SONGS OF THE WEEK: March 24, 2026
Figured I’d start something to keep myself accountable for posting/writing more consistently, so here are 15 tracks I was vibing to during my hiking excursion in Tasmania
Link to playlist: (spotify) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ss5LEicevpRjQe1CxyVG4?si=a6227d0dea684985
Tracklist:
I Miss You So Much, It Hurts So Bad - The Library Is On Fire
Can We Try Love Again - Kool Blues
You Are Every Girl To Me - MJ Lenderman
Size of the Moon - Pinegrove
Accidentally Like a Martyr - Warren Zevon
Just Another Honky - Faces
Almost Was Good Enough - Magnolia Electric Co.
September - Trask
On A Grassy Knoll - Tapir!
Cherry Wine - Nas, Amy Winehouse
Hero For An Hour - Tony Banks
Ackerman Special - Robbie Basho
Ces diamants-la - Patrick Fiori, Julia Zenatti
Burial - Phoneglow
Breaking the Exosphere - Sewerperson
Holy Shit, Holy, Holy!
Admittedly, I’m definitely more than a little late to the Geordie Greep train. I never particularly got into or was amazed by anything that he did with Black Midi, and I think that a lot of the BM songs struggle structurally because of a serious lack of ANYTHING compelling. There is so much left to be desired. A big problem I had with Black Midi is that each song would kind of get this like bombardment of ideas compressed into one song which would make the development of these concepts suffer leading to something that sounded lazy, unfinished, and quite frankly shit. There were some sprawled out instances of good music on the whacky “Hellfire” released in 2022 but at the end it kind of just left me thinking…. Ok? Like what now? There was nothing that really warranted me returning to a single Black Midi album that I had ever heard which is why I never bothered to give Geordie Greep a chance back when the rollout for this album was happening. Also, I have a strong vendetta against anything labelled as ‘prog’ or ‘art rock’ because Ants From Up There is probably the worst album that I have ever heard. It’s just fucking noise man. Like just so bad. Aaaand I’m trying to keep up this facade that I don’t own a RYM account so fuck off. However… I was doing my laundry the other day and “Holy, Holy”, the most critically acclaimed song off of Geordie Greep’s solo debut, and frankly the best one, came on during a shuffle autoplay sort of situation and I just let it play out. And let me just say man. This is a fucking bangerrrrrrr.
This manic, perverse, soyboy-esque, fucking masterclass of a track clocks in around 6 minutes. First listen? I thought it was a load of shit. But after some thorough consideration it might be one of my favorite songs of the decade. Geordie Greep(what a name), at heart, is a fucking entertainer. Everything he does musically is this avant-garde, unpredictable, theatrical shout for attention and his character sketching on Holy, Holy assembles all of these attributes into this narcissistic asshole who is DYING for people to notice him. In today’s era of cringe redpilled incels being so prominent in the media– people like Clavicular and Andrew Tate still somehow having platforms (and our lovely president), this song couldn’t be more relevant to the moment. It’s like the unironic anthem for the way that a lot of these dorks with serious insecurities present themselves and it’s fucking fantastic!!!
The gist? The song’s about an insecure narcissist. The song starts off at supersonic speed, like Greep just dropped you off in the middle of the performance with this abrasive and unhinged guitar that made my mom super uneasy. “..I’ll listen again if I choose to aggravate myself….that would be a great song to get people to leave your party…he thinks of himself as God…”. Basically, you’re a hot chick and the protagonist is trying to pick you up at the bar. “From the moment you put your hand on my knee, I knew I’d have you with ease \\ Do you come here often?” Our guy here, who we’ll call Greepy for simplicity, and creep purposes, is after your pussy with the most daring of pickup lines. The instrumental arrangements across this entire track are just fucking bonkers, drawing from Earth Wind and Fire, Steely Dan, and Frank Zappa all in the same 6 minutes doesn’t sound like it would work but it does. From jazz rock, to salsa, to a full on broadway number towards the end? What kind of crazy do you have to be to put some shit together like this man! It’s fucking brilliant!! The storytelling on this thing blew my mind and not a single ounce of this song even hints at the concept of wavering on any moment which is the reason I’m SO disappointed he ended it with a fade, though it kind of makes sense I guess. The restraint on “pussy” before we’re told how Mr. Greepy knows this lady – it’s pure theatrics. Geordie Greep belongs in a cabaret, or to direct a broadway show for this level of passion. The climax of this song is met by these heavenly harmonies arranging for this callgirl to touch Greepy’s knee at their arranged, perfect, destined fate. Greepy’s more turned on with the idea of people thinking he has sex than actually diving into that “holy pussy”. This song is so fucking bizarre, hilarious, eclectic, idiosyncratic, and genius! Geordie Greep’s personality shines through exponentially on this one and it’s like an R rated version of the solo that a Disney villain gets when coming on screen for the first time.
If I haven’t jerked him enough, then I’ll tell you that I think this song is great. Not typically my style, but extremely enjoyable and one of my recent favorites. If my mom doesn’t like it, then that’s how I know it’s destined to be a banger. The rest of the album? I thought it was cool. I thought it was definitely better than anything from Black Midi. I just wonder, where does Geordie go after this? There are not many directions to go after he dismounts the novelty horse of absurdity, but if it’s anything even half as interesting as this song then I’m excited as hell about it.
My Summertime Bangers
Been on a bit of a writing rest since I'm hanging out in Melbourne for a couple of months, and luckily for me, it’s summertime here, and so obviously the music I have been listening to has done a complete 180 (I’m lying). Here are some bangers that you should check out even if your balls might be freezing off while reading.
