New releases curated by the staff & updated regularly
“You can have it all, but how much do you want it?”
I have no idea what Oasis’s “Supersonic” means. There’s a couple lines in there that are pretty straightforward, and others that are just utter jibberish. I met a girl named Elsa? She’s into alka seltzer? If you look this up on Genius dot com there’s a half-assed explanation about how someone’s dog named Elsa ate a bunch of alka seltzer and farted out fodder for songwriting gold. I guess Noel, Liam, and the boys saw something in there and presto – you have one of Oasis’s best songs.
The song might not mean anything, but that doesn’t mean that a playlist named after that song is meaningless. Today we’re introducing Supersonic, our new regularly updated playlist curated by the Impose team featuring our favorite songs released in the past couple months. You can follow along and keep up with our selections below, as well as a review of the artists featured in this first edition.
Vulnerable acoustic reflections by Chicago’s Isabel Olive
High Pines – Be Modern (We’re Not the Same)
Edged post-punk a la Suicide from Brooklyn’s High Pines
San Diego synthpop group Glass Spells recently released new album Shattered via Negative Gain – standout third track “Shattered” radiates kaleidoscopic and nostalgic wonder.
Austin’s Mt. Grey injects a catchy singalong hook on “For a Walk” – keep an eye open for their upcoming EP, their first as a full band.
local spells. – chemical burns
Glossed out electronics and frenzied melodies feels like a sugar rush we don’t want to come down from.
Typhoid Rosie – When We Were Young
Song that deserves a massive crowd singalong at their next gig. Can’t even be mad when someone spills beer all over you.
Orchid Mantis – never knows best
Gentle bedroom-pop crooning from Atlanta’s Orchid Mantis. Self-described as “found sounds, tape collages, and pop songs about forgetting” – “never knows best” is NOT one to forget.
Discovery Zone – Pattern Recognition
Refined crossover of vaporwave textures and pop songwriting from Fenster’s JJ Weihl. Trying to make this my new computer boot-up song.
Title track on upcoming EP from Philly’s Son Step. Distinctive falsetto paired with a hypnotizing slow-burning production here. Keep an eye out for that new EP.
I’m a sucker for a nice groove. Second song from the group’s debut album Mother Sauce, which features contributions from NY’s Big Brass Beats.
Jane Leo, Jane Ellen Bryant, Leopold and His Fiction – The More You Know
“Let’s still be friends / if it’s so easy” – dual breathy vocals and a sharp guitar line gives “The More You Know” a too-cool-for-school sound. The summer fling is over, move on.
Gothic Moog music for the hypnagogic mind. “Close your eyes, take a deep breath” from Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller.” Recorded for Moog’s Explorations in Analog Synthesis series and built around the Moog Mother-32, DFAM, and Subharmonicon
Melt into peace. The sūtra, ‘atha yogānuśāsanam’ can be translated as, “It’s like this now.”
Farrah Hanna – What Kind of Man
For fans of Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers. A big folk sound that opens up swallows the listener whole with string accompaniment.
Anchorage’s psych-rock trio SunDog inject some clever songwriting while taking aim at a low bar. “I don’t want to sleep in your van / no millennial man.” Try harder millennial men !
There’s a vibrant, bright approach to experimentation on “Playground Piece” – like you’re watching something fall apart and reconstruct itself in real time.
The new album by Low is a special achievement in minimalism, distortion, and construction. A descendent of Yeezus in more ways than one, the BJ Burton produced album deserves repeat listens and endless wonder.
Ornament and Crime, Virginia Palms – You’re a Mess
Groovy intersection of indietronica and disco – it rained yesterday in Southern California but summer doesn’t have to end.
Elemental soundscapes and movement, new age sonics and electronic realms from LA’s A I R E.
Parannoul – Analog Sentimentalism
Anthemic, propulsive shoegaze and dreamy synthlines from Seoul’s Parannoul. The whole album rips and deserves the world.
Nico Jaar and Dave Harrington return for another suspenseful trip farther down the rabbit-hole.
The new album Diapason Rex from Leaving Records’ Brogan Bentley hits a lot of sweet spots. Experimental electronics, murky drum and bass, ample space to lose and find yourself.
Amyl and The Sniffers – Don’t Fence Me In
Kinda want Australian punk rock outfit Amyl and The Sniffers to kick the shit out of me to this one. Check out recent album Comfort To Me.
Spirits Having Fun – Hold The Phone
Chicago’s Spirits Having Fun just dropped their new album Two – and standout “Hold The Phone” hits a number of sweet spots while exploring new territory.
Would love for Neil Young to cover this one.
Tunstile – T.L.C. (TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION)
A pristine production catapults hardcore shapeshifters Turnstile farther than before. Everyone needs a lil TLC
Battle Ave has lived a couple lives since Year of Nod six years ago. The Hudson-Valley based band haven’t missed a step since with their new upcoming self-titled EP, out October 8th.
Gorgeous combo of electro-acoustics and catchy melody line from REWARD CENTER’s Madeleine Robinson and Josh Wyatt.
Sargeant X Comrade, K-Riz – The Mountain
A soulful, crisp production and thoughtful rhymes from soulsmiths Sargeant X Comrade, featuring a smooth vocal performance from Yolanda.
Immersive electronics and enticing textures from Austin songwriter and producer Josh Mosier.
