Category Archives: New Music

New Music

Pulsar, the New Album from L’Impératrice, Is Out Now

L'Imperatrice Pulsar press photos by Augustin JSM
L’Impératrice (Photo by Augustin JSM)

In April of 2021, I saw L’Impératrice live at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. Three years later, the thing that stands out about that show is how hard everyone danced.. There was one point when singer Flore Benguigui got low and the audience did the same.

I was in the balcony that night and, from my vantage point, I saw a broken heart totem and a crown totem bouncing above bobbing heads. When L’impératrice turned songs from Tako Tsubo, like “Submarine” and “Peur des filles” into full-blown disco jams — the latter sounding like “Love to Love You, Baby”— it felt like the crowd was moving as a single body. Before that night, I had spent more than a month listening to Tako Tsubo  on repeat, partially because I interviewed L’Impératrice for Audiofemme, but also because the album quickly became a favorite of mine for that year. But, L’Impératrice live is a whole other level of wild energy that I hadn’t heard in their recordings, at least until now. 

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New Music

Neutrals, Blood Club and More May 2024 Music

Album cover for New Town Dream by Neutrals released on May 31, 2024

On Memorial Day, right after turning in my last writing assignment of the month, I headed over to Bandcamp and played the new DIIV album. It was the first time I listened to Frogs in Boiling Water.Typically, I don’t like writing about an album unless I’ve given it a few spins, but, in that moment, DIIV resonated with me and I started typing. 

Frogs in Boiling Water is an album that sounds amazing when you’re eyes are about to fall shut at 11:30 a.m. because you had a DJ gig the previous night— your third over the holiday weekend— and you had to wake up early enough to finish some work. That is a very specific situation, but it’s one that I can hear reflected in the tough, hazy sound of the album. This album is not dreamy, as people often refer to shoegaze bands. It’s the sound of pushing forward even when your shoulders slump and you have to close your eyes ever couple minutes.

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New Music

Pet Shop Boys, A Certain Ratio, Brainstory and More April 2024 Music

I’m home on a Thursday night trying to finish a story that I need to turn in tomorrow. Since it’s already tomorrow in the U.K., the new Pet Shop Boys album, Nonetheless, is up on Spotify. So, I listen as I write and I listen again after I decide that 700 words is enough words for now and I can finish that article in the morning, when my eyelids aren’t quite as heavy and the chocolate mini Easter eggs I popped into my mouth one after the other aren’t weighing me down. 

To recap: I flipped over “Loneliness,” the first single and opening track from Nonetheless, when it was released earlier this year. It’s been doing really well in my sets too. It’s a classic Pet Shop Boys club track, the kind of that reminds you that life is sad, but you’re happy on the dance floor. They followed up “Loneliness” with the single “Dancing Star,” which I haven’t played yet, but I do quite like. It’s slightly reminiscent of “Domino Dancing,” which is probably why I picked up that vintage 12” at Rubycon last weekend. 

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New Music, The Playlist

Pet Shop Boys, Optometry, Ride and More New Music

Cover for Interplay 2024 album by Ride
Cover for Ride’s new album, Interplay, which I was listening to for the first time while finishing this post.

It sounds like we’re on the verge of another Pet Shop Boys moment. Or, at least, that’s how I hope 2024 will sound and, judging from the response on the dance floor, the L.A. crowds seem to agree. But, then again, L.A.’s affinity for the British duo has endured since the 1980s. 

In January, I fell for the cover of “Being Boring” by TR/ST, with guest vocals from Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters. Shortly after that dropped, Pet Shop Boys themselves released “Loneliness,” the first single from their forthcoming album, Nonetheless. It’s a gorgeous dance song that reflects the strange isolation of 2020s life. (The Guardian has a good interview with the band, if you’re interested in reading more about Pet Shop Boys’ new music.) Around the same time, I stumbled across a cover of “Rent” that Sally Shapiro released last fall. I wondered how I missed this release last year, then snapped it up on Bandcamp. 

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New Music

Future Islands, TR/ST and More January 2024 Music

Album covers for Future Islands People Who Aren't There Anymore and TR/ST EP
Album covers for Future Islands People Who Aren’t There Anymore and TR/ST EP

It’s Saturday morning on the last weekend of January and I’m listening to the new Future Islands album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore, for at least the third time since it dropped the previous day. I’m thinking about which songs might turn up in my DJ sets soon. I’ve yet to make up my mind. 

Sometimes, I listen to a new release and know immediately which song I’ll claim for my sets. That was the case when I heard TR/ST’s new EP the previous day. I wasn’t even fully awake when I pulled it up on Bandcamp, but was somehow cognizant enough to have very clear opinions on the songs. “Robrash,” which actually came out in December, was an obvious banger, but too stompy for my tastes. “Run,” featuring Cecile Believe, would probably do well on the dance floor, but the vocals give me Electric Daisy Carnival flashbacks, so I’ll pass. That cover of “Being Boring,” though, is gorgeous and exactly what I would play.

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Get This Album Now, New Music, The Playlist

Get This Album Now: Maraschino “Hollywood Piano”

Album cover for Maraschino Hollywood Piano released on March 3, 2023

The summer before the pandemic, my husband and I went to go see The Space Lady at Zebulon. It was a strange night. An earthquake hit while we were eating dinner and watching Skyfall in Spanish at an Armenian restaurant not far from the venue. That might have also been the night at Zebulon that ended with a parking ticket as well, but my memory of pre-pandemic times fails me. Regardless, what I do remember is that we got to Zebulon early enough to catch opener Maraschino, who I had never heard before that night. Her sound, a synth pop-disco hybrid, caught my attention immediately and I’ve been following her work since then. 

The moral of the story is always try to catch the opening act, even on those very strange nights.

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DJ Diary, New Music, The Playlist

This New Disco Remix of “Goo Goo Muck” Is Incredibly Fun

The Cramps "Goo Goo Muck" Disco Muck Extended Mix from Mark James and Peewee Ferris
“Goo Goo Muck” now has a disco edit courtesy of Mark James and Peewee Ferris

I fell in love with a incredibly fun and thoughtful disco take on The Cramps’ 1981 cult hit “Goo Goo Muck” from Mark James and Peewee Ferris this morning. It’s not something I expected to find. In fact, I never considered playing a disco variant of any song by The Cramps. But, that’s likely going to change soon. 

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Music, New Music, The Playlist

I Love These 2022 Albums From Boy Harsher, The Weeknd, Wet Leg and Lots More

Up and Away, The Runner, A Bit of Previous and Wet Leg are four fantastic 2022 albums
Vinyl copies of Up and Away, The Runner, A Bit of Previous and Wet Leg

There was a lot of great music that came out this past year, so much that making a list of the best 2022 albums is a near-impossible task. Fortunately, last year, a good friend gave me a notebook designed for keeping track of music, so I was able to keep decent notes on most of the albums I heard in 2022.  I followed the format of that notebook in putting together this list of albums I love and think you should hear. It’s not short— there are 23 full-length albums listed below— nor is it confined to any single genre. These albums aren’t ranked either. Each listing is followed by a link where you can buy the album.

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