Crucial Releases: October 31

Welcome back to your favorite music newsletter – the place to go when you want your tracks to be crucial™. 😅😂 (hat tip to the Friendship Material podcast)

But seriously though, there are some great records this week. I keep being tempted to lock down my top 25 favorite records for the year, but each week there's something new to tempt my ears. I hope you feel the same way!

This week's feature is one of my favorite bands of all time... Saintseneca. Not only do I think they are one of the most underrated bands going over the last decade plus... they are an amazing live band that I've had the luck of seeing twice in a very small club in Buffalo.

Highwallow & Supermoon Songs (Listen) is Saintseneca's fifth full length album since 2014. Dark Arc and Such Things are absolute classics, so if you like this new release, definitely head to check those two albums as well.

Saintseneca is from Columbus, OH and led by Zac Little, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and artist. Their sound combines traditional Appalachian folk influences with indie rock... which means incorporating instruments like the mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, baglama, organ, synth, lap steel, and of course your standard rock instruments to create a unique brand of indie folk.

The result is something magical. Almost mystical. And Little is the perfect front man for a project like this... his lyrics are usually not straight forward, but they feel allegorical and prescient, especially over top the whimsical folk music they create.

It's fine if you start your Saintseneca journey here (and I hope you like this album as much as I do), but I highly recommend making the whole journey if you do... it's worth it.

Honorable Mentions

s/t by Snocaps (Listen)
Snocaps is the new band by the Crutchfield sisters – Katie, who is better known for being Waxahatchee, and Allison who fronts the band Swearin'. Their last band together was P.S. Eliot... and Snocaps picks up sonically in the place where P.S. Eliot left off, as an indie rock/punk hybrid... while also being influenced by their two current bands (and their growth as songwriters) as well. It's superb.

Everybody Scream by Florence + the Machine (Listen)
There are some great songs on this album – her sixth full length. Songs good enough for me to give serious consideration to adding a second featured album this week. However, I'm not a Florence super fan, so the other songs didn't catch my attention in the same way. An immensely talented artist and the album is definitely worth a listen.

I Heard it's a Mess There Too by Aesop Rock (Listen)
Aesop Rock was one of the Definitive Jux artists I used my eMusic credits on back in the day. Twenty years later, Aesop is still doing his thing... better than ever, as one of the royalty of underground hip hop. And there aren't many lyricists better than him... according to Wikipedia, he has the most unique words in his first 35,000 words as lyrics, with 7,839. 😳

Parade by Work Wife (Listen)
Parade is the full length debut from this Brooklyn band, mixing influences of Waxahatchee, Liz Phair, and Jenny Lewis to make a compelling set of songs. Definitely a band to watch.

Again by The Belair Lip Bombs (Listen)
Nothing groundbreaking, but they write catchy tunes and it's a fun album. If you like any of the FFO references, give this one a shot.

Two Hundred Thousand Dollars by Camp Trash (Listen)
Messy power pop indie rock in the vein of Archers of Loaf and the others mentioned below... a solid album all around.

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