Indiecast - Let's Look Ahead To Upcoming Albums In 2025 Q2

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Steven and Ian open this week's episode with a question: Was the first quarter of 2025 a little disappointing, in terms of album releases? Seems like it was (1:51). So why not look ahead to the second quarter? The guys go over new-release teases for music this week from a bevy of stars, including Wet Leg, Turnstile, and WU LYF (3:24). Then they do the Fantasy Albums Draft for the second quarter, discussing upcoming records from Lana Del Rey, Bon Iver, Billy Woods, Tunde Adebimpe, and more (26:01).In the mailbag, they discuss the newly announced arena tour for Brand New, and whether the emo band has faced appropriate consequences for allegations against singer-songwriter Jesse Lacey (49:42).In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up "Altered Zones"-core act OHYUNG while Steven stumps for the dreamy neo-grunge band Momma (with extra shouts to Craig Finn and The Waterboys) (1:04:30).New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 233 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [e-mail], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indycast is presented by Uprocks's Indy Mix tape. Hello everyone and welcome to IndyCast on the show we talk about the biggest indie news of the week, review albums, and we hash out those trends. In this episode, we look ahead to the second quarter of 2025. That means fantasy albums, draft. That's what it means, basically. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. He's dying to talk about the new Woo Life song, Ian Cohen. Ian, how are you?

You see, like, typically, Steve's intro line is a bit of a joke, but I actually am dying to talk about the new Wu life song. We were just like, no subtext, no joke, no irony. A new Wu life song came out. That's why we started a little later than usual. Steve was, you know, maybe saying something about his kids. It's like, no, we got to listen to the new Wu life song, at least twice. It's six minutes long. That's a good sign.

Most of the songs on Go Tell Fire to the Mountain were also, like, five or six minutes long. So, yeah. I'm ready to talk about it because, like, we talk of Wu Life. You know, we name drop Woo Life, but I don't know if you like that. Yeah, I know I do, but I think Steve does the humor me. And by the way, I should have known better than to mention Woo Life in the intro, because I knew that would trigger you into like a Woo Life monologue. And we're not quite ready for the Wu Life monologue yet. We have to wait a few minutes.

Can you hold off like a little bit on the Wu Life take? I waited 14 years for a new woo life so I can wait about a couple minutes. Yeah, we're waiting, yeah, I'm like 140 seconds at the most, or so, or so. Yeah, there's, there were a bunch of like new music announcements or new music teasers this week, and we're going to do a quick run through all of those here in a second. Can I just say, you know, we're entering the second quarter now of 2025, we're going to be doing our fantasy albums draft here in a few moments. Looking back on the first quarter, hasn't been much time.

I mean, we haven't let the music marinate that long yet. But it's fair to say, and I feel like we've hinted at this before now, first quarter, a little underwhelming. I feel like we went into the year thinking, okay, are some of the big indie artists entering their flop era? Is it going to be one of those years? years like where the beloved indie artist puts out their fifth album and it ends up being like their fourth best record in the discography if that it feels like that's kind of playing out so

far a little bit yeah room temp nachos right exactly uh yeah the the nachos that were put in the microwave for about 10 seconds uh and they maybe should have gone in for 20 seconds uh so yeah the the the the chili peppers are uh or the jalapeno peppers are uh or the jalapeno peppers are I guess, are a little lacking on the spiciness, a little soggy, the cheese. Congealed, kind of glossy, yeah, exactly. That weird mat look. Yeah, not a good look. So, yeah, it feels a little weak.

Second quarter, I guess we'll see what happens. We are seeing, I feel like, a lot of returns this year, a return of this year. A return of this indie person who's been well reviewed in the past, and we're seeing that again. this week with a bunch of announcements. Let's just run through some of the people that have announced music or have teased music this week. We'll start with Wetleg. This, of course, the UK phenomenon

coming out of the UK. That's where UK phenomenons come from. In 2022, they put out a self-titled record, just wowed critics. They became a pretty popular band, like seemingly overnight. the inevitable industry plant accusations came up. Wet leg, however, they've transcended that.

It's now 2025. They're ready to put out their second record. It's called Moisturizer, which is very in keeping with British bands in the 2020s. Again, we're naming our bands and our albums after mundane objects. They're also going with the lowercase title. Moisturizer, it's not capital. I hope you

websites out there on capitalizing this because artistically they're doing the lowercase thing. All the song titles are lowercase as well. The single is called Catch These Fists from that title you can tell that wet leg, they still have that attitude

that we all loved from the first record. This song which you can go sample at your nearest streaming platform Is this lazy music criticism to say that this song sounds a lot like Franz Ferdinand? Like it gave me that vibe immediately listening to it. I don't know if that's just lazy because wet-leg, they kind of feel like a female Franz Ferdinand for the 2020s.

Kind of like a fun, European, dancy, you know, good time band that had like a one really big record and then we'll see about the other records. I know Franz Ferdinand is still putting out records, and I know we're going to get an email now from, like, the guy that loves, like, the fifth Franz Ferdinand record that came out, like, 2020 or whatever. I think the fifth one came out, like, January. They put out one this year. Is that the fifth one? Could be.

I don't know. Okay. I don't know. I got to say, I don't go deep on my Franz Ferdinand discography stats. But anyway, this song, it was giving me serious Franz Ferdinand energy when I listen to it. Well, I think you're going to get more emails about your pronunciation of Franz Ferdinand.

Like, I go with France. Is it France? You go with Franz? I'm thinking like Hans and Franz, I think. Okay, that's a good point. So, Franz in that sense. Is it Franz, Ferdinand, or is it Franz? I mean, you're probably right.

Is this like a potato potato situation where we're both correct? I mean, I think I've also not said this band's name aloud since like 2009. Right, exactly. Even that is kind of late. I think that was the third Franz Ferdinand album. The subtitle

was like 04, I believe. That was 04 and then they put out one in 05 with do you want to I remember that song. So yeah I don't think it's a lazy comparison. I mean I think you know most some people would say comparing any band to any other band is lazy but like that was my

first instinct. It's like got second Franz Ferdinand album energy and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just kind of maybe shows that this is a band that's going from a big hype to a legacy kind of career band. They're not going to set the agenda anymore like they did in 2020,

but they'll probably just continue to make well-received albums that, you know, get the four-star review in Rolling Stone, maybe clock in at number 35 there and don't make, you know, hipper publications. But it is the second biggest WL band from the UK to come out this week. Well, according to you. Again, you're shopping at the big. to talk about Woo Life. We're going to get to them in a second. But yeah, I think with this, I think with this song, and this is, this maybe feels more lazy,

but it just the title of the song, Catch These Hands, the kind of attitude of it. It's just really Biden era to me, if we can define like Biden for. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. And that's what we're experiencing this year, I think, that if I had, if I was writing the think piece about 2025, it is, how is the Biden era indie music? Or even, I mean, or I guess even like first Trump era music. Like the late 2010s, early 2020s, how is that music fairing in 2025? Because early 2020s, that was still the 2010s. You know, like every decade goes into the next decade.

