CMU Selects – the last week’s standout releases
Kelela’s new album ‘new avatar’
R&B run through distorted guitar, shoegaze, industrial beats and UKG – the attempt at listing the genres feels futile. It’s Kelela threading intimacy through abrasion. Rooted in her early DC indie scene days, this album sees her hitting something genuinely new. One of the best albums of the year.
Jack White’s new album ‘Frozen Charlotte’
Fuzzy, lacerating, monomaniacal heavy blues. Seven solo albums in and White is still the most interesting guitarist in the room. Named after a Victorian folk ballad about a girl who froze to death rather than cover her dress. Very him.
Gilla Band’s new single ‘Placeholder’
Vocalist Dara Kiely says it’s about “the anxious tension set by Davina McCall’s silence when announcing a ‘Big Brother’ eviction”. Locked bassline, controlled space, then the floor drops out deep into the thumping, caterwauling quasi-industrial, before it all grinds back together.
Finn Wolfhard’s new album ‘Fire From The Hip’
Yes, he’s the guy from ‘Stranger Things’. He’s also actually very good at music. Jangly, 60s-textured indie-rock with a carefree surface and something more anxious underneath.
Rebecca Black’s new single ‘Hot Wet Delirious’
Taut, carnal electropop about a secret affair. Fifteen years on from ‘Friday’ going viral, the glow-up is sweat-slicked and delicious.
