Best of Month: The final reviews of the year
Best of Month! We wrote so many reviews this year there were a ton leftover. So, to open the year end stuff this year, we're emptying the vault. There are a few pre-requisites for reading this year (but only if you came from Reddit) So look for that below.
Rat Jesu - Prepared to Die (Drixxo Lords)
I have been a pretty public cybergrind defender on the timeline, but in all honesty I haven’t dug into the genre on my own time. I’m not sure if you would consider Rat Jesu cybergrind but they’re definitely part of the movement, in fact I came to this record by following this artist from a feature on the newest Blind Equation.
As I said above, Prepared to Die isn’t so much cybergrind but it is a neat, quick nu metal record with hyperpop influence. James from Blind Equation does show up as a feature and the song he’s on is a hit regardless of genre. My favorite track on the record, however, has got to be “Priestess of the Godless Valley,” There are two other features here, standout vocal moments and a really interesting dungeon synth riff intro.
Harriette - i heart the internet
One night after a scary walk home and a long emotional decompression, my partner and I listened to the new Sydney Sprague album and let Apple Music play out afterwards and discovered Harriette in the shuffle. This quickly became one of her new releases, but it took me until my trip back east to really dive into this EP myself.
This project opens with a title track that hits really hard, especially being queer online. In the past it sometimes felt like my parent’s postings had made it difficult to relate to them especially when I was a closeted trans woman. I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to put it in a song though, so I really admire Harriette for doing just that. (You put it in a review, Claudi, give yourself credit.) The songwriting across the board is really strong in general, classic chords inspired by older songwriters backing clever and honest poetry that’s subtle but in pretty impactful ways. While a lot of i heart the internet is pretty simple singer-songwriter there are some elements of other genres and a song like “Black and Blue” is a great example of that.
“Goodbye Texas” is a pretty heavy song. I didn’t come from a red state, but it always felt like they were like other universes. It's a distressing feeling, like you care about people and their happiness more than money, feeling like leaving is the first time you feel human, it’s like seeing in color for the first time.
Trophy Eyes - Suicide and Sunshine (Hopeless)
Trophy Eyes has always been a band I’ve known about passively, only hearing a select few tracks from 2018’s The American Dream. This one was recommended to me by a friend, and I was able to get it in here just before the year ended.
The intro track “Sydney” is sincerely a song of the year contender for me. Yes, it’s only a minute, yes, it’s meant solely to set the stage, but the peaceful synth followed by the guard catching vocal delivery is a perfect hot and cold mix that leaves me with whiplash. Lyrically this speaks of finding hope where you are, it’s a great message to take in as an appetizer.
Delving into the main course this record isn’t something I would really know how to classify. A lot of these tracks sound like they could fit in with the huge pop rock bands of the modern age but also have an undeniable grit and edge to them which makes them belong solely to Trophy Eyes. They also manage to accomplish both these things without sacrificing anything that makes these songs feel lived. On songs like “OMW” they create hooks and melodies that could easily blend in rock radio but that’s just it, all of this praise in mind this is still a record like that. It’s hard to discern any one sound from another in the grand scheme. I try never to compare artists but in the case of a track like “Sean” it’s hard to ignore the fact that this is nearly note for note “Runaway” by Kanye West and that keeps the otherwise heartbreaking nature of the track from taking over and making it a highlight.
It is gutting though, in fact a lot of the themes presented here are. There is a very clear message of hope andI don’t mean finding it, I mean restoring it. The title and the lyricism to “Sean” make the inspiration behind the greater record obvious and I think if you’ve lost someone to suicide this would be a cathartic listen to you in the very least.
Neggy Gemmy - CBD Reiki Moonbeam (100% Electronica)
On a flight back from a visit to my hometown I checked out an overhaul of records to make up for the lost week. The chilled out sonics of CBD Reiki Moonbeam were probably a dicey choice to look at critically on a plane, (was getting a little sleepy there) but what I did discover was a record really well composed and relaxing to boot.
“California” opens the record and is a perfect blend of atmosphere and catchy pop music with breezy vocals. The following “Black Ferrari” is entrancing for balance, the record does a great job climbing the ladder of its own genre as time goes on. The spots on the album that are not highlights to me are just songs I wouldn’t necessarily listen to in a vacuum but still serve a totally necessary slot on the track listing, the dual-split-up title tracks as an example.
“Beep Beep” is a cool track with PC Music inspiration, a strange spoken word delivery and repetitive beat with some spiced-up production throughout. “Playing on My Phone” is in a similar space, and I really appreciate the sound bites and production choices on the beat itself. Frost Children show up on “Seeing Stars” and it feels made for them. This one feels like a Frost cut with Gemmy production as opposed to the other way around. I’m also living for Sarah Bonito on the infomercial-like “Gemmy Juice.”
Neggy Gemmy’s 2023 entry is a nice and relaxing piece of music with some wise production choices, interesting composition and a welcome electronic record for the year. There’s not a lot of song of the year contenders on the record as a whole, but it's still one I know I’ll look back fondly on at year’s end.
Just Friends - Gusher (Hopeless)
Coming off the release of 2022’s Hella I didn’t expect a release from Just Friends to come in 2023 at all. Though released in September I wasn’t actually aware of this new record until it was time to select my year end picks but I’m glad I snuck it into the list at the last second.
