Noots Letter: Younger & Dumber**
Noots Letter: Younger & Dumber**
February 2023
Greetings! We’re almost to the start (end? what is the difference) of Daylight Savings—if you’ve made it here, you can make it anywhere!!
In case you missed last month’s NL, here’s what we’re doing this year: one album per day, everyday. One song per artist goes into the big playlist at the bottom. YOU get mood-oriented recommendations that are less dense than reading a whole album review from a music publication that makes you feel dumb, such as, idk, a company that rhymes with Shmitchshmork.
Listened to a lot of really stellar stuff this month, many of which were new releases. Unfortunately my listening space has all been dedicated to this album-a-day task, which means I haven’t listened to a SINGLE audiobook this year. Therefore, safe to say I’ve likely lost a minimum of five IQ points in the eye of the public. But it will all be worth it when someone at a party brings up ‘70s folk singers and I can say “But have you heard of Judee Sill’s 1971 titular album Judee Sill?” and they’ll say no and I will win at Coolness. And you will too if you tune in to the albums below!!
If you want to, like me, for instance, win at Coolness…
Judee Sill, Judee Sill (1971) was another recommendation once again from the most knowledgeable music listener I’ve ever seen on the internet, @LockedGroove. This record was so stunning that upon finishing, I immediately went back to track one and listened through again. With references to celestial bodies, spirituality, and classical music, it’s an exquisite exploration that even your dad probably hasn’t heard about.
If you’re looking for an album that exemplifies how 2023 pop should sound…
RAYE, My 21st Century Blues (2023). I’m calling it now that this will be one of the top pop albums of this year, as well as a sweeper at next year’s Grammy’s. RAYE rose to earworm fame through her song “Escapism” with 070 Shake last year. A former student of the BRIT School (which has seen the likes of Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Jessie J), RAYE melds genres in a distinctly contemporary way with stunning vocals and empowering lyrics.
If you celebrated 30 years of “Linger” by The Cranberries…
Smut’s How the Light Felt (2022) came up on a Discover Weekly and I just assumed they were straight out of the early ‘90s. FALSE. They look like 20-somethings in the year 2020-something!!! You know I am a simp for swirly, shimmery shoegaze, and this is it.
If you’re still just here for the musical theatre…
I know I am late to the game with Dave Malloy’s Octet (2019) but my god does it deserve a MacArthur Genius Grant. The story follows an internet addiction support group but is presented via chamber choir that is SO tight on their harmony and pitches that I second guess all of my own singing abilities (the one thing I thought I had going for me in this life). I’d rank this among one of the most brilliant compositions I’ve ever heard.
If you’re looking for a bouncy retro-sound-verging-on-yacht-rock duo…
Tennis, Pollen (2023) and Bridal Party, Cool Down (2023). Tennis’s “Marathon” was an iTunes Free Single of The Week back in 2011, so you best believe I’ve been following along since then. And they’re still so fun! Canadian bred Bridal Party was a brand new discovery for me, but they share a similar Steely Dan-inspired vibe, which is such a joy to find as Someone Who Once Lived On A Boat (have you heard?)
If you STILL CAN’T STOP WATCHING VIDEOS OF HAYLEY WILLIAMS DANCING…
Same! Paramore’s This Is Why (2023) finally gave us more reasons to watch Hayley perform live and even more reasons to pay attention to her onstage chemistry with lead guitarist and real life boyfriend Taylor York which is sooooooo hot to me (also lol at this fan edit). I’ll be subscribing to their concert updates.
If you want to hear the most random collabs I could not have dreamt up myself…
Gorillaz, Cracker Island (2023). Featuring Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala, AND Bad Bunny? On the same album? From the folks who perform as animated avatars? Color me confused! Happy for them though!
If you’re into soft men…
Andy Shauf’s Norm (2023) is so pretty and pure that you may be inclined to Google if he’s a Christian. You could also try Runnner, Like Dying Stars, We're Reaching Out (2023) if you’re into this kind of thing but even sadder (seek help!)
If you want to be gobsmacked, flabbergasted, baffled by musical inspirations…
Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You (2023). Everything I see about Ms. Polachek continues to baffle me—in this Pitchfork vid, for instance, I learned she’s into scents by Freud’s granddaughter. But then again, who isn’t? ha ha right?
And if you’re interested in great music by an artist who called out Caroline for a blatantly racist incident…
Kelela, Raven (2023). Hunter Harris’s Hung Up alerted me to the fact that these artists released records on the same day, which felt coincidental? Kismet? Who's to say! In Raven, Kelela discusses queerness and misogynoir atop electronic synths and some glorious harmonies.
If you want my personal February favorite…
Anna B Savage, in/Flux (2023) was a quintessential mid-winter listen. “I” from her 2016 EP was one of those songs that quite literally changed me the first time I heard it. She has such a rich alto voice and such intimacy on the mic that you feel like you’re in the same room listening. Her lyrics about self-perception, bodily autonomy, intimacy, power dynamics, and unrequited relationships are phenomenal. For extra content, I strongly recommend her Take Away Show.
If you’re seeking a love child of St. Vincent and Mitski…
Miss Grit, Follow the Cyborg (2023). I had the chance to see them live last week at Baby’s All Right for the album release, and I really hope they’re the next big obsession. While this record is slightly less gritty (lol) than 2021’s Imposter EP, it’s so amazing to see an artist who actually knows what they’re doing across so many aspects of technology, production, and musicality.
If you want to be unsettled…?
Seaming To, Dust Gatherers (2023). Y’all this was haunting. But also theatrical? Which tracks because this artist has a background in opera. Listen in the daytime, in my opinion.
If, after being unsettled, you’d like some joy…
Young Fathers, Heavy Heavy (2023). Ironically, I felt anything but heavy after listening to it! Based out of Scotland with roots in Nigeria and Liberia, these artists describe the record as a commentary on “the natural progression of boys to grown men and the inevitable toll of living, a joyous burden, relationships, family, the natural momentum of a group that has been around long enough to witness massive changes.” DAMN. Heavy Heavy is many things at once, but mostly it just makes you want to dance along.
If you want to know if TikTok virality has any longevity…
Well, you should read this Pudding article first. But then also listen to quinnie, flounder (2023), which first caught traction with the song “touch tank”. The summer hit track used aquariums as a euphemism for Colonel Angus, conveniently another euphemism. This young-love-meets-first-heartbreak album is often a masterclass in earnest songwriting, which is huge to say for an artist who is only 21.
If you want want to meet hip hop with psych pop with funk…
Lil Yachty, Let's Start Here (2023). This was definitely a surprise of an album, one that made me keep checking my phone to ensure this was the same Lil Yachty featured on 2016’s “Broccoli”. With production credits by artists behind Magdalena Bay, Chairlift, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, moments of soulful ambience, tasteful autotune, and narrative storytelling bring up reminders of Childish Gambino’s Kauai or Thundercat’s Drunk.
If you want to look at some fun album art…
Shame, Food For Worms (2023). Look at that creepy little swimming wizard person! I think a lot of people are like “rock is dead”, but I would ask those people “have you heard Food For Worms by Shame?” I’m admittedly not super into punk rock so it didn’t completely hit for me, BUT it definitely left me feeling like Wow! What CAN’T you do with that guitar, sir!
And now for all several hundreds of them…
**Today’s title is courtesy of Indigo DeSouza, whose new track “Younger and Dumber” I absolutely adore ~