New Playlist: August 2023

Coming slightly later than usual (Labor Day happened, I didn’t want to try to cram an extra long post in a short week, I’m busy sometimes, et cetera), here is the Rosy Overdrive August 2023 round-up and playlist. Almost everything here is from this year, and it’s all great music! Tell a friend about it! Listen to it on your way to work! Find the song of the summer!

Bands who get multiple songs on this playlist: Star 99, Ruler, Onesie, and Gaadge (good call on those four, me).

Here is where you can listen to the playlist on various streaming services: Spotify, Tidal, BNDCMPR (missing a song). Be sure to check out previous playlist posts if you’ve enjoyed this one, or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.

“Shamble”, Curling
From No Guitar (2023)

On their first album in five years, the trans-Pacific duo Curling offer up a record that reflects their love of vintage 60s-esque, heavily-tinkered-with studio pop rock, without straying too far from the more math rock-y sound of their previous music. From the beginning of No Guitar, Tokyo’s Jojo Brandel, San Francisco’s Bernie Gelman, and drummer Kynwyn Sterling all co-anchor a somewhat offbeat but still incredibly catchy power pop group. Once opening track “Shamble” kicks in, everyone is working in lockstep to land hooks–the delivery of “Holy shit, someone needs to kick my ass” is quite an achievement in particular. Read more about No Guitar here.

“Vegas”, Star 99
From Bitch Unlimited (2023, Lauren)

Bitch Unlimited, the debut album from San Jose’s Star 99, has that unmistakable sound of early 2010s indie-pop-punk–the quartet is comprised of Bay Area music veterans, which makes sense given this fact. Bitch Unlimited is ten songs and 26 minutes long, and just about every second of it is crammed with hooks–including up to the final buzzer with closing track “Vegas”. Co-frontperson Saoirse Alesandro offers up several memorable lines on the track (“Poured a glass of water out, it was calcium and lead / An opportunity to recognize that my brain’s a harbinger of death,” is how the track opens, and “They’re lying to us through maps / They’re lying to us through maps,” is just as key) as the band blast through a fizzy, medicated indie rock song. Read more about Bitch Unlimited here.

“Is It in My Head”, The Symptones
From The Symptones (2023)

On their self-titled sophomore album, Minneapolis five-piece group The Symptones make an indie rock record with a party energy stretching beyond their relative obscurity. The band dig through power pop, soul, R&B, and Springsteenian heartland rock–not everything on The Symptones is “up my alley”, but when it hits–like on side two highlight “Is It in My Head”–it’s undeniable. On this song, The Symptones build a two-minute pop rocker that’s bursting with hooks from the beginning, Taylor Tuomie’s sincere vocals really selling things over a nice, big pop song chord progression.

“Have Nots”, Blues Lawyer
From Sight Gags on the Radio (2023, Dark Entries)

It’s been an eventful 2023 for Blues Lawyer. They put out a full-length, All in Good Time, back in February (it’s one of my favorite albums of the year, by the way), and co-founder Rob I. Miller put out a solo record that’s just about as good a couple months later. Blues Lawyer are back again with a 7” EP that comes out at the end of September–and the first single from Sight Gags on the Radio is Blues Lawyer at their best. “Have Nots” finds the band on the fuzzy end of the indie pop spectrum, with distorted guitars punching up Miller and Elyse Schrock’s vocals. The song takes a detour towards the wild and noisy in its bridge, but the band guide it back to its pop beginnings effortlessly.

“Someday I’ll Go Surfing”, Diners
From Domino (2023, Bar/None)

On Domino, her latest album, Diners’ Blue Broderick takes a turn for the louder, rockier, and full-band-embracing. Aided by producer Mo Troper and guitarist Brenden Ramirez, Broderick made “the rock record that [she] always wanted to make”, and songs like “Someday I’ll Go Surfing” are all the richer for it. Diners find a higher gear here–it’s a breezy track that’s power pop in its purest form, hooky and sturdy. Like countless other power pop classics, “Someday I’ll Go Surfing” has plenty going on under its hood, as its title line takes on a kind of meditative quality. Would recommend checking the song’s video out too. Read more about Domino here.

