Indiecast - New Albums by Beck, Beabadoobee, Boy Harsher, and more

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

The guys begin with a Sportscast on the sorry state of their football teams (0:50) before looking at the recent free speech controversy involving the objectively hilarious stadium-pop pairing of Ed Sheeran and Macklemore (8:15). After that they discuss a big slate of new albums out this week headlined by Beck (25:30). In Recommendation Corner, Ian recommends Butter Sugar Toast and Steven recommends Lily Seabird (52:32).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 Amazon Music. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Indycast. On this show, we talk about the biggest indie news of the week. We review albums, and we hash out trends. In this episode, we talk about new albums by Beck, Bibadubi, Slow Pulp, and many more. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. His team is slightly more watchable than my team. Ian Cohen.

Ian, how are you? Yeah, you sure you want to promise that we're going to talk about new albums by at least three people, because this is going to take like 45 minutes of our outline. The less, the better, really, that we can do sportscast here. The NFL season started last week. And I feel like your team, you know, Philadelphia Eagles, you've had this thing for a while during the Nick Seriani Jailen Hertz era where it feels like your team never looks that great.

But they always win. it's not a very satisfying win but I feel like you win double-digit games like every year whereas my team, the Green Bay Packers, we look good for a lot of the game and then there's something that happens in the second half where it turns

disastrously and Matt LaFleur just empties everything that's in his bowels into his pants and we lose in the most dispiriting soul-destroying manner imaginable. So that's why I say your team is slightly more watchable because they don't seem that fun to watch, but you win. Whereas my team, they give you the hope that we will win and then they just find a way to lose. Like double digit leads in the second half, we've lost like six

games in a row. I saw a number online saying that the run that the Packers are on right now, the way that they've lost, it's like a one in 2.5 million chance that this could happen. It's a modern miracle in a lot of ways, but it's a miraculous nightmare if you happen to be me. Yeah, I call my dad every Sunday, you know, checking with my folks. And for the past, let's say, year and a half, whenever I call him from September to, let's say, January, after I say, hey, how's it going? the very first thing he says because i usually call it like three or four in the afternoon my time he's like are you watching this shit and yeah it's always true because there especially when you play in the division the eagles do where the three other teams are just as unsurious like they're more unsurious

you get the eagles letting an inferior team hang around uh and then they went 24 to 22 or something like that. I got to ask you, though, just having watched the Packers last week, I somehow ended up with Jalen Hertz on all three of my fantasy teams. Do I need to drop him for Carson Wentz? Because, I mean, the Vikings are putting up 39 points. How did our boy look on Sunday? I mean, they didn't look good until the Packers decided that they were going to take points off the board, because it was 22 to 17, they kick a field goal. And the Vikings, this must, I'm convinced they did this intentionally. Let's commit a penalty and force Matt LaFleur to make a bad decision. Because it was fourth and six. They kick a field goal. There's a penalty, so it's not fourth and one.

Matt LaFleur decides to go for it. We do a QB sneak up the middle that gets stuffed. Then the Vikings have this incredible drive where, and I hate to be this guy where you complain about the refs, but there were three third downs where the Packers stopped the Vikings and the refs call a penalty that kept the drive alive. So just a backbreaking drive. You know, there was like a pick on one of those instances. There were, you know, they just stuffed them at other times. Like, they would have gone off the field, they would have punted it, and the game might have achieved some equilibrium for my guys. But the drive was kept alive because of these calls. The biking score a touchdown. And then the biking score like two fluky touchdowns.

in like 60 seconds or something like that. So the score is a little deceptive. To answer your question, I would not take Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz. Yeah, I was blanking on his name. I was blanking up this whole game. I would honestly take, look, I'm a homer. Jordan Love had great numbers in that game. He was throwing like, I think he had like close to 400 yards passing.

Yeah, he was doing like the, when you start playing like Madden or whatever, and you complete, like, maybe less than half of your passes, but every time you do, it's, like, for 50 yards. I mean, I have Christian Watson on my fantasy team, and he killed it, and I think he's going to have a really good year, actually, as long as he doesn't get hurt. And I've probably just jinxed him by saying that. Yeah, but... Well, the Eagles got Don Tavion Wicks now, and he had a very Packers-type touchdown as well, like

64-something yards for the Eagles, so... But, you know, the Packers, going back to last season, we have this thing where we're we're up in the third quarter by double digits. We're in full control of the game. And then something happens that goes against us. And the team falls apart. And we lose in spectacular fashion. I mean, we were beating the Bears 21 to 3 at Soldier Field in the

playoff game and lost. It's unbelievable. It is the worst way to watch sports. It's one thing if you know your team is bad and you're getting blown out. You resign yourself to it and it's fine. Like you never had hope. Packers do this thing where they're good enough to get a lead, but they're not good enough to finish games.

And they lose in the same goddamn way every week. And I feel guilty because my son is finally getting into football and he wants to watch the games with me. we watched this entire game inside and, you know, basement, you know, our living room downstairs, darkened. Meanwhile, outside, perfect fall day, late summer, early fall day. We only get a handful of those in Minnesota. This is like the best time of the year for weather in Minnesota.

Just perfect days. You get about six weeks of this before it starts to get cold and then the long winter comes in. I'm sitting inside watching this bullshit. Instead of being outside, you know, breathing in the nice air, it's a terrible way to live. I don't know why I'm doing this. And I'm dragging my son into it. I'm perpetuating, you know, this foolhardy behavior onto the next generation. It's terrible parenting on my part.

