Although winter quarter is known to be the worst quarter of the year, spring quarter burnout is no joke. If you’re looking for some new music to get you through the final push to summer, here are our favorite new albums for you to enjoy.
— Maya Philipp, Editor in Chief
RUSH! by Måneskin
Released January 20, 2023
For fans of: grandson, Tananai, Mahmood
Måneskin fully shot into America’s radar after winning Eurovision in 2021. This Italian rock band was especially known for their cover of “Beggin’” and their original “ZITTI E BUONI” They have constantly been praised and criticized for pushing the limits with their chaotic stage performances and more aggressive music style.
Their newest album RUSH! strikes perfectly down this vein. While still maintaining their unique presence, this new album is brighter and attracts a wider international audience. Of the 17 songs, 3 are in Italian, with the rest in English. Although many longtime fans (myself included) wished there were more songs in their native Italian, one has to admit, having more English songs does make it easier for us Americans to sing along. RUSH! includes one feature artist, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, in their second song of the album “GOSSIP.” As a kid who grew up listening to Rage on the way home from school in my dad’s truck, this was definitely a welcome surprise.
A few personal favorites of mine are “GASOLINE”, “MARK CHAPMAN” and “THE LONELIEST”. “GASOLINE” is their 6th song in the album, and is an intense fiery support of Ukraine, created as news of Russia’s invasion became widespread. As their only openly political song, its heavy bass and dark tone is nothing if not powerful. “MARK CHAPMAN” is their 12th song, and first Italian song in the album, named after John Lennon’s killer. Its fast pace and guitar riffs give off the feeling of the obsession characteristic of the song’s namesake. The album ends with the rock ballad “THE LONELIEST”, finishing off their album on a sweet but somber note. It expresses deep love and grief, but its rock undertones bring up the mood to keep you from leaving too down.
This album hits all the right marks from sweeter ballads to songs perfect for the mosh pit. Even if you aren’t someone who typically listens to international artists, I definitely recommend giving this album and band a listen.
— Maya Philipp, Editor in Chief
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek
Released February 14, 2023
For Fans of: Grimes, Lorde, honestly any particular era of pop music
Caroline Polachek has been releasing pop records for 15 years. She fronted the band Chairlift for over a decade, picking up light mainstream attention when their song “Bruises” was used in an Apple commercial. From there, Polachek’s performance and lyrics became increasingly complex with the releases of Chairlift’s second and third albums, Something and Moth. Despite Chairlift’s respectable indie notoriety, Polachek’s true breakthrough proved to be 2019’s Pang, her debut album under her own name. On Pang, Polachek worked closely with PC Music producer Danny L. Harle to create a slyly experimental pop record painted in dramatic aesthetic strokes.
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You only embellishes Polachek’s strengths. The sonic palette is expanded and pushed to the brink: “Welcome to my Island” is a so-ironic-it’s-sincere 2000s pop-rap song; “Sunset” dips its toe into flamenco; “Pretty in Possible” incorporates elements of jungle. A bagpipe solo brings “Blood and Butter” to a close and it feels so natural you don’t even bat an eye.
Through these myriad styles, Polachek’s operatic voice sings and serenades, raps and scats about feelings so big they threaten to take physical form. Polachek isn’t just in love, she’s taking the shape of desire itself; on the album cover, among the mundanity of the subway, she crawls towards the sublime which lingers just out of view.
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You closes with “Billions,” a track built on a mechanical, glitching beat, guided by Polachek’s multi-octave vocal performance. The song is titanic, esoteric, god-like in its inscrutability. She gives her final word of the album, “Say something to me,” as an industrial growl whirrs her away. An angelic children’s choir sings a response “I’ve never felt so close to you.”
You’re left in awe, slightly discombobulated. Everything is suddenly quiet. You feel odd, red, maybe a little embarrassed. As Spring quarter settles in, Polachek is sure to burn away whatever’s left of this winter cold.
— Finnegan Bly, Assistant Editor, Arts and Culture
Multitudes by Feist
Released April 14, 2023
For Fans of: Florist, Cat Power, Clairo’s Sling
Feist’s sixth album opens at its loudest. Hit play and “In Lightning” bursts with a layered vocal cry that lands somewhere between Björk’s Volta and Tune-Yards. Later, an instrumental bridge that’s nearly a sea shanty leads into an outro of gasps and moans. But “In Lightning” is misleading, most of Multitudes plays out in quiet lullabies and folk songs.
Even when the quintessential folk sound of the album threatens to grow dull, Feist will draw you back in with a production flourish, to say nothing of her immaculate songwriting. “Hiding Out In The Open” is a beautiful if ordinary-sounding song about an apprehensive relationship. It compels on its own, but intoxicates when the music falls away and Feist’s voice leans in triple-tracked and close mic’d to sing, “Until you whisper it in my ear.”
Other highlights include the anthemic “Borrow Trouble,” which unravels over a stomping beat, as Feist recounts waking up with immediate anxiety, her voice wise and sincere, “Your thoughts will find a clock to wind/And put dissent into your ear/Even before your eyes are open/The plot has thickened round your fear.” Or the fairytale-esque “Calling All the Gods,” which has the emotional tact of the best childhood bedtime stories.
Multitudes lyricism and handful of experiments is the sound of masterful restraint. With its gorgeous songs and infinite wisdom, Feist’s latest is like rubbing your eyes after a long sleep, a Spring awakening. I keep returning to it, for counsel, for relaxation, to stomp and scream out my fears.
