What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.03.07

// Everything Everything boldly meld a piercing guitar riff to some future synths while they muse upon cancel culture on Buddy, Come Over.

// Mannequin Pussy get all angry '90s alt-rock on us as they aggressively remind us that love is all we need on I Got Heaven.

// Twenty One Pilots welcome us back to the continent of Trench by stringing some big beat electronics into industrial hip-hop on Overcompensate.

// Justice assemble a collection of pitched vocals and driving disco to keep our eyes focused on the sky above on Incognito.

// Charli XCX uses a combination of vibrating bass and screeching hoovers to declare herself a cult classic on Von Dutch. Spotify Playlist YouTube Music Playlist

What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.02.29 // Groupthink rolls out some bombastic brass bass tones and big hoover screeches while ABRA throws down a few swagger-filled gloats on Gold On Me.

// Allie X dons an outfit made from goth-pop synths peppered with crunchy percussion to reprimand us for taking so long to join her fandom on You Slept On Me.

// Flight Facilities recruit Owl Eyes to the crew once again and they boogie their way through a nu-disco synth-pop tune about their partying woes on Trouble.

// Real Estate set to plucking their guitars in all the right combinations in order to cause a flurry of colors and shapes to bloom between our ears on Flowers.

// The Plastic Cherries cobble together some groovy '60s-styled folk rock where they let all their friends know it's time to shine on On The Moon.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.02.22 // Middle Kids use their powerfully raw voice and plodding drums and guitar to demonstrate exactly how close they are to completely losing it on Bend.

// Vampire Weekend returns by juxtaposing baroque strings and piano with dissonant synth screeches to highlight the feeling that life is slipping away on Capricorn.

// Heems, Lee Scott, and Cool Calm Pete take turns trading bars and boasts across some of Lapgan's ominous Punjabi production on Baba Ganoush.

// Idles utilize droning guitars and skittering percussion to put our nerves right on the precipice in order to say no gods, no masters on Grace.

// Chromeo cook up a funk lord ballad about their current paramour making us of the ol' "leave behind" trick to see them again on Personal Effects.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.02.15 // Usher certainly knows what side his bread is buttered on ands drops yet another provocative song full of yeahs on Stone Kold Freak.

// Kim Petras finally dispenses with all the innuendo and decides to just directly ask us what she wants to know on Can We Fuck?

// Armin Van Buuren cooks up a song that feels crisp and fresh while still having a nostalgic turn of the century trance sensibility on Lose This Feeling.

// Chelsea Wolfe weaves her dark magic to conjure an eerie and plodding ode to everybody's favorite type of creepy space on The Liminal.

// Warpaint coalesce together around a cool and echoing chant in order to muse upon how special it is to be a butterfly on Common Blue.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.02.08

// Holly Macve delicately conjures a backdrop of gothic country to muse upon the circle of life and how the past just keeps getting longer on Time Is Forever.

// Burial takes us on a thirteen minute journey that traverses through mysterious shadows in search of heavenly redemption before ultimately leading us into a dark rave on Boy Sent From Above.

// Eliminate and Frost Children team up to define a new acronym about their romantic intentions while dancing around to some energetic hyperpop on SMSOU.

// Everything Everything use their signature falsetto and bright guitar and synth tones to tell the story of all the frustrated has-beens out there on The End Of The Contender.

// The Decemberists recruit James Mercer of The Shins for backup vocals as they skip together across strangely cheerful cemetery celebration tune on Burial Ground.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.02.01 // Alkaline Trio hit us right in the feels by delivering a mid-tempo pop-punk ballad about the unique struggles of youth today on Teenage Heart.

// Camera Obscura return from a long hiatus to drop a slice of country-tinged indie-pop where they beg us to get over our previous flame on Big Love.

// Sarah Jarosz uses her striking voice and some heartland rock to present a heart wrenching tale of indecision and regret on Jealous Moon.

// Hurray For The Riff Raff take us on a journey to anytown America where they spin a series of everyday folk stories on Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive).

// Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood use their new band (The Smile) to tell us how they really feel about their old band (Radiohead) on I Quit.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.01.25 // Justice and Tame Impala finally team up to deliver the psychedelic electro-house crossover event we've been waiting for on One Night/All Night.

// Bad Omens recruit Poppy for her fiery vocal delivery about humanity's destruction of the planet set to some blistering industrial metalcore on V.A.N.

