Issue 17: Dispatches From the Dead Zone
Sharing the best albums I listened to in December including SZA, Little Simz and more!
Welcome back to Band Practice where I listen to entirely too much new music and share my favorite finds with you. This is the first full issue of 2023. And—folks—we have a lot to catch up on. Two weeks ago I sent out my “Best of 2022” issue with my top 10 favorite albums of the year. Because of the holidays and focusing on that issue, I didn’t have time to share all of the amazing albums I listened to during the month of December. And you didn’t think I was going to carry on without sharing them, did you? Of course not! I have quite a few gems for you. We just had a big round-up issue, so I tried to keep the reviews brief. The next issue will likely be back to the normal one or two in-depth reviews with possibly some other shout-outs. No intro, either, this time. Just this…
December and early January are kind of a dead zone for album releases. No one wants to release anything but holiday music around the holidays—except for the daring like SZA and Little Simz—and releases stay sparse until late January. So, I spent most of December listening to albums I missed from earlier in the year. I combed through all of the music critics’ best-of lists for 2022 and worked my way through any albums I hadn’t listened to yet. Which was…a lot! People. I listened to over 380 new albums last year and I didn’t even make a dent in all of the available releases. There was no list—except for Time magazine’s—where I had actually listened to everything. If you feel like it’s difficult to keep up with everything (anything??)—trust me, it’s impossible.
As is to be expected, I didn’t love everything I listened to—even though some were critics’ picks. (I found myself very puzzled by most of New York Times critic Jon Caramanica’s list.) But here’s what I did love: six must-listen albums and five others that are also worth a listen. A handful of albums to get you through the dead zone. Let me know which ones sound interesting to you in the comments.
The must listens
If you want a story where the heroine saves herself…
SOS — SZA
R&B/Soul
SZA is one of the hottest R&B artists in popular music right now and it’s for a good reason. It’s not just her inimitable liquid caramel voice or her relatable lyrics, but what she does with a verse that wrings deep emotions from our squishy little souls. It’s melodic catharsis. I recently saw a video from the Dissect podcast breaking down the second track of the album, “Kill Bill,” and they introduced this concept to me. In the verses, SZA keeps the range of the melody tight and in the chorus the range of notes unfurls—no longer confined but free. This tension and release can be found throughout the album. As the listener, it gives us the feeling of catharsis and we are able to connect to what she is singing on a deeper level.
SZA’s songwriting is gutsy and intimate. She sings about exes and being scorned in relationships, but never paints herself as the victim—she sings with total clarity and control. In “Kill Bill” she exacts revenge on an ex, like the movie of the same name. “I might kill my ex, I still love him though. Rather be in jail than alone,” she sings in a rosy voice. It’s dark territory that only she could get away with (if any normal person sang that, it would be a big red flag).
While much of the album feels somewhat dark, the second half is slightly sunnier. And any lingering tension is dissolved by the blissful freedom found in the penultimate track “Good Days” (one of my favorite songs of all time). It feels like what butterflies probably listen to.
Not every song works for me—like the Lizzo-penned “F2F” that feels wildly out of place—but it’s a stunning album overall. And it even has Phoebe fucking Bridgers(!!) on the thumping “Ghost in the Machine.” What more could I even ask for?
Tracks on repeat: Kill Bill, Gone Girl, Good Days
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
If you need a reminder of your worth…
NO THANK YOU — Little Simz
Hip-Hop/Rap
If you don’t know Little Simz yet, allow me introduce you to the woman who is changing the rap game and doing it with finesse. The British rapper is bold, smart, and her rhymes seem to pour out of her effortlessly. “I'm cut with a different scissor, from the same cloth as my dear ancestors,” she rhymes on “Gorilla.” She is a trailblazer conscious of the past that paved the way for her. She knows where she came from and she knows where she’s going.
