UNSLUMP! Volume IX: July 2024
UNSLUMP! Volume IX: July 2024
Wake up your ears with Rubblebucket, JPEGMAFIA, Remi Wolf and more.
What’s cooking? Welcome to UNSLUMP! The Music Recommendation substack. If you’re getting this email, that means you are finding yourself in a music SLUMP (bad), and I am here to give you some recommendations (good)!
July 2024 rocked so hard, lots of hits have been added to the MEGA UNSLUMP! PLAYLIST, where I’ve been tracking the tunage that doesn’t make it to the top 7 (if you’re in a BIG SLUMP….).
Also- fun update- been thinking about how UNSLUMP! can better support local Seattle artists and shows, so I’ll be introducing a new section at the end of the newsletter where I’ll list some shows on my radar within the next few months. Eventually, I hope to do more journalism/interview-based content, maybe for paid subscribers? Who knows! Just spitballing. Let me know how UNSLUMP! can serve you or what you’d like to read!
UNSLUMP! can’t feature em’ all, but here’s this month’s top 7 for you to try!
Follow along on Spotify. (Sorry, Apple Music users).
7 - Rattlesnake - Rubblebucket (single) [July 2024]
For fans of: Ballard Seafood Festival, tasteful violin, St. Vincent, Talking Heads
I’m a big fan of Rubblebucket, and their latest single “Rattlesnake” is the perfect song to start the mix this month. Featuring a PHAT bassline and seductive lyricism, duo (formerly a couple, now no longer, what an inspiration!) Annakalmia Traver and Alex Toth bring it on once again.
“I don’t want to analyze you / But it seems you’re stuck in a cage / Let the child inside drive you / You’ve got what it takes.”
It can be easy to get trapped in our own heads, and Rattlesnake tells the story of being trapped in anxiety, feeling it choke you up like a rattlesnake (BAD!).
Rubblebucket recently played Ballard Seafood Festival here for free, and I was sad to miss them, so here they are on this mix as an apology for not seeing them. Sorry, Rubblebucket!!!!!
6 - There Was A Time - Ginger Root (single) [July 2024]
For fans of: Vulfpeck in their heyday, high pass filters, disco in the kitchen, bob haircuts, wire-rimmed glasses, “Aggressive Elevator Soul”
Ginger Root is timeless, Ginger Root is the moment, and his new stuff has been so footloose and fancy free! I am highly anticipating his fourth album, “SHINBANGUMI”, out September 2024 (lots of good stuff to expect in September!).
“There Was A Time” is the third single off the upcoming record, and it wouldn’t be Ginger Root without a zany multimedia masterpiece of a music video. The song reminds me of Paul McCartney and early jangle pop, love it love it!
5 - chaperone - Mermaid Chunky (single) [June 2024]
For fans of: A League of Her Own, Prince, divorce (yay!), sweating profusely, “Amsterdam sexy”, Midnight Sister, genre defiance
Mermaid Chunky! A new discovery I am AMPED ABOUT! Comprised of audio-visual artists Freya Tate and Moina Moin from South London, Mermaid Chunky mesh sophisticated beats with recorder music, frog sounds and more. Signed to DFA by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, their full album, out September 2024 (everything is happening in September!) is sure to be an epic one.
Second single chaperone is GOOFY, FOUR ON THE FLOOR goodness. The more I listen, the more I can’t stop. It’s the type of song that is mostly talking! I like this type of song because it itches my brain nicely and makes you sort of bounce up and down.
I love that they are targeting the recently divorced as their audience. Divorcées need more recognition! Divorce is sexy.
4 - SIN MIEDO - JPEGMAFIA (single) [July 2024]
For fans of: Lil Yachty, brat summer, Pants on the Ground, metal guitar riffs in rap music???
This song makes me want to go hog wild. Okay fine, maybe I will!
Here’s one for my hip hop aficionados- “SIN MIEDO” is the second single off of JPEGMAFIA’s sixth studio album. The song shines most during the insane electric guitar riff halfway in, after which the song reaches true production highs with some batshit insane layering.
