Enjoy or Don't
wow a lot of good records came out on friday
I don’t really have a profound reason why it’s been months since I’ve written a newsletter. It’s mainly 1. I have an 22-month old son (he loves Militarie Gun’s “Do It Faster” - it’s right up there with Baby Shark for him) and 2. I am always tired. That’s really it. Also, yes this is a newsletter re-brand. Welcome to Enjoy or Don’t - a title inspired by Self Defense Family’s 2014 record Try Me and referenced a few times by Miranda Reinert’s superior newsletter Step One of a Plan. Am I stoked to still be putting this out on substack? Not really. Am I going to pay $9 a month to ghost to write a free newsletter? Also probably not. I’m gonna try to write something a few times a week - recaps of cool releases, maybe some lists of songs I like every week, album anniversary deep dives, who knows really. And these will never be posted on some normal schedule because time doesn’t exist when you have an almost two-year-old.
Friday September 29th had a lot of cool releases - I wanted to talk about them all!
Enjoy or don’t.
Animal Collective - Isn’t It Now?
Like any person who was a college student in 2009 and did drugs, Merriweather Post Pavilion is one of my favorite records ever. No better feeling than walking to your anthropology class high as hell as “My Girls” blasts through my iPhone 3G headphones. Anyways, the two albums after that didn’t really grab me or maybe I just wasn’t in that head space anymore (I’ve been re-visiting them a lot lately) but last year’s Time Skiffs brought me all the way back. And this new one Isn’t It Now is doing a great job keeping me in. Very cool guy and writer Larry Fitzmaurice posted a dope interview with Geologist last week - you should pay the money and subscribe to his very good newsletter and check that out. As for me - well “Gem & I” is hitting that spot right now and the 22-minute “Defeat” puts me in the zone (usually that zone is doing the dishes).
Broken Vow - Anthropocene
If you haven’t noticed yet, Triple B Records is having a hell of a year. Continuing the momentum from 2022, BBB has been dropping heat every few weeks (Initiate, MOVE, Sunami, Magnitude etc - a lot of those records will show up on my end of the year list). Anyways, New England hardcore is alive and thriving with Broken Vow - their new record is 19 minutes of pure fury, tackling the political and environmental challenges that face us as a population and the frustration and hopelessness that comes with it. Add in the thrash influence on songs like “Kingdom Dies” and you have another banger hardcore record.
Code Orange - The Above
The Pittsburgh metal outfit returns with their fifth album The Above. I actually have a review for this going up early next week so I’m not gonna get too into it here but I included it so that I don’t get twitter replies that say “you didn’t include code orange!” Anyway it whips and “Mirror” is one of the best songs of 2023.
Equipment - Alt. Account
My dear friend Jamie Coletta emailed a few months ago telling me that “hey I think you’d really like this band.” And she was right! Like usual! This is my first dive into the world of Equipment’s music and it’s really fun. The album titles are reminiscent of stuff you’d read on the back of early 2010 emo records and that’s okay! It’s endearing - I love the Weezer energy of “Hollister Henleys” and the big energy of “Perfect Temperature Coffee” rips and ends the record on a high, frenetic beat.
Harms Way - Common Suffering
After nearly five years the band returns with the crushing Common Suffering. Produced by Will Yip, the band really explores the space reflected within their brutal offerings - “Heaven’s Call” and the King Woman-featuring “Undertow” are prime examples. This album has some of the heaviest and sharpest sounding songs in the band’s discography.
Koyo - Would You Miss It?
This record is straight fire - definitely scratches that itch of early 2000’s heavy music in the vein of Glassjaw and The Movielife. Why do I mention those bands? Maybe because Daryl Palumbo and Vinnie Caruana both contribute vocals on the record. Koyo has definitely had some hype over the past few years with their very good EP releases and it’s very exciting to see the band deliver on that with Would You Miss It?
Slow Pulp - Yard
The Anti- Records debut from the Chicago by ways of Wisconsin Slow Pulp is bound to be in a ton of Top 10 lists at the end of the year. Emily Massey’s vocal delivery of her uttering devastating lyrics has me returning to this record multiple times a day. 2020’s Moveys was fairly good but Yard is just an absolute level-up through and through. “Mud” and “Worm” are an example of how dope the band can be when they amp the guitars up to 11 while “Broadview” leans into the alt-country of things and focuses on the inner unrest of Massey’s words. Big time highlight is “Slugs” which is the song you show your friend that results in Slow Pulp becoming their favorite band.
Thank You, I’m Sorry - Growing in Strange Places
Speaking of leveling up….hollly shiiitttt is the new record from Thank You, I’m Sorry an absolute stunner. 33 minutes of some of the best indie/emo/whatever adjacent rock currently out there. It expertly shifts between a lot of styles without losing its identity (“Brain Empty,” “Train Car,” and “Head Climbing”) but it’s opening track “Your Backyard” that sets the tone - Miranda sums it up perfectly, I think.
Wilco - Cousin
Hell of a Friday for Chicago-based bands releasing new music! Produced by Cate Le Bon, Wilco’s 13th album Cousin is pretty great. The band’s last 3 albums have been very good and this one blows them out of the water. Definitely my favorite since Sky Blue Sky and I think this will creep into my top 4 Wilco albums with repeated listens. Opening track “Infinite Surprise” just starts the album in a very cool way. Tweedy and company aren’t re-inventing the wheel or anything here but it’s a fresh take on their signature sound, I think.
cool! thanks for reading! recently I wrote the album bio for Touché Amoré’s remastered Is Survived By. Also look for a terribly belated interview with Speedy Ortiz on chorus.fm this week as well. bye!
