This week Ethel Cain issues avowals of love in the form of a thirteen-minute drone swarm, citing as references the Whore of Babylon and an autobiographical exploration of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films. Yeule the self-styled glitch princess suffers through memory wipes and symptom swipes as she navigates the blurred boundaries between virtual life, self-medication, and self-harm. And on ‘Electra Rex’, the Venezuelan producer Arca skewers Freudian psychosexual complexes by turning the locus of lust and desire on oneself, as she unveils the ‘most incendiary’ third entry in the KiCK universe.
Arca multiplies as one of the angelic holograms on Romeo by Sega Bodega, while paying homage to the Keyboard Fantasies of Beverly Glenn-Copeland with a careful reworking of ‘Let Us Dance’. The bassist Devin Hoff calls on collaborators like Emmett Kelly and Julia Holter to offer a fresh perspective on the music of the folk icon Anne Briggs. And on her latest EP as Land of Talk, the singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell enlists familiar faces Mark ‘Bucky’ Wheaton, Chris McCarron, Pietro Amato, and Erike Hove for a sustained exploration of trauma and isolation, while fuzzy guitar strums, burgeoning brass, and enveloping organ help keep things on an even keel.
The album cycle turns towards the new year with songs by Maya Shenfeld and Nilüfer Yanya. Through a chorus of cymbals, Jenny Hval embarks on a post-apocalyptic road trip and winds up with her first single on 4AD. Drawing an expanding retinue of artists into their interstellar orbit, the Vancouver collective New Age Doom feature Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry as the lead vocalist for a blend of jazz fusion and chasmal post-rock on the dub master’s first posthumous record. Winter arrives with the harpist Nailah Hunter, Rosalía and The Weeknd dice with the sharp edges of fame, and Helm, Irreversible Entanglements, Mess Esque, Apollo Brown, and Shamir complete the roundup of tracks.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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ROSALÍA – ‘LA FAMA’ (feat. The Weeknd)
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Arca – ‘Electra Rex’
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Sega Bodega – ‘Cicada’ (feat. Arca)
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Winter – ‘Lua’ (feat. Nailah Hunter)
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Apollo Brown & Stalley – ‘We Outside’
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New Age Doom & Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry – ‘Step in Space’
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Mess Esque – ‘Wake Up To Yesterday’
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Maya Shenfeld – ‘Body, Electric’
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Charli XCX – ‘New Shapes’
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Ethel Cain – ‘houseofpsychoticwomn’
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Land of Talk – ‘Calming Night Partner’
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Irreversible Entanglements – ‘Lágrimas Del Mar’
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Devin Hoff with Emmett Kelly – ‘Blackwater Side’
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Beverly Glenn-Copeland – ‘Let Us Dance’ (Arca Remix)
