Best New Releases, Aug. 30: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Jon Hopkins, and more
Earlier this week, we published our list of our most anticipated albums of fall, and then The Smile, Caribou and Godspeed You! Black Emperor went and announced their own albums shortly thereafter. It just keeps going! But that’s OK; who are we to complain about more great new music? In the meantime, this week’s picks include the return of the Bad Seeds, some excellent new electronic records, an eclectic London group and more. Before going off grid for the long weekend, queue up our picks for the week’s best new releases.
Blurbs by Jeff Terich (JT) and John-Paul Shiver (JPS).
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God
The last two albums credited to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds were technically not mislabeled, but by and large created by Cave and longtime collaborator Warren Ellis—atmospheric, mournful affairs that, at least in the case of Ghosteen, hung heavy with very real grief that Cave had experience after the death of his son. Wild God is different, a proper Bad Seeds record in that his longtime bandmates (which now includes Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood) get a chance to revel in higher energy, joyous, yet still enigmatic rock songs with a gospel undercurrent. It’s a wonderful thing to hear. More on this album soon. – JT
Listen/Buy: Spotify | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Jon Hopkins – RITUAL
After taking a detour into therapeutic, psychedelic new age music in 2021, producer Jon Hopkins takes another swing back toward the more pulse-driven music of previous career highlights, while retaining a richly produced ambience. In our review of the album, Gareth O’Malley said, “Subtlety has always been a force at play in his production and creation style, and there’s a whole world of nuance to be explored throughout RITUAL that benefits from attentive listening; a good set of headphones will help, too, because ‘Altar’ reaches cavernous depths that can be felt as well as heard.” – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Los Bitchos – Talkie Talkie
It’s in the name they claim: Los Bitchos sounds like “a wilding out Van Halen girl gang, high off Mezcal, spaghetti westerns, and Tarantino flicks” just waiting to catch wreck. Musically speaking, I’ve seen ’em live at The Chapel in San Francisco performing for a sold-out crowd, and lemme tell ya, band members Serra Petale (guitar), Augustina Ruiz (keytar), Josefine Jonsson (bass) and Nic Crawshaw (drums) brought it and instantly became the party. Their debut, Let The Festivities Begin!, was a kicking-in-the-door situation, and that sucker flew off the hinges.
Talkie Talkie, their recontextualized sophomore release, imagines the band taking all that ‘70s Anatolian rock, retro-futuristic blends of Peruvian chicha, Argentine cumbia, Turkish psych, and surf guitars and pushing it through a prism of dancefloor hedonism dedicated to extending the groove and making the guitars rock with you, instead of the earlier fascinations of letting it rip. Listen, nobody in modern rock does cumbia like Los Bitchos; it’s a joy to behold for sure, but when the band decides to cut the rhythm into half-time bops such as “Open the Bunny, Wasting My Time,” and “It’s About Time” they’ve moved the dance party into the VIP room. With Talkie Talkie, they’ve put that door back on its hinges ’cause they want everybody inside, to groove and grind to the added synth bass, arpeggiators, and electronic drum programming that has unlocked this talented group whose found a new chamber that’s ablaze. – JPS
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Duster – In Dreams
It’s remarkable to think that Duster have become more prolific in their second act than during their initial run toward the end of the ’90s and early ’00s. The California slowcore group returned in 2019 with their self-titled album, which was their first in nearly years, and five years later they’re still going with the third album of this new run of music. In Dreams is, true to its name, gorgeously ethereal and layered in effects (though without any Roy Orbison covers), but still in large part carries much of the spacey lo-fi charm of their early records. However delayed the recognition they’ve since received from a new generation of listeners, it’s great to hear them hit a new stride. – JT
Listen: Spotify
Nails – Every Bridge Burning
Oxnard bruisers Nails return after eight years with Every Bridge Burning, their long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s You Will Never Be One of Us. Frontman Todd Jones returns with a new lineup, featuring members of Warbringer and Ulthar, and their latest is as blisteringly intense as ever but with a focus on more fleshed-out songwriting that draws more heavily on d-beat hardcore and Gothenburg school death metal. It’s an absolute ripper of an album, a tight 17 minutes of focused chaos that absolutely rips. – JT
Listen/Buy: Spotify | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Seefeel – Everything Squared
Cult London dream pop/techno/post-rock group Seefeel have released their first new music in over a decade with the release of Everything Squared. It’s the first release in what will be a series of new music, with more expected next year, and it leans heavier on the dubby, echoing, abstract techno aspect of the group’s music—which is A-OK with me! While the sound of Quique might be well in the rearview, the group continues to explore strange, fascinating textures and rhythms. – JT
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
