A lot of indie rock albums have been released within the past three weeks. Some are good, some are really good and others… not so much. Here are a few notable albums released within the last three weeks that I either enjoyed or I did not.
“I Got Heaven” by Mannequin Pussy
This first album is from Philadelphia indie and punk rock outfit Mannequin Pussy. “I Got Heaven” delivers on the band’s hardcore leanings and tendencies while also establishing them as capable of making really solid indie rock bangers.
The title track “Sometimes” and “I Don’t Know You” all serve as the band’s most solid and dreamy material to date, while cuts like “Of Her” and “Aching” offer up a more in-your-face vibe.
While it is a bit short for my taste, “I Got Heaven” is generally succinct enough to where it does not even matter.
“Bleachers” by Bleachers
Jack Antonoff is back with his first solo full length studio album since 2021 and it might have been better for him to stay in his producing lane. “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night” was a genuinely great and heartfelt indie rock record, and makes Antonoff’s newest self-titled record feel like a sham in comparison.
While “Modern Girl” — the lead single to the new record — is an upbeat and catchy track, the rest of the project does not carry the same momentum and fails musically on so many moments. “Bleachers” is a vapid and lifeless pop record that has good ideas at times, but fails to stick the landing on almost all of them.
“Loss of Life” by MGMT
Released on Feb. 23, 2024, MGMT’s long-awaited follow-up to their now cult classic 2018 record “Little Dark Age” is a flattering offering in the MGMT catalog, however, it overly relies on its nostalgia-tinted aesthetic to make anything lasting.
With the case of “Mother Nature” — the lead single — it is unfortunately the best that the record offers. Almost all of the other tracks are bold experimentations with song structure, production and MGMT’s signature sound — but that experimentation does not really go anywhere.
The ideas do not stick. “Nothing to Declare” is a nice guitar driven song, but the vocals and production clash with each other — it sounds futuristic and stuck in the past at the same time.
The nostalgia goggles have blinded both the band and its audience, and if “Loss of Life” and “Little Dark Age” are indicators of anything, it’s that nostalgia fueled and recycled records are here to stay.
“Where’s My Utopia?” by Yard Act
Irreverent and self-aware, Yard Act is the type of post-punk band in the 2020s that I am incredibly pleased to see. Their first record “The Overload” was a snooty and instrumentally bland record that I really did not like, however, their newest record “Where’s My Utopia?” is a smash hit.
Tracks like “Dream Job,” “We Make Hits” and “The Undertow” are hilariously apt at making the listener question their own memories as the lead singer, James Smith, questions his own. The record also takes subtle shots at the music industry on songs like “When the Laughter Stops.”
Overall, Yard Act does a good job of blending the serious and the absurd with great, dancey art punk. If anything can be learned from this record it is that sometimes you just got to have fun in making your albums.
