Best of October: Remi Wolf, JPEGMAFIA, Deerhoof, and More!
Hey! How’s it going? Good? That’s good. I’m headed out to San Francisco this weekend for Outside Lands, so I’m really excited! I get to see The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Boy Pablo, and a couple of people that I’m gonna mention in this newsletter! That’s crazy!
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On that sellout-y note, let’s get started.
Juno - Remi Wolf
Wolf’s 2020 EP “I’m Allergic To Dogs!” showed her promise- “Hello Hello Hello” and “Photo ID” being particular standouts. “Juno” is that promise realized.
There is SO much good about this record. It’s catchy, upbeat, creative, and just so incredibly fun. Each song is as honest and clever as the last, and I just can’t stop listening to it.
“Juno” plays to Wolf’s strengths as a songwriter and a vocalist. Wolf is a SINGER, in all caps. Her range is insane, and she manages to hit the high notes with force and gusto. As a songwriter, her songs manage to feel the same without sounding the same.
Here’s “Front Tooth,” my favorite song from the record. Smart lyrics, great instrumental with a killer guitar solo, and the harmonies are just bonkers. I mean, listen to that chorus. I can’t stress enough how much I love her as a vocalist.
It’s also a perfect example of this album’s lyrical honesty - Wolf asks us why her life, recently defined by her rise to a household name in indie music, feels like Conor McGregor is kicking out her front tooth.
“Juno” really stands out instrumentally. It’s hard to put a label on the brand of music she makes. It’s not hyperpop, but it does take the conventions of pop music and drive them to the brink. It’s also got the distorted guitar tones and songwriting influences of indie rock, but it’s not quite that either.
Credit is also due to producer/guitarist/songwriter Jared Soloman as well. He shreds, he produces, and he helps Wolf give each song its own special flair. The two of them work together so well, and I hope they make music together forever.
If I had to critique “Juno,” listening to the full album front to back can almost tire you out. Wolf never takes her foot off the gas pedal. Her thoughts are constantly covered by the audio spectacle she’s created, even when she’s trying to be raw and insightful. You occasionally have to dig through the glittery musical clutter to get to the meaning.
The title track “Liquor Store” is about Wolf’s issues with dependence on other people and journey to sobriety, but you wouldn’t know it watching the music video or just casually listening.
Also, the minute or so of baby talk at the end of “Quiet on Set” is pretty odd. Other than that though, I’d place this album in my top 10 of the year so far.
Not a lot of artists are making music at the level of Remi Wolf right now. If you haven't yet, check her out, and thank me later.
LP! - JPEGMAFIA
It feels like Peggy has been gearing up for this for a long time. Every single one of his full-length projects has been universally beloved in indie rap circles, and each of his recent singles built more hype than the last.
The fruits of Peggy’s labor are finally out in the world, and “LP!” cements him as a member of experimental rap’s (and maybe rap in general’s) elite.
He’s in his own lane, doing his own thing, rapping about what he wants, making the beats he wants, sampling whatever he wants, and if people just so happen to love it, that’s good for them.
Every instrumental on this album is incredible. Whether Hendricks decides to sample some soul music, make something jagged and disjointed, or sample a song from Ridge Racer, the song hits the spot.
Unfortunately, due to sample clearance issues, some of the best songs on the album (like “HAZARD DUTY PAY!”) aren’t even on the online version, so make sure you listen to the offline version to get the best experience overall.
One such song, “God Don’t Like Ugly,” has Peggy say that some people make weird music just for the sake of being weird, but his “weird shit” has a purpose:
“I’m a young Frank Zappa, y’all Sarah Palin.”
Zappa is the perfect comparison for JPEGMAFIA. Stretching boundaries, making people uncomfortable, and taking a beloved genre and taking it in unconventional directions for the sake of art. I just hope Peggy gets the shine that Zappa did, because I believe they’re on similar levels of creativity.
“LP!” is worth an hour of your time, even if you’re not a fan of art rap or anything. Just give it a try. I think you’ll like it, maybe.
Sympathy For Life - Parquet Courts
Man, this new David Byrne record is awesome.
Seriously, though, this is a great record. It’s hard to meet the bar set by their 2018 masterpiece “Wide Awake,” and I don’t think “Sympathy For Life” meets that mark. Even still, there really is a lot to like on this record, especially if you like post-punk and unity.