MJ Lenderman - On My Knees
On my Knees is a drunkard’s ballad of self-loathing with those hints of Berman, Tweedy, and Molina sprinkled in for good measure. Something that I really admire about Lenderman’s songwriting on Manning Fireworks is how fun it is. Those one-liners that are just so fucking stupid and catchy and have me sending them to people out of context because of how stuck in my head they are. Going through a breakup 10,000 miles away from home isn’t something that I planned for my time abroad but being able to just walk around and vibe to a masterclass in irony and youth is something that I can’t help but appreciate. The instruments on this thing work so well with the lyrics, and it’s the one song I can always recommend to friends trying to get into him.
Favorite line: “...of bees nestled in a hole in the yard of Travolta’s bald head”
Park National - Your Mom’s House
You can never go wrong with a classic indie rock song about someone from your past, Backseat Lovers style. I knew about this dude for a while and really vibed with the EP he dropped a couple of years ago, and when I saw him at Something In The Way Fest in Boston I knew I had to revisit his stuff. His new record is great, and the guy is insanely talented. Citizen bias aside, he was my favorite act of the day and I’m so happy that he was able to share his music with a crowd full of emo dorks. This song just kind of feels like driving down the beach with all of the windows down at night, and I think it hits all the right spots for that summertime feeling.
Favorite line: “...I’m wearing all of my t-shirts that I thought I outgrew”
The Strokes - What Ever Happened?
I can’t lie to you, I’ve been on a bit of a Strokes crave ever since Julian Casablancas gave endless middle fingers to Fantano after the release of Getting Killed. And I mean, I feel like everyone should always be listening to The Strokes. Going back and relistening to some of the most formative records of my music taste kind of makes me realize just how trailblazing these guys really were and how great the music is. Honestly, endless middle fingers to Pitchfork for always giving these guys the shit end of the stick. Vocally, this is one of my favorite performances from Casablancas. It sounds like he’s so uninterested in what he’s saying but he also just needs to get the words out. It’s so Strokes. Thematically I think it’s the most fantastic song they’ve done and was the ideal opener coming off of the success from their debut record. It sounds like a drunk heartbreak lying in the middle of the hot pavement of a July night.
Favorite line: “Oh, Tennessee, what did you write?”
Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice
I mean, what can be said about this song that hasn’t already been said 30 years ago? I mean it’s just a vibe man. This shit makes me feel like I should be cripwalking down some Hollywood Boulevard. The storytelling, the synths, the hook?? This is just a pregame banger and I’m yet to meet a person who can tell me that they don’t like this song with a straight face.
Favorite line: “With my mind on my money and my money on my mind”
Player - Givin’ It All
I think the first thing I’m going to do when I land in LA is loop this and G&J, grab a speaker and a few Coronas, and sit up on top of that one hill that has that crazy view at sunset. Pure, raw, direct, commitment. The groove on this thing just makes you wanna get up and dance. I love it for how simply romantic it is. The vocals are just crazy and the synths right before the bridge is the cherry on top. Just a summertime banger.
Favorite line: “Giving it all, but I just can’t make you love me”
Ovven - Abbreviated
I discovered Ovven just a few weeks ago, and just as any insufferable indie nerd finds new music nowadays, through my daylists and recommended music from my Spotify’s algorithm. His new record completely rocks. Abbreviated is a song that I love for the same reason that I love On My Knees, it’s just so fun. Not being called OJ cause he was born during the OJ Simpson chase is just fucking hilarious and making a catchy, brilliant, song about it just takes it to the next level, it’s so Tweedy. Thematically this thing speaks of reflection and imagining if you were someone else and relatability is always a great thing in a goofy song like this. The guitars on this thing are dope and I think that this dude has so much potential and will be selling out shows in no time.
Favorite line: “A completely different genre of guy, he’s got shades on”
Jason Molina - The Dark Don’t Hide It
The friction between Molina’s voice and the guitars on this thing are what really sell it for me. I think that word for word, this song is the most relatable for me for what I’m currently going through. I remember this thing coming on during my layover in Dubai and I replayed it probably like 50 times just thinking to myself, how could I forget a song like this exists? This song just smells like a cooler full of PBR’s and yet it’s so confrontational and brilliant like I just don’t even know how to put into words how in love I am with this song. Just a complete masterclass in songwriting and vulnerability. It has a bright outlook on fighting demons and all with that summery country vibe like I just love it man just go listen to it.
Favorite line: “...the world was empty on the day they made it, but heaven needed some place to throw all the shit”
PinkPanthress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
To be honest, the way I discovered this song was looking up “cunty gym motivation” on Spotify and when it came on I was just like waiiiiiit. This is fierce. I love the beat so much, it’s so bouncy and fun and is one that I’ve been consistently playing at pregames, like if I had chromesthesia this song would be pink and blue. If you’ve never been stalkerish over someone have you ever really had a crush? You can just tell that these two had so much fun making this and if I heard it 6 tequila sodas in at the club I’d probably collapse.
Favorite line: “Why can’t you say that you want it too?”
The Roches - Hammond Song
The folkiest song on this list, a melancholic, humorous ballad sung by sisters, I think I love this one because of how bittersweet it sounds. I love the harmonies on this thing and how personal it is. I feel like it’s directly a slice of life from the three sisters and that’s what makes it so great. The song is more or less about a girl going to chase some man followed by some remarks from her disapproving family. I think the way that they leave things hanging in this song and then pick it right back up is just fantastic and I would definitely consider this one of my personal folk classics. It’s a beach song.
Favorite line: “Do your eyes have an answer to this song I sing?”
