Issue 48: Conversations With Women
My favorite October releases, including Tyler, The Creator's CHROMAKOPIA
Welcome back to Band Practice, where the world may seem bleak af, but we continue to create as an act of defiance. A disclaimer to all the new subscribers who made their way here after my punk issue (thank you!): there is no punk today. My taste is eclectic, and this newsletter reflects that. What I choose to share here are albums I love, that I have been keeping on repeat, and that I think are worth your while. Sometimes that’s punk, sometimes it’s pop, or (a lot of times) it falls under the ambiguous catch-all “alternative” category. No genre or artist is off-limits. If that sounds appealing to you, I hope you stick around because we’ve got a great mix of albums today.
First, I must report that I saw Gustaf live earlier this week and can confirm they are even better (and more intense) live than on the album. I told the lead singer, Lydia Gammill, this, to which she replied, “Some day we will bridge that gap!” I wondered if my compliment came off backhanded, but she still signed my record! 🤷♀️ Go see them live if you can. Gammill has a very “snarly David Byrne” stage presence, complete with oversized blazer. I would put a clip in here if my computer didn’t have technology issues, so you’ll just have to trust me that it was a lot of fun.
Anyhoo…kicking off the issue is a 🚨 stop everything you are doing and listen 🚨 album: Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA. I thought about writing a big-ass essay about it but decided against it. There are so many great albums from October, and I wanted to squeeze them all in before my super-secret special issue later this month. So, I wrote a medium-ass essay/review and some quick blurbs about the other three albums to fit them into a well-rounded issue. Win-win? I think so.
Continuing the unintentional feminist streak from the last issue, women’s voices play a strong role in each of the albums I have chosen here—whether they are their own or featured. Now, more than ever, it is important to listen to what they have to say. I hope you do.
Ready to dive in? Swim caps on, goggles suctioned to face—let’s get started!
October’s top album
Tyler, The Creator — CHROMAKOPIA
Hip-hop/Rap/R&B/Soul/Jazz/Nuclear fusion [Released 10/28/24]
When you put on a Tyler, The Creator album, you are not just listening to an album, you are stepping into a new world. There are characters, vivid scenes, and costume changes, with a purposeful concept and narrative. They are cinematic with genre-blurring soundscapes and no limitations. What his artistry has become is not just rapping, singing, or producing; it is big-bang creation. Tyler said let there be light, and there was light. He said let there be dope beats, and there were dope beats. And it was good.
Tyler’s latest world is CHROMAKOPIA, where he takes on the persona of Saint Chroma, a masked individual dressed in military garb, pictured on the album’s cover. The album centers around the theme of “unmasking” and authenticity—something he has been teasing out on his previous albums.1 Military elements, like the sounds of marching footsteps, reflect pressures to give up his individuality. In “I Killed You,” he uses his hair as a metaphor for his identity as a Black man. “Your natural state is threatening / To the point that I point at myself and self-esteem,” he raps.
But it is a line in the track “Tomorrow” that’s at the heart of the project: “I don't like cages, I'd rather be flooded / Thought this shit out, I pop out with that oven / Tell that new version of me that I'm comin’.” It calls to mind a quote from George Lucas, “We are all living in cages with the door wide open.” It is the women in Tyler’s life who encourage him to walk through the door.
Most important to Tyler’s unmasking are the voices of women on the album. Besides Saint Chroma/Tyler, the album’s cast comprises his mother, Bonita Smith, and two women, who are referred to as Jane and Judy (he raps on their behalf). Peppered throughout the tracks are words of encouragement from Smith. “Keep that shit one hundred with you, with yourself. You don't have to put on no costume. You don't ever have to lie to kick it,” she says on “Take Your Mask Off.” In “Hey Jane” and “Judge Judy,” he has two difficult conversations. In the former, he discusses feelings around an unplanned pregnancy with Jane, and in the latter, a woman with whom he had sexual relations informs him of a terminal illness. Both give him the opportunity to rise to the occasion and define himself by his choices.
Sonically, the album parallels Tyler’s unfurling vulnerability. After an explosive start with heavy beats and sub-bass rumbles, a softer side is slowly revealed by the album’s end. It is just as much a soul album as it is a hip-hop album (if you dare try to define it), using throwback R&B stylings from the 1960s, 70s, and 90s (“Darling, I” sounds like it could easily fit on a Boyz II Men album).
Tyler brings on a solid list of collaborators, like Daniel Caesar and ScHoolboy Q, but the standouts are the strong female rappers he invites to the table. Sexyy Red and Glorilla have tight verses on “Sticky,” commanding attention over foot stomps and marching band whistles. And in the upbeat, “Balloon,” Docheii steals the show with her quick humor. “I air this bitch out like a queef / I’ll send your ass back to the streets” she raps.
Tyler stepped through the door of self-acceptance, clear about who he is and confident in his world-building alchemy—thanks, in part, to the women who helped him get there. They encouraged him to find his light, and what he has created from it is a profound new planet in his galactic catalog.