And then it feels like last year, the 2020. 20s began. At least that's how it felt to me. Like, okay, now we're in the 2020s. You know, culturally, politically, socially, it feels like, okay, we are in this decade, whatever this decade's going to be. It feels different now. And now you have these artists coming back that

were a part of the old era, and now they're coming into the new one. And even the old wet leg, again, it's only three years ago, but it feels like a long three years. A lifetime. And so we'll see how this ages. I do feel like wet leg

to me feels like the band where like the 54-year-old guy that listens to the local NPR music station. You know, like we all have that NPR music station in our town. Like they have, you know, some sort of, I was going to reference the name of the local one here in Minneapolis. I don't want to do that. Because I know people that work there, they're very nice. I like that station. But, you know, there is a certain kind of music that that station plays. It's new music, but it's in a certain kind of vein.

and like I just felt like when that wet leg came out like that 54 year old guy loved wet leg oh absolutely really really going to the mat for wet leg and if you weren't on board with wet leg you're going to get an email from that guy you're going to get a reply on social media from that guy and I just wonder if that guy has now moved on to something else because that guy can be fickle yeah I think that like wet leg kind of hit that um midpoint between other bands that do big business on those type of stations like idols in St. Vincent. Right. You know, that guy is probably super into Fontaine's DC, which, you know, look, I love that last record too.

But yeah, maybe Fontaine's DC stole that thunder. And wetland, like Fontaine's DC stock going up, whereas Wetleg is more kind of a reliable stock. We shall see. But I know, I have no doubt that this album will be popular. It just may not be a phenomenon in the same way the first one was. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. So let's move out to the next new record or new music being teased this weekend.

This isn't actually music being teased, but it's an album being suggested that is on the horizon. And it's the latest record probably from Turnstile. Of course, we all remember Turnstile. Their previous record, Glow On, came out in 2021. Am I right? Yeah. I believe. Yeah, that was like the first, like, post.

That was like the first band I saw live. once things started opening up for the pandemic. So that's always going to be to me the definitive, like early coming out of pandemic lockdown record. And they just put up a billboard in Los Angeles with the message, never enough turnstile. And you see the band on the billboard.

They're in silhouette. One of them is jumping up in the air, which is how you know that they're a hardcore band because they're boisterous. They can't be contained by this billboard in lot. I think it was in Hollywood somewhere that this board went up, which is what the hardcore bands do when they're teasing a record. I like to take the holier than now hardcore position

by making snarky comments about this billboard. Like I am like the arbiter of hardcore ethics. Like I care about that kind of thing. But anyway, turn to style, of course, a big rock band, one of the big kind of young rock bands, feel like they're the band that people point too often if you want to say oh rock is still relevant in the mainstream here's a rock band coming up they're attracting a young audience they're playing big shows um so it'll be interesting what they do on this record i again with turnstile i always

feel like to me they sound like a 90s radio rock band that has a hardcore pedigree and maybe their live shows have some hardcore flavor still to them. But I think the reason why they hit it big, and this is why we had this conversation over and over again when Glowon was really in the conversation about how are there going to be other hardcore bands that follow their path. And we have seen other bands from that world

have success in the mainstream. But to me, Turnstile is such a unique case because musically speaking, for just the lay person who comes across their music without knowing anything else about them. They don't scan it all as hardcore to me. And that's to me why they hit it big. Because they're just like a catchy radio rock band.

And it'll be interesting to see if they just go farther in that direction on this new record or if they're going to do like the Green Day Insomniac thing where that was the record they made after Duky. And it's like, no, we're still making fast punk songs. Although I think that album also had brain steel on it. So they did also have radio hits from that. I mean, if you're putting up the billboard and you're also taking like four years to make a record. I know they toured for a long time, so that I'm sure is also accounting for the space between records.

But my guess is that they're going to lean big into the radio rock thing. Like maybe Rick Rubin produced this. Is it possible that Rubin is lurking somewhere in the – I mean, I'd be shocked if Rubin hasn't had turnstile at the Malibu. mansion already and is hanging out with them, maybe invited Kedis over and imparted some advice on turnstile, you know, like, like he's Obi-1 Kenobi or something like that. I could, I'd be shocked that that didn't happen. Yeah, because I mean, if you look at the billboard and you took away like the font on it, it was just like a silhouette of people, you know, half of whom are airborne, you would probably say, oh, this must be a new red hot chili peppers album.

Exactly. I'm not mad at that. You know, there's been that, you know, from the jump, people have said, oh, turnstile kind of sounds like a hardcore 311 or red hot chili peppers or like a political rage against machine. And you know what? That's great. I think their biggest advancement on hardcore was being conventionally attractive.

That is also not, that is not a reason that they got super big. But, you know, for me, I'm excited to have them back. And, you know, their last album, like, Glowon took like three years to make. So I'm not totally shocked. This one took as long as it did. I mean, I think they might lean on the radio rock part of it. I have no idea what to expect because, like, my biggest fear is that they were going to lean into the songs with blood orange part of Glowon as they started to establish themselves in cool their social circles. And, yeah, those are like the weakest songs.

on the other hand, can they really convincingly pull off like mystery or blackout type songs at this level? You know, are they going to go insomniac slash Ixnay on the ombre with it? I really don't know. I mean, I'm excited about this album. You know, Glow On is one of maybe like three rock albums of the decade so far that you can point to as like a before and after sort of thing. you know, like that Punisher. And, you know, I'm sure there are a couple others that escape my mind right now. But, you know, I guess my expectation, and this is me not having hurt a single piece about it,

is that maybe it'll be like, you know, the last Tame and Pala album or the last Jamie XX album where it follows up kind of an impossible to top album. And it just does that, but kind of more fun, which, you know what? If that's what I get out of a new turnstile album, great, you know? Yeah, we'll see. Again, we have not heard any actual music. We just have the billboard. But that's kind of the most fun part, or most fun time to talk about a record,

when you just have a billboard to speculate on. Remember that Green Day billboard? Yes. That they put up in 2020, right before the pandemic, whatever album that was, I don't remember. Wasn't it like last of the... Grandfather of the Motherfucker, something like that? Yeah, yeah.

