Eye on Indie is a weekly column in which Emerald writer Alex Ruby provides his picks for the best indie albums to watch for in the upcoming week. This week’s selections include releases from Joyce Manor, Hazel English, Hiss Golden Messenger and GOAT. All titles are set for release on Oct. 7.
Joyce Manor: Cody (Epitaph Records)
The indie pop-punkers are back with their fourth album and this time they sound like a real band. Even though it sounds like it, this is not an insult; Joyce Manor have always made good music, but this time around, Barry Johnson and company sound more refined and cohesive, but don’t worry because they retained their signature raw energy from past albums like Never Hungover Again and their self-titled debut. Cody has some of the most creative and conversational lyrics in their discography, like on the anthemic single “Fake I.D.” when Johnson belts, “What do you think about Kanye West? I think he’s great, I think he’s the best/ Yeah, I think he’s better than John Steinbeck I think he’s better than Phil Hartman.”
Even more evidence of Joyce Manor becoming a “real” band: the songs are actually longer than two minutes this time (with the exception of two). One even cracks the four minute mark, making it the longest Joyce Manor song to date. For some longtime fans, this may seem like a betrayal of their raucous punk sound, but this is clearly an evolution of that sound. It’s as if all the great pop punk acts of the nineties and early aughts (think Third Eye Blind, Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World) came together to create a great indie rock record, and for that we are endlessly grateful.
Listen if you like: The Front Bottoms, The Hotelier, Modern Baseball, Title Fight, Algernon Cadwallader
Hazel English: Never Going Home (Marathon Artists)
Hazel English is one of those artists that make you think of other sunny indie pop bands but then you realize it doesn’t matter because they’re so good. She makes shimmering, summer-loving synth-based music that will transport listeners to another place entirely; she even says so on Marathon Artists’ website. English takes you from the sun-kissed beaches of California to the hazy, nostalgic landscapes of your daydreams. Now that the dreary, rainy season is underway in Eugene, we desperately need music to power us through these cold months. But her instrumentals and aesthetics aren’t the only things that are appealing, her personal lyrics are as well. In her single “It’s Not Real” she tells herself and her listeners to “keep it real,” and on “Never Going Home,” she reminds us all of the difficult times when we’ve had to move away from home. While English is originally from Australia like her label mate Courtney Barnett, she seems right at home right here on the west coast.
Listen if you like: Alvvays, Beach Fossils, Real Estate, Sharon Van Etten, Diiv
Hiss Golden Messenger: Heart Like A Levee (Merge Records)
Do you miss the classic Southern folk rock of the Byrds, John Denver, and Buffalo Springfield? Then Heart Like A Levee is the album for you; however, MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch’s latest project isn’t exactly classic rock. It’s more alternative country than anything else, featuring bluesy finger-picking and a slight Southern twang. And even though Taylor and Hirsch were part of the hardcore punk outfit Ex-Ignota, they make music that can apply to a wide audience causing Taylor’s lyrics to reach everyone’s souls. On Merge Records’ website, Taylor described the process behind making Heart Like A Levee, saying that the songs were written at a time when he was being “wrenched apart” by his responsibilities both to his family and to his music. Knowing that these songs come from a place of personal turmoil may turn some off, but most will want to bear witness to Hiss Golden Messenger’s struggle through song.
Listen if you like: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Nick Drake, Songs: Ohia
GOAT: Requiem (Sub Pop)
By far the most experimental release of the week, Requiem is the Swedish psych-rock collective’s third album and, according to them, their version of a folk record. The mysterious, anonymous group also claims to be from Korpilombolo, a town in Sweden that supposedly has a history of voodoo worship, witch doctors and strange cults. The band’s history gets even stranger, as apparently this is only one incarnation of the group known as GOAT, which has been recording for the past 30 or 40 years. The music this off-beat band makes is both riotous and rhythmic; it’s off-kilter and exactly on point. The single “Union of Mind of Soul” is a perfect example of its creative musical combination. It’s a mixture of near-screeching vocals, energetic instrumentation, and harmonious melodies. For all the costumes, masks and bizarre history, there’s no doubt that GOAT takes its music very seriously.
Listen if you like: Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Pond, Temples