"When I was first making beats, no one liked the beats. To this day I give people beats and they're just confused… I started rapping because no one liked my beats."
The sample that opens the track comes from “Hoochie Mama”, a song by the American hip-hop group, 2 Live Crew (who also famously were sued for their parody of Pretty Women, a fascinating case in copyright law!).
3 - Cinderella - Remi Wolf (Big Ideas) [July 2024]
For fans of: vintage elevator dings, Raise Your Glass, early 2000’s DJ mixes, HAIM, Santigold
Big Ideas is Remi Wolf’s second album, and “Cinderella” was the lead single that kept on leading upon the album’s release (Other standouts include delightfully over-compressed “Kangaroo”, and HAIM-ripoff “Pitiful”)! The basslines on this album groove hard, and Remi delivers a nice crispy summer pop masterpiece, fusing disco pop, Cyndi Lauper 80’s girlboss energy and ‘60s soul. YGG!
2 - Thank You - Clairo (Charm) [July 2024]
For fans of: Suzi Quatro, swimming pool (I am sorry I am like a broken record this summer…), Ginger Root (oh hey again!), Antena, Broadcast, motel rooms (moderately clean)
Clairo’s third album is the Charm (ha ha ha) with her newest release leaning heavily into the warmth of soft 70s rock. Clairo’s gotten a lot of flack for being an industry plant thanks to her father’s connections (RIP!), but I stand by 2021’s Sling as having a few standout tracks in the same way that Charm does! Clairo continues to grow as a musician with her newest release, and this record was a great one for walking on a hot day.
Clairo’s songwriting reminds me of Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman’s “Stumblin In”, a song that always makes me feel ROMANTIC! Clairo uses a mellotron and lots of piano and organ on this record- it’s very toasty and cozy.
Other standout tracks: Juna, Echo (which sounds a lot like a Broadcast or Stereolab track- unexpected!)
1 - Keep Some Steady Friends Around - Bill Callahan (Resuscitate!) [July 2024]
For fans of: Smog, indulgence, this disco ball,
Bill Callahan, formerly of the project Smog, shares a live album recorded while touring in Chicago in support of his 2022 release, YTI⅃AƎЯ. Resuscitate! is an album of indulgence- tracks are lengthened and meandering, and the record captures the space of Chicago’s Thalia Hall with a magic only possible in live sound (See the track Coyotes - now a stellar thirteen minutes long!).
Callahan is known for his introverted nature and self-sufficiency. His music since Smog is sparse and existential, even folky, reminiscent of a walk in nature or swimming under a waterfall. The live album adds saxophone thanks to Dustin Laurenzi, which beefs up the album substantially, and adds fun flair to former Smog song, “Keep Some Steady Friends Around”.
“Is life a ride to ride? …. Or a story to shape and confide?/Or chaos neatly denied?”
Upcoming shows this month in Seattle:
8/1 6pm Black Endz, SASAMI @ The Mural Ampitheatre by KEXP Free!
8/2 7pm Florry, Sluice @ Vera Project $22.66
8/7 3pm Brijean LIVE on KEXP Free!
8/8 6pm Andrew Joslyn & the Passenger String Quartet @ Volunteer Park Free!
8/9-8/11 THING Festival with St. Vincent, Spoon and more @ Remlinger Farms Prices vary
8/11 12pm Butcher Brown LIVE on KEXP Free!
8/15 8pm JPEGMAFIA, Jane Remover @ Showbox SODO $40
8/19 4:30pm Alvvays, The Beths @ Woodland Park Zoo Sold Out :o
8/31 Bumbershoot Music Festival with Pavement, James Blake and more @ Seattle Center Tickets
That wraps up Volume IX of UNSLUMP! Let me know what you thought of this month’s picks, I’d love to know your favorites!
Question of the month: What’s a song that feels like it is a baby song even though it’s a regular song?? For me, it’s this one.
Until August - Stay out of the slump!
Jess