What's New 4-18-25
The music of Superheaven unfolds like an unspoken conversation between the respective players (and old friends), revolving around post-hardcore grit, full-bodied and fuzzed-out distortion, and hazy alternative melodies. Muscular riffs make indentations in a perpetually droning soundscape, fissuring into fits of catchy catharsis and hypnotic jamming without rival.
A Banks record is always a bit chaotic – it’s her time-trusted method – but Off With Her Head is both focused and commanding. Her varied approach results in everything from murky electronic-R&B, to gossamer balladry, to airy dance music, creating some of her most unrelenting work yet, though its messiness is charming rather than trying. Listening to your innermost thoughts isn’t indulgent: for Banks, it’s the path to artistic freedom.
Solo, both Julien Baker and Mackeznie Scott (Torres) specialize in defiant introspection, with a vaguely country tinge. Together they've upped the country count to offer a deep well of sing-alongs from the dive bar jukebox overflowing with straight-forward songs and harmony vocals, which evoke Emmylou Harris as much as Margo Price.
The TV On The Radio frontman’s first solo outing is more a shiny recalibration of his previous band’s high-density art rock than a radical restart, especially of their more electronic, funky and pop-facing side. Adebimpe grasps the opportunity to be more playful, whether it’s quoting pop standard “Swinging On A Star” on “Pinstack” or firing up classic dancehall reggae’s classic Sleng Teng riddim halfway through album standout “The Most”.