Top (left to right): Angel Olsen’s “Burn Your Fire,” Beck’s “Morning Phase; bottom (left to right): Water Liars self-titled album, Temples’ “Sun Structure”
Valentine’s day is this Friday, and nothing says true love more than a heartfelt mixtape saying everything that you couldn’t fit into that 140-character limit subtweet. But if you’re at a loss for new music, lucky for you, some killer new albums are out this month to help you out. And I’ll do you one better and give you some somewhat romantic ideas to tie the whole night together.
Starting out close to home, the Mississippi-based trio Water Liars released its third self-titled album at the beginning of this month. Heavy and raw, it’s the kind of rock that burrows itself in your gut and refuses to leave. It demands the largest BBQ plate you can find and some fried apple pie to share (or not), followed by Bud Lights and a show at Proud Larry’s. You’ll look like a real charmer, especially since Water Liars is playing at Proud Larry’s this Friday.
Whimsical, energetic and psychedelic, Brit-rock band Temples released its debut album, “Sun Structures,” Monday. Oasis’ Noel Gallagher raves about the band to anyone who will listen. In last October’s GQ, he even criticized BBC for not playing the band enough. Their 1960s shag hairstyles and odes to love are “Mesmerise-ing” (a pun on the album’s first released song). Nothing would make your date happier than receiving this stellar album on vinyl following a night of Thai food and “The Princess Bride.”
Maybe this Valentine’s Day is a little more serious than takeout and cheap beer. How about this?
“Your voice cut straight through me / Right down to my bones / Like a winter’s wind it / Knocked out my soul.” These stinging lyrics are from the song “Dance Slow Decades” from Angel Olsen’s sophomore album, “Burn Your Fire for No Witness.” This album is the musical equivalent to showing up in your nicest, and hopefully cleanest, collared shirt with a bouquet of daisies, then having an intimate, preferably homemade, dinner. The only downside is that “Burn Your Fire for No Witnesses” won’t be out until Feb. 18, but this delicate yet heart-shaking album is worth the wait.
Whether you’re in a relationship or not, this last album is a gift for the real love of your life: your record player. It’s been 12 years since Beck released “Sea Change,” which was full of honesty, nostalgia and chiming guitars. His 12th studio album, “Morning Phase,” has been rumored to be an unofficial sequel to “Sea Change” and has consistently ranked high on music blogs such as Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound and Rolling Stone as one of the most anticipated albums of 2014. The New Yorker pop critic Sasha Frere-Jones found the album flawless, saying that “the relationship between the musician and the listener here is as simple as the outcome is intense: only the artist knows exactly how such an album is made, but only the audience can verify that it is perfect….” With that kind of hype, who wouldn’t mind spending the night cuddled up with their laptop, watching “Girls,” which actually features one of the album’s releases, “Blue Moon”? This album comes out Feb. 25, but treat yourself and preorder this bad boy or check the local record store. David Swider, co-owner of The End of All Music and a personal fan, reassures us that the store will definitely have this album, as well as the other three.