I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. Or maybe it's just like what parents do when they catch them smoking. Like, he's like, I'm going to sit here and watch you. smoke this entire pack to learn your lesson. I don't know. I don't know. It feels like child abuse. To make my son watch Matt LaFleur's confused face on the sideline where he's just staring at his little laminated card trying to figure out how we gave up 21 points in like three minutes in this game. Or maybe it's like, you know, you get your child the goldfish so they can learn about loss. I stole that from a Simble Zee guitar's record. No, they got him a dog. But yeah, you just you just do,

You just got to teach these kids, these hard life lessons. And, you know, when your kids are making their Bruce Springsteen style songs, they're going to remember this very moment. So, yeah, I don't know. Awful. Awful. I just feel terrible. Speaking of feeling terrible, we have to talk.

Let's touch on something that's not really an indie rock story, but it was a big story in the music world. And it's a little touchy. So we're going to wade into here, sensitively here, but there's also a comic aspect to it as well, which is why I want to bring it up. And it has to do with this Ed Shearan-McLamore controversy. And I'm sure you're familiar with this Ian. Have you seen things about this week? Well, the other thing that a few weeks ago that my dad talked about, he's like, did you see what Ed Shearan did or what McLemore did at the Ed Shearine concert?

And I'm like, well, of course I did not. But yeah, it's just sometimes. like my parents like to talk about or my dad likes to talk about football and also did you hear about this artist who said this thing about you know the middle east and like i think trying to like test whether my 13 years of hebrew schooling still holds off you know well okay so let's let's fill people in if they don't know what we're talking about and i'll i'll read from the rolling stone article about this mac lamore who is a rapper if you don't remember he was successful in the 2010s, but he's apparently still big enough to be opening for Ed Shearin on the stadium tour, I guess. Anyway, Mack Lamor has been removed from the rest of Ed Shearin's

stadium tour after several venues allegedly told the Treks promoter that they would not allow the rapper to perform. The news came after Mack Lamour made several on-stage statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and called for a free Palestine. In an exclusive statement shared with Rolling Stone, Messina Touring Group, promoter of the U.S. Leigh of Shearin's Loop Tour, said. As the concert promoter of Ed Shearin's tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders,

McLemore will not be performing on the support dates. So there's a lot to unpack here. And before we get to the heavy stuff, can we just acknowledge, and I know this is beside the point, but can we just acknowledge the hilarity of Ed Shearine and McLemore touring together, and that being a package, like, if you're buying tickets to this tour, and there's a good chance you did, because, you know, this is a stadium tour, so there's tens of thousands of tickets being sold in markets all over the country for this, presumably. Like, are you self-aware that your taste is comical to a lot of people that not only do you like Ed Shearin, but you're also like on the Maclemore train as well.

I guess maybe you're buying the Ed Sheeran ticket without knowing about Maclemore, perhaps. Do you think there's like Maclemore fans who are like, oh, I wish McLemore was playing a smaller venue, but I'm going to buy the stadium ticket. This might be the only chance I get to see McLemore. I mean, there might be some of that. I mean just as and again it's beside the point because this we're dealing with a serious issue here but that is an objectively hilarious double bill isn't it I mean if you wanted to write a punchline type you know stadium lineup that would be it yeah I think with McLemore he is

has been very self-aware and like humble in a lot of ways so it's like yeah I'll like play to a Nice guy. Yeah. And he seems like a nice guy. He seems like a very, you know, earnest guy, heart in the right place. But, you know, what was his song, Thrift Shop? Thrift Shop and Same Love. And by the way, like, you're going to have to believe me in the same way that you're going to,

you had to believe that I had never heard Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zero's home until, like, last year. I don't think I've ever heard Thrift Store or Same Love. I promise you. Like, it's, if you. played it, I'd be like, oh yeah, yeah, that's, I guess that's McElmore, but... Well, I, see, I don't know Same Love. I, I'm aware of that song, but I'm more familiar with the, uh, the joke and pop star, uh, never stop pop. Oh yeah.

Where they're basically making fun of Same Love in that, in that movie. Like, I know the parody of it, but I don't know the original, but you don't know Thrift Shop? I feel like that song was pretty in escape. Like, you were never in a, like, I'm sure you heard it without knowing that you heard it. Yeah, that is almost certainly the case, but like, I know it's deal, so that's just as important. I think that... He's a white rapper.

Yeah, from Seattle. Yeah, I mean, kind of, and that's maybe all you need to know about why people clown him. A white rapper from Seattle in the 2010s. I mean, that's like a pretty late date, I feel like, for some... You know, you would think and even the sound of that song, I think,

is 90s a little bit. Because it's a little bit of a throwback. If I'm remembering it correctly, I haven't heard it in a long time, but I remember it feeling like a consciously sort of deliberately like kind of older hip hop sounding song. You know, in the way that you might expect from like a white rapper, like we're going to do it old school. We're not going to do it like the new rap. I would not be surprised if he mentions the term bling bling in thrift shop. That's just kind of how it gets like it. I think there is like a consumerist critique.

in that song if I'm again I'm I'm totally remember like I'm not gonna listen to it I'm just trying to remember it because I think that was like 2012 that sounds about right like around then so yeah the only new song I heard from that time was magic's rude so oh yeah that was enough yeah it was like either that or like deaf heaven sunbathe they're like everything else was just kind of blotted out but yeah but with with maclemore it's I don't think it was meant to be this like joint tour like there are a bunch of openers, like Billy Elish's brother, Phineas,

who also dropped out, and I think Ed Sheeran's backing band dropped out as well. Yeah, there's like an Irish traditional band, I think, where they perform with him on stage. I mean,

I have no idea what's going on at these Ed Shearin shows. Yeah. I mean, he's doing like a Pogues type thing, apparently. I don't know. I don't totally understand it.

