In No Particular Order: 4 Albums You Need To Hear This Week (May 29, 2020)
Welcome back to another In No Particular Order!
The best place for you to discover some of the week’s best new album releases from the comfort of your home or wherever you browse the web (bedroom? Park? Toilet seat? All of the above?)
In this week’s collection, we feature four fantastic releases from tropoical house icon Kygo, singer-songwriters Christian Lee Hutson and Mirabelle, and long-standing noise rock group Deerhoof. With a little bit of everything, you’ll surely find something to enjoy – and turn toilet time into productive time.
As always, don’t forget to follow us on social media. You can find Dusty Organ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify to stay up to date on new releases. Also, you can find tracks from these albums and more on our Monthly Spotify playlist.
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Christian Lee Hutson – Beginners
9/10
Folk/Singer-songwriter
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Christian Lee Hutson captures what it means to be human on his new album Beginners. Through sincere and emotive songwriting, he branches together the ups and downs of life across ten tracks, each lead by his soothing voice and lyrical storytelling.
Nostalgia and sifting through the past builds the narrative on most of the album, with songs reminiscing about past loves on “Lose This Number” and “Single For the Summer”, the heartbreak of loss on “Northsiders”, or reliving the glory days on “Get The Old Band Back Together”.
Just as acclaimed songwriters Ben Gibbard, Phoebe Bridgers (she produced the record), or Conor Oberst (a close friend of his) are able to turn lyrics into detailed portraits, Hutson does the same on Beginners. On “Northsiders”, he sings “You said that we would always be / branches on the same old tree / reaching away from each for eternity”, as he sings about a lover gone too soon. “Drinking 40s on the roof / I told you I was dying then / It was technically the truth” as Hutson broods for the past on “Single For the Summer”.
Beginners is a goldmine of sincerity and genuine songwriting, not relying on studio gimmicks and overproduction to get the best results. Instead, all he needs is his voice, guitar, and a few friends to build a captivating release.
Notable tracks: “Talk” // “Northsiders” // “Single for the Summer”
Deerhoof – Future Teenage Cave Artists
7.5/10
Noise-rock/Experimental
Deerhoof have quite the discography.
16 studio albums in 26 years. The San Fran four-piece have been at it since 1994 and continue to mesh together noise rock, avant-garde, and conceptual lyricism on their latest album Future Teenage Cave Artists. Depicting the impending apocalypse, their new album is a frantic, dizzying spin of guitars, bass, and unpredictable percussion that turns pessimism and the dark truths of the world into chaotic fun.
Themes such as feminism, (sci-fi rock track “Zazeet”), religion (“Damaged Eyes Squinting into the Beautiful Overhot Sun”), capitalism, and mass-production are in their scopes on Future Teenage Cave Artists, especially on tracks “New Orphan Asylum for Spirited Deerchildren” and “”Farewell” Symphony”, the latter inspired by the Haydn symphony finale by the same name. Baroque music finds its way onto the record again as the album’s closer, which features a muted piano playing “I Call On Thee” by J.S. Bach. It’s a soothing finish to a sonic rollercoaster of artistic expression, bringing to life the ongoing frustations and dark habits of the world.
Future Teeange Cave Artists is not an easy listen, but with each new play, the songs become deeper and more powerful.
Notable tracks: “Future Teenage Cave Artists” // “O Ye Saddle Babes” // “”Farewell” Symphony”
Mirabelle – Late Bloomer
7/10
Indie pop/Singer-songwriter
Although Laurence Hélie began her career as a Francophone folk artist, she eventually faced what she called a “musical depression”. The songs she wrote didn’t feel right and she began to lose her passion for music. That was until she decided to restart and make the shift from her roots a rural Quebec native and into a Canadian singer-songwriter.
Performing under the name Mirabelle, Hélie has released her “debut” release Late Bloomer; a collection of songs inspired by her upbringing on bands with strong female leads like The Cranberries and Mazzy Star. From glossy shoegaze on tracks like “One In A Million” and “Phénomène”, to more soft-spoken storytelling on “Wall” and “Cheated”, and even more denser tracks like “Better” and “Teeange Dreams”, Late Bloomer showcases Hélie’s confidence as a songwriter without being flashy or in your face. There’s a connection made from a distance, but one that still holds value; her voice sounds comfortable, like a friend over the phone telling a story and only those on the call matter as she shares her darkest secrets and hazy nostalgia.
Notable tracks: “Betty” // “Teenage Dreams” // “Cheated”
Kygo – Golden Hour
7/10
Electronic/Tropical house
The recipe’s the same on tropical house icon Kygo‘s new album Golden Hour, but with summer just around the bend, it’s the perfect combination of chill beats, pop hooks, and summery instrumentation.
For an EDM release, it’s fairly extensive with 18 tracks reaching around an hour. But the Norwegian DJ makes the most of it with a handful of stellar features, including OneRepublic, Oh Wonder, Haux, Zara Larsson, Tyga and Zac Brown. Plus, it includes the smash hits “Higher Love” featuring Whitney Houston and “Freedom” featuring Zak Abel.
But fans of the artist will be happy with the release. Kygo remains on top of the genre, not overcomplicating his signature production style and keeping things familiar. Of course, nothing great comes from the ordinary, but it gets the job done as a solid EDM release.
Notable tracks: “Freedom” // “How Would I Know” // “Only Us”