And it's like, no Swedish DJs. Yeah. There's 100% pure uncut rock. Maybe this album is all Swedish DJs. Maybe that's going to be turnstiles punk thing. We're so punk that we're just going to do all DJs on our record. Maybe that'll be the thing. I don't know.

That would be like the executioners that, wait a minute, no, I'm thinking of the executioner song. They had Lincoln Park on it. I thought it had incubus. I'm getting my new metal turntableists mixed up. It's an inexcusable. So, okay, you've been very patient. about Woo Life here. So let's get to Woo Life here.

This is a band that comes up on our show occasionally, and you are really into this band. I like to talk about this band as sort of a signifier of early 2010's indie rock. So my actual knowledge of this band isn't very deep. I don't think I could name a single Woo Life song, other than the new song that they just put out this week. I think it came out this morning, the morning. recording, April 3rd, Thursday. It's called A New Life is Coming. And I feel like we have to talk about the obvious with this song.

I mean, you mentioned it's six minutes long, which is in keeping with the previous Woo Life songs. Woo Life, by the way, for those who don't know, is the band. Are they English? Yeah. English band, kind of a mysterious band. They put out one record in the early 2010s, and then they broke up, and there's a cult following. And Ian is like the David Koresh. of this cult. He is the head of the cult, or he's one of the lieutenants in the cult.

Anyway, this new song is called The New Life is Coming. I don't think they've officially announced an album. No. They just put out this song. Presumably an album is coming. To me, the obvious thing about this song is that the chorus sounds a lot like the Benson Boone song. Beautiful things. The he, like that thing, like that hook. They use that hook in this Woo Life song. And it's weird because it's too similar to me for them. Well, okay, either they know Benson Boone way too much or they're not aware of him at all. And this thing was just in the ether and they just pulled it out without knowing that Benson Boone or who Benson Boone is or that he has this song. I feel like someone in their camp should have pointed this out. And maybe they did and they

just didn't care. Maybe they're like, hey, we love Benson Boone. This is an intentional tip cap. You know, like we've studied Boone in and out, and this is a deliberate homage. Maybe it's that. I kind of doubt that, but, am I just hearing things here, Ian? Am I, am I hallucinating? I mean, do you hear this, too? It sounds like a very obvious, uh, similarity to that Benson Boone. Like that hook, it's so egregiously, like similar, I think. Well, I mean, you're the resident boonologist on this podcast, so I'll have to take your word for it. Like, well, come on, you haven't heard that song? I don't, like, I'm dead serious.

Now, I know that Benson Boone was recently called The Future of Music by Rolling Stone. And so, look, I guess, you know, the future is past me by. I swear to God, the only thing I know about Benson Boone is that he wore. some sort of cod piece on the Grammys or something like that. And he's got like that millennial or that zoomer mustache. I promise you, I would. You could tell me like that, that, that, that, like, I may have heard a Benson Boone song in the wild in the same way that I hear like, you know, imagine dragon songs or, you know,

like, monoskin songs or what have you. But like, I couldn't sing it the way you do. Like, I don't, like, I honestly don't know. I mean, I'm not really, I've just. kind of doing guttural noises that sound like the chorus. I don't know the words to the song. I mean, I think the first time I heard this song was in an Uber

when I was in Chicago last summer. That's where I hear a lot of songs like that. That was the first place I heard classic man back when that was popping. And I've not been in an Uber in a very long time. But you frequent like Southern California ice cream parlors. Like I see you post photos. You have heard this song. in a Southern California ice cream parlor in the past year.

I guarantee it. Maybe he didn't know his boon, but you've encountered it. Because this song is fucking everywhere. I can't. They play mostly like Duelipa at my gym, which is where I would be likely to hear it. At Ralph's,

they've stuck with, you know, typical supermarket songs. This is one of those songs I've just not heard. I promise you. I'm not actively trying to. You know, I should probably listen to it because, yeah, if I am going to be the person to speak upon Wu Life album two, I should be well versed in the Boone influence. So, yeah, I mean, the fact that it does sound. This is core.

Yeah. This is core. Boone might file a lawsuit. It's that similar, I would say. Yeah. And the fact that it sounds like arena rock is not altogether surprising. If you go back to Telfire on the Mountain, their first album, which, By the way, like, I think it's two things.

It's not that, like, I love Wu Life on par with, like, say, like, the hotel year or whatever, but there are a lot of fun to talk about. The fact their name is Wu Life that the one time I saw Wu Life at Coachella, I saw the guy from the band, I think his name is Bob Wu Life or whatever, milling about the grounds, wearing a Wu Life denim jacket. There's just a lot of great. His last name is Woolife? It's Ellery Roberts.

I'm not, like, I may not know a lot about Benson Boom, but I definitely. have my Wu Life lore down. And yeah, it was like arena rock, but like with a craggy vocal and like super reverb. So if you need to know any Wu Life song, Wee Bros is the one. Just because that's another really funny thing to say. I just like wonder how much of a following this band has. I recall when they when they showed up like at the ass end of pitchforks 2010's album list like at number 1 99ers. I was shocked by that because like I didn't vote for it that high. So they definitely got some shooters. But this is not a band I can imagine coming back and playing any city in America that isn't L.A., New York or Chicago. Unless we have some like really good indie cast towns

that show up in our mailbag and just from our mentioning them, they have like this huge following in like Kansas City the same way like band of horses is enormous in Denmark. Yeah, it can happen. So do you like this song? I mean, I liked it. You know, I think that, do I miss the grit? Do I miss the grime? A little bit, but I've been like searching 14 years, if not necessarily for a second Wulife album for something that sounds like we, bros, but a little more accessible. So I'm going to let this sink in. I like the fact that it's called the New Life is Coming. That's the attitude that Wu Life brought to their, uh, album in 2011. I'm just kind of shocked they made new music because, you know, Bob Wu Life tried to

get away from this band about as much as Daniel Bloomberg did from Yuck. So, um, I'm, I'm, I'm not, uh, I'm not terribly surprised they got back together, but the fact they're making new music, uh, that is surprising. I, I still think that we're never going to see Daniel Bloomberg and yuck again, though. Well, yeah, he won an Oscar. Yeah. If Bob Wulife, is that what he said his name was Bob Wu-Life? Bob Wu-Ly-Ly-Romberts. Like, I can't front, like, the Wu-Life guy not know the guy's name. I actually interviewed him for his newer project in 2016.

