Friday Playlist
“Abduction On Camera” - Sweeping Promises A scorching anthem for our times, calling out the illegal and immoral acts of immigration agents around the country. Remember this married couple is based in Lawrence, KS, so you can be sure they are good people before you know anything about their politics.
“Big Dumb World” - fish narc From a title perspective, this slots in as our second track nicely. And, holy crap, do these kids recall the classic, mid-90s sound of The Lemonheads!
“If I Had The Hand Of God” - Julia Jacklin JJ’s new album came out last week. Despite the strength of the two lead singles, as tends to happen on her releases, most of the album is more reserved and introspective. Which I can only take so much of. This track hits a mid-point between those elements.
“Melodie” - Slow Pulp With the glut of 90s-influenced music over the past year or so, I feel like I’ve fallen into the trap of automatically comparing each song I share with someone of that era. There’s definitely some 90s in here, but I can’t say this is only a 90s-revival track. It is just good, timeless, fuzzy pop.
“Sensational” - Wishy Another great track from Indy’s finest. Someone listened to some Big Audio Dynamite before they recorded this one. Their new album is finally out today. I will be listening to it. You probably should, too.
“Roses” - CHVRCHES Not sure I would have guessed when they first hit back in 2012 that CHVRCHES would still be making new, and decent, music in 2026.
“Red Hook Rain” Alex Cameron I’ve been sitting on this track for months - it was released in May - because I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It is certainly a departure from Cameron’s usual sound, at least lyrically. Stereogum’s Tom Breihan calls him a “charismatic Australian smartass,” which is fair, as his songs are often silly and snarky. This seems right down the middle, though. I think I like it.
“Eyes To The Wind” - The War On Drugs This time of year, when the weather changes, I always pull this song out as a reminder to begin listening to proper fall-time music. I had to kick the AC on yesterday, as it got up into the mid-80s. We had rain overnight and won’t get out of the 60s today. It is time.
“I Wish” - Stevie Wonder “I’m Into Livin’” - Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life, one of the unquestioned greatest albums of all time, came out 50 years ago this week. It was the final salvo in five-year, five-album run that was one of the richest by any artist ever. To celebrate first we listen to one of the album’s finest tracks. It shows the majesty of that double album that you can pick any one of five, six, seven tracks and make a claim that it is the best.
Second, despite the original release consisting of 17 tracks with four more on an immediate EP, this week Wonder released four more tracks from those sessions. The production has been brushed up a bit, but the recordings are all the original, mid-70s sounds. I don’t hear a sure-fire hit single in them, but I did enjoy listening to them all, with this being my favorite.
“Stuck Between Stations” - Frank Turner covering The Hold Steady Good stuff.