The Friday Refrain: What's New In Music

Down to brass tacks right at the get go:

Friday's New Music

Let's do the big names right off the bat: Nine Inch Nails are back with Bad Witch; a band of singer-songwriters, Dawes, releases Passwords; pop dance Panic! at the Disco return with Pray for the Wicked; and jazz genre bending Kamasi Washington is back with Heaven and Earth. Pop wise we've got Bebe Rexha's Expectations. Rockside, Grammy nominated The Record Company release All of This Life. Pop country Dan + Shay released a self titled album today. Boundary pushing and not shy to controversy experimental/hip-hop duo Death Grips release Year of the Snitch. And let's go electronica with Marshmello's Joytime II and Soulwax's Essentials. Fun story on the Soulwax album: they were invited to make a playlist for BBC's Radio 1 Essentials program, and instead they wrote an hour of new music inspired by the word "essential." Well, that should keep you in the know.

Should I bother?

  •  Nine Inch Nails: If you like NIN, then yes. Because if you still bother with NIN and have stuck with the stops and come-backs this long, you probably already have listened to it.
  • Dawes: Singing about life as they do, this album is true to the Dawes formula
  • Panic! at the Disco: This album holds strong to their 2010's sound.
  • Kamasi Washington: first, if you don't know the name then you probably haven't been to a festival in the last few years. He is a jazz saxophonist and his sound is gigantic. Orchestras, layers of sound, it's well worth a listen.
  • The Record Company: Americana rock sound. I can just picture the field of hula-hooping hoopers if they played an amphitheater.
  • Bebe Rexha: If you aren't digging the first tracks, skip ahead to track 4 or 5. Her pop ballads are really good.
  • Death Grips: explicit and not for... well, if you haven't listened to Death Grips at this point, it's probably not something you'd want to listen to.
  • Soulwax: I'm a sucker for a concept album
  • Marshmello: I live in a house of 80% Daft Punk/Alison Wonderland at this point, so I think I'll be introducing this for some variety.

Friday Refrain Bonus: Best Band Name of the Week: The Skygreen Leopards with their album The Jingling World of the Skygreen Leopards. All right all, Happy Pride Weekend, stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, don't forget your ear protection and Happy Listening!

MusicRebecca RuizFriday Refrain, Music Review