The flood of great records continues! Today taking a quick look at the latest from Rhymies, Dick Valentine, Avery Friedman, Mythical Motors and more!
Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at the latest from Rhymies, Dick Valentine, Avery Friedman, and Mythical Motors and several more!
Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try and put up—
In other words, a ton of good stuff is coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. Below is another batch that caught my attention recently.
A lot of recent releases landed on my radar all at once, and I want to shine a light on them before too much more time passes. Not quite an 88 lines about 44 records kind of deal, but close. More of a clearing the decks, if you will.
Let’s get into it!
Rhymies- I Dream Watching (EP)
There is a trend on social media where Gen Z kids cue up Bronksi Beat’s “Small Town Boy” and film as their parents reflexively start dancing to it. It’s a lovely song, but it’d be better if they used Rhymies “I Dream Watching” instead.
Rhymies is the latest side project from Bay Area musician Lauren Matsui. That name might not ring a bell, but her other bands, Seablite, and Neutrals, have both been featured here and are On Repeat favorites.
With that as context, this EP is a world away from both. Seablite draws easy comparisons to Lush, and Neutrals are a great bit of indie pop and/or post-punk, depending on your mood. I Dream Watching is 100% a synth-pop record. Matsui’s vocals pair perfectly with the keyboards, making for an intoxicating mix.
If Seablite took you back to early 90s shoegaze, this will take you back to the era of 80s dance parties, just like we (or your parents) used to dance the night away to.
Grab your cloves and hit the club here
Avery Friedman- New Thing
The Rosy Overdrive blog recently reviewed this LP and prefaced it with noting, “I get records that match this description emailed to me every day, so you can rest assured that I wouldn’t be writing about this one if it wasn’t a clear standout from that pack.”
I’ll take that one step further; I am convinced someone, somewhere, decided that any promo email had to include either “pedal steel” or “indie folk” in the description. It feels like a bit of PR Mad Libs or refrigerator magnet poetry gone wrong. I can’t speak for Rosy’s inbox, but in mine, those two phrases are as ubiquitous as UPCs are on the records they’re trying to move.
For better or worse, to my ear, “Folk” means acoustic, maybe a mandolin, and a general lack of oomph. Slapping ” indie” on the front of it just tells me it was made after 1995. I’m mindful that those words telegraph a lack of objectivity.
“New Thing is a conduit for emotions too frenetic to hold on your own. This record is a collection of the first songs I’ve ever written, after many years of orbiting the music world but denying myself my own musicianship. Many of these tracks were
born of anxiety—from my turning to a guitar to externalize (and organize) a sense of chaos that otherwise felt trapped inside me. We recorded the bulk of it with a live band as a means to maintain the raw energy at the center of the record.
What results is a time capsule for a year of intense personal expansion in my life—and the layers of warmth, wonder, sensitivity, and sharpness that come with growing.” – Avery Friedman
That said, I gave this one a spin, and while it’s not my place to tell an artist or PR firm what genre to go with, folk would not’ve been my first pick here. There’s far too much energy and emotion on New Thing for that. It’s electric (literally and figuratively).
Earlier this week, we featured the title track on our Playlist. Songs that make the cut are ones that are in heavy rotation. With New Thing, I had about 4 to pick from before ultimately going with the title track.
Besides the title track, “Photo Booth” is synth-tinged with blurry guitars and a solid rhythm section that keeps everything moving. With its washed-out fuzz and soft vocals, “Somewhere to Go” feels fluorescent. It’s a slow burn that will keep you wanting it to kick into gear. “Biking Standing” might be the closest (again, IMO) the record comes to folk, and even then, I’d say that it feels more like a lovely bit of lilting bedroom pop than anything.
On the title track, Friedman tells us, “It’s a little bit of a new thing / It’s a little hard to predict / And I can’t quite describe it / But it’s like a magnet flipped.” Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to sum up this record than that. This album fades in and out; sometimes, it feels like the light of midday. Other times, like a fever dream or fuzzy memories, struggling to make it out of the back of one’s mind.
Hard to describe, hard to predict, and it definitely feels fresh. New Thing was something I didn’t see coming. But it’s not PR spin when I tell you that’ll be a contender for a spot on my AOTY list.
Folk? Not folk? Click here to listen and decide.
