Baker's Dozen: Boldy James, Miranda Lambert, and Unfortunate Echoes
Baker's Dozen is a regular thing for paid subscribers of Larry Fitzmaurice's Last Donut of the Night newsletter, featuring a weekly playlist and some attendant criticism around it. Heads up—I'll be traveling a little next week, so the Baker's Dozen will end up being sent out on Saturday instead of Friday as usual. So keep an eye out! As ever, all newsletter revenue is being donated to the National Network of Abortion Funds; we've raised $3,313.73 so far.
Shout Out Louds, "Sometimes Sometimes"
Shout Out Louds are one of approximately one hundred Swedish indie bands where I will always be interested in what they're doing, and I will most likely enjoy it on some level too. I think it's inarguable at this point that they haven't really topped "Tonight I Have to Leave It," a 2000s classic if there ever was one—but even as the albums have gotten less consistent overall, there's still one or two keepers every time they drop. Gorgeous closing song here, very gently anthemic while evoking a sense of nostalgia for, I don't know, when more indie sounded like this?
Devin the Dude, "BREAK-fast"
After extolling the virtues of Curren$y in the last installment, here's one of the originals when it comes to weed rap. Great storytelling, in terms of songs from recent years this one is very reminiscent of Danny Brown's "Dirty Laundry."
Field Music, "Endlessly"
Another group from the 2000s still kicking, still doing their thing, and doing it quite well. There's a part of me that wants to say the brothers Brewis are, like Shout Out Louds, operating on a lowered consistency—but given their whole quasi-challenging XTC-meets-MIT deal, I actually think Field Music have always been an acquired taste capable of missing as much as they hit. But when they hit, though...this is from their 2021 EP, they also put out a full-length last year that I'll be highlighting a song from in a few weeks.
Cherubs, "Little Barely Pieces (pop-O-Pies)"
I highlighted a song from Austin noise rock vets Cherubs' solid 2019 album Immaculada High way back in May, and they also put out an EP last year that crushes in equal fashion. Along with this ripper, it features a slowed-down version of Immaculada cut "Sooey Pig" that provides some nice sonic recontextualization, if you're into that sort of thing.
Young Guv, "Can't Say Goodbye"
I alluded to waxing critical on ex-Fucked Up member Ben Cook's Young Guv project when I shared a Mick Trouble song a few BD's ago...fascinating and at-times confounding project to me in general, "confounding" in that Cook's whole thing here—specifically, spotless re-creations of underground-ish guitar pop from past eras—doesn't seem to have any particular target re: which era he's pulling from and when. And that's OK! It makes digging around in his quickly-growing catalog all the more interesting, sometimes you'll get Kinks-y jangle and other times you'll get perfumed sophistipop á la Scritti Politti. Or sometimes, as you do here, you get his take on the type of warped-copy pop that the deeply, deeply cancelled Ariel Pink was, admittedly, excellent at putting forth throughout his own complicated career. Yeah, I don't like being reminded of him either at this point—whaddya gonna do.
Bad Boy Chiller Crew, "Bikes N Scoobys"
If I were making a year-end list this year, this would probably on it...you'll have to wait for, like, 2025 for that though. Kind of the platonic ideal when it comes to BBCC singles, embracing a certain and specific type of moneyed hedonism over some of the sickest, cleanest UKG rips you'll ever hear. Honestly, how great is it we have a group like this in 2022? Let's hope they can keep the momentum going, I'm honestly impressed they've made it four years in so far.
Rocketship, "Outer Otherness"
As an indie-pop fanatic, I never quite connected with Rocketship's original run, which could always change...their 2019 return Thanks to You is great though, another addition to the "reunions/returns that actually worked" pile. Distinct Broadcast-meets-Saint Etienne thing going on here for me, with more of the former than the latter immediately coming to mind.
Miranda Lambert, "Track Record"
Obviously a GOAT at this point, Wildcard wasn't wholly my bag but this one worked. The Marfa Tapes is a much stronger recent Miranda Lambert release to me, I'll be featuring something from that (checks my queue) uh, shit, a while from now.
I Love Your Lifestyle, "No Harm, No Foul"
Back to Sweden again, only this time it's emo. (TheVIPList girls voice) GO CRY ABOUT IT! Sorry, I had to. I've been mildly obsessed with TheVIPList's videos as well as several people like them...something really ugly about the decadence and materialism they represent that is totally fascinating to me, like a horrible car crash on the side of the highway. A bad augur for culture, but worth thinking about regardless. Oh yeah, this song is great too.
Moor Mother and billy woods, "Rapunzal"
Something I really appreciate about what is increasingly an incredible multi-year run for Moor Mother is that, every time I am not too into something she's doing (the ANTI album and the Irreversible Entanglements material come to mind), I hear something like her 2020 LP with the always-fascinating billy woods or her 700 Bliss project and I'm like, "Goddamn, this person can really do anything, huh?" A rare bird in that regard.
Boldy James, "Street Shit"
Boldy is someone else whose recent run has been very well-considered and heralded; I haven't been as enthused as others but his stuff is always worth checking out, it's almost comfort-food music for me really and his collab LP with producer Real Bad Man is no exception in that regard.
Channel Tres, "skate depot"
Great production, great vibes, classic Channel Tres in both regards, manages to overcome the COVID trappings of the lyrical material as well. Every time I listen to Channel Tres I'm like, damn, what happened to Seven Davis Jr.? I suppose I have to hit the Google on that one.
Lil Yachty, "G.I. Joe" [ft. Louie Ray]
Lil Yachty essentially reinventing himself as a Michigan rapper—which, like, what the fuck?—has to be one of the most ingeniously successful rebrandings of the decade so far. His whole "Can this guy actually rap, though?" thing works way better in the context of other Michigan guys, it seems like he loosens up in their sonic presence and is just funnier, more coherent, more in command of things. Of course, this is probably the least Michigan-y track from Michigan Boy Boat, but the Buddah Bless beat floats so beautifully, he really did bless this beat.