With all the excitement of this week’s US presidential election lots of new music dropped and you didn’t even realize it. Here’s are the brand-new singles, LPs, EP, and reissues that you missed this week as well as a few well-worn oldies from 2020 that are still on the OUTSIDELEFT office turntable.
SINGLES
ADULT MOM
"Sober"
Epitaph Records
Release date: January 19
Full disclosure: this is the first time I’ve heard an Adult Mom song. I’ve seen the name Adult Mom on a couple of playlists made by people with good taste so I listened to “Sober” with that filter. That said, “Sober” is one of the singles (possibly lead single!) of Adult Mom’s third album, and the first for Epitaph. I listened to the song four times in a row, went to make coffee, came back to my laptop and couldn’t recall anything about “Sober.” It’s more of a b-side, than a lead single, but it’ll sound at home on a CW teen drama. Alarcon
TRZTN
"Hieroglyphs"
Fader
Release date: January 22
TRZTN released a new song this week from his forthcoming album Royal Dagger Ballet. The song, “Hieroglyphs,” features Karen O. accompanied by a video directed by Barnaby Roper and starring dancer Victoria Dauberville. Everything about this is gorgeous, weird, provocative, unusual, and unpredictable. Everything a great single should strive to be. Alarcon
Full LP review by John Robinson, here
THE WEDDING PRESENT feat. LOUISE WENER
"We Should Be Together"
(Zoom technology?)
There’s something about the way The Wedding Present does this particular thing; marrying that ringing guitar sound with a yearning for what cannot be, possibly while trudging through the rain (or something utterly inclement). No one has done it better than David Gedge. On the new lockdown single “We Should Be Together” featuring the legendary Louise Wener, thinking about the lockdown months ahead and who you might not be with doesn't seem so bad at all if you can stay in bed, pull the covers over your head and listen to this iteration of The Wedding Present instead. Ancient Champion
RELEFORD & JUNGLEPUSSY
"Fat-Yaoi"
Catapult Reservatory
The best two minutes of the week? Los Angeles abstract artist Releford and Junglepussy exhort you to eschew the gym if you’re a gay man. They know what you want. Ancient Champion
ELVIS COSTELLO feat. ISABELLE ADJANI
"Revolution #49"
Concord
Elvis makes a lot of reliably good records and many brilliant ones, but few make you hop out of the chair to find out what’s going on. This astonishingly audacious “Revolution #9” is possibly his best since the equally currently necessary Night Rally. Ancient Champion
EPs & LPs
BRIAN ENO
Rams: Original Soundtrack (LP)
UMe Records
Release date: Limited release on January 22
More soundscapes from Brian Eno. How do you review one of these records? It’s the aural equivalent of that one painting in the museum -- the oversized white canvas with a big red dot painted in the middle of it. You’ve been led to believe it’s art, but you also have your suspicions that Eno’s cat rested its haunches on his keyboard. Eno is really making a meal out of this ambient detour he took in the ‘80s. Alarcon
SLEAFORD MODS
Spare Ribs (LP)
Rough Trade Records
Release date: January 22
Sleaford Mods’ new full length is maybe the first musical event for 2021 and Spare Ribs barbecues any doubter. Ancient Champion
Jason Lewis says it’s their best yet. Read his full OUTSIDELEFT review.
SOUVIAKI
Continued Survival (EP)
Loop Closing Records
Release date: January 19
Souvlaki release Continued Survival and if you like Brian Eno’s Ram, you’re going to love this. It’s sparse and minimal and at certain points, it sounds a lot like the score for Stranger Things. It’s really hard to muster up any enthusiasm for art when so little effort went into it. Alarcon
BUZZCOCKS
Late for the Train (LP)
Cherry Red Records
Release date: January 22
Manchester’s first four-piece that mattered open the floodgates and present Late for the Train, a six-disc set of rare and previously unreleased live recordings and radio sessions from 1989 to 2016. That equates to five full concerts and every live BBC set the Buzzcock’s played during their more recent years. For obsessives and completists only. Alarcon
BUCK MEEK
Two Saviours (LP)
Keeled Scales Records
Release date: January 15
Buck Meek's LP, Two Saviours was lightly pilloried somewhere in the less discerning media for Buck's lightness of touch, which I don’t get that at all, the entire Buck Meek oeuvre is all about his pitch-perfect lightness of touch. Ancient Champion
Read OUTSIDELEFT’s full preview of Meek’s LP Two Saviors here, written by Lee Paul.
ZAYN
Nobody Is Listening (LP)
RCA Records
Release date: January 15
Some poor Pitchfork contributor who drew the short straw wrote a 640-word review on Zayn Malik’s difficult third album, Nobody’s Listening. Poor thing. It’s a generic 35-minute collection of light pop which made me think that this is what The Weeknd must sound like. Once Malik sang, “Smioking cigarettes and fucking on the windowsill,” I tapped out. Alarcon
REISSUES
MARC ALMOND
The Stars We Are (LP)
Cherry Red Records
Release date: January 22
Marc Almond reissues his fourth, and arguably his best solo album, The Stars We Are with two extra discs; one for all the extended 12-inch remixes and b-sides, and a DVD for the promo videos. This is Almond at his full power, still sexy and dangerous, but more subtle about it now, more sensual. Alarcon
SUEDE
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (LP)
Edsel Records
Release date: Limited release, January 22
A reissue of Suede’s legendary live performance (without Bernard Butler) at London's Royal Albert Hall on March 24, 2010 at the request of the Teenage Cancer Trust. One must realize that Suede performed on this record after a seven year hiatus. This was to be a one-off gig but the band reformed after the rapturous reception they got from the cans and critics. I’m not so sure how well a Suede concert translates on record though. Part of their allure is their live sound. I remember seeing them at the Hollywood Palace in 1993 (with Bernard Butler) and it felt like being in front of a wind turbine as they launched into their set. This record is a nice souvenir, but a live Suede album is more frustrating than anything. Alarcon
Main image: Adult Mom
