By Sean Colvin Staff writer
In the age of the Internet, it seems like there’s a never-ending stream of new music to sift through. My aim with this section is to bring to you selections of music as it comes out, from hip-hop to rock to D.I.Y. and in between. I hope that my descriptions and associations might spark your interest, leading you to discover an artist. For this piece, I will highlight some albums released during the summer .
We Can All be Sorry is a three-piece rock outfit from Boston that combines a Sonic-Youth-like dissonance with the pop-sensibility of 90s era Weezer in a refreshing and original blend of quick and angular pop songs. Equal parts slacker rock, twee pop and grunge, their latest ep, “Weekend Sorry”—a likely pun—sounds a bit like veteran and fellow Bostonians Speedy Ortiz, with other discernable influences like Pavement, and even Dinosaur Jr. “Weekend Sorry” can be heard on the band’s Bandcamp page.
Chris Cohen, who broke out in 2012 with his debut folk-rock album “Overgrown Path,” has delivered a follow up four years later with this year’s “As If Apart.” In his sophomore album, Cohen seems to dive deeper into his psyche, exploring loss, fantasy and the surreal. His songs elicit images of serene places and thoughts that wander like paths through the thick Vermont woods to where Cohen retreated to record the album. “As If Apart” is rich with horns, piano, flanged guitars and catchy hooks that seem to fall out of verses unpredictably, like plastic toys from cereal boxes. Melancholy but uplifting, the album sounds like a hazy and bright first morning of autumn. You can find “As If Apart” online on Cohen’s Bandcamp page.
At first listen, the Avalanches “Wildflower” sounds like a hip-hop album, but what sets the music of the Avalanches apart is that it is comprised primarily of samples taken from a diverse range of music from the last half of a century. The Australian duo broke out with their 2000 plunderphonics album “Since I Left You,” which still sounds fresh in 2016. With “Wildflower,” the Avalanches pushed further by collaborating with dozens of artists like Danny Brown, Biz Markie, Father John Misty, David Berman and Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. “Wildflower” features samples of hundreds of hip-hop, funk, disco, rock, pop, jazz, blues and world music artists along with field recordings and dialogue from films.
“Wildflower” taps into summer’s nostalgia with the upbeat “Because I’m Me,” which begins with street sounds and the tuning of a radio. The album starts hype-heavy, with in-your-face hip-hop beats and 70s funk bass lines, but it chills out as you move through its 21 tracks. Immersive and playful, “Wildflower” flows from one scene to the next like a dream. “Wildflower” is kids playing in a fire hydrant. It’s fireworks, it’s getting stuck in traffic on the way to the beach, it’s an instant classic. Play this record with company, or listen to it in your car with the windows down. Rarely does a record come along with such versatility as as “Wildflower.” “Wildflower” is truly an album of summer,so get it while it’s hot.