“Welcome”, Downhaul
(2023)

“Welcome” is apparently the cap on Downhaul’s 2023. The slick “The Riverboat” came out in February, while May marked the release of the four-song (or “12-minute song with four suites”) Squall EP–“Welcome” is the final song from the same sessions that produced both previous releases (recorded with Chris Teti of The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die). It’s the most casual song that Downhaul have released this year (not that that’s saying much). It has a bit of the rootsiness that the band has stepped away from since 2021’s PROOF, fitting well with a lyric from Gordon M. Phillips that touches on family, climbing sumac trees as a kid, and, in the chorus, a simple but resonant piece of advice about navigating all of that as an adult.  

“Anemone in Lemonade”, Onesie
From Liminal Hiss (2023, Totally Real/Pillow Sail/Kool Kat Musik)

The third album from Brooklyn’s Onesie, Liminal Hiss, is a barrage of warped pop hooks that nevertheless comes through loud and clear. It’s an intriguing combination of 60s/70s studio-based pop rock and more freewheeling, 90s indie rock, all working together to make fireworks in the form of songs like “Anemone in Lemonade”. The song rises and falls, guitar heroics and melodies swirling in an incredibly pleasing torrent that kind of reminds me of the new Curling album that came out the week before Liminal Hiss. Read more about Liminal Hiss here.

“Nanty Glo”, Gaadge
From Somewhere Down Below (2023, Crafted Sounds/Michi Tapes)

The latest from Pittsburgh’s Gaadge, Somewhere Down Below, is a varied-sounding record–it lobs lo-fi basement pop, heavy-duty shoegaze, and more electronic and experimental pop rock at the listener with varying frequency. “Nanty Glo” isn’t quite “MBV” or “GBV”–the first-half highlight is a quick piece of hard-hitting pop-punk that sounds surprisingly clean in both its instrumentation and in Mitch Delong’s vocals. Like many great Bob Pollard songs, however, “Nanty Glo” gets its hooks in and bows out in quick fashion–the song has already run its course by the time 90 seconds have elapsed. Read more about Somewhere Down Below here.

“I Want a New Me (girlghostboyghost)”, Madder Rose
From No One Gets Hurt Ever (2023, Trome)

Billy Coté and Laura Cannell went through the pandemic differently–the latter “didn’t feel much music”, while the former wrote an album’s worth of songs. Luckily the Madder Rose co-leaders have each other–with Cannell on lead vocals, the two have made a great record of dreamy, lightly psych-y, lightly slowcore-y indie rock that sits well under the Madder Rose name. No One Gets Hurt Ever ends with “I Want a New Me (girlghostboyghost)”, a surprising piece of straightforward pop rock (“slightly more lighthearted than our usual gloomy bullshit,” Coté writes on Bandcamp). Its lyrics are simple but vaguely opaque, its music is bright, trying to find a middle ground between “upbeat” and “normal Madder Rose tempo”. It feels like a dream.

“You Don’t Have to Know Where to Go”, Helpful People
From Brokenblossom Threats (2023, Tall Texan/Burundi Cloud)

Last month saw the debut full-length album from Helpful People, the duo of The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ Glenn Donaldson and Carly Putnam (of The Mantles and The Ollies). The record kicks off with “You Don’t Have to Know Where to Go”, rolling off the assembly line with a fuzzy melodic electric guitar line riding alongside a gentle acoustic strum. While I’m not too familiar with Putnam’s previous work, the instrumental has Glenn Donaldson written all over it, hitting the same mark as some of the more “electric” material on The Town That Cursed Your Name, his other band’s most recent album. Putnam’s matter-of-fact vocals serve the track well, landing the final blow for the hook. Read more about Brokenblossom Threats here.

“I Need a Friend”, House & Hawk
From 4 (2023, Heavy River)

House & Hawk’s 4 is a fascinating pop album–everything from 80s sophisti-pop, turn-of-the-century indie rock, synthpop, psychedelia, and prog color these eleven songs. The Pittsburgh duo of Alexander Strung and Steve Ninehouser frequently hit the pop bullseye in the midst of the grandiose, and there’s nothing more straightforward on 4 than “I Need a Friend”. The song sends the band surprisingly into chugging mid-tempo indie rock territory, a low-key triumph whose sturdy foundation allows it to hold its own against some of the album’s more involved prog-pop fare. Read more about 4 here.