So you think that MacLamore, he was just on a handful of dates Yeah, I think he was on 10 shows and, you know, it's just like a guy, it's like, yeah, this guy had some hits, you bring him on, he does a 30 minute set while, you know, half the crowd's still funneling in and that's what you do when you open a stadium tour. Like more often than not, it's like not at all a co-headliner. But, you know, just the idea of Ed Shearons people being like, who's a shitty music person that we can get? Like they like our artist's crappy music. What are some other crappy music artists who are. from the same era that we could get, you know, because they can't be too good.

So MacLamore will fit. So he makes this statement, Free Palestine on stage. I mean, just looking at the statement from the promoter, I mean, do you really think they would have like, or these venues that said they couldn't allow the show to go on? Do you really think a stadium would have canceled this show, like, for real, if McLemore was on the bill? I mean, I have a hard time believing that that's not just pure. bluffing on their luck.

Yeah, because I mean, you know, as many people had made the point, a lot of these stadiums had Kanye play, who had a song like literally titled Hail Hitler. Right. But yeah, I would love to, I would love to see, like, because like, I think McLemore challenged Robert Kraft, you know, the 85-year-old dude who owns the Patriots. Like, he posted like a million dollar donation and like challenged Robert Kraft to match It's like, dude, do you really care about, like, the things you say you care about? And we'll see how that goes.

But, yeah, I would... Well, and just to say, Robert Kraft, Gillette Stadium was one of the places that threatened to cancel the show. Yeah, but he was like the ringleader. Yeah, right. And Robert Kraft was the big guy, which, again, you're really going to give up, like, millions of dollars because you found this guy's statement, which I think... I mean, and now we're going to wait into some maybe sensitive. waters for some people, but I feel like saying free Palestine, no matter where you stand, that seems like a pretty mild statement to me. I don't really understand, like, we can't talk about

this at all. Is that the stance? Or if you say something that is in support of Palestinians at all, that's going to be deemed anti-Semitic and that's beyond the pale? I mean, is that the Obertin window that these places are trying to establish? Because I think we're well past the point where that seems reasonable to the majority of people. Regardless of how you feel about what's going on in the Middle East, I mean, this isn't, like that one dude from England, that rapper guy, Bon Dylan. Yeah, Bob Villan, yeah, Bob Villan or kneecap or whatever. Who's saying like death to the IDF, which, you know, I think regardless of how you feel,

that's a little bit more incendiary. I can see that. I still don't think that he should be boycotted. I still feel like that's well within the realm of free. speech, but that is a clearly, I think, more incendiary as language. Just simply saying free Palestine or I support the Palestinian people, we're going to like go nuclear on that. Like this just seems like an egregious example of the Streisand effect.

Oh, yeah. Who would have even noticed this if he had just said it and no one had acknowledged it? I mean, it just would have been something that Mack Lamor said on stage before Ed Sheeran came out, now you threatened to cancel these shows. It just turned it into a huge cause for people with good reason. I mean, it's beyond the righteousness of the cause, it is a clear free speech fight here. It's, it just, it doesn't make any sense on any sort of logical level to do this. Yeah, and I think that, you know, this is like tricky stuff to talk about, but I think that there's an inherent humor in McLemore having like the most bold.

Bulletproof politics and just he's Macklemore. Like this isn't even like people who find out Dave Matthews is into the same thing. It's like, yeah, I didn't like crash back when it came out. But, you know, he's on the right side. But, yeah, MacLmore, I just love the dissonance between like the music that he makes. I also like the guilty had for beating Kendra Klumar and a Grammy. It's just such a perfect person for this moment. But I think we and also the humor.

in first off like pink losing her mind about it and I don't think we You can't just say that and not explain it What's the pink thing? So apparently I learned that pink was Jewish That's a, I'm learning a lot

But I think a lot of why this Got so Did she go off about McLemore? Yeah, she did Like what'd she do? So she posted like the longest, you know, so she criticized Maclemore's speech.

And so she made a lengthy, and I'm talking lengthy statement on her Instagram, like about, you know, what I'm going to do is like I'm going to, she like did some Russia Shunah posting at the end. It's like I'm going to make dinner for my kids, like the candles, dips and apples and honey, pour a glass of wine and be full of gratitude. That's my tradition. It also happens to be a Jewish one. So tying in 9-11. And so this is absolutely like, you know, I'm not reading all that, but I'm sorry or like glad that happened for you.

And Ariel Pink, no, there's Pink and then there's Ariel Pink who offered his services to open for the Ed Shear and Tour Now, which that would be so awesome. Like, because I'm loving just how Ariel Pink has just kind of accepted his lot in life of being this kind of right. wing weirdo in the same way that boy George did that AI reggae song about Israel and a bunch of people had to pretend like yo man this is like really brave awesome art coming from someone who embodies right wing values like boy George yeah yeah I don't know yeah everything feels very real but also extremely fake at the same time you know it's like it's so dumb but also so real I mean was pink upset that he did this during Rosh Hashanah was that the angle um I don't I think it's more just like, dude, why'd you do it to begin with?

