Welcome back to Band Practice for my first batch of 2024 album reviews! I listened to 21 new releases in January and I’m excited to share the best of the best with you. In this issue, we’ll look at Orquídeas from Latin R&B/pop sensation Kali Uchis, Big Sigh from alternative singer/songwriter Marika Hackman, and What an enormous room from indie rock visionary TORRES.
If you read my previous special Grammy issue, you’ll be happy to know that while none of my choices for the big four categories won, 8/10 of my other picks took home an award including Laufey’s Bewitched and Victoria Monét’s Jaguar II, so I feel [sung in my best Dashboard Confessional voice] vindicated.
It was a strong night for female artists—who swept the big four categories (Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Victoria Monét respectively) and many others. It was also a (mostly) strong night for performances and…awkward acceptance speeches. You can read all sorts of recaps and takeaways elsewhere, but, I highly recommend watching the best moment of the night: Tracy Chapman’s long-awaited return to the Grammys stage to sing her timeless hit “Fast Car” alongside country singer Luke Combs. Nothing came close to topping that.
The Grammys got me thinking…and Condé Nast’s recent decision to restructure Pitchfork under GQ got me thinking even more…about the spaces where we discover and share music. Before we jump into reviews, I want to talk about it.
Intro
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that there are only certain places to find good music. I am tired of the snobbery. I saw it a lot surrounding the Grammys (it’s not real music…they’re all autotuned…blah blah blah). Yes, the Grammys focus almost exclusively on the mainstream (at least in the big categories), but so many viewers tune in to the award show and get introduced to artists they haven’t heard of before like Karol G, Victoria Monét, and SZA (idk, maybe you haven’t heard of SZA?). So much of it is good music!
Snobbery is also the reason why I wasn’t totally devastated when Condé Nast announced that they were folding Pitchfork into GQ. As someone who writes about music, I do appreciate Pitchfork’s mission and much of their writing, and I have found a lot of great music through them, but there is also a lot about it that feels pretentious and inaccessible. And the (99% of the time) bros in the comments trying to gatekeep music is more than offputting. So, on the one hand, mainstream music isn’t “cool” enough, and on the other, you’re facing snobs trying to gatekeep everything else.
Listening to the radio there is also a divide between “top 40” and indie radio and never the twain shall meet. If mainstream avenues are “uncool” and indie sources are riddled with gatekeeping and inaccessibility, where do we find good new music?
My advice? Diversify. Look everywhere. That’s what I do. Music streaming service algorithms are still helpful for discoveries and I have found many albums this way (even though there’s a chance that they’ll keep recommending the entire Cocomelon catalog because you played one album for your kids). And do not discount TikTok for discovering new music! There are people all over the globe giving recommendations in easily digestible snippets (that’s some foreshadowing for a later issue). And reading the New York Times music section, Rolling Stone, and even Pitchfork are still great places to start if you can ignore the comments and overwrought language.
But I also think that (not to toot my own horn, but I will) newsletters are a great place to start. More personalized recommendations from a real human who isn’t writing about something just because it’s big—or small—are what we need more of in the future. I found several of the albums that I listened to this month by reading
by music writer Josh Terry including Lily Seabird’s Alas, and Katie Kirby’s Blue Raspberry (I included songs from both in the playlist at the end of this issue). And NYT music critic Lindsay Zoldaz puts out an enjoyable newsletter of playlists that always has some gems.Here at Band Practice, I try to create a middle space between mainstream and indie. I will recommend a Taylor Swift album if I love it. I will also recommend an album from an obscure South Korean shoegaze artist if I love it. I don’t care what label it’s from or where it’s played. If it’s good, it’s good and it deserves a mention. No gatekeeping here. 🙅♀️ With that said, I have an album that debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and two albums from indie labels. I think they are equally deserving of your ears and I hope one—or more—of them catches your interest.
My top three albums of January
If you are feeling your oats…
Kali Uchis — Orquídeas
Latin/R&B/Pop [Released 1/12/24]
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Kali Uchis is a divine goddess sent to Earth to sing the songs of the heavens. With a vocal range that peaks in the whistle register, and delivery so smooth and sultry, she could sing pages out of a phone book (are those still a thing?) and they would still seem divinely blessed. In her fourth studio album, the Colombian-American singer/songwriter highlights the Latin side of her R&B/pop stylings. It is a companion album to last year’s mostly English Red Moon In Venus (I wrote about it last March, and I promise I wouldn’t write about the same artist twice if I didn’t think they were deserving.)
In Red Moon In Venus, she “wished us roses” in a velvety throwback to funk and soul. Orquídeas (Spanish for orchids) is a more complex flower. The album is full of sensuality and passion, unveiling a more confident Uchis—lyrically and vocally. In “Te mata”—a fiery bolero number—she sings about freedom from a toxic relationship and reclaiming her power while giving one of her best vocal performances to date. Reggaeton is also in the mix with the cheeky “Muñekita” (“watch out, she'll walk you like a dog, woof, woof,” she sings), alongside pop and R&B bangers “Perdiste” and “Young Rich & In Love,” ushering in a new, more diverse era for the artist.
