Cool Records From February 2024.

Future Islands — People Who Aren’t There Anymore

In a somewhat recent development, I’ve become deeply [and profoundly?] obsessed with a Future Islands song. I tried to use the revelation as a reason to jump deeply into the band’s catalog and didn’t quite have the same awakening, but that’s not to say “it’s all bad.” They don’t come across to me as a one-hit wonder, and there’s a certain mystique to the band’s utilization of their frontman’s barbarian-raw stage presence and his no-holds-barred vocal style. This record doesn’t do much different than what I expected from the band, but as someone who has found that there is a flavor within them that is uncharacterizable and inimitable, it was a worthy listen and I didn’t come out empty-handed. There are moments on this record that are tough to recreate by any other group. Their use of synth, electronics, and percussion reminds me of the way that Depeche Mode continues to thrive in the same space despite not being in their halcyon days. Super interesting.

Check Out: Iris

MGMT — Loss of Life

This band has seemed to ‘suffer’ from peaking at just the right time for the record they dropped in 2007 and then somehow not being able to stick the same landing since. It was an era that was thriving from a bunch of kids who had just escaped their hometowns after the early boom of “scene” and “emo” music, and as they all went to colleges in big cities, they wanted to attach themselves to a similar type of passionate nightlife, but without the suburbs to keep them shielded. They were finally legally drinking and were pushing themselves into psychedelics and nights that never ended. Oracular Spectacular was there with innocent party vibes and welcomed them all in with open arms to be the sweet summer fairy children they all dreamt of being. Their follow-up record, Congratulations, went a completely different direction and in the three years that passed, it seemed like the same kids had moved on to Something Else and quickly turned the debut into nostalgia and the song they wanted to groove to in bars as a part of their fun past. This year’s record feels like it has a more grown-up sheen on it, but doesn’t distance itself so far from the sound with which I’ve always associated them: big electronic tunes, big sing-along ballads, and a memorable hook every few tracks. This feels like such a catharsis for the band, as they’ve always had ‘good ideas’, but felt like they were consistently chasing a new high that I don’t think ever quite landed with the mainstream (though I believe they’re pretty critically loved). Little Dark Age (2018) was cool, but this one feels like they finally landed in a comfortable spot and it feels the most authentic to where the guys are at in their life. It feels loose, free, and a little more capable of honesty without trying to rekindle a fire from a pile of embers that’s long been ash. As has often proven to be the case with this band, there are lots of cool headphones moments to be found.

Check Out: Phradie’s Song

Royel Otis — Pratts & Pain

There is an electronic indie vibe to this duo’s band, very similar to Passion Pit and Phoenix and Tame Impala, something anthemic and fun. It sounds like it wants to welcome massive groups into massive sing-alongs, easy dancing, and late-night shows with bright spotlights and festival atmosphere beach balls, and confetti. I ended up loving this record the first few times I listened to it, and the more I play it (including this time) it feels more timeless and like one of those records that will come with me through my million different skins. It doesn’t go wildly far in terms of emotional release or examination, but then that has never felt like the point of groovy guitar dance rock like this. It wants you to tap your foot for your entire life, to walk down the street feeling better about yourself, and to keep putting another quarter in the box to play their songs again and again and again. To keep their name in your mouth. This has got me. The first three songs on this one sealed the deal, the rest was just surfing the wave in. Honestly dude, there is something so cool about that rad little production breakdown at the end of ‘Adored’ as well which gave me some insight into the vision of the whole project.

Check Out: Foam

Gulfer — Third Wind

Gulfer’s appeal has always been their commitment to bearing the banner of modern emo. The way that they use their guitars like spiraling fractal machines and the way they employ that perfect marriage of desperate yowling and earnest vocals is exactly what the genre has been comprised of for years, over a decade, and to see them come to this record which shapes and hones the directed glow is a beautiful thing. This is a thoughtful record, one that openly balances the weight of tearing through emotionally charged music with the maturity required to harness it and turn it into legible music. The biggest star on this record is the band’s understanding of how to take large emotional moments and turning points and translate them into musical portraits of the contemplation that inevitably surrounds them.

Check Out: Drainer

Real Estate — Daniel

Now, I have to preface: this doesn't sound like The Beach Boys and doesn’t sound like The Shins but it has the same easy cool of sun rock. It has that light shimmer that feels like bouncing waves and lavender skies. Imagine post-sad Death Cab, more fleshed-out Whitney. This is a record that’s so easy to put on for Everyone, but maybe a record that no one will find a single track to deeply attach themselves to. With every ocular muscle rolling my eyeball into the back of my skull, I have to admit: “It’s a vibe.” I think the thing that I love most about it is that it feels unironically joyous in the way that it Just Feels Good. Without any particular commitment to it being a Work of Art, without any desire to be profound or earnest, it has that feeling of hearing someone listening to Tom Petty in a nearby backyard and being thankful for being able to catch it in the randomness of your life. There’s very little to take with you once the record reaches its conclusion, but it’s hard to deny the fact that the feeling while having this record on is a quiet relief.

Check Out: Water Underground