Apr 25: It’s a blockbuster pack this time around. Week 17 sees records from the likes of Car Seat Headrest, Blondshell, Royalty Capes, Kassi Valazza, The Velvet Hands and Sara Kays.
tHE sCHOLARS
cAR sEAT hEADREST
An epic reprise from the indie rock collectives’ first in five years with The Scholars – an ambitious 9-track rock opera magnum opus. Read the full review for this one here.
iF YOU ASKED FOR A PICTURE
bLONDSHELL
Blondshell’s next biopic, If You Asked For a Picture is a timepiece of indie-rock whimsy. Featuring 23’s A baby and T&A, the follow-up to 2023’s self-titled debut, it’s a collective sigh of relief as the difficult second is all signed off and sonically approved.
Louder Than Joy
Royalty Capes
Frenzied garage, funk-rock explosivo of blasting it out and working out the kinks later, Royalty Capes are the next charade of colour in the world of fast riffs and frenetic vocals. For fans of the glitz and glam by the likes of The Darkness, Louder Than Joy encompasses all things vintage in a homage to those before them.
Who Will Look After the Dogs?
Pup
It seems that crazy Toronto punks of PUP are at each others’ throats either in the back of a van on tour or encased in a tight studio box of a room. While it hasn’t gone off the rails – but definitely could – the four best friends affirm that the volatility to it all is why it works so well for them. It’s perhaps one of the reasons why their fanbase has stuck around too; PUP is the bands’ fifth most cathartic, full-length record yet – and it’s only upwards from here baby.
Caller
The Velvet Hands
Another alt-rock band in our midst, The Velvet Hands from Cornwall ramp up the pressure with Caller, a strong EP befitting for any dabbler in garage pioneers like The Strokes as Chick Habit and self-titled CALLER steer the charge.
POPULAR NOTES___
Elsewhere, Nordic singer-songwriter seamstress AURORA delivers a deluxe rendition of our record, What Happened to the Heart? celebrating its release with a headline performance at London’s Wembley Arena over the weekend. Post-punk double-trouble Getdown Servces chalk out another single release; no doubt set to announce their third album soon. While Lady Gaga’s tumultuous return to pop’s cream-of-the-crop continues with a free Rio concert to 2.1m Little Monsters. Wow.
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