— Finnegan Bly, Assistant Editor, Arts and Culture
Wet Leg by Wet Leg
Released April 8, 2022
For Fans of: Julia Jacklin, Alvvays, Angel Olsen, or Daniel Clowes’ Ghost World
British girl rock band Wet Leg’s eponymous album Wet Leg is a beautiful high-fructose piece of guitar pop-cum-shoegaze indie. The album’s tongue-in-cheek conversation with the hilarity of being a woman in a band is in turn coyly poppy and cuttingly funny.
Wet Leg teases the listener for their sleazy idolization/infantilization of the girl rockstar in “Wet Dream,” the fifth track off the album: “I was in your wet dream / Driving in my car / What makes you think you’re good enough / To think about me when you’re touching yourself?” laughing in the face of the male listener’s savior complex, and ridiculing the figure of the innocent girl turned rockstar in the wild world of men. While the song itself is critical it certainly isn’t prudish, instead it’s dripping with a sleazy teasing tone, suggesting that it’s actually the gross fan who’s out of his depth.
While there are brief moments of criticism and observation in Wet Leg, the beauty of the album is the band’s rejection of the tortured female rock band archetype. Instead, their songs are just refreshingly fun. Most of the tracks rely on lush, but simple hooks and guitar tracks leave you enjoying yourself on your walk home from Geisel or work rather than feeling exhausted and anxious.
— Tate McFadden, Editor, Arts and Culture & Opinion
Forever Means by Angel Olson
Released April 14, 2023
For fans of: Big Thief, Fenne Lily, Sharon Van Etten
Folk-rock musician Angel Olson’s latest EP Forever Means is intimate and smoky, like seeing a nameless musician in a dark nightclub. The opening track of the record, “Nothing’s Free” features Olson’s husky voice in your ear. Smooth organ, sax, and drums coming together in a thick shag orchestra. The song is only a verse and a chorus, but it has a mournful quality that touches me; the sun is coming out, it’s starting to feel like summer, and the end of another school year fast approaches. I can’t help but look back and wonder at it.
The record’s title track “Forever Means” really encapsulates this, elaborating on what “Nothing’s Free” starts. “Come to find out I said those things / Knowing they may not be true / Spent all this time telling myself / How to believe in you” Olsen sings into the mic, calling to mind all of the little things that tug at me as the year winds down. But the regrets begin to pale as she bursts into the chorus, and all those what ifs are framed by eternity: “Forever means always looking / Forever means trying to see.”
The twist of Forever Means comes instrumentally on its closing track “Holding On”. The soft silky jazz tracks are traded in for a quiet electric guitar riff and bassline before Olsen, her voice suddenly tinged with rage rather than mourning, begins singing. “How long have you been standing there / Tell me how much did you see / You held me in your arms / Were you holding me”. The electric guitar swells, and you’re left feeling satisfied, like you’ve just confronted all the embattled, gnawing thoughts in your head, all the “should I have kissed thems,” and “what if I hadn’t heckled that professors” are shattered if just for a moment.
— Tate McFadden, Editor, Arts and Culture & Opinion
NewJeans, Self-titled EP by NewJeans
Released August 1, 2022
For fans of: BTS, Twice, STAYC, Le Sserafim
While K-pop, or Korean pop music, has only continued to grow in popularity, NewJeans is a prime example of withstanding the ever changing music trends of the 21st century. NewJeans is a five membered, all-female, K-pop group under the label HYBE – the same label as other K-pop powerhouses BTS, Seventeen, TXT, and more. Through the use of TikTok and other social media, the group has become one of the most popular K-pop groups of all time.
The EP features familiar tracks such as “Attention” and “Hype Boy,” which have become synonymous with the westernized view of Korean music – and not a single K-pop fan is mad about it. Along with this, their TikTok famous song “OMG” takes over the radios of listeners who’ve never even dabbled in the K-pop music genre. NewJeans holds a different sound compared to the majority of other K-pop groups, having a more “Y2K” and R&B type concept, adding a wonderful uniqueness to their music. While the group has only released fewer than ten tracks due to their newness to the industry, they have a “no-skip” discography and NewJeans is no exception.
— Maxine Mah, Writer, Arts and Culture & Opinion
Everything I Know About Love by Laufey
Released August 26, 2022
For fans of: grentperez, Rocco, Bruno Major, Sarah Kang
With some more East Asian representation, Laufey (pronounced lay-vay) offers symphonic music akin to modern jazz. She’s an Icelandic singer and songwriter with a talent for writing romantic songs just in case you ever want to romanticize your life a little bit more.
“Everything I Know About Love” is her most recent and only full length album so far. Featuring a Disney-style voice, Laufey is known for her soft singing, incredible lyricism, and orchestral instrumentals. With every song, you can fully expect notes of piano, violin, and a full symphony accompaniment. Her music definitely tugs at the heartstrings, so watch out if you’re prone to crying (much like me). Tracks like “Dear Soulmate” and “Night Light” are guaranteed to elicit tears.
Not to fear, however, because not every song of hers is slow and sad—Laufey also has more upbeat tracks such as “Falling Behind,” “Dance With You Tonight,” and the title track, “Everything I Know About Love,” which are three of my favorite songs on the album. She also has an identical twin sister who is equally as talented in violin—perhaps one of the reasons Laufey appreciates orchestral music so much.
Laufey is very active on TikTok, with her most popular song, “Valentine,” going viral on the platform and having almost 45 million listens on Spotify. She loves to interact with her fans and especially those that produce covers of her songs. Not to mention, she played at UCSD back in February and received lots of love for being an incredible live performer.
— Maxine Mah, Writer, Arts and Culture & Opinion