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Albums Out Today: Lorde, Deafheaven, Orla Gartland, Sturgill Simpson, Morly, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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Albums Out Today: Lorde, Deafheaven, Orla Gartland, Sturgill Simpson, Morly, and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on August 20, 2021:

Lorde, Solar Power

Lorde is back with her third studio album, Solar Power. The follow-up to 2017’s Melodrama was co-produced by Jack Antonoff and features the previously shared title track, ‘Stoned at the Nailed Salon’, and ‘Mood Ring’. “The album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” Lorde explained in a statement. “In times of heartache, grief, deep love, or confusion, I look to the natural world for answers. I’ve learned to breathe out, and tune in. This is what came through.” Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, and Robyn provided vocals on the record, which is being released as a disc-less, “eco-conscious Music Box” designed to minimize its carbon footprint.

Deafheaven, Infinite Granite

Deafheaven have returned with their latest LP, Infinite Granite, out now via Sargent House. Following 2018’s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, the band’s fifth album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and includes the singles ‘Great Mass of Color’, ‘The Gnashing’, and ‘In Blur’. George Clarke’s black metal howls are largely absent on the record, while guitarists Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra bring in more synth textures than on previous records. “I think that for us, the only thing that’s really paramount is that we can continue to be inspired and continue to write music that’s inspired,” McCoy said in a recent Apple Music 1 interview.

Orla Gartland, Woman on the Internet

Dublin-born singer-songwriter Orla Gartland has put out her debut full-length album, Woman on the Internet. Following a string of singles and EPs, the album was written during the first lockdown of 2020 at Gartland’s studio in Acton and recorded in October at Devon’s Middle Farm Studios. “The narrative of a lot of the songs, it jumps between songs I’m singing about someone else and songs I’m singing to myself,” Gartland explained in our Artist Spotlight interview. “There’s a lot of that self-awareness and self-reflection. In my head, the woman on the internet, she’s no one in particular, but she’s almost this like Wizard of Oz, a faceless, nameless figure who has all the answers, and is much more exciting for the fact that you have no real access to her.”

Sturgill Simpson, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita

Sturgill Simpson has released a new concept record called The Ballad of Dood and Juanita. Out now digitally, with vinyl to follow on December 3, it marks the singer-songwriter’s third album in twelve months following last year’s Cuttin’ Grass albums. Simpson wrote and recorded the new album, which he calls “a simple tale of either redemption or revenge,” in less than a week. “I just wanted to write a story—not a collection of songs that tell a story, but an actual story, front to back,” Simpson stated in press materials, further describing the album as a “rollercoaster ride through all the styles of traditional country and bluegrass and mountain music that I love, including gospel and a cappella.”

Morly, ‘Til I Start Speaking

Morly, the alias of singer-songwriter Katy Morley, has issued her full-length debut, ‘Til I Start Speaking, via Cascine and Sweet Entertainment. Following a series of EPs — 2015’s In Defense of My Muse, 2016’s Something More Holy, and 2017’s Sleeping In My Own Bed, the new record includes the advance tracks ‘Dance to You’, ‘Wasted’, and ‘Eliogy’. The album came together during stints in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and London as the artist found herself falling in love with someone across the Atlantic. Working with regular collaborator Christopher Stracey, Morly describes her process as a “subconscious exorcism”: “It’s in my own silence that the world really comes alive, and I see the deep connections.”

Bnny, Everything

Bnny, the Chicago-based band led by singer Jess Viscius alongside her twin sister Alexa Viscius, have unveiled their debut LP, titled Everything (via Fire Talk). Written over a period of several years as Jess processed the death of her partner, the album was recorded at Chicago’s Jamdek Studios and “various bedroom closets” with producer Jason Balla of Dehd, while Collin Dupuis handled the mixing. Viscius originally considered releasing only the songs she wrote following her partner’s passing, but, she explains, “that would only tell half of my truth. It seems more honest to include all of it, which is why I decided to call the album Everything. Because these songs, these memories, are everything I’ve got.”