“Telephone”, Quinn Cicala
From Gold (2023)

There aren’t many people that can write a song like Quinn Cicala. They’ve been putting out solid singles over the past couple of years (I’m partial to “I Wish Life Worked Like That” from the Arkansas EP), but “Telephone” has hit me harder than anything since their 2021 self-titled album. Cicala always gives themself fully into their performances, but “Telephone” pushes things even further, as they sing about a troubled friend who passed away way too early. Hidden tattoos, woolheaded wisdom, and camping trips populate Cicala’s reminiscences, and their recitation of a quote from the subject’s own mother (“A monster, a cheater, one ugly motherfucker”) is a good an indication as any that this song is a collection of thorny and deeply-wound emotions delivered in a roaring emo-country package.

“The Beginning”, Shamir
From Homo Anxietatem (2023, Kill Rock Stars)

I could’ve laughed when I first heard “The Beginning”. Shamir’s spent the last decade making it perfectly clear that he can make any kind of music he wants (I quite enjoyed last year’s foray into cold industrial pop Heterosexuality, despite it not being my typical bag). On “The Beginning”, Shamir’s target is late-90s alt-pop, and he nails it perfectly. You could slot this in between Third Eye Blind and Smash Mouth on a modern rock block and it’d fit perfectly (well, it would if Shamir sang more like a frat boy, but I digress). It’s aided greatly by a rock-solid pop song subject (The kicker line: “We’re so caught up on having a happy ending / We forgot the beginning”).

“Fucking Up”, Ruler
From Extra Blue and High (2023, Matt’s Gleaming)

Back in 2018, Barsuk put out Ruler’s Winning Star Champion–I’d never heard of the band or its leader, Matt Batey, but it quickly became one of my favorite power pop records of the past few years. A half-decade later, a second Ruler has emerged, flying somewhat under the radar–which is unfortunate, because Extra Blue and High’s best moments are as good as anything else I’ve heard from Batey. Ruler skip through highlight “Fucking Up”, chugging power chords giving way to a chorus that really finds a lot of dynamism in “fucking up”, “fucked it up”, et cetera.

“Boy You Got Me Good”, Annie Hart
From The Weight of a Wave (2023, Uninhabitable Mansions)

With The Weight of a Wave, Au Revoir Simone’s Annie Hart lets everyone know that she can still put together one hell of a synthpop record. The album’s ten indie pop tunes sound sharply-written and -recorded, and Hart’s minimal presentation only enhances the album’s charms. The Weight of a Wave opens with a golden pop tune in “Boy You Got Me Good”, a beautiful, bass-driven display of 80s new wave/synthpop with a killer but still somewhat understated hook from Hart. It sounds like a triumph, and an earned one. Read more about The Weight of a Wave here.

“Raining Sour Grapes”, The Cowboys
From Sultan of Squat (2023, Feel It)

Bloomington, Indiana garage punk stalwarts The Cowboys open up their sixth album–and first in three years–with plenty of power pop hooks. The opening title track to Sultan of Squat is nothing short of a power pop classic, and “Raining Sour Grapes” arguably bests it in the number two slot. It’s a rock and roll rave-up of a song brought over the finish line by a particularly showy performance from lead singer Keith Harman. There’s at least three different parts to this song that could’ve been the main hook, and there’s even a half-time grand finale finish. All in under two minutes, too. Read more about Sultan of Squat here.

“Marvel”, Sarah Shannon
From Demo 98 (2023, Snappy Little Numbers)

Shortly after her 90s indie rock group Velocity Girl broke up, Sarah Shannon recorded Demo 98 with Geoff Turner of Gray Matter and Adam Wade of Jawbox and Shudder to Think. While five out of six of its songs made their way to 1999’s Estheraho EP, these recordings sat on the shelf for twenty-some years before being rediscovered by Turner and subsequently released on vinyl through Snappy Little Numbers. “Marvel” is an excellent barebones pop song, with just a bit of the D.C. edge punching up a track that Shannon has given what’s effectively a power pop core. Velocity Girl may have just reunited and begun going through their own archives, but this piece of Shannon’s solo career deserves a look as well.