Mythical Motors- Travelogues and Movie Stills
I’ve often joked that we need to check in on Robert Pollard if we go more than six months without a Guided by Voices record. The reality is that someday, he will slow down. Luckily, Matt Addison is already releasing records at almost the same rate.
Like GBV, Addison’s specialty is lo-fi quick hits. This record is pared down from its predecessor but still squeezes in 15 songs in less than 30 minutes, the longest clocking in at 3 minutes even. With those numbers, it would be easy to assume he was flooding the zone, hoping something would stick. That would be wrong. Travelogues and Movie Stills is packed with the gorgeous jangle and bright hooks we’ve come to expect from him.
In other words, it’s just what we need right now.
Fourteen months ago, I described Upside Down World as what lo-fi power pop looks like. It’s the same story here. In a world as wild as 2025 is shaping up to be, it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed.
Listen to the record and grab your copy here.
Dick Valentine- The Final Musician
Valentine might be better known as the frontman of Electric Six, but he’s also released a huge catalog of solo records (books, too, for that matter). His latest, The Final Musician, is a little more stripped down than some of Electric Six’s work, but no less manic.
The title track kicks things off, and we’re immediately met full-on with his distinctive voice. The song itself feels like something from Jack Black and/or Tenacious D. Not my fave on the record, but it sets the mood early that this is gonna be a Dick Valentine record.
That’s followed by a heapin’ helpin’ of garage rock in “Asian Freckles.” It’s all gas and no brakes, followed up with a much more (relatively) sedate “Bombs for Baby.” We even get a bit of folk (sorry!) in “Leave the Rest of It to Me.” And is that a fiddle I hear in the back? Just a few tracks in, and the blender’s already full of genres.
Again, this is a hallmark of any Valentine’s record.
“Duchess in a Tree” is a bit of stripped-down funk, as if they purposely left the amps turned down. It’s understated but rides high on a slinky groove. It’s also this writer’s favorite track on the album.
Ask four people to describe Electric Six, you’ll get at least five opinions. It’s a sound that’s so versatile (and so good at genre-hopping) that it defies easy categorization. Valentine’s solo work is no different. He’s still the Dance Commander and still giving out the orders for fun.
He’s spent years making music his own way, maybe to the detriment of his bank account. With The Final Musician, maybe that’ll change. If not, I can’t see him changing a thing. Indeed, I hope he doesn’t.
Valentine was also recently on the Center Stage Podcast, and you can catch that here.
Grab your copy via Madison-based Shortwave Records
Also awesome:
Hairpin- Modern Day Living (EP): This EP has Blast furnace riffs and heavy beats for days. The band describes the tracks here as “post-hardcore through a power pop lens.” I just describe it as good. RIYL: High Vis, Pegboy, driving guitars, running red lights. (Buckle up and get in here)
Palamara- Tomorrow Is a Friend: Soothing, introspective sounds from an artist once described as “Lambchop or the Magnetic Fields with a country twang.” An excellent release that’s equal parts Americana and country. Will remind you of the singer-songwriter records in your grandparents’ cabinet (100% said as high praise). Pairs perfectly with spring morning sun, big mugs of coffee, mountain views, or any one of the Great Lakes. (Slow down to the speed of life here.)
Marshy- Light Business (EP): 4-song EP from NYC’s Marshy. Light Business is a fantastic mix of emo, power pop, and just a touch of shoegaze. Four songs weren’t enough. Hoping we’ll see an LP in the not-too-distant future. RIYL: Momma, Wednesday, crunchy guitars. (Grab a copy here)
Wayside- Dusk to Dawn: Full throttle rock from the Twin Cities. After a long layoff, the band is back and in their best form yet. This isn’t a heritage act, but they are 100% standing on the shoulders of many of the bands that came out of the 612 before them. Either way, the whole thing rips. Bar trivia: Richard Stuverud of The Fastbacks, Three Fish, Tres Mtns, RNDM, War Babies, and Pearl Jam (briefly)….is sitting in on drums on one of the songs. (See what’s happening in the flyover states here.)
West Coast Music Club- Need You Beside Me (EP): Another release of West UK’s West Coast Music Club. The title track reminds me of Chameleons, and it just goes up from there. If you only have room for one track on your playlist, make it “Summer Loving.” It’ll already be stuck in your head anyway. (Pick up your copy of Need You Beside Me here)
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?
Kevin Sent 
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