Wolves in the Throne Room, Primordial Arcana

American black metal act Wolves in the Throne Room have dropped their latest album, Primordial Arcana, via Relapse. Featuring the previously released singles ‘Mountain Magick’, ‘Spirit of Lightning’, and ‘Primal Chasm (Gift of Fire)’, the LP marks the band’s first completely self-contained effort; performed, composed, and recorded in its entirety by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver alongside guitarist Kody Keyworth, with production and mixing done at their own Owl Lodge Studios in the woods of Washington state.

Other albums out today:

Pile, Songs Known Together, Alone; The Joy Formidable, Into the Blue; Alien Boy, Don’t Know What I Am; Villagers, Fever Dreams; Tropical Fuck Storm, Deep States; Martha Wainwright, Love Will Be Reborn; Kool and the Gang; Perfect Union; Trippe Red, Trip at Knight; Palmistry, wyrdo.

Films on MUBI in September, 2021

Modestas Mankus
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Films on MUBI in September, 2021

MUBI, the home of art cinema, unveiled their list of films for September. The list includes few MUBI releases such as Visit, or Memories and Confessions by Manoel de Oliveira and Wife of a Spy by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The month will also celebrate the cinema of Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine. MUBI will be screening selected films by Chahine, including The Blazing Sun, Cairo Station and The Land.

This is the current list of films on MUBI in September 2021.

1 September | Yellow Cat | Adilkhan Yerzhanov | Festival Focus: Venice
2 September | Visit, or Memories and Confessions | Manoel de Oliveira | Rediscovered | A MUBI Release
3 September | Holy Motors | Leos Carax | Leos Carax Focus
4 September | Knight of Cups | Terrence Malick | States of Grace: Terrence Malick Double Bill
5 September | Song To Song | Terrence Malick | States of Grace: Terrence Malick Double Bill
6 September | Mama | Li Dongmei | Festival Focus: Venice
7 September | Genus Pan | Lav Diaz | Festival Focus: Venice
8 September | Wife of a Spy | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Luminaries | Festival Focus: Venice | A MUBI Release
9 September | Fucking with Nobody | Hannaleena Hauru | Festival Focus: Venice
10 September | New Order | Michel Franco | Dystopia | A MUBI Release
11 September | The Unbelievable Truth | Hal Hartley | Hal Hartley Triple Bill
12 September | TBC
13 September | Dona Flor and her Two Husbands | Bruno Barreto
14 September | Downstream to Kinshasa | Dieudo Hamadi | Dieudo Hamadi: A Double Bill
15 September | Our Defeats | Jean-Gabriel Périot | Undiscovered | A MUBI Release
16 September | The Blazing Sun | Youssef Chahine | Focus on Youssef Chahine
17 September | Sweat | Magnus von Horn | MUBI Spotlight
18 September | David Lynch – The Art of Life | Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm | Portrait of the Artist
19 September | The Heiresses | Márta Mészáros | Independent Women: The Pioneering Cinema of Márta Mészáros
20 September | Scenes with Beans | Ottó Foky | Hungarian animated shorts
21 September | Cairo Station | Youssef Chahine | Focus on Youssef Chahine
22 September | Editing | Dustin Guy Defa | Brief Encounters
23 September | Limbo | Ben Sharrock | The New Auteurs | A MUBI Release
24 September | Simple Men | Hal Hartley | Hal Hartley Triple Bill
25 September | TBC
26 September | TBC
27 September | The Guerilla Fighter | Mrinal Sen | Voice of the Unheard: A Mrinal Sen Retrospective
28 September | Mandabi | Ousmane Sembène | MUBI Spotlight
29 September | Anne at 13,000 ft | Kazik Radwanski | The New Auteurs | A MUBI Release
30 September | The Land | Youssef Chahine | Focus on Youssef Chahine