“Go Ahead, Do Your Thing”, Krissanthemum
From Go Ahead, Do Your Thing + Roundabout (2023)

Krissy Lassiter, aka Krissanthemum, is an adventurous purveyor of busy-sounding, multi-layered psychedelic pop music. She mentioned Elephant 6 when she sent me her latest single, and it does feel like the work of somebody who’s spent a lot of time with mid-career of Montreal records. The full-throated, bursting pop music of “Go Ahead, Do Your Thing” pulls from several other areas, however (for instance, the single’s B-side is a fascinating cover of Yes’ “Roundabout”, which should give you some indication of where Krissanthemum is at). There’s some nice guitar work on this song (featuring Sweet Dreams Nadine’s Julian Fader on drums, among others), and Lassiter’s vocals help the song stay grounded as it threatens to launch itself into the stratosphere.

“Pressure Socks”, Pretty in Pink
From Pillows (2023, Hidden Bay/Subjangle/Little Lunch)

Melbourne/Hobart’s Pretty in Pink make charming, minimal edge-of-the-world guitar pop–they pull from everything from The Cat’s Miaow to Flying Nun to Young Marble Giants on Pillows, but at the same time they cultivate a distinct sound led by vocalist Claire McCarthy’s aching, bare lyrics and vocals left hanging out in the ether by sparse instrumentals. “Pressure Socks”, the song that opens up Pillows, is a particularly Colossal Youth-esque exercise in timing and sharply-deployed, minimal but quite catchy guitar leads–there’s relatively little going on in the song, but every note of it is essential. Read more about Pillows here.

“The Rough”, Outro
From The Current (2023)

I don’t know all that much about Northampton, Massachusetts’ Outro. The difficult-to-Google band has put out a couple of EPs, but The Current appears to be their debut full-length album, and my favorite song on it is the final one. On “The Rough”, the quartet sound like a vintage college rock group, with maybe even a bit of Paisley Underground thrown in there (I want to list names like Eleventh Dream Day, Big Dipper, The Dream Syndicate…remember all those guys?). The song’s built around a pretty simple ascending three-chord progression, but the band really sell it, and singer-songwriter Josh Levy has kind of a charismatic everyman thing going on vocally. Solid band!

“Hippolyta!”, Perennial
From The Leaves of Autumn Symmetry (2023)

New England art punks Perennial have chosen to follow up their breakout album (last year’s excellent In the Midnight Hour) with The Leaves of Autumn Symmetry, a five-song EP containing “reworkings” of select songs from their 2017 self-recorded debut, The Symmetry of Autumn Leaves. Perennial have clearly taken leaps forward since 2017, and it comes through on these spirited, full-steam-ahead readings (a revolution that is again aided by producer Chris Teti’s clear sound). The no-fat chant-punk of “Hippolyta!” would’ve been right at home on In the Midnight Hour, with the band leaving a trail of destruction in approximately one and a half minutes. Read more about The Leaves of Autumn Symmetry here.

“X-Games Mode”, Dim Wizard featuring Mike Krol and Ratboys
(2023)

Pleased to report that the Dim Wizard factory has produced yet another star-studded hit single. Back in February, David Combs of Bad Moves released “Ride the Vibe” under the Dim Wizard moniker, an undeniable piece of slacker power pop that conscripted the talents of Jeff Rosenstock, Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin, and The Sidekicks’ Steve Ciolek. That song created a high bar, and at first I wasn’t sure if “X-Games Mode” (featuring Mike Krol, Ratboys’ Julia Steiner, Tudzin again, and Illuminati Hotties drummer Tim Kmet) lived up to it. But, now that I’ve really listened to it–it does. This one rules too. The vaguely scummy sound that Tudzin and Combs hit on rules, the Steiner verse (Steinerverse?) rules, the synths rule, the guitars rule…maybe I need to give Illuminati Hotties another shot if Tudzin is working these kinds of wonders out here on Dim Wizard songs.

