No Expectations 077: Drive & Drive
Diving into the most jam-packed release week of 2024 yet.
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Headline song: hemlock, “Drive & Drive”
No Expectations is back with new release recommendations. I appreciate the nice words about the recent Midyear List and last week’s summer playlist. As always, feel free to tell a bud about No Expectations or upgrade to a paid subscription. Every little bit means the world. Thanks for being here.
Can you believe how many good albums came out last week?
Earlier this year, there was a week where every new record felt like an album of the year contender. March 22 saw the release of LPs from Waxahatchee, Adrianne Lenker, Rosali, villagerrr, Sam Evian, Francis of Delirium, Sun Seeker, and more. It ruled.
Last week’s New Music Friday was somehow even better. Compiling this roundup, I had trouble paring it down from a whopping 14 releases, which is nuts. So, to not overload you with recommendations, I’ve highlighted only seven for you to check out. These aren’t necessarily my favorites of the bunch—they’re just the ones I got around to blurbing—so give the others below a chance too.
Billy Strings, Live Vol. 1
Billy Strings is from Michigan, his shows sell tons of tickets, and he’s a hell of a guitar player. His music is at the intersection of jam and bluegrass and he’s received cosigns from the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Zach Bryan, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, and dozens more. For a guy who’s one of the most electric touring draws right now, it’s wild that Live Vol. 1 is his first official live album. If you’re unfamiliar with his studio efforts (three solo LPs and three collaborative efforts), this is a really solid primer on the guy. It’s not just straightforward bluegrass—the jams get pretty psychedelic and consistently rocking even without drums. Recorded last year and this year, it includes some of his oldest tunes (opener “Dust In a Baggie” dates back to 2012) and a new, NASCAR-themed song in “Richard Petty.”
Clairo, Charm
Since she first appeared on my radar in 2017 with “Pretty Girl,” Clairo’s pop tunes have always been well-made and tasteful. I’ve liked her writing but beyond a few songs, nothing’s been totally in my wheelhouse. (This might be because I am not her target audience). That said, her latest Charm is a ‘70s-indebted, sparkling, and lush album. It’s excellent, and shockingly close to No Expectations-core even if it operates too much in a hazy, mellow tempo. Recorded with Leon Michels (Colemine Records, El Michels Affair), the arrangements are pristine and the recordings sound immaculate. There’s a stretch of tracks from “Thank You,” to “Terrapin,” and “Juna” that are among the year’s best. Though I’d normally bump a bigger name like Clairo to highlight a smaller artist in this newsletter, I think this self-released LP is worth your time.
Color Green, Fool’s Parade
Los Angeles psych-rockers Color Green thrive in transporting ‘70s sounds into the present day. Their records are uniformly adventurous and accessible all while never indulging in throwback posturing. Fool’s Parade, the quartet’s latest and sophomore effort, is a front-to-back ripper. Opener “Coronado” brings the rollicking riffs while more laid-back tunes like “5:08” excel in ambling harmonies. The best of the bunch is the biting barroom rocker “God In A $,” which barrels into garage rock catharsis. If all this sounds good, I’d recommend diving into their debut too.
Chris Cohen, Paint a Room
Chris Cohen is a musicians’ musician: the artist that your favorite artist likes more than your favorite critic. Across four solo albums including last week’s Paint a Room, the expert producer and songwriter who’s played with Deerhoof and the Curtains has made subdued psychedelia that’s as infectious as it is beguiling. Here, Chicago jazz greats Jeff Parker and Josh Johnson supply horn arrangements (Johnson takes on multiple tracks while Parker guests on highlight “Damage”). Across 10 excellent tracks, Paint a Room hits the sweet spot between inviting and menacing, meditative and disquieting. It’s for the heads.
Jake Xerxes Fussell, When I’m Called
Friend of the Substack Will Stratton, a great NY-based songwriter whose body of work is consistently excellent, had a stellar review of Jake Xerxes Fussell’s new LP on Twitter. “The new Jake Xerxes Fussell record rocks, no surprise there,” he wrote. “As always, his music is a good reminder (for me, as a sometimes nervous songwriter) to take a deep breath, not hurry things, and perform within the expansive boundaries of who you actually are.” He nails it. When I’m Called is a record of small revelations, slow pursuits, and unhurried contemplation. It’s pretty and engaging but never forced. Nine tracks of easy folk, the LP is especially potent on closer “Going to Georgia.”
Javier Reyes, How’s Javi
If you’re tapped into the Chicago music community, you’re probably already familiar with Javi Reyes for being in Post Animal and performing with Slow Pulp and Djo. He’s a fantastic onstage presence and a playfully curious ear in the studio, which comes through on his second solo effort How’s Javi. Breezy synths and airtight pop melodies fill the tracklist here but highlights like “Pray” and single “Is It Ever Any Wonder” really soar. I’m bummed to miss his release show last Saturday, which featured some of his Post Animal bandmates and Cadien Lake James in his band, but I hope he plays again soon.