So I think the Russia Shuna and 9-11 angle were just ways to hit word count. Well, I mean, if she's going to talk about her side, why can't he talk about what he believes in? I don't really see. I mean, I feel like if we're going to say that you can't say anything about this and you're going to be kicked off a tour, I don't know. if you're an artist and you're not you're going to sort of take the side of the people that would kick this guy off the tour that seems like a very strange position to take even if you might have issue with what he has to say I don't know it's very anti-art anti-speech type position I expect better from Ed Shear and a stadium concert you know well yeah look at this thing again it has the comic element to it which I want to honor especially on this show

but the serious part too is serious. And it is, again, I think an example of how I think a statement that is certainly direct but not incendiary. I don't think, at least as far as many people are concerned, to frame it that way as something that's like beyond the pale and we have to not even have this in a huge venue. At the same time, like you said, we have Kanye West who, was literally hiling Hitler not that long ago. I mean, it's a very bizarre situation to me.

And I think it actually, like, if you disagree with what McLemore says, kicking him off this tour, I think, is the worst thing you can do. Because it just makes your, it makes your case look a lot weaker. You know, like, you're not going to stamp this out by these sort of high profile

outrages. I just feel like that actually undermines the case of the people who might disagree with him. And that seems pretty obvious, I would say. Yeah. And, you know, I just love how people are like, yeah, man, I'm going to show my support by streaming Macklemore songs on mute. Right. Did people say that? Yeah.

It's just like, yeah, like, it's sort of like the opposite of separate the art from the artist, where it's usually like, yeah, I'm like shaking my head to let people know that when I'm listening to Sun Kill Moon, I don't approve of his, I don't approve of his actions, but it's kind of the opposite. It's like, I approve of McLemore and I'm going to stream it. So he gets like maybe a couple pennies, but I'm not going to like actually listen to the music. Yeah, I mean, actually, I saw a tweet from Pitchfork. Oh. A day or two ago where it said, it was linking to a Maclemore review that they wrote and they said, so what if he's a little corny? Aren't we all? I'm like, okay, are we get a rehab McLemore artistically now?

I mean, can we just say like, oh, his music sucks, but he seems like a nice guy. That seems like a reasonable statement to make. We don't have to do the revisionism of the art because they take a stance that we agree with. I feel like that's such a modern way of talking about art now. Oh, they have a problematic political point of view. Now I hate all their records. Oh, they said something I like. I love their records now.

That whole thing I think is so tired. I mean, let's just have some nuance here maybe that good guy, crappy art. To me, that seems like a great fair assessment of McLemore in his totality. Yeah, that sounds like just about all of my friends who were in bands. Yeah. It's like, I like you. It's like I like you, man, but like, yeah. By the way, Pitchforks reviewed McElmore three times.

You'll never guess It's kind of reasonable All from like 51, 54 and 6.0 Some of my favorite pants don't do that well So yeah, Macklemore Kind of he's done all right for himself We're gonna see like Sunday review McLamore Thrift Shop

9.3 Let's talk about upcoming albums right now This is actually a pretty loaded release slate This is you know a prime of the year. I feel like a lot of albums come out in September. So we're pretty loaded here. So let's kind of run down what we have arriving in record stores today as people listen to this. There's a new album from Actress called Radical Frame,

actress, a British electronic artist and DJ. I feel like their highest level of prominence was probably in the 2010s. That's when you saw, I feel like, a lot of those albums being well reviewed. and I don't know Do you go deep on actress at all? Yeah, I mean a couple of their records Like Splash and RIP were really good 2010-2012-ish

They put out like a lot of albums But yeah, you're absolutely correct in that They were your let's say Number 25 album of the year Kind of early in the decade and just You know not they're there are The work is still strong but it just kind of like it always does with artists of this ilk,

you know, like Andy Stott or Clark or anyone from that whole way where it's like, it'll come out, it'll get a very nice review, and it'll probably hit like an 82. But yeah, I'll check it out. There's also a new album from Anthrax out today, Ian. Carson, Pacifico. This is the new or the first new anthrax album in a decade. Huh.

Have you heard a single album by Anthrax, Ian? I'll tell you what, I did buy the one where they got the new, the sound of white noise. Because that was like the one where they got like, like so many metal bands at that time. They kind of did more of a grunge thing. Yeah. And they had a new vocalist. And I remember if only or only playing on MTV. I bought that.

I didn't like it. I did like their song from Last Action Hero, Poisoned My Eyes. Oh, yeah. Great song. It had like that kind of hip. pop intro was like seven minutes long. No, I do not go deep on anthrax. Although, yeah, like Scott, Ian,

I've watched a lot of VH1 in my time, but I'm feeling like that's the extent to which you fuck with anthrax. Yeah, yeah, Scott Ian is a talking head on VH1 panel shows. I feel like he had a prolific career doing that. Yeah, you know, I feel like anthrax of the big four of thrash metal,

Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. Anthrax seems like And I don't want to upset anyone Maybe the most minor of those four Oh yeah Certainly like the least famous Maybe the quirkiest though Of those

You know because they did the You know the famous rap metal Experiment with Public Enemy The Bring the Noise cover Which was a big MTV thing I remember they would cover Joe Jackson's I'm the man

So they're doing like new wave type stuff Which is pretty quirky For a thrash metal band Starting out in the 80s So I have a couple of their albums spreading the disease. I have that CD in a box somewhere. Really cool album cover of like a metalhead guy on a table being messed with with his head or something. Very mid-80s metal album cover, but pretty cool.

Say this about anthrax. Their rap metal collaboration was much better than Metallicas. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, bring the noise. That public enemy thing that they did, it brought people together. It bridged the racial divide of the mid-90s, and ever since everything's been great. So thank you, Anthrax, a public enemy.