“Emily”, Sargasso
From Further Away (2023, Dead Definition)

With its acoustic, folk-inspired instrumentation, hints of bossa nova, and pop structures, Further Away is a gentle-sounding record, but it’s never boring–Sargasso have far too many ideas and too much energy across its thirteen tracks to fall into any potential “easy listening” pitfalls. The extraordinarily friendly, almost campfire-ready folk rock of “Emily” kicks off the album–the New England quartet are a truly collaborative group, and songs like this one really benefit by feeling like they’re coming from a collective rather than just “some guy”. Read more about Further Away here.

“Didn’t Have to Try”, Hurry
From Don’t Look Back (2023, Lame-O)

Perhaps appropriate given the record’s contradictory title (which violates its own command by being a Teenage Fanclub reference), Don’t Look Back is both a subtle record and an immediate one. On his fifth album as Hurry, Matt Scottoline doesn’t favor the louder, more distorted end of the power pop spectrum, instead trending towards intricate, deliberate song structure–but never at the expense of passing up an excellent chorus. Opening track “Didn’t Have to Try” is one of the “fizzier” moments of the album, a steady, chugging electric guitar lining Scottoline’s gorgeous chorus and verses. Read more about Don’t Look Back here.

“I Should Know Better, Whatever”, Lightweight
From The Next One’s on You (2023, Glizzy Borden)

I miss Two Cow Garage. Those guys are doing different things now, and that’s fine, and I suspect that even if they did make another record, it wouldn’t have the ragged country-punk sound of their 2000s records. What we do have, however, is Sacramento’s Lightweight, whose latest EP hits the same spot for me. What The Next One’s on You lacks in Midwestern rootsiness it more than makes up for in its raspy, Micah Schnabel-esque punk belting. “I Should Know Better, Whatever”, my favorite song from the EP, takes the better part of a minute to launch into its pop punk anthem core, but once it does, it’s pretty much unstoppable.

“Hot Weather”, Florry
From The Holey Bible (2023, Dear Life)

Florry’s The Holey Bible kind of feels like a patchwork quilt–some of these songs have been kicking around for a while, and they jump around a bit style-wise, but they fit together quite nicely and comfortably. “Hot Weather” sits in the album’s number three spot, and it comes after the Philadelphia seven-piece country band kick the record off on a welcoming, laid-back note with the first two songs. Francie Medosch and crew then tear into a roaring display of the band’s full power, with electric guitars and fiddles dueling for supremacy. Read more about The Holey Bible here.

“Penny Lids”, Sunshine Convention
From The Sunshine Convention (2023, Cardinal Telephone)

Sunshine Convention is the project of Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and Robert Pollard award-bestower Jake Whitener–perhaps unsurprisingly, Whitener favors music that’s fuzzy, lo-fi, loud, but above all massively pop-friendly.  His debut album, The Sunshine Convention, opens with an undeniable noise-pop hit in “Penny Lids”. The track wears its Sparklehorse influences quite proudly, from the “pennies on his eyelids” title line to the similarities with “Rainmaker”, one of Mark Linkous’ most straightforward fuzz-rock songs. Forebearers aside, “Penny Lids” has an excitable energy and Whitener’s songwriting is enough to have this one stand on its own. Read more about The Sunshine Convention here.

“Girl”, Star 99
From Bitch Unlimited (2023, Lauren)

I’ll let Saoirse Alesandro, vocalist/guitarist of Star 99, explain this one a little bit: “Girl is about moving back home and getting older in the place you grew up in. It’s about looking up from horse-blinder early 20’s self-involvement after a decade and realizing some of your friends are still there and some aren’t.” Regardless of inspiration, Alesandro gets off several vivid images on the opening track to their debut album– “It’s small-town aristocracy / It’s abandoned malls and theater seats” is definitely the immediate attention-grabber, but the quip about “month-to-month lease fever dreams” and the entire last verse (ending with “I don’t care, I know you’re better than this / You’re guilty!”) both have stuck with me too. Read more about Bitch Unlimited here.

“Price Tag”, Ruler
From Extra Blue and High (2023, Matt’s Gleaming)

What’s the best song on Extra Blue and High, “Fucking Up” or “Price Tag”? The former might win via sheer brute pop force, but there’s a wistfulness and down-in-the-dumps charm to “Price Tag” that nevertheless still produces a chorus to write home about. Matt Batey is somebody with nothing to his name in “Price Tag”, and it’s unclear if he’s bothered by it so much as wondering what it’ll cost him. “I want you to have a price tag, so I know how much I need / So I know that you won’t be ever taken away from me,” is how Batey starts the song; “The best things come when you’re done feeling sorry” does a lot of lifting in the last verse.

