Noots Letter: Leapin' Lizards!

February 2024 (famously a Leap Year)

What a February! That extra day really went a long way, because BOY did a lot happen this month. There were an excessive amount of album release announcements (shoutout to a friend who posted a variation of the Charlie Day meme about keeping up with the news). Even more pop superstars wiped their Instagram profiles, the mainstream version of the bedroom musician’s “big things coming…” Phoebe Bridgers and Hayley Williams were among them and I’m not saying that means anything but also it could mean something. 

And who would have guessed I teared up not once but several times at the big ball game! To me, there was only one beloved blonde star of country music at the Super Bowl: Mrs. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Safe to say I’m over the moon about this news, and also how it has catalyzed conversations about other Black women in Americana genres: Rhiannon Giddens’ banjo feature on “Texas Hold ‘Em”, Allison Russell deserving proper recognition by the state of Tennessee, Joy Olakodun making one of the best folk albums of 2023, Tracy Chapman topping charts.

Also of course, I can’t go without mentioning the trailer drop of the new Wicked movie. My body is ready. To be destroyed. Cheers to Cynthia Erivo and her superhuman riffs making her the very first Black Elphaba (insane) to be hitting American theaters.

Before we get into the usual recommendations, I just wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to those of you who so kindly joined a paid subscription–your contributions go a long way toward keeping Noots Letter alive and its writer (me) motivated! Additional thanks to the pals who followed @NootsLetter on Instagram, a newly burgeoning meme page. Highly recommended for those of you who can’t read and/or are addicted to your little mindrotting machines!

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If you want a perfect 10… 

Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy (2024). I’ve listened to this album an egregious amount of times over the past three weeks. It’s literary, it’s orchestral, it’s defiant, it’s British-accented, it’s glorious. I’m obsessed and I won’t heed any industry plant slander.

If you appreciate complex harmonies and phenomenal vocals and mesmerizing guitar riffs…

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Brittany Howard live twice, and I stand by the assertion that she’s one of the greatest voices of today. But she’s so much more than a vocalist on What Now (2024)--it’s fuzzy, funky, contemporary, complex. And don’t even get me started on that stunning album cover! This is a record you can keep returning to over and over, discovering something new every time. 

If you’ve stuck to your New Year’s Resolution of working out (congrats!)... 

Okay this is actually a crazy story. A friend recommended listening to the Step Up soundtrack from 2006’s hit dance film Step Up while working out, so I pressed play and took a little jog around Williamsburg. And she was right! It’s full of some bangers and hitmakers you may have forgotten. But this is where things get wacky: I make a point of not looking directly at people while I’m running, because that’s weird behavior. So I see this man coming toward me in my periphery, and just as he passes me, I glance at him and realize, “That man is Channing Tatum, star of 2006’s hit dance film Step Up.” I know the concept of manifestation is insidiously pervasive among white women on Instagram Reels these days, but I am 95% percent sure that man was, indeed, Channing Tatum, and my revisitation of this soundtrack brought him to life in front of my very eyes. So if you’re looking for a sign, listen to this?

If you’re reflecting on how it felt to be young and in love for the first time in/with New York City…

Middle Kids’ “Edge of Town” is so intrinsic to my sonic memory of my earliest days in NYC. They re-awoke something in me with Faith Crisis Part 1 (2024).

If you want something like you’ve never heard before…

Into Mexican hyperpop, somehow? Try Meth Math, Chupetones (2024), where you’ll begin to understand the effects of both meth and math through this music. Laetitia Sadier’s Rooting for Love (2024) was a thrilling experimental exploration that was also, at times, French! While we’re on the note of global music, it’s also worth mentioning Larissa Kym who identifies as an “Italo-Congolese singer and composer based in Brussels” ~ hot. Contezza (2024) is eerie and genre-bending, with inspirations from classical to reggae.

If you’re a misunderstood Virgo (me)…

Pouty, Forgot About Me (2024). Such a fun and angsty debut album! Finally, some creative representation for the star sign most known for being cold and good at doing dishes.

If you like the following artists:

• Phoebe Bridgers or Jess Williamson… Madi Diaz, Weird Faith (2024)

• Dijon or Choker… Mk.Gee, Two Star & The Dream Police (2024)

• Jungle or Justice…  Chromeo, Adult Contemporary (2024)

If you took a lover this Valentine’s Day…

Helado Negro, Phasor (2024) for the sweethearts. Serpentwithfeet, Grip (2024) for the hookups. Erika de Casier, Still (2024) for the hot cool anxious girls. Molly Lewis, On The Lips for the… whistlers?

If you work to instrumental… 

Joel Ross, nublues (2024) for vibraphone-led modern jazz. Clara Rockmore, Clara Rockmore's Lost Theremin Album (1975) if for some reason you’re struck by an inexplicable craving to hear theremin for 61 minutes, as I was on February 20th. 

If you were on Tumblr… 

Gonna be a huuuuuge season for the return of early 2010s names. MGMT departed from their previously infamous pop sound with vast, reflective, sometimes somber Loss of Life (2024). Real Estate threw a release party this month for only guys named Daniel to celebrate Daniel (2024), whose tracks will inevitably end up in indie rom-coms. I saw this video a few years ago about how the Goth Babe guy makes music out of his tiny home, and I haven’t stopped wondering since then what kind of generational wealth he has access to. Lola (2024) is just his same old vibe, but you’re still gonna stream it if you were a VSCO girl once. 

In case you’re wondering if I remember the favorite band of someone I talked to once on Hinge three years ago…

I do, unfortunately! I was tbh initially afraid of Idles because I don’t like loud noises, but thankfully Tangk (2024) was slightly more subdued than expected. I do think attending one of their concerts would be nightmarish for me, personally, because of tall men and loud noises, but I get the appeal.

If you are a fan of Snail Mail… 

Mary Timony, Untame The Tiger (2024). Okay I am ashamed that 1) I did not previously know this woman before listening to this album 2) I am currently reducing her description to “Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan’s guitar teacher”. I not only really enjoyed this album, but I also acknowledge she’s a indie rock icon herself, having collaborated with Sleater-Kinney, Speedy Ortiz, and Leisha Hailey a.k.a. inventress of bisexuality Alice Piasecki on The L Word! 

If you’re still sweating from that halftime show…

Usher, Coming Home (2024). A true star.

If you want to get excited for something FUNKY and FRESH out soon…

My pals at MYSA make such cool tunes, and they’re releasing their first single on March 8th from their forthcoming album! Pre-save “Karma” here, give them a follow, and keep an eye out for them performing all over NYC! Cannot stress enough how fun and hot this track is, y’all…

HAPPY LISTENING ~~~ keep track of all my favorites on the Best of 2024 Playlist <3