the early 90s.

Blood, Hatfield sounds as fresh as she did on her debut almost thirty years ago on her latest record. Another example of quarantine excellence, Hatfield recorded the songs out of her house for the first time, collaborating with Jed Davis.

After releasing two albums of covers (Juliana Hatfield Sings the Songs of Olivia Newton John and Juliana Hatfield Sings the Songs of The Police), she’s returned with an album of mangled guitar pop with her signature biting commentary. A collection of songs written during The Orange One™’s four-year term, Blood lyrically explores dark times while giving the pieces a sunny gloss.

Whether Hatfield’s mouth is full of blood from biting her tongue or singing about punching herself in the face to get out of bed over whimsical mellotron flutes, Hatfield applies the Gen X spirit to current events. It’s impossible to call Blood nostalgic because of Hatfield’s sincerity and mastery of a genre reborn.

Blood is available on American Laundromat Records.