We Back - Issue 09 - 1/28/23

New music from Boygenius, Wednesday, and everything else we've been loving in 2023. Plus a Mario 64-ized take on Radiohead's best album.

Welcome back to Stereofield, the music newsletter dedicated to helping you discover your new favorite song.

After an extended holiday break, we’re stoked to be back this week to bring you new music. 2022 was an amazing year for new music, and in just the first month it looks like 2023 is gonna be the same.

So we’ll get right to it and start with our favorite new releases from this week. Then we’ll dive into all the other great music we’ve been loving so far in the year of our lord, 2023.

Speaking of highly anticipated returns…

Boygenius returns with an album announcement, and a fresh batch of songs.

BOYGENIUS IS BACK. After four years, the indie supergroup is finally back and sharing new music with us. If you don't know, boygenius comprises Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. The trio of singer-songwriters first came together with a self-titled EP in 2018, and in the 4 years since all three women have become giants in their own right in both indie and mainstream music circuits.

After teasing a new release earlier in the month, the band released three singles last week from their upcoming album the record. Each of the three tracks spotlights a member's musical niches and talents, with Dacus leading the final track, True Blue. Dacus writes so clearly and beautifully about friendship in her songs, and this is a standout. It is so sweet, and it makes me teary and gives me so much hope. I haven't been this excited about a release in a while! Mark your calendars for March 31st!!!

(Editor’s Notes: 1. Rolling Stone did an excellent cover story on Boygenius last week, it’s for sure worth the read. Aaaand number 2. I fully ugly cried in the car the first time I heard True Blue. Definitely worth a listen)

And while we’re talking about rock bands, we guess we should tell you:

Lil Yachty makes psychedelic rock now? And it’s… good?

No shade to Yachty, but rappers pivoting to rock albums, hasn’t always gone well. So even though his most recent single, the wavy, lean-indebted Poland, was an absolute slapper, we were still hesitant when he announced his forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon-inspired project.

We haven’t had quite enough time with the album to have a fully formed take, but Let’s Start Here is at the very least a fun listen, and an interesting take on the psychedelic-rnb of bands like Blood Orange or Tame Impala.

The album is stacked with features, including Nick Hakim, Alex G, Daniel Caesar, MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser, Jacob Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Magdalena Bay, Teezo Touchdown, and Daniel Caesar.

It also features production and contributions from Mac Demarco, which provides a perfect segway into our next new release:

Mac Demarco is instrumental and introspective on Five Easy Hot Dogs

Everyone’s favorite goofball crooner has been up to more than just producing for Yachty. Apparently, he’s also been on a 7000-mile road trip across North America, quitting the cigarettes that he’s become so deeply associated with, and recording an instrumental album. Five Easy Hot Dogs is Mac’s first album since the two 2020 demo tapes that accompanied, 2019’s Here Comes the Cowboy, and features 14 breezy, gentle instrumentals, each named for a different city on Mac’s trip.

One city not named in the album: Mac’s current residence of Los Angeles. Which conveniently, is also the residence of another artist with great new music out this week:

Runnner’s new single commits to the extra “n”.

Ok, that last segway was pretty rough. But we had a good thing going, and couldn’t stop then.

The point is, the steady stream of great singles coming from Runnner’s Noah Weinman (as well as his excellent production work on Skullcrusher’s latest album) has us feeling increasingly hyped for his upcoming album, Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out (out 2/17 via Run for Cover).

This week’s new single, “runnning in place at the edge of the map” keeps the hype going, and not just because it showcases his unwavering commitment to an oversupply of consonants. “runnning” is a slow-burning track that sees Weinman further coming into his own unique style of emo-Americana.

Alright, that’s enough bad segways for now. Here are the rest of the recent releases we’ve been loving or are looking forward to checking out this week:

Other Recent releases:

  • JW Francis - Dream House

  • Samia - Honey

  • parannoul - After the Magic

  • Daniel Caesar - Do You Like Me (Single)

  • slowthai - Selfish (Single)

  • PACKS - 4th of July (Single)

  • Dev Lemons - Nightstand (Single)

  • Tanukichan, Emunclaw - Thin Air (Single)

  • Rozi Plain - Prize

  • Andy Shauf - Telephone (Single)

  • underscores - Count of Three (Single)

  • Overmono - Is U (Single)

  • Miya Folick - Get Out of My House (Single)

  • DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - Brave (Single)

Check Out Our Playlist With All This Week's Releases Here

And now it’s time for a special section, highlighting the unhealthy amount of time Taylor spent on Youtube during our holiday break:

“I’m currently on a self-imposed Youtube break after the almighty algorithm had me spending hours binging concert videos, DJ sets, and 40-minute video essays on topics that I literally have no interest in. But I’m not about to let a little self-care get in the way of bringing you, our faithful readers, the #content you need. So here are a few videos worth checking out. In moderation of course.”

