Circles Around the Sun, Heather Trost, Those Pretty Wrongs, Skullcrusher, and Danny Arakaki Highlight This Week's Playlist

Some new singles to tease some of next year's most-anticipated records.

Nov 15, 2022

Programming Note: There won’t be newsletters next week while I travel and prep the end-of-year lists. See you again on November 29th!

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As we roll into Thanksgiving, the notable records are sparse, but plenty of singles are teasing some highly anticipated albums in 2023. Let’s dig into some of these future teasing songs and a few others you don’t want to miss out on as the year ends.

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Circles Around the Sun - “Outer Boroughs”

"'Outer Boroughs' was initially composed when the track emerged from an impromptu jam in the studio around a four-chord sequence Adam was playing around with. Dan’s bassline is one of my favorites, and is unusual in that he initially heard the '1' in a different place than intended, giving extra emphasis to the downbeat of the second measure." He continues, "It's a breezy groove that paints several landscapes in vivid color before departing into deep space for an extended middle jam. Originally titled 'Ouroboros' for its cyclical nature, it was later changed to “Outer Boroughs” for a bit of mondegreen and a nod to the greatest city in the world."

Language, the fourth record from disco-space-psych rockers Circles Around the Sun, is easily my most anticipated record for next year, dropping on February 10th. With six songs and a forty-minute running time, Language seems to be everything you want out of the Los Angeles-based instrumental supergroup - extended, free-flowing jams that channel their Dead-based roots while never acting as a tribute band. The title track single from last month showed subtle growth by adding harpist Mikaela Davis and debuting the first song to feature John Lee Shannon on guitar. “Outer Boroughs” is an innovative mind-bending beast that reveals all four members at their peak playing power, including centerpiece solos from Shannon and Adam MacDougall, who continues to bend his keyboards and synths into unfamiliar territory.

Heather Trost - “The Devil Never Sleeps”

I don’t write about local music as often as I’d like, but Heather Trost’s new psych-pop record, Desert Flowers, assumes the arid landscapes of her Albuquerque roots and shouldn’t be lost in the November-sprint shuffle. Known for A Hawk and A Hacksaw, the folk band Trost fronts with husband Jeremy Barnes of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as working with Beirut, Swans, and many others; Desert Flowers is her second solo headlined album. The entire thing is fantastic, but I’m particularly drawn to “The Devil Never Sleeps” - a modern answer for those of us who are good on hearing “Tomorrow Never Knows” by The Beatles another time.

Those Pretty Wrongs - “Paper Cup”

Jody Stephens may be best known as the drummer for legendary power pop forefathers Big Star, but his contributions to music go well beyond “your favorite band’s favorite band.” On top of being a part of multiple iterations of Big Star, Stephens also drums for The Jayhawks/Wilco/Soul Asylum, etc. supergroup, Golden Smog, and co-fronts Those Pretty Wrongs with fellow songwriter Luther Russell. “Paper Cup” is the lead single from the upcoming album Holiday Camp, out in March on Curation Records. It’s a great teaser of things to come, a classic pop song built around steady hammering piano and acoustic guitar. Most of all, I appreciate that the drummer for one of the most influential groups of the past fifty years chooses to give the song a steady backbone of a beat, one that doesn’t change course for the track’s four-minute running time. It’s a bold move that will have you spinning it again as soon as it concludes.

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Skullcrusher - “Building a Swing”

I’ll be honest, “hushed bedroom pop x Secretly Canadian” is a formula that doesn’t always work for me over the past few years, but Quiet the Room, Helen Ballentine’s full-length debut as Skullcrusher, is hitting all of the right spots as autumn gets a little frosty around the edges. Ballentine’s ethereal songwriting is on point, and her use of textures and field recordings freshens up the genre. As friend of the newsletter, Matt McLister describes Quiet the Room in his excellent review for Headstuff:

“Think woodland walks, warm cashmere jumpers, tartan scarves and kicking soggy, fallen leaves out your path… these tunes are dreamy and melancholic with a twinge of darkness sprinkled throughout to create a stunning 40 minute album. The music is more than a sound, it’s a late night woodland cabin mood.”

Read his review here.

Danny Arakaki - “All Thanks”

On the other hand, “Garcia Peoples x Ryley Walker’s record label” is a combo that really piques my interest. Danny Arakaki, one of the three guitarists/singers in Garcia Peoples (spoiler: their record Dodging Dues is easily in my Top Ten for this year), ventures out under his name on Tumble In Shade, out in January on Husky Pants Records. The album is a communal effort featuring some of New York’s best talent. “All Thanks” is a predictably heady number that visits many corners, thanks partly to Samara Lubelski’s otherworldly violin. Keep this one on your calendar for an upcoming early-year highlight.