BOYO’s new upcoming album sheds a bit of the lofi sonics and fully embraces early 2000s influences in The Strokes, Interpol, and The Walkmen. Eager for the album and definitely hear some Paul Banks in “Escape Plan.”
Brando Bambino, Mickey Factsz, Pyramid Tapes – Formula 1
Punchy boom-bap production and a sharp delivery has Brando Bambino and company flooring laps around competitors.
New 100% Electronica signee AURAGRAPH conquers digital terrains across “Sans Everything” – the first offering from upcoming LP METAMERISM.
Glossy drum and bass and very online™ vocal chops – a title true to its energy.
maticulous, Kev Brown, J Scienide – Close Range
Harkening back to golden age hip-hop guitar sampling, Brooklyn-based producer maticulous sets the stage for his associates Kev Brown and J Scienide to let loose.
My ears perk up when I read “tape cassette, physical spaces, modular synthesis, feedback and effect pedals” A kraut-rock tinged offering from Maysun.
Moor Mother, Elucid, Antonia Gabriela – Mangrove
Moor Mother’s new LP Black Encyclopedia of the Air is a densely layered work of genius. Tracks like “Mangrove” underscore the collaborative melding of minds that runs throughout.
Injury Reserve – Superman That
Injury Reserve’s new album started out as an improvised live recording at at an Italian restaurant and includes a number of staples of Italian music. Post-modernist vocal warbling, a breakneck beat, and more.
RP Boo – Haters Increase the Heat!
Footwork and dance legend RP Boo turns up the heat with new LP Established! – out now on Planet Mu.
Militarie Gun – Big Disappointment
I hear a lot of early Fugazi in Militarie Gun’s melodic hardcore. I caught them last week opening up for Fiddlehead at 1720 in LA. Tony Hawk needs to add them to the next TPHS soundtrack
Starry-eyed 4/4 production from Dj Moonstone. An earworm by today and 1987’s standards.
A thick groove and powerful vocal performance from NYC’s Isa Reyes.
Pysch/garage rock funhouse barn burner with a hooky chorus. Washed out delay like a hall of mirrors.
Fotoform – You Set Fire to the Sun
Apocalyptical post-punk from Seattle’s Fotoform. Epic vocal performance and bass groove propels this one
Self-described “spaceman music” – ladies and gentlemen we’re floating in space.
A groove and vocal line that is impossible to shake from LA producer & songwriter Elbows. Psychedelic pop, jazz fusion, electronic funk, this multi-hyphenate is releasing debut album Tales From The Old Mill on October 27th.
Smooth guitar-and-B and triumphant keys from LA crooner Goldwash.
A big dazed chorus, beautiful synth textures, crisp drums from LA’s Will Alpine. Check out new EP Mulholland Rose and drift away.
There’s beautifully succinct confessional songwriting on “partner” and across Ada Lea’s one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden, out now on Saddle Creek.
Morning Silk – Don’t Try Hard Enough
Morning Silk’s Frank Corr is releasing debut album later this year – second single “Don’t Try Hard Enough” is a promising offering equal parts soaring synths and a grounding bassline.
Kate Slauter, Consumer – Plumbing and Pearing
Really thrilling collaborative kick here with Kate Slauter and Consumer’s joint album Daw Daw One. The album was the end result of experimenting overtop of various sampled loops made by both artists, adding 64 rounds of overdubs after removing the original sample. Daw Daw One is a rush.
Touring drummer for Day Wave, Pete Yorn, and John Vanderslice – Nick de Ryss’s first solo effort offers glimmering lovestruck acoustics and processed rhythm and synth textures.
Sacramento trio Best Move hit a sweet spot here – excellent bridge and slow-burning outro that feels like watching smoke sift through a still room.
Intoxicating delivery and moody guitar performance from Don Lifted.
Spiritual Cramp – Earth To Mike
Also caught Spiritual Cramp open up for Fiddlehead last weekend. People flying off the stage left and right and a howling performance from SF punk rockers.
Sam Wilkes, Christian Euman, Greg Paul – Pretty
Sam Wilkes and company recorded Subsequent Improvisation in one 4 hour session. The final result is the second of three of those pieces. Second time’s a charm, out now via Leaving Records.
LA’s Jordan Hawkins channels Prince’s sultry songwriting and Hendrix’s guitar licks in “Risky.”
There’s an elasticity running throughout Sound Science’s production and vocals on new album Palace of Calm. Experimental pop production worth soaking in.
Synthwizard duo Lashes just released new album When The Internet Calls – standout track “ScreenSaver” drips with nostalgic daydream glow.
Day & Dream – Separation Anxiety
Sweet spot between shoegaze and dream pop. Asheville’s Day & Dream calms any anxiety with a comforting groove and patient songwriting.
There’s an air of brutal mystery across 1st Base Runner’s new album Seven Years of Silence. Channeling Trent Reznor and Godspeed! You Black Emperor in equal measure, Texas’s Tim Husmann inches us closer to oblivion with “Only One.”
Really looking forward to debut album from Peter Wagner’s Furrows project. Singles “Wasteland” and “Grey Cities” showcase a strong voice and a steady acoustic approach.
CjayQ – Goes Around, Comes Around
Perfect for long car rides full of friends heading to no destination in particular. Charming songwriting for the times.
Drew Pelisek – My Baby’s Out There Somewhere
Classic forlorn acoustic pop songwriting from another era by San Diego’s Drew Pelisek.
Great channeling of mid 90s/early 2000s rock production with a heavy bridge that packs a punch.
