Feel-good pop doesn’t seem to fulfil its promise these days. But Arlo Parks‘s debut album, “Collapsed in Sunbeams”, manages to bring a little bit of sunlight-infused pop into our hearts and ears. Extra points for the poetic-feel and the whimsical but very accurate Portra 400 reference.
Bolachas Now Playing, a new music Spotify playlist, updated every Wednesday.
John Darnielle is Getting Into Knives! And it’s probably his best album in almost a decade, when ‘All Eternals Deck’ brought us some of the most memorable the Mountain Goats songs. Closing the album, the title track is the standout here – a repeat affair right after the first listen.
Plus: new tracks by Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Helena Deland, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Woods, Okey Dokey, The Shilohs, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Matt Berninger (The National), The Besnard Lakes, Plastic War, Strange Ranger, Son Little, Nilüfer Yanya, Ariana Grande, Hot Chip (with Jarvis Cocker), Harolddd (with Faye Webster), Skyway Man, Julien Baker, Skullcrusher, Adrianne Lenker, Sierra Ferrell, Oliver Wood, Mandolin Orange, Grace Gillespie, and Valley Maker.
No matter your mood today, make sure you adopt a heartbreak album. Look no further. Courtney Marie Andrews can’t write a bad song. And the ones on her new collection of 10 not bad songs, “Old Flowers”, are so good that we just noticed we’ve featured one of them twice. Plus: new tracks by Fenne Lily, Native Harrow, Lori McKenna, H.C. McEntire, Skullcrusher, Taylor Swift, Lydia Loveless, Aubrie Sellers, Daniel Donato, The Nude Party, Hoops, Old 97’s, Dawes, Jarvis Cocker, Sylvan Esso, Walter Martin, Lala Lala, trayer tryon, Andy Shauf, Durand Jones & The Indications, Grace Sings Sludge, Ora Cogan, Isobel Campbell, Tom Brosseau, Colter Wall, Brent Cobb, and the Tweedy family.
If you haven’t had your weekly crying session yet, Christian Lee Hutson‘s debut record, Beginners, has got you covered. Even if the quarantine hasn’t gotten to you yet, prepare to get drenched in beautiful nostalgia (the good kind). But there’s more: new tracks by Zachary Cale, Skullcrusher, Leah Senior, Katy Kirby, Nicole Atkins, Courtney Marie Andrews, The Deer, Bright Eyes, Jaime Wyatt, Ray LaMontagne, Pax (feat. Kate Bollinger), Josephine Foster, Mary Lattimore, Orville Peck, Shirley Collins, Lawrence Rothman and Marissa Nadler, Wilder Maker and Gabriel Birnbaum, Hailu Mergia, Nubya Garcia, Natalia Lafourcade, Cut Worms, Logan Ledger, Night Shop, Waltzer, and Psychic Markers.
Blake Mills has been over the place over the past few years, including this very setlist (that’s also him on Perfume Genius’ new track). You can find him producing, playing or singing on albums such as Laura Marling’s “Semper Femina”, Dawes’ “We’re All Gonna Die”, Conor Oberst’s “Salutations”, Weyes Blood’s “Titanic Rising”… you know the drill. They’ve all been featured here. After adding some guitar tracks on Cass McCombs’ “Mangy Love” a few years back, he has now invited back the fellow Californian for some collaborative songwriting on his exquisite, brilliant new album, “Mutable Set”.
Plus: brand new tracks by A.O. Gerber, Skullcrusher, Fenne Lily, Dana Gavanski, Modern Studies, Woods, Blitzen Trapper, Dougie Poole, Willie Nelson, Sarah Siskind, Matthew Tavares, Masaki Batoh, Fontaines D.C., Disheveled Cuss, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, White Denim, Gia Margaret Music, Dirty Projectors, Jessie Ware, Tei Shi, Kehlani, Thundercat, and Bad Bunny.