Errandboy

Super underrated Elliott Smith project. No Name #3 will forever be my favorite song of his, it's so goddamn pretty and delicate.

With a singles like the oddball 'Since C.A.Y.A' and the uncharacteristicly lavish and catchy 'Shine a Light', which with each passing day is cementing itself as my track of the year, I was expecting this to be a homerun for Shabazz Palaces. Unfortunately, while the first five tracks display the group firing on all cylinders, I can't help but feel the back end lacks the normal Shabazz Palaces aura (except Fine Ass Hairdresser is solid). As a fan, the lack of consistency is kind of disappointing, ... read more

Beach Fossils follow up their darkest release with a much brighter and sunnier take on dream pop, and it's absolutely lovely. I wasn't too hot on the singles at first, but as I listened and relistened I found myself beginning to sing along and buy into the stylistic change. And boy, the strings placed on some of these tracks add another level to Beach Fossil's sound. In all, Somersault is a smashing success for the band and made the four year wait leading to its release worth it.

The sloppy delivery of these songs either turns out some odd and genius lo-fi hypnagogic pop or just pure shit. Listening through the whole album can feel like a test to get to the songs I do enjoy, but again, the bright spots are fantastic.