Tuned In-Spin These New Releases March 24th

By Alex Dye

This week sees a variety of new releases, from metal and punk, to post-hardcore and pop. Most of the musicians featured here have released A LOT of albums, but their output and longevity hasn’t drained their creativity. What are you listening to this week? What do you like, and what did we miss?

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: SPACESHIPS-Ruins

Indiana post-hardcore dreamgaze ^TM band SPACESHIPS has released their newest full length on Friend Club Records. Ruins is a record born out of the pandemic, both musically and thematically. It holds a mirror up to society and the way in which we’ve treated one another over the last three years, for better or usually worse. Touching on topics like interpersonal relationships and religion, SPACESHIPS aren’t afraid to get vulnerable for their own actions, nor are they afraid to be confrontational for the harmful ways in which others have acted during this time. The heavy themes are layered over even heavier music, which vacillate between beautiful softness and head bangingly hard parts. Pre-order the physical release on their bandcamp page and read our full review of this excellent record HERE.

August Burns Red–Death Below

On their 9th album Death Below, ABR stays the course with their steady brand of metalcore with no signs of wavering. After 8 albums, 2 Christmas albums, 4 EP’s, and a live recording of Leveler, the band continues to hone their very particular set of skills. Two singles released ahead of Death Below feature guest spots from Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach and Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain, which add some interesting flavor. At this point in their career, fans know exactly what to expect from an ABR record, technical guitar wizardry and brutally heavy vocals. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The Bouncing Souls-Ten Stories High

The New Jersey punk stalwarts are back with their 12th album. There is no lag in their ability to write catchy, poppy punk songs that beg fans to shout and jump, with the title track “Ten Stories High” being especially infectious. The Bouncing Souls are touring this new album with Anti-Flag and a rotation of openers. And fans can pay a little extra to hear an acoustic and storytelling set from the band before the show. I know I can’t wait to see them in Cincinatti in April.

Lana Del Rey–Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

Our favorite Debbie Downer is back with another set of brooding, melancholic pop songs. Lead single “The Grants” starts surprisingly with gospel harmonization before becoming a piano-laden slow-tempo number that pays homage to John Denver. With the title of her new album, LDR is competing with art-pop musician Yves Tumor (Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) for most obtuse album title of the year. But what else would you expect from an artist who bucks at doing anything conventional?

Benny Sings–Young Hearts

Amsterdam native Benny Sings returns with his easy-going blend of pop, jazz, and electronic production on Young Hearts. His lighthearted music is head nod inducing. Benny effortlessly infuses boom-bap drum programming into bouncy piano playing for a pleasantly intriguing experience.

Liturgy-93696

Liturgy is a polarizing band. Self-described as “transcendental black metal,” the music walks the line between traditional black metal elements (blast beats and throat searing screeches) with noisy electronic glitch production. On the new album, Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix introduces other sounds, such as clean choir vocals, horns, and glockenspiel. But still, the tracks assault the senses. 93696 was recorded by musician and legendary indie producer Steve Albini. So whether or not you like the music, the production on this new album is incredible.