New Music Reviews (12/16)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Blood Wizard, Bubble Love, Fitness Forever, and more. 

Blood Wizard - Grinning William (Sad Club Records)
The sophomore album from South London singer-songwriter Cai Burns–aka Blood Wizard–is an irresistibly endearing fusion of art-rock and indie-pop. With inventive arrangements, memorable hooks, sharp guitar licks and raw, wry lyricism, Grinning William marks a bold, confident step forward for Burns. –CS

Bubble Love - Bubble Love (Scarlet Tiger)
The debut full-length album from this new alter-ego of British electronic musician Felix Clary Weatherall (best known as Ross from Friends) is a stellar set of sleek, smart, club-primed electronic grooves that filters his exquisite production talents, dynamic sound design, magnetic vocal samples, and varied cutting-edge beats through a sophisticated pop lens that’s both forward-thinking and accessible. -AR

Fitness Forever - Amore e Salute (Elefant)
On their fourth studio album, Italian indie-pop outfit Fitness Forever delivers a warm, nostalgic, fusion of jazz, disco, funk and dream pop. Amore e Salute offers inviting grooves from the very beginning, keeping listeners engaged throughout this timeless, kaleidoscopic journey. –CS

hemlock - 444 (self-released)
On hemlock’s second release of 2024, frontperson Carolina Chauffe embraced collaboration more than ever, working closely with bandmates Bailey Minzenberger, Andy "Red" PK, and Jack Henry. The result is raw and urgent, as the outfit traverses through rough and tumble rockers to delicate ballads, leaving listeners captivated by their mesmerizing blend of indie-folk and ornate indie-rock. –CS

mega cat - Ultramegacat (Share It Music)
This Seattle-based trio composed of husband/wife duo and Smokey Brights members Ryan Devlin and Kim West alongside drummer/guitarist Aaron Benson wrap up their breakout year with a sweet 4-track EP that dives into a similar colorful, groovy, funky instrumental lane as their debut album and features two originals alongside two standout covers of iconic classics. -AR

the innocence mission - Midwinter Swimmers (Thérèse)
The latest album from this veteran Lancaster, PA band led by Karen and Don Peris is another sublime set of intimate, dreamy, melodic folk-pop with a warm, bittersweet, autumnal touch. At times magical and mystical in a manner reminiscent of long-lost, hushed, harmonious British folk records, Midwinter Swimmers carries a magnetic sepia-soaked tone and a gentle, low-key, magnetic charm.  -AR

Angel Olsen - Cosmic Waves Volume 1 (somethingscosmic/Jagjaguwar)
For the second release on her imprint, somethingscosmic, Angel Olsen curates a diverse collection of artists, each presenting original songs on the A-Side, while Olsen covers alternate songs of theirs on the B-Side. This captivating compilation showcases the beauty of collaboration, the artistry of reinterpretation, and the wide range of sonic inspirations that shape Olsen’s unique and ever-evolving sound.–CS

Blue Zero - colder shade blue (Lower Grand Tapes)
The debut album from this new Oakland-based project founded by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Natividad (also of Marbled Eye, and a handful of other Bay Area bands) is a solid set of grungy, fuzzy, psych-tinted DIY art-rock. -AR

Brian Nasty - Anywhere, But Here With You (Big Dada)
The new mixtape from London-based rapper and producer Brian Nasty, the first in a two-part series, is an inventive fusion of  hip-hop, soul and rock. Featuring chill flows, fresh production and collaborations with the likes of Dill, Felix of Paris Texas, and Wiki, Anywhere, But Here With You showcases dynamic soundscapes and marks an exciting new chapter for Brian Nasty. –Chris Sanley–

Emilia Sisco - Introducing Emilia Sisco (Timmion)
The debut full-length album from this emerging Helsinki-based vocalist was written in collaboration with Cold Diamond & Mink, Timmion’s excellent house band, and it’s a consistently solid set of vintage soul that showcases her magnetic voice over a balance of uplifting midtempo grooves and dreamy slow-motion ballads. -AR

Isleña Antumalen - ÑAÑA (Everlasting Records S.L)
The debut album from Mapuche rapper, singer and activist Isleña Antumalen is a vibrant, irresistible blend of hip-hop, jazz, reggaeton, dembow, cumbia, and dance, all infused with a punk sensibility. With hypnotic hooks and a sharp focus on environmentalism, decolonization and freedom of expression, ÑAÑA offers a phenomenal introduction to this Chilean powerhouse. –CS

Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles From Abbey Road (Highway 20)
The latest album from acclaimed veteran artist Lucinda Williams finds her and her backing band covering 12 songs from The Beatles’ iconic catalog, which marks the first time a major artist has recorded the Fab Four’s songs at Abbey Road Studios. With Lucinda’s distinctive, seasoned, honest vocals in the spotlight, she brings a gritty and rootsy Americana edge to these timeless songs. -AR

Raz & Afla - Echoes of Resistance (Wah Wah 45s)
The debut full-length album from this London-based collaborative project between British electronic producer Raz Olsher and Ghanaian percussionist and vocalist Afla Sackey is a vibrant set of addictive Afro House music that blends colorful electronic grooves, hypnotic drums, highlife guitars, and rich instrumentation with Afla’s joyful vocal melodies. -AR

Sonic Interventions - Do You Remember? (Agogo)
The debut album from this Berlin-based jazz collective is a transportive set of adventurous spiritual jazz that’s soulful, exploratory, euphoric, and worldly. Boasting members from five different continents, Sonic Interventions proudly reflect their city’s cerebral, transcultural, genre-blurring underground jazz scene. -AR

SORDA POP - SORDA POP (self-released)
SORDA POP is a new solo project from Seattle singer-songwriter Shane Herrell who’s also been a member of local bands Bread and Butter and The First Times. His debut album under the new alias is a solid set of optimistic indie pop, buoyant power-pop, and nostalgic soul-pop that finds him searching for the perfect (sorta) pop song. -AR

Theodor - Holocene (Brocz)
The second album from this French four-piece is another fantastic set of sultry, smoky, mellow psychedelic-soul that carries a dreamy pop streak and a mysteriously cool vibe. -AR

Twine - New Old Horse (Kitty)
The debut album from this Adelaide-based Australian five-piece band is a sprawling set of intense noise-rock that shifts between muscular, dynamic, '90s-influenced alternative rock and pummeling post-hardcore. While the band’s stormy productions are consistently propelled by volatile guitars and punishing drums, violinist Thea Martin’s strings intermittently add a unique, soaring element to the explosive mix. -AR

Warmduscher - Too Cold To Hold (Strap)
On their fifth studio album, London outfit Warmduscher keeps listeners on edge with their genre-bending post-punk thrills. Infusing elements of jazz, art-rock, hip-hop and more into their signature punk-funk sound, the energetic tracks on Too Cold To Hold are delightfully chaotic and enticingly unnerving. –CS

Mope Grooves - Box Of Dark Roses (12XU)
The final album from the late trans activist and musician stevie–aka Mope Grooves–is transcendent. Her experimental brand of bedroom pop, marked by mesmerizing repetition, woozy hooks, spoken word interludes, and lo-fi production leaves listeners entranced. Before her passing in May, stevie shared this statement about her ambitious and now final, project: “all artist profits and digital proceeds will be redistributed in perpetuity to incarcerated or formerly incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, especially the many women and other gender marginalized ppl incarcerated for defending themselves against their attackers. funds will be allocated to the Survived and Punished NY Mutual Aid Fund, a comparable organization, or directly into commissary funds or fundraisers of incarcerated survivors. box of dark roses is a 27 song LP where the same images repeat and repeat until you might have some idea of what roses have to do with armed struggle, trans autonomy, losing your house (again), angels, women political prisoners, violence returned to sender, suicided poets, refusing to recant, insisting on life, & how the revenge of twenty billion screaming ghost women could unmake the worst of all possible worlds." –CS

Sun Atoms - Everything Forever (Little Cloud)
Sun Atoms is a Portland-based band fronted by musician/teacher Jsun Adams (also of The Bella Low, The Upsidedown, Daydream Machine) and featuring The Dandy Warhols’ Pete Holmstrom on bass and production duties.Their second album is an expansive journey through fuzzy psychedelic/shoegaze songs that range from groovy Madchester jams to simmering cosmic soul, with Adams’ hushed, gloomy vocals adding a distinctive, melancholic, gothic touch throughout. -AR