Album Review: The Killers, ‘Pressure Machine’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: The Killers, ‘Pressure Machine’

How much can you make of a short time spent in a small town? If your heart’s in the right place, the Killers suggest on their new album, the answer is quite a lot. Arriving less than a year after Imploding the Mirage, one of the biggest and most triumphant efforts of the band’s career, Pressure Machine emerged from a period of reflection for Brandon Flowers, who recently moved back to Utah, showing his kids scenes from the town that defined much of his childhood and adolescence. What the new record sets out to do isn’t all that different: though markedly quieter and less theatrical in sound, it doesn’t find him looking inward so much as trying to gather pieces from his upbringing, presenting often tragic stories of people who are rarely named in a way that can resonate with a wider and less invested audience.

In this attempt to narrativize parts of his past, Flowers’ own perspective can get lost, creating a false sense of distance between narrator and subject and undercutting some of the album’s emotional pull. But this newfound lyrical focus – for the first time, Flowers wrote lyrics for the songs before recording them – also opens the door to some of the frontman’s most compelling and refined writing to date. He starts with some scene-setting, painting a broad-strokes portrait of his boyhood town of Nephi, in the hills “where the light could place its hands on my head,” populated by good people who “still don’t deadbolt their doors at night,” and where the opioid crisis looms large: “When we first heard opioid stories, they were always in whispering tones/ Now banners of sorrow mark the front steps of childhood homes.” He still sees himself as that “stainless kid” in the midst of all the grief and suffering, trying to make sense of how it managed to cast such a dark, impenetrable shadow over this small town.

Then, he zeroes in on the particularly affecting story of a closeted teen and childhood friend contemplating suicide: “The cards that I was dealt/ Will get you thrown out of the game,” Flowers sings on ‘Terrible Thing’, recorded using the same Tascam model Bruce Springsteen used on Nebraska. Later in the tracklist, “terrible” becomes “desperate”, as Flowers takes on the perspective of a married cop who murders his girlfriend’s abusive husband on the striking ‘Desperate Things’. For most of the song’s runtime, Flowers’ sorrowful vocals are backed by deep, reverberating guitar and subtle flourishes that give way to haunting noise. The Killers have always been more interested in melody and feeling than delivering the perfect marriage of lyrics and sound, but here, and throughout Pressure Machine, the attention to detail pays off. More than just a stylistic choice, the dusky, ‘90s-indebted tones evoke a kind of solitary dread that not only serves as the backdrop for these tales but also helps bring them to life – or, in the case of ‘Desperate Things’, cut it short.

For the Killers, this level of sonic restraint is almost liberating. These songs aren’t quite antithetical to the anthemic type of music the band usually deals in – the grandeur of opener ‘West Hills’ and the propulsive ‘In the Car Outside’ come too close to that kind of thrill – but they’re so committed to the album’s concept that they seem content to throw away otherwise essential components of the formula. There’s no escapism here, no end in sight, and as the narrator in ‘Cody’ puts it, “we keep on waiting for the miracle to come.” Part of what keeps the record grounded in reality are the snippets of interviews with local residents that are interspersed throughout it, providing both a vivid embodiment and a fascinating contrast to Flowers’ songwriting.

The lack of catharsis can be frustrating, and Flowers’ relentless sincerity can be both inspiring and limiting. To understand how he chooses to channel the stories of small-town America, though, it’s worth quoting his response to why he never gets tired of playing ‘Mr. Brightside’: “I’m able to hear it through the hearts of the people in the venue.” This kind of heartfelt approach never gets old, even if it prevents him from embracing the subtlety that Pressure Machine’s finer moments lean into. On the title track, where Flowers’ hair-raising falsetto will have you checking for a hidden second Phoebe Bridgers feature, you can feel him drifting through memory lane, rhyming Power Wheels with Happy Meals. But when he sings of looking up at the sky and wondering how small we are, his home is suddenly everybody else’s.