P.S. Put on your best headphones to listen to this album (some parts are whispered).
Tracks on repeat: I Killed You, Sticky, Balloon
Available on Spotify, Apple Music
Also worth a listen
If you still have your Lilith Fair ticket stubs…
Katie Gavin — What A Relief
Alt-Pop/Folk [Released 10/25/24]
This album wins for most on repeat in the past few weeks. As a fan of MUNA, it was an easy sell. Lead singer Katie Gavin’s first solo release is more subdued and self-reflective than MUNA’s indie pop offerings, but is no less infectious. Adding to its lovability is its nostalgic feel. It’s like a compilation of hits from your favorite female alt-pop headliners of the 1990s, and intentionally so, as Gavin has been open about their influence on her writing. The lead single, “Aftertaste,” is a song Alanis Morissette could have easily written, made for singing loudly in a car with your three other personalities—and a perfect banger. The arrangements on “Sanitized” seem to draw inspiration from Fiona Apple à la Tidal and, to throw more 1990s icons into the mix, the moving “The Baton,” infuses the folk-country feeling and feminist spirit of The Chicks. Gavin is a strong songwriter in her own right. Her sincere, relatable lyrics are not a departure from her collaborations in MUNA, but a testament to her authenticity. She didn’t need to find her own voice on this album, she just gave it room to bloom.
Tracks on repeat: Aftertaste, The Baton, Sanitized
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you’re learning to love yourself…
Fashion Club — A Love You Cannot Shake
Art rock/Art pop [Released 10/25/24]
A Love You Cannot Shake is what I imagine the inside of a star would sound like—full of combustive warmth and a bit of fuzzy chaos. In her second solo album after her break from the post-punk band Moaning, Pascal Stevenson (who performs under the moniker Fashion Club) creates big, dreamy sounds while balancing a rock edge and ethereality. “Confusion,” which starts with eerie Twin Peaks synths, becomes a burst of pop-rock bounciness. Fans of Perfume Genius (like me) will not only enjoy some aesthetic alignment but are treated to a duet on the standout single “Forget.” Like Tyler, The Creator, the album is centered around identity and self-acceptance. As a trans woman, she shares songs that reflect on the past, present, and future tense of her transition. In “Deny,” she powerfully sings, “I was pushed against a wall I couldn’t break / Force my body into place, the only image that felt safe,” concluding with, “Now I am wrapped up in a love I cannot shake / And it feels just like a dream, I’d rather die than be awake.” What a gift to be invited into this space.
Tracks on repeat: Faith, Confusion, One Day
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
If you need to unclench your jaw…
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn — Quiet in a World Full of Noise
Ambient/R&B/Soul [Released 10/4/24]
I can think of no better album for a time such as this. Who doesn’t need some quiet right now? This is the second collaboration between R&B singer/songwriter Dawn Richard and musician Spencer Zahn, whose compositions fall under the classical crossover/ambient realm (he put out a lovely pair of albums last year). Richard’s restrianed vocal stylings are set to sparse arrangements that are often not more than a few wispy strings and delicate droplets of piano. Richard’s lyrics read like thoughts quickly jotted down on a paper napkin—an observation, a memory, a prayer. The album follows recent trauma for Richard, as she mourns the loss of a cousin, and filed a lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual assualt earlier this year. In that light, songs like “Life in Numbers” and “Breath Out” feel like self-care. “One time, one time is all I need to tell myself / ‘It's okay, girl, you can cry now,’” she speaks breathily in “Life in Numbers.” Richard and Zahn generously offer that self-care to the listener: 38 minutes of stillness in a world that feels oppressively loud.
Tracks on repeat: Traditions, Life In Numbers, Breath Out
Available on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp
Coming up
Up next is a special issue in honor of my upcoming milestone birthday with some throwback albums. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it. I have a lot going on this month, so it’s going to arrive ~sometime~ before December. Thanks in advance for your patience.
The playlist!
If you’re new to Band Practice, I keep one big running playlist of my favorite songs from every new album I listen to throughout the year (one each). The latest batch contains picks from October’s 31 albums. It starts with the gorgeous soul number from Leon Bridges, “Peaceful Place” (scroll to track #258 or search for it within the playlist in Apple Music). Other highlights include one of the best tracks off the brat remix album, “Apple,” featuring The Japanese House, and the tender “Caroline” from Laura Marling’s latest release (which is another lovely album that deserves your ears). 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.
Was this the all-time most chaotic performance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon?
In IGOR’s “RUNNING OUT OF TIME,” he raps, “Take your mask off, I need her out the picture / Take your mask off, stop lyin' for these n****s / Stop lyin' to yourself.”
Yes that was indeed a chaotic performance. The woman in the hospital gown getting yelled at kinda worried me.
My Spotify algorithm is about to get really confused. Thank you, Beebe!