August has been a very busy month for me thanks to the usual end-of-lease bullshit those of us stuck in the hell known as the rental housing crisis, so I've barely had any time to listen to anything, let alone write.
This small issue features the latest releases from Citizen, ARTMS, The Avalanches, plus a little dive into Slayyyter's incredible Like A Version!
Halcyon Blues - Citizen
Wow! I wasn't the biggest fan of Citizen's previous album, Calling The Dogs, but Halcyon Blues is a solid return to form for the band that revisits the style and inspiration of their previous albums, without feeling cheap or phoned-in.
Citizen are so good at making catchy hooks that make you want to let loose and dance. The opening track, Good Fortune, draws from the band's grungier, post-punk roots. It's a groovy track that doesn't beat around the bush, serving as the perfect appetiser for the rest of the album.
There's a heavy sense of nostalgia and uncertainty seeping through the lyrics on this album, yet despite the melancholic atmosphere, Halcyon Blues is undeniably comforting. Vocalist Mat Kerekes has this wonderfully charming quality and warmth in how he carries himself, and it's impossible not to hear glimpses of that in his songwriting.
If you're looking for a good modern emo record with a strong sense of melody and experiments with post-punk/grunge, indie pop and alt-rock ballads, this is absolutely the album for you.
Can't Get Over Losing You - The Avalanches (feat. Portraits of Tracy)
The Avalanches are gearing up for another mind-melting album that will probably reinvent the wheel. There is no other album slated for the end of the year that I want to hear more than this one! Let me have it, please!
Portraits of Tracy is the most unexpected collaborator to see on this album so far, and wow, what an amazing feature. Can't Get Over Losing You is a downright heavenly pop song. This song makes you float, and Tracy's vocals are absolutely stellar with this production. Please just go listen to this right now. This is my biggest recommendation this entire month!
No one does it like The Avalanches. They're one of the most important Australian bands of all-time and truly the reigning kings of the Modular Records era. There's something about the way they arrange songs that tickles your emotions in a very 'you don't find our music, our music finds you' type of way. I know a lot of people (or, the Aussies at least) are really jonesing for their older, hip-hop driven sound, but if this is a teaser for their new sonic direction, then I am beyond excited for the album.
Slayyyter for Triple J's Like A Version
When I heard that Slayyyter chose Hole for her LAV, my jaw dropped. Hole are one of my favourite bands of all time and it's always wonderful when artists I love pay homage to the ones that essentially raised me. When I was around the age of 14-18, the Hole discography was like a bible to me, especially Celebrity Skin and Live Through This, the latter of which I learned how to play guitar to. Courtney Love's vocals are like none other, they're gritty, raw and emotionally haunting.
I think Slayyyter did an incredible job on this son, she's got some absolute hefty pipes! I know people get really antsy about cover songs and always like to have an air of tall poppy syndrome about them, especially in Australia (you can look this up online if you're interested in post-colonial readings) but to them I say: I'd like to see you do better.
Anyway, I'd love for a collaboration with Courtney Love to arise in the future if there were ever a chance!
P.S If you are one of the lucky buggers that won the ticket war for Slayyyter's recent Australia tour, I am so jealous of you. This will probably be the last time she ever plays a small venue in Australia, and it's always such a flex to have that high-energy, small venue experience. It's probably one of the few advantages of living here.
Hyper-Ego - ARTMS
Hyper-Ego is an odd one, and the reception to it online was incredibly divisive, to say the least. Change can be a scary thing, especially in the k-pop sphere as of late, and this album is a significant departure from ARTMS' usual crisp vocals and ethereal synth-pop that everyone has grown accustomed to. Honestly, I was quite amused by the fact almost everyone I follow absolutely hated it. It was definitely jarring for me at first but I didn't think it was remotely that bad and it's nowhere close to being one of the worst album I've listened to all year.
Now that the dust has settled a little bit and I've had the chance to listen to it in different contexts, as well as witnessed how the songs are being used in creative fan projects on social media, I've grown more fond of it. Weirdly enough, a divisive album in any band's discography is always a fun one, regardless of whether or not it was lauded by critics and fans alike. These albums often spark some of the most interesting music discussions, especially as they age and people reflect on an artist's career retrospectively.
I'm sure ARTMS could easily release <DALL> and It's The Same but There's Three More Songs So It's Not and Club Icarus and It's Completely Different but Also Still Club Icarus, but where's the fun in that? Ever since I started listening to LOONA, I've always viewed them as a more experimental group, and that legacy has carried on through ARTMS body of work: Heejin is like a Bratz Rock Angel come to life and has released a fun, grungey/alt-rock single, Haseul excels at sensual jazz and dreamy city-pop, and the recent Odd Eye Circle (a subunit consisting of Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry) solo singles are nostalgic homages to the 80s, 90s and 00s respectively.
Born Stunner reminds me a lot of f(x) and probably the closest thing to a modern day spiritual successor to one of their title tracks from the pre-4 Walls era. It's grating, abrasive and colorful. 'I said ok ok ok ok, born stunner' is a ridiculously catchy hook that has been stuck in my head for weeks! This feels like the perfect song to release especially after they performed an incredible cover of Red Light just a few months prior.
Pixel Memory is the highlight from this entire EP for me and I almost wish it were the title track instead. It's cute, high energy, and sounds like something you'd hear used in someone's twitch stream whilst they're doing a high level raid in an MMO. You can definitely hear the influence of underscores on this song too.
The two songs that missed the mark for me were Blue Blood and Icarus Gang. Blue Blood was a good attempt at electropop meets ballad, though I can't help but feel like it is missing some fun instrumentals that would give it a much stronger and long lasting impression. Icarus Gang unfortunately really brings down the entire album for me. I wasn't fond of the demo preview and the final song ended up sounding painfully outdated, and not in a fun or nostalgic way. If this song were left off the album, I think Hyper-Ego would be a stronger album.
ARTMS are definitely no strangers to exploring new genres and Hyper-Ego absolutely fits within the scope of their group identity, though the main criticism I definitely understand comes from the fact this album doesn't sound trendy yet unique, and rather too similar to other pop releases this year. My only real worry now is where the long term vision for the group lies. Their A&R team is extremely clued in to what's trendy right now in hyper-pop/alt-pop spheres, which is great, though I'd hate for these genres to become what 2010s deep house has become to modern k-pop. We need to keep things fresh and varied, and this is where groups like ARTMS are important.
Whenever I think of experimental groups who have truly embodied their concepts to their fullest, and have strong visual concepts and matching discographies that are catchy, maximalist, and against the grain, Red Velvet, f(x), Orange Caramel, and NMIXX have by far the strongest catalogues, but I'd really love for ARTMS to reach those heights as well. The girls have proven thus far they are very capable of it. All I know is that where ARTMS go after this will be most interesting, and I'd hate to see them end up like every other girl group after their experimental comeback fails.