The Sha La Das - Those Years Are Over
When this thing first autoplayed, I thought it was some Beach Boys deep cut that I’d never heard and was just really impressed on how well this thing captures that vibe. Sonically, it’s obviously great. It’s like something that would play during a beach shot of some A24 film set in the 60’s. But I really really do enjoy the songwriting on this song. It’s a subtle nod to the acceptance of change and it’s not depressing. Sure, a little heartbreaking, but it’s really colorful. Call and response grooves are always just something that I’m a sucker for and this track does it perfectly. I’d recommend checking out the entire record as it’s so so great and carries this vibe super well.
Favorite line: “Don’t worry baby, we’re all getting older, yes those years are over”
Honorable Mentions:
Robbie Basho - Cathedrals et Fleur de Lis
Dove Ellis - Love Is
Tove Lo - Heat
Geese - Cowboy Nudes
Arthur Russell - Your Motion Says
Lil Uzi Vert - Secure The Bag
Stromae - Ave Cesaria
Neil Young - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Dan English - Across My Jaw
This is Lorelei - Where’s Your Love Now?
10 Albums You Need To Listen To… Immediately.
10 albums you need to listen to now. That’s it. So, in no particular order –
Death of a Ladies Man - Leonard Cohen
When this album was released, it was met with incredibly horrible reviews and is still often referred to as one of Cohen’s weakest projects. I mean, the man himself essentially disowned the record. Buuut, regardless of the critics of the 70’s, this record is absolutely magnificent and so so charming. It sounds straight out of a 1940’s Fritz Lang noir film and lyrically truly embodies the most intricate aspects of Cohen’s songwriting – his history as a poet really shines through on this album that is so far ahead of its time. Thematically – it’s brilliant. It’s sexual, theatrical, it battles masculinity, and sounds nothing like what was coming out at the time. People say it’s overproduced, but, that’s something that I really enjoy about the album. I think it was so very important for Cohen to do something different and that he did – the title track speaks for itself. One of my favorite songs and overall one of my favorite records of all time.
69 Love Songs - The Magnetic Fields
Stephin Merritt the man you are. Never did I ever think that 69 love songs could cover everything about love. And it can’t. But man oh man does this record do a fantastic job at talking about so much. This album kind of sounds like a playlist if that makes sense – there are so many genres covered in ways that follow the lyrics and ulterior meanings behind the tracks – and with Merritt’s dead, baritone voice they allow room for the listener to project and adapt their own feelings into the songs. The songs are simple yet so meaningful – the big moments about love we hear from the likes of Jeff Buckeley can sometimes separate the author’s experience from the listeners, but on this album, everyone’s experience of love counts.
Untrue - Burial
Probably the coolest and most mysterious guy of all time, William Bevan’s second and last studio album was and is such a critical and monumental piece in electronic music’s history. He explores themes of love, loss, loneliness through an eerie, ambient lens all while having none of the professional tools to do so. What I mean by that is – Untrue was made on SoundForge, so, every drum clap was manually placed, and every vocal chop was eyeballed and hand-cut. The imperfections on the record are imperative to what makes it feel like it's alive, all for the emotional essence and detail of human labor. After Untrue was released, everyone wanted to sound like Burial. This album is atmospheric, intuitive, and a must-listen for anyone who enjoys electronic music.
Comment Te Dire Adieu? - Francoise Hardy
“How can I say goodbye to you?” is definitely one way to title an album. Hardy was the cool mysterious girl of French pop music and skyrocketed to new levels of respect and depth with the release of this record. Written through the lens of elliptical, distant women, Hardy finds the crosspaths between emotional ambiguity and emotional excess. Thematically the tracks are never asking for a perfect love story, they are about second thoughts, they speak at you with emotional grunt and honesty instead of trying to find a “fix to the problem”. It’s a masterclass in songwriting and storybuilding and is definitely something that everyone needs to hear.
Ramadan - ee
The San Francisco band’s debut album holds a fragile space that not many bands can attain. Covering themes of restraint and breaking egos – it’s an indie record that always left me puzzling why it never got more attention. The tracks aren’t rushed, they’re playful and precisely hand-crafted yet let themselves play out over time making the listeners really pay attention to everything that’s being offered. The album sits with uncertainty, and has that same sort of distorted, low-production feel as something like Elliot Smith’s self-titled album. It was released during a time where indie music was all about hooks and visibility but instead stayed away from that completely, reiterating that the fragile space that the record holds is rooted in its sincerity, discipline, and lack of extravagant revelations or self admissions.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
I don’t think anyone that knows me would be remotely shocked that I’d have this album on the list, and if you’re familiar with indie music you’ve probably already heard it. But, no matter how many times that annoying dude who lives on RYM threads pushes this record, it does not take away from how brilliant it is. Surreal imagery jumps around on this album like a wildfire and is what Jeff Mangum is so well-known and respected for. The songwriting and vibe creation on this thing is simply just immaculate and so hard to replicate. It’s elusive, timeless, it’s urgent and relentless, and it truly changed what indie music could and would sound like forever. If you haven’t listened to this record yet, it’s definitely a must, more so than any other record on this list I’d say.
Ghosts of the Great Highway - Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon)
There was uncertainty of what was next for Mark Kozelek after Red House Painters, but thank God it was this. Kozelek has always focused on talking to the listener, and it’s more apparent than ever on GotGH. Kozelek’s approach to writing always pays attention to detail and it makes the smallest of moments on this record feel the deepest emotionally. It’s such an intimate album that is so humorous and gentle without telling you how to feel. It’s like the listeners have flipped their way to a random page of Mark Kozelek’s diary and the album played out from there. This record is a gem in indie music that so many future talented acts borrowed from, and for great reason. As polarizing as the guy is, he’s made some perfect albums.
