Albums + playlists for (almost) winter ❄️
Nice warm music to soundtrack the end of the year
And just like that, it’s a chilly week in December! Weird year. If the early sunsets are getting you down, here’s one cold-weather hack: Grab a coat and catch a show!
To keep warm, stay sane, and make sure I get out of the house, I’ve been loading my calendar up with concerts. In the past few weeks, I’ve caught Philly power-poppers 2nd Grade at Babys All Right, berlioz’s unique blend of jazz-house at Brooklyn Paramount, a spirited double-bill from Canadian rockers Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club at Irving Plaza, and maybe my show of the year: Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold solo at Bowery Ballroom. The setlist was a long, thoughtful mix of FF greatest hits, deep cuts, and covers — I’ve turned it into a playlist here, featuring some lovely solo renditions that Pecknold recorded for a winter solstice show in 2021.
Hope everyone is hanging in there. In the music world, end-of-year list season is in full swing, and have no fear — I’m tracking all the essential 2024 recaps for our annual “Best ‘Best of The Year’ Lists” issue, which I’ll send sometime around the holidays.
For now, I’ll use this in-between edition to share a few albums and songs I’ve been into lately, plus a few playlists to bookmark for winter — which doesn’t technically start until December 21. Happy listening!
As always, follow the Hear Hear playlist to listen along with this issue.
3 emerging artists with new albums
“Buoyant R&B, starry shoegaze reveries,” and more from MICHELLE. I’ve been a fan of this harmony-driven, NYC-based 6-piece since their breakout single “SUNRISE” in 2020. They’ve gone on to prove they’re no one-hit wonder, releasing gem after gem of polished, modern bedroom pop. Their new album, Songs About You Specifically, is full of vibey tunes. [Standouts: “Mentos & Coke” // “Blissing” // “Akira” // “Oontz”]
“Bilingual emotional crybaby music” from Alisa Amador. After winning NPR’s 2022 Tiny Desk Competition with her tender yet powerful voice, Amador has released her first full-length album Multitudes — a beautiful collection of coffeeshop folk-pop songs bouncing between languages. Fans of Brandi Carlile and The Staves should enjoy this! [Standouts: “Love Hate Song” // “Quedar” // “I Need To Believe”]
“Enchanting, angsty indie rock tinged with emo sensibility” from Queen of Jeans. This band is “more often assigned an era than a genre,” writes Stereogum’s Danielle Chelosky. “Fans and critics are always quick to point out their ’60s-flecked sound, which the band has confirmed by naming Darlene Love and Dusty Springfield as influences.” But on their vibrant new album All Again, that “old-fashioned atmosphere only comes in glimpses” as the band leans more into alt-rock. It’s a great balance. [Standouts: “Horny Hangover” // “Karaoke” // “Bitter Pill”]
3 essential new releases from reliable icons
SABLE, Bon Iver. As the New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich writes: “SABLE, is only a little more than twelve minutes long, but it feels revelatory, expansive, and raw. Vernon has a couple of different voices — a spectral falsetto; a deeper, throatier bellow — but it’s hard for me to think of another contemporary singer whose vocals carry quite as much pure, unmediated feeling.” I’ve been particularly addicted to “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” which plays like a belated, 13-years-later sequel to “Holocene.”
CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler, The Creator. The 33-year-old hip-hop pioneer continues his run as a singular artist, committed to building a visual and sonic world around each album. I love how Vulture’s Craig Jenkins summed up his path to this moment: “Just as 2019’s IGOR and 2017’s Flower Boy course-corrected for the giddily profane nihilism of his earlier music, with sweeter hooks and lyrics more rooted in romantic yearning than misanthropic urges, [2021’s] CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST tossed a bone to fans who itched for the old brusque raps.” Now on CHROMAKOPIA, Jenkins writes, we get a bit of both — an amorphous album “jostling through light, uplifting moments and self-defeating lows.” My favorite songs shine with sing-along choruses and marching band beats, like the central run of “Judge Judy,” “Sticky,” and “Take Your Mask Off.”
GNX, Kendrick Lamar. Released out of nowhere less than three weeks ago, Kendrick’s album already feels loaded with classics and little memorable moments meant to last — from the “fah-fah-fah” of “luther” to the “somebody gotta do it” of “tv off” to the titular line of “squabble up.” These seemingly simple catchphrases and hooks — supplanted by the big, booming pop production of longtime collaborator Sounwave and yes, Jack Antonoff — already feel lodged into the 21st-century canon and my brain.
3 catchy tunes on repeat
“Sober,” Bartees Strange. Continuing his ascent as a “boundary-blurring indie rocker of the highest order,” as Stereogum’s Tom Breihan put it, Strange is now working with — who else? — Jack Antonoff on upcoming album Horror. This single rips, building from its slick, brooding intro to a rocking, guitar-crunching chorus.
“Defense,” Panda Bear + Cindy Lee. Animal Collective co-founder Noah Lennox is back with his solo project Panda Bear, and the first single from his upcoming album showcases his singular vocals at their best. “Defense” is a hypnotic, swirling piece of psych-rock that brings in a buzzy guest, Cindy Lee (whose retro-pop album Diamond Jubilee was just hailed as Pitchfork’s Best Album of 2024) for a vibrant guitar solo.
“People Move On,” Jess Cornelius. “If you love Beatles-esque pop with razor-sharp insights, you’ll love CARE/TAKING,” raved NPR Music about this New Zealand-raised, Los Angeles-based songwriter’s new album. I still haven’t given it a full front-to-back, but I’ve been addicted to this melancholy slice of piano-laden power-pop for months.
3 winter playlists as an early holiday gift
A 20th CENTURY CHRISTMAS, this year’s meticulously crafted Fluxblog holiday playlist from Matthew Perpetua. “A stylistically eclectic mix of holiday music from the 1930s through the mid-1990s, designed to be something you can put on for three hours in the background while you have company over.” [ft. Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, The Supremes, The Ronettes, Burl Ives, Otis Redding]
No Expectations’ Annual Thanksgiving Playlist from Josh Terry, “an autumnal, wholesome, and exciting collection” for family get-togethers. Obviously I’m sharing this one a bit late — but I think it’s worth bookmarking as cozy background music for your next hosting duties. I also love Terry’s rationale for how he puts these together: "For a Thanksgiving mix, I think it’s corny to only include tunes that touch on themes of gratitude, family, and food, so there’s a good variety here: break-up songs, kiss-offs, love songs, and more. There’s also soul, country, classic rock, yacht rock, and folk: a little bit for almost everyone.” [ft. Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Linda Rondstadt, The Band, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison]
Stick Season, a wintry mix for the “post-Halloween, pre-Real Winter” months from Adam Sharp. [ft. Bon Iver, Coldplay, Wet, Sylvan Esso, Waxahatchee, The Head And The Heart, Hovvdy]
As usual, great collection of stuff. Josh's playlist is amazing. nice shout out for Queen of Jeans. love them. And nice tip on Alex Winston.