NEW MUSIC MONDAY (10/30)
From buzzing albums, innovative singles, and electrifying concerts, Playback staff shares their thoughts on the new music catching their attention in our inaugural edition of New Music Monday.
ALBUMS
SAMPHA – LAHAI
This summer, Sampha performed a rare mini-tour titled Satellite Business that prominently featured a new single called “Spirit 2.0,” his first solo release since his 2017 debut album Process. Now, Sampha has returned with his second album, Lahai, released on October 20th. The record features both “Spirit 2.0” and a song called “Satellite Business,” alongside 12 others. Fans have eagerly awaited new material from Sampha, and Lahai delivers a surprising but comforting evolution of the sound and approach heard on Process. The album is a celebration of serenity and compassion that loses none of the self-reflection or emotional nuance always present in Sampha’s vocals. In “Dancing Circles,” Sampha does more with less, constructing a moving reflection on relationships and growth through contrasting piano parts, subtle vocal variations, and frantic drums that don’t enter until the final minute of the song. This sort of instrumental experimentation is all over Lahai and allows Sampha’s artistry to shine in a way it has not before. Beats constantly transform, but never feel jarring, rather framing connected sentiments (see Léa Sen’s feature on “What If You Hypnotise Me?”). The creativity and artistic evolution across Lahai show that the past six years have been well-spent for Sampha, but hopefully he does not take another hiatus so soon. – AUGUST PHILLIPS
Standout Songs: “Spirit 2.0,” “Dancing Circles,” “Inclination Compass (Tenderness),” “Can’t Go Back,” “What If You Hypnotise Me?”
BARRY CAN’T SWIM – WHEN WILL WE LAND?
Ever-passionate, always deeply intentional, Barry Can’t Swim gifted the world his highly-anticipated debut album When Will We Land? on October 20. What he regards as a “huge personal milestone”, the 11-track album—almost a year in the making—is further proof of not only his commitment to his craft but his sheer talent for production. Each track expertly builds off of the last, weaving an eclectic, percussion-heavy musical tapestry that spans house, Afrobeat, jazz, and ambient. Delicate yet hard-hitting, the title track “When Will We Land?” is a cinematic opener that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album. Laid atop a delightfully danceable stutter house beat, the next track “Deadbeat Gospel” answers the call with spoken word poetry inviting listeners to conceptualize a religion rooted entirely in house music. The penultimate “Dance of the Crab” shines as a particularly energetic offering. From start to finish, the album interlaces vocal samples that blend seamlessly into Barry Can’t Swim’s signature atmospheric, ethereal sound. Showcasing his genuine love for musical creation, When Will We Land? is the culmination of a string of consistently high-caliber projects. Plain and simple, as one Redditor put it, “Barry Can’t Miss.” – MADISON ROSENFIELD
Standout Songs: “When Will We Land?”, “Deadbeat Gospel”, “Sunsleeper”, “Dance of the Crab”, “Define Dancing”
TAYLOR SWIFT – 1989 (TAYLOR’S VERSION)
Last Friday, Taylor Swift released the re-recorded version of her 2014 album 1989, a pivotal moment in Swift’s career as well as in 2010s pop as a whole. The record won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2015 and spawned three billboard #1 hits. This new version is the latest in a string of re-recordings that include the original tracklists as well as previously unrecorded ‘vault songs’ (of which 1989 has five). Swift said on Instagram that this was her “favorite re-record” yet because the “vault tracks are so insane,” and I can’t disagree with her. “Is it Over Now?” and “Say Don’t Go” are two of the best vault tracks she’s released, offering new stories and sounds to the album as a whole, while also holding their own. Swift also released a deluxe album a few hours later, which includes the remix of “Bad Blood” featuring Kendrick Lamar. A notable absence from this re-recording is Swedish pop titan Max Martin, who produced the original versions of “Style,” “Shake it Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” and “Wildest Dreams.” Martin’s instrumentation is inimitable, and new versions of these tracks suffer as a result. The songs produced by Jack Antonoff, however, absolutely soar. The bridge of “Out of the Woods” sounds as momentous as ever, and stands as a landmark of their decade-long partnership. – MATTHEW GAY
Standout Songs: “Is It Over Now?”, “Say Don’t Go”, “Out of the Woods”, “Welcome To New York”, “Clean”
SINGLES
- IDLES & LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – “DANCER”
IDLES are a British punk rock band known for their scrappy, rough compositions and aggressive lyricism. In most aspects, “Dancer” (the first single from their upcoming album TANGK which releases early next year) is very typical of the band. Welsh vocalist Joe Talbot growls, almost in spoken word, about the rush and sweat of dancing in the club, singing, “I give myself to you, as long as we move on the floor.” The track is good on its own, but is further improved by the presence of New York dance-rock legends LCD Soundsystem. The two bands toured together recently, and the voices of vocalists James Murphy and Nancy Whang collide perfectly with Talbot’s on the chorus. Additional producers on the song include hip-hop heavyweight Kenny Beats, as well as frequent Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich. The nonstop aggression radiating from this song makes it an apt teaser for TANGK, and its star-studded list of personnel shows IDLES’ passion for collaboration. – BEN ROTHMAN