Uchis might describe herself as the “diosa total” (total goddess), but the album is a roll call for Latin music royalty. There are many delightful duets featuring recent Grammy winners Peso Pluma (in my favorite “Igual Que Un Ángel”) and Karol G, as well as Latin Grammy winner Rauw Alejandro. (Uchis should have been celebrated among them this year and I’m going to stay salty about it.)
There is so much spice and flavor to be found on this album. If you listen to it while you cook, I promise you your food will taste better.
Tracks on repeat: Igual Que Un Ángel, Te Mata, Muñekita
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
If you could use some relief…
Marika Hackman — Big Sigh
Alternative [Released 1/12/24]
Creation is oftentimes painful. There are few artists I know who birth their art into the world without blood, sweat, and tears. (If you’re part of those few: please, what’s your secret?) Maria Hackman described Big Sigh as the “hardest record” she’s ever made.1 The English singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist spent five years trying to make it while coming up against creative blocks and, well, a pandemic. What she produced is an artfully crafted, cohesive album full of sharp songwriting and meticulous arrangements.
Hackman describes her lyrics as “gnarly,” which is best supported by emotionally charged tracks like “Hanging.”2 “And my heart won't grow / with your fingers down my throat,” she sings. In the chilling “Blood,” a haunting chorus slithers from her lips, “'cause you want to drink my blood.” But at the seams of the album are her “big sighs” of relief like the piano-driven instrumental “The Lonely House,” and the acoustic “The Yellow Mile.” And, of course, there’s the opening track, “The Ground,” which tees up the star of the album, “No Caffeine.”
“The Ground” provides a bit of orchestral misdirection with a delicate mix of piano, electronic whirrings, and strings. It builds and builds and then, like in the drop of a trap door, “No Caffeine” emerges with a nagging piano melody, fizzy guitar line, and buoyant drumming—later joined by a funk-rock horn section. Hackman said it’s about the “relentlessness of anxiety,” conveyed through one big to-do list.3 (I appreciate the line item to “make an herbal tea.” Always practical advice.) The sound of these two tracks is carried throughout the album—threading big sighs and big emotions together one skillful stitch at a time.
This was one of the first albums I listened to each year and it has only gotten better with each listen.
Tracks on repeat: No Caffeine, Blood, The Yellow Mile
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you feel like life is full of possibility…
TORRES — What an enormous room
Indie Rock [Released 1/26/24]
There are many similarities between Marika Hackman and American singer/songwriter Mackenzie Scott (who performs under the name TORRES). Sonically, they’re like how eyebrows should be: siblings but not twins, both dwelling within the nebulous category of alternative rock. Both are multi-instrumentalists who can easily conjure a biting lyric and used their albums to explore themes around anxiety. And they both coincidentally reference “caffeine” in their lyrics (see: Forever home). Where Scott (who uses they/them pronouns) sets themselves apart is in their flair for the dramatic. The drama and the ingenious details that they put into this album are what made it an immediate hit for me.
In an interview with The Big Takeover, Scott said that they are “not really precious about process,” when it comes to songwriting—they allow themselves to experiment and take risks, and those risks pay off.4 The onomatopoeic arrangement of the opening track (a strutting beat perfectly matches the lyrics), the spiraling riff in, “Life as we don’t know it,” growling vocals in “Collect,” and the David Byrne-esque delivery in “Jerk into joy” are all moments of brilliance.
The album builds to the jubilant “Jerk into joy”—a spot of pure brightness that has stuck with me the most out of any song I’ve listened to this year. Whimsical percussion, sturdy guitars, and spirited vocals evoke freedom from limitations. “What an enormous room / look at all the dancing I can do,” they sing. Scott describes the meaning of the song in their own words, “an enormous room to me is just a feeling. It’s like, ‘I have so much space to think and to imagine.’ The second part of that lyric is ‘Look at all the dancing I can do.’ It could mean physical dancing but it could also be like ‘Look at all the possibilities I can imagine.’”5 Scott’s imagination is what makes the album so captivating. I already know that it will be kept in rotation throughout the year.
Tracks on repeat: I got the fear, Collect, Jerk into joy
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
Coming up
There is some potentially great music coming up in the next month or so. I’m particularly looking forward to albums from Brittany Howard (released today!), IDLES, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and many others. Make sure you’re subscribed to find out what my favorites are.
The playlist!
The time for the 2024 Band Practice master playlist has come! This will be a running list of my favorite songs from every new album I listen to throughout the year (one each). (Disclaimer: I include songs whether I like the album or not.) There are 21 songs for you to peruse so far. Make sure NOT to skip over “Niñx” by Chilean-French rapper Ana Tijoux and the trippy “Bending Hectic” from The Smile. Happy listening!
Albums of 2024 - Apple Music playlist
Albums of 2024 - Spotify playlist
I love hearing what you have to say! If you have feelings about this issue, questions for me, album recommendations, or any other thoughts, send them my way by leaving a comment or replying to this email. You can also reach me at bandpracticenewsletter@gmail.com
Source: Apple Music
Source: Apple Music