A Song For Friday: Clutter

Obliterating guitars feature in a new single from the Stockholm band. Also: Arctic Monkeys, Lucinda Williams, Flying Needle, Jo Passed, Searows, Maria Somerville, DJ Harrison, Colin Hinton, and more!

I already yakked on about Superstar, the b-side of yet another killer single from the Stockholm quartet, so why not put the a-side front and center now? For those out of the loop, I included Clutter Loves You, their debut EP, on my Top 25. I had originally written about that in April, reveling in the “counterpoint harmony vocals,” “searing guitar lines,” and “lethal swing” of the rhythm section. Little did I know that I would meet half the band—Hilda Ander (vocals, guitar, bass), Emma French (vocals, guitar, bass)—when on a work trip to Sweden later in the year!

Anyhoo, now we have C.L.U.T.T.E.R. (PNKSLM Recordings), which uses a booming drum intro to add more than a touch of glam to their razor-wire post-punk. But there’s nothing rote about it, with handclaps that seem off-kilter until the scrubbed rhythm guitar enters and everything locks in. The vocals are sharp and thin, which only adds to the effect forty-two seconds in when a WALL OF GUITARS obliterates your mind. It’s almost a relief when it stops, but you can’t wait for it to come back. Shout out to Ville Scott (drums, keys) and Ove Jerndal (guitar, keys), who fill out the rest of the band. Get out of your chair before pressing play, it will save you the trouble of doing it in, oh, about forty-two seconds!

The lyrics are a telegraphic yet clarion call to acknowledge without judgement the clutter in your head and in the world around you.

I watch the night fall
The last one awake
I hear the club call
Always there ‘til late

Get stars in my eyes
I stumble and stutter
Awake in the sunrise
My head is just clutter

I remember those nights, which usually included an ill-advised walk through Central Park because I didn’t want to wait 30 minutes for the one crosstown bus running. It’s good to know that some things never change, whether New York City circa 1980 or Stockholm today.

If you desire the physical product, you can still order the bundle, which includes a T-shirt, a button, and a zine in addition to the 7”, which is pressed on red and white vinyl. If you order it from the PNKSLM store, you can save on shipping by throwing in some other cool merch.

Listen to all the songs for Friday here or below.

Also Out This Week

Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night (War Child) For their first new music since 2022’s brilliant The Car, Alex Turner & Co. have donated a track to Help(2), the upcoming compilation to benefit War Child, a UK-based NGO that seeks to ease the trauma of war on children. Not only is the band’s heart in the right place, but the song, a moody yet propulsive number with a detailed arrangement and a suave vocal from Turner, could have held its own on either of their last two albums. Let it under your skin, and then join me in awaiting more music from them. I’m also looking forward to Help(2), which will also have current fave raves like Wet Leg, Cameron Winter, Beth Gibbons, and Arooj Aftab collaborating with Beck, among others.

Lucinda Williams - World’s Gone Wrong (Highway 20/Thirty Tigers) Nearly three years after the tough, loose, and introspective Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart, Williams returns with her 16th studio album. Much like 2020’s Good Souls, Better Angels, she is surveying the American scene and finding it wanting. Track titles like “Something’s Gotta Give,” “How Much Did You Get For Your Soul,” and “We’ve Come Too Far To Turn Around” define the record as a modern protest album, and an exemplary one at that. It also could be called a heartland rock album, with guitars that weave and soar, an organ pulsing away, and a brick-solid rhythm section. She’s in good voice, too, sounding strong or tender as the song requires. She shares the mic with Brittany Spencer, Nora Jones, and even Mavis Staples on a sweetly mournful cover of Bob Marley’s So Much Trouble In The World, but never yields center stage. Long may she reign.

Flying Needle - River Rouge (Self-released) I described the songs on Bronze Age, Timothy Griffiths’ first album as Flying Needle, as “postcards from realms of queer love, politicized aggression towards LGBTQ+ people, late capitalism, the halls of memory, including the day of Griffith’s birth, as recounted by a recording of his father, and more existential places.” On River Rouge, he’s moved on from postcards to a novel, creating a sprawling concept album that uses the winding Rouge River as a metaphor for America’s twisted past and present. Folded in is the deeply personal story of his father, who worked at Ford’s River Rouge plant and one of those kicked to society’s curb as capitalism grew ever less compassionate in the Reagan era. Musically, he uses various modes to approach the big topics, from the edgy, mechanical Murder (“the #1 export of our land”) to elegiac Waves On The Shore, layering electronic keyboards and percussion, along with the occasional guitar, bass, sax, and piano, under his plainspoken yet versatile voice. There was something a little tentative about the 2024 album, as Griffiths returned to music after more than a decade. Not so here. River Rough presents an artist in full command of his gifts and full of righteous fury and sorrow. The songs and stories within will resonate long after it stops playing.