There’s something regal and divine about her—the use of choirs, strings, horns, and drum lines that often punctuate her verses feel like fanfare fit for a queen. But everything she does is grounded in truth—not tearing down, but building up. The lyrics that flow through her feel spiritual and empowering. “You exist, you alive, you are deservin' of life. You are a beacon of light, you are determined to fly. You have a journal inside, you have the power to write,” she rhymes in “Broken.” Just…chills. It’s powerful. It’s inspiring. This is healing music.
Empowering the downtrodden, speaking truth to power, and doing it elegantly—this is the gospel of Little Simz. Amen.
Tracks on repeat: Angel, Silhouette, Broken
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
If you’re in a spiritual funk and you need some funk that’s spiritual…
Untitled (God) — Sault
Alternative/Neo-Soul/Funk
Sault released six (6!) albums in 2022. (There should be an award for that.) Each one has a slightly different feel—AIR and its follow-up AIIR being the most out-of-the-box with their chorale and orchestral feel—but the others stick to their soul/funk roots. This one is my favorite.
Sault is a mysterious collective of musicians from the UK with a few regular contributors—including Little Simz and Inflo (the producer of NO THANK YOU). In Untitled (God), they lean into spirituality in a way that doesn’t feel like a church service but a prayer said around a table. Most of the songs are minimalist in sound—some stripped down to just a drum kit and a sproingy bass guitar—but there’s still some flair throughout. Singer-songwriter Cleo Soul (who also appears on Little Simz’ album) graces the tracks with her angelic vocals. The fresh blend of soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop is calming, uplifting, and luminous. It isn’t the most consistent out of the six albums, but I adore so many moments on it, like the deep-grooving “Love Is All I Know.”
I tend to get a skosh of seasonal depression this time of year, so I’ll be keeping this and NO THANK YOU on repeat to lift my spirits.
Tracks on repeat: Spirit High, Love Is All I Know, Free
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you decided you’re going to start acting like the protagonist in your own story…
Giving The World Away — Hatchie
Alternative/Dream Pop/Shoegaze
This album came out toward the beginning of last year and I neglected it—intending to come back to it but not actually getting around to it until last month. It didn’t leave a big first impression, but it kept drawing me back in and I have loved it more with every listen. It definitely would have made my top 10 had I listened to it sooner.
Hatchie (born Harriette Pilbeam) performs a bit of genius on this album. There’s a big nostalgia factor here with with so many hints of late 1980s/early 1990s pop. The licks, the cadence in her singing, and the rhythms evoke references like Wilson Phillips or something from a John Hughes movie soundtrack. But the genius comes when she fuses it all to a fuzzy, metallic, shoegazey terrain, creating something that is not at all hokey or dated but fresh and sizzling and cool.
Smart underlicks and punchy lyrics are the bread and butter to the album. “Time is pointed at me like a gun,” she sings in “Don’t Leave Me In the Rain.” What?! So good. The addition of cascading synths and bells in the bridge is simply swoon-worthy. It makes me want to do main-character shit like stand outside in the middle of a downpour and sing my guts out. (Reader, what I actually do is belt along to it in the shower. It feels almost as dramatic.)
If you give it a chance—maybe two—I think you’ll fall in love with it as much as I did.
Tracks on repeat: Lights On, The Rhythm, Don’t Leave Me In The Rain
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you’re in the mood to burn down the establishment and dance on its ashes…
Endure — Special Interest
Punk/Industrial/Electronic
Punk hits the dance floor in this raucous party of an album. Two parts leather jacket and one part disco ball, Endure is defiant dancey punk that packs a big jolt of caffeine (drip, of course, none of this vanilla latte nonsense). The New Orleans quartet brings an amalgam of genres (punk, electronic, and house to name a few) with riffs pulled from 1990s hard rock and vocals that call to mind post-punk acts like The B-52s. Bouncy beats—and a bass that sounds like it was forced to get up at 5am to run a marathon after downing a few Red Bulls—are the album’s backbone.
