8/21/20: Bright Eyes, Cut Copy, Dent May, Kate Bollinger and more

Welcome to the August 21st edition of First Listen Friday! Several albums came out today that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while from bands that I’ve been following for a long time so let’s get to it.

Bright Eyes returned after a nine-year absence with Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was. I’ve been a fan Bright Eyes for 20-ish(!) years now and there’s no question Bright Eyes albums had a major impact on how I thought about music and what type of music I sought out. I remember just being blown away by Conor’s lyrics and the variety of instrumentation and how much it spoke to me (especially on Lifted) which I’m sure is what drew so many others in as well. That led me to explore the rest of the Saddle Creek roster and really got me on my way to seeking out the stuff independent labels were putting out and supporting that music. What do we get with a new Bright Eyes record? Much remains the same and that’s a good thing, the excellent lyrics and instrumental flourishes fans have come to expect are here. As far as what’s changed, much of the press for the album has mentioned the fact that Flea and Jon Theodore (of The Mars Volta and Queens of the Stone Age) and you can listen to the band discuss how that came about in this NPR First Listen interview. Definitely give this new album a listen.

Cut Copy have released their new album Freeze, Melt. Cut Copy is another hugely informative band for me when I look back. I’ve been listening to their music for about 12 years (since the classic In Ghost Colours). The band has always just nailed the sweet spot in between an indie rock and an electronic sound and has always had a way with synths and grooves and along with bands like LCD Soundsystem and Holy Ghost! put me on a path to exploring electronic music and DJ mixes which is so much of what I listen to now. Freeze, Melt continues a trend in Cut Copy’s most recent projects (2017’s excellent Haiku From Zero and 2016’s January Tape) that takes the lush synths and irresistible grooves they’re known for but distills them into what feels like a more meditative form, not as concerned with structure, almost stripped to the essentials. I dig the direction they’re headed and I really enjoyed this album.

Dent May released his new album Late Checkout today. Dent’s last album, 2017’s Across The Multiverse, is honestly one of my favorite albums of the last 5 or so years. Just perfect pop tunes (cases in point here and here). The singles released for this new one, including “Sea Salt & Caramel”, had been great (and I’ve featured them in previous weeks) so I’ve definitely been ready for this to drop. The opener “Hotel Stationary” confirmed right away the album was going to be great beyond just the singles. If you’re a fan of indie rock in general or classic pop singer-songwriters like Harry Nilsson or Randy Newman please give this album a listen. Brooklyn Vegan summed it up nicely in their review, “Down but not out, Dent May crafts a wonderfully bummed out album of happy/sad soft rock.”

Kate Bollinger released her EP A word becomes a sound today. The EP is a collection of some really quality lo-fi indie pop. There are five tracks here and they’re all great, my favorites were “A Couple Things”, “Feel Like Doing Nothing” and the title track. This was my first exposure to Kate and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for any future releases from her after enjoying this one.

Fantastic new song from Angel Olsen from her forthcoming album performed live at a Masonic Temple.

Nation of Language released an excellent cover of “Gouge Away” by The Pixies.

Qur’an Shaheed released “Heal”, the first track to drop from her forthcoming release Process. Described as the “culmination of personal growth and discovery, almost three years in the making” the project drops September 4th, 2020.

That’s it for this week, as always here’s your Spotify playlist of selections from this edition, enjoy!