There's a new Biba-Dubi record out today called Pylon. I feel like we've had some B-Badubi discourse on the show recently. I generally like her stuff. She's sort of like, you know, on that B-tier of, like, indie pop artists. Like, she's not as big as, you know, like a-Clero, let's say. Clero or, you know, like a Caroline Polichick or something like that. but she's on the second tier bigger than you might think. And I feel like this record, which I haven't gone deep on yet,

but I feel like she's kind of doing that pop grunge thing that Olivia Rodriguez is doing. So maybe she can be the Stone Temple Pilots to Olivia Rodriguez Pearl Jam. Yeah, as far as like how big she is, she is playing the amphitheater at San Diego State that I saw, who did I see there recently? Like, you know, I saw the 1975 there at one point, like, Fleet Boxes played there. That was, like, the faint metric. And so pretty big. And when I listened to her, like, I went to her Apple Music page and, like, half expected to have, like, one of those albums that came out in the past decade be an essential one, like, where it's like, yeah, that's super meaningful to somebody.

But, yeah, it is kind of pop, grungy. It's got a ton of guest artists on it, if I'm not mistaken. and I think it's got like Chino Moreno, you know, Haley Williams on it, Brendan Yates, you know, it's like, what album doesn't have those guys?

Pine Grove, Evan Stevens Hall from Pine Groves on it as well. Dang. Title fight. So, yeah, it's, you know,

I don't go super deep on it. I usually can find a song or two I like from it, but, um, it's very listenable. Very listenable records, but it doesn't leave a, a huge impression

perhaps. Maybe that's why it's more of like a second tier indie pop type record, but or artists, but yeah, I generally like her stuff. Wasn't she on Maddie Healy's label? Dirty Heardt. Yeah, yeah, they were on Dirty Hit. And like my favorite song, I think it's called Pictures of Us from, I think it was 2020 or something like that. It was basically a rewritten 1975 song that sounded like American football. So yeah, I was into that. There you go. So there's also a new Beck album out today. Ride Lonesome. which I think we've chatted it a bit about. I wrote about this album on my substack.

I like it. I have to admit, you know, I recently did a deep dive on Beck. For my substack, I wrote a long thing about his catalog. And it reminded me like, oh, I actually like a lot of Beck albums. And even I have to say,

at the risk of sounding like a middle-aged man, this is a very middle-aged man opinion. But it's an honest opinion. I do have a soft spot for the sad Beck album. albums. The ones that he makes with Neddell Godrich, where you have like those crisp, beautiful acoustic guitar tones, and you have those like twinkly, okay computer chimes at the edge of everything, the mournful piano chords, those kind of booming choral backing vocals. Very formulaic. And that's the formula of this new album, as you can tell from the title, Right Lonesome. You know, there is an

element to it that it feels a little interchangeable with some of these other records. He's made in that style, morning phase, sea change. But, you know, I once jokingly likened Beck to Christopher Cross in this mode, you know, like when he won all those Grammys for Morning Phase. I think there is a similar kind of soft rock melancholy, working with excellent L.A. studio musicians, and it all sounds really beautiful. I have a soft spot for it, so I'd like this record, resolutely uncool.

you know he's he's well beyond trying to do like the midnight vultures thing at this point but i like it i'm gonna listen to it in my car and when i drive my kids to school i i feel like the album is designed for that and my kids can walk out going what in the hell is this solemn morbid shit but you know it's the soft rock that dad likes sometimes yeah or maybe they'll like hear that nigel godrich production it's like oh man they'll talk to their friends at school about the stereo panning on the new Beck album, you know, like normal kids do. This has an 89 on Metacritic by now.

Wow. So, yeah, and they're all like, yeah, it's like, it's like those other two albums that you mentioned, but like that's a good thing. And so, yeah, maybe that's something I'll have to test because I have a spot on my fantasy team that needs to be filled. And maybe we'll do a little bit to see if you think it's going to hold or going to go down significantly. We'll see.

It's all these critics upset about the state of media right now, and they're listening to Beck, and Beck feels their pain, and they're just writing rave reviews of this record. There's a new Carly Ray Jepson album out, day and night. Carly Ray Jepson is to... Double album. It's a double record, wow. So what Beck is to Jet Xers, Carly Ray Jepson is to millennials, where you get a millennial of a certain age, and they'll just talk your ear off. about how much they love emotion. And anyone younger or older

will just be shaking their heads. Like, why did you listen to Carly Ray Jepson after Call Me Maybe? But she's got her fan base and she's giving them a double record. This is, so is there like a day disc and a night disc? That's what I would assume.

You know, it's kind of like the sweatsuit of millennial pop. So. Thank you. I do need to make a reference to sweat suit every four years. So thank you for Ray Jepson for that. Yeah, and bless you. I'm sure wherever Nellie is right now, he's feeling some gratitude that someone remembers sweatsuit. Let's see here. There's also a new Empress of album out today, Dreamhouse, and this is on my fantasy draft team, and we don't have a score yet for it, so we'll figure that out. We're going to do a

fantasy draft update after we're done running through the new albums here. Have you heard the Empressov album yet, Ian? No, but I'm going to assume it's a death having cover, so that will be super interesting. Oh, so like the whole album is just like an extended version of that song? Yeah, it's just like slowed down, so, you know, the song's nine minutes is about 30 now. I'd be down for that. So Emper So, Emper Sob, again, a Honduran American singer-songwriter, and I picked her record for by fantasy team because I just feel like her records consistently get, you know, in the 80s. And is she also on that B-B-Dubi level of like B-level indie pop star? Or is she like a B-plus?

