{"id":95026,"date":"2023-11-17T09:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T09:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=95026"},"modified":"2023-11-17T13:29:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T13:29:42","slug":"newmusicfriday-november-17th-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/newmusicfriday-november-17th-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"#NewMusicFriday (November 17th 2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the usual end-of-year wind down is slowly starting, today’s\u00a0#NewMusicFriday<\/strong> is a mixed bag of lesser-known releases with a trio of celebratory reissues leading the way.<\/p>\n

Amongst them is the 10th anniversary remastered\/remixed edition of\u00a0Deafheaven<\/strong>‘s\u00a0‘Sunbather’<\/em> LP<\/a>. Upon its release in June 2013, we described the record as a “game changer” and it would go on to be picked as our ‘Record of the Year’<\/em><\/a> for 2013. 10 years on, it still sounds as exhilarating as ever. From the frantic pummeling burst on\u00a0‘Dream House’<\/em> to its tranquil post-rock passages on tracks such as ‘Vertigo’ and ‘The Pecan Tree,’ <\/em>it saw the San Francisco set the benchmark for black-laden post-metal.<\/p>\n

Looking further back, both\u00a0Muse<\/strong> and\u00a0Evanescence<\/strong> are celebrating their respective 2003 albums\u00a0‘Absolution’<\/em> and\u00a0‘Fallen’<\/em>. For\u00a0Muse<\/strong>,\u00a0‘Absolution’<\/em> saw them maintain ascension to stadium rockers with a handful of stellar singles;\u00a0‘Time Is Running Out,’ ‘Hysteria,’ ‘Stockholm Syndrome’<\/em> and\u00a0‘Sing For Absolution’<\/em>. Whereas\u00a0‘Fallen,’\u00a0<\/em>somewhat immediately launched\u00a0Evanescence<\/strong> to the upper echelons of alt-metal, helped by inescapable\u00a0‘Bring Me To Life’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When it comes to new music,\u00a0Plain White T’s<\/strong> return with an eponymous effort, French extreme metal avant-gardists\u00a0Celeste<\/strong> accompany last year’s\u00a0‘Assassine(s)’<\/em> full-length with a three-track EP,\u00a0Epilogue(s)’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere Indie\/emo group Mom Jeans.<\/strong> deliver a collection of reworked tracks in the form of ‘Bear Market<\/em>‘. Former\u00a0Yashin<\/strong> frontman Harry Radford returns with his latest project,\u00a0Call Me Amour<\/strong>. Thier EP embraces dark electronica with sonic guitars.\u00a0Anonymous Self-Exiled Russian “bedlamcore” artist n0trixx\u00a0<\/strong>launches their\u00a0‘Rejected’<\/em> EP, exploring a hybrid sound of metal and hip-hop. There are also new releases from\u00a0Texas In<\/strong> July<\/strong>,\u00a0Temic<\/strong>,\u00a0Earthside<\/strong>,\u00a0The Dialectic<\/strong>,\u00a0Dogma<\/strong>, and many more.<\/p>\n

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\"Plain<\/p>\n

Plain White T’s – Plain White T’s<\/h2>\n

Like many folk, when I think of Plain White T’s<\/strong>, I’m reminded of their 2006 hit ‘Hey There Delilah’<\/em>. Unless you’ve been a fan of them since then, you’ve probably written the Illinois group as “one-hit wonder”. It’s considerably a shadow they’ve been running away from, yet if you dig deeper into their catalogue, you’ll realise\u00a0Plain White T’s<\/strong> are a component pop-rock band. This is exemplified on this self-titled effort. Tracks such as\u00a0‘Would You Even’\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0‘Feeling (More Like) Myself’<\/em> are slick and energetic with favourable melodies, yet unfortunately for PWT’s<\/strong> these moments are too rare on here.<\/p>\n

For the most part, the quartet Tom Higgenson (vocals), Tim Lopez (lead guitar, vocals), Mike Retondo (bass), and De’Mar Hamilton (drums) deliver a lightweight record that is acceptable for a band of this ilk. Opener,\u00a0‘Young Tonight’<\/em> sees Higgenson give a retrospective tale of holding on to his youth with playful melodies.<\/p>\n

‘You Plus Me’\u00a0<\/em>is sure to be polarising with its cutesy and naive wordplay being the sugary top of a succulent acoustic number. Yet it’s delivered with an admirable charm, partly due to its earworm melody. The same can’t be said for\u00a0‘L-O-V-E’\u00a0<\/em>and ‘Fired Up’<\/em>. The former has a chorus that uncomfortably rhymes\u00a0“Is that what you want from me?”<\/em> with “It could be easy as do, re, mi,”<\/em> against a plucky, acoustic-heavy backdrop. While the latter is a late sun-laden, party jam that sounds like it belongs on a Jet2 TV advert, with its woozy (and annoying) hook.<\/p>\n

Even though\u00a0‘Plain White T’s’<\/em> is quickly forgettable, you’ve got to admire them for soldering on, refusing to live off their former glories. Even if they’re serving up soft pop-rock missteps such as\u00a0‘Red Flags’<\/em> or lines like\u00a0“Been DM-in’ for a year”<\/em> on the closing track, ‘Spaghetti Tattoo’<\/em>,\u00a0PWT’s\u00a0<\/strong>have a comfortable spot of being a pleasant pop-rock band with little to no edge on offer.<\/p>\n