Albums I’m Excited About, September 6th

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Lost Girls — Bat For Lashes

Bat For Lashes is an incredible artist — she manages to put out consistently wonderful, on-brand, and yet non-redundant albums. Her track lists are never extraneous, which I’m sure requires a great deal of curation and work.

This album is no exception. It’s a warm bath of soft synths, her voice shows you the way through the thick forest of 80s samples. It’s reminiscent of M83’s glory days (Saturdays=Youth, Before The Dawn Heals Us) without becoming so epic as to be a movie soundtrack. It’s one of the most palatable albums I’ve listened to this year — it’s modern by way of being retro. A real joy.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/lost-girls/1465892375

https://open.spotify.com/album/7grVw3ARnEdYQAbJlXcPii?si=L3zq8GPXQPWZkjKHEXv2WA

Free — Iggy Pop

Just the fact that Iggy Pop is still releasing music in 2019 is impressive on its own. I had the pleasure of seeing him a few times on his last tour, and I can verify that even as his body attempts to force him to slow down, he continues to be one of the most important performers of my lifetime.

The album cover for Free already sets a high bar, it’s beautiful and evocative. It begins as a fantastic modern album, reminiscent of Iggy’s later work, except eschewing guitars for heavy brass instrumentation — and as soon as I thought I understood it, the last three tracks, all spoken word with heavy winding instrumentation, punched me in the gut. It brings you into the mind of an aging Iggy Pop, looking out into the wasteland of America, asked to make some art. I suspect this album will come and go critically. But for the few willing to dive in, this album is incredibly rewarding, important, and emotional.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/free/1472293248

https://open.spotify.com/album/2aRxolqVA2v2TFeuWPIuEI?si=sccJgKT0R0WyDlbKgMyRYg