New Releases: September 23rd Edition

Nathan Kamphuis
Sep 23, 2018
3 min read

Updated: Sep 24, 2018

Hey everybody, I'm kicking things off today in the new release section. Over the past few days we've gotten new music from Mumford and Sons, Arkells, Metric, Milo, Shakey Graves, and more!

So let's dig in:

Metric - Art of Doubt (LP)

Metric is back! Despite being one of my favourite Canadian rock bands, Metric's last album Pagans in Vegas in 2015 was a major disappointment to me. The only "good" song that came off of it was "The Shade", and it's arguable whether that song was even good. Luckily, Art of Doubt is a (slightly) different story.

They kicked things off well by releasing the single "Now or Never Now" just prior to the album release. The album features somewhat of a return to their old sound, with light dreamy synths, heavy guitars, and Emily Haines' voice combining to make some decent music. "Dark Saturday" starts things off with a bang,"Now Or Never Now" comes in later with its catchy chorus, and "Underline the Black" is a bit of a hidden gem. Other songs like "Seven Rules" and "Anticipate" disappoint with their overall boring structure.

Overall, it's not a bad album, but I probably won't give anything other than "Now or Never Now" anything more than a third listen.

Arkells - Only For A Moment (Single)

Many fans (myself included) expressed their distaste of Arkells' attempt at stadium rock with their last two singles "People's Champ" and "Relentless". "Only For a Moment" sees Arkells return to their storytelling roots that made them so popular in their hometown and all around Canada, even if that success hasn't carried south of the border very far. It has a lot of parallels to "Leather Jacket" with lines like "You wore my jacket and I carried your purse". Overall, it's a bit boring musically for me, but definitely a decent song.

Mumford And Sons - Guiding Light (Single)

It's good to see that Mumford and Sons have returned a bit of the folkiness to their music with their single "Guiding Light". 2015's attempt at being a rock band took away what a lot of people loved about them, although it did produce a few hits like "Believe" and "The Wolf". They certainly haven't gone back to full Folk band though, I need more banjo if I'm going to get back into their music!

Milo - budding ornithologists are weary of tired analogies (LP)

Milo is back at it again! This time coming at us at a completely different angle than previous albums by choosing to rap almost entirely over top of jazz hooks. I'm amazed to say that I absolutely love it, this album is worthy of multiple full listens. Personal favourites of mine would have to be "stet" and "mid answer trying to remember what the question is", but don't let that stop you from listening all the way through. It's amazing to think that milo can go all the way from something like folk-metaphysics to stet.

The Neighbourhood - Ever Changing (EP)

I'm very off and on when it comes to my liking of The Neighbourhood. "Sweater Weather" was great, there's no denying that, but most of what I've heard since hasn't pleased the ears. The Paradise EP sees four rap features in five songs, all four features being artists I haven't heard of before (Denzel Curry, Nipsey Hussle, Ghostface Killah, IDK), but they all make each song better than they would sound in their absence. Definitely worth a listen, here's the full album.

Vulfpeck - Lost My Treble Long Ago (Single)

Vulfpeck brought the funk on this one, 'nuff said.

Young the Giant - Heat of the Summer (Single)

Apparently Young the Giant thought it made sense to release a song called "Heat of the Summer" on the last day of summer? It's a shame, because this could've made for a good song to play at the beach. Despite a lack of lyrical complexity, it's very catchy, something good to play at parties after the rap boys have passed out and you can claim control of the sound system.

Watsky - All Like Whatever (Single)

This song isn't that great, but the music video is an interesting experience. And Watsky's hair is awesome, so even if you hate the music, you should STILL watch the video. He's going on tour soon, would strongly recommend seeing him if he's near you!

Honourable Mentions:

Shakey Graves - Night Owl Sessions (EP)