She would be, she's more like playing the, for comparison sake, maybe she'll play the observatory here in San Diego, which is like the thousand-cath venue. I'm definitely not at the level of B-Badubi. More critical acclaim, though. Not as popular, but maybe more critically acclaimed. So maybe that averages out to the B level. Yeah, totally. So she gets there in a different way.

There may be like the two sides of the same coin this week, if you will. Bibadubi and Empress of one's got the fans, once got the critics. Together they form one, you know, fully formed indie pop star or something. There's a new Jake Zerxes Fustle record out today. old beloved path. And if you know the name Jake Xerxes Fussel, I'm guessing you're a big fan. I feel like he is an artist that doesn't have a huge audience,

but he has a committed audience, a singer-songwriter. Again, in that sort of Aquarium Drunkard vein, I would say, like that wing of indie rock, Jake Xerxes Fustle just owns. I feel like every record that he does is big in that corner. He's always someone that I've been intrigued by. I've liked what I've heard, but I've never felt compelled to go deeper.

Maybe this will be the record that I go deeper on. I'm guessing that this is not on your radar, Ian. Yeah, I mean, how are you not going to name yourself Zertzis instead of Jake? Although I do like the kind of dissonance between the first name Jake, this guy from Columbus, Georgia, and Zertzies. That's pretty cool. What I would like to see, I mean, he's definitely in that aquarium, drunkard lane. I'll definitely listen to it.

I'm just hoping. I don't think so would ever happen. I would just love if, like, him and William Tyler started beefing or something like that, where it's like, there can only be one. Yeah, but I think Tyler would have to have, it'd be Steve Gunn. Okay. Because they're both instrumental guitar players, although Steve Gunn also does singer-songwriter records. But it would have to be like a William Tyler, Steve Gunn, we're going to meet at the Big Years Festival. and have a tussle outside of, you know.

Don't be that next contestant on the big ear screen. Yeah, exactly. But I'm sure they get along. Yeah, I'm sure. They seem like two pretty chill dudes. There's a new Miley Cyrus record where apparently... Miley. She's just going as Miley now.

It's called Base Persuades. I've got nothing else to say about that, really. Yeah, trouble suggests. I don't know. There's a new record from Neil Young out today called Second Song, and I'm going to be writing about this in a bit. Neil Young famously checkered career in the 21st century. This is his 21st record that he's put out since 2000, studio record.

So very prolific, but very spotty albums. But I'm saying this as a preamble to me, actually, I think I like this record quite a bit. I'm surprised by how much I like this album because I've grown accustomed to checking in on late period Neil Young albums and being a little disappointed. I think this album's quite good.

And I'm qualifying it a little bit. I don't want to go overboard. There is an 11-minute song on this record, Ian. It's an acoustic song. It's the title track. I know you're going to want to check that out. But I think it's a beautiful record. I think there's a lot of like just

this is Neil an acoustic mode there's like a lot of piano songs as you might expect a lot of rheumative songs about growing older but I don't know I I find it to be a pretty moving beautiful record with some like

good songs I think that Neil kind of buckled down for this one so I think one of the better records that's out today actually Neil Young second song with the chrome hearts Yes, but does he have Brendan Yates and or Haley Williams as a guest star? Maybe they're dropping a harmonica solo in there that I assume was Neil, but maybe that's Haley Williams blowing harp.

I would hope that was the case. There's a new album from Slow Pulp out today called Melody. I wrote about this record as well, a band from Wisconsin, so I feel a kinship with them. They put out a record a few years ago called Yard that I wrote about as well. I feel like that was a record where they were reaching for a little bit of like a bigger audience. Yeah. Because they're in this lane before that where it was kind of like in the zone of like emo and all country a little bit. They were fusing those two things.

And Yard I think didn't quite land as well as maybe they had hoped. This new record has more of like a dream pop sound. to it that I actually think works pretty well. I think it feels like them maybe resetting the course a bit. I find myself enjoying this album. I think it's a totally solid indie rock album. Yeah, it's totally solid. And, you know, this is not their fault.

But the problem with them is that they have like the same name as like 15 other bands who also play like in that dream pop shoe gaze, all country universe, you know. So when there's a black crystal wolf kids of, I guess, 20, you know, all countries, whatever, the word slow

and or pulp and or crush will be in there. Do you think the band pulp ever thinks, well, we're slow pulp at this point. You know, like we're in our 60s. So we're the real slow pulp. Who are these kids from Wisconsin? They actually have a lot of pep in their step.

So maybe they should be fast pulp and then we're slow pulp. I don't know. Maybe get Jarvis Cocker on the line. We can work this out. We should get Jarvis Cocker on the line. Yeah. I'm sure he'd want to talk to us about, you know, NFL, fantasy sports.

American football. Hey. That's my-Madman. Yeah, all the things that we talk about. That's my Darvers Cocker impression. Yeah, I think he'd be into it, you know. Yeah. Whatever he's, I mean, yeah, I'm just imagining.

Hey, we can do that now. We can do that. If he's ever in L.A., which I imagine he is, maybe we'll do that. I'll impress my wife's friends. We'll have a spot of tea together, and we'll talk about indie rock and sports. It'll be great. Sun Lux has a new album out today out into, do you listen to this band, like post-rock band? Are they post-rock?

I thought they were. Am I mistake? Because obviously, I don't go deep on the... Yeah, well, they're described by Wikipedia as a post-rock band. and they were nominated for an Academy Award. What? In a Baptist Award for best original score. I'm learning about Sunlocks.

