We’re finally back in the normal swing of things this week. I’m pleased to say my various new music playlists are being refilled after the holiday break. I should have no trouble coming up with regular-sized playlists full of new music for the foreseeable future.
“Mallee Country” – Indian Pacific
Nothing like some lovely, jangle pop from Down Under to make you think of warmer days. Especially good on a day when our second snow storm of the week is expected.
“this is my california” – mary in the junkyard
This song would be a little more poignant, given current events, if this band was actually from Cali and not London. They sound like a mid-point between Mazzy Star and Big Thief.
“When He Comes Around” – TOLEDO
This band is neither from Toledo, Ohio nor Toledo, Spain. I guess they just like that word.
“Sanitized” – Katie Gavin
It’s not very often an album lands three different songs on my weekly playlist. Gavin has done that with her debut solo album. There’s a little Neil Finn quality to the music of this one.
“Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be The Same Again” – Darker Lighter
Salar Rajabnik lists on his biography that he was shaped by splitting his childhood between Tehran and Kansas City. That’s quite a combo! This sounds 100% like the alternative rock I heard on Music Choice back around the turn of the millennium.
“Nothing Compares To Nineteen” – Fiona-Lee
This singer sounds like at least two different Australian artists I can think of off the top of my head. Naturally that means she’s British. A really good song about the shit kids deal with today.
“Small Changes” – Michael Kiwanuka
One of my goals for 2025 is to listen to more of the great, new, modern soul music that is available. Part of that is because that’s one of L’s preferred genres – she’s gotten into Leon Bridges because of my influence – and while we have a lot of similar interests, this would be another good touch point for us. This is the first of several of songs in that vein I’ve added to my playlist of current music.
“Gepetto” – Belly
This week’s The Alternative Number Ones entry was about Belly’s “Feed The Tree,” which was number one for three weeks in the spring of 1993 (subscription required). This was one of my favorite posts in the series because Tom Breihan related how he was an eighth grader when Belly’s debut album came out, and in many ways Belly was THE alternative band to him at the time. While sharing Belly’s fascinating history – Tanya Donnelly was a founding member of both Throwing Muses and The Breeders before starting Belly – he also turned it into a big nostalgia piece for himself, talking about that part of his life and how music came to be important to him. His music writing is always great; this one was a little extra great.
Anyway, I loved Belly. I loved their first album Star. I’m pretty sure I bought their second album, King, the first day it came out. I loved it too. I was so bummed that broader musical tastes were changing and King and its singles made very little impact on the chart. So I loved this entry in the series. It made being a Stereogum subscriber even more worth it.
I bet most of my readers my age remember “Feed The Tree.” How many of you remember their next single, “Gepetto,” which was arguably better but peaked at just #8 on the alt rock chart? Total banger. Or, since Donnelly was from the Boston area, bangah!