The Useless Critic 2.0

Looking for some good old-fashioned garage rock? I've got you today! Meet the NYC-based band Native Sun, which remind me a lot of the Velvet Underground meets the Jonathan Richman & the Roadrunners with just a touch of The Strokes and Sonic Youth. Honestly? It's very refreshing to me right now. Not saying modern rock stinks (it doesn't; there are always good gems like Royal Otis) but garage rock has a special spot in my heart. Listen to the single "Adam" below: Their debut LP drops September 19th, the same day as "A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY" which I already have a ticket to see because apparently my mid-life crisis is being a fangirl!

My new favorite band Cannons reissued their definitive "Shadows" album back in July, the pretty-much-flawless offering that spawned their monster hit, "Fire for You." The "Midnights" version that came out last month contains 3 remixes in addition to the original track listing: a midnights version of "Fire for You," a dub mix of "Talk Talk" and - my personal favorite - a dark wave version of "Shadows." Coincidentally, it's also my favorite track off the regular album! It retains the dark, seductive energy of the original track while adding a haunting new layer to the track that suits it well. The other two remixes are good, but I find this one to be exceptional:  I dig this whole Midnights concept artists are getting into. Roosevelt did it really well too! And weirdly, Clay Aiken has some remixes of "Invisible" that are now here 22 years later. I mean, sorry to Cannons to go off on a weird Clay Aiken tangent, but ...

It's not exceptionally rare I hear new music I really like, but sometimes because life is a lot and I don't have a ton of time to voraciously go through new releases like I once did, I get stuck in the "music as comfort" cycle. So I end up listening to a LOT of Cannons, Meltt, and Lana Del Rey to get me through the day. I also am really into Wolf Alice at the moment, and some random discoveries I've made via internet radio. Plus I am in love with Suki Waterhouse so there is that. (I also am enjoying Addison Rae because I am a woman of taste and with the times.) Anyway, the internet radio suggested to me the UK-based Ruby Roberts a few weeks ago, and boy howdy! I was pleasantly impressed by this dynamic, wrapped-in-nostalgia single. I know "the next Lana Del Rey" gets thrown around quite a lot but I think Ruby has that potential. Seriously. You might also like her if you're a fan of Weyes Blood or even just 1960s-1970s singer-songwriter stuff. She has...

Just doing my yearly little music recap! As I get older it does get harder to stay on top of new things. But I did do marginally okay this year. Here's my entire playlist on Apple Music FYI. Would be remiss to say "Brat" was clearly the biggest thing that happened this year in music: I'm not a huge Billie Eilish fan (I think she's quite talented, and I like a few of her songs a lot), but I really thought this collab was the best thing she has done to date. I kind of hope she continues in this direction! I am still waiting on the Uffie renaissance. At the *very* least, I think Uffie deserves a documentary at this point. If you were on MySpace circa 2008, you know . Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter obviously had banner years. They are both pretty talented - I think I have a mental block with Sabrina though, since some of her music is so bland . But she's still catchy. You can't deny Chappell is incredibly talented, and I do applaud her for sticking up for...

This song is a throwback from 2019, but I absolutely love it and think more way people need to be aware of its existence. I guess Netflix featured it on a show or movie a while ago, but it's likely been a minute and so. Check it out! This is like a "Wicked Games" by way of dreampop with some shoegaze-y elements.  It looks like the Denver-based group remains active, so go shoot their other stuff a listen if you have some time today! I hope to be back with more contemporary stuff very soon - just went through my 2024 playlist and it's like if Lilith Fair came back and was repopulated with female pop singers. It was hard not to add the entire "Brat" album!

Hi! I have been pretty MIA this year - more so than usual, I think. Things have been very busy and I've only halfway completed my laundry from the past two weeks. But I'll get back there (eventually).  Earlier this year, one of my favorite bands on the indie-r side of things released a few new singles. Gems is dreampop duo based out of DC/LA who have been quiet for a while. Several years ago, they did some really interesting stuff with John Lennon covers and the phases of the moon. I absolutely adore this band, and was ecstatic to see their return.  This longtime duo of Lindsay Pitts and Clifford John Usher released two tracks: "The Past Is a Just a Story We Tell Ourselves" AND "Deus Ex Machina," which features Usher's other project, Falling Over Water. They have some really good stuff too, like "To Live and Die in LA." I'm not exactly sure what I'd classify them as, but dreampop adjacent seems appropriate. You can check out his stuff h...