Him and his partner who were in the band, like, probably the most attractive people I ever interviewed. They were beautiful. And I also sat next to them on a plane back from next to them. Wow. Yeah, I saw Lost Under Heaven play Pitfork Festival 2016, and there was like a race. Bainstorm during the day they were performed, so their set got cut to like 20 minutes. And I saw him on the plane and I said, hey, it was a great set.

And they were like just kind of mad. They only got to play 20 minutes. Like, yeah, CS and LA will play a real show. So you're like Robert Caro with LBJ. I mean, this is how much commitment you have to Woo Life. I mean, you could write the multi-volume biography of Woo Life, the Bob Woo-Life Chronicles by Ian Cohen. I think this is a book The World Needs, how the Wu-Life has made there. triumph and comeback.

They were just waiting for Benson Boone to put out a song. I think that was the thing they were waiting for. They needed something that they could jump on and riff on. And now they've done it and they're back. Yeah. When we do the Woo Life biopic,

this is going to be a major piece of rising action. We see them huddled around like the computer and listening to that Benson Boone song. You've tried to sing and just the light bulb goes off. Hey. Uh, uh, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-ba.

Yeah, anyway. All right. Enough of Woo Life. For now. For now. Until there's more Woo Life news to be reported. Until you bump into them on another airplane and you can report some more insider scoop on Woo Life

and the Bob Blue Life Chronicles. Let's get to the fantasy album draft for a quarter to. Of course, we like to do this because it's fun. It's also a way to preview some of the big ticket albums that are going to be coming out in April, May, June. So Ian and I are going to be drafting here. We each pick five albums and we add up the minute critic score and we see who has the highest midacritic score after the quarter is finished and that's the person who wins. I am on a two game or two quarter I should say winning streak

right now. You're like the Philadelphia Eagles of the fantasy draft. You know you were so downtrod and now you're just kind of getting high on your own supply. That's true. True. That's true. I am ready for a fall here. I have to say that I was a little behind on my prep for the draft this quarter. I was rushing to fill up my draft board. I actually pushed back the recording of this episode a few minutes because I was just cramming at the last second, which is something Howie Roseman definitely would not do. So hopefully that doesn't bite me in the end. As far as draft order goes, I guess I don't. I don't. I don't know. Do you want to choose? I feel like, I mean, we could flip a coin again, or I could just let you choose if you want to go first. Yeah, I want to go first. You want to go first?

Because are we going to do like the person goes first and the next person gets two picks? Are we going to do that? Okay. So you want to go first? Yeah. All right. You go first. Yeah, I want to go first.

And you know why I want to go first because, you know, there isn't a lot of, there aren't a lot of big name. sure things in this quarter, but I know there is one and it's Boney there and I know you would pick that as well. This one feels pretty reliable. I think the new songs have been received really well. I think it'll do

quite, I think that like Boney Vair is one of those artists that came of age, like during the 2000s and the 2010s, but sort of like Vampire Weekend or Heim or even like perfume genius. He sort of transcends that era. I think he has a lot of, you know, credibility amongst all ages of music writers. And, you know, this new album, I think it has Dijon and McGee on it. So, you know,

that's going to serve him well. I feel like this, it may not be my highest score, but I feel very secure. Plus, you know, it's a way to stick in it to you. So, well, this is funny because you had this long buildup saying there's an obvious pitch. and I'm going to take the obvious pick. And that wasn't my obvious pick. That wasn't the thing that I thought was the easy slam dunk. I agree with everything you just said. I just feel like with Bonnie Bear,

there's always like a little bit of a wild card in terms of like what kind of record he's going to make. And if people are going to be into it. It sounds like this is like a return to form type record, meaning a return to his older, more classic singer-songwriter type style. which I think could go over well. But, I mean, I think you're right. I think that this record will do well.

I don't know if it's going to be potentially in the 90s. I don't think it would be that high. I think it would probably be mid to upper 80s. Yeah, that's what I'm banking on. Whereas I think my number one record does have a shot at the 90s because this person is, if they're not the most critically acclaimed singer-songwriter in the indie realm, They are among the top two or three at the moment.

And that's Lana Del Rey. Ooh. The right person will stay. Her record, her 10th album, comes out in May. I just feel like she's very reliable. She's at least going to get in the 80s. And if she has a record that people really like, I think it can contend for that 90s-level record.

Of course, Norman fucking Rockwell, her record from 2019, one of the most acclaimed records of the last five or six years. And then her previous record, which came out in 2023, did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard, also did extremely well critically. There were some records in between there that didn't do quite as well, I think, with critics, but still, like, relative to most people,

still critically acclaimed. I haven't looked at the Metacritic scores. I would guess that they were probably in the 80s, like Blue Bannisters and Chemtrails over the country, club. But yeah, I think she is money in the bank with music critics. And you also know she's going to have the relevancy.

This album, I feel like, will also probably be in the Grammy conversation for album of the year. I feel like that drumbeat for Lana Del Rey is maybe going to start up now, now that Beyonce finally has her album of the year. You know, like, Lana Del Rey was up for album of the year with the Ocean Boulevard record, and she lost to Taylor Swift. And then Taylor Swift very weirdly dragged her up on stage. And that was kind of an odd thing. But maybe that was like setting Lana Del Rey up to finally win her Grammy album of the year thing.

So, yeah, I just feel like to me she was the obvious number one. Yeah, I think for me it was like I didn't realize this album had a confirmed release date. But yeah, I don't think I would pick her over Bonie there. But that's a good pick for you. So, and then I have another pick right now. And to me, there's like a bunch of records. out or coming out in quarter two that are falling into what I would call the reliable veteran category, which is how I've built my winning teams for the last two quarters. I tend to go for

artists that are legacy artists that have been around for a while that are going to be reviewed by the one person on staff who probably loves them, which guarantees like a mid-80s type score. So a lot of my artists are like that. For number two, I'm going to reach here a little bit and go with someone who I think has a lot of goodwill. He's part of a band that hasn't been active in a while, but a lot of people love. This is his first record as a solo artist, so you have that going on. I feel like the likelihood that this record is bad is pretty low. So if it's just a good record, I think critics will go to bat for it and maybe overrate it a little bit. So I'm going to go with the first solo record from Tunday adipi. Did I pronounce this last name?

Atape. Sorry, Tune Day. I'll say Tune Day from TV on the radio. He has a solo record coming out. This quarter. Let me look when it comes out. April 18th, three black bolts. I just feel like he's at least going to get low 80s. Yeah, you're going with the Kim deal. You're going with the Kim deal pick would serve you very well. I didn't like the first song that I heard from this. So, yeah, but I think that's a good choice for real. Two-day out of beep-a. Sorry.

