Album of the Week – 02/05/25

If you’ve ever lived on the second floor, you’ll be excited to hear about the return of Suzanne Vega (Flying With Angels).

There are some exciting new sounds from the always impressive Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars, along with The Farm (Let The Music (Take Control)) and Jenny Hval (I Want To Be A Machine).  If you’re a fan of Real Estate (the band, obviously), you’ll be delighted to hear about the release of The Wee Small Hours: B-Sides and Other Detritus 2011 – 2025.

For our album of the week, we’ve gone for Leal… hard not to.

Album of the Week – Lael Neale – Altogether Stranger

You can read our review by Cathy Brown here – “Neale’s Altogether Stranger is a daring, lo-fi songbook that weaves the absurdity and beauty of our fragile world into a captivating tapestry. This concise, meticulously crafted album commands attention with its quiet brilliance, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in its inscrutable, dreamlike allure.”

Lael Neale’s minimalist drone pop draws inspiration from the Transcendentalists, the alienation of modern life, and a rich array of musical influences—ranging from Dionne Warwick and John Lennon to primitive American gospel and Spacemen 3. Her expansive new record, Altogether Stranger, due May 2, was written and recorded in the early morning quiet of Los Angeles. Clocking in at just 32 minutes, the 9-song LP covers an unexpected breadth of musical and lyrical terrain—from garage rock nursery rhymes and creation myths to Motorik dance dirges and solitary Omnichord meditations. A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane, tackling themes of polarity that recur throughout her work—country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, isolation vs. society. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee who helps expand the tonal palette while staying true to Neale’s commitment to the raw immediacy and hand-made intimacy of home recording.

Albums of Note:

— Suzanne Vega – Flying With Angels

— Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars

— The Farm – Let The Music (Take Control)

— Jenny Hval – I Want To Be A Machine

— Real Estate – The Wee Small Hours: B-Sides and Other Detritus 2011 – 2025

Albums Released on May 2nd:

— Andy Bell (of Erasure) – Ten Crowns

— Black Honey Cult – Black Honey Cult

— Bleed – Bleed

— Blondshell – If You Asked for a Picture

— Briston Maroney – JIMMY

— Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars

— Carriers – Every Time I Feel Afraid

— Clem Snide – Oh Smokey

— Club Night – Joy Coming Down

— Eli Winter – A Trick of the Light

— Eric Church – Evangeline vs. The Machine

— Esther Rose – Want

— The Farm – Let The Music (Take Control)

— The Flower Kings – LOVE

— Gentle Giant – Playing The Fool: The Complete Live Experience

— Gringo Star – Sweethearts

— HARDY – COUNTRY! EP

— James Krivchenia (of Big Thief) – Performing Belief

— Jenny Hval – I Want To Be A Machine

— Josh Groban – Gems

— Key Glock – Glockaveli

— Lael Neale – Altogether Stranger

— Låpsley – I’m a Hurricane and I’m a Woman in Love

— L E M F R E C K – We’ve Been Here EP

— Lights – A6

— Lucius – Lucius

— Maddie & Tae – Love & Light

— Mei Semones – Animaru

— Model/Actriz – Pirouette

— Nightfall – Children of Eve

— OMB Peezy & FBLManny – OverKrash

— Personality Cult – Dilated

— Pet Shop Boys – Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live at the Royal Arena Copenhagen

— Pet Symmetry – Big Symmetry

— Pink Floyd – Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXI

— Propagandhi – At Peace

— Puddle of Mudd – Kiss the Machine

— PUNCHBAG – I’m Not Your Punchbag EP

— PUP – Who Will Look After The Dogs?

— Pyramids – Pythagoras

— Real Estate – The Wee Small Hours: B-Sides and Other Detritus 2011 – 2025

— RÜFÜS DU SOL – Inhale / Exhale Remixed

— Sally Potter – ANATOMY

— Samantha Crain – Gumshoe

— Sextile – yes, please.

— Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings – Naturally (20th Anniversary Edition)

— Suzanne Vega – Flying With Angels

— Teether and Kuya Neil – YEARN IV

— Turnover –  Peripheral Vision (10th Anniversary Edition)

— Violets – Violets EP

— Yung Lean – Jonatan

— Yusuf / Cat Stevens – Saturnight: Live From Tokyo