Watch Vince Staples and Fousheé Perform ‘Take Me Home’ on ‘Fallon’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch Vince Staples and Fousheé Perform ‘Take Me Home’ on ‘Fallon’

Vince Staples and New Jersey singer Fousheé were the musical guests on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Seated back-to-back on a rotating platform, they delivered a performance of ‘Take Me Home’, their collaboration from Staples’ self-titled album. Watch it below.

Vince Staples, the follow-up to the rapper’s 2018 effort FM!, dropped in July. More recently, he released the Pokémon-inspired track ‘Got ’Em’. Next year, he’s set to join Tyler, the Creator on his arena tour.

Album Review: Cots, ‘Disturbing Body’

Conor Lochrie
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Album Review: Cots, ‘Disturbing Body’

A multi-disciplinary artist and multi-instrumentalist, Steph Yates has clearly done a lot. A brief perusal of her website brings up compositions, animations, and sculptures, even before getting to the music. Known for Ontario musical projects Esther Grey and Cupcake Ductape, Yates now operates under the Cots name, and this debut album, Disturbing Body, is intensely thoughtful and emotionally complex. There are weighty ideas here: Yates is concerned with mysteries of love and attraction within our universe. “These songs, for the most part, have to do with the heart,” Yates said, and you can sense it in this collection of songs; the record is an evidently personal creation. 

Perhaps given the grand subject matter, one would have expected a sonic palette of equal majesty, but it’s missing on Disturbing Body. Instead, Yates opts for simpler instrumentation, favouring brushes of acoustic guitar, hints of furtive bossa nova, and slight jazz interjections. What the meagre backdrop does too, however, is present Yates as a writer of terrific ability: the intricate and contemplative narrative in ‘Our Breath’ and the poetic structure of ‘Last Sip’ mark her as a writer in musician’s clothing (from her website, only one chapbook relating to art appears under ‘Writing’). “The saddest breath of the bottle is your last sip,” begins ‘Last Sip’, a supremely gut-wrenching line. The closing song, ‘Midnight at the Station’, also sees Yates paint a wonderful snapshot of the busy goings-on at a train station. 

The atmosphere is disruptively eerie and haunting throughout, from the first erratic notes of the title track to the depressive strumming in ‘Last Sip’ to the slow and hazy jazz of ‘Sun-Spotted Apple’. When bossa nova is incorporated, it’s never domineering, remaining just slightly danceable. One such track, ‘Bitter Part of the Fruit’, is an upbeat ode to accepting the good with the bad in life (“In needing the antidote/ Look for the bitter part of the fruit”). Illuminating horns and strings also colour the stunningly morbid ‘Flowers’, Yates singing coyly, “Flowers on the body dead/ Flowers I sent.” She might not possess an expansive vocal range, but her confrontational and haunting delivery matches the words and the atmosphere exquisitely. 

The Montreal-based artist’s achievement on Disrupting Body is considerably modest but appealingly so. As an intimate presentation of the strange balance between love and attraction, life and death, the album holds a delicate beauty. Yates is a true artist, no matter which form she takes. 

Album Review: Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson, ‘Refuge’

Conor Lochrie
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Album Review: Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson, ‘Refuge’

Devendra, I’ve a feeling we’re not listening to freak folk anymore. After gaining acclaim as the slightly comical but effortlessly talented pioneer of the genre in the mid-2000’s – not so much a pioneer as a sudden revivalist, as its lineage can be traced back to the wonderful Vashti Bunyan in the 1960s – Banhart has come a long way in the last decade and a bit. On Refuge, his collaborative album with frequent collaborator Noah Georgeson, there are no psychedelic flourishes or wandering acoustic guitars to be heard; instead the pair have created a delicate ambient record that seeks to be the sonic equivalent of its title. 