If you’re wondering where the David Bryne influence comes from, PQ enlisted “American Utopia” and “6 Feet Beneath The Moon” producer Rodaidh McDonald to work on this record. You can hear it in spades, and the groove and synth-heavy music works in the band’s favor.
I’ve always said that Parquet Courts’ main strength is that they don’t sacrifice musical quality for lyrical genius. Oftentimes, especially in the leftist political/musical arena, the message is conveyed by a folk crooner with an acoustic guitar. Parquet Courts has Phil Ochs/Bob Dylan levels of insight, with a greater sense for musicality and instrumentation.
Lyrically, “Sympathy for Life” is unsurprisingly poignant. Parquet Courts have often set themselves apart from other indie rock outlets with their social consciousness. Tracks like “Marathon of Anger” and “Application/Apparatus” continue the band’s time-honored anti-capitalist, anti-big tech traditions. The band has basically 0 social media presence, so you know they’re committed to what they’re writing.
Despite being written and recorded pre-pandemic, the album’s focus on community is refreshing, and reminds us why a life dominated by labor is worth living. The whole record feels oddly prescient, but it just speaks to the fact that societal ills are out to get us, pandemic or not.
I love Parquet Courts, I love David Byrne, I love post-punk, I love groovy instrumentals, and I love “Sympathy For Life.” Not as much as “Wide Awake!” though.
Actually, You Can - Deerhoof
Deerhoof continues the experimental indie dominance they began over two decades ago. 2020’s “Future Teenage Cave Artists” was a standout record for me and many other indie music listeners, and “Actually, You Can” is no different. This is Deerhoof’s EIGHTEENTH record, and it’s one of their best.
This record is everything you’d expect in experimental indie - cacophonic in some sections, but calmingly melodic in others. There are some excellent guitar sections, my favorite being on “Scarcity is Manufactured.” Lead singer/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki does everything in her power to make every section interesting.
The real genius of “Actually, You Can” lies in its lyrics. Deerhoof is here to tell you that actually, you can break the binds of the status quo and of (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) late-stage capitalism to create a better life for yourself and those around you.
Here’s the central idea behind the record, straight from the source:
Think of all the beauty, positivity and love that gets deemed ugly, negative and hateful by the self-proclaimed guardians of “common sense.”We’d hardly be destroying society by dismantling their colonial economics and prisons and gender roles and aesthetics. We’d be creating it!
Every song seems to challenge that “common sense” through lyrics, through instrumentation, and through the breaking of tradition. It’s hard for a group to break ground on their eighteenth album, but Deerhoof still manages to do it.
My favorite track is “Department of Corrections,” as dynamic as it is insightful.
October has been a great month for anti-capitalist indie rock.
Singles/Honorable Mentions
-Aminé’s “Charmander” takes his instrumentals in a hyperpop-esque direction, with really strong results. The instrumentals on 2020’s “Limbo” were a bit more laid-back, with some soul influence. “Charmander” is a welcome change, and I hope Aminé makes more stuff like this. I’ve just really liked everything he does, man. He remains one of the most underappreciated rappers out there.
-I briefly touched on Zack Fox’s “shut the fuck up talking to me” in last week’s newsletter about Pitchfork, but I wanted to briefly say here - this record is funny, interesting, and worth your time. You’re not going to get lyrics like “shit could get ugly as fuck like Ed Sheeran” from any other rapper.
-illuminati hotties’ “Let Me Do One More” fills my punk quota for the month. The hotties have been one of the more consistent voices in punk since 2018’s “Kiss Yr Frenemies,” and “Let Me Do One More” is home to some of the band’s most creative and varied songwriting yet. Some songs have the usual fuzzy and angry guitar tones, but tracks like “u v v p” are a fun departure from the norm. Every release is better than the last with illuminati hotties, and I’m gonna be listening to this one for a long time.
Alright, that’s all from me this week. That was fun! I really enjoy talking about music, if you couldn’t tell from the previous 24 editions of this newsletter. Yup, this is number 25! Cue the party hats and confetti.
This also marks the end of the first month of my two-a-week publishing schedule, and I actually have some subscriber growth to show for it.
I want to earnestly thank you if you read and subscribe, and if you read but don’t subscribe, you know what to do. Click the button. Just do it. It’s just two emails a week.
Here’s a playlist with all the albums/songs mentioned in today’s newsletter.
Anyway, that’s all. I’m gonna go get packed for my first ever music festival! Talk to you on Monday, potentially about how it went, if I can find the words for it.