Totally butchered that last name. I knew I was going to do that. Another name I've never said out loud. I've typed out that name many times. All right, now it's your turn to pick. And are we going to do it so you have two picks now? Or are we just going to do one-in-one? Let's see here.

Because if we do one-in-one, eventually I'm going to have to pick. too. So why don't you do two picks now? All right, cool. All right. So I have a lot, I have a lot of picks I'm really excited about. You know, I'm trying to think like strategy, but I'm just going to go with the sure thing. I'm going to go with the new Billy Woods album coming out in May called Goliwag. Yeah. Wood's my favorite album of 2023 maps with Kenny Siegel this one's got the alchemist it's got like LP I think this is going to be a situation where he follows up an album that was super duper celebrated but perhaps not widely I think there's going to be a bit of a makeup call going with

this one also I know a lot of like Billy Woods heads think this is his best project I haven't really super dug into it yet maps I mean that's maybe like a top five album of the decade for me thus far. So I feel really confident about this one of putting up possibly 90 plus numbers. Yeah, that's a good one. That was on my board too. I feel like that is primed to be one of the, like, I hate to use this word, but token hip hop records on year-end list. Like lists that are indie heavy and you want to have some like hip-hop records on there at Billy Woods is just like teed up for that.

And obviously, all. also very critically claim making great records. So you have the artistic quality and you have just the sort of setup. He has a lane critically. That, yeah, that's a very good pick. I was probably going to go with that as one of my picks if you didn't take it. So I feel a little, I'm a little nervous about my Tune Day pick now. I'm wondering, is this going to be my Ethel Cain?

Like my version of the Ethel? I don't think so. that's going to do well but yeah Billy Woods is a very good pick yeah all right so with my second pick I'm going to double up on hip hop I am going to go back to a well that's been very good to me which is UK rappers little Sims has a new album coming out so I think I'm introvert was I think the one that came out in 2021 that was like a 90 plus it's just she also has a theme song on the show dope thief which I've enjoyed of late. It's got Brian Tyree Henry playing a Philadelphia drug dealer. Yeah, Lil Sims just will probably

come in after the UK publications do their reviews at like a 96 before it comes back down to like a 90. But yeah, I feel like that's another one that is like shy of a complete meltdown, a pretty sure thing. Good picks. I think your team's looking good here. I'm feeling a little bit of the flop sweat here of my last minute cramming here. So I have two picks here. Number three, I'm going to go with Counting Crow's Butter Miracle, The Complete

Sweets. That's a joke. I'm not going with that record. I just wanted to say Butter Miracle, the Complete Sweets. That record is dropping in the second quarter, and I'm sure it'll be well rated by me and possibly one or two

other people. So there's a bunch of artists here that I feel like do well traditionally or have a chance of doing well that I don't quite want to pick at number three I'm going to reach here again I'm going to gamble here I feel like me winning two quarters in a row it allows me to be a little bold I'm going to go with model actress at number three here this is a band from from Brooklyn they put out I think that was their first record dog's body in 2023. And I was looking at Metacritic.

That record actually doesn't show up on Metacritic. I don't know if it just wasn't reviewed by enough people. But I'm going to bank on that album doing well critically in sort of a gradual way. I know Pitchfork reviewed it well. I feel like there was some good buzz on that album as it was moving along and that there may be a bit of a makeup call. factor with the second record that's going to help me out and maybe also it'll have a relatively small number of reviews on Metacritic which also helps the score generally like the fewer reviews you have I think the better you do um particularly if it's a record that critics are are inclined to like

so yeah I'm gonna go with this at number three it may be a bit of a reach Ian how do you feel about this pick yeah it's I mean New York is back I don't know if you've heard that between, you know, model actress and I believe it's probably, it's, uh, Yawa nail gun. That's another New York noise act that's making big waves this year. Um, I think if it's putting up, uh, Yahweh nail gun numbers, that has an 87. You'll be good to go. But yeah, I think that one might be, they might be a makeup call from the last one,

or they might still be like one album away from getting that sort of mainstream acceptance. So I think it's a good pick. It wasn't on my short list, but I am. just excited about that record in general. Yeah, me too. I like Dog's Body. I thought that was a good record. They seem like a fun, interesting band.

Definitely have that rock swagger going on. So maybe I'm projecting some hope onto that album. At number four, I'm going to go with, I actually did research this artist and I was looking at their previous Metacritic scores and they are pretty much on the money every time 84, 84, 84, 85,

84, 84. You're going to pick something I have. And this is another one. I may not pronounce their last name correctly. This is a, I don't know what country is she's fine. Were you going to take this one? Jenny Ball.

Yes. Yeah. I think she's Swedish. She's Swedish. Her record, let me look this up quick. Her record is called. No, Norwegian.

Norwegian. She's Norwegian. Iris Silver Mist is the name of her record. out May 2nd. I just feel like she's probably mid-80s money in the bank. So it seems like a really good fourth round pick. So going with her. She was on your board?

Absolutely. I was going to pick that if you didn't. I was just kind of hoping like that. I mean, that's a research pick because have you ever listened to Jenny Ball's music? Very little. I can't really even recall what it sounds like. Yeah, it's like artsy. kind of it's like art art indie art pop whatever you want to call it um it's it's like a guaranteed 84

85 uh maybe even higher because like as more people become aware of her but yeah that's just a solid pick i got to respect that and yeah that that's probably more of a steal than the bony bear pick so good for you all right man you have your fourth and fifth picks all right so my fourth pick i'm going to go with callie euchis um she has done really really well for herself as a r&B artist with a good amount of critical credibility. I've enjoyed some of her work, and so that's sort of like the Jenny of all pick where it's going to do well.

I can't imagine it not doing well. Did you take her before? I might have, yeah. I believe Cali Uchis was on your team before, so this is a good legacy pick for you. Yeah, going back to the well with that. And so with my fifth pick, now I alluded to this on the last episode

where there was something coming out this week that I was excited about it, I'm going to pick. And then we made a promise to each other to not look at Metacritic scores if they've already come up. So I want to just run this by you because I want to pick DJ Coes. And that review dropped this morning with an 8.8 at Pitchfork. So I'm going to need an on-the-field ruling from you whether I can go with this. Yeah, that's fine. I mean, I feel like.

