Dustin Kensrue – Of Crows and Crowns
Fans of Thrice, the nearly impossible to categorize rock group that went on hiatus in 2012, have been desperately looking for any signs of life from the group and its members. They got the best bit of news they could ask for earlier this year, when the band announced they’d be back together for a tour of music festivals. Now those fans get something even better: New music from the band’s frontman Dustin Kensrue.
This isn’t Kensrue’s first time out alone — he put out a solo record in 2007 and a religious worship album in 2013 — but it’s the first fresh taste of the talented frontman’s work that rings of Thrice. Of Crows and Crowns, the new single off his upcoming album Carry The Fire, is a mellow track, carried by melancholy piano chords, a gently strumming guitar, and Kensrue’s gruff vocals, as he sings out the beautifully written lyrics that leak from his pen. It’s not quite Thrice, but it’ll help fans get by.
Tame Impala – Let It Happen
https://soundcloud.com/stereogum/let-it-happen
There’s a bit of an unwritten rule when it comes to releasing singles. You want a song that is catchy, radio friendly, and approachable. Usually, those songs aren’t eight minutes long, but Let It Happen isn’t looking to trick people into being Tame Impala fans. It wants them to know exactly what they can expect from the group. The glittery, disco-esque single shows a different side of Tame Impala. It’s got no guitars and is driven by dance-friendly synth. The music sounds poppy, while the lyrics sound restless and worried. If you’re afraid Tame Impala is changing on you, you shouldn’t. Just let it happen.
Heems – Sometimes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK75KPD4GEs
Formerly of Das Racist, Heems is off on his own now, and he just dropped his first solo album this week, Eat, Pray, Thug. Just as we’ve come to expect from Das Racist, Heems is here to tackle some of the more ugly topics of hip hop. He does it in a way that makes you nod your head along with it. “Sometimes” is like a shotgun spatter of samples, but it has Heems focused in on race and the topic of identities. He deals with dualities in the difficulties of growing up with a mixed background, all while expertly riding the Gordon Voidwell beat packed with old school hip hop references.
Dick Diver – Waste the Alphabet
Melbourne based band Dick Diver have their first-ever full-length release coming out in the U.S. this week. That album, titled Melbourne, Florida, serves as a solid first impression for their new audience. Waste the Alphabet is a particular sweet spot on the record, a jangly rock song that is sweet and easy on the ears. The lyrics are clever and cheeky, with lines like “Look in the mirror/ I can see China from here,” giving the band an Elvis Costello-like attitude and sharp tongue.
Matthew E. White – Tranquility
Matthew E. White released Tranquility one year after the untimely death of Philip Seymour Hoffman as a tribute to the actor. Feeling inspiration from the work that Hoffman created and White consumed, the talented orchestral soul singer, producer, and songwriter penned Tranquility. The track, as one might expect, is mournful. White sings in a hushed voice, and the slide guitar wails in agony. It stands alone as a tribute, but fits in well to the entirety of his new record Fresh Blood, out this week.
