July 2024 Recs

Tobias, Lou Reed Demos, Guillaume Dustan, etc.

Alright this month was a bit dry for me, partly bc I was on vacation for a while and partly bc of the releases, which I found a bit underwhelming. Maybe it’s because May and June just had some outstanding albums, but I found July to be a bit slow. Still some good stuff

Fav Album That Came Out This Month: “Hymn of the Pearl” by Tobias

Ok so funny story about this record. I listened to it when it first came out (7/19/24) and gave it a 6/10 (I liked some of the songs but was a bit underwhelmed). I put the song “Comet” in my monthly playlist and then kinda forgot about the album. I was actually planning to give Clairo’s “Charm” AOTM, an album which pleasantly surprised me. But this song kept playing on my playlist and I was like damn this is actually really good and sounds a lot like old Alex G. So a few days ago I gave the album a re-listen and was awesomely rewarded with a great little album of lofi indie rock reminiscent of Alex G or Duster or Melaina Kol, while also definitely doing its own thing. My favorite lofi album in a while I think. One you gotta be in the mood to attentively listen to if you want to appreciate all the nuances.

Full review here.

Fav Album That Didn’t Come Out This Month: “I’m So Free: the 1971 RCA Demos” by Lou Reed

Just stumbled upon this album a few days ago. I somehow missed it when it was released in 2022, but it’s a great collection of live demos of Lou Reed doing songs from his first two albums (self-titled and Transformer). Awesome little snippets of him talking and laughing and swearing, all while seeming to really enjoy himself and the songs. So many of my favs of his and some great renditions that are sometimes really different from the completed songs (it’s just Lou and an acoustic guitar here). If you like VU or Lou, would definitely recommend! Fav is Perfect Day

Didn’t See Any Lives Shows This Month Bc I Was Gone A Lot :(

Fav Book I Read This Month: Nicholas Pages by Guillaume Dustan (tr. James Horton & Peter Valente) (novel)

excuse the kindle lmao i was traveling

Amazing amazing book. Feels like my head got cracked open and all the contents spilled out. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so angry someone wrote a book that is my whole interiority. Debaucherous. So fun. And so much incredible nightlife/queer theory tied in in ways that don’t ever feel pretentious. Semiotext(e) continues to impress me.

Monthly Playlist

xoxo syd