It sometimes feels like the COVID-19 pandemic has aged us all quickly and terribly. There have been bouts of mourning for a way of life lost; we have grappled internally and externally with now existing in an even more fragile and uncertain world. A freak folk album, as reflective art, wouldn’t have made sense, but these soothing sounds do. It’s why Banhart said “we’re hoping to create a sense of comfort and coming back to the moment” about the album, which is, essentially, an elongated way of saying ‘Refuge’. 

Banhart and Georgeson’s relationship stretches a long time back, when the idea of a life-altering pandemic would have been cause for scorn. Georgeson has co-produced several of his friend’s albums, including some of his finest (2007’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon and 2013’s Mala). And it’s really not that much of an ungraspable sonic leap to Refuge either: Banhart has been steadily transitioning from freak folk since the start of the last decade, Mala, Ape in Pink Marble, and Ma all possessing more considered songwriting and melancholic notes. The beard has more flecks of grey, the thoughts are more pensive. 

When considering an ambient record, it’s always helpful to return to the form’s greatest practitioner: “it must be as ignorable as it is interesting,” Brian Eno said, and on this front Refuge succeeds. It can be played under deep focus, as you look for lurking patterns and conjured emotions; it can also be supreme soothing background art, finishing its journey before you even really noticed it had begun. Its strength lies less in the qualities of the individual tracks than the collective picture that Georgeson and Banhart paint – that they recorded their parts separately during last year’s lockdowns is testament to their understanding of each other’s vision. They recruited a plethora of other wondrous musicians to embellish the canvas too, including Mary Lattimore on harp and Nicole Lawrence on pedal steel; their contributions might be minimal but they’re still felt. Flashes of strings and woodwind dip in and out throughout the haunting droning. 

Refuge is entrancing and enveloping, its subtle strokes allowing for quiet rumination. One’s compassion for an ambient record like this will depend on their need for escapism, for refuge. Maybe this was the case for Banhart and Georgeson too: to witness two old friends, their artistic lives intertwined, come together at a most frightening time for contemplative collaboration, is a gift in itself.

Phoebe Bridgers Shares New ‘Kyoto’ Remixes by Bartees Strange, the Marías, and Glitch Gum

Konstantinos Pappis
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Phoebe Bridgers Shares New ‘Kyoto’ Remixes by Bartees Strange, the Marías, and Glitch Gum

Phoebe Bridgers has shared three new remixes of her song ‘Kyoto’. The Punisher single has been reinterpreted by Bartees Strange, the Marías, and Glitch Gum. Listen to the new versions below.

“I wanted to find a way to make this song hit in a completely different way, but still retain some of the big and small moments that make the song special to me,” Bartees Strange said of his reworking in a statement. “At first I was thinking through how I could use the stems, but the more I got into it the more I wanted to take it somewhere else entirely. Crushing tune, glad I could mess around with it.”

Of their remix, Los Angeles band the Marías said: “I remember seeing Phoebe years ago at an open mic here in Los Angeles, and I knew right off the bat that she was really special. Working on this remix was a sort of full circle moment for us. ‘Kyoto’ is an amazing song as-is, so with the remix we were just curious to see what it would sound like with the vocal slowed down and adding some of our favorite synth sounds behind it.”

Glitch Gum, who previously covered the track, commented: “All I know is one day,  when I was in between Zoom classes last Fall, I thought, ‘Man, what if Phoebe Bridgers did hyperpop?’ That idea turned into a 30-second snippet of ‘Kyoto’, which turned into a full song, which turned into working with Phoebe and her team to make this little quarantine project come full circle in ways I could never even fathom. It was so fun deconstructing the musical realms of both Phoebe and I and combining them into something that filled the hyperpop-indie-crossover-shaped hole in my brain. I am just really happy with how it turned out and forever thankful for Phoebe, her friends, and their continuous support.”