Bristly lyrics make jabs at the system and call bullshit on the status quo. “Who gets offered the American dream? To O.D. on dope in a fascist regime,” vocalist Alli Logout shouts in “Concerning Peace.” But one of the best moments is the unabashed scream, “86 my life!!!” at the beginning of “Impulse Control.”
There are a few spots on the album that feel a little unpolished—but that just adds to the charm. Depending on your tolerance for punk it will either be exhilarating or exhausting, but I think it’s a lot of fun.
Tracks on repeat: Foul, Impulse Control
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you’re trying not to take life so seriously…
The Older I Get the Funnier I Was — Whitmer Thomas
Singer/Songwriter
“I got an ocean of shame, the wisdom of a puppy dog-paddling against the waves looking happy-go-lucky,” Whitmer Thomas sings in the opening track, “Most Likely.” He brings that exact energy to this album: happy-go-lucky while paddling into a sea of vulnerable feelings. The album begs the question: if you can laugh at your problems, will they hurt as much?
Thomas’ sound belongs somewhere in a Venn-diagram with Petey, Christian Lee Hutson, Kurt Vile, and Conor Oberst (on a bit of Zoloft). It is easily digestible folk-rock with a healthy serving of humor and a whole lot of heart. Come for his relatable funny lines like, “do I need all my old birthday cards or am I a hoarder?” and stay for his impression of Sir Michael Caine. His references to Portland, Oregon in “Pinwheel” make it all the more endearing. A glimmer of lightness for a dreary season.
Tracks on repeat: Everything That Feels Good Is Bad, Cooler When I’m Sick
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
Which album sounds the most interesting to you? Let me know in the comments.
Also worth a listen
Dance Fever — Florence + the Machine (Alternative/Indie Rock/Chamber Pop)
Florence Welch is fully actualized in her own power. You feel it in every atom that makes up this album. “I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king,” she declares. It’s theatrical, it’s poetic, and it converted me to a fan.
Stick Season — Noah Kahan (Alternative/Indie Folk/Folk Pop)
Some albums feel like they are recorded in a studio or a stage or maybe a cozy living room. This album clearly exists in the wilderness. There is a vastness to Kahan’s voice that sends his well-crafted and personal songs soaring through forests and fields and beyond.
Janky Star — Grace Ives (Pop/Synth-Pop/Electronic)
Ives is a feral kind of pop star: growling, glittering, and clawing a new path for herself. She’ll bat you around and entertain you with her jangly, synthy songs before devouring you.
Preacher’s Daughter — Ethel Cain (Alternative/Ethereal Wave/Rock)
Ethel Cain (aka Hayden Silas Anhedönia) takes her time unpacking life on the other side of religion through deliciously dark, moody rock with the occasional pop-leaning moment.
Athiopes — Billy Woods (Underground Rap/Jazz Rap)
There are moments on this album that are so sparse they’re almost spooky, but Woods’ rhymes shine like a lantern—illuminating the dark, illuminating the truth and doing so masterfully.
Thanks for reading! For the next issue I’ll be listening to new albums from Margo Price, Låpsley, some 2022 albums I’m still catching up on, and more. I’ll share my favorites with you. It will be in your inboxes January 27th. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it!
The playlist!
If you’re new here, I kept a running playlist of my favorite song from every album I listened to last year. Since I listened to all of this issue’s albums in December, their songs are on that playlist (linked below). The playlist is looong so, if you want to hear the songs from the albums in this issue, scroll to the end (they’re ordered chronologically by date listened—start with “On The Ground” by Grace Ives). The next issue will have a link to the new 2023 playlist.
365 Albums in 2022 - Apple Music playlist
365 Albums in 2022 - Spotify playlist
I’d like to hear from you…
There’s a lot of music to look forward to in 2023. Personally, I’m looking forward to albums from Black Belt Eagle Scout, Yo La Tengo, Caroline Polachek(!!!), and the Gorillaz which are coming up in the next couple of months. And there’s SO much more to be released this year. What albums are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments.