I Never Learn The Title Of The Song I Always Sing

Silver Apples “Walkin'” – I feel silly to say this, but I didn’t realize until recently that the Silver Apples even had a third, unfinished album. For whatever reason, I just assumed that the cd with the first two albums that I bought back in the late 90s was the sum total of their discography, but I’m quite glad to have been wrong about this. Whereas the mood of the first two Silver Apples albums was mostly quite heavy and bleak, there is a lightness of spirit in The Garden that comes across in the lyrics as well as the arrangements. The band sticks with their distinct homemade synth + live percussion template, but the songs are far less dense, allowing the music to either stretch out or float freely through the air. The synths in “Walkin'” sound nearly as carefree and aimless as the cheerful flâneur in its lyrics, especially at a point in its final third in which the lead line simulates the sound of escalating laughter. (Click here to buy it from Turntable Lab.)

Ut “Evangelist” – After more than a decade of seeing Ut used as a reference point for way too much music that I enjoy, it’s good to finally actually hear them thanks to the kind people at Mute who have recently reissued their two obscure, previously out-of-print albums. I’d always assumed that Ut would be sort of weird and extreme, but that’s not quite the case. Perhaps even more so than Evol and Sister-era Sonic Youth, Ut represent the most pop iteration of the No Wave aesthetic that I’ve encountered, and their approach to guitar and vocals bears a striking resemblance to what Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker were doing on the first three Sleater-Kinney records, especially when the sheer force of their passion threatens to break down the fragile construction of their arrangements. “Evangelist” in particular sounds like an act of self-immolation with its wobbly bass line implying a structure about to collapse as it burns from the top down. (Click here to buy it from Mute/Insound.)