“She Needs Therapy”, The Radio Field featuring Mimi Welldirty
From Don’ts and Dos (2023, Subjangle/Less)

Hey, is this song about me? Ha ha, I kid (I’m definitely already in therapy). Anyway, The Radio Field is led by Lars Schmidt, a longtime German indie popper–I wrote about “The Version” by them a couple months ago. “The Version” has ended up on the first Radio Field full-length, Don’ts and Dos, as has “She Needs Therapy”, another laser-focused piece of fuzzy, jangly guitar pop. I assume that the featured guest, Mimi Welldirty, is the second voice throughout the song–the decision to have Welldirty sing the title line is what puts this one over the top for me. Or maybe it’s the chiming guitars underneath that nice layer of distortion?

“X-Smoker”, Cool Dead Woman
From Arrival (2023)

Stumbled onto Arrival, the debut EP from Brooklyn’s Cool Dead Woman, last month. It’s a pretty solid collection of lo-fi pop-punk tunes (there’s a nice cover of “Game of Pricks” on there), led by vocalist/guitarist Inna Mkrtycheva and featuring five other musicians (including Stove/Smile Machine’s Jordyn Blakely). “X-Smoker” is sugary indie pop that dips nearly into twee territory, just a bit of fuzzy guitars punching up the song’s two-and-a-half minute runtime. Mkrtycheva’s vocals are understated but more than enough to deliver the hooks, and both the synths and guitars have moments of excellent melodies as well.

“Memory Lane”, Taking Meds
From Dial M for Meds (2023, Smartpunk)

New York’s Taking Meds have been Taking Off as of late, with their latest album, Dial M for Meds, garnering just about as much attention as a band that sounds like Archers of Loaf but more power pop could possibly receive. Although “Outside” (which I highlighted last month) is probably still my favorite track from it, “Memory Lane” is quickly rising up the Rosy Overdrive charts. It kicks the album off in inspired fashion, riding its simple-but-effective chorus for all it’s worth and (and this is the mark of a great pop band) offering up verse melodies that are just as catchy.

“Hardcare”, Exercise
From Ipso Facto (2023, End of Times)

Exercise hail from Austin, Texas, and–well, let’s just cut to the chase here. They released what I’m pretty sure is there second proper album, Ipso Facto, earlier this summer, and it contains a song called “Hardcare” on it, of which I’m quite fond. It’s a bouncy piece of post-punk-y noise pop–it’s catchy in an off-center way, opening with a spiraling but melodic guitar riff and then kind of stacking other indie rock elements on top of it precariously. “Hardcare” never falls apart, though–it’s sprinting right up until it’s time to wrap the song up.

“Our Apartment 2”, American Poetry Club
From Walking Song b/w Our Apartment 2 (2023, Heavenly Creature)

Nice to hear from American Poetry Club again. “Walking Song” and “Our Apartment 2” are the first new songs from the band since 2021’s Do You Believe in Your Heart?!, although bandleader Jordan C. Weinstock did release a solo album last year. I have to go with the B-side here–it’s just an excellent piece of post-emo bedroom pop. Connor Sbrocco’s trumpet adds a lot to this song, although it’s the core of Weinstock’s vocals (aided by Sbrocco, Marcelle Dabbah, and Kaley Macleod) that anchors “Our Apartment 2”. Also, shout out to Rosy Overdrive favorite Lily Mastrodimos of Long Neck, who has a guitar credit on the single.

“Permaspring”, Onesie
From Liminal Hiss (2023, Totally Real/Pillow Sail/Kool Kat Musik)

Onesie open up their third album, Liminal Hiss, with one effective mission statement of a song. “Permaspring” contains both lethal doses of jangling guitars and stomping power pop (often in the same musical breath), and the swerving chord changes after the chorus reflect the oddball side of the band as well as anything. In typical Onesie fashion, it tilts toward grandiose, golden-era rock music while at the same time keeping things foundationally simple. Read more about Liminal Hiss here.

