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 itâs 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: âHymn of the Pearlâ 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 âCometâ in my monthly playlist and then kinda forgot about the album. I was actually planning to give Clairoâs âCharmâ 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 Didnât Come Out This Month: âIâm So Free: the 1971 RCA Demosâ by Lou Reed
Just stumbled upon this album a few days ago. I somehow missed it when it was released in 2022, but itâs 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 (itâs just Lou and an acoustic guitar here). If you like VU or Lou, would definitely recommend! Fav is Perfect Day
Didnât 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)
Amazing amazing book. Feels like my head got cracked open and all the contents spilled out. Itâs been a long time since Iâve 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 donât ever feel pretentious. Semiotext(e) continues to impress me.
Monthly Playlist
xoxo syd
i would like to contend the charm rating.. imo was boring and every song sounded the same. but it was a decent vibe for chilling