Glow On - Turnstile
Hardcore music was always one of those genres that I would immediately turn off if it came into a shuffle or autoplay because I simply cannot stand how loud it is. Little did I know that a hardcore record would become one of my favorites of all time…thanks to Turnstile. Glow On is such an incredibly fun record. Influential, redefining, genre-bending…yes…it is all of those things, but I think it being fun comes first. A hardcore band that’s not full of middle-aged white guys (maybe that’s all it took?) took the genre and shot up lethal doses of funk, pop, disco, and everything in between and made a masterpiece. The tracks are so accessible and made it possible for anyone to like hardcore, and they did this without cutting corners, the songwriting is as fun as the instrumentals while remaining emotionally tapped in. It’s anthemic and it redefined the genre, and while I might personally prefer Never Enough, I think that anyone getting into Turnstile needs to start with Glow On.
Magnolia Electric Co. - Jason Molina
The “Loveless” of alt-country. A true masterpiece. Jason Molina sings about a world that is personal and ambiguous. Every note on this album is universal yet fragile – the ambience created makes you feel like you’re a depressed cowboy drinking out of his flask at sunset. Molina doesn’t overwrite on his songs, they’re sparse, he makes the listeners earn each word that he gives them and leaves the interpretation up to them. It’s pure Americana in its rawest form, and his presence is emphasized on every single second of the record. It’s a gateway drug into his discography and journey and leaves fans yearning for more from the first to the last track.
In Through Out the Door - Led Zeppelin
There’s no other way to end this post without listing a classic. Possibly Led Zeppelin’s grooviest and most diverse record, ITOtD emphasizes everything in their career that led up to this LP while bringing experimental aspects to their sound. Sonically this album is just genius, songs like Fool In The Rain are brilliant and reach new heights while bringing depth and vulnerability to the album. It’s unpredictable at times but that’s what’s so fun about it – and a must listen for any classic rock fan.
Honorable Mention: Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub
That’s it. Go listen. You won’t regret it.
Let’s Talk Alt-Country
Alt-Country. It’s the new talking point for all insufferable people everywhere. I mean, you can only scroll on your phone for so long until you see some headline about Geese or Wednesday. It’s a genre that’s quickly defining this decade’s indie/alternative scene, from the brand names to local music scenes. And that’s not for no reason – the genre is thrillingly fresh to an entirely new generation who grew up with electronic pop music shuffling through radio stations.
It’s not like country is a brand new genre that popped out of the blue, the music has been around for centuries. It’s the thing that, 10 years ago, everyone said they could hardly stand to listen to. But, since the turn of the decade, it’s been infecting everyone’s playlist like a wildfire and has seeped its way into various other subgenres of music. Maybe it’s a recession indicator, maybe it’s the warmth of the music, but country music is it right now. With the huge household names like Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen selling out stadiums to the types of people who don’t play games about Mr. President Trump. All jokes aside, this surge in country’s popularity has found its way into the contemporary indie scene in an extremely refreshing and exciting way.
Country music, at least for the last 30 years or so, has always given the indie scene a platform for how its going to sound. ITAOTS and The Glow Pt.2 are some of the twangiest sounding records ever, and though more closely folk-adjacent, there’s no denying the influence of country in them (especially considering Jeff Mangum is from Louisiana). Alt-country, as a genre itself, is widely considered to have been created or at least mainlined by Uncle Tupelo’s 1990 “No Depression”. If you’re unfamiliar with the group, it was basically the precursor to Wilco with a few of the same members and frontman. Wilco was a widely influential alt-country group that eventually evolved their sound over the years. It’s impossible to mention Wilco without also bringing up an alt-country legend like Jason Molina who elevated and distinguished alt-country’s songwriting and sound even further from its parent genres. But, this folky-country-thingy kind of burned its flame throughout the 2000’s then sort of burned out. Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, and Dr. Dog are some of the more notable folk artists of the mid-to-late 2000’s but they don’t really have anything country about their records. It sort of just died out, randomly, at least in indie subculture. The twanginess of the 90’s indie scene was replaced by lofi, which itself stemmed from groups like Neutral Milk Hotel who were products of country music, sort of like a weird circlejerk. Lofi music took the indie scene by storm with huge acts emerging out of the 2010’s like Car Seat Headrest, Beach House, and Mitski. But then…it all kind of slowly started circling back…again.
I think a huge proprietor of this (not just because him and Evan Stephens Hall sound legitimately identical) is Tyler Childers. Tyler Childers by no means is specifically an indie artist but is an amalgamation of so many genres, blending his incredible and personal and drawling songwriting with everything that everyone loves about country. No matter what your favorite genre of music is, whether you even give a shit about country or not, there’s no denying Tyler Childers’ masterclasses in creating great music and his HUGE influences on the indie scene, especially local scenes. But…going back to his vocal twin–Evan Stephens Hall. The frontman of Pinegrove and definitely one of the most important people in music today. Pinegrove, a band that blew up massively on TikTok in 2023 thanks to a dance called the Pinegrove shuffle made by some rising college freshman, was already a huge name in indie. Pinegrove is like the most clear direct product of alt-country we have thus far in the timeline, with Hall citing Wilco as a major influence for his songwriting and sound. Pinegrove has everything good about folk, indie rock, and alt-country and cleared the pavement for the alt-country bands that would emerge after them.