“Angelica”, Spirit Night
From Bury the Dead (2023)

Coming in the second half of the excellent Bury the Dead is “Angelica”, an incredibly interesting-sounding piece of noisy catchiness with a smooth chorus. It’s Spirit Night’s version of the “song with a girl’s name as the title”, which of course means it’s a song about loving someone who’s in a relationship with someone else. Dylan Balliett begins the song “sick with anticipation / down at the train station”, and ends with the singer shrugging and saying “These things happen, all is fine / These things happen all the time”. Somewhere in between, Balliett delivers an epiphany about “just look[ing] at what is there” and appreciating his current relationship with the title character–if you’re looking for how this song connects with the rest of Bury the Dead, start there. Read more about Bury the Dead here.

“Summerslam”, Jobber
(2023, Exploding in Sound)

Hey, remember Jobber? Last year, they put out their debut EP, Hell in a Cell, which ended up being one of my favorites of 2022. The first Jobber release since that five-song record is the standalone “Summerslam” single, and the band’s winning streak of scorching grunge-y power poppy riff-y wrestling-themed alt-rock (whew) remains intact. “Summerslam” was recorded by Jobber’s core duo of Kate Meizner and Mike Falcone (who also play together in Hellrazor), although it’s certainly got a full-band might to it. This actually might be the heaviest Jobber’s gotten yet–we’re trending toward, like, Hum territory in the verses (although the chorus is still sharp pop).

“Alison”, Strawberry Runners
From Strawberry Runners (2023, Duper Moon)

Nothing to see here, just a lovely indie-folk-pop tune to get stuck in your head. Emi Night has been making music as Strawberry Runners since at least 2015, although Strawberry Runners seems to be their debut full-length. There’s a host of Rosy Overdrive-approved musicians contributing to this album (Heather Jones of Ther, Michael Cormier-O’Leary, Bradford Krieger of Courtney and Brad, Benedict Kupstas of Field Guides), although it’s Night’s laid-back but deep writing and delivery that makes “Alison” something to return to again and again.

“When I Ran Off and Left Her”, Vic Chesnutt
From Drunk (1993, Texas Hotel/New West)

Finally got around to listening to Vic Chesnutt’s Drunk for the first time ever last week–more on that in the coming weeks on the blog, but for now I’ll leave you with “When I Ran Off and Left Her”, a classic Chesnutt song if I’ve ever heard one. It starts off as one of Chesnutt’s more understated songs, but his delivery in the chorus (“But I should’ve kept all those appointments / I’m a-gonna need ’em, I’m coming disjointed”) is so distinct and attention-grabbing that it’s instantly impossible to picture anyone else doing it (it appears that nobody took it on on Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, so a non-Chesnutt version of the song shall remain an impossibility for me to imagine).

“Don’t Go There”, Gaadge
From Somewhere Down Below (2023, Crafted Sounds/Michi Tapes)

There’s just so much to appreciate on Somewhere Down Below, isn’t there? “Don’t Go There” hit immediately for me, but I’d imagine that, if you came to Gaadge for their more shoegaze-y/noise poppy material, this one might take a bit to sink in. In a break from some of the album’s more hard-hitting moments, the 90-second Ethan Oliva-led track uses little more than a single electric guitar and a Pollard-worthy melody to be a sneaky highlight. It’s only a more clear illustration of something that’s already been apparent–Gaadge have the songs underneath the fuzz to help them stand out in a crowded and noisy scene. Read more about Somewhere Down Below here.

“Half Fool”, Mike Adams at His Honest Weight
From Guess for Thrills (2023, Joyful Noise)

Last year, Mike Adams at His Honest Weight released Graphic Blandishment, an incredibly fulfilling record absolutely stacked with pop hooks on pop hooks (it ended up being one of my favorite albums of 2022). In a move that will always gain my respect, Adams is back just a year later with a full-length follow-up in Guess for Thrills. The first single from the record, “Half Fool”, is a lot more subdued than “Tie-Dyed & Tongue Tied” or “How’s the Messes”, but it’s still very catchy in its own way. It’s a smooth piece of orchestral studio pop that moves slowly and deliberately, and it takes off with a vintage soaring Adams chorus.