Oh yeah, they scored the music for everything, everywhere, all at once. That's why you don't remember it. Because that movie has been collectively wiped from all of our memories. We all forget that that movie won like a million Oscars. I feel like they were on Anticon at one point, weren't they? Like, that's what, I feel like they were, I thought they were like kind of like doing alternative hip-hop. pop or something like that.

They were on Anticon. I don't know. I don't know Sunlocks really at all. Glass note. Wow. Yeah. This is a very 2010's band. Yeah.

Yeah, we're getting a lot of the kind of, yeah, another kind of 2010's favorite, still being active, making music. So yeah. Anyway. Yeah. City slang, Joyful Noise Anticon. Like this is a very much like, I'm trying to think of like what basketball, like, one those basketball players who just ends up on every single team or it's like the Jacoby

Brissette of 2010's indie rock yeah yeah well there's also a Tovlo album out today estrus which is another 2010's favorite I feel like another one where you're getting the 7.3 on an album every time and there's an Orval pack album Mule Orval Peck the country singer that wears like the veil Does he still? I thought he did. Does he not? Does Orbell, did he do the kiss thing where he took the makeup off and he's just, he's unmasked?

I thought he was, like, an essential part of his thing was wearing the mask. Yeah. But, you know, it's like been a couple years. And I think we do, like, just while we're on the subject of like stuff that's actually popular amongst like people I know, boy harsher, like, that's going to be the most popular album. That's another artist who is like playing the bigger venue in your town and you've never seen anyone write about it. Tell us about Boy Harsher. Who is Boy Harsher Ian? They're kind of like a harsh sort of I mean, I know it's they're like kind of electronic music but kind of gothy and dark like

they you know dark wave I guess you would call them. Yeah, it's the sort of music that is always playing the bigger venue than you'd expect in your city. Kind of like the band Trust with It's TR, like slash ST. Yeah, you definitely know some, you definitely know people who are into Boy Harsher. So let's check in in our fantasy album draft here quick because your team is pretty much set. Kalia had an 86. Lorraine has an 86. Tila 79, that's going to hurt.

Sweeping promises only in 80. I'm a little surprised by that. And then the Lido Pimenta, we never, did you ever pick someone new? I mean, we should probably do that right now. Yeah, so what I'll do is I'll give you a choice of three, and you get to pick which one I get. So do I get to pick back? Do I get, because you could pick that or, like, I'm going to give you three options.

Well, I'm not going to give you that one. All right, because, yeah, maybe you think it's like peaking high, but I'm going to take that. The other one I'm going to get, and this is me, you know, like this is coming from me. and I'm going to trust that the critics are going to do their thing for Protomartor. Yes. That's it. That's it.

We don't need to say it anymore. You get Proto Martyr. Great. I want them to be on your team. Are there any Ian Cohen songs on this album? I don't know, man. I haven't talked about them in a while. But, yeah.

For those who don't know, Proto Martyr wrote a song about you or they took a shot, a veiled shot at you in one of their songs, which is an incredible honor. You know? It's like the low-watt version of the strokes referencing Fantano in that song on the last record. A lot of things rhyme with Cohen, but they did not mention me, although there could be any other bald guys writing about emo in the year 2018. Oh, that was you, baby. That was you. So, yeah, you definitely get proto-martre.

And, yeah, that record will do well. They're a good band. I like proto-martre. Even though I feel protective of you, I'm less inclined to praise them publicly because out of loyalty. to you, Ian. But I do think that they're a good band. I saw them years ago at the high noon saloon in Madison. It was a good show. So Protomar, that comes out next week. Yes. So we've got that down for you. Okay. So then on my team, I still have a lot of albums that are coming out I guess next week. So, okay, so I have Phoebe Bridgers. That's a 91. And Gila Band comes out

next week. This is Lorelei. Has an 83. Are we going to call this a... We're not going to call it a bust, but is that a letdown for... This is Lorelei? I'm a little surprised... I mean, I'll take it. It's a solid score. I'm a little surprised that's not like an 88, 89. Yeah, I think you're... It was kind of like an Andrew Wiggins type pick where they're like a

maybe sometimes All-Stars solid contributor. I have no doubt this out will be on bunch of year end list, but I do think that... there was a little bit of qualification in it where a lot of the reviews I saw said, yeah, I don't like it as much as Box for, you know, the previous one. But yeah,

it's done solid. There was no way it was going to blow 80. So, yeah, I mean, it's a record. I mean, there was a couple things going on because there's a lot of media coverage of this.

And I heard people complaining about it. Uh, because it really did feel like it was, he was everywhere. And, you know, We contributed to that. He was on Indycast, the bonus episode.

You can watch the video on YouTube of me interviewing him. I was writing about him. I mean, at the beginning of the year, I said that I think he's going to be the indie star of 2026. So I was part of the drumbeat for him, and I stand behind it. He's great, and he's going to have a long career. And I think a lot of...

This is the kind of record where... I think Box for Buddy is such a... tour to force in a lot of ways. He's working in different genres. It has like a pallet of sounds that it's working in. And it's a record that I think is inviting you to be dazzled by it. Whereas this new record is a much more understated, straightforward record, a singer-songwriter record, leaning in sort of an Americana direction

at a time when I think maybe people are sick of that a little bit. not me I'm right about twangy people all the time but I think if he had made a record maybe more like Boxford Buddy it would have ticked this up a little bit more

I think pitchfork gave it the 8.0 but no best new music that seems indicative of the response where people think Get ready to learn emo buddy where they're like this is a really good record

but we're not going to give it the full coronation I think it's one of the best albums of the year it'll be in my time 10 or 20, I would think. I listen to this album all the time. If I don't know what to listen to, I put this album on.

