Music Wrap: The must-listen-to tracks and albums from July

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGIA WALLACE
WORDS BY ELIZA SHOLLY

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Insert the ‘Heeeeey, how y’all doin?’meme because it’s been a while since I’ve written here. Call me lazy, call me busy, call me whatever you want just please keep reading because I love this column and can’t bear to lose it. For me, this month has been all about dopamine.

Looking for more music-centric content? Try our Music section.

I’m chasing it, revelling in it when I find it, and only saying yes to things that inspire it. Food, events, music, social gatherings – if happiness isn’t at the forefront, I am putting it back. I encourage you to do the same and enjoy all the albums and tracks hand-selected by yours truly. Unless you’re in Europe right now, in which case I have most likely muted you.

Eliza & the Delusionals – Now and Then

Now and Then, the debut album from North NSW band Eliza & The Delusionals, may have come out in May but that won’t stop me from singing its praises (albeit belatedly). When trying to find out the exact release date for this project, I read a laughable album review on Pop Matters.

The writer claimed that “Eliza & The Delusionals feel like they have the potential to be a successful band, but they need some serious assistance on their songwriting”. With (semi) respect to the writer and his (non-nuanced) opinions, I wholeheartedly disagree.

The beauty of this album is its nonchalant approach to pop-punk, eradicating the gatekeeping guitar solos and kaleidoscopic lyrical metaphors. If, unlike that writer, you’re interested in a female-fronted Australian band doing cool shit, download the album and buy a concert ticket.

Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights

A few years ago, I saw The Internet – the band Steve Lacy sings and plays the guitar in – live at the Sydney Opera House. It was a legitimately transcendent experience. He wore a Dries Van Noten fur coat and hypnotised us all with each vocal riff and finger pluck. ‘Obviously, he’s special,’ I thought to myself.

As a teenager, he scored Grammy nominations and booked recording sessions with Solange and Ezra Koenig, all thanks to his own brand of ‘bare maximum’ (aka bedroom records and fiddling around on GarageBand).

In the years since, his star has continued to rise, culminating in the release of this second studio album, Gemini Rising. According to press releases, the inspiration came from breaking up with a boyfriend, and the turbulence of his headspace when with other lovers. It’s an in-love and breakup album all at once, filled with his signature crooning cocktail sounds of rock, funk, and R&B.

Heardle Rewind

Ever since the arrival of Wordle, there have been a few puzzle games cropping up online to pass the time between emails and Slack messages. Heardle is one of them.

It relies more heavily on trivia and memory than many of the others, tasking players with guessing a song based on one second/note of the intro. You get six guesses, with each hint revealing more and more. The song changes daily, ranging from obscure one-hit wonders to top 40 classics.

A few weeks ago, Spotify acquired the game, and released a playlist in conjunction. It’s fun, and a good tool for musical discovery with other humans around the world. Follow it here.

Jitwam – Third

New York-based producer and vocalist Jitwam is the kind of musician you hear on a playlist between Folamour and Tom Misch at a cafe that doesn’t serve regular milk. But reducing him to anything one-dimensional would be a disservice to yourself.

A mainstay of the underground, Third grants him the space to expand on his beat-making and production, fusing samples from his adventures all over the world (New York, London, Sydney, India) while elevating his craft to an exciting new level.

Over 10 tracks, Jitwam gives the headiness of soulful house with modulated vocals and traditional instrumentation. ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ seems like the track most readily-accepted thus far so perhaps begin there.

Cassettes For Kids – Turpins Falls

I don’t know exactly when this column started turning into a Cassettes For Kids fan musing, but here we are. His new EP Turpins Falls arrived last week and is named after a natural water hole along the Campaspe River.

The EP holds its own through a variety of highs and lows. There are evocative synths, swinging bass lines, varied percussion and bouncy vocals. Give it a go for an intimate insight into one of Australia’s most talented and prolific producers.

New releases that are good

Genesis Owusu – ‘GTFO’

Loyle Carner – ‘Hate’

JW Francis – ‘Sweet As A Rose’

Dua Saleh – ‘Chosen’

Zacari ft. Isaiah Rashad – ‘Bliss’

Leo Pol – ‘Petrosian’

Beabadoobee – ‘Sunny Day’

Molly Millington – ‘Outcast’

Not new but still good

So Solid Crew – ’21 Seconds’

Yuvan Shankar Raja – ‘Unnakaagathane Inthauriyrullathu’