Every Tuesday at WSUM, our Music Director, Izzi, chooses her favorite new releases to add to our music library. Here are this week's favorites, presented to you by WSUM's Music Journalism Club.
Har Mar Superstar, Roseville
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Where We Began,” “Hit and Run”
GENRE: indie rock, indie pop
RIYL: Jeremy Messersmith, Heart Bones, Father John Misty
While walking his routes as a mailman in Minneapolis, Har Mar Superstar (AKA Sean Tillman) slowly found himself creating the songs that would become Roseville, despite feeling uninspired for the first half of 2020. He cites icons of the 1970s as the sonic inspiration for the record, which comes through in the spots like the lead single “Where We Began” which is laced with brass stabs and funky guitar licks and the straight up rock n' rolling “Hit and Run”, which sounds as if it would be at home at a school dance in the late 60's. A familiar story for albums being released of late, Roseville was recorded remotely, with each of the band members sending tracks in from their home studios. With the magic of mixing and mastering, the album sounds lush and cohesive, a wistful, nostalgia-tinged love letter to all that has made Tillman's career what it is. — Sigra DeWeese
Grouplove, This is This
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Deadline,” “Seagulls,” “Shake that Ass”
GENRE: indie rock, alt rock, indietronica
RIYL: Passion Pit, Walk the Moon, Matt and Kim
Alt pop quintet, Grouplove, rose to prominence with their 2011 hit “Tongue Tied,” a staple of all the Tumblr throwback playlists, dropped their surprise fifth album This is This on March 12. In contrast to their previous work, This is This is a little more bombastic, a little more in your face, but maintains the group's dancible reputation with punching bass and catchy hooks. The strangely and wonderfully sentimental “Shake that Ass” almost necessitates some lighter waving, while lead single “Deadline” utilizes a driving drum machine beat to support the chorus chant, landing somewhere between cheerleader and metalhead. When touring recommences, one can imagine screaming “I'm gonna smash my face in the cake and celebrate” alongside everyone else sweating in the pit. — Sigra DeWeese
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, L.W.
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “If Not Now, Then When?,” “O.N.E” and “East West Link”
GENRE: psychedelic/garage rock
RIYL: The Jungle Giants, Hockey Dad, Stonefield and GUM
On L.W., the supreme rulers of the Gizzverse answer all of their own questions and follow all of their own rules, as per usual. L.W. resembles K.G., the band's previous album, but after three additional months of lockdown, this album is antsier and less concerned about letting its gut hang out. It sounds like they are firing on all cylinders; whether it is the rambling road-trip rock of “East West Link” or the funky clavinet jam “If Not Now, Then When?,” the band comes across with more vigor and verve. Even when they slow things down, like on the evil-sounding rocker “O.N.E.,” they sound tightly wound and fierce. Sometimes soft, sometimes synthetic and occasionally embracing metal, L.W. is a turbulent call to action that refuses to slow down and a bracing reminder of how thrilling King Gizzard & The Lizard can be. — Rebecca Perla
