Part 2 of this month’s Capsule Review is finally here. Now, the year-end article will be due on New Year’s.
Saint Etienne – The Night (13 December 2024)
Saint Etienne were once one of Britain’s forefront indie pop bands back in the 1990s with undeniable influence on alternative dance. With more than 30 years’ worth of history behind them, they are bound to change their tunes toward different directions. In The Night, their music adopts the spaciousness of ambient pop with dreamlike droning of synths and frontwoman Sarah Crackwell’s measured vocals. This unfortunately bears bad news. Not terrible news, just bad. It is by all accounts a boring listen. The turn towards a more restrained form of songwriting would have been justifiable had it not been for the insipid lyrics that, instead of leaving behind impressionistic insights, have only dulled the imagination. 2/5
Joey Valence and Brae – No Hands (7 June 2024)
Joey Valence and Brae are a hip hop duo from Pennsylvania whose skill on the mic and production lend towards an unconventional style. As exemplified by their 2022 breakout ‘Punk Tactics’, they rap like the Beastie Boys with their childish brand of hardcore disses that are blended in with online culture, making for a refreshing take that are otherwise accessible. No Hands continue to push on that front through its more varied type of beats which include boom bap and drill-and-bass, humorous insults, and some solid guest verses which include Danny Brown. Yup, the boys are making their way through the scene and if there’s any group who could make juvenile rap cool again, they might be the ones to do it. 4.2/5
Pond – Stung! (21 June 2024)
An Australian psychedelic rock band who are trailing behind a relative household name in Tame Impala, Pond has been kicking around since 2008. Stung! was set on being a part of the band’s active discography with a strong emphasis on glam rock-esque vocal delivery and synthesizers. For all the grandeur that could be found in the band’s direction, the execution feels entirely flat. Lethally flat in fact. The production fails to make much of the guitar effects come off as truly out of this world and it fails to do justice to the synths themselves despite its elevated prominence. In a time where the studio is an indispensable part of psychedelic music, Pond struggles to utilise it to its fullest potential, making their music feel more like an imitation of drug experimentation rather than an immersion. 2.3/5
Halsey – The Great Impersonator (25 October 2024)
Mabe Fratti is a Guatemalan music artist who specialises in experimental folk and an electroacoustic type of production. While her cellist background allows her music to develop a distinct identity to the point of amassing a cult following, it is Sentir Que No Sabes that put her on the map with all the boundary-pushing extravaganza that are worth the delight. The cello sounds alien, the backing instruments abstract in composition, the textures utterly atmospheric. The result is a manifesto on the blending between classical music and studio experimentation that abides neither to complex songwriting nor avant-garde adventurousness. It feels refreshing in its direction and while it might not necessarily be one that would come off as especially transcendent in my opinion, there’s little doubt that many would aim to embrace her style as a key influence in the future. 3.8/5
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (22 November 2024)
Yes, that Kim Deal. The Kim Deal who helped make Pixies one of the most important names in alternative music. The Kim Deal who then proceeds to strike out on her own with her twin sister and come dangerously close to matching her previous band’s success with the Breeders. And now, she is the Kim Deal who is out to prove that even on her own, she is still one of the best artists in the industry. Granted, she doesn’t land her usual spots of excellence all the time with some tonal shifts between celebratory odes to memorable events and tearjerkers on caring for a parent with Dementia. Even if these whiplashes makes the album a tad bit too inconsistent and incohesive for its good, there are highlights on Nobody Loves You More that serve as damning reminders that Kim Deal can put out a hit if she feels like it. 3.4/5
Clairo – Charm (12 July 2024)
Following on from her 2021 sophomore effort in Sling, Clairo attempts to further dive into introspection through the expansive desire to explore her individuality. Charm does admittedly come off as familiar in its themes and broad style to many, many mainstream singer-songwriters like Alanis Morrisette had gone through be it romantic idealisation or everyday youth trials. It is not worth just jumping into conclusion to say that it’s cut from the same bone as its previous album however. The improvements feel more substantive in its songwriting and its lyricism. The songs feel more upbeat and modernised from the soft rock approach, giving it a pretty impressive status as a time capsule for those the zillennials. It was no masterpiece, but it will no doubt serve curious newcomers well in delving into alternative music, one inch at a time that is. 3.5/5
Jordaan Mason – Saying I Love You in the dark (15 January 2024)
One of the most criminally underrated music artists in Canada continues their streak of writing grossly underappreciated albums even more than fifteen years following their decisive masterpiece with the Horse Museum. One of the three records to be released on the same day by them, Saying I Love You in the Dark carries itself through unapologetic vulgarity and contrapuntal impressions with the acoustic and chamber instrumentations. A bit of a classic combination to identify which one is certifiably anti-folk. Nonetheless, there is a certain apocalyptic sense of hopelessness to be found in its stripped-backed production that builds from Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head where the declaration of love is more out of the desperate need for connection than out of unconditionality. Jordaan Mason’s lack of restraint in using profanity might risk coming off as being excessive, but how would many non-binary people feel these days with all the reactionary pushback against their presence? The lack of recognition is otherwise unfathomable and while I don’t know for sure if they’ll finally become well-known in indie music, I’m certain that they’ll go down as one of the most important names in queer music in its entirety. 4.1/5
Lone Kodiak – If We Had a Future (9 February 2024)
Lone Kodiak are a Los Angeles-based alternative rock band who put out several EPs throughout their history while going through a big change in genre after changing their drummer. If We Had a Future was supposed to be set as Lone Kodiak’s debut album with riveting guitar riffs, napalm-laden drumming, and epic vocal performance. Indeed, the music feels grand in its vision. The issue is that the production and the mixing makes so much of the music bland and fruitless. You can’t get the impression that it’s larger than life, only that it aims to imitate it. It instead feels completely neutered which, in turn, unravels the relative derivativeness of the band’s current style which is a shame given how in one of their past EPs, there is a certain techno-esque feeling which could hint towards a potential broadening towards electronica. One would certainly hope that the band will take a step forward in making their music feel more unique if they don’t want to fall into the same pitfall as Imagine Dragons. 1.9/5
Father John Misty – Mahashmashana (22 November 2024)
If you have not heard of Father John Misty or had listened to some of his music by now, be prepared for Mahashmashana. The Marylander is one of the more divisive big names for indie music whose earnest type of songwriting garnered some complaints surrounding how pretentious he is. Just based on the title, you know for sure that there are going to be a lot of artsy ambitions to be had. The surprising aspect is that the album itself isn’t as overindulgent as one would have suspected based on first impressions from his past works. Indeed, the grandiose scope of the instrumentation already hints that he’s not one to shy from his personal vision. The music as a whole is actually nothing short of beautiful, glorious in its presentation as the lyrics errs toward the dysfunction of the society that we live in be it with religion, mental health, authority, and independence. Never mind the obnoxiousness for a minute, the fact is that Mahashmashana is a bit of a treat all things considered and if this is the album he might retire with as he hinted, then it’s not bad for a departing gift. 3.8/5
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