// Glass Beach alternate between snappy math rock and orchestral prog as they search for something new in their life on Motions.

// Yin Yin blend together Southeast Asian funk, psychedelic surf-ruck, and a touch of electro-disco to remind us that it's never too late on Takahashi Timing.

// Phosphorescent present us with an absolutely heartbreaking selection of sad symphonious Americana as they struggle with devastating loss on Revelator.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.01.18 // Kali Uchis and Peso Pluma serenade us in Spanish and float us through the clouds all the way to heaven on Igual Que Un Ángel.

// Ariana Grande joins her local improv troupe and then tries her hand at a pretty decent Madonna impression on Yes, And?

// Gorgon City recruit Bbyafricka for vocal backup and together they lay down an absolutely massive tech house banger on Biggest Regret.

// K.Flay lets her frenzied voice cry out across some industrial hoovers to put the two-ton death machines on blast on Carsick.

// Jane Weaver is feeling desperate, unlucky, and just plain out of sorts within the moody and trance-like environment on Perfect Storm.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.01.11 Liam Gallagher's voice and John Squire's guitar blend together and blossom across the sky on Just Another Rainbow.

Julia Holter adds a bit of sparkle on her loom and weaves a plodding backdrop to ask some rhetorical questions on Spinning.

Youth Lagoon sings a gentle and introspective song celebrating those of us who tried and failed on Football.

Jamie xx returns with an tangled yet funky collection of sounds built out of electronic horns and steel drums on It's So Good.

Four Tet decorates the space between our ears with a tapestry of soft tones and bright chimes on Loved.

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What Else Is There? Weekly :: 2024.01.04 A. G. Cook bakes up a striking ten minute hyperpop incantation full of angelic chirps and glitched peaks on Silver Thread Golden Needle.

Freezepop take their time to layer soft synths with burbling bass to shine some light on one of their admirers on The Stroke Of Midnight.

Bayonne composes a tender and relaxing vignette where he uses his alone time to seek out some new inspiration on Blank Cloud.

Alice Merton gathers her courage and wields some driving pop rock to cast off her self-doubt and embark on a new journey on Run Away Girl.

Øresund Space Collective buckle down and lead us on a thirteen minute psychedelic expedition full of cosmic encounters on Snake Fucker (Borelo).

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..:: #64. Katy Perry - Champagne Problems ::..

Unfortunately for Katy Perry, she chose a terrible year to drop a record called Smile, as the title track and other moments of forced positivity contained within did not have the right cultural context to hit correctly. However after digging through the album I was able to find at least one song to take with me through the year. Instead of phony happiness, "Champagne Problems" instead feels like a hard won celebration. It's a shared triumph between partners as they overcome their problems and come out on the other side with a song to belt out together about it. A set of descending disco strings provide an elegant theater for Katy's voice as it echoes against itself to a swinging beat and the dark streak within the orchestral swoops makes her success feel all the more earned.

Best Moment: The final time through the chorus when Katy simultaneously goes up an octave with a set of "oohs" as well as dropping down to layer the ground with some rhythmic "cha-cha cha-chas" at 2:53.

Music Video

The Album [Smile]: 6/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #65. Kero Kero Bonito - It's Bugsnax! ::..

Kero Kero Bonito were between albums this year but that didn't stop them from coming through with a killer tune anyway. "It's Bugsnax!" was created to be the theme song for the game of the same name, and frankly, I feel like this is a perfect way for KKB to get an extra bag on the side. It doesn't feel like selling out when the assignment already calls for something within KKB's cute and bubbly wheelhouse. Bugsnax is a cartoony video game where the player adventures across an island catching various types of creatures and feeding them to the local inhabitants to change their characteristics. The song finds Sarah using her voice to describe the game's lore while Gus and Jamie lay down plenty of their whimsical synths and once we get caught up in the song it doesn't even matter that it's essentially an advertisement.

Best Moment: As usual, the best part of the KKB song is when Sarah drops her uwu sounding "oh-ooh-ooh" post chorus at 1:13 and 2:38.

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #66. The Naked And Famous - Death ::..

If you had told me that The Naked And Famous, a Chvrches analog most known for sparkly vibes and soaring choruses would drop into 2020 with one of the best songs I've heard about death and dying, I probably wouldn't have believed you, but here we are. The aptly named track is a surprisingly serious and somber take on the subject. Alisa Xayalith and Thomas Powers trade lines on what they both find precious in life and what they'd miss most about each other when they're gone while electronic bass and '80s snares and toms pepper the background. The creative way they declare their love while recognizing how fleeting life is really puts into perspective how valuable time with our favorite people really is.