But–let’s fast forward to 2026. The era of Geese and MJ Lenderman. MJ is the most alt-country sounding dude pretty much ever. A member of the band Wednesday, his solo project Manning Fireworks that released in 2024 debuted to major critical acclaim. It’s hard for me to listen to him without constantly having to acknowledge the voice in the back of my head that he sounds so eerily like Mark Kozelek. MJ grew up in the blue ridge mountains and sounds like the byproduct of Silver Jews, Jason Molina, Wilco, Pavement, and even Pinegrove. His music brings something so fresh and exhilarating to the indie scene and while not loved by some – I think he’s brilliant. It’s blues, it’s indie, it’s country, it’s fun and the lyrics are entertaining. What the hell is a houseboat doing docked at a… Himbo dome? His band, Wednesday, is fantastic too. Not as country as MJ’s solo stuff but still really worth checking out. As for Geese, well, who hasn’t heard of Geese at this point? A band that I heard a couple of years ago on a Spotify autoshuffle has blown up immensely since the release of their record Getting Killed. That record, though, is not alt country, and subsequently, not their best. You’re entitled to your own opinion though. But their 2023 release, 3-D Country, is definitely alt-country, and is a fantastic fantastic album, To think that these kids were teenagers or very early twenties when it was released is just insane. 3-D Country is everything great about alt-country meshing with brilliant proponents of post-rock and that 60’s psychidelic vibe. I think that Winter’s voice is just so captivating on this record and really fits the genre so well. I was a bit upset when I didn’t hear as much of it on Getting Killed but it’s still an okay album. I’m not the biggest fan of that sort of BCNR/RMP sound that is ever apparent on Getting Killed but that’s just a personal preference.
So.. what now? It’s thrilling and such a privilege to be living in a time where indie music is so exciting and always moving forward with the sound and especially to be in a place like New England where these alt-country influences are everywhere in the local scene. Bands like Autumn Drive, Morrissey Boulevard, and Rigometrics are all great examples of what can be done with raw talent and would definitely recommend checking out one of their shows if you’ve got the time. I hope alt-country stays popular and evolving forever cause it’s just so good. Don’t say you can’t stand country until you’ve listened to a David Berman song.
Life In Your Glass World - Citizen
Citizen was always one of those bands that truly stuck out to me, they were the first band that I ever became immensely obsessed with when I was like 13/14. Finding the cult classic Youth at that age while on a YouTube P!ATD autoplay shuffle was definitely a life-changing experience. It’s the band that started to truly make me appreciate rock music and is still my favorite band to this day. I figured I’d start off the first few records of this blog by reviewing some of my favorite albums of all time, to set the tone for what my music taste sounds like, and here we are with my favorite album of all time. Like ever. Life In Your Glass World released by Citizen on March 26, 2021.
This album was released at such a pivotal and important time for me. Being in high school at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic along with being freshly out of a breakup in one of the most toxic relationships ever, the endlessly relatable and timeless lyrics on this record helped me so much, so yes, this is going to be another biased review.
I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this record. It’s like the lovechild of everything that Citizen has mastered up until this point – the slow, melodic, lyrical highs of As You Please coupled with the banging post-hardcore/emo influences from Youth and EIGTH, along with indie rock and lo-fi infusions – this thing is everything that Citizen’s career was leading up to at this point. It’s so much more mature than all of their previous records, and it shows the fans that this really is a band that you can grow up with and not out of (I think I stole that quote from Pitchfork).
Why my favorite record ever? I don’t know. It just found me at the right time and I find everything about this thing to be genuine and profound. It was a safe space for me listening to this thing during one of the roughest times of my life, and while my top 5 albums change pretty consistently, I’m pretty sure LIGYW will remain my #1 album for the rest of my life.
Okay, let’s dig into this thing now. The first track, Death Dance Approximately, wastes no time reminding you that Citizen is the shit and that they’re a motherfuckin rock band. This track was actually featured on Fortnite’s Rock Royale radio a couple of years back. The song starts off with banging guitars and slowly flows into a melodic verse, with Mat Kerekes saying “...this is the last time I’ll ever give you another piece of me”. Ok Mat! We’re definitely a long time removed from the angsty yearning and anger of their prior records - sonically, lyrically, these guys don’t give a shit about these hoes anymore. The song kicks into the chorus quickly and extremely energetically, almost like they’re dying to get the words out–but then it is cut super short to flow back into another verse. That’s one thing I really, really like about this record. It’s very Queen-esque, maybe a little Jeff Mangum-y, being relentless on getting the words out. Another thing that is very Queen-y about this record is that they let the instruments sing the words for them on a lot of the songs. While this is not new to Citizen, the approach is so much more refined on LIGYW and it’s something I appreciate so much. Mat Kerekes is singing his heart out on how he knows he deserves so much more, and won’t back down. “I will pry and I will claw just to be heard”, he’s not taking shit anymore and thankfully not doing it in a corny way. After the second chorus the audience is hit with this beautiful melodic bridge that sounds so drastically different sonically from anything that Citizen has done before, and it’s so, so refreshing. This is a killer opening track and definitely sets an appropriate tone for the greatness that is this record.
Track number two, I Want To Kill You. Oh my god dude. This is just another banger. Another pure rock song. This record does a really good job of flowing things together, like, for example, on Def Leppard’s High ‘N’ Dry, the first three songs are all super rocky and super energetic, but it does a horrible job at it. There is basically nothing different about the songs there and it’s so impressive to me that a band like Citizen was able to pull off a feat of starting off a record with two totally rocking songs making them sound completely unique from each other while both bringing the energy that fans love. Mat even starts out the song saying “I’ll pick it up right where I left off”, solidifying that everything he’s feeling is not just a moment of strength but a new outlook on things.”In the bright red sky I saw a pain that I clung to once before, but I never wanna go there anymore”. The band is eager to let the audience know that they’re not the people they were 4 years ago, at the release of As You Please, and that they are so much farther on their journey of finding themselves. The instrumental bridge towards the end of this song is like the soundtrack of the band running away and releasing their old selves to their fans, and closes out beautifully and onto what is arguably one of the best tracks on the record.