Jo Passed - Away (Youth Riot) Don’t let the punning title (other releases include Their Prime and Out) deter you from the incredibly inventive indie-pop-rock wonders that await in the second full-length from Jo Hirabayashi, a Canadian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He plays vocals, bass, guitar, and keys here, and is joined by with Téa Mei on additional vocals, Mac Lawrie and Justin Devries on drums, Andromeda Monk on woodwinds and saxophones, and Meredith Bates on strings. The collaged approach to the production only enhances the strong, tuneful songs, which Hirabayashi sings in a cool, clear tenor. Don’t pass this one up. (Two can play this game, Jo.)

Searows - Death In The Business Of Whaling (self-released) Heartbreaking, evanescent folk rock from Seattle’s Alec Duckart. I just discovered his work tonight, so I don’t have much else to say except it’s gorgeous, with languid layers of guitars, sensitive drums, and his lovely voice. All credit to my daughter, who saw a post from Ethel Cain about the album, and then spotted a clip from Searows’ live set at Rough Trade (which was today…sigh) and decided to give it a try. Lots of my favorites (Or Best Offer, Vines, Skullcrusher, Darci Phenix, etc.) are also already there, and who wouldn’t want to join that club?

Maria Somerville - Luster (Remixes) (4AD) Besides being a maker of beautiful albums like last year’s Luster, Somerville is a curator known for her wide-ranging mixes on NTS Radio. She puts both skills to use on this expansive EP, which applies varied approaches of dissection and accretion to six tracks from Luster. The remixers range from 90s electronica pioneers Seefeel to emerging artists like Maya McGrory, who performs and records as Colle, both solo and as a member of Chanel Beads. I’ve been thinking we’re in a low-key remix renaissance these last couple of years (see strong collections from Robber Robber, Water From Your Eyes, and Smerz, to name just a few), which is only confirmed by this compelling collection.

DJ Harrison - Electrosoul (Stones Throw) Even at its hardest, as on the Funkadelic-inspired OG Players, there’s a lushness to Devonne Harrison’s sound-world, not to mention a kaleidoscopic engagement with rock, funk, R&B, and hip hop. While Harrison, who also plays keyboards in Butcher Brown, puts his production skills at the forefront, he also generously features singers and rappers, including Yaya Bey and Fly Anakin, expertly showing them off at their best. Though I’ve never connected with Butcher Brown, this involving album has me eyeing his extensive solo catalog. What wonders will I find? Let me know if you get there first.

Colin Hinton - Three Suites (Endectomorph) Bold, expansive, and ambitious, this double album is filled with dramatic moments where you might have to remind yourself it’s just a trio. Another credit to drummer/composer Hinton is that you might forget it’s a drummer-led album. His approach is so balanced and collaborative that Santiago Leibson (piano) and Eivind Opsvik (bass) feel like equal partners. That said, Hinton’s work on the kit is a tour de force, filled with nuance and originality even when he’s supporting the other players. Tyshawn Sorey’s production makes everything sound rich, too, with plenty of air around the instruments. All three pieces draw from Hinton’s experience of the pandemic, with perhaps the deepest emotions coming in the last piece, Elegy For Ralph, dedicated to Hinton’s mentor, Ralph Peterson, who died during that time. Hinton did not want to make “another piano trio record,” and at that, he has most definitely succeeded.

Isidora Edwards, Biliana Voutchkova, and Zosha Warpeha - A far within (Relative Pitch) You could have a full musical life just by keeping up with whatever Warpeha is doing. Case in point is this album, which features the composer, improviser, and Hardanger d’amore virtuoso getting entangled with the cello and violin of Edwards and Voutchkova. The results are four extended pieces that range from ghostly drones to thorny pizzicatos. While the three players remain in tight communication throughout, there’s always room for one more. Let that be you, the listener.

Fabiano Do Nascimento & E Ruscha V - Aquáticos (Music From Memory) It was just two months ago that I was rhapsodizing over Do Nascimento’s “sculptural” Cavejaz, and now we have this sublime collaboration. Combining Ruscha’s modular synths, drum machines, and vintage keyboards with Do Nascimento’s seven- and 10-string guitars was an inspired idea, and their sensibilities fit like hand in glove. If you’re still not maxed out on pleasure between this and Cavejaz, put Do Nascimento’s next album, Vila, on preorder. Recorded with the Vittor Santos Orchestra, it comes out on February 27th.

Arthur King - Ambient Harvest Vol. 2 (AKP) “Ambient playground” might also be a good title for this deep dive into sound by KamranV (Quad mixing board, Eventide H90, Vongon Polyphrase), Matthew Mallinger (Drumset, Roland SPD-SX), Peter Walker (Guitar, Grendel Drone Commander). The trio seems to delight in stretching out and unfurling sounds, with each long track spooling into the universe from the barest of beginnings. I’m worried that if I order the “immersive” cassette, I may never return.

TheAdelaidean - Nine Breaths (Projekt) Windswept, minimal ambient created by Adelaide-based writer Sean Williams, whose many books of poetry and science fiction are apparently not enough to keep him busy. Comprising over two hours of music, Nine Breaths will transport you wherever you need to go. Even the track that has an excerpt from Pushkin given a dramatic reading by A. Tarasova will not pull you out of this waking dream.