Hello,
Firstly, there’s a few leftovers from August that I didn’t mention last time I wrote, mostly because they happened towards the end of the month so I thought I’d move them over.
An important life update: I (finally!!!) started taking proper Dutch classes. It’s honestly a little embarrassing that it took me this long but hey, better late than never, right?
Alright, now let’s get into it!
Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay came out at the end of August and I listened to it a lot at the start of September. I saw this tweet and I think it encapsulates the experience of the album incredibly well.
I love an album with a distinct vibe and a sort of world of its own. A concept album, perhaps? Either way, Imaginal Disk is definitely a world of its own. While the songs are all distinct and diverse, they all belong to the same universe, and there are even some leitmotifs that appear throughout the album (and I love a cool leitmotif). It’s a very rich, expansive and exciting, kind of retro-futuristic pop album, kind of how they’d imagine the future to sound like in the past. And also, the cover art fits the sound of the album perfectly.
Current faves: She Looked Like Me!, Image, Death & Romance, The Ballad of Matt & Mica
I listened to Imaginal Disk every day until exactly September 6th, which is when Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman was released and then I mostly listened to that every day, multiple times a day, for about two weeks straight. I listened to MJ Lenderman for 826 minutes in September, according to my Apple Music stats, which are not very accurate because I also listened to his live performances and music videos on YouTube. Manning Fireworks takes the spot for my “I literally couldn’t stop listening to this” album this month. I’d wake up every day with a different lyric stuck in my head.
What do I write about Manning Fireworks? It seems like I’ll keep finding myself more and more drawn towards this folk-y, alt-country indie rock, americana kind of blend and this album just kind of checks all the boxes for me. And the songs are just so catchy. And the lyrics are just so funny. Dry and witty, current and funny, kind of relatable at times but also at times not really. He portrays a guy who’s just kind of a loser but also somewhat a sincere guy. He sings about everything a smartwatch can do and about McDonald’s parking lots and Lightning McQueen and playing Guitar Hero.
Unfortunately my current frame of reference is not wide enough to draw comparisons between MJ and his predecessors and his influences, though I can comfortably say that while this album is not reinventing anything and it’s not necessarily groundbreaking, it does feel like a modern update for the current times. The first half of the album (Joker Lips — She’s Leaving You) has one of the tightest track runs in my recent memory. Just hit after hit.
I don’t smoke and I don’t drink and I don’t have a porch. But if I did do and have all of them, I’d sit on my porch with a beer and a cigarette while listening to the 2024 album Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman.
“Every day is a miracle
Not to mention a threat”
Impossible to pick faves, but if I had to: Wristwatch, She’s Leaving You, You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In, On My Knees
So much more music came out this month than I had time to listen to (because I was too busy listening to MJ Lenderman), but here are still some more albums that I liked and I want to mention.
Foxing by Foxing is somehow both heavier and also more melodic than what I’m used to from them, and it is at times absolutely bonkers in the best way possible. This album absolutely rocks, and coincidentally, it’s the second album I listened to this month that references McDonald’s.
Now, I’ve been a Foxing fan for what, 8 years? 9 years? Tough to tell exactly, but I very vividly remember listening to Dealer while kind of miserable on my bedroom floor one winter in high school, I must’ve been 16 or 17—when my general mood, and probably general wellbeing, weren’t the greatest—for about two weeks straight. I love Dealer to this day and I still think it might be their best work, or it might be my nostalgia telling me that, either way it’s still my favourite Foxing album. I’ve seen them live twice. Nearer My God holds a particularly special place in my heart as it was released in August 2018, on the day I moved away from home, and it was the soundtrack to the 12-hour drive halfway across Europe. The album cycle then, to me, concluded mid-July of the following year when I saw the band live right after finishing the first year of my studies, and just before flying back home for the summer.
I will admit that the following album, Draw Down the Moon, did not grip me as much, which I was a bit bummed about, but hey. I think I always secretly hoped they’d make another Dealer and I set myself up for disappointment with this hope every time.
But Foxing (the album) is something I didn’t quite know I wanted, something I didn’t quite expect, yet an album I welcome with open arms, a huge grin on my face, and a “Fuck yes, let’s go, we are so back!” on the tip of my tongue. I haven’t spent enough time with it (yet) to fully develop my thoughts on it or to pick up on all the nuances yet. But from the few front-to-back listens I’ve had, I can, with no doubt in my mind, conclude that Foxing keep proving that they still got it and that it is not going anywhere. They know how to make an album album, how to craft it from start to finish, how to write an opener and a closer, and place them exactly where they are meant to be in the tracklist, and how to create a listening experience. I’ve always appreciated that about them.
Endlessness by Nala Sinephro is a beautiful fusion of electronic and ambient music and jazz. Very relaxing but also thrilling and exciting at times. It’s quite a dynamic album and I very much enjoy it. And also, I absolutely adore both this album’s as well as her last album’s covers. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the main reason I first checked her music out in 2021.
I also listened to Five Dice, All Threes by Bright Eyes and while I’m not enough of a Bright Eyes / Conor Oberst aficionado to be able to write about how this fits into their catalogue and how it related to the rest of the discography, I quite enjoyed the album. I believe Phoebe Bridgers is referenced on the song Real Feel 105° but who am I to speculate? (Though “I hate the moon, but I’d take it from you / I’d take anything you have to give” in reference to “And if I could give you the moon / I would give you the moon” from Phoebe’s Moon Song, which is speculated to be about Oberst too, is hard to ignore. I just love it when songwriters reference each other.)
I’ve also really been enjoying Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind by Kate Bollinger. I’ve been following her for some time and like quite a few songs that she’s released as singles so I was really excited to see she’s finally releasing a debut full-length. It’s a nice singer-songwriter folk-indie-pop kind of album to put on for some relaxing and cheerful listening. Would recommend!
And last, but certainly not least, an album that is not at all a recent release but that I’ve been enjoying this month is I Need to Start a Garden by Haley Heynderickx. It’s been in my library for so long, years at this point, but somehow I’ve never properly listened to it. Which is a real shame because I really like it! A very vocal-forward folk album with somewhat sparse instrumentation, just in line with my taste. And I am very much looking forward to her upcoming album in November.
Now, that just about makes it for the music round-up part of the month.
In some other creative and personal news: I’m working on a few knitted project at the moment which I hope to share once they are done. I took apart the first sweater I ever knitted (RIP) because it doesn’t fit me anyway and there’s no use for it to sit in a drawer somewhere when I can reuse the yarn and make something else that (hopefully) actually fits. I’m currently working on two scarves and a vest. Pictures incoming before the end of the year!
Another very exciting piece of news: I made a new zine! It is titled Fotografije iz mojega Bratz fotoaparata (Photos from my Bratz camera) but I don’t want to share too much about it yet because I entered it into an open call and I’m waiting to hear back. But I can share the cover and a spread.
Ok, now that concludes this month’s recap. Thank you for reading <3
Until next time,
Mia