SWEEP FREQUENCY #381: Days of Future Past
New tunes by Chris Cohen, Our Girl, Fana Hues, Rui Gabriel, Museum of Love, and more...
OPENING RIFF:
"A pile of stones: an assertion
that this piece of country matters
for large and simple reasons.
A mark of resistance, a sign." -- Adrienne Rich, "A Mark of Resistance"
OPENING RIFF: When I started running out of things to watch during the pandemic, I mined deep into my childhood by watching the X-Men animated series I'd spent so many Saturday mornings watching in the '90s. While my rose-tinted memory had erased just how bad the animation and some of the dialogue was, I still felt riveted checking in with my old mutant friends again, and I found the occasional moment of political righteousness that must have burrowed in my brain from a young age. I bring this up for two reasons: one is that this essay for Defector by Asher Elbein uses Magneto as a through line for some of the most profound writing on Jewish identity and diaspora in recent memory, one that ponders just what "never again" means and to whom. The other reason I bring it up is that the cartoon's reboot and continuation, X-Men '97, started out in its first few episodes as a pleasant enough nostalgia trap, but has quickly evolved into something much more profound and riveting throughout its airing in the past few months. Those moments of political righteousness are both louder and more unintentionally speaking to this exact moment in time. Incredible action set pieces are often followed by speeches that I can't stop myself from feeling moved by, especially as the destruction we see in the real world brings a profound sense of déjà vu that we, as a character on the show says, always end up in the same ugly place. Beyond that, I rounded out my poem-a-day habit in April with the above from Adrienne Rich as well as Hieu Minh Nguyen, Muriel Rukeyser, Jack Spicer, and Refaat Alareer. Let's get to this week's new music.
Nearly Every Song From Every 2024 Newsletter Will Be Available in Playlist Form: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
1. CHRIS COHEN - "DAMAGE": I'd recently been wondering when we'd get another collection of soothing indie rock from Chris Cohen, and he's now delivering with the announcement of his first record in five years. While there's still masterful guitar work on "Damage," Cohen opts to go acoustic for this one alongside sophisticated, jazzy arrangements that provide an interesting contrast as he sings about violence in its most imperialist forms.
2. OUR GIRL - "RELIEF": Speaking of long waits between albums, Our Girl decided not to rush the follow-up to their debut album, and their sophomore record is apparently imminent six years later. Feeling like a signal of intent, "Relief" feels both bouncy and cathartic, the kind of patiently moving rock jam that is handled with care and brimming with a sense of earned freedom.
3. FANA HUES - "PAPER TIGERS": Fana Hues has worked with some truly rad people over the past few years, but her solo work has been especially breathtaking, something you'll agree with once you listen to "Paper Tigers." Starting out as a proper R&B groover, this track magnificently shifts gears with a psyched-out, soaring chorus that feels powerfully romantic.
4. RUI GABRIEL - "SUMMERTIME TIGER": Rui Gabriel is one of the main dudes behind local alt-rock heroes Lawn, and his solo album is shaping up to be pretty special. With newsletter fav Stef Chura contributing vocals, "Summertime Tiger" is a breezy jam that takes aim at both hollow calls for self-improvement in times of anxiety as well as the New Orleans service industry's dreaded "slow season."
5. MUSEUM OF LOVE - "LOOK OF DISGUST": For the second week in a row, an LCD Soundsystem member has dropped a new banger to satiate my thirst for summer dancer floor sounds, with this time belonging to drummer Pat Mahoney alongside the great Jee Day. "Look of Disgust" is technically the B-side to the just-released "After Us," but it feels uniquely anxiety-inducing, a piece of dark disco that wouldn't have felt out of place at the Mudd Club.
PARTING SHOTS: Much love and solidarity with the Tulane students and professors facing suspension and arrest over their peaceful protests, and the same to everyone else around the country. RIP to Paul Auster, who left his mark regardless of how you feel about him. When the Olympics come around, I'm starting to think more of you will know the name Fiona O'Keeffe. Things certainly feel bleak right now, but we should celebrate the return of net neutrality and the elimination of non compete clauses.
ENCORE: "CONTORT YOURSELF"