Blue Sunday. Track #3. Now, the first time I listened through this thing nearly five years ago, this was the song I fell in love with and IMMEDIATELY became my favorite Citizen song. It’s incredibly different from anything they’ve ever released and has those intrepid, vague, powerful lyrics that can be interpreted however the hell you want and makes for such a killer track. I always think about this song whenever I’m super hungover after a gross Saturday night. It’s sharp, and the instrumentals that come in after the first verse are incredible. Like literally just skip to 54 seconds in and just listen. I don’t know what the hell that instrument or effect is called but it’s incredible and leads to, what the band is fortifying as a theme on this record. “Don’t wanna be something if I gotta sell my wounds to you, dig up a memory I hate, get some attention when I do”. The band is sick and tired of weeping in their sadness and approaches the emo genre with incredible new perspectives and ideas that won’t have you spiraling like a track off of Youth might. The layering of the vocals, the guitars, the simplicity, the pace, the flow, the everything of this track is truly something that fans definitely took for granted from Citizen. I remember hearing this thing live during the Citizen/Turnover show back in June and being like what the hell? They hadn’t played it when opening for Movements and this is like, my favorite song ever, and I was ecstatic. The track approaches everything so well and is definitely a standout from this record, it’s one of those tracks that I really recommend to people when trying to get them into Citizen. It’s indie rock, it’s emo, it’s lo-fi, it’s perfect. I wish I could make music like this, like seriously.
Track number #4, Thin Air. This song draws back, it’s another slow-ish one like Blue Sunday but has the same incredible relatability and melody of all the previous tracks thus far. Are you noticing a theme? That every single thing on this record is an absolute banger? Mat Kerekes is “sing(ing his) blues away, your words spill out like poetry”, and this, along with track #5, Call Your Bluff, may be the reason why Mat is writing from a live and let go angle on this record. Thin Air tells the story of being tired of an inconsistent love and just “wanting something real – if only for the thrill”. It’s another banger with rocking melodies and such a personal take on vulnerability with themes that cross over into Call Your Bluff. Whether the song is directed to a lover or someone that may have wronged him – it’s about Mat’s disregard of rationality in order to maintain the broken trust with that individual. Wanting to be wrong about being wronged is something that we can all relate to. The instrumentals delivered on this thing call for a dance party while being so personal and delivering the new sound so well. Two more tracks that are super strong and hold their weight amazingly on this record.
Pedestal. One of the angriest tracks on this thing, it’s like the album is delivering a story of going through the motions, and the angle on anger is delivered so much differently than how old Citizen would do this. The instruments aren’t accentuating feelings of rage in your face, like a track off Youth would, but rather inviting the listener to digest Mat’s lyrics and then celebrating what he’s saying with a catchy riff that hooks you in for the next verse. The bass guitar on this thing does not let up and is absolutely incredible, with Mat softly screaming “I gave you my all, and then you shoved it in my face”. The bridge is filled with exhausting and relentless poetry and pays homage to their previous albums in such a new and exciting way and fits on this record so perfectly.
Fight Beat & Black and Red, track #6 and #7 (?!). These aren’t my favorite tracks on the record, more so Fight Beat. Though I’m not a huge fan, I can definitely respect the creativity and experimentality that went into this thing. It sounds like literally like nothing the band has ever made before, and that’s saying a whole lot on a unique album like LIYGW. It’s a weird, manic-ish song like Myxomatosis from Radiohead, and while it’s filled with a lot of interesting things – it’s also pretty hollow. It might not be a song that I typically keep in my playlist rotation, I think it fits super well on this record and was the right step for Citizen to take making a song like this for the fuck of it. Black and Red is a head banger for sure, within the first few seconds of the song it lets listeners know how fun and direct it is. Though I find nothing entirely special about this song either – it’s endlessly catchy and is a fun pop rock song that’s a lot more digestible than a few other songs on here, especially Fight Beat. The instruments are great on Black and Red, like on every other song, I just think there is so much more to offer with other songs on this record.
Glass World, the title track, and the start to the greatest three-track run I’ve ever heard on an album ever, maybe. I love how mellow the song is, how personal the lyrics are; “if life in your glass world makes you feel so alone, why don’t you say so?”. Guitarist Nick Hemm spoke on themes of the album, like glass, and related it to the unexpected fragility of being in your late 20s. Citizen songs have always felt personal, but none like some of the songs off Life in Your Glass World. Songs like Glass World show a real new perspective on things and signs of maturity. This track shows how organic and authentic the band’s proactive creative process was when putting this record together perfectly – the instrumentals are great and catchy and every word has something to say.
Winter Buds. Continuing the greatest track run of all time is a song that I was not super into until quite recently actually. According to Mat Kerekes the song is about asking a younger version of himself if he’s proud of who he is today. It’s one of two tracks on the record where the guitars were written first. The song is profound, ambiguous, catchy in like a MGMT-esque sort of way and has an incredible guitar bridge into the last chorus of the track. “You oughta know a bit better than me” echoes throughout and the recurring themes of glass and blue are scattered on the song. It’s such a solid song that gets stuck in my head all of the time because of how appealing and melodious it is, and is the perfect introduction to the next track on the album.
