Luna, "Fire in Cairo" (Double Feature). Dean Wareham's wan, glum voice turns out to be an effectively counterintuitive vehicle for communicating Robert Smith's suburban-goth romantic drama from the Cure classic Three Imaginary Boys. As is Luna's wont, they subdue everything to a jangly, "I'll Be Your Mirror" hush. (The video features Rose McGowan, fact fans.) "Fire in Cairo" appears on Luna's album of covers, A Sentimental Education, out September 22. An EP of instrumentals, A Place of Greater Safety, also drops on that date.
Briana Marela, "Farthest Shore" (Jagjaguwar). Seattle's Briana Marela distills chillwave and vaporwave elements into a Cocteau Twins-lite meringue of breathy beauty. "Farthest Shore" blooms into perhaps the most ethereal anthem you'll hear in 2017. It could be a hit in a world where cooler, more nuanced heads prevail.
Versing, "Radio Kinski" (Help Yourself/Decency Den). With a diligent slackness, Versing have risen to a modest prominence in Seattle's competitive rock ecosphere. It's easy to hear why: Their catchy, noisy songs punch above their weight with a Pavement-arian/Guided by Voices-esque verve. About 20 years from now, Versing's barbed-wire earworms are going to make a lot of people nostalgic for 2017—if we still have electricity then... or indeed, a planet. "Radio Kinski" is the first single and from Versing's new album, Nirvana (out September 29 on cassette via Help Yourself Records and on CD through Decency Den Records).
Jake Muir, "Cold Seeps" (Dragon's Eye). Seattle field recordist/producer Jake Muir debuted with 2016's Muara on Further Records under the alias Monadh. The sample-based record established himself as a rigorous sculptor of immersive, oceanic tones and a facilitator of deep ambient bliss. His new digital LP for former Seattleite Yann Novak's Dragon's Eye label, Acclimation, takes a darker turn. Built from field recordings done in Iceland, Vancouver, LA, and Washington, its two 20-minute tracks, including the standout "Cold Seeps," evoke an industrial landscape eroding with microbial fanaticism and eerie liquefaction. Yes, "Cold Seeps" is ambient, but it's crawling with engrossing activity, revealing a subtle, organic transformation of sonic materials in the vein of masters such as Lustmord and O Yuki Conjugate.
STILL, "Nazenèt (Wasp Riddim)" (PAN). One should always keep close tabs on Germany's PAN label, for there lies some of the world's most vanguard developments in electronic music. Another of its many interesting artists, STILL (Italian producer Simone Trabucchi) comes forth with a track off his I album (out September 15) that eludes easy classification. "Nazenèt"'s rhythm vaguely hints at electro, but STILL tamps its innate funkiness into a foot-baffling splutter, while anxiety-inducing synth bleeps torment the stereo field. A female vocalist staunchly declaims in an indecipherable language, adding strangeness to the proceedings. Looking forward to hearing if the rest of the LP can match this song's bracing oddity.
Noteworthy August 25 album releases: Oh Sees, Orc (Castle Face); The War on Drugs, A Deeper Understanding (Atlantic); Filthy Friends, Invitation (Kill Rock Stars); EMA, Exile in the Outer Ring (City Slang); Iron & Wine, Beast Epic (Sub Pop); Liars, TFCF (Themes From Crying Fountain) (Mute); Queens of the Stone Age, Villains (Matador); A$AP Mob, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy (A$AP WORLDWIDE/Polo Grounds/RCA); Dungen, Häxan (Mexican Summer); F ingers, Awkwardly Blissing Out (Blackest Ever Black); Maya Jane Coles, Take Flight (I/AM/ME); Hype Williams, Rainbow Edition (Big Dada); Vijay Iyer Sextet, Far from Over (ECM); Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band, Dreaming in the Non-Dream (No Quarter); Tobacco, Ripe & Majestic (Rad Cult); Jan St. Werner, Spectric Acid (Thrill Jockey); Jack Cooper [of Ultimate Painting], Sandgrown (Trouble in Mind); Lil Uzi Vert, Luv Is Rage 2 (Atlantic)
