Staff Pix 10/4: New Releases

Check out what our staff’s been listening to as the first few leaves in the Boston Common change color…

“Husk” by Men I Trust

The mayors of Groove City are back with “Husk,” the funky fall single from your lo-fi pop dreams. In typical Men I Trust fashion, this track is tonally muted, yet instrumentally vibrant with its whimsical guitar and bass. The single’s cover perfectly parallels the tune itself–magical, mysterious, and playful–wizard, comically large rabbit, and all. The brilliant “Husk” furthers my fascination with these Canadian indieheads. They’ve continued to create unassuming and mellow anthems, littered with poetic lines such as, “I know you're driving me further time and time / To bear the fangs of your aching in my mind.” Never prosaic, and always lacking pretension. Just the way it should be.  —Sofia Giarrusso

“Our Mutual Friend” by Gia Ford

Gia Ford’s stunningly seductive voice has been narrating my fall so far. A friend recently showed me a Youtube lyric video —the song has been removed from Spotify— called “Murder in the Dark”. This alluring, forthrightly flirtatious song belongs in a hazy queer dive bar on loop. After listening to this video on repeat, I discovered a few days later that Ford released a new album, Transparent Things, in mid-September. The first and last tracks of this album, “Poolside” and “Our Mutual Friend” are the absolute standouts to me. The charged ambiance of “Murder in the Dark” is continued in “Our Mutual Friend” especially: “People, so many people / Breathing the beating / Heart of the room”, as a mysterious woman “dressed like a secret” walks through the door. Ford’s sultry electric guitar, eerie edge to a kind of k.d lang mezzo-soprano, and oozing queerness is the dominating sound for me as the leaves change color this October. —Monika Krueger

“family and friends” by Oklou

I’ve been anxiously anticipating Oklou’s comeback for years. Things went pretty silent after the release of her near-perfect 2020 mixtape Galore, save for a few features and a run of dates opening for fellow pop auteur Caroline Polachek. On “Family And Friends,” Oklou’s pastoral, strange, and emotional vision of ambient pop comes into full focus. The song does not redefine anything Oklou was doing on Galore, it simply perfects it. Everything sounds punchier and yet somehow more reverby, her lyrics more accessible, yet no less idiosyncratic. I can’t wait to see what she does next. —Bennett Himmell

“Jawbreaker” by The Crying Nudes

Britain’s Dean Blunt and Copenhagen’s Fine, who make up hynagogic pop duo The Crying Nudes, are back with “Jawbreaker” a mysterious and atmospheric number produced by the iconic Vegyn. This song has all the classic Dean Blunt elements - the crunchiness and multi-genre influence, glued together quite perfectly with Fine Glindvad’s echoing, distracted vocals. The immediate entrance of guitar and drums are almost reminiscent of the rock band that plays at the prom in the end of every high school rom com, but Fine’s rounded voice and the continual guitar riff echoing in the background immediately counters this, bringing you into the cool, chique, and mysterious world of Dean Blunt and all of his collaborators. —Adelaide Russell

“Eusexua” by FKA Twigs

In her new single, FKA Twigs’ voice floats delicately like a beam of light in a vortex of pulsating dark matter. When asked what the title of her upcoming album means, Twigs responded that Eusexua is the "sensation of being so euphoric" that one could "transcend human form." The texture of the song certainly bears the spirit of this artistic vision—spare but frantic, tranquil but ecstatic, radiant but mysterious. It is a climax of voluptuous extremes. As an FKA Twigs superfan, I can only hope the rest of the album is just as good, if not better. I need a Eusexua winter… —Christian Jones

“Blues” by Georgie Greep

When Black Midi broke up this past August, I was upset for about a couple hours, then I wasn’t when I found out frontman Gerogie Greep was going to release his debut album The New Sound in October. “Blues” the second single from the project proves itself to be a silk road of Greep’s recognizable voice, chaotic instrumentals, and brilliant yet hilarious lyrics. Nothing like the lines “And you have a bigger dick than any man who’s ever lived-And you can cum more than a hundred stallions” over a proggy and jazzy guitar mess. —Samuel Shipman

“Pushing it Down and Praying” by Lizzy McAlpine

Lizzy McAlpine’s entirely self aware “Pushing It Down and Praying” has been the soundtrack to my life since its release just two weeks ago. What starts as a melancholic track reflecting on the guilt she is carrying from her past becomes an anthem as the growl of the guitar finds its way into the chorus. The accompaniment of enchanting background vocals alongside McAlpine’s truly introspective, aching lyrics is reflective. “I wanna know peace again/ Wanna sing a different song/ I want you to need me (Need me)/ I need to want somethin’ more (Somethin’ more).” She wishes for vulnerability and the ability to be known beyond her mistakes and her physical appearance whilst acknowledging the uncertainty of her past. McAlpine’s beautifully arranged track begs the question: is it too much to ask to yearn for something bigger than yourself? —Sophie Parrish

“Mutations “by Nilüfer Yanya

“Mutations” comes as a standout from Nilüfer Yanya’s fabulous new album My Method Actor. “Mutations” floats and contorts around the drumming throb of Yanya’s guitar. Throughout the tune she traces a morphing relationship and the process of returning to an old lover: “Old sensation / Don’t let them in” she chirps, “I’m heading for your complications.” Can complications be good? Is it worth trying again? Yanya’s vocals spin around and around these themes while her guitar blooms into something more and more crystalline. Something entirely new, yet eerily familiar; She hopes it doesn’t end up like last time. —Nathan Hilyard

“Shake It Like A” by Frost Children

What ever happened to dancing? I go to all these parties with a promise of being able to move and step as I please but it just sounds like third period gym class all over again. Sex is back in fashion and contrary to popular belief it has been gone for a long while. Made for those who need sunglasses on a winter day and like to keep one button undone,sibling duo Frost Children (With the help of Danny Brown) is here to get the bassline back in the grove and push you (and hopefully a partner) to the dancefloor. —Salem Ross