San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Listen: New indie albums debuting this summer.
NEW ALBUMS
Faye Webster, “I Know I’m Funny Haha” (Secretly Canadian): The Atlanta native’s path to making some of the most beautiful folk songs you’ll ever hear is unique, to say the least. By the time Webster released her debut album at age 16, she was also an accomplished photographer for Southern hiphop stars like Offset, D.R.A.M and Killer Mike. Her incredible sophomore record was released on offkilter hiphop label Awful Records in 2017, and she soon signed to indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian for her third album. Now on her fourth release, the 23yearold channels a youthful matteroffactness into blissful and comforting indie folk songs like “In a Good Way” and the pedalsteelsoaked “Cheers.”
Cedric Burnside, “I Be Trying” (Single Lock): The grandson of the great Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R.L. Burnside, Cedric Burnside is the clearcut keeper of the distinct Southern blues legacy. On his latest album, the twotime Grammy nominee presents powerful songs that evoke the emotional grit that he learned from his grandfather by playing in his touring band beginning when he was just 13. Album highlight “Pretty Flowers” teems with the essence of Mississippi blues on the strength of Burnside’s blues guitar and impeccable vocals.
The Marías, “Cinema” (Nice Life/Atlantic): The bilingual psychedelic soul of the Los Angeles band has helped propel a surge of budding Latinx artists. Fronted by the sensual vocals of singer Maria Zardoya, “Cinema” is the band’s longawaited debut album following the release of its hugely popular “Superclean Vol. I & II” EPs and some notable singles. The noir electro of “Hush” and the tropical thump of the Spanishlanguage “Un Millón” showcase the breadth of what will surely fuel the rise of the Marías.
Squirrel Flower, “Planet (i)” (Polyvinyl): The moniker of Boston native Ella Williams, Squirrel Flower merges harmonious indie rock with darker introspective sonics. Perhaps this is what drew Williams to Bristol, England, to record “Planet (i)” with producer/ multiinstrumentalist Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Elder Island) and Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley. Album opener “I’ll Go Running” is a sweeping number, vaulted by Williams’ piercing vocals, while “Hurt a Fly” begins with a hushed approach that unfurls into a passionate explosion. It has her poised to become one of the next names to know in indie.
Matthew Dear, “Preacher’s Sigh & Potion: Lost Album” (Ghostly): When Dear spoke to The Chronicle in 2018, he was finding his way as a career avantpop touring artist and
DJ who was juggling being a father of three. Now with his latest album — a release that was shelved more than a decade ago — Dear applies his signature cyborglike vocals and electronic techniques to grassy country tunes and fingerpicked guitars, inspired by both Emmylou Harris and his father, a guitarist himself.
“As we age, we get trapped in thinking our output or creativity needs to mature as well,” Dear said in a statement. “Some of that is unavoidable, but listening to these songs reminds me to not think so much.” And nowhere is his unearthed mentality more present than on album opener “Muscle Beach.”
QUICK HITS
Doja Cat, “Planet Her” (Kemosabe/RCA): As the artist behind the viral hit “Mooo!” settles into bona fide pop superstardom, R&B singer/rapper Doja Cat’s third album features a glittering list of collaborators, with Ariana Grande on “I Don’t Do Drugs,” the Weeknd on “Do You Right” and SZA on “Kiss Me More.” The latter is a bouncy and rhythmic flatout hit, pairing two of the brightest names in modern pop.
Modest Mouse, “The Golden Casket” (Epic): It seems like it was just yesterday when
Modest Mouse was a cult favorite indie band from the Pacific Northwest. But its last two majorlabel releases (“Strangers to Ourselves” and “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”) hit the top three of the Billboard 200, and the band has established itself as a mainstream rock powerhouse. Modest Mouse will be looking to top the charts again with the smoothedout, radiofriendly sound with an edge of tracks like the jammy “Leave a Light On” and the bombastic “We Are in Between.”
Lucy Dacus, “Home Video” (Matador): Dacus is a generational talent who writes songs that are both compassionate to the world around her and relatable to the many stages in our lives. With sprawling arrangements backing Dacus’ gorgeous voice, 2019’s sophomore album “Historian” was a breakout for the Richmond, Va., singersongwriter. Now on “Home Video,” she’s building on that momentum with nostalgic songs about growing up, like “VBS” and “Hot & Heavy.”
SONGS OF THE MOMENT
Helado Negro, “Gemini & Leo” (4AD): As Helado Negro, Roberto Carlos Lange has made music that has increasingly resonated with the Latinx experience in America, with his 2016 single “Young, Latin and Proud” becoming a rallying cry of sorts for Latinx creatives. Yet his music is far less political than it is poetic. His 2019 album, “This Is How You Smile,” established Helado Negro as nothing short of one of the best acts in indie music. Now newly signed to the storied 4AD label, “Gemini & Leo” is the first single from his forthcoming album “Far In,” written mostly during a pandemicprolonged stay in Marfa, Texas, that’s out this fall.
The track is a groovy ode to the South Florida steel drum and synthshaded ’80s club music of Lange’s youth, with his sweet and charismatic singing lighting the way on a tale about interpersonal exploration.
Tyler, the Creator, “Lumberjack” (Columbia): The first single from the justreleased “Call Me If You Get Lost,” the anticipated followup to the Grammywinning “Igor,” is a quickhitting lyrical maelstrom from Los Angeles’ reigning rap jester. Always audacious and a shaping voice for Gen Z humor, he raps: “RollsRoyce pull up, Black boy hop out/ Shoutout to my mother and my father, didn’t pull out.”
LOCAL PICKS
Shannon & the Clams, “Year of the Spider” (Easy Eye Sound): Shannon Shaw has quickly established herself as one of the alpha artists on Dan Auerbach’s Nashvillebased Easy Eye Sounds label. Now her Oakland band Shannon & the Clams is preparing to re