TROYE SIVAN – “ONE OF YOUR GIRLS”
What does it mean to be queer in America? While that question may be difficult to answer in only a few words, Troye Sivan’s new song “One Of Your Girls” is a great opening thesis to a long discussion. Although, the song presents as a love song, a closer look into the lyrics elicits a connection to the diverse tapestry of queer American history. Specifically, in the 1980s-90s at the start of the AIDs epidemic, in New York City, a new subculture regarding transgender sex work emerged. This act was colloquially termed “the stroll,” with the term “one of your girls” often used to describe a prostitute. Sivan’s use of the lyric in the chorus coupled with his literal use of drag to transform himself into a woman draws a strong parallel to the historical queer cultural concept of “the stroll.” “One of Your Girls” is an important piece of media for queer visibility because it not only pays homage to the struggles and resilience of the queer community but also challenges societal norms and stereotypes. There is so much power in being queer and as we move forward in the present, it is beautiful that prominent artists like Sivan are bringing visibility to the past. – FAHITZA QUESSA
CAROLINE POLACHEK, “DANG”
Caroline Polachek’s “Dang” crashed onto the music scene with a buzzing, slightly unhinged sound that seems to be reaching new ears not just online, but also on mainstream media in spite of its experimental nature. The track features some absurdist lyrics (“Maybe it’s forever, maybe it’s just shampoo;” “It’s a shame, I spilled the milk on the bed”), unnerving but energetic pop production, and a bridge that samples the singer screaming for 15 seconds straight—it sounds unlistenable on paper, but is in fact one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard this year (and it’s certifiably dance-able, too). Polachek debuted “Dang” on the Colbert show, where she donned a red patent leather skirt suite and hearing aids and spent the entirety of her performance clicking through a powerpoint filled with strange diagrams in a satirical take on a Ted Talk. It was nonsensical and fabulously camp, pushing the boundaries of just how weird a pop artist can be not just in their music, but in their image as well. Coming fresh off the heels of her incredible Desire, I Want To Turn Into You album earlier this year, Caroline Polachek continues to twist music in magical, unimaginable ways, indoctrinating more and more listeners into the cult of weird pop. – MACY SINREICH
CONCERTS
FLESHWATER & HARM’S WAY
Fleshwater and Harm’s Way, supported by Jivebomb and Ingrown, performed at the Brooklyn Monarch on Friday, October 27. In advance of Halloween, the venue’s interior was decorated with cobwebs, ghosts, and even a strange Walter White ornament that was suspended above the crowd. The Massachusetts-based band Fleshwater, known for their unique blend of shoegaze, grunge, and alternative metal, began their set with a snippet of a new song before playing most of the tracks on their 2022 debut album We’re Not Here to Be Loved. The record is sonically and stylistically reminiscent of 90s alternative rock but is much more brooding and heavy than its predecessors. Harm’s Way, a hardcore outfit from Chicago, followed Fleshwater’s electrifying set with their own. Beginning with the aggressive single “Devour” from Common Suffering—their latest album that sees the band at their most misanthropic, exploring the pains intrinsic to modern life while still maintaining their signature raw sound—they delivered an intense and nearly flawless performance, with its only weak point being its brevity. From this show, both acts, while already relatively well-known within their respective scenes, certainly earned a new collection of fans in and outside of Brooklyn. – BRYANA DAWKINS
SOUND ON, NY PHILHARMONIC
On Friday, October 27, 2023, the New York Philharmonic performed their Sound On program, which consisted of three contemporary pieces conducted by Brad Lubman: for your eyes only (1989) by John Zorn, Dawning for improvising musicians and orchestra (2023) by Kinan Azmeh and Layale Chaker, and Gougalōn, Scenes from a Street Theater (2009/2011). Zorn’s piece drew from several sources of influence spanning from experimental jazz to film music and heavy metal, creating an uncommon, metered instrumentation work championing the avant-garde. It was composed as a “file card piece,” in which sixty cards labeled with rhythmic, melodic, and stylistic ideas were later arranged, breaking with his improvisation tradition. This performance was the work’s New York Philharmonic premiere. The following piece, a double concerto composed by Azmeh and Chaker this year, drew from Syrian and Lebanese composition and classical and jazz influences. The performance produced an emotional appreciation towards human love and nature out of traditional orchestral instrumentation and several references to Arabic lullabies and repertoire, with the two performer-composers soloing on clarinet and violin, respectively. The third piece featured an interaction between electronic and acoustic sounds, and Chin blended several percussive timbres to produce a dream-like and folkloric work. The piece was internationally inspired by early Germanic language, the physical and social landscape of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and the composer’s personal memories of growing up in Seoul. Together, the three-piece program was a contemporary curation and international celebration of late-twentieth and twenty-first century musical progression, spanning approximately two hours in the David Geffen Hall. – JENNIFER SU