Edge of the World, the finishing touch to LIYGW. This song has become my favorite Citizen song throughout the last couple of years and for so many reasons, this is a perfect track for me. To begin with, conceptually, it is the perfect closing track to a record like LIYGW. Every single word touches back to something else that was said on the album, while offering a new, yet reminiscent, outlook on the themes LIYGW has to offer. The song is a self-proclaimed tragedy, but Mat Kerekes won’t let it push him back to his old self. It’s atmospheric, it’s not trying too hard, it’s authentic, and it represents everything the band has told the audience up until this point. In an interview with getalternative.com, Mat Kerekes said that “if it felt right, we went with it. If it didn’t we scrapped or changed it”. This song shows that what he said is so accurate, because even on an endearing song like Edge of the World, you’d have to be deaf to not hear how much fun the band is having. Cutting the first chorus early to go back to an unabating nostalgic second verse is one of my favorite parts about this song. “I remember what it’s like your golden boy in flowers every song for you and I, when we felt easy we felt alright, I looked at you one last time and knew that never again would I sing your name”. This song helped me through such a dark and low place in my life and having this song on repeat was so reassuring that things were bound to get better eventually. The song then follows an intense build up leading up to the last words that we are left with on this record, which, is my favorite part of a song ever, other than the bridge on Hyperview’s Your Pain Is Mine Now. With relentless layering, Mat Kerekes cries out “...but at the end of the day, there is beauty in tragedy, I hope you find what you need, I hope it’s everlasting, I hope you learn to love yourself”. Everything on this record has led up to this very moment on EOTW, and it did not disappoint whatsoever. I could go on and on about how perfect this song is in so many other ways but that is just so tedious. Go listen, now.
Concluding this blog post which I have so ever delayed, this is my favorite record (as if I haven’t said it enough). I love the fact that I’ve been able to grow up and move through new and old feelings with Citizen’s music and this record just allows me to feel things. I saw something on social media a few weeks ago about how everyone is always trying to find something wrong with them and this generation’s obsession with being medicated and seeking help – and that sometimes you just need to experience certain emotions. This album, at least for me, really encapsulates that concept perfectly. The songs on here portray that they aren’t trying to be anyone else and that they are just allowing themselves to feel and it really reflects on the amazing music that came out of this era of Citizen. It provided a new direction for the band, while still very rooted in emo/post-hardcore they proved that they can be and are more than emo. It’s an album of recognizing feelings, living with them, and moving forward. It’s a symbol of hope and it’s the very opposite of some of the bleaker themes in their old music. I can’t stress how much I love the character of this thing without sounding like a broken record. My rating? 10/10. If you have never listened to Citizen or you want something to lose yourself in, please please please give this thing a chance. There is something for everyone on here.
Hyperview - Title Fight
It was nearing the end of my summer at 16 years old some time ago the first time I was introduced to Title Fight. I was scrolling through instagram and a carousel popped up with “New Vision” off of Hyperview as the background track and I was immediately intrigued. Entrancing guitar strums and hollow vocals echoed throughout and closed out what I consider to be a perfect album. I DMed the person running the account (at which I was almost hopeless trying to find what the song’s title was), who ended up responding and sent me down a rabbit hole of music exploration and quite the blessing to my ears. Years later, today, I write this on the bus back from Orono with a Hyperview tattoo on my left arm.
There’s no better way to start out this blog with an album that is so near and dear to my heart. Coupled with Citizen, Title Fight has been one of those bands that I feel as though their music matured so much as their discography progressed. I think Hyperview is the perfect example of this. Before listening to Citizen and Title Fight, my playlists mainly consisted of Lana Del Rey, Frank Ocean, Queen, you know, the basic stuff. But these two bands REALLY, and I mean really led me to the music I love today and are the reasons that I connect so deeply with music.
The record opens with now the most well-known song of the record, Murder Your Memory. A slow, haunting, ballad that despite its speed, doesn’t give up. Murdering the memory of someone is quite vicious, yet something I think most listeners can relate to. The song is exhausted, an interesting, calculated choice to start out an album that completely rocks. The second track, Chlorine, introduces those guitars I fell in love with the first time hearing this album. It’s a strong second track, it’s not too angry, not too angsty, but the lyrics tell the story of an almost vengeful love. Personally, for my playlists, track number three is where Hyperview really starts.
Hypernight has Jamie Rhoden singing his absolute heart out, sounding passionate and uninterested at the same time. Going on and on about “hypernight” and how “I don’t want to see things differently - it’s what I taught myself to believe”. The bass on this track really adds layers of flavor along with the chord progression, which I think is the standout feature on this thing. This track really shows the improvement that the band had since the days of Floral Green. While I think that both of these albums are angry, I think the angst has turned into a calmer, more mellow acceptance perspective – both the lyrics and sound say it all. It seems as though they’ve started looking into themselves instead of pointing the finger at someone else.
Mrahc. Backwards charm. This thing fucking bangs, it simply ROCKS. This is one of those songs you can get your dad to start bobbing his head to. Mrahc has everything I love about Hyperview, personified? Songified? Whatever bruh. “Floating kisses from afar…. Held too close, saw you choke”. You could either be in the best mood of all time, on some ecstasy or some shit, or literally at the worst point of your life – and the lyrics are timeless and relatable no matter what. The guitars, the relentless drums, the mellowness, the passive aggressiveness, it has it allllll dude. I see people in Tiktok comment sections trying to recommend Title Fight to people with songs like Lefty or Safe In Your Skin. Dude… No. They’re so angry and sad, it’s great but it’s like why would someone wanna listen to that? Mrahc punches you in the face with a catchy riff, and the lyrics are kinda like “I don’t give a fuck about you no more, here’s this dope ass song”. Like that’s sooo badass. A must listen for anyone getting into post-hardcore ever. Like ever.