It's an extremely listenable record. And he was hanging out with Cameron Winter and Phoebe Bridgers went to see his record release show at Baby's All Right. I don't know if you saw the photos of that. Nah, I was there, man. Like me talking my friends about that 285 Kent, you know, just doing the thing.

Just hanging out. with the celebs at the NYC DIY venues. Just like you with Olivia Rodrigo. That's right, man. Empress of is on my team. We just talked about that. There's no score for that yet. I imagine we'll have that by next week.

And then Julia Jacqueline, the critically acclaimed singer-starring writer from Australia. Her record comes out next week. So it's going to, next week's going to be the big thing. We got, you know, we have three of my, We have two of my records coming out next week. We'll know the Empress of score. And then Proto Martyr for you, which screams 80 to me. That's going to probably be an 8.

I think I'm going to win. I'm calling 85. You're going to call 85? I think I'm, well, let's see. I mean, it really is up in the air. Because you do have Kalea and Lorraine, 86, is very strong. If Proto Martyr was an 85, we got ourselves a ball game. If they're at 80, I'm probably going to win just because Phoebe Bridger.

is setting. Yeah. A pretty good bird there. So, can't wait for it. We'll have our own thing here. I'm probably going to be like the Packers, where it looks like I'm going to win and I'm going to lose in devastating fashion. So I guess Gilaband, it's going to get like a 69 or something.

Just you watch. It'll happen. We've now reached the part of our episode that we call Recommendation Corner, where Ian and I talk about something we're into this week. Ian, why don't you go first? So I'm a little late on this one. I believe it came out in April, but now that six-wave emo is a thing, I'm starting to dial back and say, oh, wow, there's like a lot of good stuff that I missed. One of those albums that I see getting talked about a lot comes from a band called Butter, Sugar,

toast. Now, as you could probably tell by the name, they're an emo band and they're a Japanese emo band. They tend to have like a little bit of like a Google Translate element to them, but you probably wouldn't guess what they'd sound like. They are not a playful, sugary, kind of tap-a-tap-ty-tap Asian emo band that takes an American variant of the Midwest up and applies more technical skill like forests or what have you. This is straight up pre-diary Discord San Diego type stuff. It goes super hard, which is pretty rare in the sixth wave of revivalism. Most of the stuff that you're hearing nowadays sounds like, you know, like Jazz June or Braid or Runner Maria.

but yeah this one is coming from that sound that I've been thinking a lot about with my book because after the first wave stuff you know the revolutions and that revolution summer stuff and diary there's this like period between 89 and 1999 or sorry 89 and 1993 where like none of the albums ever make the best albums list but yeah like Indian summer stuff like that heroin Antioch arrow you'll like this one, just goes hard. So butter, sugar, toast, the name of the album is Long Play One. Awesome. I want to talk about a record that is sort of out right now and sort of coming out in a few weeks. The artist is named Lily Seabird. Her record is called Life Spheres on

their way. And this record, it comes courtesy of Lamo Records, which is a really cool record label, works with a bunch of people that I like, including bands like second grade and the singer-songwriter Sidney Gish. And they've been doing this thing lately where they released the physical version of the record first, and then they wait about a month for it to go on digital platforms. And clearly the intention there is to get people to buy the record, which I always support people doing. I actually bought this record myself because I wanted to have the physical copy. but it is a little confusing for me as to when to talk about it because it is a record that for most of you,

you're not going to be able to hear until it comes out on digital platforms October 3rd. But if that is you, let me just say put a bug in your ear to check out this album in a few weeks. I think it's really good. Lily Seabird is a songwriter from Vermont, and she first came on my radar last year with her second album Trash Mountain,

which was definitely the twangier sound, aside of her sound, although she's definitely more of an indie rock artist, I would say, than like an Americana artist. And on this new record, I would say the country sound of her previous record is dialed back. And the vibe on this one is a little bit jamier. Like in her press material, she references The Grateful Dead and Ween and Fish and bands like that as being an influence. It's not really a jam band record.

but the songs are longer and shaggyer and you know the guitars kind of ruminate a little bit or wander as these songs sprawl out up into about six minutes or so um but just really good songwriting it actually reminds me of like older big thief like the first couple records like if that's a version of that band that you miss i think that there's a lot of those qualities on this lily sea bird record where it's just really thoughtful folk rock that can be really quiet and intense, but also get pretty loud and rocking at the turn of a dime. And that's obviously something that I'm always into. So if that sounds like it would be fun for you, definitely check this record out.

Go buy it if you can or else wait for a few weeks for it to end up on Amazon music, as I should say, or Spotify or Apple Music, all those places. The record is called light spheres on their way. The artist is called Lily Seabird. And it's really good. Check it out. Yeah. I kind of couldn't believe that you didn't talk about it when it dropped on

Physical. So I'm glad that you brought it up. That's the thing, though. I feel weird talking about it because of this weird gap. Because most people are not going to listen to it for another few weeks. It came out September 4th on Physical. That's like a month. before it's going to be on streaming platform.

So I understand, like it was reviewed around that time, but it's, I don't know, it's kind of like an awkward timing for a lot of people. Although I think it's a good experiment for that label to make. I'm curious to see how that's worked out for them. Thank you all for listening to this episode of Indycast. We'll be back with more news reviews and hashing out trends next week.