Best Moment: When Alisa breaks out with "The party will still be going / But we have to leave" while Thomas electronically echoes it back to her during the bridge at 2:02.

The Album [Recover]: 6/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #67. LA Priest - What Moves ::..

LA Priest was able to lay down one of the freshest tunes of 2020 with little more than a drum machine, a guitar, and his warbling voice. "What Moves" succeeds not in spite of its minimalist nature, but partially due to it. With few elements making up the song, it helps us focus on the unique guitar vibrations and the feelings behind Samuel Eastgate's singing. He takes the staccato backdrop that he's assembled and uses it to ask us a series of questions while oscillating his voice up and down. What moves us: To act the way we are? To fall into arms? To wish each other harm? All this investigation work makes it clear, LA Priest is quite concerned, and the trepidation he has about our current state is reflected in the instrumentation that wavers and wriggles around us in an oddly satisfying way.

Best Moment: When Samuel swoops into his falsetto to deliver that passionate "I can't take it, anymore / Take it or leave it, I just can't let it go" line at 1:09.

Music Video / Live Video

The Album [Gene]: 6/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #68. Creed Bratton - Chan Chu Toad ::..

Who knew that 2020 would bring Creed Bratton (yes, that Creed Bratton) out of The Office and onto Spotify? I suppose there was a scene of him playing guitar in the show, but it turns out he was also in a real band back in the '60s called The Grass Roots, how about that? Well after hearing "Chan Chu Toad," I now believe it, as the song was clearly written and performed by someone who knows their way around a guitar. It's a delightful ode to those little Chinese money toads, and the music reflects the mystical nature of feng shui charms as Creed includes enchanting touches all throughout the song. There are both Asian influenced string arpeggios as well as some low buzzing harmonica (perhaps to reference frog noises?) and when added to an already well constructed alt-rock song with a grizzled yet steadfast guitar tone, the final results are endearing and captivating.

Best Moment: Each time Creed builds up a touch of dark tension with his guitar and that harmonica during the "Oh, my little Chan Chu toad" line at 0:26, 0:50, and 1:13.

The Album [Slightly Altered]: 6/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #69. Phish - Everything's Right ::..

Phish stopped touring long enough to drop their 14th (depending on how you're counting) studio album in 2020, and this time they took a step back from the overproduced feel on their last record Big Boat and instead just recorded themselves playing live takes at The Barn in Vermont of many songs already in show rotation. My favorite tune is the mid-tempo album centerpiece "Everything's Right" where the band comes together to pair some uplifting reassurance with groovy improvisation. While latter day Phish has been putting out a lot of inspirational themed tunes, this one misses out on feeling too cheesy thanks to the way the repeated mantra snuggles comfortably into the relaxed blues rock cadence and provides a natural launching point for further cosmic exploration. And while Phish doesn't always jam out every song they perform, "Everything's Right" has already established itself as a fairly robust 3.0 jam vehicle, so there are no shortage of live versions to dig into.

Best Moment: Each time Trey's "this world, this world, this cray-zee world I know" leads into Page's little ascending piano stumble in the chorus, first appearing at 2:24.

Live Video

The Album [Sigma Oasis]: 7/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]

..:: #70. Rose City Band - Reno Shuffle ::..

I probably need to stop being surprised whenever I see a new Ripley Johnson project pop up, since between Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo, and Rose City Band, he's dropped something like 12 albums on us in about as many years and they're basically all great. While each of Ripley's projects are plenty psychedelic, this year's selection is as Rose City, which happens to be the organic and folky side of Ripley (to be contrasted by the more rock based Shjips or keyboard based Duo). Most of Ripley's creations also exist to highlight a hallucinatory noodle jam, and "Reno Shuffle" is the best one on Summerlong. The bedrock is made out of a bluesy swagger that's draped with twangy guitar slides and peppered with lounge organ, and partway through the song we even get teased by a standalone guitar solo. But of course that's all just buildup to the jam where the band does what they do best and blissfully floats us away within a tapestry of swirling lights and colors.

Best Moment: When the second guitar sneakily shows up at 3:46 to flutter, echo and intertwine with the first, facilitating our blissful and transformative journey into the sky.

The Album [Summerlong]: 8/10

The Playlist [WEIT?'s 100 Songs Of 2020]