Track number 5, Your Pain is Mine Now. I might be a little biased, but, this is my favorite song on this thing. It’s slow, but then again, it’s like not? Like this thing has my favorite guitar riff ever. It starts off slow, pulling you in, not much going on, an extreme contrast from what listeners got with Mrahc. But it’s like, your pain is mine now? You know? I never thought five words could encapsulate that feeling so well and so simply. That’s one of the things I love so much about Hyperview, it’s so simply. It’s such an easy listen, and if you want it to be deep - it can be deep, that’s up to you. If you just wanna listen to some dope ass music that other people might think is surface level, it gives you that choice. These guys can write a song like a motherfucker, but it seems as though with this record that they’re kind of done explaining themselves, they’re done grabbing at magic cards. Your Pain Is Mine now doesn’t only bang lyrically, I mean sonically it’s just absurd. Like an unreal listening experience. At the height of the song, 2 minutes and 30 seconds in, with the GREATEST guitar riff of all time (in my opinion), the words “Cry, die, boo-hoo” are echoing throughout the track in such a soft and entrancing tone. If you’ve ever experienced the pain of being hurt by someone who is clearly, very hurt, this song really really kicks. It’s this and Edge of the World by Citizen for me, like a perfect clarity moment amidst all the emotion - this song is kind of the height of everything being felt at once. It’s grief, it’s sadness, it’s acceptance, it’s that feeling of like “the fuck?” but also like, “oh okay dope”.
By the time the running time of Hyperview is over, you kind of realize that it’s a progression of emotions. Rose of Sharon, Track 6, brings us back to the screaming days that fans new and old appreciated with their prior records. It’s the song I used when flexing my dopeee ass Hyperview tattoo on Tiktok and although it’s not a personal favorite, the song bangs no matter what. “Can’t escape, I’m a part of you… Do you feel it too? Roses like me need rain”. I mean come on, if that’s not cool as fuck then I don’t know what is. The song is super melancholic, it’s like the soundtrack of chasing something that never was.
Trace Me Onto You is another standout track for me. Coming in at number 7, it’s the stirred pot of everything we’ve got from Hyperview thus far. “I hate you, trace me onto you” kicks your ears in while the drums relentlessly try to drive your emotions up and around on this thing. I think this is the perfect campfire song, like this song tastes like summer and burnt marshmallows to me. The lyrics are profound, and I think it’s another clarity moment. It’s the acceptance of that something that never was - and will never be - and that’s okay. The song has a second part, which circles back to what the band was spewing at us on Track 3, Hypernight. Reiterating “I don’t want to see things differently, it’s what I taught myself to believe” - but I believe that this is the band finally starting to see things differently and it’s an incredible reference. I think sometimes people can undermine the intentions that artists have with doing stuff like this but I think it’s always super fun, and TMOY’s reiteration of this is slow, it’s kind of like, “okay, fine”.
And so we’re onto the last three tracks, Liar’s Love, Dizzy, and New Vision. Which, I think, when complete - bounce off of each other really well. Liar’s Love is slow, it’s coming down from the highs of Trace Me Onto You saying shit like “Don’t count on me, I’m not what you need”. The lyrics are clearer here, the guitars are grasping for those highs but are just as emotionally charged as riffs on previous tracks. Dizzy takes this slow, undertoned approach and brings it to a new level. Slow, this song is sort of a read and response to Murder Your Memory. “Memory loss, your chrysalis” echoes throughout your ears in a sad, revealing, track. It’s like, just when this record kicks into gear, it kind of brings you back down and reminds you that there is no sweetness in the story being told. There’s high highs sonically, and low lows sonically, and they all merge together and blend really well on this thing.
New Vision. Track 10, the closing statement on Hyperview. The first Title Fight song I ever heard, the one that always brings me back to that very specific August when this thing was on repeat ALL of the time. I think this was the perfect way to close out this album, and unfortunately, but, still gracefully Title Fight’s music career. This song bangs in every way possible. Opens up with “Sewn your own faint dream, followed unconditionally” and closes out with it too. He’s going on about no more “basking in the warmth of the past”. This track really really encapsulates what I was trying to describe earlier - like how this album is sort of a progression of emotions, and this is really something that says - “Fuck you, I’m over you, and you need to get over yourself”. I love this thing so so much, like it has such a special place in my heart. Sonically this song is perfect for me and definitely one of those tracks I recommend when people ask about Title Fight.
TL;DR - this record is a perfect 10/10 for me. Absolutely no complaints. I listened to it on repeat when I was 16 and here I am, so much time later, still loving the shit out of this thing. It’s just so timeless, the replay value is incredible, the sounds and the lyrics don’t get old, and it’s hard to believe that this thing came out over 10 years ago even though it still sounds incredibly fresh. It’s helped me through some of the darkest times of my life, it’s also been the soundtrack to some of my fondest memories and that’s what I find so special about it. Obviously I am very biased but like come on. This is Title Fight’s best album by far in my opinion, it’s charged incredibly emotionally but in a mature way comparatively to their previous stuff and it’s just so complete, it’s thorough, it’s simple, and it’s just like wow. If you have not given this thing a listen, please please please do. It’s something you can listen to wherever, with whoever, and whatever mood you’re in. There’s a track for everyone on this thing, or there are 10 tracks for people who fucking get it man.