I owe you after, you know, the debacle from last quarter, which we did get an email about that this week, people who are disputing my victory because of the whole Tate McCrae, Bartese Strange chicanery that went on in the first quarter draft, which, by the way, if I had taken Tate McCray and not Bartis Strange, like a listener actually figured this out, we would have been tied. We would have been tied 407 to 407. but because you allowed me to take Bartis Strange, I won 414 to 407. Yeah.

So that pick literally changed the outcome of that. Like, we would have tied. I deserve that, L. That is not that. I deserve that. My draft strategy was ass. What was I doing with the murder capital? Yeah, Ethel Cain.

Like, Ethel Cain, I might have survived because I think you made a couple of, not like duds, but definitely underperforming. But I think Murder Capital, I just, I don't know what I was thinking there. I mean, I know what I was thinking. It just wasn't good strategy. It's Frederick White status. It's Fran Vasquez status. It'll live in infamy as just like a dud pick to end all dud picks.

So DJ Coes, we're going to give it to you. Okay. You could take that. And off to a good start. Hopefully he didn't do as well with other people, other outlets. but probably not. So, okay, so it's my last pick now. And there's like three people on my board right now

that I'm trying to determine who to pick. And I'll just say all three of them, since you can't pick anymore. I have Deerhoof, I have William Tyler, and I have Alan Sparhawk. And these all fall under the critically acclaimed veterans banner. Deerhoop is a band that I feel like is going to be well-revelled.

reviewed on their upcoming record because all of their albums are well reviewed. That album, by the way, is called Noble and Godlike and Rune that comes out in April. But it's also possible that that could be like a high 70s or it could be like an 80. William Tyler, instrumental guitar player, again, very well reviewed typically. His record is called Time and Definite. That comes out, April 25th, I feel like the instrumental guitar player record always gets reviewed by the same person. Yeah. And that person loves them some instrumental guitar music.

So the chances that that gets like a 6.9 or gets like a three-star review from somewhere, I think it's pretty low. It's probably going to do well. So that one I'm leaning more towards than Deerhub. And then Alan Sparhawk, I believe this is his first record. since Lowe ended and his wife passed away? Nah, he released one last year that had like a lot of auto tune on it. Oh, right.

Okay, you're right. This is a record he made with Trampled by Turtles. Yeah. Which is a Minnesota band, sort of like a bluegrass band, basically. So I have no idea what to expect from that. I don't know if that's going to be Alaskarhawk making more of a trampled by turtles record, or is that going to be trampled by turtles branching out and doing something totally crazy? Like, is this going to be like their Yankee Hotel Foxtrod or something?

I think I'm going to go with William Tyler. That feels like the safest bet to me. If Sparhawk was making more of a regular record, like a low type record, I would go with him perhaps. But I think I'm going to go with William Tyler. I just feel like that's a guaranteed low to mid-80s. Yeah, that's like just drafting like an offensive guard, you know. It's like just you got someone to plug the line.

But yeah, I think the last Alan Sparhawk on was kind of like his version of like the Kim Gordon album where it's like a lot of auto tune and like hip-hop beats. And, you know, I appreciate it. Didn't love it. But yeah, maybe Trampled by Turtles. Like Trample by Turtles is always one of those bands I see on like, you know, the festival that's playing in. Maryland with, you know, like maybe Vampire Weekend and Hime or whatever, but I don't know, I'll

listen to it. Yeah, I'm curious to hear that record. And I have to because I'm from Minnesota and that's a very Minnesota-coded album. I just feel like that record could get great reviews or could get okay reviews. And William Tyler, I feel pretty confident, is going to be well reviewed. Yeah. So, yeah, he is like, he's like the Big Ten offensive linemen. Do you want to take the guard from Michigan

Or do you want to take this receiver from like a smaller school Who might be incredible or he might wash out? So I'm going to go with the offensive lineman from Michigan Who I know is going to be a good starter for me for 10 years. Yeah. And you know, I'll also say some of the other also rands on my list. I was thinking about Ezra Furman I feel like that's another one. There were a couple of electronic artists like Drum.

I think I've mentioned them in a previous recommendation corner. It's DJ RUM and Barker who has an album out this week, which is really, really awesome. But those might be don't get enough reviews. And I also considered McCluskey because they might get like the 45, 50-year-old music writer saying like they're back and medium more than never. Andy Falcas, though, the lead singer of McCluskey, probably the only guy who really roasted me in an open letter response to a review. you. A lot of people have, you know, come at me, but like, Andy Falcons, I read them like, Dan, that one's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, I thought about McCluskey, too, but that just seems like the record, I mean, it is going to be the 45-year-old music writer reviewing that, for sure. Yeah.

But I don't know. That person might feel like they have to temper their enthusiasm a little bit and give it like the high seven instead of one. They might want to. They might want to. to go to the nine, but they're going to give it the high seven just to be a little conservative, so they don't think there too much in the tank. So that's it for the draft. Let's go over our lineups again. Ian, you have Bonnie Bear, Billy Woods, Will Sims, Callie Uchis, and DJ Coes. That's a very strong lineup. I have Lana Del Rey, Tunday from TV on the radio, model actress, Jenny Vaughal or Heval. I think it's Val. Val. Val. And then William Tyler. So I don't know how I feel about my team in comparison to yours your team looks awfully strong um i think it's going to come down

to tune day for me if he can if he can deliver and model actress those feel like the two wild cards i i feel pretty good about the other three delivering that's all going to come down to that yeah you guys deliver for me hopefully you can the only thing i'm worried about is if i'm like draft if i'm like drafting on past performance maybe it's like this is the one where like people start to move on from like Little Sims and Caliugus, but I doubt it. Yeah, I think I think your, your team looks pretty damn solid. I think that Billy Woods pick, it could boil down to that. That's a really strong choice.

I wish I had taken that second, actually. I think I blew it by not taking that. All right, let's get to our mailbag segment. It's great to hear from our listeners. We have a letter this week from Mark in L.A., and he says, not Louisiana. so that means the other L.A., which I can't remember where that is exactly. Los Alamos, yeah.

Los Alamos, exactly. Do you want to read this email? Yeah, this comes us from Mark. And, hey, guys, I've been thinking a lot about what Stephen said, about only the people that love you can cancel you in regards to the upcoming brand-new tour. I have a friend who flew to Dallas to see their first show back. And when I asked her if Jesse acknowledged anything or took any accountability for his actions, She responded like I was crazy to think that he should, just putting her on blast.

