Amoeba Music

The title track on Parkway Drive’s Darker Still opens with the restless promise of a Western movie soundtrack; you know trouble’s around the bend, but you’re not sure from which corner it’ll come. The band gets down to brass tacks on this album, Winston McCall’s vocals turning from imploring to growling within the course of a track, the melodies segueing from the transportive to the turbulent. It’s a powerful collection of songs, incorporating sweeping strings into driven, relentless metal. Darker Still is about that moment just before the sun rises, when you’re going through hell and not sure you’ll ever see your destination. Fortunately for fans, Parkway Drive has been through the maelstrom and seen through to the other side.

Yo La Tengo have another indie hit on their hands with This Stupid World. It’s an album with a song for every season, with tracks that lead the listener in all kinds of welcome new directions while still tethered together by that indescribable Yo La Tengo magic. The band creates angular, bristling, controlled rock ’n’ roll chaos on “Sinatra Drive Breakdown.” Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the dreamy, wistful, country-tinged “Aselestine.” Both tracks linger in the mind and in the heart for different reasons, and they’re just a sampling. With songs this good, This Stupid World will stay in heavy rotation for months to come.

Could We Be More forecasts big things for London’s Kokoroko. Out via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings, the band’s debut album delivers joyful, substantive tracks created from Afrobeat, soul, funk, jazz, and highlife influences. The eight-piece grew up in the British West African and Caribbean communities and there’s an intense joie de vivre, a celebration of the highs and lows of life, powering each of these fifteen top-notch tracks. Could We Be More feels like the best summer day of your life, no matter what season you’re listening to it. Discover why Kokoroko is heating up the UK music press—this is a band that deserves a massive global audience.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band gets positively epic on their entrancing exploration of love and obsession, I Am the Moon. Over the course of four albums, Crescent (Part I), Ascension (Part II), The Fall (Part III), and Farewell (Part IV), the band deep-dives into a mythical Persian tale of star-crossed lovers, underpinned by their own experiences of isolation and disconnection during the first flush of the 2020 pandemic. The songs move from the dreamy and romantic to the rollicking and restless to the burning and brilliant. I Am the Moon pushes the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s version of the blues forward in exciting new ways while spotlighting the way this talented cast of musicians works together to create their timeless sound.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band gets positively epic on their entrancing exploration of love and obsession, I Am the Moon. Over the course of four albums, Crescent (Part I), Ascension (Part II), The Fall (Part III), and Farewell (Part IV), the band deep-dives into a mythical Persian tale of star-crossed lovers, underpinned by their own experiences of isolation and disconnection during the first flush of the 2020 pandemic. The songs move from the dreamy and romantic to the rollicking and restless to the burning and brilliant. I Am the Moon pushes the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s version of the blues forward in exciting new ways while spotlighting the way this talented cast of musicians works together to create their timeless sound.

A Place to Bury Strangers delivers another beautifully bruising collection of post-punk noise in the form of See Through You. The band moves from punishing walls of sound to bristling, Suicide-esque numbers to more angular anthems. The mood morphs as the songs segue into new sonic territory with an effortless ease. The vibe shifts from danger to despair, the melodies from seething anger to all out attack. A stand-out album from this always reliable band, this is APTBS at their gritty, grueling best.

On Forgiveness, Girlpool displays their enviable ability to experiment with sound, craft attention-grabbing lyrics, and leave us with slow-burn melodic earworms. The band crosses genres with aplomb, both over the course of the album and sometimes within the course of a single track. Weeping country guitars, grunge era riffs, and ethereal dream pop vocals weave in and out of the album; the vibe is eclectic and unexpected yet cohesive. These songs may feel experimental—but they’re clearly the work of talented songwriters who know just what they’re doing. And what they’re doing is pulling at the heartstrings with these tales of decaying romance, emotional contortions, and deep unease disguised as everyday magic. Forgiveness is fascinating; the duo creates some of the most appealing, intriguing lyrical worlds in recent memory.

MUNA is the Lilith Fair vibin’, queer and minority indie pop trio 2022 needs. With glossy, upbeat melodies anchored by lyrics filled with longing and unease, MUNA’s self-titled new album exemplifies the saying that joy is an act of resistance. Lead single “Silk Chiffon” is an undeniably catchy celebration of queer identity, romance, and living life to its fullest. Throughout the album, the band channels the great chart-toppin’, alterna-rock ladies of the ’90s while adding in dashes of bouncy electro pop and sassy, smart pop country. Out on Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records, MUNA is ready to be the soundtrack to your summer.

Weyes Blood’s latest, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, is as luminescent as its title. Artist Natalie Mering wrote the album as part of a trilogy exploring the feelings of darkness and doom that are elements of the zeitgeist; in this second installment, her songwriting captures the sense of stumbling around in deepest night, reaching out for something to hold onto, a sense of connection. That’s what these lovely tracks do—send out a signal that someone else is out there, someone who sees and feels and empathizes as you do. The album’s lasting message is that despite the anxiety and grief on display, there is hope, comfort, and companionship to be found in this world still.

As The A’s, North Carolinians Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath make old time music that’s quirky, compelling, and utterly delightful. On their debut, Fruit, the duo transport listeners to sunshine-filled days on the range and pastoral summers in forgotten small towns with a sound that feels like it’s coming straight atcha from a time before TV screens. The musical arrangements feel sparse yet lived in, while the duo’s halcyon harmonies and occasional yodeling add a sense of joy, beauty, and unexpected enchantment to the proceedings. Featuring covers of Harry Nilsson (“He Needs Me”), traditional ballads and lullabies, and one original song, Fruit is a real treat.

