Good Stuff Overload
NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #81
Greetings, enjoyer of music! Thank you for attending this week’s musical open house. Come on in.
Two factors have shaped this week’s edition of NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS.
Factor #1: I am strangely and joyfully overwhelmed by all the great music that has been released in the first three months of 2025. Like, I’m not sure if I’m in a particularly receptive frame of mind lately or if the first quarter of 2025 has simply been that good, but I ended up with twelve songs I wanted to write about this week. TWELVE, I SAY!
Twelve is an ungainly number, unfit for the scope of this humble newsletter. As you may recall, I believe rather fervently that the human brain can only digest so much art in one (or two or three) sittings. It’s like trying to eat an entire Costco chicken—you can probably force it all down, but those final bites are going to be a lot less enjoyable than the first few.
Hmm. Not sure why I chose that absolutely random comparison. It’s not like I’m such a glutton that I’ve ever attempted to eat an entire Costco chicken. That would be ridiculous and disgusting. You’d have to have some pretty major food issues.
Factor #2: For reasons that defy logic and my deep-seeded fear of permanence, Kambri and I are currently in the process of buying a home. Trying to, at least. We’ve put in an offer, which has been accepted. Now we’re in the stage of compiling endless documents and attempting to make ourselves attractive to the co-op board.
This a music newsletter, so I won’t descend into the minutiae of purchasing a co-op in New York City (SPOILER ALERT: it’s stressful). Suffice to say, the bulk of my energies are currently focused on floor-plans, financial statements and laying dead pigeons at the altar of the NYC real estate gods. So let’s just enjoy some tunes and save my assorted bullshit for another week.
The question is…which tunes? I think I’ll focus on the NMFO standard three songs and drop the others in a playlist you can peruse at your leisure, should time/boredom permit.
Note, mostly to self: I’ve been loving the recent Car Seat Headrest singles, but the full album was released at midnight last night. It’s a one-hour-and-ten-minute beast, so I want to spend more time with it before deciding which song to highlight. Ditto Suzanne Vega, who just released her first album in almost a decade. So if you’re wondering how I could possibly omit her, given that Days of Open Hand and 99.9F° are two of my favorite albums of all time? Fear not, dear reader—I’m on it!
Okay, I think I speak for all of us when I say “Shut the fuck up, Finnegan. Get to the music.”
GOOD STUFF
Ye Olde Glossary of Terms.
Viagra Boys, “You N33d Me”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: viagr aboys
Nutshell: Snotty, silly post-punk
Voltage: 8
Thoughts: Viagra Boys is of those bands that, until recently, I’d instinctively avoided. I got the impression that they were basically a joke band for the self-impressed Indie crowd. After spending the past couple weeks with this album, I can declare that Viagra Boys is, in fact, basically a joke band for the self-impressed Indie crowd. But I can also declare that they rule! That’s not to say these are “novelty songs”, but Singer Sebastian Murphy infuses his sloppy surrealism with biting insights that function almost like punchlines. Just an extremely quotable dude. “You N33d me” is a character sketch of a very particular strain of doofus—basically a Tim Robinson sketch in musical form. I hope some of you feel seen.
Pairing Suggestion: Being asked to leave
Blackwater Holylight, “Wandering Lost”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: If You Only Knew (E.P.)
Nutshell: Sanctum rock (a term I just coined)
Voltage: 7
Thoughts: I’ve been enjoying the Sabbath-goes-Wiccan sounds of Blackwater Holylight for the past few years. They really know how to set a (funereal) mood! If You Only Knew is just a four-song E.P., but I feel like this band has an “important” album sometime in their future. NMFO enthusiasts (both of you!) may hear some similarities to Bonnie Trash, who I wrote about a couple months back. Graveyard vibes abound in each case, but the overall vibe is different. If Bonnie Trash sounds like a vampire plunging a stake into its own chest, Blackwater Holylight is more like being surrounded by women in hooded robes as birds congregate overhead. Yeah, you’re right—that is very good imagery. Thanks for noticing.
Pairing Suggestion: Invoking the holy rites
Tunde Adebimpe, “Blue”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Thee Black Boltz
Nutshell: Unsettling synth rock
Voltage: 6
Thoughts: Thee Black Boltz is the first full solo album by TV on the Radio singer (and occasional arthouse screen presence) Tunde Adebimpe. As such, I’m not sure how much I have to say about this—if you are/were a fan of TVotR, there is a better than likely chance you will enjoy this as well. How’s that for intrepid music writing! If you’re unfamiliar with Adebimpe’s primary gig, expect some slightly ominous keyboard sounds over a syncopated groove. Call it “queasily danceable”! The Bowie influence is impossible to ignore—in fact, Blackstar bassist Tim Lefebvre is all over this album. And in the same sonic ballpark, Thee Black Boltz evokes one of my favorite albums of the two decades, Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are. TL;DR: Good shit, Tunde Adebimpe.
Pairing Suggestion: Investigating strange noises in the night
Is it silly to run a poll with three songs when I’m about to offer up an additional nine? Yeah, probably. What can I say—I’m a slave to my own format!
And here’s a place for you talk shit and/or or drop a spec recommendation for our would-be co-op board. Please, no mention of my side gig running an amateur cockfighting ring!
GOOD STUFF OVERLOAD
Here they are, all them additional songs I was talking about. Welcome to the garden of earthly delights.
This playlist on Apple Music // This playlist on Amazon Music
And here are brief summaries of the songs contained therein. There are a few I think I enjoy even more than this week’s three “main” tunes, but my brain is fried and I need to get back to wondering if my wife and I are making a terrible, terrible mistake.
Poppy Daniels, “Boundaries” — Cool jazz fusion. Technically impressive, but very accessible.
Ghost, “Cenotaph” — This will (rightfully) turn off most of you, but this almost reminds me of Stryper. You know, except for it being entirely about Satan.
Lucius, “Stranger Danger” — I’m not sure there are two voices in the world that blend together as well as those of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, aka the ladies of Lucius.
The Convenience, “Dub Vultures” — Quoth Brooklyn Vegan, “angular guitar pop that sounds straight out of 1979.”
Activity, “In Another Way” — Buzzy and slightly sinister, this is the sound of someone about to make bad choices.
Grace VanderWaal, “Call it What You Want” — Am I too old to appreciate this former YouTuber and “America’s Got Talent” winner? Yeah, probably.
Big Girl, “Dye My Hair” — Bold and crunchy power pop, a la (early) Charly Bliss and Pony.
Touchdown Jesus, “I Love My Wife” — Indie prog rock freak-out about a guy literally loving his wife. The first 1:10 is a bit annoying, but the rest kicks a ton of ass.
Fade Evare, “Send Me Out” — Airy synth pop and an appropriate way to bring this cavalcade of music to a finish.
Thoughts on any of these?
Alright, enough of this newslettering—time to jump back into the fray. I’m not sure I’ll have any hard info about our living situation by the time NMFO #82 rolls around in a couple weeks. But keep your fingers, toes, eyes, tits and testicles crossed!
Love you bye.
POLL CLOSED?!?
I lazily voted for Viagra Boys without giving the playlist a listen first. I then began listening to that Poppy Daniels track and regreted how hastily and foolishly I acted. I mean, that frickin' drumming is insane!