Tension Pets, Cubey EP
The members of Chicago’s Tension Pets have all played in great local bands: synth player Jeff Graupner is in The Hecks, guitarist Davey Hart has played with Wishgift, bassist Brian Weza has performed with Richard Album and Jessica Risker, while drummer Wendy Zeldin is in Mandy. They all sing on Cubey, the debut EP from their new band Tension Pets. It’s raucous and abrasive synth-punk that’s relentlessly charming and energetic. At six songs, the EP is a blisteringly paced listen but it doesn’t waste a second. Every song is a scorcher but the highlight finds them scaling back the assaulting intensity in the pop-minded “Magnolia (She’s Back).”
Seven more good LPs worth your time:
Cassandra Jenkins, My Light, My Destroyer, Deer Tick, Contractual Obligations EP, Font, Strange Burden, Johnny Blue Skies, Passage Du Desir, Luke Temple, Certain Limitations, Macseal, Permanent Repeat, Rich Jones, Sour Dub
What I listened to:
The No Expectations 077 Playlist: Spotify // Apple Music
1. Color Green, “Coronado”
2. Lunar Vacation, “Sick”
3. Cassandra Jenkins, “Clams Casino”
4. Javier Reyes, “Pray”
5. Sima Cunningham, “Nothing”
6. Merce Lemon, “Backyard Lover”
7. Wild Pink, “The Fences of Stonehenge”
8. Clairo, “Thank You”
9. Allegra Kreiger, “Never Arriving”
10. hemlock, “Drive & Drive”
11. Tension Pets, “Magnolia (She’s Back)”
12. Warm Human, “Love 2 Hate”
13. Trace Mountains, “Sick of Myself”
14. Jake Xerxes Fussell, “Going to Georgia”
15. Johnny Blue Skies, “One For The Road”
What I watched:
The Bear (Hulu)
There’s a scene in episode three of The Bear’s third season where head chef Charmy (Jeremy Allen White) tells his sous-chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) to refire a Wagyu. The restaurant is packed, there’s a bottleneck of orders, and the Maître D Richie (Ebon Moss-Bacharach) wants to get the food out as quickly as possible. Richie says, “What’s wrong with it?” and Carmy replies, “It’s off.” Richie gets angrier, “Are you fucking kidding me? It’s perfect.” Carmy’s unfazed and says, “The cook’s off.” That exchange is a metaphor for how this season works as episodic television. The cook’s off. (That said, don’t listen to folks who claim this show was always bad. The first two seasons are solid to very good).
What I read:
What a Trump Win Would Mean For Chicago (Heather Cherone, WTTW News)
In a post on his social media site, Trump called parts of Project 2025 “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal” without identifying which parts he objected to and claimed that neither he nor his campaign had anything to do with Project 2025.
But in fact, the plan was crafted by 140 people who worked in the Trump administration, including six former Cabinet secretaries. In 2022, Trump explicitly praised the push to craft what became Project 2025 in a speech at a Heritage Foundation dinner.
“This is a great group, and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do ... when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America,” Trump said.
The plan explicitly puts Christian nationalism at the heart of government policy. Project 2025 calls for a ban on pornography, which includes anything related to LGBTQ+ people, and promotes laws that encourage “marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood, and nuclear families.”
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar:
Thursday, July 18: David Nance & Mowed Sound, The Sueves at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Thursday, July 18: MV Wells, Accessory, Desert Liminal at SPACE. Tickets.
Friday, July 19: Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park. Tickets.
Friday, July 19: Loona Dae, Minor Moon at Kilbourn Park. Free.
Friday, July 19: Hotline TNT, Graham Hunt at Subterranean. Tickets.
Friday, July 19: Torture, Enforced, Prevention, Spent Case at Beat Kitchen. Tickets.
Friday, July 19: Strand of Oaks, Lacey Guthrie at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Saturday, July 20: Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park. Tickets.
Saturday, July 20: feeble little horse, Cusp at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Saturday, July 20: Hailu Mergia at Constellation. Sold out.
Saturday, July 20: Kara Jackson, June McDoom at Schubas. Tickets.
Saturday, July 20: Model Actriz, L’Rain at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Sunday, July 21: Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park. Tickets.
Sunday, July 21: Lifeguard, Font at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Wednesday, July 24: The Greeting Committee, TOLEDO at Bottom Lounge. Tickets.
Wednesday, July 24: Vacations, Lunar Vacation, Alex Lahey at Vic Theater. Tickets.
Really enjoying the new Clairo album and the new Cassandra Jenkins album is amazing
Just an incredible week for new releases. The AOTY list is quickly becoming unwieldy!
For Clairo, I hadn’t been too excited, but a review compared it to someone rooting through “a collection of Soul 45s,” (paraphrasing) and it piqued my curiosity. The record is fantastic!