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🔀 Shuffle Sundays #76 • Bartees Strange, Rina Sawayama, Black Midi, Shane Wheatcroft, and more!
I’m starting to realize that one of the themes of this newsletter is artists that don’t belong to a specific genre or label. Should I change my tagline? 🤔
💽 » Farm to Table, by Bartees Strange
indie-rock, alternative • 10 songs • 34 minutes
Only 2 years after an impressive debut, English-born US-based singer-songwriter Bartees Strange is back with Farm to Table, an equally great follow-up to Live Forever (2020).
The first single, Heavy Heart, was love at first listen, but the two subsequent ones, Cosigns and Wretched were not what I was expecting, so I was reminded that Farm to Table was not going to be an album with every single track sounding the same, and thank goodness that was the case. Bartees is yet another plural artist that is able to wander through different styles full of confidence in whatever he’s delivering.
Heavy Heart continues to be one of my favorite tracks, but I’m also loving some of the deeper cuts, like the beautiful ballad Hold The Line, which reminds me of some of the more recent material from City and Color, one of my favorite artists.
🎶 » This Hell, by Rina Sawayama
Rina Sawayama is finally giving us a taste of her sophomore album with its first single This Hell. A little distant from the new-metal-influenced sounds of the incredible Sawayama (2020), the song is an (almost country) powerful pop song that would have fit perfectly in Lady Gaga’s album Joanne. What the rest of the record will sound like, it’s impossible to tell. Hold The Girl will be released on September 2nd.
🎶 » Eat Men Eat, by Black Midi
Shortly after releasing their incredible sophomore album Cavalcade (2021), the experimental rock band Black Midi is back with two singles and an upcoming new album, Hellfire, out on July 15th. From the two songs that came out, I’m enjoying the Spanish-flavored Eat Men Eat, which got a music video that could easily be an artsy short film.
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🧩 » Random Bits
🎢 • Here’s why roller coaster loops aren't circular.
🎨 • Some of my favorite album covers from music released in June.
🎬 • Cha Cha Real Smooth is a delicious and light movie by young and promising director Cooper Raiff, perfect to escape all the craziness in the world right now.
⚡️ Visual Inspiration
Shane Wheatcroft is a Kent-based artist specializing in collage and screen printing, with his source material coming mostly from vintage magazines, old books, stamps, coins, and any interesting bits of paper ephemera he can find. Check out his website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
🎶 » New Music
this week’s new albums I'm curious to check out
Also, new singles from Broken Bells, Steve Lacey, Yungblud, Sufjan Stevens, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2022 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
Momma are fantastic! Great sound, and highly recommend for anyone thinking about cueing it up.
Wow, really dig the Wheatcroft pieces you shared here. And love the album covers on your blog! Spinning the new Bartees Strange now!