Mitski – Puberty 2: Last year, I tried and failed to understand why people like Mitski. This week, it clicked with Puberty 2. The record keeps my attention from start to finish, and it gets better with every pass. “Happy” is the early standout.
Loscil – Lake Fire: I listened on a plane while waves of clouds burned below us in the sunset, and it was the perfect music for what I was seeing. Scott Morgan’s approach is a lot like one of my favorite artists, Tim Hecker, but his compositional style is very different. I can’t describe the differences yet, but I can hear them.
Deep Dish – Global Underground 21 Moscow: This is one of my favorite Global Underground mixes, so when I faced a long nighttime drive through Midwestern plains, it kept me going. By the light of the next day, though, it felt dated and annoying. I hate to imagine falling out of love with this mix, so hopefully the daytime experience was simply the wrong album at the wrong time.
Kendrick Lamar – GNX: My second pass through this record was a bust, but I’ve learned that it usually takes at least 3 or 4 listens until I start to unpack a Kendrick record. We’ll see what happens next time.
Maribou State – Hallucinating Love: The joy within this record grows deeper with every listen. It’s evolving into one of my favorite albums of 2025.
Grateful Dead – 10/19/72 (St. Louis, MO): I’m still enjoying the show but it doesn’t grab me in a big way.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Carlita: Fabric Presents Carlita
Record store finds this week: I found a vinyl copy of Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure in a used bin, but I had to leave it behind because I couldn’t fit it in my luggage.