Something I always loved about Just Friends as a band is the chemistry between their two lead vocalists Sam Kless and Brond Leon, though a third vocalist can be heard on select tracks on this record. Typical of their previous releases Sam delivers a sillier, more fun loving vocal range while Brond takes on a more natural register and is often huge in their delivery. In fact she continues to deliver surprise after surprise here and even gets bilingual on songs like “Love Bug.” The two are also just genuinely as funny as they are strong vocalists and even when the humor sort of dies out it's replaced with a funk style that’s just as effective.
Virtually everything here is a highlight but if I were to choose one in particular I would go with “Brain Hurt Bad,” which I feel is the perfect example of what Just Friends even is. The self-depocration here is much more blunt however the absurdism really shows. What makes that strategy work is the fact that it feels very real. On the following “Better to be Around'' they continue the bit but also touch on real human distress. People don’t speak in emo lyrics everyday, but they do beat themselves up, and when you can present it in an interesting way it's what makes you stand out among others in your scene.
Not just vocally but the genre range on this band as a whole keeps their albums fresh and engaging on repeat listens. On “Life I’m Living In” the JF Crew explores radio emo-pop that could have fit snugly on a playlist even twenty years ago. They also do it in less conventional ways, “Love Bug” is a nice blend of love song and rap rock that sort of changes on a dime while simultaneously never sounding out of place.
Soccer Mommy - Karaoke Night (Loma Vista)
While I wasn’t a massive fan of her band’s last record, Sophie Allison is a top artist for me. I never know how to react to cover albums, especially when I’m not really familiar with a lot of the songs on said project, but still I gave this one a listen. I’m not at all familiar with Pavement, and the cover of “Here” doesn’t really do much for me. The other tracks I have a bit more thought on, however.
Track two is Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up the Sun,” a song I have a lot of childhood memories of. I would have been about nine years old in 2002 and if I recall correctly this song was all over the radio and thus all over my parent’s car stereo. This is pretty much the original as I remember it and it’s fun to hear it by a band I regularly listen to. Here I can see the road map to Soccer Mommy’s original songs from their root influence, especially the more alternative rock side like the color theory record.
I’ve seen Sophie cover Slowdive’s “Dagger” on several occasions on tour and it’s nice to have a studio version now. I don’t really have prior context to this track but what I can say is that I think this is the one that I think had the most influence on Sophie as an artist. The raw acoustic delivery is very fitting of her earlier work and some of my favorite parts of the live show.
I don’t know what it is, but almost every time I hear someone else do a Taylor Swift song it works for me, but on nearly every Taylor record itself it falls flat. Maybe it’s her voice, performance style or something else. Regardless, “I’m Only Me When I’m with You” really works as a Soccer Mommy track for me.
“Losing My Religion” is the song I was most familiar with at its original version, and it felt like for a time a year or two ago everyone was doing a rendition of this one. The main riff being presented on synth is a nice touch and I think all performances are nailed here.
Karaoke Night isn’t an EP that I think I’ll revisit a whole lot but it’s always nice when an artist represents their influences in a big way like this. This has however inspired me to check out the albums that these songs originally come from, as I’m not well versed in any of these artists if I’m being honest.
LATEWAVES (Open Your Ears)
I had seen latewaves “live” twice over the course of the pandemic and last year their EP The End is Near made a late entry into our top EPs during Best of month. This year they’re back with a self-titled record via Open Your Ears Records. OYER was once a favorite label of this blog, but for the past year or two I’ve found they’ve sort of fallen flat with each new project they greenlight. I was a bit nervous to see how latewaves and OYER would work together, but the lead single “Same Air” gave me some hope for the future. Thankfully the band’s personality feels untouched on this new record.
The guitars on this album are really strong. There are solos all over the record and on a song like “I Don’t Wanna be Alone Anymore” it feels like a player showing off in the most welcome way. The sentiment presented with essentially every song is so sweet as well, a track like “I Only Dance at Weddings” presents such a nice love story. Hearing Jill Beckett of Pollyanna, a band from latewaves’ neighborhood, is really nice as well. She only shows up for two lines, but they further solidify her as a vocalist with her own distinct style.
I had sort of an amused first impression of “Frog” but it may come off as a favorite song of the year as a whole. Both the riff and hook here are so catchy and get caught in my head everytime I run through the record. That and of course the percussion on the second verse really sticks out. I can’t help but smile at the swamp sounds either. I’ve mentioned sentiment and nothing sells it quite like this one. Trust in partnership, your dream being taking in the world alongside someone. This record came out while I was visiting the east coast, my hometown, and right before flying I was on the onset of something romantic and renewed. This really hit me in the soft spot while I was away.
If I’m the apple of your eye then take a bite.
The record ends on “Night Terrors” a song that speaks to a different part of my year. In the first half of 2023 I was in a terrible depression, I felt so desperate all the time and I trusted no one. It’s taken a lot to come out of that place, I’m still not totally sure I’m all the way out. I’m doing better though, I think. Latewaves have done it again. Their self-titled record is a great sign of things to come.
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