She said she was glad he didn't say anything because it would ruin the nightmare for people who have, quote, waited seven plus years to see this happen. I know brand new fans would die for this band and think they can do no wrong, but I'm genuinely shocked at the amount of people who are willing to overlook sexual misconduct with minors. It used to be a huge fan of brand new and even had a tattoo that I covered up after everything came out. I guess I just want to know your thoughts on their unsuccessful cancellation and toxic bases in general. Love the show. Mark from L.A.

All right. So we've talked about this before. We talked about this maybe a month or so ago, maybe longer, about brand new, the beleaguered email band, although maybe they're not beleaguered anymore. They're having a comeback at the moment. They announced a 24-date arena tour that is, looks like it's going like across the country here. And by all accounts is selling quite well. And as you may or may not remember, Jesse Lacey, the lead singer of the band, the main songwriter in the band, was accused by multiple people of sexual misconduct. You can go to Pitchfork and you can read about this.

In a nutshell, he was accused of soliciting underage fans, like reaching out to fans as young as 15 years old, 16 years old. it sounds like he was soliciting naked photos of fans. Maybe there was some sort of like FaceTime thing going on. I think there was at least one instance of in-person contact. And I don't know if it was assault. Exactly. It sounded like it was maybe a very aggressive sexual encounter. I don't know if you, like, I was looking at this story this morning.

I don't know if you've like revisited that story at all recently, Ian. But you can go to the story and you can read about it. Pretty unsavory accusations, I think, to say the least. And this came on the heels of the most recent brand new record, which was science fiction that came out in 2017. There was a long period where the band went away. Of course, you had the lockdown in the middle of that when no one was touring. But now the band is back.

And we had talked earlier about whether the band could do a big arena tour. And I was saying that I think that they probably could. And you were saying probably not because of all the fewer online about the band. And that's when I said the thing that our letter writer was alluding to, that only people that like you can cancel you. Like the audience out there that would be willing to buy a ticket, if they decide that this is a bridge too far, you know, we don't want to see you anymore because of these things that you've been accused of.

If those people are no longer on your side, then you can't do a tour like this. And it's pretty clear that those people have not canceled brand new, wherever word you want to use. I mean, the word cancel, I think, is very, it's a word that people don't really agree upon the definition of it, I don't think. I think in the minds of some people, when you say cancelization, what that means is that the person goes away forever and that their career is permanently finished

and they're just sort of disappeared from the world. And I think it's pretty clear that if that's the definition, that there aren't many instances of that. There are instances of that, and we don't necessarily have to get into that, but there are in the indie world instances of people whose careers were newed, essentially, because of accusations against them. In the case of Brand New, I don't think you could say that there were no repercussions from those stories. I think it's pretty clear that this is a band that if those stories hadn't come out, they would have been doing arena tour as well before now. And I think it's fair to say that they probably have lost millions of dollars because of those stories. And by the way, we're talking about one member of the band.

We're not talking about the entire band. We're talking about the lead singer of the band, the most famous person in the band, being accused of this. So there have certainly been repercussions for the accusations that came forth. I guess the question is, were there enough? repercussions? Have they suffered enough consequences for the stories that have come out? And, you know, there is no commissioner of Indy Rock. You know, there is no Roger Goodell or Adam Silver who decides you're suspended or you're excommunicated. You know, there's no governing body that

decides these things. It comes down to the marketplace. And the marketplace has decided that they want to move on. And it does speak to, I think, the complicated relationship that people have with the artists that they love because when you go see a band live, like, are you celebrating the people on stage or are you celebrating your own relationship with the music?

I don't know if people think about it exactly in those terms, but I think if you ask the people that are buying tickets to this tour, they would probably say something to the effect of the latter, that they are going to these shows because they love the music. And it's not necessarily about the person on stage. Now, is that excusable?

You know, I don't know. I mean, I'm curious, I guess, what you have to say about this. I mean, the imperfect answer seems to be that it is an individual choice and that you as a fan or as a consumer can decide whether this is a bridge too far. And the media can decide how much they're going to talk about this and how much they're going to affix this baggage to brand new. My feeling, my guess is that this is always going to be part of how they're talked about. That, you know, again, if you can imagine a world where brand new

didn't have these stories about them or Jesse Lacey, I guess. specifically didn't have these stories about them, this tour would obviously be rewritten about in a different kind of way, it would be perceived in a different kind of way. There's certainly a cloud over this tour as a result of the allegations. And that is a consequence of him being accused of these things. But again, is it enough of a consequence?

Should the tour not even take place? And again, these don't come down to those kind of questions. It's about the marketplace. again, at the end of the day, and people deciding on a personal level that my love of the music outweighs any kind of moral or ethical misgivings I might have about the person on stage. Yeah. Does any of that make sense? I mean, it's such a weird thing to talk about.

Not a weird thing. It's a difficult thing to talk about. It's difficult because, like, with brand new, one of the things that I felt made their cancellation feel more complete than similar bands in similar situations. is that the entire rollout of science fiction was predicated on this is the last album, we're hanging it up, and, you know, the cancellation of them, which, I mean, we're talking about, like, you know, purported sexual misconduct with minors, which Jesse Lacey more or less admitted to. That just expedited the retirement.

So it's like, yeah, you guys were going to retire anyway, but like, why don't we just give you your little severance check early? we'll call it quits, you know? So I think that was a big part of it. And you can't say there's not a cloud hanging over this band because like the announcements for the announcements for the announcement for the tour on like Ticketmaster's IG site, like they don't allow comments. So that's not something that happens typically. So yeah, I think that it's just like they were absolutely materially harmed. And the question of like were they canceled in the number. I don't know the answer to that.

You know, it's sort of like with Mike Vic. Like, you know, he went to jail. And for some people, he shouldn't have never been glad to play in the NFL again. Other people might say that, you know, Jesse Lacey, all this stuff was purported to have happened in a very contained, discreet amount of time that was years in the past, has he moved on from it. You know, and he's not going to address it on stage. I mean, whether or not he is, you know, whether he should or whether he's supposed to or whether like there should be something like I don't know how you address that on stage like what kind of reaction is the crowd going to give like what what does he need to do there you know well the email writer I mean said it like he said this to his friend who was at the show and and the friend was like why would he do that like I like the people who are at the show don't want that like if you if you are buying a brand new ticket you have already decided that that.

you either don't care about this or that this has been resolved, you know, that there has been a suitable punishment, meet it out again, like, this is a band. I'm sure, you know, I know they announced this retirement with science fiction, but I got to believe they would have toured before now. Oh, yeah. If they were in an alternate timeline where none of this was, I mean, they might have toured like in 2018 or 2019,

like right after the supposed announcement, just because there was so much goodwill about this band, and that album was so well received before these stories came out. They definitely would have toured and they would have toured, I think, multiple times and made millions of dollars. I mean, that is gone now.

