Songs You Need To Hear Now #34
It's the Bo Jackson of playlists - we're talking about some new Slumberland Records releases, and Crosses, the excellent electronic side project for the Deftones' Chino Marino.
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Since this may be the first mid-week playlist for many of you, welcome to the space I typically reserve for quick picks. Whether itâs looking at a few songs Iâm especially digging on the playlist or album reviews that may not justify their own post, Iâm here to share some nuggets and find out what youâre listening to!
âSongs You Need To Hear Nowâ is typically full of tunes from the past month of releases, and all of them are added to the âGood Ass Songs 2023â playlist that you will find further down the page. We also have âEarwormz,â which is a genre-bending, time-travelinâ collection that has only two requirements: itâs full of songs that will stick in your brain for the rest of the day, and hopefully, you havenât heard most of these gems a million times. Want âSmells Like Teen Spirit,â âCruel Summer,â or âHotel California?â This ainât it.
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I sound like a skipping record, but since the beginning of September, itâs been borderline overwhelming how much excellent new music weâre hearing, and last week was predictably stacked! Besides yesterdayâs Uni Boys review, Iâm still ruminating on new albums from old friends like Damien Jurado and Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade/Moonface/Sunset Rubdown). Here are a few more songs from the playlist that I think the album is worth digging into:
Slumberland Records is somehow one of the most legendary indie labels while still being slept on almost twenty-five years after its formation. The Oakland label was responsible for a few of my favorites from last year, like Artsick or Kids on a Crime Spree, and theyâve dropped a few recent late contenders. The title track from Fertile State, the newest album from Blue Ocean, is a must-hear for those who love noisy shoegaze bliss. This past Friday also saw the release of Good Good Great!, the good, good, GREAT debut EP from New Jerseyâs Lightheaded, which is one for the jangle pop lovers. Iâd assume there is much crossover on the Venn diagram for these genres.
Deftones will always be my one exception to the late nineties nu-metal scene; otherwise, I have a hard time drumming up nostalgia. Thatâs thanks to leader Chino Mareno, who, from their earliest records, pushed the band into more experimental territory. The lineups may change, but Deftones continues to release new albums that never fail to surprise, and I often find myself loving them more with each one.
Mareno has a few other outlets for his more electronic work, like the self-titled classic one-off from Team Sleep in 2005. â â â (Crosses) is Marinoâs other project with Farâs Shaun Lopez, and they dropped Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete., their first album in nine years last week. While I wasnât wild about their debut (which I may need to revisit), this new one is an electronic beauty that flirts with industrial and includes features from El-P and The Cureâs Robert Smith. Neat!
Itâs worth dropping all of your Deftones pre-conceptions and giving it a listen - âRunnerâ is an excellent example of Marenoâs diversity!
What song or album is making you get out of bed in the morning this week? Let me know in the comments!
These songs are also included in the ever-popular Good Ass Songs 2023 playlist. At over three hundred songs and counting, itâs the best way to catch up on another excellent year of music!
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Canât pick something to listen to? Throw on Earwormz!
Thanks for this weekâs great playlist! Iâd already been listening to the latest Squirrel Flower album and am really enjoying it.
Iâve been working my way through some of these new albums by the new (to me) artists on your post and there are a couple standouts for me. Iâd never heard of Blue Ocean and Iâm really enjoying what Iâve heard of Fertile State. Likewise for Crosses - I think Iâm really gonna enjoy this album based on what Iâve heard so far!
And Iâm really glad you posted CMAT. I heard the album in passing the other day and it kinda passed me by. For whatever reason, after listening to the EP and going back to the album, itâs grabbing me much more this morning.
Not sure whether youâve listened to Coyote by Dylan LeBlanc, but if not I highly recommend giving it a spin. Iâve spent some time with it every day over the last week and itâs already very likely earned a place on my top 50 for 2023.
Long running fan of the Deftones and particularly Chino. Crosses is amazing and I've gotten to the stage in thinking he'd nearly be better off ditching Deftones altogether and just concentrating on them. As much as I love Deftones they've kind of become formulaic over the last while.