Hello,
second month in a row, who would’ve though, let’s go! This one is very music heavy. I didn’t really anticipate that, since February kind of felt like I only listened to maybe two different albums for the whole month. But as it turns out there were a couple more in there that I listened to and enjoyed. Lots of videos included in this one! Aside from that, I watched a few movies and finished a scarf. Fun stuff!
I also noticed that my computer’s clock and my wall clock are perfectly synced, which has been very pleasantly scratching my brain every time I notice it again. (And hey, the time was 14:14:14 when I checked it just now. Might that mean something?)
Mk.gee – Two Star & The Dream Police
This was my most anticipated album release for February. I’ve been keeping an eye on Mk.gee since the release of Dijon’s Abolutely in 2021, which was an album I really liked (and oh my, the live film!), and which he was heavily involved in the making of. There’s a very certain sound that he’s developed, which I really enjoy so I was really looking forward to the solo album.
I will say that for whatever reason the singles somehow didn’t really grip me as they were coming out in pairs. But as soon the album was announced and I listened to the songs that had already been released back to back, they started to click and I was getting very excited.
I really enjoy the combination of softer and smoother sounds with the heavier, industrial sounds. A combination that somehow just works. While I think the album might be a tiny bit disjointed, I also think it’s a cool collection of songs and ideas and perhaps little snippets. And it maintains a unified soundscape, so it’s not like all the songs sound all over the place. It’s a little look into the sonic world he’s been building.
I like it when producers make their own solo albums. I think it’s always a very cool insight into what can be born solely out of their own brain. An answer to “What’s the vision? What’s their style, what’s the vibe?” And I’m really looking forward to whatever (producing) projects he’s undeniably got lined up in the next couple of years!
He’s also been releasing these live videos, which have been phenomenal and somewhat reminiscent of Dijon’s live film. I hope Mk.gee’s on the same trajectory with this, because I’d love to see and hear the full album in that way. I really love the aesthetics of them and while extremely simple, they’re visually beautiful. My favourite one (as of right now) is the one for Are You Looking Up (but that might change in the future).
Friko – Where we’ve been, Where we go from here
An unexpected and very exciting new discovery. This album kind of made me feel similar to how I felt when I first listened to Black Country, New Road, which is saying a lot because I love, love, love BC,NR. And so I continue my streak of listening to debut albums this year.
There is a certain note of theatricality in these songs, which I personally always love. To me, this is an album album, meaning that I recommend just putting the whole album on and listening it front to back. The singles are excellent, the individual songs are great, but this just has an album feeling to it.
I often wish I had a wide enough musical reference to be able to say a mix of what exactly this sounds like (because, as I learned in art school, everything is a remix anyway). This album has a certain level of familiarity, as Ian Cohen wrote much better than I can in his review for Pitchfork: “Channeling the sound and spirit of 2000s indie rock, the Chicago duo’s debut album feels like a generational passing of the torch.” And I’ll say that I agree. Also, a 7.9 is just excellent for a debut!
It seemed to me that Friko just came out of nowhere, but a quick YouTube search will show they’ve been at it for a few years already. (Their Apple Music artist page is a little bit messed up which is why I haven’t fully explored their collection of EPs and singles from before the full-length, but I probably will soon.) I checked them out because I saw the name of the band mentioned more than once (meaning, like, twice) on a new music thread on Reddit. Although I usually anticipate an album after seeing the artists’s name here and there and around social media and just keep an eye on them. However, a spontaneous discovery always fills me with joy.
I hope they get all the buzz this year, mostly because I would really love to see them on tour, and also because I think they deserve it!
Other music bits & bobs
I listened to quite a bit of Quadeca’s SCRAPYARD, which has grown on me quite a bit. I watched this video by Professor Skye about the mixtape, which I really enjoyed and it perhaps made me appreciate it even more. Would recommend you watch it (below) if you have an hour to spare and are interested! I might write a dedicated post about his last two releases (three? He’s been teasing another project. So it might be worth to wait a bit and then look at it all together) because I think his trajectory is almost hard to believe and is wildly impressive. Also because I think he’s just so incredibly cool for releasing all his music to be used with no copyright ID on YouTube.
I also quite enjoyed the new Little Simz EP. I haven’t been keeping up as much with her after Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (which I think is her best work to date) but Drop 7 is a cool collection of songs with cool beats.
Any Light by Loving is a nice chill album where songs seamlessly blend together, though I think I might have to wait a couple months for the weather to get better to fully utilise it – it’s a summer background soundtrack and it’s perfect at it.
At the start of the month I almost exclusively listened to Jake Minch’s six songs that are available on Apple music and wrote a full dedicated post about it.
Last but definitely not least, I watched Mic the Snare’s video about The National (a band that I love) and I really enjoyed it. He retells a comprehensive history of the band and explains why they truly are one of the modern greats. It made me so excited to like The National and to keep revisiting their discography over and over again.
And as always, lots of music I didn’t get around to, so whenever I do, I’ll report back!
I finally saw Stop Making Sense at the cinema
I’ve been looking forward to it for months and I finally caught it at the cinema in its last week of screening. What a truly joyful film.
I think that Stop Making Sense is perfect and a masterpiece. I don’t really know if there’s much else that I can really add that hasn’t been said in the last 40 years yet. Obviously it’s considered the best concert movie ever made for a reason.
I’ve seen if before and I kind of half-watched it but genuinely this requires full attention. I’m so glad I got to see it on a bigger screen and with great sound. I also love how the first part is almost like a stage play. David Byrne is a genius and we are so lucky to live at the same time as him. One of the greats and the best to ever do it.
I encourage anyone and everyone who likes music and/or live music to watch it as it is truly a testament to the joys and ecstasy of live music and watching exceptional minds create magic.
New scarf
I finally finished knitting this scarf which I started last year already and then slowly chipped away at for a couple of weeks on and off. Two very cool things came out of it:
- I learned how to double knit, which I’ve tried once before, but could never quite figure it out. Then this video came up on my explore page and I gave it another go and suddenly it just made sense to me! It’s a very cool technique which I think is absolutely excellent for a scarf because you get a nice, flat surface on both ends.
- I DIY-ed myself a little knitting ring for knitting with two colours and it had been a true revalation. It’s so much easier this way! No more twisted yarn and fiddly knitting in mixed two-handed technique. What a lifesaver. I might get a proper nice one at some point, but for now the homemade piece of wire will do just fine.
I’m quite happy with how this turned out, although I will say that I was running out of ideas for new patterns at the end. But I persevered and finished it and it turned out to be a very very warm scarf! To let you in on a little secret—I’m already onto the next one (hopefully to be seen in the March update)!
I think this just about wraps it up now. This one is a little lengthy, but I’m quite enjoying writing these.
Until next time,
Mia