OFM July’s New Music
This month’s must-catch new music releases from the artists you already love and the musicians you need to know.
Lizzo
Special
The queen of pop is back with a collection of clever bangers on her latest effort, an album of love songs she took three years to perfect. With music currently occupying a space of retro cool in our culture, Special serves as both a lightning rod and catalyst, is this bold, or does it just look like it? out as a timely, genre-defining work. Once again, Lizzo, a perpetual underdog despite her success, reminds us how great she is with songs like “About Damn Time” and the title track threading Diana Ross, Euro disco, Stax Records warmth, 60s-era funk soundscapes, and Lizzo’s own distinct sensibilities into something that cannot be denied or imitated. Make no mistake: This is the soundtrack of this, and every other, summer.
Releases July 15
Beabadoobee
Beatopia
With a title taken from a fantasy world created by singer Bea Kristi, the collection is choc-a-bloc with more dreamy, post-Smashing Pumpkins indie pop goodness heard on Fake It Flowers. Here, Kristi doubles down on the 90s nostalgia, and incorporates pitch-perfect mimicry of the crackling production and fuzzy guitar effects heard on great releases by My Bloody Valentine and The Breeders. There’s a charm in her ability to keep the songs from sounding contrived, and the range and power of tracks like “Lovesong” and “Talk” remind the listener why Beabadoobee is breaking out at summer festivals, so we recommend checking out the band now before tickets sell out for future tour dates.
Releases July 15
Black Midi
Hellfire
The groovy tom-drum pattern and strutting bassline of lead single, “Welcome to Hell,” perfectly set up the listener for what to expect. Brimming with 70s New York swagger, Black Midi takes us for a walk through Lou Reed-era punk, replete with descriptions of dirtbags that could work for 80s cocaine hustlers to modern politicians. The third album from the trio finds the band hitting its stride and is a can’t miss for anyone looking to scratch the itch left by Jawbreaker, Rancid, and, yes, The Velvet Underground. Put this on at a party you want to get started, but one you need to survive in case that cute someone across the room wants to talk late into the night.
Releases July 15
Beach Bunny
Emotional Creature
Delightful vocal caterwauling and the fizzy pop-punk backing of singer Lili Triffilio help the sophomore release from this Chicago group to make a fine splash. Songs like “Oxygen” and “Fire Escape” situate themselves in the space occupied by bands that red rovered between the bite of blink-182 and the beautiful sincerity of Helium or Velocity Girl. This record is for listeners who have found themselves standing at Illuminati Hotties shows and wondering what it would sound like if Sarah Tudzin started a supergroup with Aimee Mann and J Mascis. Give this a listen if you’re waiting for the real return of late-90s rock.
Releases July 22
Viagra Boys
Cave World
Kraftwerk has a meet-cute with post-surf rock punk on the new tunes offered up by the lads of Viagra Boys. Campy in the best possible way, intentionally dumb tracks like “Troglodyte” use the song-as-insult approach perfected by acts like The Ramones to bridge the gap between the influences of the band and the current era. Elsewhere, “Ain’t No Thief” and other tracks invite the listener to dance all night to party-friendly beats that wouldn’t be out of place at a 90s rave. Timeless in a way that’s hard to capture, Cave World will make you want to get out your beetle boots, which are easier to dance in than your Doc Martens.
Releases July 8
Superorganism
World Wide Pop
Four years after their self-titled debut, Superorganism are back with an electric set of eclectic, world-beat inspired jams. Stephen Malkmus, Dylan Cartlidge, Gen Hoshino, Chai, and Pi Ja Ma all make appearances, but it’s the core talent (now without certain problematic members) of the band that makes tracks like “On & On” sensational, addictive listens. The album, which explores the theme of the infinite versus the intimate, takes the listener on a truly gorgeous journey that is best experienced while wearing headphones in a room with the lights off at 2 a.m. Come for the ambiance, but stay for the brilliant sense of having been on a perfectly executed adventure you’ll feel after listening.
Releases July 15
