Heartbreaking Bravery

Over the course of August (save for a few days towards the very beginning), a lot of exceptional records were released. The five featured below managed to stand out in a genuinely crowded field, which is never an easy task. From breezy basement pop records to an enormous shoegaze-leaning effort, all of these are more than worthy of a purchase. Don’t just read the words beneath the titles and above the embeds and give them enough revisits to make them familiar. Enjoy the trip.

Amy O – Elastic

The pinnacle of summer-friendly listening, Amy O‘s Elastic came brimming with irresistible charm. Sunny melodies, narratives that seemed charming at first blush and slowly revealed their fangs, and some genuinely inspired instrumental work powered this little release and allowed it to showcase its deceptive vigor. From standout opener “Lavender Night” to the sweet-then-punchy closer, there is not a false moment on Elastic. An utterly winsome record for every second it’s playing, Elastic is one of 2017’s finest surprises.

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Walter Etc. – Gloom Cruise

Another of 2017’s more charming breakthrough efforts came from Walter Etc. who crafted and delivered a beautiful, unassuming basement pop record in Gloom Cruise. Demonstrating a wide array of influences, the band nonetheless finds a way to form an identity unique to them throughout the course of the 10 exceptional songs that comprise the record. Hooks that are equally unassuming and irresistible absolutely litter Gloom Cruise, which is buoyed by its sense of melody. While the record wouldn’t sound too out of place had it been released a decade ago, it’s hard to imagine it would’ve sounded too out of place had it been released a decade from now either. A thrilling listen.

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Petite League – Rips One Into the Night

A long-time site favorite, Petite League went all in for Rips One Into the Night. From the noticeable advance push for the record to the contents of the record itself, the Lorenzo Cook-led project seized the type of fearlessness that fits their conviction perfectly. Rips One Into the Night is the band’s strongest effort to date, driven by acutely-realized narratives about young adulthood and the boldest arrangements of the project’s career, the record grips as much as it entices. Risks get taken — especially in the record’s explosive final section — and the rewards reveal themselves tenfold. The furthest thing from a swing and a miss imaginable.

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Gorgeous Bully – Great Blue

Tattered basement pop at its absolute peak, Gorgeous Bully‘s Great Blue draws an incredible amount of strength from both its presentation and the songs at its core. Noise-damaged and incredibly sharp, Great Blue hums along and never really stops finding ways to build momentum throughout the course of its run-time. A dozen songs, all of which finding fascinating ways to incorporate punk influences, it presents Gorgeous Bully at their absolute best. Ragged, dogged, and tenacious, Great Blue is a record that finds compelling ways to make an unforgettable mark.

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Cloakroom – Time Well

Cloakroom‘s name has been appearing on this site since around the time it came into existence nearly four years ago. Over that time, the band’s managed to find exciting ways to develop, whether it was by expanding their range or furthering their ambitions. Time Well finds them in a different league entirely. This is an absolutely massive record, equally content to soothe and pulverize, embrace and eschew accessible melodies, disorient and hypnotize. Easily the heaviest — and most audacious — work of the band’s already formidable career, Time Well should go down as one of the best efforts from any of the countless shoegaze-leaning bands of this decade.