Lily Konigsberg Announces Debut Album, Releases New Song

Konstantinos Pappis
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Lily Konigsberg Announces Debut Album, Releases New Song

Lily Konigsberg has announced her debut solo album, Lily We Need to Talk Now, which arrives October 29 via Wharf Cat. Along with the announcement, Konigsberg has shared the lead single ‘That’s the Way I Like It’. Check it out below.

“I said ‘I’m going to write a song now’ to my friend and then wrote this song in 20 minutes,” Konigsberg said of ‘That’s the Way I Like It’ in a statement. “The chords are symmetrical so it’s really fun to play on guitar. It’s a fucking catchy and sassy song about getting what I want when I deserve it. Not whatever I want. Just when I deserve it.”

Konigsberg released the compilation The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now earlier this year. Her band Palberta issued their latest album Palberta5000 in January. More recently, Konigsberg and Water From Your Eyes’ Nate Amos formed the duo My Idea and dropped their That’s My Idea EP.

Lily We Need to Talk Now Cover Artwork:

Lily We Need to Talk Now Tracklist:

1. Beauty
2. I Can Make You Sweat Forever
3. That’s the Way I Like It
4. Alone
5. Don’t Be Lazy With Me
6. Proud Home
7. Hark
8. Bad Boy
9. Roses, Again
10. Goodbye
11. True

Japanese Breakfast Cover Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Romulus’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Japanese Breakfast Cover Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Romulus’

Japanese Breakfast have shared a cover of Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Romulus’ for SiriusXMU Sessions. Michelle Zauner recorded her rendition of the track, which originally appeared on Stevens’ 2003 album Greetings From Michigan the Great Lake State, at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The cover features contributions from Gabby’s World and Molly Germer. Listen to it below.

Japanese Breakfast’s most recent album, Jubilee, came out earlier this year. Her soundtrack for the video game Sable is set for release on September 23.

How To Start A BookTube Channel

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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How To Start A BookTube Channel

Many book lovers love to share their recommendations for the best things to read, whether through rating sites like Goodreads or on social media like Instagram. YouTube is another popular option for book lovers. If you’re been thinking about starting your own BookTube channel, here are some tips to get you started.

Invest In Equipment

You don’t need any fancy, expensive equipment to start a BookTube channel. When you’re starting out, you can use equipment you already have, such as your phone. Film in a well-lit area, and buy a cheap microphone to improve your audio. You can upgrade to better lighting or a better camera later on. 

Create A Backdrop

Your bookshelves could make the perfect backdrop, but don’t worry if you can’t make that work. Just choose a backdrop that is clutter and distraction-free. Test a few locations to find somewhere with good audio and consistent lighting. 

Books

Choose the books you’re going to cover. Many BookTubers concentrate on the books that they are currently reading and share reviews. It can help to choose a niche that fits the books you like to read most, such as reviewing new YA releases, or books for parents to read to their children. As well as reviews, you could also create videos on wider book themes, such as comparing the book to the movie adaption or using https://booksloom.com to find books that are often overlooked. 

You don’t need lots of disposable income or to keep buying books all the time. There are some websites that over review copies of books, or you can use your local library to get hold of new releases without spending a lot of money. Kindle also has many classics available for free. 

New and upcoming books are always popular on BookTube, there is also demand on YouTube for lists of older favourites too. Don’t feel as though you can’t share books that are a few years old. 

Think About Your Content

Reviews are a big part of BookTube, but filming a review can be harder than you’d think. You will want to clearly describe the plot, and share your opinions without giving away any spoilers. Get started by writing down a quick summary of the book. Double-check you know how to pronounce the author’s name or any difficult character names. If you do make a mistake, don’t worry. Start your thought again from a point where you can smoothly edit out the mistake. 

Make sure you know what you can and can’t share in your videos. Reading the book’s summary can be a good way to clearly explain the plot. If you’re going to give away any spoilers, make sure you state that clearly, and tell people when they are and when to skip ahead to in order to avoid them. As well as your books, make sure you understand the rules about any music or images you use on your channels and don’t accidentally fall foul of a copyright strike.

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