Andy Shauf’s Norm is a multi-layered album that’s a masterclass in storytelling. This is woozy, lovesick pop that feels like you’re tuning into an AM gold station in an alternate universe. The tracks possess a strange yet dreamy quality that feels both familiar and understandable--and that’s the brilliance of the album. Because beneath the well-trod ground of forlorn love songs lies something deeper and darker. In the tradition of Andy Shauf albums, Norm is a concept…where the concept feels like one of those self-proclaimed nice guys who aren’t, after all, so nice. It’s a testament to Shaun’s skills as a songwriter that these tracks feel so downright easy-breezy, so beautiful in their own pastel-hued way that their unsettling quality lurks on the sidelines until you’ve already welcomed them into your heart.

Sub Pop has released early career works from British actress, model, and singer Suki Waterhouse. The Milk Teeth EP is a collection of songs Waterhouse has called “witness to a time when I felt like I was drowning and I needed to connect on a profound level in order to stay afloat.” That explains the driving sense of desperation and desire underlying these tracks. A little grittier and more urgent than her most recent music, the tracks on Milk Teeth nonetheless still possess Waterhouse’s indelible songwriting sense—just with a little bit more shadow to accentuate the light.

Philly four-piece Soul Glo have created a beast of an album with their first for Epitaph, Diaspora Problems. This is hardcore in the purest sense of the genre: all rage, frenetic riffs, abrasive vocals, relentless percussion, and incisive takedowns of politics, society, and oppression from a Black punk POV. The record isn’t just radical politically, it’s also radical in its vulnerability and its honesty. Loud, fast, and infuriated, Diaspora Problems is one of the year’s best.

Dawes’ sound continues to evolve on this new album, which dials in jazz, prog and jam band elements to their ‘70s influenced rock. The opener segues neatly from funk rock to a proggy instrumental to a rock ballad. Arrangements are clever and intriguing throughout.

Together, Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield are Plains, and their debut album, I Walked With You a Ways, is filled with back-to-back country heartbreakers. Whether the duo is singing of broken romances or finding the grace to carry on, their songs are suffused with the beauty and fragility of the human experience, all conveyed with honey-sweet harmonies that linger in the mind. Williamson and Crutchfield’s work as a pair calls to mind the pop-country divas of the ‘90s, but imbued with an authenticity and grit that give these songs an emotional resonance beyond your standard chart-topper.

Together, Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield are Plains, and their debut album, I Walked With You a Ways, is filled with back-to-back country heartbreakers. Whether the duo is singing of broken romances or finding the grace to carry on, their songs are suffused with the beauty and fragility of the human experience, all conveyed with honey-sweet harmonies that linger in the mind. Williamson and Crutchfield’s work as a pair calls to mind the pop-country divas of the ‘90s, but imbued with an authenticity and grit that give these songs an emotional resonance beyond your standard chart-topper.

Bad Suns deliver plenty of hooks and sunny melodies on their new album Apocalypse Whenever. The title track is an immediately infectious tune, seemingly crafted for driving around in summertime. “Maybe You Saved Me," a collaboration with PVRIS, is a catchy dance track that highlights Lyndsey Gunnulfsen’s and Christo Bowman’s complementary vocals. Then there’s the effervescent "Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me." These are well-produced pop songs designed to create good times all around.

Soccer Mommy returns with another softly powerful collection, the poignant and pensive Sometimes, Forever. As always, the songs showcase Sophie Allison’s ability to create deceptively simple, unforgettable melodies steeped in hope and longing, with lyrics guaranteed to lodge in your heart. This time around, though, Allison has recruited producer Daniel Lopatin, known for the dark sheen of his work on the Uncut Gems score and The Weeknd’s Dawn FM. This partnership adds texture, intrigue, and at times, a moody, gauzy atmosphere to Soccer Mommy’s usual raw downbeat authenticity. Together, Lopatin and Allison amp up the exact qualities that have made Soccer Mommy such an indie world success while adding interesting new sonic directions that push the songwriter’s work forward in compelling ways.

She & Him’s seventh studio album is a covers collection that pulls off the rare feat of adding something fresh, distinctive, and delightful to the conversation about an artist’s work. On their newest album, Melt Away: A Tribute To Brian Wilson, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward turn their talents toward the revered Beach Boys singer and solo artist, tackling songs from the obscure to the omnipresent. The duo stays true to the original spirit of the tracks while adding their own spin, with throwback layered vocals, dreamy harmonies, and retro-referencing instrumentations. Melt Away is a total charmer of an album and a pure delight to hear.

Written during quarantine and with a title inspired by an auto-corrected text message about Sublime (classic auto-correct), Joyce Manor’s 40 Oz. To Fresno is rife with boundless energy. There’s a real desire for freedom underlying these tightly-constructed, short-but-sweet punk tracks and that lust for life is infectious. So are the choruses. Whether Joyce Manor’s getting gritty or reveling in hook-laden, propulsive punk, these tracks were meant to be turned up loud, meant to be your new anthem. This is the good stuff—pure punk rock with roots in power pop, college rock, and real deal DIY ethos.