Best New Releases, February 16: Idles, Laura Jane Grace, and more
It’s a shame that Valentine’s Day didn’t fall on a Friday this year, because what’s sweeter than receiving the gift of music (in a heart-shaped box, maybe?). We certainly wouldn’t turn down a bouquet of this week’s Best New Releases, which include the fifth album from Bristol brutes Idles, as well as our current Album of the Week from Laura Jane Grace, the long-awaited return of El Perro Del Mar and more. Check out the week’s best new releases.
Blurbs by Mia Euceda (ME) and Jeff Terich (JT)
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
Idles – TANGK
Bristol band Idles aren’t interested in being pinned down by genre labels. Their versatility shines through more than ever on TANGK, their first album in three years. With production by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and rap maestro Kenny Beats, their fifth album is full of attitude, aching, and, above all, love. “Dancer” calls on LCD Soundsystem to deliver an addictive chorus over vocalist Joe Talbot’s shouty commands and Jon Beavis’ bogging, brash drums. The complete production, with its crunchy, buzzy bass lines and mesmerizing, droning guitar, makes you want to let loose and surrender to the groove. TANGK also features some muted moments where Talbot slows down to reflect on the beauty and agony of faded connections, all while retaining the band’s characteristic punchiness. – Mia Euceda
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Turntable Lab (vinyl)
Laura Jane Grace – Hole In My Head
Laura Jane Grace makes her solo return with her second release for Polyvinyl, the largely acoustic Hole In My Head, which finds her playing stripped down, short songs occasionally joined on bass by Drive-By Truckers’ Matt Patton. It’s our Album of the Week, and in our review of the album, Ed Brown said, “the simple, acoustic chord progressions act as a kind of blank canvas for Grace to paint all over with her shockingly emotive, dynamic voice, heightening the intensity behind each and every word.” – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
El Perro Del Mar – Big Anonymous
Eight years can drift by before you know it. That’s how long it’s been since El Perro Del Mar’s last album, 2016’s Kokoro, which took influence from Japanese folk and Cantonese pop. With Big Anonymous, Sarah Assbring’s follow-up, she once again progresses into new terrain—which has become a regular occurrence since the release of her humbler, twee-pop 2006 debut. Big Anonymous is a richly textured and breathtaking array of art pop that intertwines Kate Bush-like grandeur, haunted and synth-laden darkwave, gently minimalist ambient balladry and surreal textural experimentation. An album of this kind of beauty and mesmerizing vision is more than worth the wait. We’ll have more on this one soon. – Jeff Terich
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
serpentwithfeet – GRIP
Since 2018’s Soil, serpentwithfeet has created distinctive, deeply moving pop music that’s soulful while reshaping the idea of what great pop music should be. In our review of his new album GRIP, Tom Morgain said serpentwithfeet’s music is “channeled into a reflection on the significance that queer nightlife spaces have played in Wise’s life. These ten tracks are often delicate yet ooze sensuality and passion.” – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
Grandaddy – Blu Wav
Jason Lytle revived Grandaddy in the past decade, releasing their first album in over a decade with 2017’s Last Place, and since then, the band’s been releasing odds and ends, like a set of acoustic songs and a re-recording of 2000’s The Sophtware Slump on piano. Blu Wav is the group’s first new album in seven years, and it’s gorgeously dreamy, leaning a bit deeper into cosmic country twang—a bittersweet and big-hearted set of lullabies under a big, starry sky. These songs, as always, are beautifully arranged and rife with delicate melodies, once again showcasing Lytle’s strength as a songwriter more than 25 years after the band first debuted. More to come on this album soon. – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
Omni – Souvenir
Atlanta post-punk trio return after nearly five years with a set of jittery, jangly post-punk defined by their intricate instrumental mechanics and bright melodies, which feature some richer textures this time around. In our review of the album, Virginia Croft said, “Each of the eleven tracks is brimming with the band’s personality, full of vibrant and focused instrumentals.” – JT
Listen at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade (vinyl)
Middle Kids – Faith Crisis Pt 1
Australian indie pop MVPs Middle Kids continue to sharpen their hooks and anthemic melodies on their third album, Faith Crisis Pt 1. In our review of the album, Wil Lewellyn said, “Faith Crisis Pt 1 sets a high bar for what indie pop needs to live up to in 2024. It is possessed by a subtle perfection that becomes clearer with each listen and finds the group sharpening their songwriting while retaining their immediacy.” – JT
