Heavy Rotation Vol. 1
I had this idea for a weekly series where I discuss some of the songs or albums that I’ve been listening to the past week. I follow a lot of different playlists and sites online, and there’s no way I can listen to all of it, plus sometimes some albums or songs just stick and I gotta listen to them over and over. I’ll keep it light, maybe 3-5 a week. We’ll see how it goes.
This week is a pretty decent mix. We’ve got some black metal (not your typical style of black metal, though), some indie rock, a banging electronic track, and some alternative rock from the 80s.
And since I’m going to post these on Fridays, I thought I’d share some tracks that I’m excited about spinning all next week. There’s a new L'Impératrice album , a new single by Tycho , another single out by Burial (that’s a lot in one year, what’s he cookin’?), and some new music from Misha Panfilov! But for now, here are some things I’d like to highlight from the past week:
Alcest
Les Chants de l'Aurore Black MetalJust beautiful. It really reminds me of their earlier albums, but adds so much more. Pretty much an ethereal wall of sound for almost 45 minutes. Just a thing to keep in mind, Alcest is still a black metal band, so at times you will get Neige's airy and brutal screams projected at you (but still so got'dang beautiful.) It's heavy, but also light and bright at the same time. I say just give it a go. Alcest only sounds like Alcest. There are a few that imitate, but nothing else really comes close to this band. Also, their album Shelter is 100% shoe gaze, if that's your jam. 'Opale' is one of my all-time favorite songs. But listen to 'Wings' first for a nice intro.
Listen to Les Chants de l'Aurore
Pond
Stung! Indie RockI've been jamming two singles (Neon River and So Lo) from this album for a little while, and it's great to hear the whole thing. This will be in heavy rotation for a while. Australia is always putting out great music. A fairly lengthy album for indie rock these days, but the tracks are very diverse so it doesn't feel like you've been listening to the exact same style for an hour straight.
Listen to Stung!
Jamie XX & Robyn
Life ElectronicIt's been almost 10 years since Jamie blessed us with In Colour. There have been a single or two here and there, as well as an album from his main gig with The XX. But other than that, he's been relatively quiet. You can tell with the singles dropping from his forthcoming album In Waves that there's a high level of detail and polish being put into these tracks, and I can't wait to hear the whole thing!
Listen to Life
The Replacements
Let It Be Alternative RockI've honestly never really listened to the replacements. I was browsing Brooklyn Vegan the other night, and they had put together this great list of 10 albums that helped birth alt-rock and post-hardcore bands 40 years ago. I believe all of these albums came out the same year, or at least close to it. I also never knew the replacements covered my favorite KISS song, Black Diamond. I can't say anything others haven't, this is album is phenomenal.
Listen to Let It Be