music log and rambles

listened to hinterland by jealous of the birds

been a while since i've listened to an album. shit's been busy! i found this band from the crane wives' page and it's not a vibe i usually like but i can groove with it

listened to four of arrows by great grandpa

oh man. oh man. how lovely. i'm a huge fan of their 2025 album patience, moonbeam so was super excited for this one. how did i not know their frontman is trans? that just adds to how much i love this band. this is a great record and i'm going to write more about it later but it's a good one. (and totally won't forget about it i'm sure)

listened to bleeds by wednesday

i remember listening to their 2023 album rat saw god in a past 365 project, and was pretty ambivalent about it, but after seeing the acclaim this new album got, it was definitely worth a listen. i felt this growing trend of indie rock infused with country last year and wednesday pulls it off incredibly on this record!. the vocalist is really expressive here which just ties everything together to create this beautiful, passion filled record that feels tangible from front to back. it's always a treat when an album really makes me interested in relistening to a song before i've even finished my first listen, and on this album "elderberry wine" was the one :)

listened to racing mount pleasant by racing mount pleasant

beautifully atmospheric record, reminiscent of an early bc/nr in the beginning, but really really evolves into its' own distinctive post-rock, folky sound. another aoty contender

listened to animaru by mei semones

this was on a lot of people's favorite albums of 2025 list, mine included! beautiful bossa nova with an indie spin. this is truly an everything album, great on its own, great in the background. front to back, this is an amazing listen.

listened to komorebi by josie lawrence

heard some of this last night at a nye party at a local jazz bar, really enjoyed it live and figured i'd see how i like it recorded!

listened to end of the world by searows

really striking singer-songwriter indie folk. one of those albums that just stops you in your tracks and you suddenly find yourself in a windy field with tall grass and you're just. reflecting. yknow? this album gave me a really distinct out-of-body-experience-vibe. searows is so great at that. REALLY looking forward to the new album next year. wowzers

listened to honeyglaze by honeyglaze

i'm such a lover of real deal (2025) so had some higher-then-usual expectations coming into this album - i know that they changed labels for real deal, but wasn't expecting such a change in sound between the albums! i think these songs are deceptively naïve, they're pretty approachable but retain the roots of their future sound which is a bit more melancholy and.. heavier on the soul

quite good tho!

listened to then, now, and in disillusion by aka reid

this dude's a school teacher. great album, reminds me of early wallows? indie folk-ish in most songs, but sometimes i can hear some late aughts-early 2010s indie influences to the likes of two door cinema club and death cab. this is another one where you can tell he just had a lot of fun, and is just screaming into the void that is the internet with this album.

listened to now would be a good time by folk bitch trio

name is checking out so far! can tell i'm like checking out it's late at night i'm gonna have to listen to it again tomorrow but hell yeah everyone this is a good record (genuine)

listened to heavy metal by cameron winter

after cal pointed out that the frontman of geese has a solo project i just knew it had to go on my future listens list. it's cool to see how the sound differs from geese! this feels more raw, almost yearning in some songs. i don't know what it is about this album that makes me feel floaty

listened to wishbone by conan gray

first time listening to conan gray post-kid krow, wasn't exactly sure what to expect but it was a great baking companion! catchy indie pop sound, really approachable record. i quite like it, but despite that, i still think conan gray is the taylor swift of indie

listened to moisturizer by wet leg

okay i've already got an interesting experience with this one since i've heard a good amount of the songs on this album through their live sessions (kexp via youtube) (tiny desk concerts via youtube) but, surprisingly, the studio versions didn't let me down! this album has a good range of vibes and they're placed in such a way that almost feels like it has a story arc. really fun :3

listened to no beer, no dad by blowout

fun from the very start - this is one of those records that you can just tell that they had a lot of fun recording! a pop-punk vibe that reminds me of origami angel? the 2019 remaster really perfects what's missing from the original version and is a great listen overall

unrelated but i have a feeling that their label (lauren records) has a lot of obscure picks that deserve more attention. want to check some of them out :)

listened to french blonde by joe p

really tasteful and punchy ep - this is a great introduction to the range that joe p posesses! i liked garden state vampire (2024) a lot and this gives that vibe but is more.. easily digestible?? idk. but it's good. listen to it. he's also good live.

listened to billboard heart by deep sea diver

really wish this got more attention this year, this is one of my favorite releases this year! really catchy alt-adjacent pop, actually immediately gave this one a relisten since my partner came home and i needed to show them lol

listened to jellywish by florist

this ambient folk record is incredible from second one. it's almost. meditative? super easy listening album, i chose it on a whim while working on gathering businesses for alethia and it couldn't have been a more fitting pick for something i want to enjoy and process while also multitasking. i want to give this a second listen while not having my attention divided to really absorb it!

listened to box for buddy, box for star by this is lorelai

angel's eye was a great intro song - it's been a while since an album has genuinely made me feel captivated with the first song. this is lorelei explores a variety of genres and influences throughout this album, but the songs that stuck out to me appealed to both the indie rock and country lover in me (i grew up on country! "midwest freak" they've called me.) somehow. really fun record!

listened to the scholars by car seat headrests

i've been a big fan of some singles from csh's catalogue for some years, but their full albums haven't been able to capture me like the singles (notably, "sober to death", "fill in the blank", and "nervous young inhumans"), but this album definitely changed that! this is my personal favorite of their albums, every song was really captivating in their own way. loved "the catastrophe (good luck with that man)" and "ccf (i'm gonna stay with you)" especially. wahoo!

listened to the crossroads by cordae

i've always loved cordae's storytelling! it shines really well in this record. this is his most personal album from what i remember, it's pretty evident how much he put into it.

sidenote, love any album with a dedicated intro or interlude

1/19/26 editing note: cordae's solo songs are SO much stronger than his collaborative work. there isn't another artist in the same scene with the same sound. i found that the songs on this record with a feature were pretty weak since the vibe shifted a bit between artists and any flow cordae had was interrupted

listened to the new sound by geordie greep

i'm so conflicted about this album! it's definitely a well composed chaos and the instrumentals were phenominal, i was head bopping a lot! the thing that throws me off about this album is the consistent sexual theme, i know geordie is playing a character and he plays it really well but it just made me. uncomfy? as a casual listener? anyways. nice album!

listened to getting killed by geese

first in-flight album of the day woo! been excited to listen to this one.

each song on this record is pretty distinctive, but it's evident they all fit in a bigger narrative. reminds me of my first impression of radiohead, which if the pattern follows, i'll only grow to like them more and more

listened to if not winter by wisp

wisp gets a lot of hate for no apparent reason - this record isn't genre defining by any means, but absolutely deserves a place in the rotations of shoegaze and alternative fans

listened to the villain by mal blum

really fun seeing how mal's music has changed since their debut, definitely was not let down by this record! catchy sound and every song has it's own vibe which i appreciate

listened to private blizzard by dhruv

nothing a whole lot to say, unfortunately feels more like "generic pop album 2" than his previous, rapunzel (2022) which i felt had a more unique and defined sound that i vibed with heavy.

listened to microtonic by bdrmm

my first introduction to this band was their self titled back in 2020, which had a dark, shoegaze-y sound which i fell in love with. there's a significant but equally welcome change in sound on this album! largely, more electronic elements and melodies. this new sound is brighter but does a good job of staying true to the band's older sound, you can really hear the old influences come through.

listened to vanisher, horizon scraper by quadeca

pure experimental hip hop bliss. this record is awesome and takes a tone that i want to see more of in the space. it takes risks and it paid off twofold.