So, if you want to talk about punishment and you want to factor that in, I mean, that is certainly one of the consequences of this coming about. And just, you know, the consequence of people Googling your name and seeing sexual misconduct, I mean, that is a pretty heavy consequence to have connected to you.

And if you are accused of that and it proves to be true, then you deserve those consequences. But people who have bought a ticket to the show, they've decided that, okay, we want to move on and we just want to enjoy this music. So that taking stock or, you know, apologizing again on stage,

it's only going to be for the people out there who don't like you, you know, and aren't into your band anymore. and it's not going to satisfy them probably what would satisfy those people is brand new not touring um i feel like the i don't want to call it the solution but i feel like maybe the only way this kind of thing can be worked out is making sure that this story doesn't die you know that this isn't eventually overlooked in the way that like the stories about Bill Cosby were overlooked for years you know because people knew about that stuff for a long time but it's like they would

bubble up and then people would forget about it and it wasn't a big deal and that was like the pre-internet era basically um i think with a band like this it's like well if people know all the information going in and they still decide that they are they're on board well that's their decision, you know, but at least they have all the information and they can decide for themselves. They can decide, this is terrible, I don't want to listen to this, or he's a human being, and I'm separating the artist from the artist, the art from the artist, and I'm going to enjoy the songs and I don't care about him personally. And, you know, that's a personal choice I think that each listener has to make.

And it's an imperfect choice and it's a terrible choice. But in the world that we live in, it feels like that is the only, you know, the only, you know, way it can be, I think. Yeah. Because like I think right now this is happening within the context of you know, and I don't think, I'm pretty sure this tour would have happened even if like Kamala Harris won the election. But

we're in a time right now where it feels like there's no real consequences for like bad actions or that people are experiencing negative consequences for not doing anything. And so this makes it feel like part of a bigger cultural story about like permissiveness and people

not being held into account. And you know, I think that ultimately it's so cynical to say the marketplace determines it, but I think that is the case. I mean, I think people do want to see them. Look, brand new was a very erratic live band even in their day. I've seen some like incredibly incredible brand new shows and ones that were ass like at the shrine in L.A., which is where they're playing. So, yeah, if you're going to go see brand new in L.A. in 2025, you're probably going to the worst venue in town. But yeah, as far as me, like I can't see this band live just because like the experience of being around

that kind of crowd like I just can't countenance it like I just the feeling of celebration or community is just like completely gone so you know maybe I'll listen to like the devil and new the devil and god are raging inside me

on my own but the idea of like publicly and communally appreciating brand new just feels completely gone so yeah we We shall see whether this is a platform to a new album or like a further career or whether it's just like a one-time thing. And yeah, I don't know. I don't feel great about it, but like ultimately it's not my decision to make.

You're now recently part of our episode that we call Recommendation Corner where Ian and I talk about something that we're into this week. Ian, why don't you go first? All right. So I want to talk about an album that came out last Friday from a project called O Young. It's all caps. O-H-Y-U-N-G. called you are R-A's on my mind. It's kind of another example of this

in the same way we talk about like the rise of New York noise bands. This is kind of a New York altered zones core sort of sound. I'm saying that for like people who aren't super deep in early 2010's blog lore, altered zones was this attempt by pitchfork to start a new vertical with kind of avant-garde blogs that cover things like, you know, early Grimes, early One-O-Trix Point Never, early vaporwave, how to dress well, things of that nature. I'm going to use the word hypnagogic. I know that people go deep on that word here.

So there's some dream pop, some breakbeat, some synthy stuff. It hits a lot of stuff I like buttons, even though if I'm not up to speed on like the New York City art scene from which this came. If you like any of the stuff I just mentioned, you like 2011 indie, you like kind of wavy moaning synth pop. This is going to do well for you. I'm really looking forward to digging this album more.

So, O-Young, you are always on my mind. So this is a big release day for me. A lot of records that I am into out on April 4th. I should talk about the latest Craig Finn record called Already Been, which is produced by Adam Granducille of the War on Drugs, also features several members of the War on Drugs backing him up. It sounds like Craig Finn songs backed by Warren Drugs music, which is a pretty high recommendation for me.

I actually wrote about this record this week. I interviewed Craig and Adam, so you can find that on Uprocks. I also want to talk about the latest record from the Water Boys, which is called Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper. And yes, it's a concept album about the life of Dennis Hopper. It's a pretty strange record, but I really like it a lot. It's almost like a radio play type record where there's songs, and then there's like spoken word things, and there's like instrumental interludes.

It includes cameos from Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle. I'm a waterboys fan in general. I think I've talked about them on this show before. So that's a cool record. Check that out. But I think I'm going to make my official recommendation corner pick this week, the latest record by a band called Mama.

That is M-O-M-M-A, not M-A-A-M-A. This is a four-piece band from California, and now they're based in Brooklyn. Their new record is out today. It's called Welcome to My Blue Sky. and this is this comes from a genre of music that I'm generally a fan of

which is an indie rock record that sounds like it could have been like a mainstream alt rock record from 1995 so it's in that sort of smashing pumpkins varucas salt celebrity skin era hole

type vein you know pop grunge essentially and it's just a really cool record with like beautiful guitar tones really good songs a little bit of a dream pop element to it at times. in combination with, again,

some of the more alt-rock and grungy elements. But yeah, this is a band that I've enjoyed for a while. I enjoyed their previous record as well. That record was called Household Name. That came out in, I think, like, 2022, 2023, somewhere around there. But anyway, just like a really good band, a band that, you know, replicates the grunuches

the glory years of that Buzzbin era, I think, pretty well. Like, there's a lot of bands I try to do that, and they don't quite have the hooks to pull it off. But I think Mama does. And this is just a very pleasurable record to listen to, a good kind of early spring, getting ready for warm weather type album.

So, again, it's called Welcome to My Blue Sky by Mama. Really good record. Yeah, I like that one, too. It does, like, a lot, so many bands are trying to work in this lane. And you could, like, you can just tell sometimes that bands got the juice. They got the juice.

They got the juice. Good band. That about does it for this episode of Indycast. We'll be back with more news reviews and hashing out trends next week. And if you're looking for more music recommendations, sign up for the Indie Mix Taped newsletter. You can go to uprocks.com backslash indie. And I recommend five albums per week and we'll send it directly to your email box.