3 New Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now: Johanna Samuels, Swans, and Pearl Earl
Johanna Samuels image via David Simon Dayan
There’s so much good music out in the ether that sometimes it’s difficult to parse through all of it. Every week The Daily Music Report will do the hard work for you and highlight the best releases available on streaming services.
This week we’re highlighting new music from Johanna Samuels, Swans, and Pearl Earl.
Johanna Samuels – Bystander
Samuels’ new album, Bystander, weaves a tale of personal transformation and self-discovery. The album’s sound was shaped by her experiences on tour with Bonny Light Horseman allowing her to re-contextualize the music and inspiring her to seek new beginnings. With producer Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, Bob Weir, Cassandra Jenkins) at her side, they ventured into Isokon Studios in Woodstock, NY, creating a sonic landscape that ranges from soaring orchestral arrangements to intimate confessionals. Supported by Matt Barick’s (The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes) dynamic drumming, the album serves as a testament to Samuels’ introspective lyricism and invites listeners to join her on a journey of reckoning and renewal. Through eleven elegiac poems, Samuels emerges from the wreckage, celebrating the resilience of those left standing. Bystander is an invitation to raise a glass and embrace a future filled with authenticity and growth. Let’s raise our glasses high and proud.
Standout Songs: Ugly On The Inside, Holy Mothers, Little Buckets
7.1
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Swans – The Beggar
The Beggar, Swans’ sixteenth studio album was released on June 23, 2023, via Young God Records, and was accompanied by the lead single ‘Paradise Is Mine’ and the exciting announcement of a North American tour. Prior to the album’s release, Swans treated fans to an acoustic demo album titled Is There Really a Mind? in 2022, where band leader Michael Gira showcased early versions of several tracks. Gira, responsible for vocals, lyrics, acoustic guitar, and production, expanded and refined the material through recording sessions at Candy Bomber Studio in Berlin, starting in May 2022 and concluding in August. The Beggar is a testament to Swans’ enduring artistic evolution and serves as a captivating addition to their discography.
Standout Songs: Paradise Is Mine, Los Angeles: City of Death, The Beggar Lover (Three)
6.7
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Pearl Earl – It’s Dread
Green Witch Recordings New York proudly presents the new album, It’s Dread, by Los Angeles-based neo-psychedelic indie rock band Pearl Earl. Written by the talented Ariel Hartley, this ten-track endeavor takes listeners on “a journey through the existential crisis of apocalyptic anxiety and ego death.” Produced and mixed by Tomas Dolas at Studio 22 in Los Angeles, CA, and mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in the same city, the album immerses itself in a dystopian world ravaged by a capitalistic and patriarchal society, ensnared in the trappings of celebrity worship and consumerism. Despite being written during a global pandemic, It’s Dread manages to evoke a glimmer of hope and resolution amidst its subversive demeanor.
Standout Songs: Evil Does It, Slime Green, Full Moon Power, You’re Not A God
6.4
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When you’re done here lose yourself in our full library of 3 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now.