  • 🌈🎮️In Rainbow Roads - Let’s kick this off with this amazing, Mario 64-ied version of Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Popular songs recreated with video game sound fonts has become an increasingly popular genre on Youtube, but the dedication to recreate this entire complex, multilayered album is truly impressive. And surprisingly it actually makes for a pretty great listen.

  • 👾💅Aphex Grande - Another unexpectedly great mashup: the songs of Aphex Twin and Arianna Grande. There is a plethora of unironically-good bootleg Aphex Twin mashups on Youtube, and this is one of the better takes out there. The juxtaposition of Ariana’s pop-diva vocals and Richard D. James’s glitchy, ambient beats ends up sounding pretty close to a lot of modern hyper-pop.

  • 💿️🎧️Mindspray -These days there are a ton of great vinyl-only DJ sets on Youtube, but lately I’ve been loving sets from Mindspray, a rising DJ from Japan. This casual set from last summer is a great introduction to the eclectic mix of rare soul, and all-around good vibes that spray delivers.

  • 💻️ 4 Producers 1 Sample - If you’re a fan of music production or interested in how remixes are made, the latest video in musician/YouTuber Andrew Huang’s '4 Producers 1 Sample’ series is a great watch. It features a sample from Hiatus Kaiyote’s 2019 record Mood Valiant and a stacked roster of producers taking turns remixing the sample: modular synth legend Kaitlyn Aurelia-Smith, experimental band Son Lux, and indie-pop group AJR.

  • 🎸🎥 Making of CRAWLER - If you were a fan of IDLES’ 2021 album, CRAWLER, this mini-doc from the band is a great watch. The 11-minute film provides a fly-on-the-wall view into how the London noise-punks partnered with hip-hop producer Kenny Beats to create the album that is simultaneously their most polished, and most experimental work.

  • 📦️🤘 Box of Rock - And finally here’s a short but sweet video of alt-rock legend J Mascis shredding on a bunch of instruments that are all entirely made of cardboard.

OK with that I’m back on my Youtube hiatus. Hopefully, my brain will soon return to a healthy level of dopamine intake.

Earlier in the week, the excellent Philly-based shoegaze band, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, reported that the van containing all their gear was stolen. The band was initially hesitant to ask for direct help, but on Friday decided to set up a GoFundMe to help recoup their losses.

If you have the funds and want to help, you can help the band via gofundme here, or you can support them by purchasing their latest album, 2022’s S, via Bandcamp.

Let’s finish off this week with our weekly flagship playlist. In case you forgot, every week we curate a playlist of the new releases, old favorites, and newly discovered classics that we're listening to, and share our thoughts on a few of the tracks. Check out the whole playlist on Spotify, and find our thoughts below:

Check Out the Whole Playlist Here

Glistener - Jadu Heart

Jadu Heart’s “I Shimmer” was one of our favorite songs last year, so we were been pretty stoked for the release of their latest album, Derealised last week.

“Glistener” is the opening song on the album and its scrawling guitars, fuzzy tones, and ethereal vocals set the tone for the album’s shoegaze and dream pop indebted sounds.

Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer

My roommate reminded me of this song this week. It is a song that forever lives behind everyone's subconscious, and I am advocating for you to bring it into your conscious! It is the vibe of every single 2000s coming-of-age comedy, and it feels like that is what we all need today.

Chosen to Deserve - Wednesday

Asheville, NC rockers Wednesday continue to build hype for their upcoming album with the latest single, “Chosen to Deserve”. Where the album’s first single, “Bull Believer”, was an 8-minute heavy, Sonic Youth-esque cut, “Chosen” is pure Americana power-pop, with big chords and twangy guitars reminiscent of fellow Asheville-ite, and Stereofield favorite, MJ Lenderman.

1999 - Hovvdy

The weather this week has been cold and rainy which, means I bundled up in some warm clothes and shuffled Hovvdy on repeat. The heavily folk-influenced “1999” is a stand out track from their 2019 album Heavy Lifter.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with us through the holiday break. If you liked this issue let us know below. And hit reply on this email to let us know what songs you liked, or if there's a great song, album, or artist we need to hear.

What'd you think of this week's issue?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.