Autumn’s musical sensations are in full sway like leaves turning and falling to the ground. Its first month has come and gone, but like October’s furious dip, it’s only getting crisper. Here’s the best of what’s fresh on New Music Friday.
The best of New Music Friday:
Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
Sufjan Stevens’ expanding and billowing singles have been brought to a new full-length record. It’s the adored artist’s latest triumph, something he’s ridden high on for two whole decades.
Between piano and guitar, Stevens gets folky but builds on nearly each offering on the ten-track album. Javelin offers a combination of musical sweep and emotional breadth.
Javelin is a showcase. Stevens plays many of the instruments heard throughout the LP all on his own, with the exception of additional vocals on harmonies which give tracks fulfilling breath.
The collection also boasts Stevens’ artistic mix. Perhaps an early contender for best album packaging, the physical record comes with 48 page book of Stevens art and essays he penned.
Javelin is also released while Stevens faces an unprecedented illness. He recently opened up about his ongoing battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition where the body’s nervous system cause paralysis. Stevens said he had to be rushed to the ER and has suffered panic attacks. The condition is treatable, and he’s provided uplifting updates to his Instagram. Fans have been supportive of him, and have more reason to do so now that Stevens has shared arguably his best work yet.
Songs like the album’s final single “A Running Start” amplify his expansive style. Stevens is an artist with motif and ability to always pinpoint what makes a song great and then create it for listening ears to get lost in.
A. Savage – Several Songs About Fire
A. Savage is an artist, living and working in Paris, France. The Parquet Courts co-frontman’s second solo album is about many things, namely his breakup with New York City, memories made with friends across the ocean and finding ways to a metaphorical home while living a sobering life as a creative mind in the digital age.
A bit of a far cry from his first solo LP, Thawing Dawn, Savage skips the southern charm (he was born in Denton, Texas) and gets to the avant-garde immediately. Produced by John Parrish and recorded over 10 days with Cate Le Bon and members of her band, Savage’s latest offering is a snapshot in time of a baroque pop sound that isn’t given the spotlight it deserves. Singers like H. Hawkline, Aldous Harding and Devendra Banhart are all making their own splashes in the genre that don’t get much credit in North America. Savage now has graced along that sound in his own way.
“David’s Dead” is about Savage’s unsheltered friend who was crushed to death by a trash compactor while helping someone find a lost item inside a Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn apartment building. It highlights the constant change in the neighborhood he called home for more than a decade. Savage shared that “My New Green Coat” is centered around a layer Le Bon gifted him. As hyper-specific as these songs are, they offer relatable lyrics and charming instrumentation that will make listeners happy. Several Songs About Fire is warming and fall-feely, which Savage says he did on purpose. Cozy up, lean hands closer and enjoy.
New Music Friday top picks:
FIDLAR – “Move On”
GAYLE – “i don’t sleep as good as i used to”
Holly Humberstone – “Kissing In Swimming Pools”
Jeshi – “Paid Partnership”
Parson James – “Little Fires”
Which of these tracks from New Music Friday will you be adding to your favorite playlists today? Any we missed? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
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